Counting Down the Days...

til the bus trip to Massachusetts for:

til I carve this sucker (wish me luck!)
And well, just enjoying this sight
and this one (she's a climber)

Quiet Friday Joy

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." ~ George Eliot

Brrrrr....it's cold out there!

It was a brisk 36°F this chilly Maine morning! I double layered when I walked Sadie, but wished that I had a hat and mittens on. I guess I've been denying that seasonal change for long enough; time to stop clinging to those remnants of summer.

I'm a little weirded out, right now, though. You see, normally by mid-august I start having these "Oh my god summer is over and I didn't do anything and what am I doing with my life and why am I still here in this state when there are a million opportunities out there for me somewhere esle, what's keeping me here?" (only jam the words together and say them really fast without stopping for a breath) thoughts; it's that Autumn Expectation feeling - the feeling that I need to go somewhere and do something different and start over. But, so far, that feeling hasn't come...which is so weird because that feeling ALWAYS comes. Rather than that feeling of change and upheaval, though, there is this calm sense of...smooth sailing, I guess; it's like on a subconscious level, I know that everything is working itself out properly and falling into place at just the right moment for me. I'm not used to that feeling this time of year; it's wonderful!

It all started in January when I started a better paying job, doing something that I enjoy and everything else just seemed to follow:

• my brother moved in, so I'm not feeling strapped for cash
• I've had plenty of time off to enjoy this summer
• I got to hang out with friends and wander around Portland, Rockland and Damariscotta
• Saw a musical with my mother
• hit the farmer's market often
• started making bread regularly
• learned how to make preserves and can dilly beans
• camped outside on Ambajejus Lake, hung out with my office peeps, went to Baxter State Park, saw a moose, turtles, foxes, and learned about birds from my boss' husband
• hung out with my sister & her friends, took a hike to a spectacular waterfall and saw people white water rafting
• went swimming
• joined Weight Watchers and lost 25 lbs!
• cut my long hair short and dyed it for the first time in 5 years
• planted my garden (and built a fence around it by myself)
• cleared out my backyard with the help of my sister, my nephew and a lot of help from my brother (who really has done more than his fair share!)
• did all the tax requirements to make Faery Tree Creations a real business entity and started working on stuff to sell
• saw and hung out with family that I hadn't seen in over 4 years
• enjoyed many evenings reading on the porch
• bought a new camera

I feel like I've done so much already this year and it seems that any issues that arise, quickly resolve themselves...like:

• the issue we had about not getting firewood in time to dry out before winter (because of some jerk who was taking advantage of the rising wood prices and didn't deliver the 10 cord of wood that Mum ordered at the beginning of July at $180 a cord). It was resolved last night - 3 cord are on their way in the next week or so (at a higher price unfortunately, but oh well) and my brother just found some guy giving away wood for FREE! (about 3 cord, trees and thick branches, 4 foot lengths)...so now we will have more than I orginally planned for!
• the thought that I wasn't going to be able to afford the trip to Massachusetts for my cousin's wedding in October based on hotel room prices, gas prices, etc. etc. but I talked to my sister last night and she, my niece and I are going to ride down together, share a room and split the costs! Score!
• my worry about the rising cost of...well...everything, has now been countered with the realization that next month is a 3 paycheck month and I will have enough money to pay off my truck loan, thus reducing my monthly bills! WHOO-HOO!! Which means that there will be even more "extra" money each month (aside from what I am saving having my brother live at the house)

See - everything is falling into place at the right moment. Now I just need the worry about retaining my job after elections to resolve itself positively and in my favor (as in, leadership is impressed with my job performance, keeps me in this job and gives me a raise on top of that)!

Alright, enough with the ridiculously long post - I'm cutting out of work early on some firewood related business, so enjoy your Thursday folks!

Lunch Hour

I spent yesterday's lunch outside, enjoying the last of the summer/fall cusp weather (warm sun, cool breeze).

The sky was that impossible blue, the leaves were practically glowing in the sun's light and the crows were playing on the front lawn of the State House.

Sunrise Walk

This past Sunday morning, we were graced with continuing summer weather

There's nothing like taking a walk in a t-shirt, in late October, while the leaves are falling all around you. But those cool autumn temps have returned and the sweaters have been pulled back out.

Oh my sweaters, how I have missed you so!

(No new kitty yet. I think I will wait until after Halloween...after the week long visit of my folks...because if I bring a cat into my house right now, while my Dad is visiting - I won't hear the end of it. It doesn't matter that he doesn't live there or that I'm 30 years old, I will still hear "What do you need another animal for!? You've already got a cat...and a dog! Another one's just going to stink up the house...blah blah blah!" I just don't want to listen to it for the whole week that they're visiting.)

Mr. Sycamore

Have I ever told you about Mr. Sycamore? Mr. Sycamore was the maple tree that graced my front yard for about 17 years. He was a beautiful tree; always the first to bud and the last to change color and drop leaves.

I was probably 6 when my Dad transplanted this scraggly little maple twig from my neighbors yard into our front yard - it was barely taller than me and pitiful looking! We had just finished watching a movie about a man (Jason Robards) who wanted to find peace and quiet, and thought that his life would be better if he were to become a tree. Well the man's wife had him committed (she found him trying to take root in the backyard), but eventually he escapes the mental institute. I remember all these people chasing him and finally, when they think they've got him cornered in an area by the lake - they're surprised to find he's not there. There's just a lone tree standing by the lake, a tree that no one really remembers ever being there. It was very sad, but kind of sweet. The name of the movie was...(insert drumroll here)... Mr. Sycamore. And thus our little tree was named. The funny thing was that the name really stuck. We never called it the "Tree in the Front Yard", it was always "Mr. Sycamore" and everyone in the family knew what you were talking about.

Well, Mr. Sycamore grew into a gorgeous tree, like I said. But alas, the Ice Storm of '98 hit Maine. I was away at University, my family was down here without power for a week and every night at 6:00, I could be seen standing in my apartment in Fredericton, New Brunswick Canada holding my phone to the television (which was tuned to the Bangor, Maine news station) so my parents could listen to the news and weather forecast! I guess it looked like a war zone down here, but Fredericton was barely touched (we had about 3 inches of ice, but that was it).

By almost the end of the ice storm, Mum said she heard a god awful crack and then a thud against the side of the house. She looked out and there was Mr. Sycamore, split down the middle. Our beautiful shady tree was done for. Once the ice melted and spring settled in, Dad had to take the chainsaw to Mr. Sycamore - that was very emotional, we were very attached to that tree.

The following Mother's Day, my brother bought my mother a sugar maple sapling and she was planted in the same spot as Mr. Sycamore. We aptly named her, "Mrs. Sycamore." Mrs. Sycamore has been a slow grower, but she's 9 now and like her predecessor, she's the first to bud and the last to drop her leaves...

Autumn Eye Candy from Maine

Snapped these while wandering around outside on Saturday, enjoying temps in the high 70's...our last warm day before true fall hit. By Monday I was dragging out my beloved sweaters and plasticing the single paned windows in the house!


One last little bee friend partaking in the pumpkin flowers...


Tallulah enjoying a rare bit of freedom
Sadie had had enough of picture taking. It was "nap in the grass" time.

Autumn Wanties

I’m feelin’ the closet woes as I assess my fall wardrobe...or lack there of. Hmmm…black dress paints, black dress pants, black dress pants. Uh...black and white pinstripe dress pants, charcoal dress pants, grey dress pants and oh look, another pair of black dress pants…are you sensing a pattern here, yet? The sad thing is that I’m really feeling the budget pinch right now (yuck!), so all I can do is online window shop.

In about a month, I'm hoping (keep your fingers crossed for me) to hear some really great news that will lead to the end of the budget pinch and the ability to get a stable financial leg beneath me come January. When I have some positive news, I'll be sure to share.

Anyhoo, this year's autumn wanties are (and no, I would never-in a million years-ever pay these prices. I’m too cheap thrify...yes, thrifty, that's it...thriiiifty):

this sweater

these two coats

this top

this suit

this jacket and skirt combo

this dress (the one to the farthest right)

these boots

and these shoes in cordovan

Ah, to dream! Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be so financially solvent that I could blow $10,000 on clothing spree and not worry about it. And again I say, ah to dream!

Favorite Farm Stand

On Saturday, while visiting with my folks, we took a trip to their favorite farm stand – Beth’s Farm Market in Warren, Maine.

I’m in love with this place! It’s a little out of the way, but so worth it. They’re open until December 23rd and almost everything there comes from their farm.

Oh, there was sooooo much! There were free samples of everything – big bins of apples with signs saying “Please take a sample apple” (I snagged a sweet, juicy Paula Red – YUM!!! You can see my Dad by that bin looking for his own apple). They press their own cider; they make their own cheese (that is To. Die. For!); they have a mini bakery at the back of the shop with a big window where you can watch them making bread and donuts and biscuits. And the prices, oh the prices were excellent! I spent all of $10 and picked up a huge head of green leaf lettuce, a jug of cider, a big buttercup squash, a small pumpkin and 3 ears of on the cob popcorn.
The foliage was fabulous; I just wish the day had been sunnier, but it was foggy and misty all day.
And they had chickens running around outside, making their little chicken sounds that I love!

I hope your weekend was just as nice!

Autumn Hath Reared Its Chilly Head

I'm feeling very scattered this week (and it's only Wednesday - not a good sign)

I feel like there's so much to do and not enough time...but I know that's not true. It's only mid-August, but I've got all these lists going; on my kitchen chalkboard, on random slips of paper, listed on the calendar in my purse, in my head. I just feel like I can't keep anything straight; I can't focus and I'm not listening to anyone. I start to listen when they talk to me and suddenly I realize that I've zoned off and haven't heard a word they've said.

I feel like a kid who just realized that school starts next week, that summer's over and there's so much that I didn't do that I wanted to do. This isn't unusual for me this time of year, though. I go through that "Autumn Expectation" period every year. It just feels like it has crept up on me sooner this year, but rereading my August 24th post from last year shows that it really hasn't. I think it creeps up on me because I'm not paying attention and it sends me into a confused whirlwind. It's 44 °F during Sadie and my morning walk; it creeps into the 70's during the day with a brisk, autumn breeze; then BAM!!! it drops like a rock in the evening and suddenly I'm thinking, "WAIT! I didn't go swimming enough! I didn't do enough gardening! I didn't sit on the porch and read practically at all. I didn't barbeque enough. I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

I, of course, realize that this is a complete lie. I've already looked back to see all the things I did this summer (thank you dear blog o' mine!). Okay, so maybe there weren't enough barbeque's and maybe I didn't jump in the Lake enough, but it's Fall! Crisp cool nights made for walking in wooly sweaters, pulling fabric together for quilting, get that fire pit crackling for a leisurely sit down and marshmallow roast, baking...mmmmm....baking - breads and pies and cookies. Ooooh, making stews and soups and hot cider. There is nothing better than sitting on porch in Autumn, wrapped in a quilt with a cup of homemade chicken noodle soup (big chunks of chicken and carrots and potatoes and celery, wide wheat noodles *drooooool*) and a good book, something that's set in the Fall so you really get the full effect.

I think just by verbalizing it, by putting a name to my problem, I can fix it. My scatteriness starts sliding away and the lists are starting to come together with a time line. I have a plan now and even if that plan falls through, I'll be okay with it.

Okay, my rambling is done. I apologize for my random, all-over-the-place thoughts, but I think I just needed to get them out of my head to get rid of this unfocused feeling. I really think I'm ready to say farewell to summer and hellooooo to fall!

bye bye fall

these pictures almost don't look real, like they are painted.

autumn is leaving as swiftly as it rushed in. rain and wind have let loosed many a golden, rust and pumpkin colored leaf. and my lawn is calling to me to grab my rake and clean it up.

i've vowed to do a better job at composting my leaves this year. i'm actually putting them into a bin to let them biodegrade, so that i can easily use them in my gardens next year. i don't enjoy raking, so i end up leaving them until spring, when they are wet and miserable, making them harder to rake, making my back ache, which inevitably is why i don't enjoy raking. i just need to rake them now and get it over with...or mow them over and let them mulch in to my lawn...hmmmm. no, no then i wouldn't be able to use them as mulch in my garden.

ah, fall clean up - my back despises you!

i hope fall clean up (0r spring for those of you in other parts of the world) isn't such a hassle! for some reason, spring doesn't seem so much more labor intensive...though i really think it is. maybe it's the anticipation of what all your hard work will bloom into that makes it more fun than putting the garden to bed for winter. which do you prefer, spring planting or breaking it all down for winter?

happy thursday all! we're one step closer to weekend bliss!

welcome to the pumpkin patch

despite being ill all weekend (sinus flu-bug. nothing major, just enough to keep me tired and achy and feeling yucky), it's been very productive! a couple of weeks ago, i was flipping through magazines looking for halloween gift ideas for my friend juli (every year i give her some kind of a halloween gift and try to make it as fun and creative as possible). in one magazine i found an advent calendar...of sorts. it marked down the 13 days of halloween with paper cones filled with candy and little gifts. in another magazine, i found a how-to on creating tissue paper pumpkins filled with candy to give out on halloween night...so i combined the two ideas and created this:

the 13 days of halloween pumpkin patch

i took a box top, covered it with green tissue and stuffed more bunched up, green tissue on the bottom. i bought or made 13 small gifts - all halloween related, wrapped them up in orange tissue paper, making them look roughly like pumpkins and twisted the "stems" with green floral tape. it was simple and fun and i know she'll love it. juli did something similar for me for christmas last year; she worked for an accessory store and made up 25 tissue paper roses that held many, many pairs of earrings, bracelets and necklaces. i got to unwrap one rose every day from the beginning of december to christmas - it was so much fun and she really stocked me up on earrings! so starting october 19th, juli can open one pumpkin a day until halloween for little treats like a tee-shirt, a copy of a cd i know she wants, candy, earrings, a bracelet, a pin, a an autumn scented candle, candle holder, a small decorative clay witch's hat, etc. etc.

the other thing that i worked on this weekend was a fairy house and fairy that my old roommate from university (who lives outside moncton, new brunswick) asked me to make. she said that her aunt is creating a fairy garden at her home in alberta (i think it's an indoor garden) and jenn wanted to give her something fairy and unusual to go with her new garden for a christmas present.

jenn said that her aunt loved bright colors, so i went with a festive orange...not because of the autumn season, but because i found that striped fabric (that her shirt is made of) and the colors from my stash just fell into place. you can see more pictures here, some close up and singularly of the fairy and her house.

i also have an imp that juli and my friend maddie commissioned. there are only 2 more things to do on it and it'll be done! i hope to finish that tonight (have pictures by thursday) and start work on a quilt fairy for my aunt's friend.

early autumn evening walk

dark of night

shadows skulking with luminescent feline eyes

stars peaking through wispy, grey black clouds

orion's constant presence felt

chill autumn breezes gently caress my hair,

floating leaves down from trees up high

warm wood smoke perfumes the air with it's heady scent,

wrapping me in a quilt of familiar comfort

oh, how i've longed for this.

fall fabness

fabulous fall has arrived here in the great state of maine
and with it,
a wash out of a weekend.

i wanted to go to the common ground fair, but alas, an hour drive coupled with a trek through the woods in gale force winds and pouring rain didn't sound like a whole lot of fun to me. yup, i'm a wimp! i opted for a weekend of mostly staying indoors to finish insulating that room (yay, it's done!!) and rearranging my existing bedroom. i feel so much more organized now! my computer is in a better place with more light, my bed is in a cozy nook under the slant, my chair is by the window (and now a favorite of tallulah, as she can stretch her fat feline body across the top of it while watching the world below from on high!) and there is soooo much more floor space!

also with the arrival of fall, came the arrival of my new coat (yes, like many others i am a coat addict! and all those coat posts cracked me up, because i thought it was just me and i had just ordered this one!):
this little beauty is a 100% boiled wool pea coat, double breasted, with a stand up collar, big buttons and it's the perfect length. i found it online and picked it up for 20% off! it is perfection personified as far as i'm concerned; lightweight and oh so warm. we'll see how it holds up to a maine winter. i just wanted something dressier than my L.L. Bean parka but lighter than my heavy black wool pea coat or my thrifted long blue hooded wool coat with the toggles. ah yes, wool is our friend here in the north!

now i need to rummage through my sweater trunk to see what needs to be purged and if i need to buy any new ones. yet another addiction...sweaters! soft and fuzzy, warm and woolen.

happy weekend highlights
* set up my DSL
* dyed some bonnet fabric
* worked on my halloween tree (which i will post pictures of soon)
* i went shopping with my parents
* found copious amounts of books from university that i forgot i had. they were packed willy-nilly into boxes and crates. many were required reading for my english classes, many obscure canadian authors that i had never heard of until moving to new brunswick and started studying them. i can't wait to start rereading!
* remembered that a week from tomorrow, i will be starting 12 weeks of drawing classes! (soooo can't wait for this either)
* talked to my friend andy, who went off to law school a month ago and caught up with all the goings on in his life

tonight, i make no plans. if i get a chance to play with my fabric, then yay! if not, so be it! but i'm in great hopes that i'll get to play!

here's wishing you all as much playtime as you can handle!

self-reflection: revisited

a much too busy day today. didn't even really get a chance to look at anyone's blogs :^(

so here's a quick continuation of my adventures in self reflection!
*************************************************************
she loves the smell of fresh cut limes
discovering foods she never knew she liked (boiled onions, fresh salsa, asparagus)
words like: arugula, portulaca, serendipity, guacamole, widdershins, recidivism
the rumbling sound of a passing harley
licking her fingers after squeezing a lemon and the puckery taste

she's never been fond of mooky tomatoes. they have to be firm and beefstake
has never been a particularly good navigator due to her sense of wonder...as in "i wonder what's down this road?" while someone else is driving (sorry Ju!)

love hokey william powell and myrna loy movies!

gets chills whenever she hears van morrison's "into the mystic" unexpectedly come on the radio

self-reflection

she's obsessive compulsive about making sure the stove elements are turned off, the toaster and coffee maker are unplugged, doors are locked and the curling iron or blow dryer are put away before she goes to work...if she doesn't do this, it'll nag at her: she'll get halfway to work, turn around to go back to the house and check.

if she can't sleep at night, she sings songs in her head until she falls asleep. normally it's the "once upon a dream" song from sleeping beauty, a random song from the muppet family christmas or "king of the fairies" as done by the irish rovers.

she goes through moments when she can't stand a band or a singer that she once loved and can't understand why she ever like them, because their music just grates on her nerves now. but then she rediscovers them later and can't understand why she didn't like their music. today it's the beatles, but she's rediscovered the stones.

every time she gets in the elevator, she thinks the same thing: "elevator doors don't close as quickly in real life as they do in the movies. if someone where chasing me right now, they would have time to get into the elevator with me, do whatever they were going to do and get out again before these stupid doors actually close!"

when she sleeps at night, she sleeps across the top of the bed, with her back against the pillows and her legs down the length...almost in an "L" position".

when a commercial comes on t.v., she has to mute it or she'll become annoyed.

she loves to putter and organize. it makes her brain feel ordered.

she's not a big fan of noise, crowds or extreme fluxuations in temperature.

she googles everything she doesn't know and then forgets what she just read, but will remember it 5 years from now when it's useless to her.

she feels that life has become pleasant and that things that used to get her so down, now don't. she is able to brush off the bad stuff and focus on the good.

she is definitely a morning person.

she is alone...but doesn't feel lonely.

every day she feels more aware, more able to focus on today rather than wondering what tomorrow will be like. she's beginning to understand what it is like to just "be".

today is quiet and she is happy.