It is finally over.  Finished.  This project has been a millstone around my neck for roughly fifteen years.  I finally finished the brick walkway to the front door of our house.  I tell time, as far as our life in this 102 year old house goes, by which project we were working on.  Year one new furnaces, year two siding, year five the chimney came down, year ten the third floor remodel, and year twelve the second floor remodel. 

Originally, we had begun working on the front walk about year fifteen.  A three story chimney that was not original to the house had to be taken down leaving behind large volumes of brick.  I immediately made plans to create brick walkways all around our house in the beautiful gardens that have yet to be planted.  The first setback came when I realized that used brick comes with lots of mortar that is very hard to remove.  So the bricks had been sitting in a pile in the door yard for seven or eight years already.  Now and then I would spend a couple of days pounding mortar off bricks as a sort of therapy.  So on a sunny, year fifteen day, Mom and I set up viewing chairs on the porch and our retired neighbor heckled from his window across the street as my husband cleared the turf between the string lines for our new walkway, only to find that there was already a brick walkway exactly where we had placed our lines.  It wasn’t very even and some bricks were missing, but it was enough to give me an excuse to let the mortar on my bricks dissolve a while longer. 

Now at year twenty-two, the walk is finally finished and I am very pleased with how it turned out.  Maybe the stress of a twenty-year-old son put me over the edge, or at least increased my need for therapy.  But starting in September, I pounded mortar and hauled sixteen bricks at a time in my wheel barrow until 400 bricks later the walk is complete, along with an outdoor fireplace.  And I still have at least another 500 bricks left, so I don’t have to worry about paying for therapy, yet. 

Camping in Acadia

The fall foliage was gorgeous this weekend for our camping adventure to Acadia.  We recently enjoyed camping in Acadia so much that we wanted to return with our five-year-old niece.  She has never experienced camping by the ocean and this was a great opportunity to introduce her to the Maine outdoors. 

I gave up sleeping in tents on the ground a dozen years ago after bailing a tent through three days of rain at Baxter State Park.  Now we throw a mattress in the back of our aging Suburban, leaving plenty of room for my niece to sleep crossways at our heads.  So after supper and roasting marshmallows, we got ready for bed.  The first night we slept in our long johns and I won the battle over having my niece wear a sweatshirt over her top, but sometime in the night she slipped off her socks.  In the morning, our thermometer said 46 degrees and she admitted she was chilly through the night. 

This was one of those weekends when getting dressed just means adding more clothes.  I put my niece’s pants on over her long johns and two jackets over her sweatshirt while I did the same.  After my husband made us a wonderful breakfast on the camp stove, we drove into Bar Harbor.  Come to find out, Columbus weekend is extremely busy in Bar Harbor, especially when three cruise ships are in port.  We were able to purchase the last three seats for an educational lobster boat ride into the bay. 

Our tour guide explained various aspects of marine life to us and our sixty fellow passengers, as the captain drove us to the traps he would pull aboard.  My niece and I were toasty wrapped in our extra sleeping bag, sitting on the bench in the open boat.  We passed around various sized lobsters from the catch of the day, learning how to tell a boy lobster from a girl lobster.  One large female was full of lobster eggs, so our guide demonstrated how to tag her as a producing female.  Under their educational license all lobsters had to be returned to the ocean, so after they were passed among the passengers and thoroughly examined to determine their gender, they were tossed over the side. 

The tour guide also shared other examples of marine life that had been caught in the traps, including a nervous little sea cucumber.  We knew he was nervous because one of their natural responses to stress is to release a jet of water to escape an enemy.  The sea cucumber shooting a stream of ‘pee’ on the floor was the highlight of the ride for my niece.  We passed rocky islands where seals and sea gulls were sunning themselves as we turned to head back to port. 

Back at camp, after supper and more marshmallows, the little girl fell asleep by the fire in her uncle’s arms.  I put her to bed in two pairs of pajamas under her sweatshirt and she was toasty for the night.  As is tradition the adults sat up and played cards by lantern light until we were frozen through and the fire was out. 

Our last morning started crisp and sunny.  After a leisurely breakfast, we cleaned up camp and packed everything back into the Suburban.  We had saved out a bit of raw hamburger from supper to see if we could catch some crabs at the campground wharf.  I put the meat into a net bag and tied it to a short rope.  We walked down to the wharf and let the bait over the side.  In just a few minutes, we could see crabs coming from all directions toward our tempting treat.  As one or two would latch on, I would pull up the bait and my husband would grab the crabs before they ran off the dock.  My niece actually got brave enough to touch one herself.  After catching and releasing half a dozen crabs, we called an end to our camping adventure and climbed into the Suburban for the long ride home, satisfied to have added a new list of creatures to a little girl’s world.   

Kindergarten Soccer

The sun was shining brightly at 8:00 Saturday morning for the last kindergarten soccer practice of the four-practice season.  The day was a considerable improvement over day one of the season when my niece spent the majority of the practice clinging to my leg.  Even so, we walked to each skill station along with our assigned group of ten pony tails and crew cuts.  We weren’t alone.  Other parents were also doing the cling-walk around the field with their little ones hanging on. 

The next practice was a considerable improvement.  Mom pitched in and we were able to engage my niece in some passing practice.  When it came to the skill stations though, she was only willing to play with mom, not the other children.  We considered it a successful day.  The third practice was a resounding success.  Our little one actually played with other children and even agreed to get on the field to participate in the ending scrimmage.  The pony tails were assigned their positions and the game began.  It didn’t take long for the parents to realize that three little ponytails were not moving.  They had been shown their positions and they were standing firm.  Parents on the sidelines were able to convince one of them to chase the ball along with the other children, but two held fast, including my niece. 

So Saturday was the last practice and the final scrimmage.  My niece again took her position, and true to form, held it fast for the duration of play.  And along with everyone else she got to leave the field with her very own soccer ball.  Next episode – basketball? 

Milo & Otis

Sixteen years ago, two kittens arrived,

            Now only one old cat survives.

Sixteen years ago two kittens battled and played,

            Now one old cat sleeps all day.

Sixteen years ago, two kittens tormented a mouse,

            Now one old cat lies around the house.

Sixteen years ago, two kittens attacked our toes,

            Now one old cat prefers to doze.

Milo and Otis were brothers who became part of our family sixteen years ago.  Milo is a short-haired, yellow tabby, while Otis had long, tri-colored, mostly white fur.  We lost Otis a little over a year ago to a respiratory infection.  Since then Milo has become a grouchy old man, howling his demands between naps.  His hair is falling out in clumps.  He takes daily medication.  He refuses to drink from a dish, instead preferring the bathroom faucet.  When we spend a night away, he meets us at the door howling his displeasure.  He wakes me up at 5:30 each morning and demands we go to bed by 10:00 each night.  He hates when I talk on the phone, usually batting me with his double paws and howling through the entire conversation.  Over the past six months, Milo has been losing weight and fur.  His time with us will also end someday soon.  We will miss him as much as we miss his brother.  More than a pet, he is an old dear friend. 

End of Summer Get Away

 

As hectic and crazy as each day seems to be, the best moment I could think to share is from our recent runaway trip to Acadia to bike the carriage trails.  My husband and I used to go to Acadia to camp and bike every year when our son was small, but we had not been in years.  We found ourselves with an open weekend, so we took off and left our busy lives at home.  We took our time and spent the entire day biking.  I was imagining we had biked at least 30 miles, but after double and triple checking the map, we managed to bike just over 20.  We were blessed with a beautiful, cool, crisp day that ended with sunset on top of Cadillac Mountain.  What a fabulous adventure to end our summer.

 

 

I am . . .

I am called
Auntie
Sweetheart
Mom

I am energized
By biking country roads
By inhaling the smell of the ocean
By singing praises to God

I am motivated
To learn
To help
To teach

I am an adventurer
Flying over the mountains
Sailing on the ocean
Traveling across the continent

I am at peace
On the back deck
Holding a sleeping child
Looking at the stars

I am fulfilled
By the love of family and friends
By memories of the past
By hope for the future.