Fun, Family, Finally

Today was nothing but fun. Russ and the girls started out going to the Owl’s Head Library Fundraising Pie Sale. They came home with not just one pie, but two. They also stopped at the general store to get the girls breakfast.

We were off for a big walk on the breakwater this morning. Shay, who at the ripe old age of 13, can walk that two miles better than anyone. She insists on being in the front and is good at ignoring all other dogs who think they want her as a friend. We puttered around Rockland on our way home.

It was already time for showering for our big afternoon and evening in Camden. Our first stop was at Warren’s store, 10 Mechanic. Russ tried on all the available hats. Carter and Claire found some things for their apartment and I picked some record albums out for them that I thought would be good additions to their collection.

We shopped in many cute store and went to Long Grain for dinner. It was superb. We decided the soup was the best thing.

We got home and had game night. The first game was Boomers vs. Millennials. I got most of the both groups questions right. The Boomers did win.

Then we played this fun game called Name 3. You have five seconds to. Are three things in a category. Like name three things you can lick, or three people you don’t want to see with their shirt off. Turns out that Trump, Rudy Giuliani and Jeff Sessions worked as the answer to many questions, like three things you want to stay away from.

It was a most excellent day. Now I am pooped. Oh, Poop was another common answer to many questions.

Aster and Rose, the Best Place on the Mid-Coast

Carter and Claire have been visiting us since Wednesday, but they along with Russ have been working remotely. Since I only work in Person, I have been doing nothing but playing and waiting for them to be done working. It is more fun for me to have them here working, than not having them here, but I could hardly wait until they were fully off work to have the most fun.

Since it was Claire’s birthday last week I wanted to go to our favorite restaurant tonight to celebrate her birthday belatedly. Aster and Rose, a beautiful restaurant in a farm house in Lincolnville, just north of Camden. It has been our top choice on the mid-coast for the last three years. There are lots of great restaurants in Maine, but the servers at Aster and Rose, Sam and Mary make this place such a joy.

The food is fantastic, but with out Mary and Sam it would be similar to other good restaurants. Mary was our server tonight and her dark humor and quick wit were a big hit with Carter and Claire. Mary was excellent at Photo Bombing any picture and looking like the best one in it.

Sam, who we got to know in previous years stopped by the table and invited us to a free oyster, cider music fest he is throwing on Sunday. We will be going!

We live only five minutes from Primo, the award winning restaurant for so many years in Rockland. Years ago we loved going to Primo. The food was exceptional. Most of it grown or raised right on the property. In the last few years the service has gone way down hill. The servers have been so rude that, no matter how tasty something was we just couldn’t enjoy it.

Now we gladly drive half and hour up the road to Aster and Rose, driving right by Primo, because of Mary and Sam (and the bartender whose name I don’t know.). The chef is fabulous too, but honestly, it’s Mary and Sam who make the place.

After our great dinner we drove back down the Mountain and as we came into Camden we saw that there was a big fireworks show because of WindJammer fest. So we pulled into the library road and watched. We told Claire it was all in honor of her birthday.

Let the Labor Day Weekend Begin. Thanks to Aster and Rose for kicking it off right!

Meet Claus

No matter how old my girl Carter gets, no matter how successful she becomes, or how happy she is in her personal life, when she see’s a Stuffed animal she wants she will always ask me to buy it for her.

It was no surprise today that while order our dinner at Claws Carter spots the mini stuffed lobster and begs for it. Claire said the tiny one whose Claws were in the praying position was calling out so that is the one Carter wanted. Turned out the claws had magnets in them.

So Claus, the Claws Lobster is now the newest member of the family.

Little Brown Dog Waits All Day for Carter and Claire to Come to Maine

Today was the day my mommy promised me. It is the day Carter and Claire came to visit us at our little house in Owl’s Head. When Mommy told me this morning that they were coming I thought that meant right away.

So I laid in bed thinking they would show up and come and snuggle with me. When that didn’t happen I eventually had to get up and go downstairs and go outside. I looked around and they weren’t outside.

I laid on the sofa watching the boats. Maybe they were coming by boat, no boats got even close to our house. Mommy went shopping and I hung out while Daddy worked, maybe Mommy was going to bring them home from the store.

I was all excited when Mommy got home, but no Carter and Claire. I was quickly disappointed. Mommy was doing some needlepoint or playing a game. Why wasn’t she pacing back and forth like I was, waiting and waiting. Eventually Mommy went outside and stood in the driveway and Ta Da, Carter and Claire pulled in in their Car Named George.

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! At last my girls are here. They didn’t bring my friend Norman with them. Something about our house only allowing one dog and that dog is me.

I was so happy to see them. I showed them their room and told them sometimes I like to sleep in there too.

Mommy made fish tacos’s for dinner. Everyone had them, but me. I guess I am Ok with that because I got my girls. I was happy to just sit at the table after dinner and get to look at them. mommy and Daddy were happy too.

The Magic of Fog

Russ asked me if I heard the fog horns this morning. Not that I remembered, but I must have incorporated them into my dreams. When my eyes were able to focus I noticed there was not much to focus on as the fog was very thick.

The normal view from our house on Owl’s head is of little island. It is nothing more than a small group of trees, really one tree and some scrub and a bunch of rocks where birds hang out. It changes size as the tide comes and goes by fifty percent.

Beyond Little Island is Ginn’s Point, which is a peninsula on Owl’s Head. There is a cool house on the end I would love to see inside of, but it is at the end of a private road so unless I meet those people at a party I am never getting in. Since we don’t go to many parties here, that is unlikely to happen.

Then beyond little Island and Ginn’s Point is Sheep Island. I have no idea if there are any structures on Sheep Island. But it is easily 50 times bigger than Little Island. From our house we have a vantage point where we can see the ferries going from Rockland to Vinalhaven and North Haven after they get out of Rockland Harbor and before they pass Sheep Island.

This is what that vantage point looks like. You can see the three distinct land masses.

This morning at low tide at ten in the morning we could only see a hazy view of Little Island. The rest of the land masses were hidden in fog. 10:03AM

Not ten minutes later the trees on the top of Ginn’s point came into view. 10:13 AM

Ten minutes later the house on Ginn’s point was visible, but not Sheep’s Island. 10:24 AM

Less than an hour later you could see Sheep Island with just some long hung fog abscuring the shore line 11:13 AM

Two hours later everything was clear. 1:28PM

But not as clear as I thought. Looking just a little to the south I usually can see Vinalhaven, the Island just a few miles off coast. I saw a freighter in the water and when I took a photo I noticed that low hanging fog cover the Island and the only sign that it is there are the three windmills, whose heads still up above the fog. 2:01PM

Then the fog started moving back in. If you didn’t know that you should see Sheep Island in this picture you might not notice that the Fog has made it disappear, but the foreground is as clear s can be. 3:37PM

Then it came closer. 4:16PM

In half an hours the house at Ginn’s Point is gone. 4:35PM

And one minute later no Ginn’s Point at all 4:35PM

Finally at 5:05PM nothing is visible at all. Now I hear the fog horns.

I have really turned into an old person now. I am just watching the weather and worse yet documenting it. I wish my father was alive. He would love this blog.

Maine Living

Two activities I love to do in Maine are puzzles and going to Auctions. I am almost done with this Agatha Christie puzzle which has been lots of fun and not too hard. I don’t always have the best light to puzzle here so I appreciate an easy puzzle. When I finish it tomorrow I will donate it to the house like I did last years. There are a number of puzzles here and I will pick one of theirs to work on next.

My second big activity today was going to Bruce Gamage’s August Auction. Warren and I went to the preview yesterday. Warren had to work today so he left bids on his items. I was able to go to the auction and stayed through the whole thing.

I had my eye on a number of items, but I have a good eye because the things I was interested in were the same things lots of people were interested in and they bid higher than I was willing to go.

But many things had little interest so I did pick up two things, one a small boat for Russ. Not a boat he can ride in, but a salesman’s sample of a wooden canoe. It’s about two feet long and very pretty.

I got a small oil painting for Carter. It was a hunting scene with dogs and a horse and rider. If she doesn’t want it I will bring it home for me.

I have been to enough of Bruce’s Auctions now so that I recognize a lot of the regular bidders and characters who attend. It never fails that I have fun with the people who sit next to me. I also love some of the commentary Bruce writes in the catalogue. My neighbor and I got a kick out of one oil painting of a sheep’s head being described as a “Portrait of a sheep.” Another description of an odd lot, was two pewter World War I canteens, made into lamps (with floral shades no less), and the description in the catalog said, perfect for your gun room. I asked my seat neighbor if she had a gun room. She did not. I told her I did not as well, so we decided to not to bid on those lamps.

Apparently I missed the auction of the century on Thursday not far from my house. There was a painting that might have been a Rembrandt. The estimate on it was in the $100,000 range, which could have been a big sale. Well, more than one person figured out it was a Rembrandt and it went for over $1,100,000. That’s big news it little ‘ole Maine. I wonder if they will display that Rembrandt in their gun room.

A Little Brown Dog Hikes In Maine

I woke up this morning and since it was so beautiful I asked my Mom and Dad if we could take a hike in the woods. Since Daddy walks seven miles everyday he was very excited. Surprisingly, Mommy was happy to go too.

So we looked at the trail map. Daddy suggested one trail and showed it to Mommy. She said, “Do you see all those wavy elevation lines?” Daddy did not quite understand how step that trail was, but Mommy did. It was a mountain. So she looked at the map.

There was a trail in Weskeag not too far from our house. It went to the Weskeag river and I liked the sound of that one. So off we went, but not until everyone was covered in bug spray.

When I go hiking I must be the leader. I may be 13 years old and on NSADs for my arthritis, but you would ever know it by my hiking ability. I am fast so Daddy mainly holds my leash. We often have to wait for Mommy to catch up.

If there is a small fallen tree I have no trouble jumping over it. Mommy is not the same way as me. Daddy says, “What tree?”

Mommy stopped to take a lot of pictures of green things. I sniffed a lot and left some markings so every other dog will know I was here and I was the leader.

It was a nice hike. Not too long for Mommy, not long enough for Daddy, but just right for me.

Since I was so well behaved Mommy and Daddy thought I would be OK to go through the car wash. So off we went after the hike. Thankfully someone last year heard Mommy complain that there are no car washes in Maine. Now there is a new one and lots of people were using it. I did not get too scared as the big snort machines were spraying and shaking the car.

We got home and Mommy and Daddy spent all day pulling burr’s off my paws. I guess it’s the price I have to pay for a nice hike in the woods.

The Colors of My Day

To say it was a gorgeous day would be an understatement of epic proportions. The daytime sky was crystal blue and the water two shades darker. The boats were Mr. Clean white, but the lobster they pulled from their traps were maroon with pink speckles. The clouds were gauzy whispers of white. The grass emerald like OZ.

Dinner was creamy white as it was nothing but ice cream, a treat you realize you can do as an adult.

The evening came and changed it all. The blues gave way to pinks and purples the grass drew darker green. The clouds were tucked away for the night.

So the night sky will be navy blue and the water black. Only the stars and moon will shine white light rippling their reflections on the water.

Every moment is a different color. All are beautiful.

Maine Day of Curiosities

My friend Karen is a perfect friend because she is my equal when it comes to curiosity. As a former News Anchor of 20 years she is always at the ready with a question and a few follow ups. I am most interested in the absurd and odd. Together we make quite a pair.

Yesterday when we were deciding where we would venture today I suggested we go south as we have done the northern route the past two visits. I knew that Damariscotta had their farmer’s market on Friday morning so it seemed like a good starting place. In the search of the internet I stumbled upon a curiosity I had heard of, but never witnessed; the Fish Ladder at the Damariscotta Mills. I asked Karen if she had ever seen a fish ladder. Neither had we seen one, we were felt our education had been lacking, as we went to high school together.

Off we went this morning to the farmer’s market. It was a sweet one with an accordion player serenading shoppers looking for vegetables, cheese, bread and sausage. All of which we purchased.

From there we decided not to go into the town of Damariscotta, but took a smaller road, closer to the coast heading south, just to see what we could find. We both love to look at houses and guess what the people living in them are like. One nice surprise was the many Harris/Walz yard signs that already dotted the fronts of people’s yards. Given that the signs could barley be two weeks old it was impressive and hopeful how many more of them we saw than Trump signs, which could have been around for years.

As we continued into a village I recognized it as Round Pond, where my friends the Carr’s had once lived and Carter and I visited them there. We stopped at Granite Hall Store which was chocked full of unique toys, penny candy, houseware, cards, books and woolens. It was a fun adventure. I sent Denise Carr a photo of me outside the store she used to visit often.

There was a painter outside the store and he asked us if we were looking for a spot for lunch as it was about that time. He recommended the lobster shack at the end of the road, so we meandered down and found the most beautiful wharf overlooking the harbor. Karen got lobster stew and I got tuna poke and we ate on a picnic bench shaded with the largest blue umbrella. On the way back to the main road we stopped and thanked the artist for the recommendation.

Turning south we encountered the most Maine thing for me, a church called “the little brown church.” It was so sad we did not have Shay with us to get a photo of the little brown dog in front of the little brown church.

The trip continued to New Harbor and eventually ended at the Pemaquid light house. This is where our curiosity ended. We did not want to pay $4 each to go in the tiny light house so we just drove into and out of the parking lot.

We took a different route heading north, but it was a bigger, more boring road. We decided we were tired and thought we would just head home. As we arrived in Damraiscotta I took a left to drive Karen down the main street and over the bridge of the river where the famous oysters grow. Being tired of a bigger roads we took a small random road heading in roughly the right direction.

A mile out of town out of the corner of my eye I caught a barn off the the side of the road with a logo I remembered from our fish ladder exploration on the web. I turned the car around and turned in a deserted tiny driveway. It was the small old warehouse, for the alewives fish that are caught after swimming up the fish ladder to spawn and then coming back down the fish ladder to return to the sea.

We jumped out of the car and took a little walk finally seeing exactly how the sixty some little ponds with the uphill chutes of about 12 inches make up the ladder the fish can swim upstream, ascending a height of 42 feet, as the natural way to swim upstream had been blocked by man made mills two hundred years ago. It was a most exciting discovery for us and show great ingenuity by men two hundred years ago.

What a serendipitous discovery we made and so glad we did. Sadly I am not in Maine during spawning season so I doubt I am ever going to get to see the fish swimming up the fish ladder. Maybe I can find other fish ladders around the world. Oh the world is such an interesting place, especially Maine.

A Little Brown Dog Takes Us on a Big Walk

My Daddy wanted me to go on a walk with him today, but then I heard Mommy and her friend Karen say they were going to go to walk on the breakwater. I looked up at Daddy and said, “I’m with the ladies.” So off we went.

The breakwater is my favorite place to walk. It is a two mile walk on a bunch of big rocks out in the middle of the Rockland harbor to the lighthouse. I may be old, but when it comes to the breakwater, I am like a young puppy.

I am not afraid of the spaces between the rocks where the water is moving. I may not have the best eye sight, but somehow on the rocks I see perfectly.

Yes, there were other dogs on the breakwater today. There were big dogs, yappy dogs and even a husky whose four people had to surround him so he wouldn’t come near me. What did I care? Other dogs are not my issue and I just kept walking on by.

It was a beautiful sunny day and the water was sparkling. Thanks to mommy and Karen for the ride to the breakwater. Let’s do it again soon.

A Little Brown Dog finally got a Sunny Maine Day

It’s been a little foggy since I came to Maine. I don’t mind fog, as a dog, I don’t wear sunglasses so too much sun is bad. Also as a brown dog, I get hot from too much sun, but my Mom was happy to see the sun.

Even though the sky was clear it was cool. So we all won. We could see the boats passing by as they could finally navigate the Gulf of Maine.

Mommy worked on her puzzle listening to people giving speeches. She laughed really hard when some brown lady said that some orange guy is going to find out that being President is a black job. It’s a lot of colors.

Mommy went to a new Lobster place for lunch, Graffam Brothers seafoood in Rockport which has a shack outside. The good news is their lobster roll is only $24, decidedly cheaper than claws. It was just a full of lobster.

The hardest thing about our tiny house is our steep stairs up to the bedrooms. If the light is not on I won’t even attempt them. Even with the light I like Mommy or Daddy to be near me when I climb them since it is like climbing a mountain. I don’t know how Dady fits his feet on them as they are barley wide enough for my paws.

Daddy worked out on the deck most of the day. I think he was looking at the water. Maybe this is what he means when he says he is working on a deck. That’s all the news from Maine. Little Brown Dog signing off.

No One Has to Know Who You Vote For, Especially the Man You Live With

When in Maine I don’t watch TV. We have a TV, but I don’t even go in the room where the TV is. That is saying something because we only have a couple of rooms. At home I have a TV in the majority of our rooms and I have it on a lot. I wake up and watch the news. I watch the news while cooking dinner. I get in bed and often watch something. Not in Maine.

Last night was the opening night of the DNC convention. I don’t usually watch political conventions, but for some reason both Russ and I wanted to watch last night. We got in bed and Russ pulled up C-Span on his giant I-pad. We watched intently until past midnight when his small blond curly hair four year old grandson Beau walked Joe off the stage hand-in-hand.

It looked like Biden needed a hand as he carefully walked away. He had been cheered and chanted for, but clearly it was the right decision to bow out gracefully. He can get a lot done in his last five months and leave a great legacy, but then spend his time with the grandchildren he clearly adores.

The things I took away from watching night one is the democrats have a deep bench. They also seemed more excited than they have in years. This is a big change from the Clinton years. The other is that Democrats appeal to women right now in a big way.

The three women and one man who spoke about abortion got right to the heart of the matter. The young women who had been molested by her father, her words, she meant raped as she was pregnant by him at the age of 12, made the biggest impact.

I had lunch today with my friend Sheppy Vann and we talked about how women are the most important voters this year. She told me of a women she knows who told her that she didn’t vote the way her husband had wanted her to and Sheppy told her he never had to know.

When you go out to vote you go ahead and vote for the person you want and stick that ballot in the machine and no one will ever know. Women need to vote for our own best interests. That means not voting for people who want to take your rights away. Generations of women worked too hard to get those rights and once taken away they won’t come back in your lifetime. You may not care about or ever need an abortion yourself, but if they take that away it is just the beginning. We can’t let governments try and control us. It is the most important issue that is being hidden from you. We can not go back to a world where some men think they have all the power and say.

Thank goodness I am married to a secure man who is not threatened by a strong woman. If I wasn’t I might be in jail.

My Kind of Day

I love a visit by two of my favorite game playing friends. This meant that as soon as we got up it was time to play Catan. Each of us one a game in the three that we played so it was a perfect tournament.

As it took us all morning of gaming and communing with Shay we decided to do a little tour on our way to Camden for lunch. Suzanne was familiar with Rockland from last year’s visit, but we drove through Rockport to see the charming houses around the harbor. The fog has been so thick the last two days that you couldn’t see a boat or the water, but you could see the gorgeous gardens. I think the growing season has been spectacular this year based on the hydrangeas.

We got lucky with parking in Camden and went to my favorite Mixed Greens for lunch. After we stoped in one store and Suzanne found some lovely things. Before we went in I warned her not to be shocked by the store keepers plastic surgery. It was as bad as ever and being forewarned helps so you don’t wince when her lips enter the store well before she does. I never understand why beautiful people can’t just let themselves age gracefully. You can’t get younger, but you can get scarier.

We walked up to the library which I think is the best renovation of a public building I have ever seen. Camden had a gorgeous antique library building and rather than take it down or surround it with a modern addition they put the addition underground with the entrance on the down hill side around the corner. They added a glass gazebo near the original building and that acts as the natural light source for the new underground section.

Our last stop in Camden was at my friend Warren’s store 10 Mechanic, the best antique store around. Warren was not working today, but Suzanne did buy a decanter from his booth.

Sadly Suzanne and Oliver had to go back to New Hampshire, but I gave them directions to stop at Beth’s on the way home. I had introduced them to Anadama Bread at breakfast so they needed to get that and some famous Beth’s jam and fruits.

This will not be their last visit to Maine this season. It’s so close to not spend more time together.

We’ve Been Apart Too Long

I’ve already lost track of what day it is, but I think today was our second full day. That means that I left Suzanne Friday after lunch. Yesterday I got a text from her that she and Oliver were free to come visit us today. Woo Hoo!

We did not get a chance to play Catan when we were with them in NH so they needed to come to Maine to get our Catan and Claws fix. Oliver had an early shift at work today, but as soon as he got off work Suzanne picked him up and high tailed it up to Owls Head. Suzanne being the good mother, made Oliver this awesome Chicken sandwich on Lil’s Olive bread since he had been at work since 5 AM. The only problem is she lost the sandwich somewhere between making it and picking him up.

By the time they got to our favorite lobster shack, Claws to meet us for dinner Oliver was starving. So he had the around the world dinner of chowder, blueberry corn bread, fried haddock sandwich, lobster roll and blueberry crisp à la mode. Oh to be a young man.

We had a great time at dinner, but had to get home to play our first round of Catan. Suzanne had not played in a while so we were reteaching her the game. Oliver and I were excellent teachers because Suzanne won the game. I think Oliver’s dinner was his handicap. No excuse for me.

It’s just great to have them here as I was already going through withdrawal from leaving them two days ago. Steve couldn’t make it, but wants to come up so I expect another visit while we are here. We just can’t be apart too long.

Provisioning Day

After a good eleven hour sleep by me, 13 hours by Shay and a record breaking 7 hours by Russ, we got up to our first Maine Morning. It was foggy and cool, a bonus to us. Thankfully we had stopped at Trader Joe’s in Portland and gotten a few things so we had breakfast foods.

After our avocado toasts we started the lists of things we needed. Not just food, but a dog bed for Shay, as we forgot one, and pillow cases for the extra pillows that don’t have cases, shampoo. With a list in hand we planned out route to provision the house, not just for us, but for the guests we will be having.

Our first stop was Beth’s the farm market we love best. As far as I know, every road in the mid coast leads to Beth’s and you know it from the rustic hand painted signs pointing you in the right direction of the big farm. They grow so many fabulous vegetables that I am always discovering a new type of squash or variety of tomato. I held back from buying much jam on this visit as I know I will be returning when Karen visits. We did get a blueberry pie as Russ was craving that first thing.

I did not think we did too much damage until our cute check out lady turned the cash register screen to show me that the total was $222.22. I realized I forgot basil, but didn’t want to mess up that perfect amount.

From Beth’s we took the rural road to Ocean State to buy mustards and tinned fish along with the dog bed, bath mat and pillow cases. I held back from buying the $199.99 inflatable paddle board, but I was a tempted.

Our last stop was Shaw’s, for toilet paper, chicken, yogurt and other perishable staples. We filled the car on these three stops so it was time to get home to Shay who was most unhappy about being left at home. At least now we have plenty of food for any kind of meal and only need to run out for ice cream.

We did have a new visitor today who we have not seen before. I think he is a woodchuck, but I welcome corrections if you know better. He was eating things in the grass near the oceans edge. When Russ went out on the deck he scampered down the rocks.

For dinner I made Russ the same meal I made him the night he asked me to marry him, pasta primavera. I had never cooked anything for him before he proposed. So he was very happy when he tasted my cooking and realized the bonus he got. It was quite a feat, since all my friends had always said, “Whomever marries you is going to do it for your cooking.”

So 33 years later I finally get around to recreating that dinner thanks to the vegetables we got at Beth’s. Or course they are so much better than the one’s we bought at the Acme Supermarket in Cinnaminson,NJ, but I love Russ more today than I did 33 years ago so it should be better. He deserves the best all the time.

Being in Maine with him is the best.

A Little Brown Dog Returns to Maine

I woke up in New Hampshire at my friend Esme’s house. I had a lot of fun staying with her, even if she is always carrying around a sneaker. She also has this nice pig, but she left it out on her deck in a sad protest that I was leaving. At least that’s how I interpreted it.

I got to spend the last morning with Esme’s people, Suzanne, Steve, Grace and Oliver. Then Suzanne took us to Kittery, Maine. It was my first port of entry back into the state I think of as my second home. We went to Lil’s for lunch. All the humans were happy with their yummy sandwiches, but somehow mine never arrived. It was OK. I was happy to be with my Mommy and Daddy.

I said goodbye to Suzanne and we got in the car and drove the last three hours to Owl’s head. I jumped out of the car and went to look at the water and smell the pine trees. I am at my summer happy place.

The sky is hazy. I hear it is from Canadian wild fire. Sad for Canada, but I hope our blue sky comes back. Mommy cooked my dinner while Daddy went to claws to get Mommy a lobster roll. That’s number one of the trip. I am just happy to be back in Maine. This little brown dog loves it here.

Best Friends Forever

Russ and I woke up at my friend’s Karen and Nicks House and are going to bed at Suzanne and Steve’s. Nothing makes me happier than being with my oldest and dearest friends.

As Karen is giving us breakfast she pulls out a copy of Where the Sidewalk Ends and shows me the inscription on fly leaf. “Dear Honey, …. Love Dana, Forever a shadow.” I had given her this book, probably upon our graduation from high school and wrote a sweet note. The “forever a shadow” part refers to the nickname our small group of friends, Nancy, Karen, Anne and I called ourselves. I had forgotten I used to call Kar Honey. It brought back lots of happy memories.

After the sweet send off from Kar and Nick we drove ten minutes up the road to Suzanne and Steve’s. This is our bonus visit with them because Grace, the bride, was still with them and their youngest son Oliver, who just graduated from college is too. We had planned a post wedding time to be together to rehash and relive everything about the wedding. While we were at it, we told many old stories and even some new ones everyone had not heard.

Steve and Oliver took Russ into Portsmouth so they could work in Steve’s office. That left Suzanne, Grace and I time to gab and eventually go on a little lunch adventure to the most charming New Castle Island. We went to what Suzanne called the “downtown” of New Castle. That was a church, post office and this tiny four table cafe called the Islander. It was a sister cafe of Lil’s a favorite in Kittery and was yummy.

I adore getting to spend time with Suzanne and Grace together because, first it’s rare these days as Grace is an 80 hour a week career person and I am just not near them geographically. When I am with them it is like we have never been apart. Grace and Suzanne are a wonderful loving, but also fun together, mother-daughter duo and we can talk about any and everything. It would have only been better if Carter was also there with us.

After lunch Grace had to go and Suzanne and I went to Pick up Oliver and the three of us did what Oliver loves to do with me, go to the game store and get some new games. This could only have been made better if Jack was with us, as Jack and Oliver and I love nothing more than to play games together. Jack still talks about me beating him at monopoly when he was eight and teaching strategy on how to win.

We came back to the house and Russ and Steve came home and there was a rotating group of four of the six of us at all times telling stories while another two took a nap. For the record, I was never one of the rotating nappers, meaning I was always in the story circle.

Tonight we went to their next door Neighbors, Jane and Jerry’s for drinks before going to their club for dinner. Jane and Jerry are the worlds best neighbors. They have become like family to the Farley’s and it was such a pleasure to get to know them.

We came home to our dogs waiting at the front door for us. Suzanne really wanted to know what the dogs had talked about while we were gone. She imagined it went something like this, “My mom went to Dickinson college.”

“My mom went to Dickinson College too.”

“We must be related.”

Dogs are always right.

Reunion Day

Shay and I woke up early in Ptown and said goodbye to Janet and Sophie. We so enjoyed staying in their little guest cottage and spending good time with them.

We had a big day of seeing many friends today as we trekked north. The first stop was in Orleans to see friends from my childhood in Wilton, Nancy and Alice Clough and Gossip Alice’s Golden. It has been so many years since I had seen them in person as we mostly kept in touch through Facebook. It was much too short, but oh so fun. Alice looks exactly the same as when we were hanging out at the riding club.

Shay and I were back on the road to Chestnut Hill to pick Russ up. This was the reunion Shay was waiting for. Being away from her daddy is never good. We continued up to New Hampshire to Suzanne’s to reunite with the wedding family. The whole Farley family was there and we had a good start to our rehash of all the things we loved about the wedding. We will continue that conversation tomorrow.

We were late getting to Karen and Nick’s where we are spending the night tonight. They generously had me back after last week and now I brought Russ and Shay. Shay took a great liking to Nick and sat snuggled with him.

Karen made some yummy haddock and we had a nice dinner before Shay herded us into bed. She was exhausted from the travel and so many people to visit today. I’m with her.

One Full Cape Day

I rarely get a whole day with my sister, Janet. She has spent the last couple of decades working so hard and now that she sold one of her companies she gets to slow down a little. Don’t get me wrong, she did transfer a lot of that time to working on her other company so work is part of everyday. But today was my only whole day visiting her and she did spend a great amount of time showing me all around this place she loves.

We took a tour through Ptown. It was slow as there are people in the middle of every street and bike riders going the wrong way down one way streets, which is legal here and so many dogs on leashes, but not necessarily close to their humans.

The cottages are so cute and the garden’s devine. The star of the summer are the hydrangeas. From Snow White to deep rose, I can’t decide which ones I like the best. Apparently this year’s weather has produced this bumper crop and I was here in time to catch the show.

My favorite part of Janet’s tour was the Cape Cod National Seashore Park. JFK apparently created this national park and it is huge and spectacular. We are so lucky that Presidents thought to do these things because it preserves the natural beauty of a place for all to share in it. If it had not been done it would be developed and roped off and hidden away from most and only a very few privileged people would ever experience it and it would not be wild.

This afternoon we went swimming again and the water was colder than yesterday. I am wondering how much swimming I am going to do in more northern Maine. Janet did tell me that cold water was good for inflammation, so perhaps I should just hang in the water no matter how cold.

Tonight we went to a sweet restaurant for dinner and told stories and laughed. I am already sad that I will be leaving at the crack of dawn to continue my adventure, but I have loved seeing my sister and her Sophie. It was so lucky that I was here when they were here, even if it was just a second.

A Little Brown Dog Goes On A Cape Adventure

Shay, the little brown dog, spent the weekend with her new friend Norman in Boston with Norman’s Mom Claire. It was the first time Shay had a Boston sleepover without her Mommy or Daddy. She had lots of fun and was a very good girl, but she was most happy when her humans came home.

Last night she got to go to a big girl Hotel with her Mommy and Daddy. She loves the Magic room that you get in and when the doors reopened you are in a different place. She quickly learned the route from the front door where the doors open when she stands by them to her bedroom and back again so she can go out and potty.

This morning she was most happy because her daddy got her an egg, sausage and cheese biscuit for breakfast. That made up for the fact that she had to get back in her car seat and drive to cape cod to visit her great aunts, Janet and Sophie. Mommy had never been to Ptown where they summer and want to stay a day to see them.

I like their house because they have a little house for me to stay in. I can’t go in the big house because their cat Max is very old and doesn’t need me to scare her. So I got to play in the yard and look at the beach and the water. Mommy and Aunt Janet went swimming and Sophie played in the water too. I don’t like to swim so I took a nap on the bed,

Aunt Janet cooked me hamburger on the grill so it’s been a double good day for me. I had to stay in the cottage when all the people went to dinner. I like fish too and would have liked to go, but no one asked me. It’s Ok because now I have Mommy all to myself and she says we are going to sleep in tomorrow. I think Mommy is still tired from her big wedding weekend. I just want to know if I get sausage again.

The Celebration of Grace and Paul

Yesterday was the most beautiful wedding day for my fairy Godchild Grace and her sweet now husband Paul. Last night I barley had enough time to write about what was the best wedding ever, so I only covered the ceremony before passing out.

Now, 24 hours after the ceremony I finally have a moment to sit down and reflect on all the fun, the conversations, the friends, the details and the happy couple. I am still exhausted, but some of that is because we had to leave NH this morning, return Russ’ rental car in Boston and go pick up Carter’s Girl friend Claire to go to meet Claire’s parents for the first time. This plan for our meeting has been in the works for months and it was just wonderful. I do wish I was not so tired, but I was still in the glow of the wedding weekend which was a bonus.

Now back to the wedding…. Suzanne has been a great planner for at least the 45 years I have known her. So it was no surprise that every last detail of this wedding was perfect. When Grace and Paul got engaged almost two years ago Suzanne started the search for wedding venues. As Steve and Suzanne had recently moved to NH and purchased a lot on the New Hampshire sea cost I suggested they have an at home wedding, even though they did not have a house on their land yet.

Suzanne ended up taking that idea and running with it and what took place was so far from a little tent in the grass that I had suggested. Instead a steel and glass architectural wonder was built over looking the ocean with a porch full of comfy couches and chairs. As soon as the happy couple walked down the aisle Steve and Suzanne led the way for the guests to join them in the glass house for drinks and appetizers.

No one was shy about enjoying a mini lobster rolls or any of the offerings from the raw bar. I was so happy to get to visit with Suzanne’s four sisters and their families. Suzanne’s many friends from the years all had a great time reconnecting, just as Steve’s numerous friends did. Grace and Paul’s friends were the young blood of the party who made sure the dance floor was never empty. Carter had the best time with Grace’s brothers, Jack and Oliver and a bunch of their cousins at a table strategically placed near the band.

The Band! Music has always been a huge part of Steve’s life. When I asked him at age 27 if he could be anyone else in the world who would he be, he quickly announced, “Sting.” At the time I was hardly cool enough to grasp what a wonderful answer that was.

It came as no surprise that the band, all dozen or so of them, was out of this world. The playlist was right out of our era, since I am certain those were the songs Grace heard her whole lifetime. The dancing was powerful and exhausting. It started early and only took a break for dinner to be served and when the speeches were being given.

Dinner was served family style at each table with a flight of haddock, chicken, risotto, and vegetables. No one went hungry. I loved getting a chance to get to know my friend’s Rose’s boy friend Gene and Sally’s husband Pete. As always it was great to see Frank and Janet.

The dinner tables were a combination of rounds and long tables laden with ivory vases of varying shapes and sizes filled with every type of beautiful yellow flowers and lemons strewn about and used as place cards. Someone asked Grace about the theme of yellow and she said, “It is the color of sunshine and that is what Paul is.”

After dinner the speeches began. First from Steve, whom I certain had thought more than once over Grace’s lifetime what he might say on this day. Every tender word was perfect, reflecting so much of the love that this tight knit family has always had.

Grace’s lifelong friend Sydney was her Maid of Honor and she too gave a funny and darling toast to Grace that only a friend who has known you since you were both six could give. I loved the story of pretending to be models during recess with a game Grace made up called Chic, Chic, but pronounced, “Sheek, Chick.”

That was followed by Paul’s best man, his brother. Carter deemed his toast one of the best wedding toasts from such an doting brother, she had ever heard. I loved the part about them being back to back, to back to back science fair winners. These brothers’ love is a testament to their beautiful mother Sandy who raised them with their sister.

There were first dances, the cutest being with Paul and his ninety something year old grand mother. But those tender dances gave way to full on party mode and after the official reception ended and the band finished, a surprise after party took off with a DJ and light up batons.

Now it wouldn’t really be a party if I didn’t have so much fun that I fell down, and now have two bruised toes, a black and blue skinned knee and a bloody arm, but that didn’t stop me. Thanks to Pete for getting me a wet napkin to act s a tourniquet.

The one thing I loved so much about this wedding was how present Grace and Paul were in it. I had sweet conversations with them. Carter had a heartfelt love fest with Grace sharing how much our families love each other. Carter and Oliver talked and danced. Jack and Oliver and I danced. Suzanne and Steve and I danced. Nothing makes a Mother happier than when you love your best friend’s children and they love each other.

There was no more beautiful mother of the bride than Suzanne. She not only planned and executed this whole weekend, down to transportation for every guest, but she did it looking the like a billon bucks and having so much fun at the same time.

It was an honor and a pleasure to be witness to this happy union and to celebrate my dear dear friends. I can’t wait to see the life that Grace and Paul build together. It has a foundation built on love.

Grace and Paul, Perfectly Married

There are certainly not enough minutes left in this joyous day for me to rightfully convey the love fest I witnessed today at Grace and Paul’s wedding. From the moment we stepped off the bus with so many dear friends and family the feeling of happiness was in the air.

The day was surprisingly sunny and the yard was lush green with white hydrangeas and purple lavender in full bloom. The ceremony was set up in the grass with an alter of yellow and white flowers framing the deep blue sea just beyond the spot where Grace and Paul would be joined together.

Suzanne was just gorgeous in her blue floral dress the most stunning mother of the Bride. I could not hold back the tears as Steve walked Grace, the most serene Bride down the aisle with her veils floating in the light breeze. Seeing how Paul beamed at her made your heart flutter as we knew we were watching the magic of a new family being made.

Gussy and I sat together with our people in the fourth row so we could start the laughing that rippled through the guests as Jack gave his sweet and funny homily. Paul and Grace wrote tender hearted vows giving each witness a view into their loving relationship.

It was a most joyous wedding also enjoyed by all the travelers on Ocean Boulevard who slowed to catch a glimpse of the beautiful scene. My favorite gawker was the half naked surfer who threw his 70 year old body and surf board over the rocks and walked slowly down the street watching the wedding.

There was no way to hide the joy, nor should there have been. That kind of love is what heals the world.

Once Grace and Paul were officially married the party really got started. I will save that story for the morning as now I am going to put this exhausted body to bed.

Suzanne and Steve will sleep well tonight knowing they just shared a most extraordinary wedding with their dear friends and family and gave Grace and Paul the sweetest start to a beautiful life.

Prelude to a Beautiful Life

As Aunt Dana my job was to be available to do whatever was necessary to help get this wedding off the ground. Not that every detail was not already thought of, planned, back up planned, scheduled, spread sheeted, paid for and assigned ownership. Still I was called into action.

First duty was to go pick up fifteen pies in Dover NH. I had breakfast with my friends Karen and Nick and headed on my way. When I let Russ know about the 15 pies he said, “You mean 16 pies right.” So I got the wedding pies and one extra one for Russ.

Arriving back at Suzanne’s house I was greeted by her youngest Oliver and we hid the pies in the garage where I took a photo of them so the caterer would know where to find them. Then I joined the family in the great room/makeup studio. Suzanne was already getting her hair done for the rehearsal, Jack, her older son, was working on his remarks as officiant and I helped with those and the practice session.

As is always my role, I will be laughing first and hardest during the service giving all other attendees cues and permission to laugh. It will be funny, but also sweet and heartfelt. Oliver came up dressed for the rehearsal two hours in advance and needed me to sew a rip in his blazer. Sure enough, Suzanne pulled out the wedding sewing repair kit and I had all the needed tools to take care of the job.

Grace arrived for her hair and make up and we were a happy group toiling away. The last job was to tie the place cards on to the special treat all the guests will be getting when they find their seats. At last all the jobs were done and it was time for the beautiful Mother of the Bride and Bride to dress for the rehearsal and I slipped out to meet Russ and Carter who had driven up from Boston.

Carter did my hair and we dressed for the welcome party. I somehow had picked the perfect AirBnB across a short bridge from the event space where the party was being held.

As an honorary Worden sister and longest time friend of the Farley Family I got to see so many people I have known and loved because of Steve and Suzanne. We had college friends there and Steve’s friends and as many relatives as an Irish Catholic family could have, and neither of them are Irish or catholic. There were the groom, Paul’s people, especially his mom and her sisters who are fiercely loving of Paul and now Grace. And all the young friends of the Bride and the groom, here to celebrate.

After lots of how are you’s, we gathered in a big dark room and Suzanne gave the most beautiful, sweet, funny and touching toast. She is a fabulous writer professionally, but this was so tender and heartfelt.

Then they played the movie Suzanne made along with help from Sandy, Paul’s mother. I need to get to watch it about ten more times because sometime the tears in my eyes obscured my view. I especially loved reliving those early Grace baby years with video with the grandparents, all of whom I adored. I was so honored to be in the movie with a picture of me and Grace on the subway together.

It was a beautiful celebration of two wonderful young people. Grace and Paul clearly are a happy couple being welcomed into two adoring families.

For me it was wonderful for Carter to get to know people I love who she did not know well and be with Grace, Jack and Oliver and especially Suzanne, whom she has a special bond with as she is her godmother.

Surprisingly we were almost the last people to leave the party. This is never the way with Russ Lange. Even he was having a ball. And this was just the warm up for the big event. Tomorrow will be a day of endless love.

The Calm Before the Fun

It’s amazing was a good night’s sleep will do for you. I am so thankful for Carter and Claire’s wonderful guest room where Shay and I had a rejuvenating night’s sleep. I need to be well rested for the wedding of the decade.

I left Shay to stay in Boston with Claire and Norman while we are in New Hampshire at the wedding weekend of my fairy God child Grace.

I had an easy drive to New Hampshire to the home of my Walker’s dear friend Karen and her husband Nick. Kar generously invited me to stay tonight knowing that I was here to be back up gopher for whatever was needed for Grace’s wedding. Since I was her mother Suzanne’s maid of honor I am well versed in weddings in this family.

This afternoon we had a girls party to toast Grace and her bridesmaids. It was a wonderful start to the wedding weekend. I picked Suzanne up for the trip into Portsmouth so we got a chance to catch up. Some of my favorite people beside the beautiful bride and Mother of the bride were there. Three of Suzanne’s sister made it, Gussy, Carol and Nancy. Gussy and I share the same birthday and are a dangerous combination. I was in heaven seeing her.

Janet and Rose, our best Dickinson friends were there and some of Suzanne’s New York friends including the hostess Rebecca. It was also a nice time to meet Paul’s family. They are going to be fun wedding guests.

Suzanne had told me that Grace and Paul would like a needlepoint of their Wedding Duo Gram that was designed for the wedding. I had never heard of a duo gram, but it made perfect sense when she explained it was the bride and groom’s first initials with the shared last initial. Grace is keeping her name, but both share the same Initial F for both their last names, so the Duo gram works well.

I created a needlepoint pillow of their duo gram, using the shape of one of the cards in their invitation as inspiration. I brought the gift to this party so Suzanne and I could see her open it. She was very surprised and thankfully loved it. I don’t want anyone else to get any ideas that I am needlepointing their children wedding gifts. Grace is very special to me. When she introduced me to one of her bride’s maids she said, “This is my Aunt Dana. I very embarrassed to say how old I was when I actually figured out she was not my real Aunt.”

Grace also told another bridesmaid maid. “If anything goes wrong with your wardrobe you go to Dana. She can fix anything.” This is what I am here for.

Grace is my real Neice. I am never figuring out she is not. I can’t wait to celebrate her beautiful wedding with all these people I love and adore so much.

Shay Meets Norman

The goal of day two of driving was to finally get Shay to Boston to meet Norman. We left early from Pennsylvania and it was raining. Shay spent the whole morning standing up in her car seat watching the trucks drive by. We stopped in Norwalk to have lunch with Nancy Mack. We totally lucked out as the rain stopped for just one hour so we could eat lunch outdoors.

I was so happy that Nancy was able to take time from her new job to meet us. It was short, but always happy to be with her.

Shay and I continued the drive up to Boston to get to Carter and Claire’s new apartment and introduce Shay to their dog Norman. Norman is a goldendoodle the same height as Shay, but ten pounds heavier. They sized each other up, literally and have been getting along fairly well ever since.

When Norman wants to play Shay lets him know who is in charge. The humans went to dinner tonight at their local, Tavelo, and left the dogs home alone. It was a great to meet the friends at Tavelo and have a yummy dinner.

We came home to two happy dogs. Thank goodness since Shay is staying here with Claire while we go to the wedding this weekend. Thankfully the big drive is over.

I am looking forward to. Good night’s sleep in Carter and Claire’s guest room. Claire told me if I needed more pillows they had them for me. I think I’m good. I adore their sweet apartment.

Driving Miss Shay Shay

The big road trip to get Shay to New England started this morning. Russ loaded the car this morning as he is not making this drive with us. I am thankful for the bigger car this year as I have lots of wedding and Vacation stuff to carry.

Russ put Shay in her new car seat to say good bye. She was not happy he was not going with us. Although she is up higher and can see out the window she stood for almost the whole nine hour drive. I tried to get her to snuggle down and sleep, but she was much too anxious for that.

So I stopped more often than I normally would just to get the calm her down. That worked fine until we were north of Baltimore and a huge storm burst out. The thunder and lightening scared her so much she jumped out of her car seat and sat perched between the two seat. I learned I had to put her tether on the opposite side of the seat and shorten her strap so she can’t do that again.

We arrived at Russ’ Dad’s and Russ’ brother David and wife Tasha and old daughter Bree came over for dinner. Shay was happy for the attention, but was exhausted. She tried to heard me up to bed while everyone was still here. I hope she sleeps well tonight. I might not in a twin bed with her pushed up against me. (And there is a big storm here right now.)

This is the life of being Miss Shay Shay’s driver.

Hair Moron

Let me lay out the facts. I think I have about the same haircut I had when I was three. I grew up in the hippie sixties where long straight hair was the style, or no style by choice. I was lucky, I had long straight lifeless hair, similar to Laurie Partridge, and that is where the similarities ended.

Sometime in college I got a curling iron, but the burns on my forehead told me that was not a tool I could handle.

I was twenty seven before I ever had a perm. It was the eighties and I tried for a short period of time to have big hair. To be honest there were only a couple of days my hair was ever big because my BFF’s big sister Gussy sprayed and teased my hair into a “do.” It looked good for a hour.

I am a hair moron, meaning I can’t hold a dryer and a round brush at the same time, even in two different hands.

There is no such thing as a special occasion hairdo in my repertoire. My hair is my hair.

In the good new category, I have never colored my hair and I still retain my mousy brown color. I have grown a few grey hairs at my temples, but not enough to cause me to consider coloring my hair. That would take too much time.

Today, in anticipation of the big wedding we are going to next Saturday, I asked my hairstylist to cut my hair shorter in the back so I could attempt to not look like a little Dutch boy. She took photos of the back. Wow. I quickly sent them to Carter and told her it was going to be her job to try and recreate this. She altered me to the products I would need. This is going to be another virgin territory, the purchasing of hair spray.

I think I should practice. Maybe on my drive north I can try and do my hair everyday. Wait, when will there be time for that? I don’t think I can drive and do my hair at the same time.

So I post these photos so those of you who see me next weekend can know what I was supposed to look like. The only part I promise will be the same is the color. If it ain’t broke.

Farewell Bonnie

Three Sundays ago at the beginning of church our pastor added a name to our prayer list. When a name is added it means that this addition just came up in the last two or three days as the other prayer concerns are printed in our bulletin.

“Please add Bonnie Derr to the prayer concerns. She was just diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.” A ripple of shock swept over the congregation. Bonnie has been a member of our church along with her husband Dailey for 50 years. She has served in every possible way and was beloved.

I did what you are not supposed to do in church, but I googled stage 4 lung cancer. Not good. Four months seemed to be like a reasonable amount of time to have with it. Bonnie only made it two weeks.

As a member of the funeral committee I got the news on the early side. So sad. She was a couple months shy of her 80th birthday, but I would have guessed she was younger to look at, but older by her life’s accomplishments.

So I went to church twice today. Once for regular church and once for Bonnie’s funeral.

I am not always able to go to funerals or memorials. So I often pray for others who have passed away at other people’s services. I figure no one knows when I silently add a name or think of who else these friends will be meeting in heaven’s waiting room. Nancy Dougherty passed away last month and she was only 74. John Cadigan was taken last month at only 62. I couldn’t go to either of their services, so I prayed for them today along with Bonnie.

None of us knows how long we have. We may have a long goodbye or a sudden departure. Try and be good with those you care about because there may not be time to tell them how you feel.

Let people know what your final wishes are. It is so much easier for the family if they have a script to follow. I often take note of music I like. One thing I said to my friend David Anderson who sat next to me at the funeral is, “I want Jim Ketch to live forever so he can play the trumpet at my service.” David said, “Me too.” So Jim, keep practicing, I need you around for another twenty five years. Trumpeters can play until 100 I hope.

Dog Anxiety Weather

It’s hard to get anything done when you have to snuggle your dog because the storm is so big. Shay demanded Russ to be with her, but he wanted to get his steps. So I was called into replace Russ.

Shay had her place on her home base, our bed. I turned on the Olympics and she snuggled up against me so hard the little 22 pound dog almost pushed me off the bed. The rain came down hard. The trees swayed in the big wind. There was not much thunder, but who could tell with the loud noise that buckets of water made hitting the roof.

I looked out the window to see our driveway now a river, and it’s gravel. I hope my down hill neighbor’s drains are not clogged.

This rain keeps coming and coming and it is not a tropical storm. That is still days away. I hope that it will be dry on my drive to the north. I can’t snuggle with Shay while I am driving.

Worst Growing Season Ever

My garden was a huge failure this year. I changed out much of my raised bed fill in the spring. Russ made sure there was never a weed. I gathered seedlings from the farmer’s market, gentleman farmer friend Iain Sanderson, and from my master gardener plumbers the Whaley Brothers.

So my garden was good, my plants were superior and it went down hill from there. We had the hottest and driest six weeks in May and June. Then we had record rains in July. I got a few tomatoes, a few cucumbers, 1 zucchini, many peppers from two plants and none from eight others, a good amount of Japanese eggplant, one round of green beans and a ton of basil.

It was by far my worst harvest in my long history of growing vegetables. I was feeling like a total failure. Granted I was away working during lots of these horrible weather events, not that I could protect anything, but I wasn’t around to hold their hands.

Monday I had reason to call my plumber John, who is now retired (boo hoo). After discussing my plumbing needs in the future and who I was to call he asked me about my garden. I practically broke into tears to confess to him my total failure.

He said his results were worse. Out of 12 plants not a tomato was harvested. I was heart broken for him, as he is usually able to grow a years worth of food each summer, but I felt vindicated that I was perhaps not at fault.

I know that when it gets over 90° tomatoes won’t fruit, but I was hopeful that a cool evening once in a while might have made a tomato. NO.

Now I have no guilt leaving my garden untended. It is like a Halloween horror house. Rather than tearing out the half of plants I still have I should just leave them until October and give out candy from the garden and scare the hell out of kids.

Farewell growing season. I’ll plant some arugula in September.

International Mah Jongg Day

As a twenty five year Mah Jongg teacher I had no idea there was an International Mah Jongg day, let alone that it is today. Of course everything gets a day these days; four finger persons day, people with two different color eyes day, hot dogs with Chili day. So International Mah Jongg day is not weird.

Thanks to my Facebook friends for alerting me to this very important day. Given my position in the American Mah Jongg world I would be remiss not to recognize it. What I am uncertain of is how we are to celebrate all the forty plus variations of the game of mah Jongg, not to mention all the junior ways of playing all those games.

For the uninitiated, American Mah Jongg has Jokers and most Asian Mah Jonggs do not. So for the subset who play American Mah Jongg I think the correct well wish to give you on this day is, “Wishing you many Jokers today.”

As I am not an expert on the other types I will leave the correct celebration phrase up to those who play those games.

If you haven’t learned to play Mah Jongg what are you waiting for? It has an international day. I’m not sure Parcheesi can say the same thing. I am certain Bunco does not.

I have upcoming classes with available spaces at Carolina Country Club in Raleigh September 17-19, Benvenue Country club in Rocky Mount September 30- Oct. 2, and in Cary at Home for Entertaining October 8-10. Isn’t time to join the international set?