Glorious Last Day of August

What a perfect day on the mid-coast of Maine today. The sky was brilliant blue and the air was dry and just slightly cool. We set off on an adventure to Cushing to see the Olsen House. The Olsen House is the real life sight of over 300 works of art my Andrew Wyeth.

You would know it from the famous painting of Christina’s world, of the young disabled woman lying on the grass crawling toward her house up the hill. The house, built in the 1800’s still stands with the barn across the way. It is owned by the Farnsworth Museum and has been closed to visitors while it under goes a renovation that has been taking quite a while.

Andrew and Betsy Wyeth are buried in the little cemetery down by the shore on the property along with the Olsen family. We were able to walk around the property and see the gravestones. I tried to reenact the Christina’s world painting, but a stand of big pine trees blocks the view of the house. The trees could have been there when Wyeth painted Christina’s world and he just chose to leave them out.

After our cultural tour we drove over to the sweet village of friendship and had lobster rolls for lunch. This is a photo of how good it was.

The dogs were exhausted from our big outing so we went home to take some naps and enjoy of time together. After dinner we played Cards against humanity, which is always very embarrassing for Russ. Despite his protests he almost won, but I bested him by 3 cards.

Norumbega Test Dinner

Tonight was our chance to go eat dinner at the Norumbega Inn where the wedding is going to be held. They only serve dinner three nights a week. When I went up to see the Inn when Carter and Claire were staying there the Owners were not there. But luckily for us they were there tonight. After meeting them I am even more excited for the wedding to be there.

We were seated on the terrace and it was absolutely beautiful. The chef is Peruvian so we had just exquisite seafood. The lobster on a potato cake with avocado, egg and olives was spectacular, but the sesame tuna with avocado might have beat it.

It was a delightful dinner in a perfect setting. Will, one of the owner couple, told the girls he has a November and April Weddings ahead of theirs in the planning process, but he would be in touch soon to discuss menu. I am certain whatever they choose will be perfect. I think spending four nights there is going to be my favorite thing I will do next year.

Dreams Do Come True

Carter and Claire are having a wedding in Camden next year, for which we are very excited. They spent last night at the Inn where the wedding is going to be held and this morning I got to go up and they showed me all around. It is going to be everything they dreamed of and I could not be happier.

We talked all about the details and the planning and I am especially thankful to have the most organized daughter. I love their vision and am so looking forward to next June. Maine is such a special place to us and to Claire and her family that it will be the perfect place for them to celebrate their union.

Tonight we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Aster and Rose. Last year we brought Claire and Carter there to have a belated celebration for Claire’s birthday. They told us tonight it was at Aster and Rose that they decided they should get married in Maine. So here we are. One year later, celebrating Claire’s belated birthday and they are getting married in Maine. Dreams do come true

Norman Makes It to Maine

The little brown dog was not sure what was going on, but was very excited to see her girls Carter and Claire pull in to the driveway today. Then Norman jumped out of the car. “Normie!”

Shay was a good hostess. She showed Norm all around her little house. Norm brought his bed and crate. Shay did not understand the crate, but liked Norm’s toys he brought.

Having Norm visit was a big catalyst for Shay taking a bigger walk than the little brown dog has been taking the last few months. She liked to show him her neighborhood as long as she was in the lead. Norman was a dutiful guest and hung back, sensing his place.

Shay told Norm he was going to like Claws as it is the family favorite. The little brown dog always gets the kids chicken fingers, but usually does not eat it at Claws. Instead she takes it home to eat later. Not with Norman visiting. The little brown dog downed every bite of chicken, probably just so Norm would not get any.

Norman was so polite sitting under Shay at the ready to catch any falling chicken. Shay did let a crumb or two drop for Norm. Then he hung around hoping to get some of Russ’ corn on the cob. He tried hard to eat the husk, until Shay gave him the side eye, “yo, dude. That’s not food.”

Hopefully Shay will be a better hostess in the morning. Now she is ready to pass out after eating all that chicken..

Little Brown Dog Protests

Apparently someone let the little brown dog know that yesterday was International Dog day. She was quite insulted about this. There were no parades, no proclamations, no parties thrown in her honor. In fact, she was mad that Mommy was gone all day and Daddy was on the glass machine talking to many people. None of whom celebrated her or even asked about her.

Another unrecognized holiday has come and gone. Not a card or a gift or anything recognizing the little brown dog as perhaps the greatest little brown dog on earth. This means she will have to wait for national dog day, or North Carolina Dog day or Maine dog day, or brown dog day or labradoodle dog day, or perfect dog day to have her specialness celebrated to the level of her standing.

Until one of those days comes along the little brown dog is going to continue pouting and demanding steak and peanut butter. There could have been a pig picking in her honor, but no, not one of her humans did their job appropriately.

This means that next year on International dog day we will have to do double the recognition of the little brown dog as truly a dog of international greatness. For now, your grace, please forgive the huge oversight by us lowly humans. We promise it will not happen again.

Russ Works/Dana Plays

Russ had a busy work day so I was out all day visiting friends up north. I started my adventure with a yummy tomato sandwich at Chase’s Daily in Belfast. It is the best vegetarian place in Maine. I sat at the community table and talked with the hodge podge of other single diners and one couple who were visiting from afar.

We all agreed that the single woman on the side of the restaurant who was taking up a four top, loudly talking on face time needed some lessons on manners. Chase’s is a busy place and it can get loud, but talking even more loudly on your phone with the speaker on is obnoxious because the woman sitting there had to practically scream so the face time companion could hear her. Of course so could all of us. Sadly their conversation was not interesting enough to warrant eavesdropping. That is not what I was trying to do.

After my sandwich I went to visit my friend Jamie at her beautiful property on the coast. It was the perfect Maine day to sit by the water and talk. I couldn’t stay long because I was off to find my friend Sheppy.

I did not exactly know her address, but I had been there before and it turns out I made my way there with no problem. We had a good visit in her sweet Maine cottage that had been in her husband’s family forever and now her’s. I got to hear all about her kids and Grandkids and her life in Nashville in the off season. I was so happy to see her so well.

I had one last stop at the fish market on the way home and I pulled in with two minutes to closing so I quickly picked out some halibut and brought the treasure home to Russ who was sick of leftovers. Sadly, only the fish was new on the menu and he had to suffer the same leftover vegetables he has eaten the last few days. Tomorrow we will cook the second half of the fish I bought so it will be like leftovers, only freshly cooked. Good thing he is such a great sport when he works all day and I go off and play. He tells me he has two hours off tomorrow. We shall see.

Rainy Day

Poor Maine has been in a terrible drought this summer. The grass at our little Island View house is brown and crunchy. As someone who is always concerned about farmers I worry when a region has gone on multiple years without enough water.

So today it finally is a rainy day. Monday is the perfect day to rain, especially as we have no guests and Russ was on work calls all day.

I went with Warren to see the preview for Bruce Gamage’s auction. Russ reminded me on the way out the door that we have no wall space. There were lots of beautiful chests of drawers and large American antiques that I loved, but have no space or need for. There were a couple of prints I liked, but with Russ’ warning in my ears I held back. So I did not see a need to go back to the auction.

Warren left some bids on a few things and we left and went to lunch. Rainy Mondays make your choice of places small as many restaurants close on Mondays and those that are open can’t use their outdoor seating. We waited a half an hour at Home Kitchen Cafe. We talked to a nice couple from Tallahassee, Florida. I told them I was going to be going there in October and we discussed their lack of flights.

We eventually got seated upstairs and had a nice lunch. It was a good way to spend time on a rainy day. I came home for a zoom call that the person who scheduled it never showed up for. Very frustrating.

The fog is still deep out on the water. It may be another rainy day tomorrow. We could still use the rain as it was not a big accumulation, just a lot of drizzle. I will be off on another adventure driving North to see two friends. I don’t mind the rain.

The Right Stuff

I’m not sure who left this list on the refrigerator of our house in Maine, but whoever is the one who did it, I agree with you and think this needs to stay here always.

I was unable to follow The instructions today, but I will do my best to follow them for the next three weeks. I have only had one lobster salad and one lobster roll since I’ve been here. This makes my lobster pace on the slow side. Nonetheless I have enjoyed each lobster bite.

Time on The Water

The most Maine thing you can do is spend some time out on the water sailing on a schooner. Today was the perfect day to do that. We chose the schooner Surprise, a wooden vessel built in 1904 because it is small and fast.

As Nancy, Karen, Russ and I are all early risers we decided to take the first boat of the morning and drove up to Camden at 9:00. We were plenty early for our 10 AM sailing so we walked around town and saw Warren opening his store before going to wait on the dock. The couple next to us were also going on our boat. They asked each person where they were from and let us know they were from a small town in the middle of Illinois. He was a farmer and reminded me of a character in a progressive insurance ad of the people who turn into their parents at too young an age.

We boarded the boat and got great seats. The captain was entertaining, telling us all kinds of great stories. The only annoyance was the farmer often was talking back to the captain non-stop, while the captain was also talking. In spite of that we had a beautiful out of Camden Harbor and back in. We saw a seal and some porpoises as well as a number of big windjammers going out for a week long cruises.

Once back on land we felt the need for lunch so we ventured into my favorite Mixed Greens. True to form I had a grown up lunch of a salmon tartine, Karen had the sophisticated goat cheese and fig tartine and Nancy had the child-like lunch of Peanut butter, banana and strawberry Tartine. We were all happy.

By the time we had walked around some more we were easy to go home and take a little rest before some rounds of games and leftover for dinner. A perfect Maine day.

Walker’s Reunion in Maine!

A few weeks ago when I knew that Nancy and Karen were coming to Maine I reached out to my other Walker’s friends in Maine and invited them to lunch so we could have a mini reunion. Amazingly most of them could come (Lilea, I still hope to see you.)

At first I thought I would surprise Karen and Nancy, but then I thought the fun of knowing and getting to anticipate it would be better so I told them about it. This also helped me because they were happy to be my sous chefs.

This morning we enjoyed coffee (well, I had tea) before I put them to work chopping the many vegetables we needed for the giant lunch I had planned. Julie Williams Wagoner was coming and she is vegan so I designed the menu around her, with cheese and chicken additions on the side.

We had farro, lentils, caramelized onions and lemon salad, then orzo, cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, kalmata olives, dill and feta salad, and finally raw zucchini, Fennel, green pea, basil, and mesclun green salad with a salty sheep’s milk cheese and chicken. Karen baked a lemon blueberry cake that was a big hit.

Warren was the first to arrive, but not without incident because our lane was blocked by fire engines and I had to tell him how to get hear by driving down a different lane and driving across my neighbor Evelyn’s grass. She came out to see what had happened and was very gracious. I will be inviting her to dinner next week to thank her for that kindness.

Julie arrived next from Bath, and then Dinah Bortz Moyer who took the ferry over from Vinalhaven and showed up with a boat load of gifts. Jamie Kyle Sapoh came late from Northport, due to some tardy workmen. So we did not get one picture of all of us together since Dinah had to leave just as Jamie was getting here.

Nonetheless It was great fun to all be together representing the classes of 1977-1980, plus Warren who was head of admissions from 1977-1981. It was a perfect day on the porch of our little house, eating lunch in the sunshine and laughing as we did some 50 years before. The friendships we made as girls at Walkers are very strong.

It was sad that we only had a lunch all together, but Nancy, Karen and I had a great time rehashing the events of the day and then went right into a big Yahtzee tournament. We took a dinner break when Russ finished working and we went to Claws with Shay for dinner. It was a practically perfect day in every way.

Friends Come to Maine Day

One of my great joys about coming to Maine is that I get to have my Walker’s Friends Nancy and Karen come and visit for a few days. It has become our annual get together, except last year when Nancy couldn’t make it because she got a big new job so Karen came alone.

So today is the day my friends came to visit. I always want them to come back so I try and make everything wonderful. I went to the farmer’s market first thing so I could get fresh bread. I saw the bacon man and decided that making a giant BLT seemed like a winner.

After arriving we ate lunch on our deck looking out at the sea and caught up on all the news. We didn’t quite get through all the news. So we took a Shay and went for a big hike in the Ash Point preserve at the end of our street. The nicest thing about that hike is at the half way point you come to a bench overlooking the sea.

So we sat there a while and continued our talking. We actually never stop talking. We have been doing that since we were fourteen together, which is officially 50 years.

Russ finished work and joined us for dinner at In Good Company, the appropriately named restaurant in Rockland. It was the perfect start of our days together. I love having life long friends who I have known through every part of my life and their lives. Somehow we always have more to talk about.

Mis-Packing

We have been coming to Maine at this time of year for a while. You would think I would know what to bring with me. This year is different.

I forgot to bring socks all together since I don’t think I have worn socks in Durham since March. I also only brought summer dresses since when I left home on August 8 it was 95°. I did bring one pair of jeans that I threw in at the last minute, mostly because they fit. And I brought my twenty year old Wauwinet sweat shirt because it is my favorite.

Normally we have summer weather the first two weeks we are hear and fall the second two weeks. Not this year. It has been downright cold. Today I think it was 61°. I wore my jeans and sweatshirt with a long sleeved shirt and I was still cold. I broke down and went to town to buy a couple of sweaters. One was this alpaca white one with the anchor. It is perfect for today, but I might only get two months wear out of it in Durham in January and February. I also purchased a blue topper that I can wear with my summer dresses so I have something when we go out to dinner at our favorite places.

My only issue now are shoes. I brought two pairs of sandals, two pairs of sneakers and one pair of keen hiking shoes. I guess I will either have cold feet or be wearing my sneakers. It is Maine after all. I could wear my hiking shoes with my dresses and no one will look twice, especially if I buy some highly colorful socks to wear with them.

A Little Brown Dog Goes to Belfast

I had a big day yesterday. I walked and ate so much so I was still tired this morning. Daddy did a bunch of work early so I snuggled in bed with Mommy until he was ready to go an adventure with us. Mommy wanted to go to Belfast to buy some vegetables at Chase’s Daily for her lunch party on Friday. We go long ways for good vegetables in Maine.

Daddy had never been to Chase’s and Mommy said we could eat lunch outside so I knew I was going to get to go. Chase’s farm is in Freedom, Maine and they grow all kinds of extraordinary vegetables. Mommy wanted some of their mesclun mix that she had with Aunt Suzanne at Leeward in Portland.

There were many, many people shopping for vegetables at the same time as Mommy so Daddy and I just sat at a table outside. Mommy bought baby artichokes, carrots, onions, fennel along with the greens. Then she ordered us lunch.

It didn’t take long to come, and the waitress could not believe I was sleeping with my head on the table and the food right in front of me. Apparently most dogs are interested in food, but I am not most dogs.

Mommy thought the tomato sandwich was the best thing. Of course Daddy liked everything. We did not hang out in Belfast long as Daddy had to get back and work, but it was a beautiful day for a drive and I liked looking out the window from my little car seat.

Mommy made the baby artichokes with Burrata for dinner. Nobody gave me any of them. I don’t know about artichokes, but I do know about burrata.

Maybe tomorrow I will want to take a long walk again. Tonight I just want to snuggle. And I would have wanted to eat burrata.

A Little Brown Dog Takes Two Big Walks

At home I stopped leaving the house to take walks. My Dr. suggested to my Mommy and Daddy that they drive me away from home and I will walk home. They thought it was a trick, but I liked it. Some days I walk a mile, maybe two, but that’s all this old lady can really do.

Today Daddy had work so a mommy asked me if I wanted to go on a walk with her. Yes, I jumped in response. We walked down our little lane and up our hill to the main road. Usually with Daddy this is where I turn him around even thought he wants to go like five miles. Today I pranced on out the main road past the old cemetery and the mussel ridge historical society to the vegetable cart down the road. Then I turned us around. In total I walked about a mile and a half.

This evening after Daddy finished working Mommy and Daddy asked me if I wanted to walk the breakwater. I ran right to the car. We drove to Rockland to the breakwater as the sun was getting low in the sky. Mommy had her sweatshirt around her neck. I, of course had to always lead the pack. If I stopped to smell the situation and Mommy passed me I made sure to go extra fast and get right back in the lead.

It is not hard for me and Daddy to lead as we are faster than Mommy anyway. It turns out that I am now the color of the rocks, but people still see me. Once in a while I had to stop so they could adore me. I got many pets and snuggles One little boy even gave me a kiss.

It took us less than an hour to walk the almost two miles from the car, down the rocks to the light house and back. The tide was getting highland the water was coming close to the rocks. I didn’t mind. I had Daddy if I needed him.

So I walked three and half miles today not counting all the pacing I do in the house looking to find where Daddy is working and going back to report to Mommy that he is still talking on the phone or doing a video with people in little boxes.

Now I am going to pass out and get a big sleep. I hear I get to go to Belfast tomorrow. More walking.

Day Two and Oh So Full

How quickly I settle in to the rhythm of Maine life. Although it is only my second full day back in our beloved Owl’s Head, it feels like we have never been away. I did not get up with the sun, but still very early because I was going off to Lincolnville to attend church with Warren at his sweet UCC congregation.

I have visited before and today did not disappoint. The Psalm for today was Psalm 82, written a thousand years before Jesus, according to the preacher.

1God has taken his place in the divine council;

in the midst of the gods he holds judgement:

2‘How long will you judge unjustly

and show partiality to the wicked? Selah

3Give justice to the weak and the orphan;

maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.

4Rescue the weak and the needy;

deliver them from the hand of the wicked.’

5They have neither knowledge nor understanding,

they walk around in darkness;

all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

6I say, ‘You are gods,

children of the Most High, all of you;

7nevertheless, you shall die like mortals,

and fall like any prince.’

8Rise up, O God, judge the earth;

for all the nations belong to you!

It gave me hope that in times before there were wicked rulers who did not follow God, but in the end God won.

After church I visited their flea market of leftovers from their sale the day before. I purchased a beautiful hand stitched quilt that is over 150 years old. It is registered with the Heritage society of Maine so I have access to it’s provenance. It will look beautiful on Carter’s bed in Durham.

After Church I stopped off at Ocean State to pick up some things we needed for the house. Ocean State is always an adventure. The one thing I did not find was a good apron, so that search will continue. I did find a juicer so Russ can juice my limes.

As it was a beautiful day Russ, Shay and I drove down to Waldoboro and hiked around a park with a quarry. Shay is quite the hiker, always able to find the trail. The quarry is a great place to swim and if it gets hot I might want to swim there as the water is warmer than that of the ocean outside of our house.

Our reason for hiking in Waldoboro was to be closer to the Odd Alewives for supper. They used to be a brewery, but now are a just a place to eat pizza and on Sundays oysters. They have a lovely garden where well behaved dogs are welcomed.

We got a dozen oysters and two pizzas, one a white pie with zucchini and pesto and one a red pie with cheese and onions. The oysters were to die for with a good spicy cocktail sauce and fresh lemons. The pizza was delicious and we have a whole pie leftover for future meals.

Our timing was perfect because some much needed rain started as soon as we got in the car. A wonderful Maine day.

The Joys of Maine

For our first morning at our little Owl’s head house you would think I would sleep in. I’ve been on the road, staying with friends and family so I always get up and make myself useful at other people’s houses. Now at my own house with just Russ and Shay to care for I could sleep all morning if I wanted.

Russ is a terrible sleeper, but a considerate husband. So when he wakes up in the middle of the night he moves beds so he can watch his iPad and not disturb me. I need total silence and darkness and one bit of light from his iPad and I will wake up. So last night he moved at some point. All the more bed for me and Shay. Another reason I should have slept late.

I had the blinds down, making the room dark. The ceiling fan was silently running making the room the perfect sleeping temperature. I had my best pillow from home. All was perfect.

Then tell me why I woke up at four in the morning? Not only did I wake up, but I opened the blinds to see the sunrise and that was it! I was wide awake.

Russ woke up at five, his normal time, so we just started our day. This meant we were at Beth’s farm stand at eight in the morning buying veggies for the week. And finished the rest of our grocery shopping at Shaw’s and we’re home by ten.

It was a perfect Maine lazy Saturday. I did eventually cook some things because Warren came for dinner tonight. Thankfully we invited him early and had a nice visit, but since he was also up early to run a sale at his church we were happy to eat and say goodnight.

So in perfect Maine fashion I am in bed at 8:00 and the sun has set. I saw the full spectrum from darkness to light to darkness. I will sleep well tonight.

Last Day/First Night

This was my last day with my Worden/Farley gang. Steve asked me why I was putting my stuff in the car this morning. He mistakenly thought I was staying with them until Saturday. Sadly I could only stay until 1:00. I was waiting for Suzanne’s sister Gussy, my birthday twin and dear sister too, and her husband Patrick to come by to see me. They have been traveling in Maine and I needed all the scoop on how they liked my recommendations.

Needless to say they had a ball and loved Claws so much they went twice. They also loved Aster and Rose and told the best server Mary they were our friends. Needless to say they had excellent food and service there.

As our time was coming to the end Gussy’s Apple Watch suddenly spoke up and said, “It looks like you have taken A hard fall. Do you want us to call for help?” Despite just sitting in a comfy chair this whole time, Gussy said, “the watch recognizes the hard fall as her being sad we were parting.”

I was so sad to be leaving Suzanne, Oliver and Steve and now Gussy and Patrick too. I had to get to our house in Maine. Russ was flying in on tiny Cape Air from Boston and I needed to unpack the groceries so I could pick him up.

My timing could not have been better. I arrived at our house, took in the groceries and his tiny plane flew over the house. He arrived 45 minutes early. The beauty of cape air. When the five passengers all were on the plane, they went ahead and left early.

Shay and I greeted him outside the one room airport and off to Claws we went for our annual, “We are back in Maine Dinner.”

The perfect start to my favorite month of the year.

We Actually Ventured Out

We did slightly more than just play Mah Jongg all day. Suzanne and I started out the day playing, but took a nice break for a walk with the dogs. It was a beautiful morning and the walk was just what the dogs wanted. Then it was right back to playing. Which we did for most of the day.

We had a dinner reservation in a Portland so we drove up a bit early so I could do some Trader Joe’s shopping for dry goods for Maine. Then we drove down to the waterfront to kill a little time before our reservation. Suzanne made a turn that I agreed with to try and get back to the restaurant only to discover it was an on ramp to a bridge that took us to South Portland.

After crossing the water we were able to turn back around and cross back. Later we drove pass this same spot and looked. There was absolutely NO SIGNAGE indicating it was an on ramp to a big bridge.

After our tour we got to the restaurant, Leeward. Suzanne had eaten there last year and discovered that it takes a month to get a coveted reservation. So she got one for tonight. I understand why it is so hard to get into to.

The place was unassuming looking. The staff was friendly and plentiful. The tables were far apart from each other. The menu was intriguing making decisions difficult. Suzanne and I ordered everything to share. Stuffed squash blossoms, a “simple” green salad, that was anything but, bucatini with zucchini and mushrooms and a roast chicken. Spectacular would be an understatement. As good as everything was we decided the salad was our favorite. When is the world is a simple green salad the favorite? When it’s that good.

We drove home just as the sun was setting. We still had time to play a few hands of Mahj. Sadly, it’s my last night with the Worden /Farley’s, but I will drag it out as long as possible tomorrow. It’s the best way to start my vacation.

It’s No Wonder We are Friends

Today was about the most perfect day. Suzanne and I played Siamese Mah Jongg most of the day. When we weren’t we were taking the dogs out or cooking dinner. Suzanne has become a very good player since she first learned in earnest in January at High Hampton. I am so proud of her strategy and her ability to see different options.

Half way through the day the game mat I ordered for her arrived so we had a softer surface to play on. Suzanne also made everything very comfy for Shay and brought Esme’s bed out to the living room so she could snuggle while we played.

After dinner we had to switch to Catan so that Oliver could play with us. It was Oliver and his brother Jack who introduced me to Catan, my other favorite game. I do play it everyday on my iPad, which gave me an unfair advantage tonight.

We had a great game and will continue tomorrow and probably Friday too. There is nothing better than having great friends who are also great game lovers. I imagine this is what it will be like when I go to a retirement community. It would be best if Suzanne and I went together since Russ does not love games.

All the Farley Kids and Carter and Claire can come visit us and we can play big tournaments. It sounds like heaven on earth. A lot like it is staying here with Suzanne.

Convergence for Mah Jongg

Suzanne, Janet and I became the best of friends in college. Now Janet lives in Arizona and Suzanne Lives in New Hampshire and I live in North Carolina so getting together is deliberate and takes planning. So when the stars aligned today that I was driving north from Boston and Janet was in Manchester by the sea and Suzanne was in New Hampshire we were all able to come together in the same place to play Mah Jongg.

I have played the longest, but Janet has been at it a while and now we have Suzanne hooked. All I have to say is if we had played Mah Jongg in college we might not have graduated, or at least I would not have. Then again I might have stayed out of other trouble which shall not be named.

But if I had played mah Jongg in college I might have started teaching it earlier and could have started this whole mah Jongg craze a lot earlier.

I am just happy that Janet, Suzanne and I have found ways to be together and play because we all know that when you are playing mah Jongg you are happy and all the other crap in the world does not exist.

Happy friends playing together!

Last Night at Carter and Claire’s

Tonight Carter and Claire invited our friend Kelsey over for dinner. Kelsey is my friend Ruth E.’s daughter-in-law who I met teaching her Mah Jongg a few years ago and adored right from the start.

Kelsey invited me to come teach her group in Fort Worth Advanced mah Jongg and they were such a great group of ladies. When Kelsey’s husband got transferred to Boston, Ruth E. asked me if Carter would meet Kelsey.

They did meet and hit it off and have been friends ever since. So it seemed like the perfect thing to have Kelsey come for dinner while I was here. Sadly her husband was in North Carolina, but for their first dinner guest it seemed like a good idea to only have four of us.

It was so fun to spend time with young people even if I have never watched Love Island and probably won’t. But it has been great to spend so much time with Carter and Claire together and the bonus tonight was Kelsey.

I’m off to New Hampshire tomorrow. Slowly inching my way closer to Maine.

Shopping Fun

Had the most fun day with my girls Carter and Claire. They have done such a wonderful job outfitting their house. You would have thought they had lived here for years, not days. They still had a few tiny needs so we went on big shopping expedition. We took the dogs who were welcomed in every store as royalty. Store workers in each place game them treats, and water and acted as if they each carried platinum cards.

We were on the hunt for chairs for the living room and out door tables for the porch. We found chairs, but not tables. The big get was at the Le Creuset outlet. Carter’s godmother had given them a very generous gift card a couple of months ago. So today was the perfect day for them to spend it as it was tax free weekend and the outlet was having a big sale.

We had three sales people helping and they offered me a job as I was advising the girls to always buy the bigger pot or pan since you can cook a small amount in a bigger pan, but not a bigger amount in the smaller pan.

The manager told them that it was not a game show, and they did not have to spend the whole gift card at once, but amazingly they spent almost exactly what they were given, only shelling out $2.23 of their own money.

They took everything out of the boxes at home and Carter styled it so show Suzanne. I thought they should show le Crueset. They will have these pieces their whole lives. Good thing since they won’t be getting my 40 year old pieces for at least 20 more years.

We Made It

Shay and I had a fast short trip this morning to get to Carter and Claire’s new house. It was so exciting to finally get to see them. I adore their house and their wonderful neighborhood. Carter and Claire have met almost everyone on their street and they have been so welcoming to them.

After my extensive tour of every inch of their house we took the dogs on a short walk to go see Carter’s community garden plot round the corner. I am quite jealous of her tomatoes.

We hung at home and then went to the south end for dinner at a new hot spot Capri. Thank goodness everyone wanted to share because that way I was able to taste lots of different things. It was a big hit and we are going to have to take Russ there.

Shay and Norman held down the house while we were gone and nothing was out of place when we got home. Tomorrow we will go shopping. I love being with my girls.

Little Brown Dog Goes on the Road

I was worried all day yesterday. My Mom and Dad both kept taking things to the car. Laundry baskets, tote bags full of shoes, books, pillows, but the thing that worried me the most was a bag of my toys. Where were they taking my blue baby?

So this morning when Mom’s alarm went off at 5:15 I got right up so I could make sure no one was sneaking out of the house without me. Turns out I was going in the car all along, but it was not until we got on the highway that I realized Daddy was not with us.

Mommy was listening to a book on tape so I just snuggled down in my big car seat and listened too. Mommy told me we were going to drive like 10 hours to get very close to Carter’s so that tomorrow we could get up and go see her right away.

I was such a good girl. No crying or shivering on the whole drive. We stopped north of Baltimore and I went potty and Mommy bought me some chicken. I didn’t eat it until we stopped at our hotel for the night.

Since I was so cute at check in Mommy was given a goody bag as VIP of the day. Sometimes it pays to bring a cute little brown dog with you.

The Rise of Traveling Laundry Baskets

Years ago when I first started taking road trips north I started packing in Laundry Baskets. I found it so much easier when making stops at various places along the way got just have one toiletry bag and then I would pull out the clothes I needed for that day or two at each stop. So much easier than carrying in a whole suitcase for one night.

Russ embraced the laundry basket travel mode. It makes carrying clothes so much easier and they fit perfectly in the way back of the car.

I mentioned this mode of “stuff management” this week when I was visiting my friend Annette and she said she too packed in laundry baskets. As did Charlotte who was over for dinner.

So it appears that the chic way to pack for car travel is in laundry baskets. I am sure than any hour now Louis Vuitton will come out will its own signature laundry basket at only $4,400. It should be cheaper than a suitcase as no wheels, zippers or compartments are needed, but it will be just as much as a suit case since it will be the new hip thing. You really need at least a set of two and they do nest nicely.

Mark my words,you read it here first. Designer laundry baskets for travel. I guess you can use them for laundry at home too when you aren’t on the road.

Twinning at Mah Jongg Class

We are a long way from Junior High school. I promise that my students and I are not calling each other to ask what we are wearing to class,but…

One of my best beach buddies Maria, who has the best wardrobe, showed up today in class in a dress that coordinated perfectly with mine. Of course I loved hers more. I feel like she has spent enough time with me that now we are thinking alike. At least we did when we got dressed today.

Of course I didn’t have any other choice because that was the dress I brought with me. So i guess the twinning is all up to Maria who had a giant closet worth of fabulous dresses to chose from and through some mind meld picked the one that worked perfectly with mine without knowing what I was going to wear.

I know she does not care to match me, except in mah Jongg. So Maria, I hope that the mind meld will carry over into your game.

Never Too Young

You are never too young to fall in love with Mah Jongg. Just like you are also never too old. Today I had my youngest student ever in my class, Collins. Only six months old, but clearly enthralled with the tiles.

Collins was a most attentive student. Only voicing an opinion on the very worst hands and celebrating appropriately on the wins. She paid rapt attention to each movement of the tile and clearly liked Dragons more than winds.

It helped that Collins snuggled with me while her mother beat me. Collins was very proud of her mother for taking me down. I was great with that because I got to snuggle with Collins.

My prediction is she will be a very good Mah jongg player.

Perfect Beaufort

My final class for the summer semester starts tomorrow at Coral Bay. Since it is a short two day Strategy class I came down early to stay with my Friend A. in Beaufort. Of all the places on the coast of North Carolina Beaufort is my favorite. Sorry AB.

My Hostess A. Does not appear on the Internet, but does show up big time as a friend. Tonight she invited two other friends, Charlotte and Elizabeth Townsend to come have dinner with us. Elizabeth and her husband Doug used to live down the street from me in Durham so it is always great to catch up. Doug wasn’t invited for dinner but he came by to see me just the same, which was a treat for me. Christine brought a bag of books so I have plenty to read in Maine.

Annette designed a fabulous menu and I got to teach her how to chop different vegetables. We had a most YUMMY salad I want to memorialize here because I want to make it in Maine.

It was thinly slicked raw zucchini, thinly sliced fennel, arugula, peas, mint, feta and champagne vinaigrette. It was fabulous, but would also be good with Ricotta salta or pecorino. A. had made some perfect shrimp with cocktail sauce and we had a crab cake as well. What a dinner. Between the food and the company everything was perfect. Just like Beaufort.

Chew or Swallow?

I met up with my friend Jan for brunch today. We have had a summer of not seeing each other much with her in the mountains and me at the beach teaching. With trips in opposite directions on the horizon we realized that today was our one overlap day.

Russ had so much work all weekend so Jan and I took the rare opportunity to leave our husbands at home and go out. She suggested a place in Governor’s Village called Flair. Since it is a bit away from me I had never been. I looked at the menu and thought it seemed just fine, but Jan told me she had the best goat cheese salad there she had ever had so I was in.

The place is so cute. It has the most glorious plants that turn a strip mall location into an oasis. The weather was perfect so we ate outside.

As we discussed our trips, our need to get our prescriptions refilled early and the nightmare that causes along we touched on the various ways we sort our pills. Jan is a trained pharmacist and so she always is imparting valuable wisdom to me. I mentioned that I have no trouble swallowing big pills that are oblong, but I hate big pills that are round.

Jan told me that round usually means they are chewable. WHAT? How could this important bit of information get by me until today. I looked at my selenium bottle and it does not say chewable, but it does have an outline of the size of the pill on the bottle. Is this a warning? Like, “Hey if you have trouble swallowing round pills this is going to be your nightmare.” The quarter is just for size comparison.

I don’t exactly love chewing pills, but if I am supposed to do it I will comply. Now I do not know the answer with this one. It is big enough for it to make sense that it should be chewed because swallowing it is hard, but it does not say chewable on it.

I am certain that I could find the answer, but for now I want to know, “Am I the only one who did not know that round meant chewable and all the other shapes meant swallowable?”

What Have I been doing For the Last Nine Months? No It’s Not My Hair

This blog started as my accountability when I did a weight loss challenge for myself to lose weight and raise money for the Food Bank of Central and eastern North Carolina. As I said then, I am not good at losing weight for myself, but if it will help others that will help me.

I was very successful. I lost a lot of weight and raised a lot of money. But as a person with life long weight issues I eventually gained most, but not all of it back. That was all before I hit menopause.

Once I crossed over I tried to lose the weight again, with very little success. I knew how to do it with my pre-Menopausal body, but post…well that was another story. I also discovered I had an auto immune disease so let’s add that to my issues.

Last November my Doctor told me I qualified for Ozempic. So I started on it and it has been life changing. I am the person it was made for. Apparently if you produce GLP-1 naturally you don’t think about food all he time. This explains why my skinny friends would say things like, “I forgot to eat lunch.” This was very foreign to me.

I am very lucky. I have no side affects from taking this shot. It not only helps me feel full on smaller amounts of food, it quiets the food noise in my brain to a whisper or less. I really no longer think about food and have no cravings.

So far I have lost 82 pounds. Skinny friends say, “you must feel so much better.” I felt fine before, and I still feel fine. I have not reported this on this blog until now, although I have not been hiding it. I am tired of having people tell me my hair looks so much better with my new hairdo. That’s when I tell them that absolutely nothing has changed about my hair, it’s my weight. Losing weight this way is nothing to be commended for, like the hard work I did last time. The drug is miraculous and I am thankful for it.

The one thing I have tried to do is eat enough protein. When you don’t eat much, you need to pick what you do eat carefully. Basically I eat protein, fruits and vegetables and nuts. Getting enough protein is the most important so I don’t lose muscle.

My friend Kristi gave me a Fairlife Protein drink at her house at the beach. It had 30 grams of protein. It was great. She told me they also made one that was 42 grams of protein. I had been unable to find them, but my friend Sara did on Amazon so we split a case.

Tonight I made a blueberry milkshake with half a bottle of Fairlife, a handful of fresh blueberries and some crushed ice that I ran thought the blender. YUMMY and the cup I made was 21 grams of protein. I am going to try and make one with a peach for breakfast soon.

I still have more weight to lose, but I am very happy with my progress and plan on sticking to this for he foreseeable future. So if you see me, don’t mention my hair. It’s still as tragic as ever.

Happy International Mah Jongg Day

Who knew this day existed, but it is not surprising. I might call this the year of Mah Jongg. I have been lucky enough to ride this wave for a long time.

There are more and more people playing and more and more people teaching them how to play. It is just spreading joy in the world.

Lord knows we need a good distraction from the self made nightmares certain deranged elected officials, both here and abroad are committing. Firing federal workers who put out economic data from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics because you don’t like the truth is just small and makes said official look even more petty than he already is.

The facts are the facts. Ask any number of recent college graduates what percentage of their classmates have jobs. It’s horrible and tariffs are ruining the world economy.

Children are starving in Gaza and I am having a hard time reconciling the treatment of them by people who said never again. If we had more women in charge these things would be different.

In the meantime,grab some tiles and distract yourself for a bit, but not too long. We need all the smart women to change the world back to a place of sanity and peace and get rid of childish officials.