The End of one Journey, and the Beginning of Another
Plans have all gone well, we were fully packed and ready before bedtime last night.
This is not the Firth of Forth (Scotland), it's the Piscataqua on the Fourth, the day of our last trip across this bridge between Maine and New Hampshire.
We are now waiting to board a flight that leaves at 5:10 pm. Others are 'confiding' in us here that they are leaving too!
It'll be a while before any updates I suspect.
We've just returned from a fantastic trip up north to explore Downeast Maine, a nomenclature that always challenges my internal compass. I mean, downeast is relative, no? I thought it had to have been named by people from Canada, but it's apparently a seafaring term. Nevertheless, for those of us down south, it's not Downeast from where we live. "Down" implies lower, more southern latitudes to me, yet we traveled north to get downeast. But, I split hairs, as always, and need to let this irrelevant point of view go.
We were based in Orono (mid-coast Maine), at the Black Bear Inn and Conference center (we had to use up the credit that American Airlines Vacations were holding onto after COVID caused shutdowns in 2020). We had until year's end to use it, or lose it. Dang, no way! Even if it meant doing something less international than visiting our old stomping ground of Munich, and a little more 'pedestrian,' like hiking the trails in Maine, we weren't going to let THEM get away with our money! It gave us a great base and opportunity to get to know Maine a little better, as we'd never really explored far afield from our very own paradise.
On our first afternoon, we visited the Orono Bog Boardwalk, a 5 star experience, as you can see. I found the diversity of color and species thrilling, and it took a long time to traverse the entire walk since I kept stopping to look at minutiae.
We discovered, not surprisingly, that this was a very popular spot for locals - it was a Sunday afternoon, with brilliant foliage and sunshine, and cars were lining the roads leading up to the congested carpark! It's clearly an appreciated local treasure. I'm so glad we found it too!
Shortages such as these are becoming more common. I am not complaining, merely documenting.
My latest crochet project - not perfect, but ... ok for home use. The color appeals, and the heft is nice, like a weighty blanket.
Sun, shadows and railings created this effect
Some of the difficulties I encountered whilst painting (besides struggling to make a pot of coffee) included inadvertently placing one foot of the stepladder into the paint tray I'd placed on the floor while I moved the ladder .... groan! Someone wasn't thinking clearly by placing it on the floor. I have to say in my defense though, that there was NOWHERE else to put it - furniture was precariously stacked or draped with cloths.
The other mishap was a complete fluke. We had patched a crack in the plaster, and I had painted over it, but I brushed against that area whilst 'wearing' a roll of masking tape around my wrist (for those emergency masking situations). Of course, the sticky end of the tape managed to connect with the tacky, not quite dry paint, and it pulled a largish chunk right off the wall as I retracted! Start again ...
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The 'offending' patch |
My recent fraught grocery shopping expedition revived a memory from my college years, in which I had clearly sought solitude amidst a frenzied situation. Without these pockets of peace, I tend to feel battered.
Just over 38 years ago, before Dale and I were married, we traveled to another part of South Africa to participate in the annual students geography conference. There were students from universities all over the country and there was much socializing, and getting-to-know-you group activities over a long weekend. One evening, I wandered off on my own, away from the hubbub, to sit and stare quietly at the moon. I needed some alone time, some time to regroup in the midst of all the socializing and stimulation. It was restorative.
I happily sat against a tree trunk in the dark for some time until Dale appeared, looking for me - he'd noticed I was missing from the crowds, and had come to check that I was feeling okay. He stayed for a bit, and then left me to my peace, allowing me to enjoy my reverie.
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Moonlight across Lake Androscoggin, Maine in 2007 |
Yet another shopping nightmare: I've been spoiled with the Hannaford 'To Go' feature and hadn't ventured into a Market Basket for over 2 months, but there are some things that I can only buy there ... so when I do go, I replenish all the things that have a long shelf life, in multiples. Many of the things I stock up on are very bulky - pickles in enormous jars (in unlimited numbers, as many as I can handle), 2 liter seltzer waters, paper towel packages, a cube of soda cans, 10 lb of potatoes, you get the picture.
Before I was halfway through the store, my cart was full. I felt frazzled. The store was busy (people were stocking up for Super Bowl Sunday - how dare they?), there were reminders of Valentine's Day chocolates everywhere and the music was loud. Plus I wasn't used to crowds, and this was ... a Friday crowd. It was one of the warmest days we'd had this year and sweat was forming on my upper lip under my mask (which very few others were wearing).
Two carts were needed! I knew that if I paid for one full cart and took my groceries out to the car, I'd be more than tempted not to go back in for the second half of the grocery list, which I'd been compiling on my fridge for more than 2 months. I was already overwhelmed and felt like bailing. To add to my space problems, I bring my own rigid shopping baskets for my purchases (the kind that don't fold down and compress, so take up a LOT of the space under my cart and in the child-seat area.) Oh woe!
I remember using 2 carts whilst shopping with my 2 toddlers back in the day, when I learned how to walk between two carts, pushing the handle of the front one and pulling on the basket of the rear one. It wasn't easy, but could be done. At that time, we had one car in the family, which Dale used for getting to work. I'd assemble a long grocery list, and then on the appointed day, get the "bunnies" up and dressed, drive Dale to work and the 3 of us would do our big shop together. It was what we did to get by; you manage. Shopping like this obviously took a long time, and it required me to keep my toddlers entertained, not fighting, and upbeat for the duration. They knew the drill, and behaved well - it meant we had the car for the rest of the day and could go out and do something exciting, like visit the local lake or a friend, plus they'd get to fetch their Dad at the end of the day.
Ok, back to the more current expedition... when I got to the dairy section, it looked as if there was no buttermilk on the assigned shelf. Argh, we'd wanted to make another batch of scones. There had been many things that were temporarily out of stock that day, or there were just two or three items left on the shelf. My entrenched Catholic guilt crept in each time, and I only took one in that case, when I would normally have bought more. I knelt on the outer edge of the dairy case and peeked up onto the back of the topmost shelf - there, lodged at the very back unreachable corner was the treasure I sought. But how to get it? I stepped back down and looked around, but suddenly there weren't any other people nearby - well, no tall ones anyway. There were also no people stocking shelves or using stepladders either. I wasn't going to let this buttermilk challenge defeat me! I needed this little victory. Hmm, what could I use to reach it?
Aha! My eyes lit on the "Maine Woman" magazine I'd picked up at the store entrance (a friend had written one of the articles in it). Reluctant though I was to wrinkle this copy, I rolled it into a tight tube, knelt back up on the edge of the dairy case, reached in with my Maine woman tube, and nudged, knocked and coerced that bottle onto its side and then forwards towards me until I could reach it with my hands - you just never know when you'll need a Maine woman to help you!
I wonder what the people watching the security cameras must have thought!
I got home hungry, since it was way past lunch time, but was super pleased with myself for having solved my problems, and especially for not having had a meltdown! My kids would be proud of me - I'd had to practice what I'd preached to them in the grocery store for so many years.
I liked the shape of these raccoon prints - they look like stars to me, or maybe a lovely miniature sunburst, or halo, crown.
Amazing what you can see just walking outside to empty the house compost bin.
A people adventure! Read all about it:
On Dec 31, 2021, we got up early to beat the lines, and drove to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to let them know they'd misspelled the last name on our application a few days before (and yes, they had an old driver's license and passport from which to copy the details). They were closed! Oh no - I should have remembered that New Year's Eve holds a special place in my memory of 'not a good day to do business.'
Last day of the year? Why, yes, let's close the business IN ANTICIPATION of a holiday! But okay, we were out and about, and so I thought we'd go to the nearby pharmacy to pick up COVID test kits that are now covered by our insurance. There was some skepticism of this task being successful, given that the previous day's attempt had come up fruitless, and today's specific mission had already been thwarted. Now, some of you may know that pharmacies (and medical insurance) are high up there on my nemesis scale, and as you will see, this story cements that position. I opted to stay in high spirits anyhow, and give it a shot so as to salvage the early morning expedition.
They had kits in stock, but they had to be rung up at the pharmacy counter, which was not yet open. We had a 20 minute wait, so I spent my time browsing. Another assistant came up to me, having had my request explained to her, and said that they don't put them through insurance, so there'd be no need to wait for the pharmacy counter to help me. Why yes, I explained, our insurance did cover it and I had received an email specifically telling me that any places that accept my insurance would process my request. Yes, they accepted my coverage ... but, um, "maybe it only kicks in on January 1," they tried, claiming they'd not heard of the test kits being included.
I got phone numbers and emails ready on my phone as we waited for the pharmacy to open. At 9, I was greeted and the request accepted by the pharmacist without question. My 'proof' wasn't needed. However, the assistant he handed the task to had never processed a non-prescription item being covered by insurance before, and it took 25 minutes to get it done. In the meantime, the head pharmacist had taken it upon himself to process my husband's information to speed things up.
As we went through the checkout, we noticed that my address was incorrect, even though it had been 'copied' from my (requested for that purpose) driver's license. The street name was almost correct, but I now lived in Springvale, and Dale in Limerick. The pharmacist told me not to worry about it being incorrect on the printout, and that he would fix it right away. As I was about to sign for receipt of my goods, Linus pointed out that my first name was incorrectly spelled as DEBRA, as well. Oh dear! Another error. I pointed it out, but was given the same explanation: ignore it on the printout; he would fix it in their system though. I don't really have a lot of hope - do you blame me?
2021 is, according to the calendars we keep, coming to an end. This is the last day of that year but, as after every Friday, it will just be another Saturday. This Saturday is regarded as different - it represents the next cycle of time-keeping, which we Westerners call 2022. We recycle days and months, but not years. I wonder why? I know the Chinese culture does - they have a cycle of 12 years that repeat, yet each one of ours is seen as new.
What are you doing with this 'new' year?
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I explained what had gone awry, and she said she could fix it, to just wait for her to return. She came back, holding $11 in her hand, without checking my cash slips, or my order, or any records for evidence or anything!
I truly don't understand how badly they must have over-estimated my online order cost, to the point that not finding 4 items brought me down below $100! Now don't get me started on their shoppers not being able to find things in their own store. When the To Go program was implemented at the beginning of this year, I was over the moon. Now I'm not so sure of it being worthwhile - I still had to go into the store and wade through oodles of unmasked people and have masked interactions with emplyees to get it straightened out!
First world problems!
My constant surveys of the lake to find growing locations of the invasive naiad (Najas minor) means that I've been leaving my kayak at the shoreline instead of tucking it away on our handy rack each day. This has been fortunate on two occasions this summer, when people on the lake unexpectedly needed assistance. It meant I was ready and available for a rapid response.
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| Our kayak rack |
I looked outside one Sunday (9/27/2021) and saw an empty kayak drifting quite quickly past our cove, and a little way behind it another, this one capsized. I called out to Dale that we needed to investigate, and we took off down to the water's edge.
I could hear cries of "We're okay! We're okay!" We saw one woman in the water holding onto her capsized kayak and trying to follow after, and grab, the renegade, free-floating one. Her mother was standing soaking wet in the shallows, calling her grown daughter back to shore. A power boat approached them to check if they needed help, but the woman in the water insisted they were okay. I headed for the runaway kayak, and Dale tried coaxing the immersed person to shore, but she couldn't give up on the quest for the renegade kayak, and kept heading back in that direction. Dale took hold of her kayak and began 'herding' it to shore, but he was being consistently opposed by the woman's quest to reach the other kayak (which I was now towing back to them) and her refusal to let go of her own kayak. It was a little like a goat rodeo, even though there were just 2 people involved (they had been drinking, as evidenced by the contents of their spilt cooler, and behavior). After many unadhered-to directions, both woman were on solid ground and reunited with their kayaks.
We have been isolating, and wearing masks in public, especially if in the company of people we don't know, but this emergency reaction precluded reaching for masks before leaving the house. We were eager to disengage as quickly as possible once they were safe and comfortable. The older woman explained why they were out there, that she'd lost her husband a few months ago (which was obviously alarming, though we didn't dare ask what he'd died of), and she was now having to deal with her adult handicapped daughter on her own. She was so very thankful and highly emotional, even recalling that we'd waved to her last week as she went by.
Now she wanted to give us a token, she said, which she'd been doing since her husband's death, and pulled a gemstone from her bag, explaining the special meaning and powers of the amethyst. We commiserated with her over her loss, and I said I'd love to receive one of her tokens, so she gave it to me and wrapped her hand tightly over mine, gripping it with steely, yet shaking, emotion as she tried not to cry. It was SO hard not to reach out and put my arm around her! In order to get her to let go of my hand, I said I'd like to take a look at the beautiful stone, so she let go to let me admire it.
Oh, dear! ... I've obviously been feeling too carefree and casual these days, too relaxed and normal! I drove to the Post Office to drop off a package for mailing, but when I arrived, I realized I hadn't picked up my mask from my front door next to my purse. Now what? It clearly stated on the door that face coverings were required. The package was taped, labeled and paid for online. All I needed to do, without any real interaction, was place it on the counter for mailing and leave.
I rummaged about, and searched through every compartment and cup holder in the hopes that I'd left a surgical mask in the car after a doctor's visit, to no avail. I KNOW there are at least FIVE in our other car! Should I drive back home to fetch it? This thought kept running through my mind. I inspected my reusable shopping bags in the back of the car with a fine toothcomb, finding the smallest cloth one and actually experimented putting it on my face (like a horse hay bag) with the handles over my ears (you can disown any connection to me if you wish 😀)!
Nope. I wasn't prepared to go through with that. Also, it hung too low off my face, so it wasn't really effective. Aha! My blouse ... I very handily was wearing a small cowl necked shirt ... I was going to risk it, I thought. Be a little edgy. I tucked my chin downwards, pulled the loose fold upwards onto my nose, and placed my sunglasses over the top edge to hold it on. With my shoulders hunched to be sure I didn't extend my neck too much, and waiting till there were no customers about, I huddled into the office, dropped the package on the counter, declaring loudly I was dropping off a package, and left hurriedly, without waiting for the clerk to come to the desk.
Phew! That felt like a bit of a scrape, but once home, I wasn't able to stop laughing at the thought of my attempts to get around my negligence. And it provided me with a great escapade to write about.
Oh dear! Am I becoming a shopaholic? I came home from yet another visit to the grocery store, feeling giddy and bubbling over with stories to share! Is this the new highlight of my life? A COVID side-effect? Collateral damage from quarantining?
Hannaford has been refurbishing the interior look of their stores over the past year, and changing things around (making it very confusing). The bakery section looks quite welcoming - this is the Standish store, where I used a $10 off coupon I got in the mail, to encourage people to come in and see the new layout and décor. It worked!
I felt so relaxed and confident about buying and handling groceries, that I EVEN brought my own shopping bags that I allowed other people to touch! It felt so good to get back into the swing of what had been my normal, and to go back to using net and string bags instead of plastic for my produce.
The flower display was quite lovely:
I was impressed to see an employee going back and forth through each aisle with sanitizer and cloth, systematically wiping down any handles and surfaces that customers would handle or touch. The elderly gentleman whose sole task it was to keep the store sanitized, made the best of his time in each aisle by having playful interactions with each and every customer. He was friendly and delightfully cheerful each time I encountered him in a different aisle.
And then when I got home, there was no sanitizing procedure to be done either. That's behind me now, thank goodness.
The Saco Heath Preserve is one of my favorite spots to visit. It was closed during COVID-19 since there is no way to really step aside and keep 6 feet away from other people. If you step off the boardwalk, you're in the bog!
