Painting Staff and Updates

Happy Friday!!

Thought you all might like to have a little update on my retirement/moving status.  I am at the end of the first week of my last 6 weeks of work!  For a few years I thought I would be in a huge panic about leaving this beloved job, but I only feel myself straining at the reins to be free and on to creating an entirely new life.  There is nostalgia about all the wonderful years in the design/build field, and how it sparked my creativity and self-worth, and those memories will sustain me as I go forward, confident that whatever comes next will be wonderful and just as enriching.
Excitement is building and also the pace. My current house feels so hollow and is filled with echoes. Nice echoes....the nest of safety it gave Ms G and me when I needed it so badly in 2004, the family dinners, and best of all when it welcomed LM.

This weekend is our huge yard sale and we couldn't be happier with the weather forecast. So lovely.

Jason and Alison had to hire a painter to get my new bedroom ready!! He is quite efficient and I believe he has already finished the work. I will see it tonight. He's a pretty cute helper, too, and my new bedroom will feel even more welcoming, knowing it was made so beautiful by my darling, Teddy.

Teddy will be my new  neighbor across the hall, and I am sure we are going to have a lot of fun and get into mischief together!

Love and peace to all!

Adventures on the Lupine Way

Two days ago, LM suggested I accompany him on a trip to Maine!  No urging was necessary, as Maine is one of my favorite places and a chance to enjoy its late Spring beauty was not to be missed. Our mission was to drive a very large truck to a small town a ways north of Augusta, AND to bring a 2014 neon green Mustang convertible back to Cape Cod. The trip up was beautiful as the Maine turnpike was lit up on both sides with masses of wild flowers. Most spectacular were the deep blue, pink and white lupines and the wild daisies amidst the buttercups and tiny wild iris. We didn't even mind several slow downs as it gave us more time to admire all the beauty.

 Green, green, green and buttercups

 A very large moose and a family of bears at a rest stop.

 This same scene was everywhere....

We finally arrived in Oakland, and made the switch to our ride home....I had not been in a convertible in many, many years and the feeling of the wind in my hair was so wonderful. We both felt like teenagers and with 50's music filling the air, we were back on the lupine highways to bring the mustang to its new owner in Chatham, but not before we stopped for seafood and some lobster stew.

Wind on my hair...

 The one who made it all possible and such fun, too!

Home......goodnight sweet chariot!

All Better

Good news here - whatever hit me last week was completely gone in 4 days and I seem to have more energy than I've had in months.

Tomorrow, son, Jason, and LM's son, John, will arrive with a big truck and take away a goodly portion of my possessions, some marked for a yard sale, some for storage, and the rest for my new rooms at Jason's house. I will live with the bare necessities until I move in August. We had a rush on to get things moved as Jason is beginning a new job on July 1 and will have very little time.

Made a big move yesterday and scheduled an appointment with the surgeon to begin the process of knee replacement. People assure me it is easier than when I had my right knee replaced 8 years ago. I'm believing them, in an effort to gather the courage to travel the road toward full mobility again.

These days are filled with excitement at the possibilities ahead - I can choose to do whatever I like with my life, explore all sorts of new avenues, and the feeling of freedom is so exhilarating.  All the fear I'd lived with about retiring, moving, etc, is gone. I admit, there will be some tears in the change,  and I choose to think they will be tears of happiness!  I've a slight suspicion that LM is a bit apprehensive about this change in my life. He came to help me move several things this afternoon and I saw his face fall when he looked at all my possessions packed up and labeled awaiting the truck, and commented on how my place had changed. Really we will just be 12 miles further away from each other and the weekends will still be ours.

My 99 year old grandfather's last words to me were, "don't fight life, dear," and I am realizing just how much energy I've expended doing just that. Now is a time that I am embracing the changes and life!

Love to all.......

The Winds are Feeling Summery

 Summer has been creeping toward us slowly and so many of our recent days have been pretty chilly, but when Kristi visited us for Meaghan's wedding there had to be mini-golf!  It was really fun that we could get her together with Jason, Alison, Teddy and Samantha - too bad Sara had to work. Everyone seemed to have a great time and it was a really sunny afternoon. Kristi is thriving in her new home and we were so happy to see her looking so well and she really had a fun time being part of Meaghan's wedding.

I'm on my 4th day out of work with some sort of strange virus, and await a call from my doctor to see what blood work reveals. My system seems so vulnerable after the lengthy winter illness, that I cannot seem to get to a place of strength, no matter what I do. This will not get me down, and I am continuing to work daily on my moving project.  It is feeling right, and each weekend we move a few more things to my son's house. This week Jason is having solar panels put on the entire roof of the house. So proud that he has gone forward with this project.

Summer Wind, sung by Frank Sinatra, is LM's favorite song so I am dedicating this little post to him as he has just been my angel with all this sickness....waiting at doctor's offices, the hospital, wherever, and he never complains. If it is possible he is there.  I have major plans to rehab this hulk I am living in, and make it stronger and more independent, very soon!  My retirement and my new home will afford me that luxury, and I'll be doing it all in the beautiful summer wind along my beloved Cape Cod Canal - which by the way, is celebrating its 100th birthday this year with major events held throughout the area in July. We were by there last Sunday and already the area is filled with the scent of wild roses........wish I could bring you all along.
Love to you all!

Moving!

It seems I cannot stay away from sharing this time of passage in my life.

For 10 years I have lived and worked in my little town, yet I never truly felt like my place was "home" but rather, a place to sleep and be protected. STRANGE feeling of unbelonging, even though I was living in a place I'd loved so much all through the years, and, at times, felt incredulous to be living surrounded by such amazing beauty.  In other places I've lived through the years, I felt settled and had a haven-like feeling in my surroundings. Here, where I settled after leaving a near-lethal relationship, just felt like a fortress. So when the plans to retire and move back to the area where I lived for so many years began, I didn't think I would feel anything more than relief and excitement about the reality of moving. Me thinks my heart is much more vested in home and work than I ever thought possible. Friends at work are making comments each day about "things will never be the same when you leave," etc. 

Last night, Jason and a friend came with a big truck and moved a lot of my things. He cleaned out my basement storage area so I wouldn't have to deal with the stairs again, and even moved a few precious things that will be stored in case I choose to move to my own place at some point after my recovery.  As the truck drove away, I looked on with such gratitude for my wonderful son, then I felt like I was physically drained to the point of collapse, so sat with a cold drink and put my feet up. Shortly I was back up to work on a few more pre-move projects - almost like I couldn't stop. Arriving at a wall again, I tried to sleep, to no avail. This morning, I feel so drained and tired that I am barely "here" at work.

The excitement and positive attitude about my major life change seem muted today, and I am telling myself it is a purely physical response to being exhausted.  One step in front of the other....tonight I will be organizing my knitting and beading supplies, paring them down, and arranging them for easy access in my new home.  I've already done the same with my quilting fabric and supplies.

So this is the latest in my journey through change....a lot of emotions, a strong reminder of my health limitations, and the revelation that I may be a bit more sentimental about the leaving than I thought. Lots to mull over.

Sending you all love and sunshine this morning. 

Switching Gears

To all my blog friends and my family, as I countdown toward retirement and moving, there are just some things that have to give as I make the transition.  I'm taking a little blog hiatus to put most of my energy into planning my exciting new life. For the first time in 45 years, I will not be going to work everyday, and I will be able to spend a lot of time becoming healthy again, and that means re-building my energy and emotional levels so that I can come back to share this wonderful transition time.
I will be stopping by all of your blogs, and commenting!  You are all such an important part of my life! I wish you well and promise to be back as soon as I am able.
Happy Summer....Love and peace to you all.....and you can reach me through e-mail at morsekittyl at yahoo.com  

Back to Eleuthera, etc.

I think dreamy, warm vacations are available so we have delightful memories to drift back on when we are once again home facing interminable winter....and there are also delectable memories to remind us to save each week that we might enjoy treats like stone crab once again. We ate so much of it on the island!  Simple, delicious and healthy on its own, of course we did make some delicacies like crab cakes.

YUM.....thank you to David's friend, Mark, a commercial fisherman, for leaving us several huge bags of frozen stone crab

Now back to a bit of touring - I'd heard about the "best place on the island to get pineapple tarts". My daughter developed her keen ability to seek out the best treats from yours truly, so I knew I could count on her word that we needed to visit a tiny bakery in Gregorytown. Alas, no pineapple tarts were available that day but we were advised to arrive the next morning at 10 am! These flowers were growing with wild abandon around the front door. Beauty to also warm one's heart and soul.

We did go back to get those tarts the next day and they were so delicious. Years ago, Eleuthera was home to huge pineapple plantations - not so much, anymore.

Our guys were most anxious to continue their search for the perfect fishing spot so we did a bit of touring in Gregorytown that morning.....this old church sits right on the edge of what looks to be an active conch fishing site.  The town has seen better days but made us happy as a stop for delicious treats and my favorite gift shop.



This huge pile of shucked conch shells was left along the shore line and we couldn't linger long as the smell was so strong.

As we headed back to A & D's house we stopped once again at Alicetown, one of the spots the guys had fished the day before.

David ventured out to fish, while LM stood on the rocks spotting (actually his feet were very sore from the all-day guided fishing trip). We learned after the fact that cotton socks inside the Teva closed-toe sandals would have saved the day.



LM high up watching for bonefish.

Anne and I went riding through the little town to find lunch while the fishermen worked on their elusive quest. We came across two baby potcakes (Bahamian dogs) on a little porch.

Once we had gathered a little picnic lunch, we were back to retrieve the guys and head to the Alicetown dock to enjoy some relaxing time at the tables overlooking the harbor. Many large sailboats were coming in to ride out the storm at sea.



View from the Alicetown dock.

Never giving up the search for fish!

Friends stopped by the say hello...Frances, the owner of The Front Porch, where we enjoyed such a delicious meal the night before.

Soon we decided it was time to head home, gather the beach stuff and go to Cocodimama for the afternoon....my feet loved walking across the soft needles of the casurina trees and heading to the pink sand.



David gathered some driftwood and built us a fire



Making sure we had plenty of "fuel"

Guess who was fishing!!

Interesting skies.......



I LOVE this photo - took it from my spot on a blanket...

Another lovely view of that same sky...always dramatic

Gazing up at the casurina trees from my comfy spot laying on the beach.

As we left the beach we stopped by to view what is left of the US Navy presence of WWII.  There was once an active pier here but it has now just about rotted away.

We returned back to the house for showers and a nap, and after dinner we could be found enjoying great music at The Rainbow Inn.

Not sure what day this was, but one morning a soft rain fell, so we decided to drive north on the island take a short ferry ride to Spanish Wells. This is the dock.

The water was beautiful that day.

On the ferry

Spanish Wells is a tiny little fishing port but very active.  The houses are painted beautifully bright colors and tended so nicely.

While we were there, a large ferry from Nassau came in and we were fascinating at the pilots ability to swing that thing around in such a narrow channel. It was packed with trucks, cars and pedestrians.

These cute shore birds were enjoying some time on the dock....seemed to be looking for handouts!

Taking a stroll

Then we took a stroll around the little village

You could walk in minutes from one side of the island to the other.

This house was so pretty

Love the gate

A perfectly sweet island home

Anne and I were back at the ferry dock, while David was in search of boat parts, and this man drove up in his golf cart to show us this little Pomeranian.  So funny...

.....and soft!

He loved all the attention and reminded us of a very sweet stuffed animal to cuddle.

Back on the ferry

Saying good-bye to Spanish Wells

Our next destination was to show LM Preacher's Cave. It is the site of the original Eleuthera settlers, and very interesting, but first, we'd heard the stories about the mysterious "blue holes" so we were soon driving down a very narrow road into the woods to this spot. David says he has jumped into this hole and found the bottom to be covered with shrimp. Anne would like to try a jump, too, but so far she's been forbidden. You would not catch me jumping in to that murky water. 

Scary

The pathway to Preacher's Cave, site where the first settlers of Eleuthera landed.

Heading in to the cave

I love these holes that allow the light in...so eerie

As we were leaving the cave we spotted this snail track. So interesting.

Walking a short distance from the parking area we were on this beautiful beach....

The blues!!! One of my favorite trip photos.

The feeling of the water rushing around my feet and legs was heaven.

Footprints and shadows...

On the way back....You know I am donkey crazy, so we had to stop and take a photo of this abandoned truck....

Road Donkey!

These next few photos were taken from the car as we drove over Eleuthera's famous Glass Window Bridge

This is a very fragile area and a point where the Caribbean flows through to the Atlantic. Storms rage here and the road has been washed out many times through the years.

In the distance is a large clipper ship that was sailing the waters all week. They were staying near shore due to the huge Atlantic storm that was giving a blizzard to New England.

Hard to see but the mist in this pic is coming from a blow hole in the glass bridge and the water crashing onto the rocks below creating a mist as it come up to the surface. Again in the photo below.

White cows again. They are all over the place near Hatchet Bay. Driving at night, it was not unusual to see them in the road. At least they are white!

On the way back we stopped to buy tomatoes and David met a potcake friend

A tired potcake....he is guard dog and greeter.

I am a tired potcake these days, too.  Packing for my big move, working full-time and spending my spare time exercising, doing PT to regain the strength lost while I have been so sick, and working on 2 quilts.  Getting better feels so good, and when I saw my doctor yesterday, she was thrilled with my progress.
Being retired becomes more attractive everyday.  Tomorrow I will be moving the first of my things to Jason's. Feels so right and I am ready to dig in to creating my new self.

The coming week will find us attending the wedding of LM's daughter, Meaghan and her beloved, John.  The wedding will be Thursday afternoon at the harbor in Hyannis. Kristi will be coming and we are really looking forward to seeing her after all the time she has been living with her half-brother and wife in southern RI. She'll stay about a week with LM and we hope to get her around to all her favorite places and see friends.

I still have more trip pictures to come and will fit it in soon. Meanwhile, happy weekend and love to all!