Jiggety-jig

I'm home from our annual camping trip and all settled in to my happy place (read: chair in front of the tv). I had a bunch of energy when I got home and should have unloaded the car completely, but it was rainy (or, looked like rain, or had rained recently) when I got home so I just took out the essentials (cooler, suitcase, food and toiletries) and left the rest in the car. I had some energy because I stopped on the way home for a nap- I woke up ridiculously early this morning and was wiped by 11:30, helped by a sugar crash after a donut from a local shop near our campground. Oh, God, it was good. Anyway, I stopped at a scenic vista and took a snooze about a quarter of the way home. I know, a chain-saw wielding murderer could have attacked me and no one would know where I was (it was a beautiful windy road along the Quabbin reservoir) but I thought it might be equally unsafe to drive asleep. It was beautiful there, anyway:

















And you know if you're going to take a nap, it might as well be overlooking a gorgeous mountainside. I guess.
Instead of unloading or bringing the air conditioner up from the basement, which I also considered, I got dinner and sat down to watch today's leg of the Tour De France. I can't believe it's only 6:22, when's bedtime? I'm so excited to sleep in my bed tonight!! Maybe I'll take a shower before bed and do the cursory bug-bite official count, and revel in the feeling of cleanness and water pressure. Our town's fireworks are postponed, so it's only the illegal fireworks I'll be listening to tonight, just the cats and me, missing Scott while he's away at Catholic Heart Work Camp.
Happy Independence day everyone, here's to days off and homecomings and cats sleeping in suitcases on top of dirty laundry.

Too bad it's raining.

We stop to take advantage of a pause in the incessant rain, not to complain (see blog title) buy to creep out and check on the waterlogged garden and save the worms gasping on the sidewalks and gaze up at the sky for the first time in days without getting an eyeful of rain.
Yesterday was a day off for me and a home-alone day, to boot- I used the rain as an excuse to do very little chores and to take naps. I had a lovely solo dinner and caught up on the DVR and read my secular book (Super Sad True Love Story... so far it's dark but quirky, my kind of book!) and tried not to anger Mother Nature (ahem, to clean the selfishness out of my soul) by not complaining about the grossness out there, because next week it really needs NOT to rain. We both have camp trips coming up and in the case of my trip, soggy camping is considerably less fun than dry camping... and for Scott, soggy camp trips with hundreds of bored and cranky teenagers are seriously less fun than dry camp. So. Let it rain, for now.
Today we're wandering around the house, with all the doable chores already done and it's too soon to start the rest of the chores, and other chores like laundry aren't worth doing when it's so DAMP. So, I dunno, maybe we'll go shopping. Or, take naps. Scott is back to work tomorrow, so we won't go far or stay out late, but it smells funky here, and the sink is clogged, and... aw, too bad it's raining.
Oh, the colonoscopy? All's well! Thanks for asking!

Seek and Assume

In the past few weeks I've found myself in situations where groups of people were working to make things happen. First, the parish picnic, then camping with my siblings and friends, and tonight a movie night at our parish.

At the picnic, we did what we do as a staff every year, which is forget to ask for help. We also forget to determine who (if anyone!) is in charge of the event. So, this leadership vacuum opens up and woe to the one who steps into it, because suddenly every problem, every situation, every question (even if the question is "where should the garbage cans go?") becomes YOURS. No one wants to be this person, and when a leader materializes, everyone else stops thinking. At the end of the picnic I actually went to my office, put my head down on my desk, and took a nap before the 5:00 Mass.

On the camping trip, we were tripping over each other to be the leader. It's not as bad as it sounds- no one fought for the position of top dog or anything, and no one was bothered when someone used another person's lantern instead of theirs or anything like that. It was more like... we all wanted to be the one who had what anyone needed. Anytime one of us would approach the supply table, voices would ring out "what do you need? I've got that!" Everyone was so excited to camp that we'd all brought our A game, and we ended up with lots of copies of the same stuff (which was actually helpful, usually- tarps? stoves? utensils? bungees? We've got that!).

Tonight one person was in charge of the whole thing from the start, which is great- except that she forgot to address one big detail which made other people on the staff have to run around and put out little fires all day today.

I have to admit that in situations two and three, I tend to disappear- to sit back and not add my voice to the crowd of voices, unless really, there is no one else saying what I would say. I'm not that desperate to use my camp stove that I'd walk past everyone else's to do it (although I do love that stove, it's news, and so cool!) and when there are 5 or 8 or 15 leaders working on bungee arrangement I have instant faith that they can come up with something without my help. Tonight I am hiding in the office until all the "what should we do about _____" questions have been answered, and that is because I am loathe to jump into a fire that's already burning. As a leader I'm a lot more likely to plan out the steps long before, make lists, etc... I try to avoid panic.

When I worked in a residential that used the "Reality Therapy" model, one of the teachings was "seek and assume"- it meant that the residents should look for and take on positions of leadership whenever they came up. I think it's a good habit, and I think it's a philosophy I've adopted and live by. But I guess I also do the opposite- I watch for situations where my leadership is not needed, and I step back. Ah, so maybe I assume but don't necessarily seek... hmmm....

We'll pack tomorrow

Now how am I supposed to pack the car for camping??

Simple Woman's Daybook

Simple Woman's Day Book
FOR TODAY 06/11/10...

Outside My Window... it's gorgeous out there. I just went out to check the crops and weirdly, there's nothing to do. It's been raining for a couple of days, so the grass is growing and the raised bed is thriving- spinach, carrots, peas, and now sunflowers poking up. The pansies are gorgeous and the daylilies will be in bloom soon. All there is to do now is sit and wait and enjoy the beauty of it.
I am thinking... about our upcoming camping trip, one of my favorite weeks of the year. We have a new tent this year, don'tcha know, and it's AWESOME! I love love loved our old tent, but it was small, just big enough for our bed and a bag but no standing up, and barely even room to sit up, really- still, I am loyal to my old tent and thankful to have had it. But the new one. Wowsers!
I am thankful for... being able to afford to live in this beautiful apartment, to buy a great tent and go camping, for wonderful friends and family, for so so much.
From the kitchen... still, the smell of bacon from this morning, and the sound of Scott puttering around, up too late for breakfast but not really hungry for lunch. Tonight we're having some friends over for a fire, and I'm tickled to have plenty of food in the larder to share. I get a real kick out of having enough food for anyone who shows up at our house- it feels like such richness. I always wanted to be the house where everyone shows up and there's plenty for everyone. I toy with dreams of hosting an "anyone's invited" regular Thursday night dinner, where my friends from all parts of my life might show up and mix and mingle over my dining room table. Maybe someday. But for now, I love the feeling of being stocked up and ready to feed the troops, ready and open for business.
I am wearing... I changed from pajamas to pajama-like clothes; sweatpants and a t-shirt. I thought I'd be working outside but everything's kind of set out there, for now, so I'm back in my chair watching an old Jacques Cousteau film on TCM. I love this day!
I am creating... I have to admit, not a lot. I work best under deadline, and recently at work there have been very few deadlines- so I've been very under-productive. I'm trying to fill my time with reading up on all the catechetical journals that have stacked up on my desk over the years, so at least I'm doing work, even if it doesn't feel like hard work.
I am going... on vacation in a week and a half, with days off before camping to pack and organize and stock up on books and freeze water for the coolers, and gosh I'm excited!!! This trip, which began with a lot of YM friends joining us 8 or 9 years ago, has now turned into a Talbot family trip, with all my siblings in attendance for the first time this year. I can't frickin' wait!!!
I am reading... All those journals, like I mentioned- and on the extreme other end of the spectrum, I just finished "Are You There Vodka, It's Me Chelsea." I have a Sarah Vowell book in the shoot, and I've decided to buckle down and finally read "Hitchhiker's Guide" this Summer. I made the mistake of listening to a "recommended books" report on NPR and have added a bunch of good-sounding ones to my amazon wishlist... after a nice literature break since the end of school I'm ready for good reading.
I am hoping... for good weather or at least good tarps for the camping trip! And for the skies to clear up for tonight's fire. And for good news for a good friend!
I am hearing... funny old-sounding narration of the film in a french accent, and tons of baby birds outside demanding to be fed.
Around the house... Scott puttering, cats sleeping, laundry lying about.
One of my favorite things... oh I should have put that thing about having enough food here. Well another one is Summer. I love Summer. And Scott, he's my favorite thing of all.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: Another gathering with good friends tomorrow, Parish Picnic on Sunday, and lunch with a friend next week. Life is so good.
Here is picture thought I am sharing.
The aforementioned tent! Isn't she a beauty??

Back from the wilderness

We're just back from camping, and it's a weird re-entry for me, into the real world. We were really off the grid, with very little internet access, and have only just started using camp stoves to cook with on camping trips, as opposed to cooking over the fire like we did for the first few years of our marriage. We stay fairly dirty while we're camping, and eat haphazardly, not on a regular schedule. We take naps, we sit by the fire and keep it going all day, we float lazily in the lake, we drown in bug spray, we wash the dishes in cold water.
So when we get back, it can be quite an adjustment. I feel luxuriously clean after my first home shower, and today I marveled at the uniformly cold food at my disposal, the warm water, the evenly cooked bacon. I always worry that we have missed something BIG in the world while we've been away (like the MICROBURSTS that hit our town this week!) and when I get back and jump back into the daily flow of things, I half expect people to be able to tell that I'm from an outside place- I feel like Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer for a few days.












It always rains when we camp. Always. My brother is now calling it "the Morin Effect", because as soon as we arrived at the campground this week, where they'd happily been romping in the bright sunshine since Sunday, the sprinkles started to come. But rain is part of what I love about camping. I love the creativity that is called for by camping out in the elements (in a tent). I love the teamwork that is required. I love the different way that everything has to be done, from putting together lunch to changing one's clothes. I love that for part of each day, there's little else to do but rest and read and relax.
I am happy to be back, but I miss the lake and the tent and the call of the loons. Maybe there's time for one more trip before the Summer's over?

Well it's been a rainy week here in Lake Woebegone...

I'm mid-vacation and having an awfully nice time, despite the near-constant rain. I'm fighting the urges that everyone on Facebook is expressing, mourning the Summer and wishing it would just go away for crying out loud. I'm trying to take it all as a cosmic hint from the universe that I should just relax already.
We went on our annual camping trip and it was near-perfect, but for the lack of a few important people who would have been fun to have there, and who would have loved it. One of my favorite parts of this camping trip is the tinkering with the recipe of people that come each year. I used to be nervous about mixing people from different walks of my life, but learned from my friends Peter and John that it can be fun and a bit of an adventure. Visiting them was rarely a solo time, and I never knew who else would be there, and I always felt somehow proud that they'd allow me to mix with their other, cooler or smarter or way more talented friends.
Anyway, this year's trip brought 4 newbies, and it was fun to mix with them and watch them mix, and the ultimate-est fun-est to bring them to Tanglewood for A Prairie Home Companion. There is so much special about this trip that each year I feel so lucky to be there, and so proud to share it, as if I'm in a very special and kind of secret club into which I have the privilege of inviting new members.
Our week of vacation is capped at the other end with a 3rd of July cookout at our house, and then a 4th that's gloriously free of plans. They say the sun is due to come out again the day I head back in to work, naturally. Ah well, it's been a good vacation, so far, anyway.

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY 06/22/09...
Outside My Window... It is just RAINING. It's been raining, or misting, or pouring, or monsooning, for many many days now. The lawn is lush and green, or at least it looks like it from in here.
I am thinking... about our annual camping trip- out to western MA, where we'll gather and camp and then pilgrimage to Tanglewood to see our friend Garrison Keillor for A Prairie Home companion. There's much to do, lots of packing and inventory and then there are the cooking possibilities!! I'm thinking about rhubarb-blueberry pocket pies... How will I get it all done?
I am thankful for... for a mildly encouraging weather report. Thankful for my smaller body, of late, and the fun old clothes I get to wear again, and for the chance to take this trip every year.
From the kitchen... tonight, a lovely low-carb, hi-fiber meal, cooked without any trace of bacon grease.
I am wearing... winter clothes, practically... sweatshirt, new yoga pants... SOCKS. Where is Summer???
I am creating... Probably, those pocket pies! How can I help myself?
I am going... to dinner tomorrow night with friends, to breakfast Wed. with another friend, and then dinner with old friends Wed. night. I love weeks like this!
I am reading... not much! I did do my usual Summer reading shopping, and Mary Roach hasn't put out a new book, so I'm hoping to scrounge some books from my sister, and who knows what then?
I am hoping... beyond hope that the weather will clear up.
I am hearing... The Closer on tv. This is a GREAT show. Deputy Chief Johnson rocks.
Around the house... we have been cleaning and clearing spots for packing and stacking up gear for the trip.
One of my favorite things... is the lawn at Tanglewood. It's just perfect. And though you can't actually see the show from where we sit, we are surrounded by people lounging at picnic tables, sipping wine, and the grass is so pristine that you can walk around without ever stepping on a stone or twig. After the show, we all go into the shed, and do a big singalong that always makes me teary just for the sheer joy of it.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: Packing, friends, cooking, camping, laughing, sunning, swimming, napping, reading, noshing, loving, relaxing, playing.
Here is picture thought I am sharing... it's the "view" from our "seats" at Tanglewood.

outlook: rain

We're t-minus one week on the big yearly camping trip. Here's the week's forecast as it was this morning on almanac.com:





Now, on second inspection, it looks like this:





So, THAT'S not really an upgrade.
On our wedding day, it rained like it's been raining around here this weekend. Monsoon-ish. It rained the kind of rain where you look out the window and think to yourself "it is IMPOSSIBLE for rain to come down THIS HARD for THIS LONG!!!"
As for this weekend, all I want to do is lounge, and nap- not a lot of energy going on around here, and I don't mind a weekend like that every once in a while, but I do hope and pray it'll clear up for Thursday and next weekend. We've been rained on at Tanglewood, and it's SO not as fun as when it's nice out. I don't mind rainy camping but I surely prefer dry camping. Before our wedding everyone told us to hang our rosary beads out our windows, or put religious statues in the windows. I ended up with one really wet rosary. Rain rain go away already!!!

Jiggety-jig

We're back! We were in Pittsfield, MA, and the Berkshires on our yearly pilgrimage to the place where we got engaged (8 years ago), to Tanglewood and the live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion, to Bonnie Brae campground, where the neighbors are louder than the campers.
On our way out there, winding along route 9, we kept rattling off what we were about to see, stopping at places that we've stopped every time, and I said to Scott, "in 10 years we will just have the exact same conversation from door to campsite every year." But each year new memories are built, and different friends and family come out with us, and it's a little different. This year was marked by some rain, especially on the lawn before the PHC show started. Garrison Keillor walked out on the lawn in the pre-show moments, singing to us and stealing muffins from people's picnics.
After the show at Tanglewood every year, when the broadcast has signed off and no one is listening on the radio, Garrison comes back on stage and leads us in a sing along. We usually do some fun patriotic old songs that everyone knows, since it's usually around the 4th of July. This time though, he came back on with all his musical guests and performed for a full HOUR. A whole hour of extra fun with the cast and the hearty few hundred who stuck around, crowded under the shed, in the sauna-heat, swaying and singing at the top of our lungs. SO cool.
Now we're home and it's too rainy out to unload the car, so we're lounging a bit. It's vacation week here so we're looking forward to a lot of lounging like this.
We have a good, good life.

Long time gone

Last week I had a sort of out-of-nowhere vacation. I've only been at my new job about a month, so by rights I shouldn't have had a vaca, but that I'd already committed to this week long before I switched jobs. The week was Sister Camping Trip week, and I joined my sisters (minus one honorary-sister, who just wouldn't come) on a trip to Camden, ME (the way life should be).
By the time we'd got to Augusta, it had started to pour, and it kept on raining right up to the point when we finally got our tarp up over our site. (We had excitedly pulled out the screen tent my sister brought, thinking we'd put that up over the table and lounge and wait out the rain- but although we did have the screen tent, for some reason we didn't have the poles.)
This was kind of half-camping, with the fire mostly for show and most of our cooking tools went unused... but in our defense, it rained about half the time we were there.
We visited a lot of fun shops, ocean-side-town-kind of shops, and ate out at some pretty great spots, crested mount Battie (by car), picnicked with my brother and his family, and visited my nephew at Summer camp. The trip topped off with a deeeeelish dinner at my sisters' house, with most of my family there, and a little birthday celebration for several of us.
I am the youngest of five, and there's a big gap in between kids 3 and 4, effectively slicing us into two little sub-sets of kids. My brother and I are a year and 2 days apart. And growing up, my oldest sister and I were WORLDS apart (a whopping 10 years- doesn't seem like that much now, but then, it was big). My middle sister is the hub of the family; all of us connect to her and through her. It's funny how alike we are, after all, and how different.
It was fun hanging out with my sisters last week, and I hope we'll do it again.

ROCKport

Monday I'm off on a camping trip with my sisters. We're going up to Camden, ME with our tents, tarps and... laptops. Come on, it's the OTs! There's no need to camp like barbarians!
Anyway. So we're heading up to Maine for the week, and the weather forecast is looking good. I am really looking forward to book-reading time, to racking up a bit of a tan (finally- despite my best efforts this Summer I still look Norwegian) and eating great camp food (and some restaurant meals, yes...).
I haven't been to the Camden/Rockport area in years- we used to go up there for basketball games when I was a cheerleader for the Mt. Ararat Eagles basketball team. But my most significant visit to the area was when I was in 6th grade. My parents took my brother and me there on a day trip to see the foliage- it was Fall... did I mention that? No.
We visited the transportation museum at Owl's Head, then went to a rest area for lunch. I remember that I had theeeee most delicious tuna fish sandwich for lunch, then I zipped up my coat, grabbed my dessert (a twinkie) and went to jump on the big boulders that lined the walkway there.
After taking my last bite, I put my hands in the pockets of my jacket and went to take the next jump- but I tripped. Instead of a graceful leap, I fell face-first into the next boulder, and my hands were in my pockets, so I couldn't break my fall.
I broke my nose, bit through my tongue, fattened both lips and blackened both eyes. After calming me down and mopping up the blood we went to the emergency room (the very same one that the Chief Justice visited just this week after his seizure!) where they fixed me up. I ate ice cream (melted) for every meal for a couple of days, and wore a splint.
I'm expecting (hoping!) for a much less exciting trip to the area this time around. Hey, maybe there will be internet access at the campground, and I can blog about the whole-lotta-nothing I'm doing!