Halloween Sneak Peek

I couldn't resist posting a sneak peek at my Halloween costume. I don't usually get very excited about Halloween - I'm not very creative when it comes to costume ideas. But Sarah and Reg are having a party on Friday night and I thought a ladybug would be a cute costume. One of the perks of living at home is that my mom could help me with the costume. Actually, I should be honest and rephrase that. I came up with the idea, picked out the pattern, and ironed on the black dots, but Mom did everything else. There wasn't much "helping" on my part - I'm much better at moral support and gratitude as opposed to actual sewing and creating. I think Mom did a great job and the dress came out very cute. I can't wait to wear it on Friday! Thanks Mom!!!

Fall in Corinth

The foliage in Maine has been amazing this fall. Everywhere I drive there is one beautiful sight after another. My favorite spot is on the way to Dover-Foxcroft where I drive through this area surrounded with trees that are the most gorgeous colors, especially with the sun shining through them at 7:30 in the morning. However, I either never have my camera with me or I can't convince myself to actually stop the car and get out in the cold to take a picture, so I've just been enjoying the views for myself. I did stop the other day on the way to Bangor and take a picture of this tree that I thought was particularly pretty. It is just a tiny taste of the beauty we've been experiencing up here. I really do love fall!

Leonard Bernstein's 90th Birthday

This year is the 90th anniversary of the birth of Leonard Bernstein. As many of you know, Bernstein is one of my favorite composers and conductors. This picture is my most favorite one of him and I am always inspired by the emotion on his face (he is conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood). I've had this picture hanging in either my apartment or my classroom for at least the last 10 years and my students in Peru especially were quite familiar with my Bernstein passion (I had an entire bulletin board devoted to photos of Bernstein). I told them I hoped one day to conduct with the emotion and inhibition that Bernstein shows in this picture.

In honor of Bernstein's 90th birthday, many orchestras are featuring his music this year and there have been a lot of articles about him lately. I thought this one was really great. And his official website has amazing stuff on it as well. Check it out - maybe you'll fall in love with him a little bit too! :)

Progress

I was poking around the Obama website, trying to decide which t-shirt to buy so I could wear it up here on election day (I figure I'll be the only one in Corinth voting for him, so I wanted to proclaim it proudly), and I came across this poster. I think it is really beautiful and I wanted to share it with everyone.

Good times...

Our friend Erin posted some old Wanakee photos on her Facebook page and I couldn't resist sharing this one here too. Yes, this is Jean and I, circa 1997, when we lived together with Heather at the house in Epping. Our house was often a gathering place for all our Wanakee friends and we were hostesses for some great parties. I'll be honest, I don't remember this partyu at all, but this picture is priceless. Good times, good times...

Fall Weekend at Wanakee

I spent a wonderful fall weekend up at Wanakee, visiting Jean, Mike and the kids. The weather was PERFECT and I loved seeing camp in all it's fall glory. This is the first year in a long time that I will be able to experience Wanakee in all four seasons and I'm looking forward to it. I love camp during the summer when it is filled with kids and energy, but there is something very special about it during the off season, when it is quieter and more peaceful. I love feeling like I have the place to myself. And the beauty of the foliage this weekend was overwhelming.



Jean and I spent all of Saturday cooking meals for a youth group that was using camp for the weekend. It makes for an incredibly long day (we worked 14 hours straight on Saturday), but I'll be honest, it is work I like. I've always felt like I learned how to do things at Wanakee that I would never have learned anywhere else - this includes painting, fixing toilets, building yurt platforms, putting up drywall, including mudding and taping, and mowing a lawn with a tractor. And, of course, how to cook for large numbers of people. As most of you, I hate to cook and am not good at it at all. Luckily Jean is a VERY patient teacher and we always have a good time cooking together. Some Indigo Girls on the radio and some good conversation with a dear friend even makes cooking chicken for 25 people seem like fun. :)

New Addition

It was an exciting weekend for my goddaughter Christel and her parents, Stacey and Fred. Christel's baby sister, Faith Marie, was born on Sunday morning. I talked to Stacey on Sunday night and everyone is doing well. Christel seems quite enamored with her baby sister, which is good. She's been any only child for the past 3.5 years, so I'm sure this will be a big adjustment (just like it was for me when my brother showed up after I had had the place to myself for over 3 years!). I haven't had a chance to see them yet and meet Faith, but I copied this picture from Stacey's hospital blog so I could share it with everyone. I'll have pictures of my own to post after I visit them over Halloween weekend. Congratulations to my dear friend Stacey and her beautiful family!!

Obama '08

Every day I miss my life living overseas, but one of the best things about being back in the States at this very moment is being able to be part of the election process firsthand. Yes, the coverage can get to be too much sometimes and Sarah Palin's voice (and everything she stands for) drives me crazy, but I love being inspired by Barack Obama and the vision he has for our country. I can't wait to cast my vote in person in 31 days and watch our future unfold in a new, positive, exciting way.

My friend Amanda made a great video with the music from "Yes We Can" as the background and it reminded me of how much I had loved this video when I first saw it. I thought it was worth posting it here as a reminder and an inspiration to us all.

Some changes are good...

... at least that is the mantra that I keep repeating in my head in attempts to convince myself that I am okay with the changes that have happened in my life over the last year. I haven't quite gotten myself to believe that all the changes that have happened are for the best, but there is at least one recent one that I am definitely okay with. After growing my hair long for the last year, I was desperately ready for a change. I haven't had my hair that long since I was in college and, while it was nice to have it long for a while, I got to the point where I just couldn't handle it anymore. My students in Manchester used to joke with me that the more stressed I was, the shorter my hair would get. There was a measure of truth to this - for me it is very relaxing to have my hair cut, so it is a good remedy for stress. Needless to say, things have been a bit stressful lately, so a hair cut was in order. I went in and had 8 inches cut off and I'm very happy with it. Here I am, posing with Ralph. He loves to be held like this - what a nut!

I hadn't seen Stacey and Christel in a long time, so it was nice to visit with them while I was in Epping. They came over to Marc's one night and hung out with me and Ralph. Christel thinks Ralph is pretty great (which he is, of course) and she wore him out - patting him, trying to get him to do what she wanted, laying on him. Ralph was very patient, then slept like a log for hours after they left!

Christel is 3 1/2 and has definitely reached the age where she likes to do what she wants to do, not what anyone else wants her to do. After all these years of everyone taking lots of pictures of her, I think she has gotten sick of always posing, so she isn't very good at smiling nicely for the camera anymore. I had to bribe her a bit to get her to smile for this one, but it was worth it!