Things are looking up!

I had high hopes that a change of season would bring about some positive changes in my life and it seems like that has actually been the case!! The summer was rough for me this year and I was very happy to see it be over. Now that fall has arrived, I'm feeling like my luck/karma/destiny/fate/whatever you want to call it is changing for the better. The job situation is slowly getting resolved, which I am very happy about. I've started teaching part time at Foxcroft Academy, a local private/public high school. I contacted their music teacher, Shane, a few weeks ago and asked if there was any opportunity for me to become involved in the music department. He immediately emailed me back and offered me a job! Because it is a small school with lots going on, many of the music ensembles meet at night from 6-8. I'm now directing a percussion ensemble on Thursday nights and the select choir on Tuesday night. I've had my first rehearsals with both groups and I love it!! The kids are great and they are very enthusiastic and dedicated. It is a big music department and Shane is obviously doing great things with them. I'm so happy to be able to be a part of it. In addition to directing these two ensembles, I'm also going to be accompanying the full choir that meets during the school day and Shane wants me to play piano in the pit for the musical in the spring. I'm really thankful that he is willing to have me do so much and that there is such an active, exciting music department so close by that I can be a part of. I didn't realize how much I missed teaching until I started working with these kids. I'll definitely be ready to have my own gig somewhere next year!

In addition to my work at FA, I've been slowly getting some subbing work as well. I've subbed for the vocal/general music teacher here in Corinth twice, which has gone well. Given the state of their music classrooms, or lack there of, it is pretty obvious that Corinth as a district doesn't put much emphasis on the arts and music. The music classrooms are shared with health and social studies and the choir has to meet in the cafeteria. And none of the elementary schools even have music rooms. It is sad to see and really makes me think about the kind of place I want to be teaching in in the future. But for subbing it is fine - it is easy and close by, so I'm fine if they keep calling me. Yesterday I had the chance to sub in Hampden, a suburb of Bangor. It was completely the opposite of Corinth - I was subbing MS choir and the music room was amazing!!! The MS itself is beautiful and fairly new and I just couldn't get over the facilities. It was the absolute other end of the spectrum from Corinth. I wouldn't mind teaching in a district like Hampden, that's for sure!

So, things are moving along in the right direction for me, which feels very nice. I still don't have anything full time, but I'm okay with that at this point. I'm committed to the work I'm doing at FA and I would hate to have to give it up for another job. I'm coming to terms with what this year is going to look like for me and am accepting it as it is, while also looking forward to finding a great teaching job somewhere for next year.

Retraction

Thanks to those of you who read my previous post about Sarah Palin banning books and made comments. After some further research, I found that the information was not completely accurate and I apologize for posting it as fact. Hearing anything about banning books gets me pretty riled up and seeing my favorite author, Madeline L'Engle, on the list was enough to set me over the edge. Thanks to whoever wrote the following comment:

The source (of the list, in response to Sean's question about who was the source) is the librarian releasing the list, which may not be accurate. It is accurate, however, that she asked the librarian if she would support a ban on books if a list were provided. The answer was no and the librarian was later fired along with other public officials who did not support Palin during her campaign. A little fishy, and we can come to our own conclusion as to her motive for asking the question and the subsequent firing. That's what's so wonderful about living in a democracy!

I agree with the author of the comment - it is wonderful that we live in a democracy where we can question others and form our own opinions. The internet is a powerful tool, especially in these heated political times, and it provides us with incredible access to information. It is important to be smart and to ask questions and to be sure the information is correct before we believe it as fact.

And, while Sarah Palin may not have banned books, there are still plenty of other things that make her a very scary candidate to me. I'll be using my precious vote on Obama and will be very proud to cast it.

Georges Pond

This post is long overdue (seems to be the story of my life lately), but better late than never, right? I'm sure most of you have seen my photos from my week of vacation at our camp on Georges Pond in Franklin, Maine. I've included some of the photos here, but I also wanted to write some thoughts about the place and the week. We've been coming to Georges Pond for nearly my entire life and I am incredibly grateful to have spent my childhood summers here. As we were sitting around the dinner table Saturday night, Mom, Marc and I enjoyed a little trip down memory lane as we shared stories about summers at camp - Megan is a real trooper for listening to us for hours!

Here are some of my favorite memories:
* Taking baths in the lake with Marc and Amanda (my friend Amanda used to spend every summer at camp with us) - we originally had no shower or bathtub in our camp, so my mom would send us into the lake in our bathing suits with a bar of Ivory soap and a bottle of PertPlus shampoo/conditioner. We would swim out to the raft and lather up and jump in, over and over again. And the best part was when we would lather up the dock with the soap and shampoo and then run and slide off it. It was so fun!
* The time we came back from Bar Harbor and there was a bat in the camp - we all stayed outside, in terror, while my dad climbed into the rafters and went after the bat with a canoe paddle
* How our weeks at camp were the only time Mom would let us have sugar cereal, so it was a really big deal!
* Going up to Cadillac Mountain in Bar Harbor for sunset and always talking about going up for sunrise someday, but never actually getting up early enough to do it (I still haven't seen sunrise at Cadillac!)
* The week I spent at camp with Marc and Nicole and how Nicole and I would spend every morning kayaking around the lake and picking blueberries on the island - so peaceful and relaxing

Here is a very incomplete list of things I love about Georges Pond:
* The view of the lake from the deck of our camp
* The colors of the sun as it sets behind the island
* The smell of the inside of our camp - it just smells like camp and is comforting
* The sound of the loons calling to each other across the lake - there were 8 loons this summer!
* How each of us always calls out when we spot a loon and everyone goes to look for it and what a big deal it is for us, no matter what our age
* Sitting on the reading tree and looking out over the lake

And this summer in particular I loved:
* Watching Ralph try to catch ducks in the lake, and fail miserably every time
* Kayaking with Mom and pointing out the camps that we like, and would love to own some day
* Eating yummy corn and green beans from the farmstand in Ellsworth
* Playing ongoing games of Scrabble with Mom and being proud of ourselves for using bigger and better words as the week progressed
* Watching Ralph be so excited to swim in the lake
* The "dumb duck" that Mom and I fed one day - he didn't even notice the bread until we threw it at his head - not very smart!
* Swimming on the one day that was warm and feeling like a little kid again

More Joy

I had a great weekend in NH, which was really nice since I'll be moving up to Maine on Wednesday to live at home for the year. It started out with Saturday night, when my Wanakee friends and I met up for dinner at Zampas in Epping. It was really fun to see everyone - we haven't all been together since Sean and Victoria's wedding (I think it was in 2003). And Lisa provided us with a great surprise - Kristina! KB lives in Iowa, but was home for the weekend for her sister's birthday (she was a surprise for her sister too) so she was able to come to dinner too. The 11 of us, including Eric and Meredith's 1.5 year old daughter Lucy, took over the back room of Zampas and enjoyed hours of good food, good drinks, and good company. It was fabulous!

Sunday was a day of family for me. I went to Old Home Day up in Wilmot, NH with my grandparents. My Papa and his family are from Wilmot and my Mimi grew up nearby too. Mimi and Papa always go back for Old Home Day and I've been with them a few times, though the last time was 1996, so it has been a while. I always love going with them and seeing them with all their old friends. And I definitely feel a strong attachment to the area - I'm way into family history and I love seeing the old houses and cemeteries and hearing my grandparents tell stories and make connections for me. Old Home Day was held at the the Wilmot North Church (see photo) and it was a beautiful day. And, to my surprise, a bunch of my extended family showed up. My papa's sisters Althea and Jean were there with their husbands, my uncles Chet and Henry. And Henry and Jean's sons Randy and Steve were there, as well as Chet and Althea's son Kent Michael. It was great to see my cousins and great aunts and uncles and catch up with them. And it is always neat to see my papa and his youngers sisters all together. Kent Michael reminded me of Old Home Day in 1983 when he and his now-wife Chris asked me to be the flower girl in their wedding (their wedding is one of my favorite childhood memories) - he said he remembers it perfectly - they took me for a walk to ask me and he even remembered that I was wearing a white dress. It was really sweet of him to remind me that day. Good memories at Old Home Day!

From Old Home Day, I went to Wanakee to see Jean, Mike and the kids one more time before I head up to Maine. It is always great to be at camp and to spend time with Jean. We spent Sunday night cleaning the showerhouse, which was not part of our initial plan. We went into the showerhouse to fix a broken toilet and were overwhelmed by how disgusting the whole place was, so we rolled up our sleeves and got started on cleaning. Nearly 3 hours later, the showerhouse looked better, but still needs work. I"m always amazed at the things I will do at Wanakee - things I wouldn't do anywhere else - like cleaning boys toilets and washing mold off walls. But I love doing work at camp - it makes me feel like I am accomplishing something. After all of our work on Sunday night, Jean and I treated ourselves to a nice day on Monday. We lounged around with Emerson and Eloise (Alex is a camper this week) in the morning, then Jean and Eloise took me out to lunch at the Common Man. Jean and I have been talking about going to the Common Man all summer, so it was nice to finally make it. We both love it there and it brings back good memories of being on staff at Wanakee and going to CM on Saturday nights. It was fun to be "ladies who lunch" and we had a good time with Eloise. I love the picture of her and Jean above. So beautiful!

Joy Anyway

As some of you know, this hasn't been the best summer for me, for a variety of reasons. My teen camp job has been extremely challenging and I haven't been able to find a teaching job for the fall, along with a million other things that are just throwing me for a loop. I've been seeing a counselor since I returned from Peru and my work with her has been helpful this summer. She challenged me to find "joy anyway" in my life, even when things seem like they are going horribly, and I've luckily had some moments of joy to keep me going, including hanging out with Ralph, the wonder dog.

You've seen Ralph's adorable picture on this blog many times and I couldn't resist a few more cute shots. Marc was helping replace the headlight in my car and I was loading things into the back and Ralph loves the car, so he had to show us how adorable he can be. Right after this shot, he proceeded to get out of the back of the car, go around to the front where Marc had the hood up, and jump up onto the engine. Not the sharpest tack, but he sure is cute!!

Ralph is quite the rock star of Hedding. Whenever any of the kids see him, they yell his name and make a beeline for him. He is usually very good about taking all the attention he is given and he loves to be loved. And he never gets tired of hearing people say how beautiful he is and what a good dog he is. It is a rough life!

Eggplant Parmesan

As most of you know, I am not a good cook at all. I wish I enjoyed it, but I just don't. I appreciate good food, but I have no desire to create it myself. However, yesterday I was inspired. Actually, it was thanks to my brother, who knows how much I love eggplant parmesan and planted eggplant in his garden this year so I could have it. He was very proud of the eggplant and anxious to cut it and give it to me, so we harvested it the other day, which meant I needed to do something with it. So last night I made eggplant parmesan from Marc's fresh, organic eggplant and it was great!! I was so surprised and pleased that it turned out so well. My mom was down at the cottage and I think she was a little nervous about eating it, but she ended up loving it too. I wish I had taken a picture of my creation, but we were hungry and just dug in. I don't think I am going to turn into a cook by any stretch of the imagination, but it is nice to finally discover something I can make, and that I actually enjoying making.

Nicole and Sierra

My dear friend Nicole, who I have been friends with since first grade, called me last week and asked me to come down and visit this past Sunday. I had met her 3 month old daughter Sierra once and had a wonderful time with her, so I was excited to see them both again. We had a nice, laid back visit - lots of time holding Sierra and chatting with Nicole, and Nicole and I even made it out to see "Mamma Mia". Here is Sierra in the bathtub - she is so cute, even when she has her serious face on!

Nicole is a wonderful mom and it is fun to see her in this role. A lot of my friends have had children and I love watching them be parents, but it is extra special to see Nicole, who I've known for so long, take on the role of a mother so naturally. Sierra is very lucky!

Footnotes

This post is long overdue, but I was waiting for photos of the concert from my mom's camera, so better late than never!

I spent an amazing week at Wanakee directing Footnotes and I couldn't have asked for things to go any better. This was my first year of directing the entire event and I was nervous, but it seems like it was just meant to be. Sue Rudolf has directed Footnotes for the past 20-something years and she had always told me that she wanted me to take over when she was ready to give it up. This year was the year and I am so thankful that Sue entrusted Footnotes to me. She has built an amazing program and it is always one of the best weeks of the summer at Wanakee. Because it is so well designed, it was easy for me to just step in and take over. I was a little concerned that the kids would be disappointed that Sue wasn't there, but I didn't hear a single complaint. The kids were amazing and I had such a great time standing up in front of them every day. It was honestly the most fun I have had all year!!! The volunteers and staff were incredible and it just made for a perfect week.

There is always a Variety Show at Footnotes, which gives the kids and staff a chance to show off their various talents. Here is the Footnotes Staff and Friends singing "I Looked Up", a beautiful song Sarah brought to Wanakee years ago. I LOVE singing with these women. I don't pretend to be a good singer (I like to sing the melody down in the tenor range), but nothing makes me happier than singing with Jean and Sue and other Wanakee folks.

Sue has always said that God is smiling down on Footnotes since it has never once, in all these years, rained on the Saturday morning concert. I was a little concerned this year, since my karma and luck haven't been so great lately, and it did downpour Friday night, but Saturday morning was dry and sunny. Hooray for another beautiful Footnotes concert!!

I'm so thankful I was able to spend this week up at Wanakee. It was everything I needed right now. I could forget about looking for jobs and dealing with life and everything else that was going on and just make music with kids and enjoy being at Wanakee. It reminded me that life is good, even if it might not feel like it all the time. If only I could just stay at Wanakee forever...

"Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa!"

The main reason for our visit to the Midwest was to go to Iowa. The majority of the people I met in Berlin either came from Iowa or had some connection to Iowa, so it became quite a joke amongst all of us. Michelle and I both felt the need to experience Iowa firsthand, so what better tour guide than Karisti, a native Iowan. The first stop in an Iowa adventure was the Field of Dreams. The minute Karisti told Michelle and I that she would take us there, we couldn't stop talking about it. The words "heaven" and "Iowa" became the most used in our conversations.

The Field of Dreams didn't disappoint at all. It was beautiful!! It looks exactly like it did in the movie, of course, and just has this great feeling to it. There were some visiting families who were throwing around a ball and running the bases, but other than that we had the place to ourselves. The house is gorgeous from outside - definitely my dream house - though in my dream it would be looking out over a lake instead of corn fields. Michelle and I both acted out the scene in the movie where they come out of the corn fields and utter the famous words: "Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa." It was incredibly fun and I am so thankful to Karisti for driving a few hours out of our way to take us there. I think I need to watch the movie again sometime soon...

Michelle and I were determined to get our picture taken with something that said "Iowa", so here we are on the steps of the old statehouse, which is now the main building on the campus of the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Karisti went to U of I for grad school, so it was fun to have her show us around the campus and the town. While we were there, there was a tornado warning, a first for both Michelle and I, being East Coast girls. The sirens went off and we took cover first in a store and then in a cafe, which had the bonus of food, a TV, and a bathroom. The tornadoes didn't end up coming through Iowa City, but they were nearby, so it wouldn't have been a good idea for us to get on the highway and drive back to Cedar Rapids. We watched the news coverage until the warning was over, then headed back. It was a very exciting afternoon!

So, the moral of the story is that Iowa is wonderful! I'm so glad I had a chance to see where Karisti is from and experience Iowa firsthand, after hearing so much about it. It was great to see Karisti's parents and just spend some time at her house. It was a fabulous trip from beginning to end!

Chicago is my kind of town...

It has already been almost a week since I was in Chicago (and it has been quite the week!) but better late than never for this post. Karisti, Michelle and I met up in Chicago last week and had a fabulous time! For those of you who don't know, the three of us lived in the same apartment building in Berlin for my first year, then Karisti moved to London and Michelle moved to Singapore. The last time the three of us were together was my 30th birthday in Berlin 2 years ago (it was also the World Cup, which was super fun), so it has been way too long. Karisti lives in Iowa, so meeting in Chicago to start our trip was the most logical. I had never been to Chicago before and I loved it! What an incredible city!! I could very easily live there.

We had a couple of fun-filled days in the city, including:
* Taste of Chicago - The annual huge food festival was going on while we were there, so we ate and drank our way through it. Tons of people and lots of great food, even some vegetarian things!
* Bike tour - Chicago is a flat city, so it is perfect for biking. Michelle booked us on a 3 hour, 11 mile bike tour of the city that was fabulous! We biked along the lake and through a bunch of the parks. I had forgotten how much I love to bike and it is the perfect way to see a city.
* Boat tour - I'm also a big fan of boats, so a boat tour along the river and on the lake was right up my alley. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and kept throwing information at us about all the buildings we were seeing, most of which I can't remember. But it was very cool to be on the river and look up at all the amazing architecture.
* Fireworks - Chicago does it's fireworks on July 3rd, which worked out perfect for us since Michelle and I were leaving on the morning of the 4th. We camped out in Grant Park, took turns going to get food and beer at Taste of Chicago, listened to the Grant Park Orchestra perform (they did 1812 Overture, which is Michelle's favorite, so she sang along), and then watched the fireworks, which were awesome. They set them to radio music and started out with Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer", so we had a great time dancing and singing along.

All in all, a wonderful time in Chicago with the girls!

Josh Ritter and the Boston Pops

It has been a busy week, so I figured I should start posting some items, in hopes of covering everything as soon as possible. I'll start with oldest and work my way forward. Last Friday night Karen and I went to see Josh Ritter with the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall. We had first seen Josh at this tiny jazz club in Berlin in 2006. It was just him and his guitar and we loved it! We even went up to talk to him after and he was super friendly, and probably very happy to be talking to Americans in the middle of Berlin. We heard him again last year at the Somerville Theater, then I saw that he was playing with the Pops this year. It was so fun to see him and his band up there on stage with these classical musicians. Josh was visibly blown away by the moment and kept talking about what a big deal this was for him and his band - all their families were there and he just couldn't get over the fact that he was playing on stage at Symphony Hall with the Boston Pops. It was great!! And the audience loved every minute of it - Karen and I were talking about the members of the Pops probably aren't used to an audience that hoops and hollers and sings along to every word. It was cool to hear his music being played with orchestral accompaniment (some songs worked better than others) and he played some old favorites along with music from his newest album. And he made me incredibly happy by playing my favorite song, at least my favorite of the last few months, as his final encore of the night. Check it out below.



And here is the link to his website if you are interested in checking out more of his music. I highly recommend it!!
JoshRitterWebsite

Birthday Dinner

I turned 32 on June 19 (yikes!) and celebrated by going out to dinner with Marc and Megan at Zampas. It was nice to be home for my birthday again for the first time in four years and we had a great night! Good food, good wine, good company - all the things you need for a fabulous birthday!

Boston

I spent a few days last week in Boston, getting a little dose of culture outside the mecca of Epping, NH. It is always fun to go down and hang out with Rosemary and Karen and this trip was no exception. Rosemary and I went to the JFK Museum, which I absolutely love. As some of you know, I've been a JFK fan for as long as I can remember and was particularly infatuated with him in middle school and high school when my political aspirations were in full swing. I remember going to the museum at one point in high school (I think maybe my dad took me down...), but I honestly remembered very little of the museum, except for the architecture and the fact that I loved it - I just didn't have very many details about it still in my head. So it was great to go back now and experience the museum again. It is incredibly well done and just so beautiful.

It was a picture-perfect day in Boston and the museum is in a beautiful location out on the point in Boston. I love the architecture of the building, particularly this dramatic part of it that is all covered in glass. All in all, a wonderful trip to the JFK Museum - Rosemary, thanks for taking me!

The highlight of my trip to Boston was meeting little Sierra Piche Nicholas. Sierra is the 6 week old daughter of my friend Nicole and her husband Joshua. Nicole and I have been friends since the beginning of first grade and we stayed friends even after her family moved to Massachusetts in 2nd grade. Nicole is definitely the keeper of lots of my childhood memories and I love that we are still friends. It was wonderful to meet Sierra and to see Nicole being such a fabulous mother. Sierra is beautiful and I had a great time cuddling with her all day.

Weekend At Wanakee

It is amazing to me how much I can actually LOVE a place. The minute I get anywhere near Wanakee, I am incredibly happy. As I was driving up on Saturday morning, my first sight of the lake and the island made me break into a huge smile. I feel so lucky to have this place be such an important part of my life. Jean and I walked down to the waterfront this morning and were talking about how it just does our hearts good to be there and, for me, having Jean and Mike there makes it even better. I spent Saturday helping Jean out with Work Day - we cooked lunch for the volunteers and just did some general work around camp. I'm hoping to spend as much time as possible up at camp during the month of June. It gives me a chance to be at my favorite place on the planet AND spend time with Jean, Mike and the kids, some of my favorite people. So look for many more Wanakee pictures and posts to follow. Life is good at Wanakee!

Bar Harbor with Sarah

As some of you know, I spent every summer of my life up near Bar Harbor - our camp is on George's Pond in Franklin, about 30 minutes from BH and we were always going into BH since it was the only place around where there was anything to do. My dad was born in BH, so we have always felt close ties to the place and growing up there was an incredibly important part of my life. I wouldn't have traded spending every summer on George's Pond for anything in the world. It was a very idyllic life and I know how lucky I was to have that.

I'm always happy to be able to share BH with people and let them see how special it is, so it was great to have Sarah come up to visit. She took Friday off and made the long drive up here (Sarah, you are the best!) and we arrived in BH by mid-afternoon. It was sunny and beautiful and we had a great time walking around the town and checking things out. A lot of shops were beginning to close, but we made note of which places we wanted to check out the nest day, being the practiced shoppers that we are. :) Here were are in the park overlooking the pier in downtown BH.

Unfortunately Saturday ended up being very rainy, but we still made the best of it. We did some shopping and got some great things - BH has an awesome dog store with all kinds of gourmet treats, so Sarah stocked up for Annabelle and Bentley and I bought a few things to bring to my boy Ralph. We had hoped to do a boat ride around the island and see the sights from the ocean, but decided it just wasn't going to happen in the rain. We would have been freezing! Instead, we opted for a trolley ride, which meant we got to see the sights, while still staying relatively warm and dry. Our trolley driver was very informative and we hit all the big things to see in Bar Harbor - Cadillac Mountain (which was completely fogged in), Thunder Hole (which wasn't doing much, but still always nice to see), Sieur de Mont spring, all the big mansions along the ocean, Jackson Laboratory, and Jordan Pond House.

This photo is from Jordan Pond House, where we stopped to warm up with coffee. When it is warm and sunny, this place is packed with people who've come to eat the famous popovers and drink tea on the lawn. It was pretty quiet when we were there, but the view was still beautiful, even in the rain. The mountains are called The Bubbles, or the Boobies as we used to call them when we were little.

One of the best parts about being in BH this weekend was being able to eat at Rosalie's Pizza. This is my favorite restaurant in BH and my favorite pizza place in the world. It used to be called Napoli's and, to my family it will always be Napoli's, even though the name changed to Rosalie's probably 20 years ago. Eating at Napoli's is always an important part of our summers in BH. It is only open in the summers and, lucky for Sarah and I, it opened for the season two days before we arrived. We saw a line out the door when we walked by on Friday night, but we were able to get a seat on Saturday afternoon. The pizza was as amazing as I remembered it, if not better, and Sarah said it was some of the best pizza she has ever had. We had a great time drinking beer, eating pizza, and talking, talking, talking, as good friends do. Sarah is one of my favorite people to travel with and I always love our girls weekends away. It was great to be able to show her around BH and for her to enjoy it so much. All and all, a fabulous weekend!

Golf Carts, Lawn Mowers, and Hondas

I think the title of this post accurately describes the last couple of weeks up here in Maine. It has been great spending time with my parents - I think we have spent more time together in the past 4 weeks than in the previous 4 years. I've gone golfing with my dad a couple of times and he actually let me drive the golf cart! It's pretty impressive since the last time I drove a golf cart was probably 20 years ago and I ran it into the post that was holding up a deck. Not good! But this time I safely transported Dad around the golf course and he happily told me all about the ins and outs of playing golf. I don't think I'll ever actually be a golfer, but it was nice time spent with my dad and I know he liked being able to share his favorite hobby with me.

Since I've been living with my parents for free since I got home, eating their food, driving their car, and all of that, I decided that it was time for me to get off my butt and do something. It came in the form of mowing the lawn. I've never been a big lawn mower - I tried mowing the fields one summer at Wanakee and Dave Johnston yelled at me because I hit too many rocks with the tractor. Luckily our yard doesn't have too many rocks, though it is pretty big and mowing it takes a lot of time. However, we have a riding lawn mower, which makes it much easier. I was pretty happy to tool around on the lawn mower, listening to my iPod and enjoying the sun. It wasn't a bad way to spend an afternoon and I know my parents were happy to have all of us working out in the yard together. I think Dad is a little sad that I am moving to the cottage and won't be around to mow the lawn for him this summer. Maybe I have a future in landscaping if the whole teaching thing doesn't work out...

One of the big things that has consumed the last few weeks is having to buy a car. One of the things I loved best about living overseas was not having to worry about owning a car, but having a car is unavoidable here. I wish I lived in a city where I could use public transportation, but instead I live in rural Maine and I have to have a car. Luckily my parents again came to my rescue (have I mentioned how amazing they are and how great they have been about my sudden life change, which has affected all of our lives?). When I thought I would be returning from Lima at the end of next year, my parents and I had talked about me buying my mom's Honda CRV from them and she would get a new car. When I came home earlier than expected, we went back and forth about whether that was still the best thing to do financially. Dad and I went and looked at used Honda Civics for me and found nothing. We also looked at new CRVs for Mom and decided that they were too expensive. Now, my mom has always wanted a minivan (I know, it makes no sense - she has no one to schlepp around anymore, but she still loves them) and luckily the people who live next to my grandparents own a car dealership with a lot of minivans. They were able to give my parents a good deal on a year old minivan that my mom absolutely loves, which means I get the CRV. The CRV is a great car and it was really the solution I wanted anyway, but I needed to let my parents work through the different options. None of the solutions were perfect, since we weren't planning on 2 car payments right now, but this seems like it will work out. And now I have a car!!

So, that is my last few weeks in a nutshell. Being in Maine has been good - my counseling sessions went well and just being home has made me feel better. I leave tomorrow to move to our cottage at Hedding for the summer. After having been in Maine for 4 weeks and basically spending all my time with my parents, I am ready for a change of scenery and a chance to catch up with friends.

Home

It is amazing the restorative effects of home, of just being in this place. I returned to Maine last Tuesday afternoon, after a weepy goodbye with Reada, Dave and Tim in Lima on Monday night. As sad as I was to leave them, I was incredibly happy to be leaving Lima and the situation there and returning home to Maine and my family. I've been feeling bad lately that I haven't been feeling more guilty about leaving school and my students, but my counselor made a good point - we feel guilty when we've done something that we think was wrong, so these feelings just further support that I made the right decision. I'm still struggling with a lot of things and have been having some unexpected crying moments that have come out of nowhere, but hopefully being home will continue to help me heal. Thanks to all of you for your emails and phone calls over the past few weeks. I appreciate the support and love more than I can ever tell you - I'm so lucky to have you all in my life.

It is hard to believe I have already been home for a week. As I am writing this, I am watching the torrential downpour that is happening outside my window. It is taking some adjustment to be back in a place where the weather changes daily, but I like it. The past week has been beautiful spring weather, the best Maine has to offer, and I don't mind a good rain shower here and there. I'm just hoping for sun tomorrow - I'm meeting Stacey and my 3 year old goddaughter Christel in Portland and we are going to the Children's Museum and out to lunch. I'm really looking forward to spending some good time with them - the joys of being back home.

One of the best parts of the past week has been hanging out with Ralph, my brother's 2 year old black lab. Marc, being the good brother he can be sometimes, decided that Ralph would be good therapy for me when I got home and he was right. It does the heart good to have a dog to take care of and Ralph is especially lovey. As long as he is around his people, he is content, so he snuggled with me and followed me around for 6 days and made me incredibly happy. We went on walks and played in the yard and just laid around for days and it was great. I was very sad to see him leave today (Marc and Megan were missing him and wouldn't let me keep him any longer), but I'm hoping to convince them to let me have him one day a week this summer while I'm down at Hedding. And I think a dog of my own might be in my future. We'll see...

The other highlight of my first week home was my friends Becky and Betsy coming up to Maine for a visit. We've been friends forever - we were all percussionists at UNH together and then all taught music at the same time and would meet in Manchester for dinner once a week for years until I left for Berlin. They were on school vacation last week and immediately asked if they could come up and see me. They are the first people who have ever offered to come all the way up here, so I of course said yes! We hung out in Bangor the first night and I took them to a fun Irish pub. Then Friday morning we headed for Mount Desert Island. As lots of you know, I grew up spending my summers on a lake about 30 minutes from MDI and it is one of my favorite places on the planet - right up there with Wanakee and Berlin. It was so fun to be able to show Becky and Betsy around the island and play tourists for a day. The weather was perfect and the island was pretty quiet since the summer season hasn't started yet. We drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain and the view was incredible - it felt like we could see forever. Then we went to Sand Beach (where this photo was taken) and Thunder Hole, then into downtown Bar Harbor for lunch at Geddy's, the only restaurant open in the off-season. It was a perfect day and I'm so glad Becky and Betsy came to visit and I could share it with them.

So, that sums up my first week back in my non-international life. Future posts may not include exciting destinations like previous posts, but I'll try to keep you updated on life back in New England.

Earthquake Season??

I woke up this morning to an earthquake, not the most pleasant way to be awakened. It was short, but felt very strong. Ever since the big earthquake in August, I often think that I am feeling one, but I'm pretty sure it is just my brain playing tricks on me. But I was talking with some friends last night and Deb said she had been feeling some little tremors the last few days. I've felt nothing, so I didn't think much of it until this morning when my entire apartment was shaking and rattling. Apparently the epicenter was really close to Lima, which is why it felt so violent this morning. Here is an article on the earthquake that was posted on the English language Peruvian news website:

Lima: Two earthquakes hit Peru's capital city

(LIP-ir) -- Two earthquakes, one a magnitude 4.4 and the other a 5.4, which were felt across Peru's capital and throughout the province of Lima, struck Peru's coast early Saturday morning, said the U.S. Geological Survey.

The first occurred at approximately 1:41 a.m. and was not perceived by many of Lima's citizens.

The second, however, which was felt at 7:51 a.m., alarmed many and caused people in the country's capital to dart out of their homes and business establishments.

According to Peru's Geophysical Institute (IGP), even though there were no immediate reports of damage, citizens in the region were alarmed by the seismic movement and immediately took to the streets seeking safe places to stand.

The first earthquake's epicenter, which was just off the Peruvian coast, was at a depth of approximately 61.3 km (38.1 miles) and 75 km (45 miles) north of Lima, Peru.

The epicenter of the magnitude 5.4 quake, which was felt much more by citizens on the coast, was registered to be at a depth of 41.2 km (25.6 miles) and just 14 kilometers (9 miles) west of the country's capital.

Every time there is an earthquake, people down here start talking about it being "earthquake season". Yes, I know it sounds completely illogical, but people here think that the earthquakes happen during certain times of the year and are related to the change in weather. I'm sure there is no real science to support it, but the weather has been changing lately. The mornings are cooler when I wake up and the weather is staying grayer in Miraflores during the day, instead of always been sunny. Winter isn't here yet, but any stretch of the imagination, but it is on its way and the weather is becoming different than it was in the height of summer. Maybe there actually is something to the earthquakes/changing weather idea...

Band Geeks

I had a great moment in symphonic band rehearsal yesterday that I just have to share. We are working on this great piece called Abracadabra, by Frank Ticheli. Ticheli is my favorite band composer and we've played one of his pieces on every concert I've done in the last 2 years here. The kids really like Abracadabra and always want to play it all the way through, from beginning to end, but I am constantly stopping and starting to work on different sections (as you should do in rehearsal). They worked really hard yesterday on another piece we are doing and there was 5 minutes left at the end of class, so I told them we could finally play Abracadabra through, beginning to end, no stops. They did a great job focusing and played it pretty well (it still isn't ready for the concert in 3 weeks, but it will definitely get there). They were playing with lots of energy and there was just a good feeling about it as we were making music together. And the best part was the end. After they played the last note, they sat there for a second, then broke into applause. It was wonderful!! I love that they had that reaction about their playing and that they felt so great about what they had just done. It was an awesome moment!

The Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu

Karisti has been visiting from London since last Monday and it has been great to have her here. I had Thursday and Friday off from school, so we went to Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. My friend Reada had been to MP twice over Christmas break (she had lots of visitors) and she gave us great advice about what to see and where to stay. She also hooked us up with a great driver named Jose. He didn't speak any English, but he was very patient with my Spanish and it was nice to be able to practice it so much.

We started the trip in Cusco and then drove through the Sacred Valley to Ollantaytambo. The ruins at Ollantaytambo are incredible. They sit right on the edge of the little town and it was cool to see them from everywhere. We hiked up to near the top of the ruins and had a great view of the town and the valley. Here we are walking along the ruins.

The most amazing ruin was the one at Moray. The Incas built this site as an agricultural experiment. They planted different crops on different levels to see what altitude was best for growing. The site is incredible and this picture doesn't even do it justice. The bowl it sits in is enormous and it is amazing to stand at the top and look down into it. It is all laid out so perfectly and so logically. As our driver Jose said, the Incas really were so much smarter than us. They figured out all these things, just using the resources they had. And they thrived for hundreds of years, developing a very advanced culture.

Though I had been to Machu Picchu before, this trip was even more amazing than the first. We spent the night before in Aguas Calientes (Karisti likes to remind me that we were in hot water on the trip), which is the town at the base of the mountain Machu Picchu is on. Because we had spent the night in AC and didn't have to take the train in from somewhere else in the morning, we were able to get on one of the first buses up to MP Saturday morning. We were at MP by 8am and it was amazing! The sun was shining, but there were still clouds covering some of the mountains. It made for beautiful light and some incredible photos of MP. Standing up above the site and looking down on the entire complex is one of the most overwhelming experiences. It is definitely the most amazing place I have ever seen in my life and I'm sure I will never stop being blown away by it. What the Incas created and the way it has been preserved is just incredible. We spent about 3 hours wandering around the site and managed to pretty much walk through the entire thing. We tagged onto the end of tour groups in English every once and a while to hear the guides were explaining, but for most of it we just wandered around, checking out the things that looked interesting to us.

We were back down in Aguas Calientes by noon, happily eating Mexican food and watching it rain, pleased with ourselves for getting up to MP early and back down before the rain that tends to happen there every afternoon. We took the afternoon train back to Ollantaytambo, where Jose picked us up and drove us back to Cusco. We had a very yummy dinner at this great place called Jack's that I highly recommend to anyone going to Cusco, and flew back to Lima Sunday morning. Overall, a fabulous trip. Everything went perfectly - trains, driver, weather, everything. It couldn't have been a better trip. It was great to be able to share Machu Picchu with Karisti and she said over and over how much she loved it. It was a wonderful experience!

Here is the link to all of my photos on Picassa web albums if you are interested in checking them out:

Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley with Karisti