Idle Days are Over

I’ve been here in Maine for several weeks and have spent most of my time being determinedly on vacation. From just about everything. I’ve been eating, drinking, playing, sleeping, watching TV, sleeping, eating, drinking, playing… and that’s about all. And yet as I sat down to write this, I realized that I could spend hours talking about the things I’d been taking notes on, and that I don’t have those hours any more, as I’ve wasted them playing Scrabble on my iPod. And watching TV. And playing Scrabble on my iPod. So… here we go; here’s my vacation in a semi-draft-form, no time to make it all pretty.

Maine Days

Skinny-dipping in the pool my first night here, after 11 hours of driving – my first driving experience since the accident…

The doggies, all six of them (two of Jane’s and four of Margaret’s) hopping and barking and smiling all the time. I shall miss Cricket and Mika, who lived with us in Paris. Frisky little Jacks… gotta love ‘em.

Practicing the violin and loving it (except for the sore spot on my left collarbone…)

Having Dan, Pascal, Delphine, Camille and Dan’s sister here, who were welcomed as “my” special guests; Perkins/Osborn “family” week and my new Seal Bay Camp sweatshirt.

Mornings: cold and clear, already and yet it’s still summer; but as soon as the sun comes up the fog sets in until the sun comes up just a bit higher and burns it off. Seeing the swimming pool steaming in the morning sun… Believe it or not, I’m usually up between 6 and 7 am, no alarm clock. Must be the echos of people washing in the bathrooms next to my head at Wat Opot starting at 6 a.m. every day …

Everyday life and routine, from being able to take the car myself and go grocery shopping to systematically eating the cherry tomatoes off the bush on the deck as they ripen. The hummingbirds hanging around, “buzzing” us sometimes as we sit on the deck. The hot summer sound (cicadas) changing to pre-fall sounds (wind in the trees, quieter insects…)

Doing nothing all day when there’s SO much to do.

Health

My Reiki adventure – getting up early, more people on the road in Maine at 6 am than at 8 pm… The fog lying in horizontal bands across the fields. Driving two hours toward Augusta, Maine; spending the day in a lovely place with a lovely woman, learning the basics of Reiki. I’m now certified in Gendai Reiki-Ho at  Shoden Level (or Level One). Shoden is considered to be the “entrance to Usui Reiki Ryoho”, or the Usui Reiki Healing Method. (Google is your friend, just for today. Another time I shall elaborate.) I had 12 hours of instruction (in two sessions due to the non-availability of transport) which were mainly intended to teach me self-healing and how to tap into the Universal Energy Source. Now I need to practice before I can move on to the next level… any takers?

A short but very unpleasant bout with the flu – getting a little head start on losing some of the weight I’ve gained since leaving the hospital in May. The two-day illness has put my weight back into less frightening numbers (and yes, I AM obsessed with my weight, but it’s one thing I won’t apologize for; after a successful gastric bypass, keeping the weight off is and MUST be a priority. It would be too easy to slip back down that scary slope…)

ALMOST walking… but I don’t dare to put too much weight on my leg until Dr. Furno in Paris tells me I can. But we’re ready, we’re ready – mentally, at least! No more wheelchair, and sometimes I use only one crutch, like when I’m carrying my coffee out to the deck to sit in the sun. Still taking Coumadin (Warfarin) and hoping I can stop soon. Still wearing those nasty compression stockings, when one of the many nurses in my entourage make me do it.

TV (yes, TV)

Nothing intellectual or socially responsible on this list, sorry. (Well, maybe the tennis.)

• “The Nanny “(I’d actually never seen it before)
• “Touched by an Angel” (all nine seasons are on my wish-list. When I’m feeling depressed I’ll just close my eyes and pick one, watch it and take whatever lesson it has to give.)
• Wheelchair Tennis at the U.S. Open
• Lots of “Golden Girls”, which Jane watches while she works on the Nordic Track…
• LOVE “The Closer”
• On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of “Jeopardy”, they re-ran the very first show. Whew, the haircuts!!

Eating

Oriental noodles and fresh limes for breakfast every day. My beloved Mountain Dew, which I can’t buy in France.

Lobster is cheaper than lunch meat at the moment. Well, it’s true that the lobster shell is weighed as well, but it still works out to be an amazing deal. I’ve had lobster three times this visit: once at the family’s annual lobster cookout (at which some 30 people were present, including Dan & Clan), a do-it-yourself lobbie dipped in melted butter. I also had a lobster “BLT” – not sure what the “L” was for; it was a healthy serving of lobster wedged in between two thick tomato slices and a slice of mozzarella, with a light balsamic vinaigrette… yum. The third was lobster benedict for Sunday breakfast at the Café This Way in Bar Harbor. Hollandaise sauce on the side, please!

Another notable moment was dinner at the Deck House in Southwest Harbor (under an enormous, full harvest moon.) The Deck House is a dinner club showcasing young singing and dancing talent from all over the place. It’s a lovely experience, and the food is delicious. I’ve been there almost every summer in recent years. They’re supposed to be holding their last EVER dinner and show on Saturday the 12th of September… we’re all hoping they find a way to deal with finances, landlords etc. so that it can go on and on.

Out and About

The Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium (say that three times, really fast) is a tiny thing area-wise, but the artwork that comes out of it is often quite powerful. I went to the first edition of it two years ago, and was very happy to go again this year. Deb was also quite pleased as one of the sculptures is by an artist from her town, Franklin, where it will be permanently on display once the symposium is over. On the day we visited many of the sculptures seemed quite unfinished… and it was only a week from the closing ceremonies. The artists work long, hard hours and have quite a passion for their art.

The Maine coast is most exalting… Acadia National Park, which I unfortunately only saw glimpses of this year… a breakfast in Bar Harbor; a lunch in Stonington on a deck overlooking the harbor; iced tea in Deer Isle with a lawn sloping down to the water; a dinner in Southwest Harbor lit by a gigantic moon… and driving around Schoodic Point, beauteous and storm-tousled from hurricane (whom?) who never actually reached us. Funny, though, I hear hurricane Fred and Linda are in the offing! No kidding.

Belly dancing… well, almost. I went to the lesson only to find that the other students hadn’t shown up. As I am only half a student anyway (for the moment) the class was cancelled. But it has inspired me to make an enquiry once I’m back in Paris! (Danse orientale) I’ve always fantasized about learning to belly dance, and I don’t see why I shouldn’t do just that.

Encounters

Meeting Jane’s sister Sally’s daughter and her family – finally, after 23 years.

Meeting Olympia Snowe and, we do believe, her husband John McKernan in the Ellsworth Hannaford’s. I shook her hand and told her I thought she was doing a great job – kind of a banal thing to say, but I’m not good at coming up with clever things at the right time. What? She’s a Republican? Yes, yes, I know, but she’s the right KIND of Republican. If all Republicans were like Olympia Snowe we’d have a REAL government, yessiree. Talking instead of shouting insults (“you LIE!”) at each other.

Dinner at a Tex Mex restaurant in Ellsworth with the WOCF board – all four of us, Gail, Deb, Ron and me, together for the first time ever. Really ever – which seemed strange, because we all know each other separately, or in twos or threes, and it seemed odd that the foursome had been but virtual up until now. For those of you who don’t know, the WOCF is the Wat Opot Children’s Fund, which we created to support the Wat Opot Children’s Center, my residence during the very short time I spent in Cambodia last year, and a haven of goodness in Cambodia.

A Sad Thought

When thinking about last year in Cambodia, I often tell myself that I was, in fact, quite nuts while I was there; whenever I was outside of Wat Opot I felt uneasy almost all the time. I put it down to menopause, or to an over-awareness of the ghosts still wandering around the country (and people’s eyes.) Both going through menopause and seeing ghosts will yes qualify as being nuts. But one look at the daily Police Blotter on the Phnom Penh Post’s website makes one realize that there is indeed something bizarrely wrong about Cambodia’s energy. Hacking people up with samourai swords, pounding on people with hammers, cutting houses in half in marital disputes… Check it out. I feel vindicated – and also very sad.

A Hopeful Thought

This will be my last post from the U.S.. I’m flying back to Paris on Saturday (tomorrow) and officially, will be “back home”. My return will mark the official beginning of the next part of my life. I’ll be taking a lot of things with me, and I know that I have strength – and strengths, friends, and a wealth of good things that have built up over the 27 years I have lived there. But I will appreciate any positive vibes that anyone feels like sending. “Going home” this time feels more like one of my famous “outward bound” experiences.

A Cheerful Thought

One last thought… with thanks to my mother, who forwarded an email with lots of Martha/Maxine répliques to me this evening. And WITH that thought, outward we are bound!!