Monthly Archives: January 2013

Flat Stella and I have to go off the island. Actually, Stella is on her way to visit her great Aunt Zsash in Oregon, leaving the island in an envelope.  Now that’s a coast to coast visit!

But last week, Flat Stella accompanied me on a visit to my mom. It was so cold out there was vapor rising from the sea.

Stella at the helm of the mailboat:

Stella checking the ocean conditions and the view:

I’m fulfilling one of my New Year’s resolutions by finally putting some jewelry back up on Etsy. It seemed so helpful at the time, way back in August, to take some of my jewelry from Etsy and add it to some of my gallery displays. And it really did help me out of a time crunch, but then I never got back to maintaining a presence on Etsy. I hope I’ve learned a lesson. It takes a long time to take a bunch of photographs and then edit them. Why not do a few at a time and keep up a steady pace? That way it might not all get so overwhelming!

(Editing after posting to say that the pair below just sold! Must have been the shark…..)

As for the two other resolutions, I have not been drilling rocks every day I am not off the island. But I am being kinder to myself by not looking at it as a big failure. I’m still drilling rocks more often and building up an inventory of very cool rock beads to use in necklaces.

It’s big. It’s flat. It’s……..

Flat Stella!! A visitor from my *first-cousin-twice-removed, Claire. Stella comes from Chicago and is hoping to have some adventures on Islesford before she heads to her next destination.

Of course, the first thing I showed Stella, yesterday, was where I drill my rocks.

We thought about going outside, but there was a mix of snow and rain and Stella forgot to pack a raincoat.

Stella asked me about the garden, and I told her we would check it out on Thursday if the weather was okay.

Today was sunny and reasonably warm for a January day in Maine. 45°. Very cold weather is predicted for the next few days, so this was our last chance to harvest the rest of the carrots I planted last summer. It’s kind of unusual that the ground is not yet frozen.

See?

Some of the small carrots were a little rubbery. I guess they had frozen and thawed a few times. But a surprising number of them were still very good. Stella was impressed.

3 1/2 pounds of carrots in January! Pretty cool!

Tomorrow, Stella and I will ride the mailboat.

*Oh, yeah. First cousin twice removed, means that Claire’s grandmother and I are first cousins. Her father Joel, is my first cousin’s son. So Joel is my first cousin once removed. His daughter Claire is my first cousin twice removed. Get it? Once or twice removed has to do with the generational relationship.  The offspring of first cousins are second cousins. As in, my sons are second cousins with Joel. They would be second cousins once removed with Claire.  This always used to confuse me until I learned it at a family dinner party, years and years ago. It was my father’s first cousin Bobby who explained it in a way I could remember. (She would also be my ………….can you figure it out?)

(First cousin once removed. )

That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

I like to make resolutions when the new year starts. Usually nothing too challenging, but enough to give me a little focus on the things I would like to change in myself for the year ahead.  I just didn’t get around to posting anything about them until now. That’s okay, since “not being late” is not one of the resolutions I feel I need to make. When you live on an island with no bridge,  you learn to be on time or you’ll literally miss the boat. I’m usually pretty prompt. I’m blaming my lack of blogging on the dreadful horrible cold virus that knocked Bruce and me out for almost 2 weeks. We’re both feeling better now. Finally!

So, my resolutions are simple this year. I’m only making three. Two are meaningful for my business and one is spiritually important for me.

1. I resolve to drill some rocks (or sea glass) every day that I don’t got off the island. Some days I’ll do more, some days less, but if I’m able to sit down at my drill for a little while every day,  I’ll have an abundant inspiring supply of my own rock beads whenever I need them.

I’ve been pretty good about doing this since the first of the year. When I was sick, my friend Cynthia called up and Bruce told her I was downstairs drilling rocks. Later she said, “You must be feeling a lot better to get back to drilling rocks.”  “Well,”  I answered, “I’m getting there. I drilled 4.”

2. I resolve to get my Etsy page up and going again before the end of this month. After which I’ll add to it at least every 2 weeks, if not more often. This means keeping up with photos of my work so there is not such a daunting buildup of pictures to take. No more static Etsy nothingness for me in 2013!

3. I resolve to practice more kindness in thought and deed.  I’m not an unkind or impatient person, but when snarky comments are running silently through my head, whether directed toward others or to myself, I could stop that bad energy flow with a few kind thoughts.

That’s it. Happy New Year!

The day is almost over and I have talked to my sons by phone to wish them a happy birthday. How well Bruce and I  recall their entry into the world 30 years ago tonight. There was an ice storm raging outside but we were safely tucked into a room at Maine Medical Center in Bangor. It was still 5 weeks before the babies were supposed to be born, but they had other plans. After spending the previous day taking drugs to stop my labor, everything started up again at 4 a.m. on January 11. By 7:30 p.m., tiny Cameron was born in 2 pushes, weighing 3 lbs 2 oz. He made one “waa”and stopped breathing. We could hear part of the team doing tiny baby CPR on Cameron when my water broke for Robin and his hand and umbilical cord came out. Everyone got suddenly very serious preparing for an emergency C-section, and 26 minutes later, Robin came into the world weighing 4 lbs. 10 oz.

There were ups and downs in the next few days as we all worked to recover from the crazy birth night on January 11. It was as though all the scary stuff happened right up front, and then we had strong feisty babies, wise wonderful toddlers, great island school students, and resilient teenagers who never gave us a hard time. If they didn’t manage to stay out of trouble, at least they were discreet in their behavior. We honestly could not have imagined nor asked for better sons.  They have become such amazing, funny, happy adults, which is their gift to us celebrate on their birthday. Several friends have commented on how fast the time has gone, or wondered how Fritz and Robin can be 30 years old already. All day I have felt  it is just right that they have reached this milestone. It doesn’t feel too soon, and it doesn’t feel like they are getting that much older yet. At age 30, if we’re lucky, there are a lot of good times ahead. Adulthood is just beginning to reach its prime. In 4 months I’ll reach my own milestone. For the only time in our lives I’ll be exactly twice the age of my sons.  I hope I feel just as complete and right with the world in May, as I do tonight thinking of my sons taking a trip to celebrate their birthday together, spending a weekend of brother-only time. Of all the different things I’ve done in my life, being a mother to Fritz and Robin has been my absolute most favorite thing of all.

Happy Birthday guys!