MaryAlice Musings and More

Oh, the last day of August.  Such a full summer month, it goes fast, and brings such delight.  Here in Millinocket I have noticed the difference between the coolness in the air and the warmth of the sun. Tonight I had Paul and Jaime over for supper.  As we sat down to eat,  in the east there was a twinkling rainbow.  No rain here, but somewhere there was rain and sun, and for us such a sweet rainbow spreading across the sky. Tonight had good food, time with new friends, and talk of the soon to be fall.  Jaime and Paul have a hostel for AT hikers, and the AT Cafe.  They both close October 15th.  The seasons change quickly here.  Snow can happen any time now on the mountain, and tomorrow it will be in the 30's on Katahdin.  Leaves are already turning, just a few, just a little, but the season change is in motion. For me,  I have relished August.  The sun high and full and intense.  The bigness of it all, that is August.  I have been at the ocean, on islands, at the top of mountain

My street is really quiet, the kids are back in school.  The chain saw has stopped running.  The clouds have moved in and the air is soft.   I start my day with a small pot of Earl Grey White Tip tea, I still drink my tea from TeaSource, now I get in the mail, rather than walk over to the store by my house!  I love being on the porch in the morning.  Sometimes I sit in my favorite rocker, sometimes at the table.  I subscribed to the Bangor Daily News and get the paper 6 days a week.  The above the fold on the front page was about raking blueberries, and in the next section the front page held good news at the Katahdin Woods and Water Monument with a picture of Gail Fanjoy, Lucas St. Clair and Secretary Zinke, Zinke called Lucas, and today there are smiles and maybe a little more than hope. I have spent the morning cleaning and then spent an hour in the basement.  All boxes are raised from the floor, and there are very few left!  I am getting ready for the big haul - having strong guy

It has been over six months since I retired from state service.  It has been three months since I last drove from Minnesota to Maine with the last of my belongings.  I have a Maine drivers license and Maine plates on my car. I just got a land line phone, and I think I remember the number now, but have it in my "contacts" just in case.  There are still a few boxes, mostly books that need attention.  I have been taking boxes down to the new used book store, and wonder why I couldn't let go of them earlier!  There are clothes that I am figuring out what to do with, and again wondering why they didn't go to the second hand store in my Minneapolis neighborhood.  My studio is not set up, but I have started to knit and felt.  This is a shift.  I am not planning for when I retire, when the house sells, when I move to Maine.  All of that is done.  I am learning my way here and now.  What do I want to do?  Where is my energy today?  What am I feeling?  The world feels in fr