Staring At The Sun

Guys, don't panic, but I am pretty sure that I just saw the sun. It was so surprising that I actually had to take a picture of it. All sarcasm aside, it has (is) been a very long week and I blame it on the rain. I really think that Milli Vanilli were on to something with that ditty that cannot be denied despite their lip syncing crimes. It shouldn't feel like a long week. I had to leave work early on Monday because I had a delightful case of Conjunctivitis and tomorrow is an In-Service/No Students day, plus I didn't have any late meetings or tutoring this week. It should have just breezed by, but it hasn't. Since Tuesday, every morning feels like it should be Friday. Better yet, it feels like it should be Saturday and my alarm is going off by mistake. And I think that it's because the sun took the week off. So many days of clouds, cold, and rain. Every person and child that I know had a terrible case of cabin fever this week. And I will tell you that it is way too early for cabin fever. We have 19 months of winter ahead of us. 19 months where we are trapped in our houses. 19 months where we curse our decisions to live in northern New England. 19 months where we only leave the house and get into our cold cars when it is absolutely necessary. Yeah, I might be exaggerating, but that is how it feels. And right now, it's fall and we should be outside each afternoon playing and walking and taking cleansing deep breaths and conversing and engaging with our neighbors. So sun, let's straighten this out. We need you to stick around for a bit. We need you to remind us that this season, that right now is why we live up her. How about we make a deal? You stick around for a few days and I will complain a little bit less this winter. I swear.

Sunday at the Shore

I woke up mid-allergy attack at 4:00am this morning. Sneezing, coughing, itchy throat, running nose; the whole nine yards. It was then that I decided that I would go to the beach in the morning. I actually contemplated going to the beach right then, but instead turned on the light and read my book for a bit. When I did wake up for reals, I waited for the coffee to brew and then decided to go to Dunkin' Donuts on my way. I realized yesterday that I am struggling to follow-thru on most anything these days. I blame it on being back to work.

It's cold out today. Cold might be an exaggeration, maybe cool is a better word. Regardless, I threw on a hoodie, a scarf, and some socks. This is my weekend uniform each fall, needless to say, I was a little excited. Fall is amazing up here. It's what northern New Englanders live for nine months of the year. The sky seems closer, the air feels cleaner, and the colors are beginning to show. I took my usual route to the coast and enjoyed a little Maine NPR. (As much as I love NH, Maine always seems to do things just a bit better.) So, today I keep my words to a minimum and share with you my morning through pictures.

(See those yellow flowers? I'm not sure what they are, but I am fairly certain that they are the cause of my daily allergy attacks. I curse them.)

(I confess, I actually took this photo post-"hurricane" last weekend, but it was too pretty not to share with you.)

Back to School

This week so far, in list form.

1. Locked my keys and a full cup of coffee in my car on Saturday morning. Thankfully it was at a local farmers market that friends also happened to be at. They saved the day! They took me to buy another coffee.

2. Woke up at three am, Monday morning with food poisoning. Or a virus. Either way, it wasn't pretty.

3. Did I mention that my toilet broke over the weekend and I thought I had fixed it? Well, I hadn't.

4. Monday was the first day of school and I was stinkin' sick.

5. It was 90 degrees on Monday.

6. I was still not feeling well when I got home, so I took my temperature. A cool 101. Because it wasn't hot enough outside.

7. It's been in the 90's all week. My classroom isn't air conditioned. And it is very sunny.

8. I come home each afternoon after sweating for eight hours straight and feel like a walking salt lick.

9. I hear that there is a hurricane coming just in time for the four day weekend. Super.

Best Intentions

I had big plans for this weekend. Tag Sales, The NH Sheep and Wool Festival, a trip to the beach. And then I saw this:

So, instead I plan to enjoy these:

I put all of these outside for a good soaking:

Have plans to make some of this:

And promise myself that I will take pictures of these and post them onto my etsy site.

I Will Begin At The End

As I left NYC yesterday, it was with a heavy heart and tired eyes. I was wishing for a jet plane to get me to my home and my bed at warp speed. But I had a five hour drive with a pit stop first in Connecticut and another in Boston. I was looking forward to my stop in Boston, but wasn't positive that my excitement would win against my exhaustion. You see, I had a ticket to see Natalie Merchant at The Brattle Theatre in Cambridge.

I arrived a few hours early and made a pit stop for some coffee and down time before heading to the theatre. It was just what I needed. Some time to sit, sip coffee, hope on my computer and knit. While in NYC, I had been going, going, going and hadn't slept well for days. I was dead tired and I just needed to tune out.

Around seven, I walked through the rain to hop

in line. I was just about the 15th person there and one of the last people to make it under the awning. We quickly found out that the doors were not going to be opening at

8:00 but 8:30. Did I mention the rain? How about the cold? Oh and the fact that I am an old lady and like to be home on the couch knitting most nights at seven pm! But I have to admit that I enjoyed chatting it up with those around me. Natalie Merchant is rare and obscure enough that it is likely that others who are willing to stand in a rainy line for an hour and a half will be people that you enjoy.

Once inside, I was able to get an amazing seat. Fifth row center. I didn't mention this at the beginning of this post, but Natalie Merchant is it for me. I have been an avid fan of hers since my college boyfriend turned me on to her. Her albums have been the soundtrack to much of my life over the last thirteen years. So to say that I was excited would be an understatement. And she did not let down. Her newest album is a collection of song adapted from poetry. As a result, this wasn't your ordinary concert. It was really more of a lecture interspersed with amazingly beautiful songs. She was funny and sarcastic and lovely all at once. And a little intimidating. She is clearly a woman who has high expectations of herself and those around her which made me love her even more.

But what really matters about this post is that I met her. We were surprised to find out that she would be doing a signing after her performance. Me, tired?? No more!! I bought two albums and got in an exceedingly long line and proceeded to spend the next twenty minutes thinking about what I would say to her. My heart was racing. To say that I was star struck would be an understatement. Do I tell her that I think that she is lovely? Do I just say thank you? Well none of that planning mattered because it was out of my hands. My turn arrived and

I walked up talking about how exhausted she must be. She smiled, asked me if I made my bag and proceeded to tell me how much she loved it. Then she noticed my knitting. All of this occurred while she signed my album and one for aforementioned ex-boyfriend. I blabbed for a moment about Etsy and then it was over. The smile was permanently stitched onto my face. It remained as I walked through the rain. It remained as I took the parking ticket off my windshield. I smiled as I drove home at 12:30 in the morning. I smiled as I got pulled over for speeding on 95N. I smiled as the officer handed me the ticket for said speeding. And I am still smiling 24 hours later.

Tin Can Garden

Some time early last week, I decided that I was going to encourage the arrival of spring by planting some miscellaneous seeds that I had left over from last year. So, I pulled out a few tin cans that I have been saving, filled them with soil, dropped the seeds in, and placed the cans on the window sill of my kitchen. And promptly forgot about them. I would guess that I watered them over the weekend, but truthfully, I'm not sure. Tonight, while washing the dinner dishes, my eye caught sight of fresh green sprouts and I smiled. Because, although the day was gray and cold with scattered snow flurries around lunchtime, I remembered that the days are getting noticeably longer and soon enough spring will arrive.