Two Great Catches

On Friday Gary caught a 580 lb. tuna.  He fought it for 4 1/2 hours.

And yesterday my brother's son, Dustin, married Amanda in a beautiful ceremony.



Dawn

The ocean called to me at 4:30 this morning after Gary left for fishing.

It whispered gray secrets in my ear when I arrived.

Then it tempted me with lavender lace.

It offered a ride to eternity.

And wrapped me in its foggy embrace.

Seagulls wheeled, looking for breakfast.

My heart stood still.  My breath stopped.

The pier waited in misty patience.

The seconds passed in technicolor.

The birds danced to the music of the sky.

The sun painted its reflection on the calm sea.

I swallowed its light

then brought it back with me

to savor all day.

You can see more sky photos at SkyWatch Friday

What a Day

It started out so nice, too.

My husband took off early for fishing so I was able to get up any time and sit around in my bathrobe as long as I wanted.

Then...

I went to Lois' Natural Marketplace.

See that cute polka-dotted charge card holder?

Gone!

Somehow, between leaving the store after paying for my purchases and driving one mile to a grocery store, it disappeared.

I looked everywhere!  Went back to Lois' but no luck.

I had to call two banks and two credit card companies to cancel.  Luckily, there were no new transactions. 

What a pain!

Tomorrow, I have to get a new driver's license after driving two and a half hours without one.

So, when I got home, I needed to relax. 

I poured myself an iced mint decaf green tea.

Read the two letters I got from my friend Anne.

Thanks, Anne!

Then fiddled around with the Instant Poetry app on my iPad and made this:

Isn't it amazing how words from a friend and words made into poetry can totally transform a day?

Sad

My mother-in-law has been going through her old things and came across an envelope with a 1908 postmark:

Inside were four letters written from 1890 to 1914 from a woman named Izell in Colorado to her father in Vermont.

Here is an excerpt from one of them:

So sad that her third little baby boy died.



Sunset

Through the trees

Sunrise

I woke up at five this morning and couldn't get back to sleep so decided to go to the beach to catch the sunrise.  I was a bit late since I didn't get there until 5:30 and a guy on the beach told me it had risen at 5:13.  But it was still beautiful.

As I walked over the dune grass area, it looked like the sun was just rising, though.

This greeted me as I got to the beach.

The stillness...the peacefulness...heavenly!

Love this patriotic beach cottage.

And this wonderful porch.

I want to sit right here for breakfast.

What a great gift I gave myself this morning!



Aunt Dotty

My sister,  Sally, and I took a ride down to Massachusetts see our aunt yesterday.  She's our father's sister and the last sibling left.

A couple years ago on another visit, I asked her how her late husband, George, and she had met and she told me the following story:

Aunt Dotty sits
on her red couch
in front of a multi-
colored granny square
afghan.


When I ask, “How
did you and Uncle
George meet?"


a small sunrise
blossoms on her face.


She smiles and says,
“Well, my friend, Sarita,
and I were walking home
from downtown when


her brother pulled up
in his little coupe
and asked if we’d like


a ride. We said sure
and climbed in. The only
problem was that
there was no back seat


and her brother had
a friend with him.


So, Sarita climbed in
the middle and I sat
on George’s lap.”


Here her voice
gets deep and warm
as summer.


“After they dropped
me off, Sarita said
to George, ‘How’d


you like Dotty? Isn’t
she pretty?’ And George
answered, ‘Well, I couldn’t
see her face
but she has a soft
fanny.'”


The were married
for over 50 years.

A Fine Sunday

It was a blue-sky, low-humidity, golden type of day.

Here's Gary cooking breakfast outdoors:

Later in the morning we took off on the motorcycle with our friends, Don and Mich.

Our destination was this little hole-in-the-wall place:

Flo's hot Dogs is located on Route 1 between York and Ogunquit, Maine.  It doesn't look like much but has been featured on The Food Network as one of the top five places in the U.S. to get a good hot dog. 

See that caution tape at the top of the door?  If you're too tall, you won't fit! 

We got there at a good time because the line wasn't out the door like it normally is.  Gary and Don were only about ten people back and it only took about ten minutes.

Then, there were those yummy hot dogs.  What makes them so special is the secret recipe they have for relish.   Soooooo gooooood!

I had mine with a little mayo, that wonderful relish, and celery salt.

Mmmmmm...snappy and spicy!

On the way home we had to stop at a traffic light in Kennebunk and I noticed this sign on the library lawn:

Yes!  They're having a Porn Show!  ????

I was thinking that someone rearranged the letters but couldn't figure out what the original might have been.  Worn Shop?  Norp Show?

It's a mystery!

We stopped at Bentley's Biker Bar in Arundel to quench our thirst after those hot dogs and to give our butts a break.  Gary's seat is comfortable but, still...

When we got back, we lazed around chatting, eating, and drinking with good friends.

A happy Mich.

Then we fired up the Weber and had ourselves a feast.

A fun time was had by all!



A Bike Trip to Portland

While Gary was getting the bike ready, I roamed around taking pictures of flowers.

I held my camera on the bike so I could take pictures while we were riding.  This is Scarboro Marsh.  I love it when I inadvertently catch birds flying by.

We saw several huge ships in the harbor as we whizzed by on the bridge.

The Old Port.  These buildings face Portland harbor.

A horrible picture of me in my doorag eating an almond croissant at the Standard Bakery.

All the perpendicular streets in the Old Port are made of cobble stones.

On the way back Gary had to stop at the bait store to get a couple containers of frozen chum.  I got a kick out of the sign.

When we got going again, the carburetor started acting up so Gary pulled over and, while he was fiddling with it, I took pictures of the wildflowers.

Some Pics From My Week

Here's Kylie and her iPod Touch in front of Famous Dave's Barbeque:

She and Michelle having fun on the restaurant patio:

My beautiful sister, Sally, and her husband, Mike:

The view from our outdoor table in Perkin's Cove, Ogunquit, Maine.

Preparing for our baby back rib feast:

Had to go to Berlin yesterday, so took the long way up route 16 so I could see this billboard in Ossippee, NH.  Yes! My daughter and granddaughter.

And look what I found growing in between my two barrels of patient Lucys (what my grandmother, Nonie, always called impatiens!).  I haven't had pansies for a couple of years!



Trip to Kennebunkport

Last Monday my sister and her husband asked if Id like to go to lunch with them in Kennebunkport.

We passed this cool home.  It's called The Wedding Cake House.

An old Train Station now turned into a museum.

An outdoor stone chapel at a Fransciscan retreat.

My niece, Michelle

The Bush Compound at Walker's Point