Sisterly Reunion

Many months ago, more than a year even, my sister moved to Maine. To make a long story short, she went there to visit a friend and just fell in love with the place, enough to move there. She soon bought a house, so old it makes my 1883 house look almost youthful. It's from 1830 or so, and she's just loved it. It wasn't long before she started talking about me coming out for a visit, and I loved the idea. Then along came my 50th birthday, and Margaret very sweetly gave me the gift of a ticket to visit her.

I confess that we were giggling a little - this was the 2nd trip I was given for my birthday. And they pretty much could not have been any more different from each other. From one sister I was given a mad dash to Disneyland, with lights and noise and colors and laughing and screaming and also exhaustion and blisters. From another sister I was given a very quiet and still trip to Maine, with walks and alone time and lots of conversations, time on the ocean and time exploring a lovely little town. Both were just wonderful and so completely the opposite. 

I was so grateful for the chance to go see Margaret as it had been a couple of years. The dates that worked ended up being just before her birthday, so I decided that before I went, I'd knit up a gift I've been wanting to make for her. Behold, Frog and Toad:

Ever since I saw this pattern, I knew I had to make it for Margaret. There is just so much about our childhood in these little characters. I think about this a lot, that Margaret and I are different in so many ways, but she is also the only person in the world who has my same roots, who speaks the same language of childhood that I also speak. I was so happy when Frog and Toad were finished - they were more adorable than I had hoped and I was so excited to give them to my sister!

The travel out to Maine was pretty interesting - it began with an early morning flight which consisted of me walking what seemed like at least a mile to get to my gate, but the gate only led to a ramp, which led to the tarmac, which led to a bus, which drove us to a teeny little plane. It was so small, we didn't even bring our carry-ons onto the plane. They got loaded up underneath. It kind of felt more like a prison transfer than the start of a vacation. It was the oddest way to start the trip. 

What made me laugh was that the plane was absolutely full to the brim, except for one seat, which just so happened to be next to me. Also I was placed in the one row with extra leg room. Did I feel guilty? Well, yes, a little bit. But not enough to swap seats with anyone. It was just luxurious. And what's more, after a 2 1/2 hour layover in Chicago, I was once again on a very full flight with just one empty seat....next to me. Again. A vacation miracle!

I finally landed in Maine, and was greeted first by the sight of some taxidermy. Interesting. And then a better sight - my sister! She was standing at the bottom of an escalator, ready for a hug, and with a bag of treats. After a long hug she opened her bag and asked if I wanted salty or sweet (chocolate or chips) and caffeine or caffeine-free (diet coke with or without caffeine). Isn't that nice?

 

We got out to her car, and that is a far as I could get before I just couldn't wait any more and made her open up her birthday gift. Here's her reaction, which couldn't have been any more gratifying:

She had also very kindly preordered some dinner for us, which we picked up, then ate as we drove the hour and a half to her little town of Rockland. It was so fun to see Margaret's space, her home, her cats, her art, her kitchen, the nutty layout of her house, her sweet barn, so full of possibilities. I loved being there.

Margaret's town is right on a bay called Penobscot Bay, which is super exciting for me since we are the proud owners of an actual Penobscot canoe. So cool to be there. We did a lot walking along the shoreline of the little Rockland Harbor there. 

On our walk we wove our way through a little farmers market. Of course I made a bee-line for the yarn. I did not buy a single skein of yarn. Aren't you proud of me? What I did buy was a sample of very curly wool that will make a great replacement for a beard on a knitted Santa that I'm not satisfied with. The best part was that as soon as I picked out the wool, the woman who was selling it handed me a little card with a photo of the sheep the wool came from. I believe the sheep's name was Delightful, and the woman told me all about her, and how before she was shorn you couldn't even get your arms around her, she was so huge. 

Ok so I can't actually remember the order of anything we did, so I'll just look at what photo comes next in my post and tell you what was happening. For example, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at a local shop. Margaret got scallops, but I felt that it would be basically sacrilegious to not get a lobster roll. Oh my gosh it was so delicious. And I'm not a person who just dies over lobster. But I would have eaten two if I had let myself. 

Margaret still had plenty of work to do while I was there, and it was actually kind of nice to have no demands. Like one day, when she had to work, I just climbed back into my very comfy bed which was in a chilly room and had a massive down comforter - no better combination, if you ask me - and proceeded to take a two-hour nap. Other times, I'd sit in her living room and knit, which always resulted in getting a cat on my lap. Little Alice is a very affectionate cat. Wally allowed my presence but wouldn't really snuggle with me.

One morning we drove up the coast to the quaintest of quaint towns I've ever seen - Rockport. Not Rockland, Rockport. It has a little coffee shop that Margaret just adores and we had a great time getting breakfast there, then walking a bit and driving a bit.

In the very foresty neighborhoods near Rockport was a sort of public park type place that had an outdoor chapel that was just so peaceful and lovely. We walked up to it and just sat quietly for a bit, worshiping the ocean and the trees and breeze and salty air. What a treasure of a place.

 

Oh and the roadside Markets! So charming it was almost tiresome. Just kidding. I loved them so much and Margaret kept laughing at me because I exclaimed so much over them. I mean seriously, just look:

 

These were two different markets. The second was the market for one specific farm, and it had such gorgeous produce. They also sold warm apple-cider donuts and Jamaican Jerk chicken. Margaret bought vegetables and I bought donuts. Naturally. 

We also stopped by the Lee Nielsen tool factory - Troy and I have been getting their catalogues for years, and even one of their tools once in a while. I wished he could be there. 

Margaret surprised me with a couple of very ocean-y experiences. On Saturday morning we met up with friends who go rowing together. I guess people can just sign up to go rowing. She's been doing a lot of this and really loving it. It was so fun, except for the part where I learned what "crabbing" is - when your oar catches in current and the handle knocks you off your can so hard that you end up on your back with your arms and legs flailing in the air. It only took one such incident to understand why it was thusly named, and I'm proud to say that I only went crabbing once. I mean, it actually happened multiple times, but I popped my oar out of the water fast enough each time that I only landed on my back once. 

We were lucky enough to see a lot of wildlife. There were seals (sea lions? I can't remember) all over the place, and they were very curious about us. I also loved rowing out near to the loveliest little lighthouse. 

The bigger surprise was that afternoon - Margaret had booked tickets for us to take a 2 hour sailboat ride through the harbor and out into the bay. It was such a lovely sail boat. Sadly, there was no wind. So we couldn't actually use the sails much. Luckily there was a motor so we still got to tootle around a couple of small islands, find more sea life including porpoises and bald eagles. Also, I got to raise one of the sails. I was very cool.

On my last evening in town, we enjoyed dinner with one of Margaret's favorite new friends, Danna. Danna is a jeweler with a charming little shop on the main street through town, which just so happens to be dotted with many many charming shops. I especially loved the bookstore. Danna is very vibrant and funny and personable. I can see why Margaret connected with her right away. That was one of the things I was most impressed with - she has worked hard to meet her community and gather them together. She goes to rowing events and zumba classes and movie nights, and once a month, hosts a soup night at her house where she invites pretty much everyone she knows. I got to be there for soup night and really enjoyed meeting her friends and neighbors. With Danna, we went and ate delicious Indian Food from a hotel looking out over another harbor. I felt like I was in Anne of Avonlea. 

The trip of course flew by too quickly. It was such a treasure. Here's me on the plane ride home, which was not quite as magical as the trip to Maine. Not only was I not alone in my row, but I was lucky enough to get seated next to the chattiest person I have ever met. EVER. Two and a half solid hours of hearing the personal details of this person's life. I can now tell you quite a lot about her and can truly say that I wish her the best, though I needed a nap on my flight out of Chicago.

 

So thank you, Margaret, for gifting me with this treasure of spending time with you, seeing your world and letting me take some of it home with me in my heart! I hope it happens again - next time with Troy. I think he'd absolutely love it there. You can tell it's a pretty great place when I got sick of using works like charming, quaint, lovely.....I need a thesaurus. 

September Heights

So many lovely things filled up our September.

The first fun thing was of course Labor Day - Romney came up for the weekend (I will not keep mentioning the weekends she does this, since it is almost every single weekend. Which I'm not really sorry about because we love being with her.) We had a very rainy and chilly Labor Day, so instead of a breakfast up a canyon we went out for some greasy-spoon diner food, at the Over the Counter Cafe.

Also, both of our girls had success with auditions. Romney found out that the LDS Institute of Religion at UVU has a choir that you have to audition for, and she went for it. I'm so glad she wanted to get involved with something extracurricular like this. She was pretty nervous - she has a very sweet and clear soprano voice, often described as a choir-boy voice. And as she sat, waiting for her turn, she overheard some other auditions, and noticed how very broadway-esque they sounded, with tons of show and vibrato. She thought she might not make it into this choir, but happily, she did, and she's had a great time with it. A few performances already, an ALL-day retreat in Midway, and an upcoming performance in the Tabernacle on Temple Square. 

Here is Romney and her sweet friend Elizabeth who came to hear her choir sing at a fireside in Orem:

Emma had her own audition come up right after school started. The theater department scheduled Les Miserables as the first show of the year, and Emma couldn't help but get involved. She loves theater and after all the shows she saw Romney perform in, she always knew she wanted to be a part of things. As a freshman, she couldn't expect to land a really big role, but she did get several small ones such as a nun, a dancer in the wedding, a peasant and a tavern customer. She has three costumes and is seen here and there throughout the play. It made her fall very busy in a great way, with friends everywhere and place she feels she belongs.

Speaking of Emma, Emma did some speaking! After she had such a wonderful experience at FSY camp the first week of summer, she actually mentioned that she would like a chance to give a talk in church to share some of the things she learned. So late in the summer she was invited to do just that. Our stake president Ben heard about it, and asked Troy and me what we thought about her speaking in stake conference. We told him that we would ask her, expecting her to be really nervous and maybe even unwilling. But when Troy mentioned it, she lit up and said she'd love to!

Our stake has been holding its semi-annual conferences on Temple Square in the Assembly Hall since we don't really have our own stake center, and sadly, this conference was going to be the last one since that historic building is about to be renovated and refurbished. It was a special day to be there, and we were grateful that Troy's mom Grandma Carol plus his brother Sam and family could be there to support Emma, who did a fantastic job.

Every once in a while, the stars align and we are able to find a time for Troy's gang of high school friends to get together. We made it mostly happen in September, meeting up with the Freezes, Mayfields, Munsons and Tates. We missed a couple of other friends who couldn't be there! We enjoyed dinner at Thanksgiving Point, and spent a long time talking. The husbands were gathered on one side of the table, and the wives on the other. It was a little funny - the men were making each other laugh in the best way, while the women were having heartfelt conversations that made us all cry together. Talk about stereotypical. It was just great though, and hopefully it won't be too long before we can gather again.

Oh my gosh! So many great things! 

Poetry group happened on our porch for the first time in more than a year. 

We were so excited to welcome in the Football Season: 

Troy got to celebrate his 35th High School Reunion, but I don't think we have photos. Also not pictured was a dinner I got to enjoy with my favorite teacher from my days working at Dilworth, Jane. And us going to see our old college favorite, Peter Breinholt. It's always so fun to go to his shows. Plus, on that same night, Emma got to go to her very first concert - Roseburg, with the Buchert family, in Orem.

See what I mean? It was a great month. Plus, Chase hit his one-year mark of being out on his mission. He said something about it that just warmed my heart. He said, "I'm just not ready to be half-way done with my mission." He's so happy, and I'm so grateful. 

A Side Note

I need to make you aware that sometimes when you are in your 50's, doing something like sneezing can be very dangerous. Actually, I was trying to NOT sneeze while I was on the phone with Chase. My body emphatically let me know that I would indeed be sneezing despite my best efforts not to. The impact of the smothered sneeze basically shot through my shoulder muscles and back bones and it took me a week to recover from the pain. 

This is delightful. 

Also here is a very unflattering photo of me, showing off my inflamed and itchy eyelids. That's what I get for attempting to wear any sort of makeup at all to combat the weird sensation of my aging face looking increasingly unfamiliar to me. After three incidents of this, each after using a different type of makeup, I'm giving up. My face is just going to be my face and you get what you get. Sheesh I look dead there. Like, I think I'm doing an impression of my future death mask.

Troy honey, I feel like now is a good time to tell you that I love you.

The Final Highschooler

There was definitely a lot of hustle and bustle surrounding the departure of her big sister, and this new high school student was very generous and patient about it, even though she had big stuff going on too!!

Yes, our Emma was finally starting at THE East High School, and was very nervous and also very excited. The scales tipped to full-on excitement late in August when she and I got to go get her schedule all worked out after a couple of kinks, and then track down her classrooms and meet her teachers. My goodness, what a wonderful group of people! They were all so nice, and so welcoming and excited. We could especially tell that her biology teacher was going to be a favorite. 

Speaking of biology, here is cute Emma hanging out with her reptilian nephew. She's been taking extremely good care of Chase's lizard and I like taking pictures of them.

Anyway, the first day of school finally did arrive, the day after Romney's birthday. Emma wore this cute brown jumper, the last thing that she made in her sewing classes with Ms. Jane! She's so cute.

Here's a photo I stole off of instagram - I just wanted to show off cute Emma at the Theater Department's opening social. I have been amazed at how quickly Emma has adjusted to the new and much bigger school. She really loves it. She is doing really well in her classes and has gotten involved in the fall play (Les Miserables). She found a new good friend on her first day, plus many other connections. There are so many kids there she loves. I am not sure if she or I am more grateful that the middle school years are behind us. Let's just say, we're both pretty grateful. 

And it's proven to be true that biology is her favorite, followed closely by French, Ensemble Choir and Orchestra, plus Language Arts and Human Geography. Wait. Basically she loves all of her classes except gym and math. 

The Latest Adult

Our little August baby is now a fully-fledged adult. (And by fully-fledged, I just mean that she turned 18.)

She was home after getting her stuff moved in, and had a great weekend with us. Monday was her birthday and we made a great day of it! We started off with a few gifts in the morning - including a 7-11 sweatshirt she really wanted, which made me giggle. Emma gave her a DND/abc book, and she got this cute hoodie too. The Preslar kids are all about the sweatshirts, I guess. 

Of course we needed a pedicure too - and I'm happy to say that in this late month of November I still have a touch of pink on my toes. We always enjoy getting pampered when we can.

In the afternoon Romney did a little shopping with a couple of buddies, during which time Troy and I got on our weekly messenger call with our missionary:

Then I picked up cupbop for the masses and Romney and her bestest buddies came to hang on the porch, draw, eat Korean fast food and have a lovely time. It's funny - by the end of high school, Romney was beyond sick of school and high school life and just wanted to move on. She was so excited to move to Orem (despite her profuse tears on move-in day) and really looked forward to making new friends. Then over the summer she grew even closer to this group and it's been hard to be away from them. They're so darling. I adore them.

So happy birthday to this family's latest adult. Romney adds so much to our family. She's so hilarious, loves spending time with us, and is so supportive of her siblings. They both adore her and turn to her a lot. Troy and I really miss her when she's not here. She's a total blessing to our family.