At The Aquarium

Yesterday The Grants plus a Hopkins or two hopped into the family minivan and drove up to St. Andrews.  We had a lovely shaded lunch and then went over to the aquarium.  To say that Cecilia was delighted would not be an understatement.  She ran from touch tank to basement tank, from indoors to outdoors at the seal exhibit.  With 4 adults looking after her, there was always, always someone will to lift her, help her or engage her wherever she was in the aquarium. 

It was lovely for me to spend a day with my family.  Since changing my name I seldom think about being a Grant, but when you're surrounded by The Grants it's suddenly very easy to remember a piece of your roots.  They are very tall roots, practical at times, but also silly as all get-out.  It feels wonderful to allow them to be the wonderful grandparents that they are and gives me a moment to rest this week while they're in town.

What fun to be with family!

On my Needles...

Is something extra special.  Something small, filled with love.  It is a small little cardigan for a baby.  For a very special baby that is growing in my womb.  The Hopkins 3 will becoming 4 this February.   I find myself getting ready in these warm months by preparing for warmth in the winter to come.  I am so pleased to be far enough along both in my pregnancy, as well as the sweater to share our good, good news with you today.

More to come so very soon...

Midnight Snacks

 

Here's my kid eating a pickled egg at 12:40am last night.

As per Cecilia's pleas the cats got wet food  at 12:50am.

Living with cats and children is endlessly enriching to one's nightlife...


Have a great weekend friends!

My Gardener

Ready and willing to harvest.  Peas are a favorite, but today we got to pull the turnips from the ground.  It won't be long before I'll be preparing dinner and can say, please go pick me some basil (well a year or two perhaps).  It amazes me how helpful she can be if I just use patience and allow her to help.  She's amazing this gardener of mine.

I call YOU to Action!

Hello Friends,

In November Maine has a very important job to do.  It will have the ability to allow everyone living in our grand state to have the Freedom to Marry.  This is something I personally feel very strongly about and want to ensure that come November the state I live in is a fair and just place to live in; for me, my children and all of my friends and family. (qualifier: at least in civil rights surrounding marriage!)

I call each of you to attention!  It is our individual voices that make the difference in this campaign.  It is straight and queer people walking together, standing together, speaking the truth and being allies on this issue that creates change. 

If you don't live in Maine I guarantee there is a similar group in your state.  Get informed, join a facebook page (In Washington County: https://www.facebook.com/groups/312803908799825/) or at the very least go poke around www.mainersunited.org to learn more.  If you don't want to be an advocate vocally, donate money to help those of us who are ready to be loud. 

Refuse to sit idly by and allow another election go by.  I want to live in a state where if my life partner was a woman which it very well could have been, I could have the same societal benefits and the comfort that marriage provides in my life.  I also want my children to live in a state where there is acceptance and peace.  Don't you want that for your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren?

Thanks for your moments this morning, I appreciate your time.  I'll step down from the soapbox now.

Upcoming Events in Washington County (email me anneshieldshopkins@gmail.com for more info):

PARADES:  

Milbridge Days on July 28

International Festival in Calais on Aug 11

and there will be one in The Pirate Festival in Eastport

OR COME TO A MEETING:   Campaign Update and One - on- One conversation training 
Wed, Aug 1,   6:00 - 8:00 Kay Parker Building in Machias
Thursday Aug 2,   6:00 - 8:00 at Unitarian Church in Eastport
Monday  Aug 6,  6:00 - 8:00 Location TBA in Calais     

brooklyn, my brooklyn (& other loves)

Beauty and dirt everywhere you look.  The labor of walking on concrete.  The luxury of anything you'd like at arm's reach.  Something happening for every sense; taste, sound, olfactory, visions and touch.  Busy, busy, busy at every moment, however for me, for this Mama all alone in a big old city there was peace and quiet found.  I felt independence with an ability to indulge any whim at any turn.  Pop into that shop, leave quickly, walk in for a falafel, some dumplings, a latte.  In and out, around and around, though out my days.  Evenings spent holding close to dear old friends, telling stories of change, consistency and delight in our lives.  Several glorious days spent alone, my solo romp in the city.

 

I did of course spend some glorious time with some glorious ladies on the much anticipated pizza tour!  What fun to indulge ourselves in slice after slice up and down Bleeker Street.  From traditional cheese slice, to sicilian, to fancy schmanzy "pizza al taglio," or "pizza by the cut."  Super fun to giggle along through all the different crusts and cheeses and sauces.

And then the wedding!  Oh what a fun wedding it was!  To say we danced does no justice to what we did.  We sat all around 1 table, 8 old friends from college celebrating love.  Sending deep blessings to our friends Laura & Greg as they committed to each other as partners.  The father daughter dance!  The mother son dance!  Tear jerkers!  The joy of being all together, of dancing all together, of us all coming together from our separate homes and laughing as a group once again is such a delight.  Weddings are not to be missed, can't wait til the next one!

I'm going on a wee trip for a few days. 

A Mama alone with old friends in Brooklyn and a wedding to boot! 

See you early next week!

Up To My Belly Button

I thought I'd forgotten how to get in The Bay; I thought I'd never regain my confidence. 

Since my mother's passing I have felt less and less like forcing my body into extreme sensations, such as plunging my body into 40 degree water.  There was something in it that had simply lost it's excitement for me.  There had been enough shock for one year of my life; and I could be patient and still with myself, my body, my spirit.

Today I was so surprised as I stripped down to place myself in Straight Bay.  With seals, children and friends looking on I removed my clothing and picked my way down the rocks.  The children were busy being timid, exploring and giggling together.  The adults enjoying the light raindrops mixed with sun on their flesh.  I dipped my toe in The Bay, not so cold.

Then I waded along through the seaweed, feeling the memory of this cold salt water on my bare flesh and felt the surge of excitement that comes with cold cold waters.  I waded forward and submerged my thighs.  A wrong step found my hips submerged and I happily stood with water around my navel in those icy waters.

This must be what peace feels like; this must be what coming home is.

Sitting At The Market

This week I got a little bee in my bonnet on Friday night and joined in the fun at The Eastport Farmer's Market (Saturdays, 10-1 at Overlook Park).  I made a selection of prepared foods using local ingredients, many of which from my own garden, which felt somewhat self satisfying.  There were egg sandwiches, massaged kale salads, yogurts cups with rhubarb sauce, chocolate milk and much, much more.  I had some canned goods on the table and some herb bouquets from my garden.  What I didn't have was shade and that was sorely missed when selling prepared foods for 3 hours.  It wasn't incredibly lucrative, but it was plenty of fun!  And I believe I'll do it again as the whim strikes me with tweaks here and there to save my time and energy.

At Sunrise.

The quiet middle of the nights spent at home, with a  loved one each in a bed of their own and me daydreaming and researching, planning and scheming about an upcoming trip to an old home. 

The girl now has her "own room" which she will proudly declare to you over and over and over again.  Getting her to fall asleep in her own room is now a challenge unto itself, she expects a certain Daddy to sleep with her.  I've noticed sweet Ramona cat guarding one edge of the bed with a nightlight glow around them.  This is a transition that we're trying out, to see if our big kid, who poops on the potty, speaks full sentences and eats a pound of meat at a time can handle, sleeping on her own in her own room.  I'm pretty proud of her seeing her in that big bed all by herself, with books all around, a milestone to be had.

My Very Own Perennial Herb Garden

Now this is something I've been wanting to create in my life for ages.  A thick, lush herb garden, that I don't have to do anything to.  A garden full of eating that regenerates itself every year.  A bed thick with herbs, some for self seeding and some with thick healthy root systems.  A bed that I can eventually divide out of and share the wealth as my plants become overgrown over the years.  A place I can go to harvest many of my seasonings for drying for wintertime cooking.  It is a lovely place to retreat to this herb garden of mine.  Full of plants with history, plants that I feel triumphant for growing and so much delicious flavor.  Oh and the smells!  The smells are beautiful!

 Lavender from The Beavers on our left,

Bee Balm from Amy at the top

& "Chocolate" Mint on our right from Robert.

Lovely Anise Hyssop with it's licoricey bite on our left, from Gram's house,

& the Chamomile begins to blossom for calming teas this winter.

Flat Leaf Parsley transplanted from Tide Mill Organic Farm seedlings

& my true triumph, Dill, this is my fourth year trying to grow this and I'll have a bounty this year!

 The Echinecea is building it's blossom, a plant from Rachel Bell

& Rhubarb from Dick & Jean is putting on quite a display to it's left.

 

There's this lovely Common Sage from Gram in the foreground

& the giant Bee Balm is just behind it again.

There's other plants that didn't get found by my lens this morning, a French Tarragon, Thyme and Rosemary that were all self chosen mother's day present this year and a hearty Oregano plant from Gram's house.  The basil is relegated to it's own partial bed to ensure a hearty harvest for fresh eating, pestos and drying.  A few of these plants I will have to transplant indoors this fall as they cannot endure the hearty winter, and a few will hopefully self seed, but I may have to add a few seeds each year guarantee a hearty crop.  The wonderful part is the plants are getting so big and healthy I hardly have to weed!

What a lovely place to wander, amongst an herb garden.  Oh, and what fun to eat out of it!

The Day That Could Have Been Miserable

None of these pictures will properly convey the fact that Devon, Cecilia and I almost had a horrible day yesterday.  These pictures make us look like we were having a great time (which we were), however there were so many moments that we could have been grumpy, irritable and miserable, but instead chose the high road and went the "oh well, what's next?" road instead.

We went to Canada, took 2 ferries, spent the better part of 7 hours in the car, had a delightful picnic lunch and ate 2 bags of weird, not quite what I was looking for pickle chips.  The girl napped, enjoyed her life jacket, picked grass and commented on each and every big truck which she saw.  Devon and I had no cash on an island with no bank, ate chocolate and became dehydrated.

All in all it was really a fantastic day and I'd do it all again, if not a bit differently.

The A Frame

 ICE

 CREAM

 TIME!

Sometimes

the door has to close,
the phone goes unanswered,
the naps settled into,
dinner for 3,
thank-yous and no thank-yous envoked,
time spent with you and you and me,
time spent with only me.

time free from agenda,
expectations become silent,
just time for those who live within these walls.

sometimes we just have to be quiet.

and FREEDOM FOR ALL!

Yesterday I felt like I was a part of something that really made a difference.  We were 40 strong at the beginning of the parade route and there must have been well over 60 by the end.  The spectators asked for candy and beads of course, but they also asked for flags... a lot of flags!  We walked, we cheered, we teared, we were proud.  The crowd cheered, the crowd waved, the crowd supported us.  There were these beautiful moments of seeing a quiet person sitting on a porch, with a giant smile, a knowing look and a comfortable nod in agreement.  I felt euphoric marching down the main streets of my little island town with the raindrops starting to fall.  Standing up and calling to attention holding love, acceptance and openness at the forefront of each of our minds. 

I feel so proud today.

I also feel as though we have leaps and bounds to go, that the work has just started.  We've rallied the troops and now we must keep the voices heard down Water Street until the vote in November.  So, please watch this video made by a lovely family from Jonesport, visit Mainers United for Marriage for more info and VOTE YES for Marriage Equality in November!

Happy Independance Day

Hope you, and your friends and your families have a wonderful time celebrating the joys in your lives today.  We'll be having doughnuts at The Hopkins this morning.  Marching with The Freedom To Marry in the parade; a good reminder that many Americans are living without basic civil rights.  Then party and fireworks with friends.

Give thanks for all we have and promise to continue to create the change in the world.

Ce Enjoys The Tiny Tot Fair

Eastport's Fourth of July just keeps on going with the elaborate old time fun of a tiny tots fair. 

More to come all week, including a battleship!