Procrastination

Happy New Year from Maine! I haven't posted for almost two months and I apologize to my few, but loyal, blog friends. I love to write, take photos, decorate, or go on adventures and blog about them and I've missed doing it. I promise to do better in 2019!

Winter has arrived here in coastal Maine but it has been mild so far. This is our street; across from it is beautiful Casco Bay, which leads to the Atlantic Ocean near Portland (the "other" Portland!)

With my stair project done, you'd think I would have taken a break but . . . you'd be wrong. The stairs came out so good sans wall-to-wall carpet that I plowed right ahead and started on the second floor, which houses my craft room, our master suite, and a second-floor laundry.

Which required squeezing every bit of furniture, clothing, and decor into the laundry room and bathroom while we worked on the floors. What a mess!

Here is a "before"picture of our master before the icky old aqua carpet was removed. 

We replaced it with red oak flooring. It was quite a learning process for me as there are so many new flooring products on the market today. I had no idea about the virtues of vinyl planks vs. engineered hardwood vs. laminate and so on.  After lots of research and speaking with helpful professionals,  we chose red oak engineered hardwood to compliment the floors downstairs.

We did have the flooring professionally installed and it looks beautiful. What a change!

 Here it is in my craft room, one side . . . 

And the other.

When  the floors were done, I decided to add some curtains to the craft room. I love how "boho" and unexpected these are, with their mix of colors and textures.

And since I've been reading at my craft table (and I LOVE to read), I treated myself to my very own reading corner in the newly-floored craft room. I had the lamp, bought a little C-table at Home Goods for my books, and ordered the chaise from Wayfair.  FYI: This was my first purchase from Wayfair and I couldn't be more pleased; they sent free fabric samples when I was deciding on the fabric and shipping was free and fast. If you've never seen my craft room, here's a link to a post I did about it. I spend most of my time in this room!

By the time the second floor was back together, it was Thanksgiving. Literally. I love these little bottle-brush turkey place card holders I found at Home Goods. Only $1.99 each. I gave them to my sister as a hostess gift on Thanksgiving Day. Heck, she was doing the cooking this year!

We  had barely finished all the Thanksgiving leftovers when the Christmas season got started. The first two weekends in December are "Christmas Prelude" in Kennebunkport , a great time for Christmas shopping, fireworks, and catching up with old friends.

Speaking of Kennebunkport, I have to acknowledge the passing of President Bush #41. He will be missed by all of us who he considered his neighbors. I am a liberal Democrat but knew him to be an exceptionally honest and caring man. He will be missed.

And then it was Christmas . . . .

I spent all my time making Christmas gifts and not enough of it working on my blog. 

I love this stamp. I had it made at Staples and use it to make my own gift tags, gift bags, gift wrap and Christmas cards on plain brown paper. Simple to wrap or embellish with plain old garden twine.

I found these vintage Bingo cards at an antique shop in North Carolina last March. 

With some cut and paste and a little ribbon, they made tree ornaments, a holiday banner for our fireplace, and Christmas cards for special friends.

I posted Tips for Stenciling Flour Sack Towels in August and, between then and December 25th, completed 46 (OMG!) of them to give as Christmas gifts. I found images I liked on the Internet and cut my own stencils on Mylar using an Exacto knife. 

                    The Kitchenaide mixer stencil took awhile to cut out but it's my favorite.

                                      Whew! No wonder I didn't have time left to blog!

             And then there were the driftwood Christmas trees to finish . . . 

Homemade Maine Christmas folk art with driftwood collected in Searsport, Maine.

But on Christmas morning, all of the preparation was worth it.

After Christmas Day, a walk on Wells Beach was exactly what was needed to center myself again.

For the New Year, I decided to go crazy and cut off all my hair. Really!

Here we are before; halfway before anyway . . . 

And after. 

Short, sassy, and oh so easy!

And, ever the optimist, I rejoined Weight Watchers AND Planet Fitness for 2019. 

Hope springs eternal!

Last weekend, we had a great day outdoors at the farm of our friends Survivor Bob and Peg Crowley in nearby Durham, Maine.  

The occasion was the Crowley's annual "Christmas Tree Burning Party".

So much fun and so nice to be outdoors on a mild winter's day .

Which brings me to today.

I think we're actually caught up.

I promise to be less of a blog-procrastinator in 2019.

Happy New Year!

Vintage Makeover: This Gets Personal!

I call my efforts to stay healthy "The 150 Project" because, at 5'5" tall and xx years old,  150 is my goal weight. When I was 40, my ideal weight was 120, at 50 I raised it to 130, at 60 it became 140, and now this Boomer is happy to maintain at 150. Which I haven't done in awhile.

When I was a kid, it was my ill fortune that my first name, "Cheryl", happens to rhyme with the word "barrel". I'll let you figure out the rest of the rhyme. I wasn't that big but was always "heavy set". Add to that a round face and, well . . .  you know.  Mom used to remind me that, "Sticks and Stones will break your bones, but names will never hurt you". Mom, God love her,  clearly did not have a first name that rhymed with "barrel".

I've been a  Lifetime Weight Watcher member since I first "made goal" back in the early 1980's. Since then, my weight has fluctuated from 105 (thanks to the "Divorce Diet") to 196 (the Nachos and Margaritas diet).  Having recently tried on my summer clothes (which didn't zip!) , I rejoined Weight Watchers ten days ago. It's my first time on "Freestyle" and, so far, I really like it, especially the list of  "200 No-point Foods".

Weight is such a sensitive issue for most women, me included. I am a well-educated, well-traveled, well-read, confident woman who has met Presidents in the Oval Office, and yet, I'm  still afraid to wear a sleeveless dress. I haven't bought a bathing suit in years. I actually dared to try one on in Target a couple of weeks ago and left the dressing room in tears. I'd rather walk over hot  coals than put myself through that again.



At one point, I decided to work with a personal trainer. Does it look like I'm having fun here? After a year, I hadn't lost a pound, although I have to admit working out was a big self-confidence builder and I did have a lot more energy. Unfortunately, the kettlebells eventually got the best of me and I ended up injuring my newly toned back. No more of that.

Last week, we received an invitation to a summer party in Kennebunkport. On it were the dreaded words, "Cocktail Attire Suggested".  Immediately my heart began to race. I love Kennebunkport, I love parties, I love my friends, but me in a cocktail dress?  I can hardly get my mind around the thought. Aren't cocktail dressed usually sleeveless? Form fitting? Slinky? Like bathing suits with longer skirts?

I have two months before I have to commit to "The Dress". So, I've emptied the "carb cupboard" and stocked the frige with lots of healthy foods. I know I can do this. This time, I just wish I could be smart enough to maintain my goal weight once I get there.

I'm lucky to have a supportive DH and the best Weight Watcher leader ever, Mary Elizabeth.  I know what to do and I'm determined.

There is only one question left . . . 

Hope springs eternal!

Hobbling Through July

No dancing this month for me!

 

I've been limping around on crutches due to a torn hamstring and it's slowed me down (which is usually a pretty hard thing to do). Maybe that's what I get for assuming that, at 67, I can keep up with Michelle Obama at the gym! That said, my crutches aren't a very good excuse for ignoring my blog so today is my valiant effort to catch up.

Wedding In Kennebunkport

What a beautiful place for a wedding . . . on the dock at the River Club in Kennebunkport.

What a perfect day for a wedding . . . the quintessential Maine early summer day.

On Friday afternoon, June 20th, our nephew, Christopher married the love of his life, Courtney.

The wedding was held on the deck of the historic Kennebunk River Club, which dates from 1889 and includes among its members President George H.W. and Barbara Bush. The River Club was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

To make the occasion even more special, Chris was married by his mother, my sister-in-law, Carolyn , who is the pastor of Woodfords Congregational Church in Portland.

I loved the colors of the dresses . . . coral with a dash of navy blue.

And check out the groomsmen in their navy canvas Topsiders and coral lobster ties . . . perfect for a nautical wedding on the Kennebunk River.

 

The bride, who is from Colorado, is a semi-Olympic skier as well an Iraq War Veteran. Her dress had just a little navy blue down the back. Her Mom, who also wore navy blue, didn't look much older than the bride (maybe it's all that mountain air in Colorado)!

 

 The flower girls were adorable in chevron print orange, white and navy dresses.

 

 

Carolyn (the minister and groom's mom) did a beautiful job of personalizing the service. Since she was my "little sister" at Russell Sage College way back in 1967, I'm pretty proud of her, and of our enduring friendship.

 

Christopher's sisters, Kristen and Kim, read to the bride and groom from Dr. Seuss' classic, Oh, The Places You'll Go! while Chris' brother, Geoff, stood up for him as best man.

 

It was a beautiful day to be with family and to reconnect with old (old!) friends.

 I'm wishing so much joy for Chris and Courtney...

 

and a week's rest for Carolyn!

 

 

 

A Fiesta, Lobster Bake, Umbrella Tree & Windows 8 . . .What a Week!

The belated Cinco de Mayo dinner party with our Gourmet group last Saturday evening was so much fun! Here are some photos of the table...

and the Senors y Senoritas who attended...in sombreros and mustaches, of course.
The members of our Gourmet Group are nothing if not good sports!

What do you think? Should I keep the mustache???

Our Mexican meal was delicioso. My sister, Joanne, brought an amazing selection of Mexican hors d'oeuvres including authentic fish ceviche. The rest of the meal featured salad in baked tortilla cups, marinated grilled short steak, pablano peppers stuffed with rice and chorizo sausage, Mexican street corn rolled in cotija cheese, and for dessert ... Tres Leches cake!  (Did I mention the Margaritas???)

 Lots of work but a great time. 

The next day I was determined to blog about the dinner on my new ASUS laptop, which so far I love. But, by the time I figured out Windows 8 and uploaded my photo software, etc., I was exhausted. No blog post that day!

The reason I bought a new laptop is so that I can blog while we travel...which we hope to do lots more of now that I'm retired from teaching. For a trial run, I brought the laptop to Searsport with me last week. (We impulsively decided to "run away from home" for a few days in the Casita for some fresh air and R & R).

While we were walking in the woods at Searsport Shores, we came upon this amazing piece of "forest folk art" that we never knew was there. You climb the magical tree-steps...

and sit in a little carved out tree-chair under a huge umbrella woven of twigs.

From this hidden perch in the tree, you can sit and look down over the stream that runs under it, listening to both the sounds of the small waterfalls in the stream and the ocean waves just beyond the treeline.

I felt as if I was in a fairy tale!

Even though it rained a lot, we had a wonderful week. We searched for sea glass that had washed up on the beach, learned a new game (ironically, Mexican Train Dominoes) from our friends Anita and Fred, and shopped in Belfast with our friend, Carolyn, who drove up from Kennebunk for the day.

We got home from camping just in time for today's beautiful weather and the 4th annual lobster bake in Cape Porpoise/Kennebunkport to raise funds for my sister Nancy's Memorial scholarship at Wells High School. It is put on every year by her friends, who all volunteer their time...and their lobsters!

Cape Porpoise Harbor & Goat Island Light



the "Stunning Smith Sisters"...Joanne, Andi, & Cheryl.

 

some of Nancy's friends & family

Tomorrow we pack up again...this time to fly to South Carolina for our grandson, Robert's, graduation from boot camp at Fort Jackson. Our other grandson, Brian, will be graduating from Westbrook High School next Sunday. We're really proud of both of them.

Busy couple of weeks...I'll be blogging from the road!