Coming to a Close

My time living in Maine is coming to a close more quickly than I had realized! It's absolutely crazy to me how fast time passes sometimes. My last day of work is Christmas Eve, after which I will go home and pack up my car with as much stuff as I possibly can, and then drive to Massachusetts. I am planning on singing with my boyfriend and his family with their church choir on Christmas Eve, which I am very excited about! And I get the best of both worlds on Christmas Day - to be with my boyfriend and his family in the morning, then fly home to see my family that evening! I'll be home in NC for five days, then come back up north for the New Year. There will be one more trip up to Maine to pack up the rest of my things, and then I will have moved all my stuff down to Massachusetts! To say the least, I am very excited for all of this change! Many people ask if I'm okay with how fast things are moving, and without even having to think about it I can say, "No, it's been a long time coming. And it's finally here!!!" Yes, I'll be living with Scott and his parents. And yes, I am very much looking forward to it! I will miss the friends I have made in Maine, but I won't be too far away to come visit!

Phew!

November is almost over.

Life has sped up dramatically now that it's holiday season in the retail world. This is a world that I only plan to inhabit temporarily ... not a place I plan to stay for very long. And November is already almost over.

I survived Black Friday in Freeport with nothing major to report. It was busy, but I was stationed behind my favorite barrier: the register. I had people coming to me, eager to leave the hustle and bustle, waiting to find out how much the heap of clothing they passed to me was all going to cost them. "Does this include the extra 40% off clearance!?" "Are you sure that's the correct price for those silk camis!?" "That sweater was 25% off, did it ring up correctly!?" Yes. Yes. Yes. Just swipe your credit card and sign the pin pad and you can be on your merry way to the next shop. All in all though, it was a good day. I was in a great mood, and I was prepared for an onslaught of rudeness that - miraculously - never came.

Now it's Sunday. It's still the weekend. There will still be shoppers ravaging the piles of neatly folded clothes only to find that their size was at the top. And there will still be patient employees waiting to come behind them and make some sense of the pile, only for the next customer to do it again. Yes, retail is an interesting experience.

In a little over a month I will be moving to Massachusetts, away from clothing retail, away from a frigid house that never seems to fully warm up no matter how raging the fire is, away from friends that I have already made in such a short time, and into the arms of a warm and loving family. It's bittersweet, and I still have a month to enjoy here. And I plan to do so as thoroughly as possible. Yet I still find my mind coming back to the anticipation of moving, and I find myself quite excited. Only a little over a month left. And November is already almost over.

That being said, it is now time for me to get ready to go to work. Wish me luck!

Cheers.

regarding silence and alone.

The fire is crackling away in the wood stove, and the dogs are snoring ... so I suppose it's not all that quiet in here after all. But there's something about silence.

Sitting still, quietly, listening, alone. I seem to be doing this a lot lately. And you know, it's not so lonely in the end. It's hard to move to a new place where you don't know anyone, and even when you live with people, it can feel really lonely. All the people you know are far away, and it's hard to call them because the cell phone service out here is abysmal. And yet, if I sit still and listen to my breath, and focus on the fact that alone isn't a bad thing, then I don't feel quite so lonely.

"But lonely is a freedom that breathes easy and weightless, and lonely is healing if you make it." [Tanya Davis.]

I've been living in Maine for about six months now. Time goes by unbelievably fast. It's hard to believe that it was six months ago that I moved up here with the intention of working on a schooner until October. I still love boats. But I'm glad that I made the decision to leave that particular one. And I count my blessings as often as I remember to do so - which is reasonably often - that I had a place to stay while looking for a new home, and a job. And I count my blessings as often as I can that I found a nice place to live and a job that makes ends meet. Life isn't perfect, but it could be so much worse. I am really quite happy here. And I'm learning how to be alone. And that's important. Alone is important. Together isn't always an option. And sometimes alone is better anyway. Even if alone is with a warm fire and two dozing dogs.

"Cause if you're happy in your head then solitude is blessed and alone is okay." [Tanya Davis.]

In January I plan to move. To be with Scott. And in that case, together will more often be an option. But it is still important to be alone. Because alone is okay, and together is not always what we need. So that being said, I am very excited to be moving to live with Scott. And then in the not-so-distant future we hope to move again.

And that is what I have to look forward to. And that is what I must add to my blessings that will be counted as often as possible.

Cheers.

when you find yourself

Find Yourself - Brad Paisley

Recently I've been feeling like I wish I had a little bit more direction in life. For my whole life - up until this past May - I have known exactly what was coming next. Summer would pass and I would go back to school for the next year to further my knowledge, so that I could then go home for the next summer and empty my brain, just to go back the following year to rinse and repeat.

Then I graduated. And now I have a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Warren Wilson College, with a minor in Spanish, and it's not doing much for me. Granted, if I wanted to I could have applied for graduate school and gone on to more education ... and I'm glad that I didn't do that right away, but now I'm feeling, well ... lost. I don't want a career ... I want a next adventure. I don't want to pick something that I have to do for the rest of my life. Luckily - I don't have to. But it would be nice to do something that's a bit more fulfilling than retail.

Teaching perhaps? I'd love to try it before I commit to it. Admission for a cool school up here in New England? I could do that. Admission representative for Warren Wilson in New England? Haha ... that I could definitely do. Cafe/bookstore that provided a place for creativity, relaxing, homework, etc? I could write a book I suppose ... but what to write about. Perhaps I will parallel my dad's book about being a gay parent and write a book about having gay dads. Could be interesting. Probably won't be very profitable for some years as it could/would take a while to write.

So in the mean time I am in search of a next adventure. I dream of traveling. I dream of being a photographer. Or a journalist. But those might be next-next adventures. After I have some more of this thing they call "life experience."

Can I just go back to school now? There are so many classes I wish I had had time to take - photography, ceramics, history, creative writing, english, biology, chemistry, astronomy ... the list could go on for ages. But as it assures me in the song by Brad Paisley:

"When you go through life
So sure of where you're headin'
And you wind up lost and it's
The best thing that could've happened
'Cause sometimes when you lose your way it's really just as well
Because you find yourself
Yeah that's when you find yourself."

Cheers to life. And the next adventure. Hopefully it'll fall in my lap here soon.

fall, is that you? already!?

It was a bit cool today to say the least. As soon as September hit it got much cooler here in Maine. The temperatures were already dropping at night to the point where I was closing the windows and wanting to curl up under multiple layers of covers to stay cozy warm. And it still is, which I love.

Fall is here. Already. It's true. Tomorrow's high is 65. And that's probably about as warm as it will be again until spring next year. Wow. This is different! That's for sure. It's an abrupt adjustment seeing as what I'm used to is it being warm out until at least October in North Carolina! But I've moved to Maine, so I should stop expecting Carolina weather.

It's really beautiful though! And I still really love it! We have a wood stove at my house and I'm looking forward to the time when we'll have a cozy, crackling fire in it to keep us warm. But I can wait a little bit before I really want it to be that cold. It's about time for long pants and sweaters, scarves and fleece coats, puffer vests, hats, knitting, cups of hot cocoa, and snuggling under blankets. I adore this time of year. I absolutely love it!

Today Scott and I went on an adventure to Harpswell, Maine. There's not much there and it's really beautiful! We went out to Orr Island and Bailey Island - we drove until the roads ended. We got out and took in the utterly speechless beauty of the coast, with the waves gently rolling in onto broken-shell-littered beach, and the many shades of gray that danced across the sky as the sun crept behind the clouds.  We decided we couldn't have asked for a much more perfect day.

falling hard for maine

So to get right to the punch here ... I love Maine. I am so glad that I have moved here, it was an excellent decision. I thank the boat for getting me here, even though that didn't work out so well. And I am grateful every day that I found a wonderful home to move into with two amazing people and two great dogs, and a great place to work on top of all that in so little time!

Earlier this week, on Friday, I was reminded that I love Maine when I went for a hike up Bradbury Mountain (which is a very small mountain, but a lovely hike nonetheless) with my housemates' two dogs. 150ish pounds of dog on the end of a leash hiking through the woods is amazing. It was a gorgeous day and I couldn't stay inside. I had gone to explore Bradbury Mountain State Park with Scott earlier that week, and we loved it, and so decided to go again! And it can't be beat as it's about five minutes from my house! It was wonderful - great exercise, fun with the dogs, lovely trails, cool breeze through the trees, and some good ol' time outdoors. Then I went to the Community Market at LLBean to get some fresh veggies, local bacon, and early apples! Jackpot! Every Friday 3-7 there's a Farmers' Market on LLBean campus in Freeport. It's wonderful and so convenient! So that was Friday reminding me of how much I love Maine.

Today was yet another reminder of loving Maine. I went to church this morning to feel things out and see if I liked it - Unitarian Universalist Church Brunswick. The church was built in the late 1800s and is such a wonderful, warm, welcoming place. This was not only my first time to this particular church, but also my first time going to a UU church. I love it! The people were so sweet and so welcoming, the service was a healing service which turned out to be just what I needed, and the integration of so many different practices in a familiar service was perfect. And after the service there was a pot-luck party to celebrate a couple's 62nd wedding anniversary at their beautiful house in New Gloucester. I was invited to come along with a woman I met after the service, and I just kept meeting so many amazing people. The house is on about 30 acres and the original part of the house was built in the late 1700s. The "recent addition" was built about 100 years later! It was a beautiful deep red color, and I loved it instantly. It was a beautiful day out, a nice cool breeze blowing, and the company was great. I felt so at home with this group of people I had only really just met! Part of the celebration of this couple's anniversary was that they were giving away some of their books, which they had set up in a side room of the house for all of us to peruse and pick out anything we wanted to take. I picked up a copy of Naked by David Sedaris, which I've been wanted to read for some time. So exciting! The rest of the party was fantastic, I chatted with so many wonderful people, saw their gorgeous Celtic garden out back, and really felt so genuinely welcomed into the community. I just can't believe what a great day it was! What a perfect day to visit this church and meet some new people! Yet again, still, I love Maine! And the people here have (for the most part) been amazing! I feel so at home already.

My favorite part is when I tell people that I've just moved to Maine from North Carolina. And they ask why I moved to Maine? And I tell them that I wanted a new adventure! I've adventure some in Maine and found it to be a wonderful place, and so I took a chance and moved here! And I love it! My least favorite part about Maine is how stinkin' far away it is from my family in North Carolina. But that's what planes and trains and cars are for! And telephones and email!

Yay life!

six days straight

I worked six days straight last week - Monday through Saturday. Two days at J.Crew and four at The Body Shop. It was actually quite enjoyable. I like being busy during the day and feeling like I've accomplished lots. I'm also getting more in the swing of things with my two jobs. The schedules are actually meshing really nicely - I couldn't have asked for much better! I'm still working on meeting all of the people who work at J.Crew, but I'm not too worried about it because a lot of them are leaving in August to go back to school anyway, so then there will be fewer people to meet.

This weekend was busy - Scott came up, Leigh and her friend Leo came to Maine, and we all had a grand old time! They hung out while I was at work on Saturday, we all went to a fun pub in Portland on Saturday night, and took them around Freeport on Sunday! It was a whirl wind! Phew! (Wonderful to see you Leigh!!!)

Leo, Leigh, Scott, and me at Wolf's Neck Farm in Freeport.

Four more days of work and then I'm off for two weeks of vacation! The family trip out west has been planned for quite some time ... normally I wouldn't take two weeks off work so early. But I sure am excited to see my family! And before I leave Scott and I are going to Cirque du Soleil!!! On Sunday!!! I'm so excited!!!!!!!!

Life in Maine has been going smoothly. I'm getting into a routine of going to the YMCA in Freeport - it's a nice Y. And I'm running into people I know at the grocery store, which makes it feel like I live here. And I love the couple I'm living with ... they're so much fun! And it's been really easy to make this feel like home so quickly. Yay! Though I'm also excited to have an apartment of my own later this year! Hopefully in Portland!

Suppose that's about it for now ... Maine is wonderful! Summer here is amazing!

in which that made my day. thrice. or four times.

Allow me to explain myself:

Today was a bit up and down, but it ended on just about the highest note it possibly could have. I went to the gym this morning, which is really just code for "I found a quiet place where no one would bother me to read Harry Potter, and was coincidentally exercising at the same time." So that was good. Then I went to work. I had just missed a call from Scott, who left a cute message just to tell me something that I had asked him about yesterday, which he couldn't recall, and that he had finally remembered! It was a rather insignificant piece of information that I had totally forgotten about, which made it that much better! So I got to work, which I am loving - I love entertaining and interacting with people all day! Most of today was good. And near the end of the day three women came in. They were just visiting Freeport and had just arrived from Ohio. They weren't looking for anything special but one of them bought something, which got us chatting. We were talking about the heat, and I said I'm used to it since I just moved up here from North Carolina. To which she responded, "My son lives down there!" "Where does he live?" "Oh you won't know of it, he lives in Carrboro." I just laughed at first and then said, "I just moved from there!" She was shocked! She told me who were son was, and it just so happens that I went to high school with her grandson! Gah! I LOVE SMALL WORLD MOMENTS!!!!!!!!!!!! They're my favorite. I couldn't stop smiling the rest of the afternoon. Then the server on the cash registers crashed - for the SECOND time today - while I was closing the store. That brought the day's score down a few points. HOWEVERRRRRR - as I opened the door to leave I heard bagpipe music playing in the distance! (Important to Note: I LOVE bagpipe music.) It didn't sound too far away, and as I was driving I saw the group behind the fire station! I stopped and listened for a while and it was absolutely perfect! It gave me goosebumps all over my body and I couldn't stop smiling! I must have looked like a crazy person! And even more so as I drove home, windows open, jamming away to celtic music!!! 

Ahh, the little things in life that make me so grateful for everything I have. It must be where the phrase "high on life" came from. 

just in cases

Hello!

Just in case there are still people reading my blog, I thought I'd update you a little. Things are going well up here in Maine. I am loving it! Maine is so beautiful. I've been to the beach with my housemates, who are awesome! We've also been playing Rock Band, which I never thought I would enjoy. It's a blast! And let me tell you, it's also a little addictive. For those of us with addictive personalities, this can be dangerous.

Work has also been going well. I finally had my first official day of work at J.Crew. I'm glad I started at The Body Shop first because the things I've learned there are definitely coming in handy. It's going to take a bit to get to know all of the people that work at J.Crew, as there are quite a few, but they all seem very nice! Those that I have met so far have been awesome. And I love the clothes, so that's dangerous. And The Body Shop is also going well. I'm really enjoying the people that I'm working with there too! They're super fun!

I've also been exploring here and there as I have had the chance and the itch to do so. I've been to the Brunswick Farmers' Market a couple of times. It's right off the main street, so it's super easy to find, and the people there are great! It's not a huge farmers' market, but they have great variety! Meat, veggies, cheese, fruit, plants, eggs, and so much more! I've also found the Target that's nearest to my house ... I love Target! I've been back down to Kennebunkport a few times, where Scott's grandparents live during the summer. I was there for the Fourth, which was a blast! Scott and I sat on the beach, went for lovely walks, went and saw the fireworks on the Fourth after a bee-yew-tee-fullll sunset! It was awesome! And Scott and I explored Portland some more this past weekend. It's a really neat city! There are lots of shops that remind me of Asheville, which I love! And it's right by the water, which I also love! It's neat to be so close to the coast - I've always lived several hours away so it was always a trip to go to the beach ... now I can go for an afternoon if I want to. It's awesome!

Needless to say, things are going well. I'm so glad I moved to Maine (as much as I wish NC were closer so I could see my family more often)! I suppose that's about it for right now.

Cheers!

Porcupines

In North Carolina we were always worried about copperheads when the dogs were out in the backyard. In Maine, as I learned yesterday, we are always worried about porcupines. Porcupines!? I've never even seen a porcupine in the wild before ... sure, I've seen them at the zoo before, but wow. This I was not prepared for. I'm still not prepared for skunks ... thank heavens the dogs didn't find a skunk! They did, however, find a porcupine. Apparently there is one that lives on the property here and one of the dogs has already had a prickly encounter with said little rascal.

Brody (Rotweiler-Chow mix) and Sox (Whippet-Lab mix) are sort of my new dogs. They're not actually mine, but I live with them. They belong to the couple that I am subletting from, and while they're out of town I'm taking care of them. We're bonding. And we really bonded yesterday when they came back from running off with porcupine quills in their faces. What a shock to see that! Not at all expecting that one. I learned that porcupine quills need to be removed asap because if they stay in they work their way deeper into the skin. Needless to say, we (two sad dogs, Scott, and me) made a trip to the Animal Emergency Hospital. Glad Scott was there to help! But bummed that we spent our morning at the AEH. They made quick work of the quills and gave us back two groggy drunk-looking dogs! Yay for nice vets! What an adventure!

Sad Sox

(He was a little nervous around Scott before we went, but after that adventure he and Scott are friends.)

Bummed Brody

(Not only in the side of his face, but one in his ear, and a couple in the roof of his mouth - poor guy!)

Two sleepy puppies!

and so it begins ...

I suppose it has already begun ... I moved up here a month ago. But it really feels like it has begun now. I'm not waiting anymore to hear back from potential employers. I have two jobs, which is as much as I'm going to take on for the time being - The Body Shop and J.Crew. Those just happen to be the two places out of the ten-ish that I applied to and I got jobs at both! What luck!

Speaking of luck, I can't quite express how fortunate I feel for having found two jobs and a place to live in less than a month! Wow - it's been less than a month since I left the boat! It's a great thing to remind myself of on a regular basis, especially when I start moping and feeling down in the dumps. I have two jobs and a lovely place to live, with two great people and two fun dogs! And the best part of it all is that I don't have to go back to school in August, so I get to keep these great things as long as I want! That's going to take some more time to sink in ... the whole not-going-back-to-school-in-the-fall thing. I'm still overjoyed when I sit down to read or knit and don't have to stop after a few minutes to work on homework. I should graduate from college more often - this is great! Yes, there are responsibilities that come with being a grown up ... but I feel like I'm handling them in stride.

I'm learning A LOT about retail. There's so much pressure! Wow. And more than that (because I feel like selling a school, which I think I'm pretty darn good at, is similar to selling products) I am learning about products so that I can sell them better. It will all take some time, but I've already learned more than I realized. So that's good! I guess it took me a while to get all of those fun facts that I know so well about Warren Wilson in my head, so I just have to learn these new ones bit by bit! It's fun though. And there's no homework. (Muahahaha!)

However, speaking of homework, I'm considering taking some classes that I feel like I missed out on in college. I want to find a fun art class to take - ceramics is what I am the most interested in. And I'd also like to take a digital SLR photography class. I'm going to wait until I'm nice and settled in up here to even look, but I've been looking forward to taking these classes for a long time.

Dear Academia,

I just can't get enough of you! I'll come back to you as soon as I can!

Love,

Adrianne

Settling In

I moved into my new place today! It's really quite exciting! And I finally have everything out of my car for the first time in ages! What a relief. And I'm getting to know the two dogs I live with - Sox and Brody. They're sweeties. I love dogs! I didn't have much to move in, so that didn't take very long at all. I'll have some rearranging to do once I have places to put stuff. It's super exciting to finally have a place that I can call home and to feel comfortable here. Yay!

And work is going well too! I've only worked two days so far, but I work again on Wednesday! I'm enjoying it. And I'm still - it feels like forever - waiting to hear about other jobs. I'm trying to be patient ... someone out there is testing me. But life is good!

Mmmm ... Maine.

Home!

Well folks, it looks like I'll be here for a while! I have myself a job and a place to live! Still waiting to hear from a couple of other places about jobs ... I'll keep you posted! But in the mean time - here's my new address!!!

245 Brown Road

Durham, ME 04222

Yay!

dreams for one day ...

I was, as I have been doing quite a lot lately, sitting around today and I found this awesome article on NY Times. I'm going. Not sure when yet, but I'm going. I have to. Talk about dream come true! And if you'd like to come with me, please do! But know that I will spend my time taking in every little detail that I possibly can about absolutely everything. And it will probably be a requirement to read back through the books, just so I can refresh my memory of all of the details. Costumes might also be required. But seriously? Harry Potter Wizarding World? Oh my, but of course!

patience pays off

Great news! I have a job!!! I was offered an assistant manager position at The Body Shop in Freeport, Maine yesterday, and I start work on Tuesday! This is so exciting! It means that I can stay in Maine. I'm moving to Maine! Wait ... I suppose I'm already here. But now it's official! And I had an interview at J.Crew yesterday, which went really well. Now I get to play the waiting game with them too! This is all just a grand test of my patience ... which, if you know me, means a lot. I'm actually doing a good job, thank you very much! I've been VERY patient. And it's paying off in big ways!!!

Now I just have to find a place to live. I've been looking at renting a room/subletting from someone for the time being, and then looking for an apartment later. That way I can have a place to live and be more picky about an apartment later. This is scary ... I feel like such a big kid now. I got myself a job and now I need a place to live. Yikes! So exciting! I've looked at one room right outside downtown Freeport, which would be super convenient, so we'll see how that turns out. It seems hopeful, but I'm keeping my eyes open for other options as well. And hopefully I'll get another job at J.Crew too! I'd be happy as a clam at high tide! (That reminds me, I've been eating so much seafood lately ... my goal for the past couple of days has been to not eat any seafood to give myself a break!)

So hopefully I'll have a new place to live and a new address to send out! Yay!

I'll update more once I know more ... here I go wait!

Jobs?

My decision to leave the boat has been a good one. I feel so much better now! And I applied to about 10 places in Freeport, ME and I had an interview this morning at The Body Shop. It went really well! I have three phone interviews (!!!) to complete the process and then we'll see what happens! I have an interview on Tuesday at the JCrew Factory store here in Freeport and hopefully that will go well too!

I'm staying in Kennebunkport with Scott's grandparents right now, which is a blessing. I'm so glad to have a place to stay as I wait for people to call and interviews to happen. Hopefully I can find a place to work, or places to work, and a place to live and move in soon! This is exciting!!!

Otherwise I've just been hanging out. I explored Portland on Tuesday, which was fun! It's a big city and there are lots of places to explore. I found a cute little coffee shop and put in an application there as well, so that was convenient! I've just been taking it a day at a time, which has been great so far. Tomorrow I think I'll go explore Kennebunkport some more ... and if I get the job at The Body Shop then I'll have to go get some more black clothing. It's an all black dress code! I have black clothing though, so that shouldn't mean buying too much. Ha! Chorus in high school got me buying black clothing and now I have tons! Wow.

I suppose that just about sums it up for me right now. I'm just waiting!

Ciao!

Change of Plans

This is neither here nor there at this point, but I've left the boat. It just wasn't the right thing for me to be doing right now. I have processed my thoughts and processed them some more and I really feel like this was the right decision for me to make. I feel relieved and happy. I have not crossed sailing off my list of things to do ... I might return. I feel very strongly that the crew makes all the difference in the world. If I had a different crew I think it would have been an entirely different experience. Based on talking with other people from different boats I think there's is a possibility of returning and working for a spell on a different boat. Sailing is still very much something that I am interested in. So we'll see!

I am currently in Freeport, Maine and am taking things one day at a time. I stayed another night on Friday with the two women that I met in the shipyard, which was wonderful. It really gave me a chance to process my decision to quit and talk with them about options. Having connections up here makes me feel so much more comfortable, even just knowing that they're here. And Scott came up for the weekend and we went camping here in Freeport. It was glorious! The campground was great and the weather was awesome. It was nice to wander around Freeport Village and I collected and turned in lots of applications for jobs here. My hope is to stay in Freeport, or at least in Maine. It is so beautiful up here!

[Note: the name of the boat is Crayon Ponyfish ... love it!]

[Down by the water ... low tide ... at the campground.]

So here I am. The last couple of days have been a relief. I'm going to be in Kennebunkport for a little bit as well waiting to hear back from people about jobs. I'll be staying with Scott's grandparents! I love them! And this blog is going to be/has been turned into a log of my adventures here in Maine. Hopefully I'll be able to get my foot in the door with a job and move up here! I'll keep the blog as up-to-date as I can and update on my adventures!

Cheers!

Angels

The last couple of days have gone by with lots of working. I've been scrubbing out cabins, the galley, the galley bunks, other bunks, etc etc. I've been painting the stove, whose name is actually Berma (I called her Bertha in the last post ... woops!) and painting other things. Today I scrubbed splattered rust off of the forward house, which might need to be painted again. Good thing I'm good at painting! Though I'll probably be scrubbing some more wood in the passenger cabins. I'm glad I have my iPod to keep me company while I'm down there scrubbing. My arms are semi-permanently covered in paint ... which sort of makes me look like I'm turning into a dalmatian or something. Fun!

Yesterday I met two of the most amazing women in the world. Angels! I was having a bit of a rough morning and was scrubbing stove paint off of my glasses and these two sisters came over and we started talking. One of them is the cook on another boat and the other was helping out for the day. They invited me to come to their house and sleep on an inflatable mattress, take a shower in a real bathroom instead of the one in the shipyard, and wash my clothes. Needless to say, knowing that I was going home with them made the rest of the day much easier.

I discovered that Maine is beautiful pretty much everywhere and I really enjoy driving around and seeing everything. I feel like a human being again after staying at their house, and they really are amazing people. What a gift to have people like that to take you home and give you the hugs that you need and have been missing for the past week! Phew!

Tomorrow will be more scrubbing, I'm just sure. I'm getting to be a pro scrubber! And hopefully we won't be working again on Saturday ... I'm told we usually don't, but we did last Saturday. Who knows! It'd be nice to have a couple of days to relax a bit!

Cheers!

Tiny Wannabe Sailor Girl

Today we put on some of the sails, which was pretty neat. They are wicked heavy and it took all six of us to carry them from the storage bins in the shipyard to the boat one at a time. We didn't get them all on, but we got a few! I learned a little bit about where things go and what different parts are called. Don't ask me to tell you now - I've forgotten. I've also learned that it is handy to carry my knife with me everywhere so as to cut things that need cutting, and that I need to tie a rope to it and fasten it to my pants so as not to lose it. Important things. I also learned that sometimes it's just better to let other people handle the heavy-lifting. Basically I'm really little to be trying to hoist sails and holding large pieces of canvas tight while someone else ties them down, and my knots don't stay because I can't tie them tight enough ... bummer. So I've been painting instead! Lots. Oiling this some more ... one more coat tomorrow makes five coats of Teak Oil on the main cabin. Sanding, priming, and painting this so that it's nice and white. As white as it will get. And trying my best to follow directions and hold onto things while the wind tries to rip them out of my tiny wannabe sailor girl hands. I would prefer petite, but let's just face it - I'm not a very big person. This makes a lot of things on a schooner difficult and cumbersome, but I just try to stay out of everyone else's way as best as I can.

I did, however, learn that I can keep a wood stove going! I started a fire in it all by myself this morning and kept it going all day! This is just the beginning. Tomorrow we paint the stove ... why? Because it looks pretty that way. Funny, you say ... yes, I agree. It's a blessed wood stove named Bertha, but evidently she wants to look her best for the passengers, so I shall do my best to paint her since that's what I do best on this boat! Painting!!! Oh, and oiling too.

Here are some pictures of the Schooner Heritage ... it's not finished being re-painted/oiled/etc for the passengers, but she's a pretty boat!

This is the side of the boat ... Keith, one of the deck hands painted the name on the side.

One of the smalls boats that we carry along with us ... I don't remember her name.

The top of the main cabin - the galley is pretty much directly below this - and I've oiled the heck out of this thing ... one more coat tomorrow!!!

These are the steep ladder-like steps that I climb up and down to get to where I'm sleeping. Fun!

First Days

Well my first couple of days have been a bit rough. It's really hard to be in a new place that is almost entirely foreign to you and to not know anyone. I'm adjusting to living on a boat in a temporary cabin that is actually one of the passenger cabins. It's tiny and has a tiny sink and a bed and a really small amount of storage space, but it's livable. I am, however, a bit worried about moving into the super-tiny bunk that I'll be living in once the cruises start. Not sure how that will work out, but I'll just wait and see instead of spending time worrying about it. The captains of my boat are nice and the crew is nice enough. I don't know anything about boats and feel very much like I am in the way, but that's life. I wish I had known to wait and arrive right before the first cruise goes out, but that's life too. I'm learning, right? I'm putting myself outside of my comfort zone and trying something new. It's an experience, that's for sure. The shipyard is big and there are a couple of other boats here that are also schooner cruises. Everyone is working hard on the detailed stuff getting the boats ready. I've been painting this and sanding that, oiling this, and painting some more. We launched the little boats that go along side the schooner yesterday, which was neat. Monday we're putting the sails on ... at least that's what they tell me. It's a pretty boat and I hope it's even prettier once we've finished outfitting it to be ready to sail. I'm eager to meet the mess mate and the cook as I'm the only galley hand here right now. The rest are all deck hands. I'm the assistant cook on the Heritage so we'll see how that works out. I wish I were cooking now rather than painting and sanding, but that will come soon enough.

Rockland is a really cute little town. There's a nice little downtown area with a wonderful little coffee shop/bookstore that I spent some time in this morning. It's a coffee roastery and coffee shop and bookstore all rolled into one. There are lots of other cute little shops that I've mostly just peeked into, but will probably explore more as time goes on. There's a big grocery store - thank goodness - and some other little chain restaurants/fast food places that are familiar to me just for comfort's sake I suppose. Otherwise I haven't really had much of a chance to explore. Oh, but I did find the public library - it's wonderful. It's a beautiful building with lots of great books, nice places to hide, and free wireless!

For now I'm focusing as hard as I possibly can on the beautiful weather and the neat little area that this is rather than worrying about what's to come. Things could be a lot worse ...

I'm going to go continue enjoying my day off and my relaxing in the library.

Tomorrow's the Day!

Here I am, sitting at Scott's house after a long two days of driving and I'm eagerly/anxiously awaiting tomorrow when I will drive up to Maine to meet my new friends and see my new temporary home!

I'm excited, but also nervous. I miss the family already, but time flies when you're having fun. More to come once I know what I'm getting myself into!

Pre-Departure

So I've been packing and packing and sorting and sorting all day today ... after running around doing errands yesterday. It's been a whirlwind last few days, that's for sure!

Graduation on Saturday, left on Sunday to come to Chapel Hill, ran errands on Monday, packed on Tuesday ... and we leave tomorrow! Scott and I drive to Pennsylvania tomorrow, then to Massachusetts on Thursday, then I'll be in Maine on Friday to meet my captains and see the boat!

Back to packing!!!

Cheers.