Saginaws with Ralph, after visiting a very interesting recording studio and sprawling Mormon home. Where, big news for me, I got to pet a Maine Coon kitty. After this appointment Ralph took me out to eat (my mom had hosted the kids at the Fair, that’s right, they got to go twice this year!) and it was just a wonderful meal for he and I. I told him, “I feel so fortunate. I’ve had a lovely day so far, this was great food and I like being with you. And we get to see our friends later.”
A nature walk on or at least near our friends’ property, I don’t know, I was a bit lost:
I want to one day take a trip, just the kids and I. Or maybe even just me. I want to be away from a few things. Just for a little while. I select the kids as possible attendants because when it’s them and I in nature or in the quiet somewhere, things are just so damned simple and wonderful.
Thimbleberries; raspberries are my favorite, but these are delicious as well. Oddly a bush will have a perfectly-ripe specimen neighboring several so unripe you couldn’t even pry off the plant. When they are ready, they are so soft and juicy, a complex citrusy-sweet flavor. I’ve never done anything other than what Nels and I did today (along with several huckleberries); eat them off the bush.
Later:
A bonfire gets a little hot for the musicians, but is just the right temperature for others.
I used to talk and talk at gatherings and get all wound up. Hyper. Either angry or happy. That person is still with me but often these days I’m quiet, enough so that my husband thinks something’s wrong when nothing really is. He puts his hand in mine or rubs my shoulders and would do just about anything for me. I feel incredibly grateful for his company and that of my children and my friends. Many times, these days, it’s as simple as that.
That bonfire looks INTENSE! The pic of the musician fleeing is awesome. Hehe.
“I want to one day take a trip, just the kids and I. Or maybe even just me. I want to be away from a few things.”
Have you ever gone, yourself, or with your kids, to Breitenbush Hot Springs? They are pretty good about providing scholarships, especially when you (and YOU clearly can) write up a pretty nice story for them. (Otherwise it can be pricey).
http://www.breitenbush.com/pdf_files/Scholarship%20App.pdf
If you haven’t been: if you’re by yourself, they may pair you with another woman in one of the cabins if it’s that busy. If you’re with the kids, it’s usually a full or twin bed with a set of bunkbeds in the room. Everything is heated with the steam from the springs through a radiant heater in the room. There is a small silent library for reading and then an area with couches where you can play games. They have a couple of classes, like yoga or Zumba, through the day and all the meals are made for you (all veggie) so you just show up and eat cafeteria style. (You do have to bring your own coffee if you want it but they provide tea and then some kind of natural tea/juice thing with each meal. It’s a really great way to relax and be in nature – there is a beautiful river and some hiking trails as well as the ‘natural’ springs tubs, tiled tubs with hot springs water and an old rickety steam sauna. It’s fabulous whether in the summer or the middle of the winter with the snow…I’ve seen a lot of deer around the tubs in the winter.
I just followed your Maine Coon link down into the world of well-known cat photographers…who knew? That IS a very good looking cat.