What I Learned On My Summer Vacation

I can not begin to fathom that I have had the last 9 days off. In a row. But I filled them all pretty well. I had a few days of downtime, which was needed.. but I really tried to make myself leave the house every single day to do SOMETHING fun. And let me tell you what... I'm so old, and my memory so bad, that I just had to go look at my instagram account to figure out what I did all week.

So onto the lessons!

1.) I once saw a really great quote (I have no idea who penned it.) that said "If you want to learn what someone fears losing, watch what they photograph."  So, if we apply this theory to my instagram account - mostly sunrises, and food... and my family. (username is Amckenney. Blog stats say that most of you are coming here from there... but in the event that you aren't, add me!) A little over a week ago, my sister sent me this, which my nephew asked her to send me:

Whatever it is that you love - you should photograph it. Even if it's a bowl of cereal and a container of milk... but especially if it includes a photo of your adorable nephew's head.

2.) Sometimes, you just need to chop all of your hair off! Also - men are attached to long hair.. I get it, long hair is nice... unless you have super thick curly hair that takes you an hour to blow dry and then you straighten it... and it's 95 degrees and you just can't deal... and then you just have it all chopped off. I'm super thrilled with it. 

3.) Small plates at The Block Saloon in Thomaston, Maine.  There's something about small plates that just feeds into my love of snacks. I would rather snack than eat a large meal. The homemade Hummus and Olive Tapenade with flatbreads that I ordered were REALLY good. The Charcuterie Board and Sliders my sister and brother-in-law had were also super good. I was impressed.

4.) When your sister makes the best Bloody Mary's on the face of the earth, you drink Bloody Mary's at 11am on the Fourth of July. Out of an inflatable Unicorn cup holder. In the pool.  BOOM! (Her name is Winnie the unicorn by the way.)

5.) Mr. Rogers was an incredible human being.  On Thursday, I drove to Portland to see the Mr. Rogers Documentary "Won't You Be My Neighbor" at the Nickelodeon Theatre. I had been trying to find a theatre in the state that was playing it, so when my friend Callie told me that she had gone to see it in Portland, I knew I had to make the trip. I laughed, I cried... I realized that I somehow remembered the lyrics to every single song he ever sang on the show. If you have the opportunity to see the documentary, I hope you'll watch it.

6.) Friendship - especially the ones you've held onto the longest, are important to maintain. I was happy to be able to hang out with Callie after I finished the movie. It was a hot day in Portland, but we walked around her neighborhood, got something to eat, got some coffee and tried to find an air conditioner in the greater Portland area. We didn't find one, but I'm happy to report she didn't melt in the sweltering heat that we encountered this week. I'm so glad. I would really miss her. I would be lost without her. She's the one I go to if I'm having man trouble, if I'm having outlook problems, or if I just need someone to listen to me cry on the phone. She's also legitimately the only person I can talk to on the phone for an hour and it feels like five minutes. True Story. We just had one of those marathon phone calls a few minutes ago.  I'm not going to share a photo of she and I. It's become a running joke, but every photo we take together, she makes a ridiculous face for.  But this is her cat, Cashew. I love his adorable face. 

6.5.) (This is really a continuation of the lesson above..) Friday had me leaving the house for about an hour and a half in total.. but I used that time wisely and had breakfast with my other longtime friend Randi Lynn. She's become my breakfast buddy... but she's more than that. She's also my sounding board, and an endless source of optimism and good advice when I need it most. I say it all the time, but I don't know where I would be without these two. Everyone needs a friend that doesn't judge them, I'm lucky enough to have TWO. We went for breakfast at Moody's Diner in Waldoboro Maine. I hadn't been here since high school. I'm nearly positive that the last time I was there was after a final performance for the last musical I did at The Waldo Theatre. (I believe it was Big River.) That was a very long time ago, but I do have very fond memories of this place. The food is still good. I had Blueberry Pancakes, Scrambled Eggs and sausage and coffee and Randi Lynn had a Bacon and Cheese Omelette with a side of corned beef hash and toast. Both of us were happy with our meals, but Randi Lynn did mention that the corned beef hash was not the best. 

We did not finish up our breakfast with a piece of pie.. but they do have amazing pie and desserts here too. If you ever stop in, you must have pie. 

7.) Sometimes I think that I can be pretty rigid when it comes to scheduling my time.  If you try to spring something on me mid-day, that I hadn't planned for.. I can be a little hesitant to comply. (Unless it's my idea.) My sister tried to get me to go to a party with her yesterday. I had no plans... except that I planned to not have any plans... so I didn't go! But when she called me as I had just sat down to write this blog (oh...  just about 7 hours ago) and asked if I wanted to go to School House Farms for vegetables and then to get an ice cream at Harjula's Dairy Bar.. I dropped everything and went with her. We also went back to the St. George River Cafe for salad with that amazing dressing from two weeks ago. I'm not sorry. I've tried to recreate it. I've tried, and I've failed. Miserably. 

So, 7 days since my last entry. 7 lessons learned. Coincidence? No.. I planned it that way. I am the captain of this ship... I do what I want. (Perhaps a lesson I will save for another day.)