What went before: So, everything except the writing corner is more or less good to go. I have one more bill to pay, and the afterword to write. Afterword may not happen today, but that’s OK. I know what I want to say, and by definition, it’s not a long piece.
It’s in my mind to take tomorrow off, really, and go down to Rockland to the Farnsworth Museum (which for some reason, I thought was open year-round, but it closes for the season at the end of September?). This will get me (1) a ride (2) salt air (3) art (4) if I play my cards right, breakfast or lunch (or both?) out. All of those things are wins and are known Soothers of Frazzled Writers Surnamed Lee Who Reside at the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory.
This will mean I can sit down and start reacquainting myself with the WIP (again) on Wednesday. I do have some minor commitments, but nothing Epic, like, say, driving to Baltimore or proofing a novel, on the calendar until, oh, Albacon, where I have volunteered to be a Zoom panelist, and to do a reading.
I can feel my blood pressure dropping already.
So, that’s the plan, insofar &c. Happy Hour is coming up in an hour or so, and that will be tools down for me as well.
Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. I’ll check in tomorrow as can.
Tuesday: So, a nice day was had by … me, actually. As it happens, I didn’t eat out at all — breakfasted at home so Trooper was sure to get his morning meds, and second breakfast. Then, I had half a quiche in the fridge, so I just took a piece with me for lunch, which turned out to be a GOOD idea because I found a place at a park adjacent to the public dock, which is where Steve and I usually stopped in Rockland, and ate my lunch to a new-to-me view of the harbor, in the sunshine, and I need to get better about remembering to wear a hat. But!
The Farnsworth Museum is a very nice museum spread over three buildings and some storefronts on Main Street. I wandered the museum, then Main Street, bought cookies at the Atlantic Bakery, since I am tragically out of cookies at home (I also need to make my own cookies; it’s not like it’s hard), and ate my lunch as reported.
Then, I went to Camden and got my passport stamped at Reny’s.
It was a day of meeting old friends, the first of which — I’ve been listening to the 60s station on Sirius XM, and I hate to tell you how many of those songs I know the words to. Add these to the songs at play from Classics Vinyl and Rewind, and I could probably do Great Things with my brain, if it wasn’t stuffed full of song lyrics.
But, anyway — on the way over to Rockland, I heard a song I haven’t thought of for … ever — Neil Diamond’s “Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show,” which, yes, I knew all the words, OK? — and I can’t tell you how fond I used to be of the Brother’s little sermon, which was produced before people stopped believing that kind of thing.
Inside the museum, met a painting of Marshall Point Light — and yes, I did embarrass myself by saying aloud, “Marshall Point Light!” — and then embarrassed myself again by laughing out loud — there’s a full-sized Langlais camel in the museum garden. I had just recently seen a much smaller one at the Langlais Exhibit in Waterville — and I didn’t know they came in sizes!
I also listened, and watched an illustration being painted, to the story about how Glooskap (Klooskap) invented the arrow, and Mount Kineo of the most perfect stone for arrowheads, which all the Abenaki people knew (this last part is true. It’s well to question Glooskap closely on these matters.), and watched a demonstration of arrowhead napping. This was a video in the Abenaki Room, and well worth the watching.
So, anyhoots, home again, where I fed Trooper some gooshy food and myself some ice cream from home stores (Gifford’s Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip). I debated going to needlework tonight, but I think I’ll rest at home, by which I mean check what I’ve printed out of the WIP and if it is, indeed, the Most Current or if I need to print a new edition to read.
So! How was your day?
Today’s blog post title from, what else? Neil Diamond, “Brother Love’s Travelin’ Salvation Show”
Photos on the day: The view at lunch; camel, large and small; Marshall Point Light. Oh, and the morning rose bush.
