Home Again

Actually, I've been home for 3 days.  It has taken me that long to even begin to get re-oriented to my normal life.  Fortunately, my work-week was only two days this week.  But I'm getting there, and want to share highlights of my vacation with you.

For those of you who didn't read my gushing entries prior to leaving, I spent two weeks in and around Buffalo, NY, where I lived for 22 years (not counting the 3 years I spent in Connecticut, in seminary).  My best friend in all the world, Cheryl -- we've been friends for 26 years now -- has a cute little camping trailer on the sandy shore of Lake Erie, just south of Buffalo.  She's a little self-conscious about it being a "trailer" (pretty lowbrow in her estimation), but for me, having been a tent camper my whole life, having a trailer is definitely upscale!  Heck, we even had a TV, DVD player, and microwave! And I love the size and location, much preferring it to the "aren't we special?" cottages on the Canadian side of the lake.  This was truly my kind of vacation (well, second only to Italy, that is)!

Below you see my friend Tom (Cheryl's partner) in front of the little camper:

It's actually perfect for one, not bad for two, and just about impossible for more.  But as you see, it's now nestled into a pretty little grove of trees -- before this year it sat out in blazing sun, with no shade at all.  And Tom has used the jacks to stabilize it, and built a little deck that is just the right size and height to keep our tootsies out of the mud when it rains.  He has also used stones to define a fire pit, and has dug that out to the perfect depth.  Oh, it was a little bit of heaven for this happy camper.

Tom was there a few times, and one day we had a party for 13 people -- good, old Buffalo friends -- the usual suspects, I call them.  We also went into Buffalo for a couple of days, for an elegant birthday dinner for Tom (oh, I should have taken more pictures of the restaurant and food, so you could see!), but most of the time it was Cheryl and me out at the trailer, talking, reading, cooking and eating together, going to the beach.  Here's a shot that epitomizes my two weeks:

Yep, flip-flops, dirty feet, and capris, shorts, or swim suits -- that about sums it up.

Someone told me that Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle was a Very Important Book for them.  Turns out that it is for me, too.  I am currently seeking out locally produced protein sources -- they were readily available at the farmer's market in Buffalo, but here in Tennessee I'm going to have to do just a little detective work.  I'd love local milk, but more important for me are chemical-free meat and poultry, and I'd love some organic eggs, as well.  Yum.  Yesterday I went to our own local farmer's market and had a wonderful time -- but that's a tale for another day.  I was a bit shocked by Kingsolver's facts on the petroleum costs of mass-produced food crops, as well as by the health costs to humans.  All those pesticides, antibiotics, and hormones aren't perfectly benign.  I can't really ignore those things anymore, and am making modifications, though I can't quite "go all the way" as she and her family did.

I also finished novels by Alice Hoffman (Here on Earth) and Elizabeth George (With No One as Witness), and also did some reading from a couple of art books that I brought (The Decorated Page by Gwen Diehn and Sketching School by Judy Martin).  I also began a loaner from Cheryl:  Italy, a Love Story, edited by Camille Cusumano -- a collection of essays by women traveling in Italy.  I'm loving it, though I confess I haven't opened it since I've been home.

I cooked on the grill, wrote and read and sketched and painted and slept late and let my running practice go almost entirely to hell.  I went to the beach any darned time I pleased, and came home whenever I pleased, as well.  It was cool and cloudy a couple of days, and even rained 2 or 3 times (mostly overnight) while we were there.  Cheryl was very apologetic, and also mad that the weather interfered with her own vacation; but the cool and damp were a great treat for me, having left the hot weather of midsummer in Tennessee.  I didn't even need a fan, much less air conditioning, and most nights even had a light comforter for sleeping.  Yum.  It was a delicious, incredibly restful, amazingly creative and restorative time, and I owe it all to Cheryl for promoting and financing the whole production!  Once again she did what she has always done -- given me the best gift of my year.

Next entry, I'll write more about homecoming, as there are stories to tell.  The flight home was certainly a debacle of cancelled, rescheduled, and delayed flights (so that's why my flight on Northwest was so cheap -- they were going bankrupt!).  But I'm in one piece and eager to tell more.  I'll close with one photo of a favorite activity -- sunset watching.  I'll be back soon!

Comments

[naomi dagen bloom]

a pleasure to travel with you. once had a fantasy about traveling about in a small trailer, so your adventure reminded me. did you ever read alice steinbach's "without reservations" on travel alone (mostly) in europe?

[Fran aka Redondowriter]

Ann, it sounds like you and Cheryl had an absolutely wonderful time--and Tom looks just like I remember him when we had dinner at Cheryl's. Was that five years ago? I love that photo of your feet; Loretta has a similiar one on her blog when they went to her friend's cabin.

I look forward to hearing more about the trip.

[Judith in Umbria]

I've been inside of a couple of those trailers, and while I wouldn't want to live in one, I find them fascinating. They are so efficiently arranged and practically thought out. It always makes me wonder why when I go home the house seems so small and crowded. Of course you have to live as efficiently and practically as the trailer or things go bad really fast! Drop your clothes where they came off and it is instantly a disaster area. I have my doubts whether I could do my kind of cooking, too. Maybe one dish at a time...

[Kate]

Sounds like brilliant fun!

[Kay Dennison]

Welcome back!!!!!

Sounds like you had a great time and got the R&R you needed! Love the photos!!!!

[Diane]

don't get me started on Northwest! but it sounds like you had fun and relaxed.

[Joy]

Welcome home Ann. Looks like you have a pretty wonderful time. That sunset is just incredible...that's where I'd be too. Good luck getting back into the swing of things.