Land Yacht Safari Blog

How Many Distractions Can We Find?......

July 27, 2009....Monday....20 days since the one second that has dominated our lives for the last twenty days and promises much longer attention getting....the cat bite.....Ray is busy doing all of the bathhouse cleaning and stocking....I cannot chance being around bacteria that may enter the surgery site wound on my left hand....but in spite of this we are trying to keep moving forward realizing how small this is in comparison to things some people are handling....I just always enjoyed being the helper instead of the helpee....recently, Eagle, the US Coast Guard's sailing vessel moored in Rockland harbor for a few days....they had been to Spain, Monaco, France, Bermuda and arrived here from Halifax...on their way back to their home port in New London, CT......we just had to see a 295' sailing ship....tours were free....I was disappointed but understood why they did not take the tour through the living quarters below deck....but I did so want to see how compact everything was....the seamen were all very young and one of the mates told Ray 1/3 of their crew were women...this is good...imagine being a young woman and having the opportunity to learn navigation and team work for a 295' ship...and it is a beauty.... .......this looks like very sweet military duty to me..............part of the reasoning for having this vessel in the Coast Guard is character and leadership building....there is untold physical and psychological strength that is needed on a sailing vessel .....ask Robin and J...ask Jim and Dot....no wonder they are such characters...... ......these seamen looked like they made a good decision to come aboard..... .......yesterday, we spent the day at a private gathering named Cates Valley Fair...in Parkman, Maine....about 2 hours from Camden.....while Ray took banjo lessons from Phil LaClaire, you may remember that we met and became fond of Seth, Renee, Ruth and Sam....four siblings from Monroe, Maine who make up American Roots bluegrass and gospel band....Cates Valley Fair was their first Fair where they had their own scheduled time slot to play.....we were thrilled to be able to go and support them.....Ruth had sent us a flyer with directions that read like you were going on a scavanger hunt.....it was well worth the trip.....10 years ago Deb (host of gathering) and her husband and their children who now form Zevulon, a traditional/original music band...and two other families went in together and purchased 67 acres.....they all lived in the house on the property for some time before they had water and electricity....now the other two families have their own homes built....every year they have their Fair.....they have music, games for the kids....and food.....they had an open mic hour.....Ray played several of his original tunes with his guitar and then asked me to join him for "Killin The Blues" a John Prine song that we love.....this audience was so open and appreciative...they responded like they had been given a gift....very sweet group of people....I was just fascinated all day..... .......lots of kids were there...... ......and not a one was killed or injured that I know of... .....everybody brought their lawn chars....there was a 50% chance of rain....but like J and Jim both say, "that means there is 50% chance of sun!"....and the rain held off until the end of the day...... ......the Abbott Hill Ramblers started things off....and Ray did some tunes...... .......and when he asked me up, I neglected to ask someone to get a photo of us....just as well....I still don't look real healthy or like myself...... .....at one gathering, I have not ever had as many people before tell me how much they enjoyed Ray's music and our one tune together....... ...... ....Zevulon...this is the family that has the Fair in their yard....Josh behind sister, Rachel, Clarissa, Mother of all of the kids, Deb and son, Robert....Dad was managing the mixing board....very talented group...... ......Wyld Blue Yonder who have a jam at home on Fridays...we will check that out....I am missing part of my 10,000 hours needed to become proficient at autoharp...Jim suggested I try playing it with my teeth....I think I'll wait until I have my left hand back.... .....and here our new friends, American Roots, they are amazing.... ....a vendor from an organic farm in the neighborhood..... ......Cates Valley Fair was several steps back in time...... .......a nice and fascinating walk backwards.....Deb and Clarissa even sent me home with some oil of lavender and oregano for the skin around the wound on my hand......refreshing....and needed distraction.....thank you also to my baby sister, Lisa, for continually posting new photos and things to Facebook to distract me....and a Very Happy Birthday to her on the 29th.......

Music and Dancing by Camden Harbor.....

July 24, 2009....Friday....Frequently, our great library here in Camden has free music at the amphitheater...we heard The Robinsons from Marshall, NC....they play all around the country and in Europe....they made us want to check out Marshall...they refer to it as a "wee town"...outside of Asheville...we will visit on the way back to Florida..... ......Dana and Susan and the fairy dancers...... ......the little boy and his Dad, in the background, and the girl and her Dad were a great show.... .......and she got her friends out too..... ....looks like a prelude to Common Ground Fair in September...coming right up......... ......looks like I don't have a middle finger now...but I do...Ijust can't control it or the ring finger on the left hand...but the stitches were removed this morning....the doc thought it would make the swelling go down and remove some irritation from the skin to make it heal faster...it still has to be wrapped most of the time....and as it heals they will send me to physical therapy...it is frightening not to be able to control the fingers because one thing it means is I can't type to you with two hands....but it looks better somewhat and there are fairies dancing at Camden harbor...we must build them a house...remember the fairy house?.....

Karen and Michael......Airstream Family...

July 22, 2009....Wednesday....we met more members of the Airstream family today, Karen and Michael, from New York... ......their 2008 International Bambi is a real beauty.....they let us have a peek inside and they were interested in our vintage Airstream......they loved it even though Katie had just used the totally cleaned litter box Ray had finished several minutes before....but we already know Katie has been short on manners of late...in fact, someone said if she were his cat she would be being served in a Chinese restaurant about now....Karen and Michael are on a little journey right now figuring how they want to remake their lives from long time business owners to See You on the Road Airstreamers .....Karen has an Interior Design business and Michael is an online antiquarian books seller......thank you, for the visit Karen and Michael....they are certain to come up with creative ways to refashion another life.....we hope to see them on the road again....recently, we found another beach where Hannah can run, play and swim....Beloins on the Ocean...down the street from the campground.....she found a lobster boat to watch..... ......after her swim.... ..........and a prize stick to bring ashore....... ........we are in love with this part of Maine......

"twas a Sunny day......

July 21, 2009....Tuesday.....the past few days have been days without rain....sunny with a nice cool breeze.....some of the reasons people arrive here for summer....... .....so I washed Hannah's babies using one hand......Ray made a clothes line so they could dry in the sunshine..... ....monkey will have his arm reattached soon....these babies are very important to her....and she. like the cats and me, do better if things are clean and straight....since the photo on the last post, Ray has helped me by removing the PA speakers from our main indoor living area....and I have been reorganizing to make our little space here less cluttered....I am a minimalist....Ray, on the opposites attract theory scale, is over the top the other way.....yard sales, beach finds, dumpster diving....he does it all and brings home these things that, to him, are too good to discard or are art or decoration to his external and internal world.... ......This is t he first time the hammock has been hung.....Ray doesn't have lots of time to spend in it because he is now doing all the bathhouse cleaning and monitoring of toilet paper that we both used to share....actually, I did most of it before the cat bite event because I had a routine down and it was mindless activity ....and campers were so appreciative of having a clean well-stocked bathhouse....now he has a fit if I show up because we know the bathhouse is a breeding ground for bacteria and the doc has said stay out of it....I do...also it drives Ray crazy if I try to supervise the cleaning...... ......this is Katie....she has enjoyed the stuffed animal tuxedo kitten Cathy gave me.....this is Katie in a yawn..... .......I shudder when I look at this shot.....apppointment with the surgeon in a few minutes.......we appreciate sunny, cool days.......and all of you......

Sprung.....Coming Down from Coping....

July 18, 2009....Saturday....I left Pen Bay Medical Center this morning...Sprung, as I have been saying....I have some work to do to help myself complete this healing....I am very tired, of course, and coming down from all the trying to cope in a healthy way.....nothing to do but keep trying....very difficult...you know what I mean..... ......you see which side of the table I am sitting at now.....I'm learning.....I miss kissing Katie and taking naps with her stretched across my middle....those days are gone......you know a new loss reactivates all past losses....now I have to concentrate on getting at least Dr Eggena to relocate from Maine to the Tampa Bay area of Florida and on to the RV circuit ....many of my female readers think he is too cute to leave in Rockport, Maine...he was great....but, actually....I hope I don't have to see him again! I still need your prayers and positive visualizations...and I will be seeing Dr. Olehnik for a while....hoping to move on to a more entertaining topic soon...you have been very patient with this episode....thank you....love you each.....

Parental Guidance and a Seat are Suggested......

July 17, 2009....Friday......these two gentlemen are currently running my life....so my blog content is limited....my life has shrunk a little in the last few days of encampment at Penobscot Bay Medical Center....I was advised again this morning that the best course was to stay here one more day....the hand looked better at the unwrapping this morning but the gentlemen said "stay" and I did.... .Dr. Kevin Olehnik, orthopedic hand surgeon and Dr. Eggena, Infectious Disease Specialist....ok, sit down...... ......this is how better looks today.......there is still too much redness and swelling for their liking and they wanted me to stay today to continue with the every six hours IV antibiotic..... .... after the disappointment....Ray helped me take a shower so I could keep both hands and arms dry.....he has been so sweet and helpful....and I do believe in the miracle of the bath.....It helps to be clean and in a fresh gown....even if the gown is like Lois says....what does Lois say? "hospital gowns are less than a fashion statement."  something like that.......then Ray and I went to the Bay area that is on the hospital property....very nice place to be outside and see the fog, water and lobster boats....... ..........I sat on the bench and Ray used the rope to descend to the shore to look for sea glass....he also found an old oar and lobster buoy... ...........the cool fog was rolling in today......nice to be in outside air..... .......the inside air today became that of an exotic florist.....Hannah's womb mate, Jackson and her cousin, Copa, and Aunt Karin sent me this
lovely reminder of natural beauty.. ...thank you.....I hopefully will be enjoying these at home tomorrow....but that is what I also thought for the last two nights....I am not complaining....it could be considerably worse....and I am becoming accustomed to picking up the phone once a day...dailing 123 and leaving a message as to what I want for breakfast, lunch and dinner....and having someone ask me if I am ready for some milk and graham crackers around 9 pm........if I hadn't had the computer with me since being admitted, they would have had to admit me to another Unit....and used more than Motrin and antibiotics on me.....

Hannah Finds Her Mother.....

July 16, 2009....Thursday.....I did not get to go home today.....both doctors looked at the unwrapped hand and pronounced it not ready to leave the hospital....the rest of me was ready to go.....but during the day. Ray had the permission of the nurse manager to bring Hannah in for a visit.... ......she was becoming depressed.....because of the strange hospital scents and environment, I don't think she really recognized me, at first when I met them in the hall..... ....she soon did know she had found her Mother....and she wants her to come home.....hopefully, tomorrow....it's only a day away......

One More Night.....

July 15, 2009....Wednesday....they plan to keep me one more night.....waiting to see what type of bacteria grows from the contents of the surgery site....what drugs the bacteria is/are resistant to...and whether the antibiotic chosen should be delivered orally or by IV.....they will also unwrap the arm and hand tomorrow to remove the drain and look at everything.... .....I appreciate the care I have received from everyone here and for all the calls and emails from friends and family, flowers from Ray (extra special because they are from a booth set up in front of a woman's house)....she cultivates and then picks and arranges these gorgeous flowers....when Ray returns, I will get him to photograph them....my friend, in Tallahassee, Cathy, somehow got a tiny Gund black and white cat that meows and does not bite sent here along with a rose and a request for a kitty pardon.....she has quite the humor...thanks Cathy......your emails would have been enough......thanks to my sister on vacation, Lisa, for keeping me busy and distracted between doctors' visits this morning by sharing her vacation photos from Destin, FL on Facebook.....thank you, Lisa and Dave.....this was my CNA last night, Dale.....the food has been good....the response to anything we have asked for.....anything from which electrical outlet to use for the computer...to a request for supervision getting to and from the bathrom early morning have all been responded to appropriately..... within less than 10 minutes....I am impressed....and now....one more night.....hopefully....thanks for remembering me......love you all......later:    flowers, kitten ....  .......grown right here....

You Will Not Believe This....

July 14, 2009....Tuesday...Tonight, I am posting to you from a bed at Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport, Maine....after having surgery on the left hand from 5 until 6 pm....the orthopedic surgeon had me stay tonight and possibly tomorrow to begin IV antibiotics.....the story unfolded through their ER today....and I was able to have dinner at 6:15 and make phone calls and do emails right away because the anesthesiologist listened to what I wanted....was willing to try it and it worked for me....thank God.....he did a block of the nerves in my left arm and gave me a Valium.....so I was fully conscious, although draped...but the important part is it worked and I didn't have to have a general anesthetic....didn't have to go to Recovery and didn't have to awaken after having been drugged unconscious....thank God again.....please continue prayers and positive vibes.........with a few of you, I have asked for advice about what we thought was a sewer issue with the Vintage Airstream....as it turns out, it was the antique battery charger fried the battery...our friend, Jim, suggested the battery....Ray worked very hard to remove the antique one and our camp host friend, Bob, did the electrical installation of the new one........Thank you, Bob......Thank you, Ray.... .........and in Ray's spare time, he finds and releases coyotes lurking in sawed lumber .....beautiful....... ........we are blessed with so many people who care about what we are doing and care about us.......thank you.....

Scottish Tattoo....

July 12, 2009....Sunday....because bagpipe music and drums are in my genetic memory, Ray took me to the Tattoo in Bucksport last night...I hoped it would heal the hand as well as the spirit....it did not but it was sound and sights to behold.....Tom Sawyer, Field Drum Major...... ........it was good it was cold down by the river, at the fort.....that is a bunch of garb he wears...I look forward to not looking like I am in pain... .....this was the St. Andrews band....... .....a Highlands group.... ........and the lassies (are they lassies in Scotland, Jim?)....sorry, I can't remember where they are from....they were into it...you can see their focus....they were very good..... .....I don't have a photo of them...but, hello, to Keith and Laurie....they have been at our campground for a while and Ray just found out Keith is on his way to an Irish Arts Festival in New York....Ray was very disappointed not to meet Keith until he was leaving...Keith teaches Irish guitar in Iowa....Laurie is staying here several more weeks...she is an artist taking wood carving and wood turning courses....Ray has given them the blog address and we hope Laurie will come over to visit while she is here....and we hope you will come to visit, too......