This year for the first time ever, I am going to go to the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association's Common Ground Fair twice. Why twice? Because I always go with people who love the fair but they kind of just look at things for a few minutes and then move on to the next thing, they never ask the exhibitors questions or go to a lecture or jump in to the contra dance tent and dance! So I will go once with them as it is a tradition. Then I am going on my own (with my camera, some of my favorite photos I took when I was twenty are from this fair) and I am going to participate in the fair. I am going to talk to anyone I want; I am going to spend as long as I want watching some things and pass right by those that don't interest me; I will go to a lecture on carrots or seed saving or whatever they have that interests me, and I am going to go to the poetry reading (if they have it this year), and I am going to dance with strangers (even though I am clumsy and awkward).

My best friends are all very different from one another. Some are more conservative than me, some are more liberal. Some have kids, some don't. Their professions vary widely. Some are introverts, some are extroverts. What they all have in common is that I can trust what they say. I can trust they will always be there (within reason) if I need to talk to them. And they are all people that they bring with them calm personalities and no drama (including the drama that accompanies alcohol and substance use--I cannot stand being around people who drink to tipsiness or get drunk or who smoke pot, I don't think it is bad or care if my friends do it away from me, but I personally have no patience being around people become artificially silly or dumb or physically touchy or weirdly super-relaxed or whatever out of character thing the substance does to their brain to make them not them. The people who indulge might be perfectly safe and happy, but I feel I am suddenly with strangers.) My best friends are also interested in things outside themselves, nature, science, agriculture, books, history, etc. I love to learn from others and I love sharing the thing I learn. I would be bored by people who only discuss their lives and were not interested in the world around them. I agree with other posters that when seeing a best friend after a long absence it will feel like no time has passed for both of us. Maybe that is the most simple explanation of a deep friendship. 🙂

My favorite were the spring-horses but hanging from a swing set and swinging back and forth. Very heavy metal horses. These were fantastic fun! But they also also knocked down or knocked out any child that ran in front or behind them within range of their swing arc. My second favorite was an inchworm shaped climbing structure with a big bug head, we called it the "Wum" which I think is child for "Worm".

Like Garga, I have sensory issues that encourage me to wear a bra and shoes pretty much all the time, except when sleeping. Though I can go barefoot outdoors without triggering them (Pebbles, grass, sand, leaves okay. Spilled food, legos, drops of water on the hardwood, and dog hair not okay--and yes, I know I should just sweep multiple times per day, ha!). I generally have barely noticed my bras, except that one brand that wore out at the edge of the underwire and stabbed a hole into my side boob. Not good. However, my 10 year old "new" bras are not accommodating my newfound plumpness, so I will have to go bra shopping again. I have recently been told that my "new" bras actually have a vertical seam on the underside of the cup that can be seen through t-shirts, so I will have to abandon the tried and true. I would like to find a lightly padded, cup style cotton bra that opens in the back or front (no overhead styles). We'll see. It is always expensive to test drive new bras.

I have lifelong memories of them and look forward to their magic every summer. They do prefer messy yards and fields to manicured ones. And they are becoming rarer each year. Both my mother and my father call them lightning bugs, people in my adult life generally call them fireflies. I use both terms. In the Great Smokey Mountains in TN there are synchronous fireflies that all flash simultaneously. There is a lottery each year to get to see them and there are thousands more entrants than spots.

Well, since I picked up the wrong bottle of Cetaphil at the store, the Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser instead of the lotion, and used it as if it was lotion all weekend without noticing my mistake, I'd have to report that it is EXTREMELY gentle.

It was September 25, 2000. My husbands young 2nd cousin (maybe 18 or 19) had become pregnant out of wedlock and was not marrying the father and my husband's cousin (her mother, born-again Christian) was very ashamed of her and refusing to allow her a baby shower. So even though I barely knew the younger cousin, I was so disgusted by her mother, I bought the young woman three books on single parenting and had them mailed to her through Amazon. In the thank you note I got, she said that I was the first person who actually seemed excited about her baby. Of course, as soon as the baby was actually born her mother (my husband's cousin) took one look and fell in love with her grandchild. The first thing I bought for our family was a video "Let's Go to the Farm" for my two-year old son on March 7, 2002.

Good Afternoon! Made pancakes. Fed cats and dog and walked dog. Did first load of dishes and laundry. Went through pharmacy line twice to get the prescription I have been trying to get every day since Friday. Twice because it was 10 minutes from being ready the first time I went through (but the second time it took me 25 minutes to get back to the counter!) Next: Clean counters. Plant pepper seedlings in garden. Figure out how to get supporting documents from psych and high school special services to my son's college. The high school documents (he's been out of high school for 4 years) are archived somewhere. I am sure this is going to prove much harder than it sounds. Move about 10 boxes to storage. Pay bills. Walk for exercise. Straighten up my study area. Get my young adults to help around the house (a chore in and of itself). 🙂

I don't really crave anything, but I prefer meat, vegetables & fruit with very, very limited whole grains. I do not do well on a carb-heavy diet and gain weight, feel sick, and hold on to the weight no matter what I try. I do believe that regenerative agriculture in which animals and plants are farmed together ecologically is an ethical choice. In regenerative agriculture, the animal waste produced on site feeds the soil the plants grow on and the animals (chickens especially) control some of the insect pests. This is much better for the planet and for wildlife than extractive agriculture that separates and concentrates the production of animals and plants into different locations and in which the plants require massive inputs of chemical fertilizer and pesticides. So despite it being expensive (though with recent increases to conventional meat prices, not as different as it was) I source all my meat and eggs from local regenerative farms, many of which are organic. I wish there were subsidies for these farmers like there are for massive industrial farms so that everyone could afford to eat foods (meat and plants) that are raised humanely and do not wipe out the wildlife in the growing area.

Took the dog for a nice long walk. Finished reading Diane Wilson's novel The Seed Keepers. (Highly recommend it.) Planted three purple flowering raspberry plants I bought on a whim at the food co-op. First load of laundry done, tons more to go. Going to work another couple hour in the new vegetable garden (formerly lawn) removing rocks and mixing in compost to the existing soil. Need to wash the floors upstairs. Will put some boxes and suitcases in storage. Fill out the FAFSA for my son who decided two weeks ago to go back to college next fall. Thank goodness for rolling admissions. Need to call my parents. Who will have their phone ringers down so low they can't hear them and who have not set up their voicemails. Color hair. Write birthday letter to a friend.

A list of towns I know well to check out or when you go on your grand tour of the Northeast in search of a home. I, personally, always look for these things: does the town have a downtown, its own newspaper (for Rory to work in ;), does it have a cinema (preferably independent), a bookstore (preferably independent), some restaurants, and ice cream stand, a place to swim, preserves to walk in, farm stands or farm market, and a nearby hospital (however small) and is it a four-season town (the restaurants don't all close in the off season when the tourists leave, etc.). Not sure what your budget is, or how big a town you are looking for, population is included: Keene, NH 22,800 Home of Keene State College and Antioch New England Graduate School. Nearby mountains. Town green with gazebo in center of town. Friendly and community minded people. Beautiful autumn color. Small hospital. Burlington, VT 42,600 Home of University of Vermont. Gorgeous location on lake. Waterfront park with "porch" swings overlooking the water. Did not see a gazebo, but that does not mean it is not there. Town is on a hillside (so not as walkable for older people as some of the flatter ones). Museums, restaurants, shopping, pedestrian mall, hiking, boating. Has its own newspaper. Has excellent public transportation! (Tons of clean, prompt busses). Amtrak station. Hospital. Brunswick, ME 20,300 Home of Bowdoin College (lots of cultural events), an Amtrak station, a hospital, friendly people, a town green with a gazebo, farm market, grocery store in center of town, bike trail, lots of restaurants, etc. High walkability score. Has its own newspaper. Nearby (30 min) beaches, ocean. Hospital Twin cities of Damariscotta, ME 1,352 and Newcastle, ME 640 (but seem much larger as all the people who live on the peninsulas come here to shop etc.) Super-friendly, community minded, tiny towns with a pumpkin festival and easy access (30 min) to the coastal peninsulas where Pemaquid lighthouse, Pemaquid Beach, and Boothbay Harbor are. Newspaper, independent theater, independent bookstore, and fantastic ice cream shop. No gazebo. Yankee Magazine has profiles of many New England towns: here is one for Peterborough, NH (very nice place) https://newengland.com/today/travel/new-hampshire/guide-to-peterborough-nh-eat-stay-play/

Whatever you do, don't move to Haven!

I had my gallbladder removed about 10 years ago. Right afterward, I had to limit fats. Then I could eat most fats as time went on. I have some post-gallbladder syndrome pains now and again, especially when I combine different types of fat say, fried food and milk in the same meal, for example., but no digestive issues from eating fats.

I give you, Keene, NH! Town green and gazebo and all! (Extra bonus, it is a college town, so used to outsiders.) https://explorekeene.org/places/family-fun/central-square/

I love small town books, mysteries, fiction, whatever. Here are two of my mystery series favorites set in small towns: Edited to add: Apparently the Sarah Graves books become noticeably more violent after book 10 or 11 so probably not for the OP, but others may like them. I like the 'home repair is homicide' Jacobia Tiptree mystery series by Sarah Graves. A single mom leaves behind a questionable job in investments to move to Eastport, Maine so that her son is far away from the bad crowd he has fallen into. She renovates her house and solves mysteries. There are at least 16 of these. This is the first one: Dead Cat Bounce by Sarah Graves https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Cat-Bounce-Homicide-Mystery-ebook/dp/B002RLBKSG/ref=sr_1_1?crid=HIUK6IR9YBJ9&keywords=dead+cat+bounce+by+sarah+graves&qid=1652645976&sprefix=dead+cat+bounce%2Caps%2C168&sr=8-1 A series I return to again and again are the Benni Harper quilt mysteries by Earlene Fowler. Benni was a rancher before losing her husband. She moves into town (Northern California) and manages a folk art museum and helps on her dad's ranch. The characters in this one are very well drawn. First one: Fool's Puzzle by Earlene Fowler https://www.amazon.com/Fools-Puzzle-Benni-Harper-Mystery/dp/042514545X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=WO6ORUQH9HJQ&keywords=fool's+puzzle+by+Earlene+fowler&qid=1652646282&sprefix=fool's+puzzle+by+earlene+fowler%2Caps%2C94&sr=8-1

When I had a broken toe, the only way to sleep well was to wear the post-op recovery shoe with the velcro straps (the low one, like a sandal) to bed. The edge of this shoe protected my toe from contacting the mattress or blankets, both of which caused pain. Also, for about a month after the break,I would put on the shoe at night and then elevate my foot with a pillow and make sure the blankets were not on top of that foot. After about a month I didn't need elevation, but I wore that post-op shoe to bed for at least 2.5 months. This is the post-op shoe. Got it large enough so there was a big space protected around the toe. Note the squared off toe "box" that provided an extra bit of barrier as well. https://www.amazon.com/Brace-Direct-Post-Shoe-Adjustable/dp/B082V9Y9FN/ref=asc_df_B082V9Y9FN/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=507604316118&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9344901100384251013&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9002724&hvtargid=pla-930041247999&th=1 My ER said they would not buddy tape my break (big toe). You could call and ask if it was necessary. I hope you heal quickly.

Bangor itself isn't particularly interesting (except for the Orono Bogwalk https://umaine.edu/oronobogwalk/), but as said before it is a frequent stop on the way to Bar Harbor and Acadia (which is beautiful). If you want fewer people go to Schoodic Peninsula rather than through Bar Harbor to Acadia https://www.nps.gov/acad/planyourvisit/schoodic.htm. Or you could go north to Baxter State Park and Mt. Katahdin. https://baxterstatepark.org/ Traveling by car from Burlington, VT to the Kancamagus Highway then up Route 16 to Mt. Washington is stunningly beautiful.

I agree with this. Tires are commonly dumped by the roadside, by streams, etc. here in Maine. The fee is not high, a couple dollars per tire, but I think if they eliminated it more tires would be properly disposed of. Our town doesn't charge anything for regular household trash disposal. The lady at the town office said that they found that even if they charged the $20 per year that other rural towns charge that people would start throwing their household trash on the roadside. (The disposal costs of the transfer station, I am sure, are part of our taxes, but not broken down in the bills where folks could see exactly what they pay.) Towns need to incentivize people to do the right thing not charge them for doing the right thing.

Our country road is bad after the winter accumulation of litter. Mostly beer cans and lottery tickets and energy drinks cigarettes and such--things they don't want their wives/husbands or parents to find in their car. My husband will pick up a small bag of trash every time he goes on a walk, but has to be careful what EXACTLY is in some of those bottles! I never see anyone else picking up trash and I did see the town road crew toss cigarette butts on the ground when they cleaned out the gutters/ditches. Sigh. The best thing I ever saw was while in a busy McDonald's drive through. The line was backed up to turn out of the parking lot, so someone two cars ahead of me got their meal drove to the line to get out of the parking lot and threw their bag out the window! The guy behind them got out of the car, picked it up, and very loudly and dramatically carried it to the trash can so they would be sure to see. He was my hero for the day.

I went to a very toxic public high school for one year and then transferred to a tiny, artsy, liberal arts focused high school with architecture like a German castle. I was there with all the other "misfit toys" and instantly welcomed. Those were the best three years of my education and the other students were just as inspiring as the unconventional teachers. We many of us lost touch after graduation, but ten years in someone called round and gathered every contact and held a reunion. This first reunion was a little awkward as no one had really found their footing in the world yet, but it was nice. Subsequent reunions when we were a bit more grown up were a love fest. Spouses have come and commented that they wished their high school had been like ours, we adopt them. The reunions are for anyone who ever graduated from the school or taught at the school (which closed in 1989). So we had an age span of 40+ years at most of them. Except for COVID years, we had been having the reunions every 3 years because everyone wanted them that often! So, I would never in a million years go to the reunion for my first high school. Nor would I go to a reunion at my college (which I loved academically, but hated socially) where I made only three friends. But those reunions of the private school were gold in terms of rekindling old friendships and making new friends. I realize that most people's experiences would be more like the one I'd have if I went to the public school reunion. I am an outlier.

The Whitsunday Islands (and Great Barrier Reef) in Queensland, Australia The Twelve Apostles in Victoria, Australia A farm stay in Yerong Creek, Australia Baxter State Park in Maine Popham Beach in Maine Kancamagus Highway through NH and into VT in Autumn Monongahela National Forest in WV Hampi UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India Bandipur National Park (tiger reserve) in Karnataka, India

Understanding your long term financial situation and having life insurance are important, and setting up health insurance adequately is important. But also important is doing what you love and what is beneficial to your family now, not just in the ten years before you die. It sounds like you have homesteading skills which will enable you to produce food and other things needed for the home and garden. There are also many things that can be produced for sale on the homestead or garden farm which could bring in income and would be much more flexible, health-promoting, and creative than working at a retail or similar job. You just have to be realistic about the numbers AND do what is best for you. For some that would be gardening, canning, knitting, and producing items for sale from home, others might be more satisfied with working for a non-profit that does something they believe in or something like substitute teaching which is intellectually stimulating but also flexible. There is an interesting book worth reading that argues that healthy people and communities come from having some vital members (male and female) that like to stay at home and invest their energies producing for their family and their community instead of trading their time for corporate money to buy many of the items they would be happy to produce. https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Homemakers-Reclaiming-Domesticity-Consumer/dp/0979439116/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3J21X4X4M94L4&keywords=radical+homemakers+by+shannon+hayes&qid=1648993478&sprefix=radical+homemakers%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-1

I always recommend local artists and nature enthusiasts for friends. They are very inclusive, have strong interests to share, and are encouraging of others. Artists can be found at local gallery openings & receptions or nonprofit art organizations and at art classes. Nature Enthusiasts can be found in birder's clubs, nature center/museum walks & talks, wildflower gardening groups, hiking clubs, etc.

Don't feel bad about protecting yourself. The oxygen mask analogy is apt even in this situation, if your job is making you physically and/or emotionally unwell this distress will affect your ability to care for yourself and thus by extension your family. I just quit a job with much less stress than you describe, a job many in the field would absolutely love, but I was not suited for it's requirement to be hyper-focused on tiny details. It made me dread getting up in the morning just knowing I was going to miss something important that a person better adapted to the job would handle with ease, the job kept me seated much of the week (less exercise = weight gain and surprise! high blood pressure that I'd never suffered from before), and the time commitment meant that my family and household suffered as did my parents who are beginning to need help. Everyone at the workplace was shocked when I quit (I gave them one month's notice) and my boss begged me to stay. But there is no making my brain into an accountant/bookkeeper/office management brain (they love me because I have people skills which is only 50% of the job). I have two weeks left, and even though I am still going in to work, my heart and mind are so relieved. I will stay out of the workforce, but if I was to need another job, I now know for sure what tasks I am not suited for and also know from past jobs which tasks I could handle and enjoy. Good luck to you on finding something more suitable.

Daylight savings time devotee here in Maine. We are on the eastern edge of the time zone and during the non-DST part of the year it gets dark in late December at 3:55 p.m.! It is awful. We languish through the darkness, rejoicing as time passes into January and we slowly get one more minute, then one more minute, and another minute of evening daylight until finally the time change! Celebration! Of course, it would also make sense for us to join our neighboring Canadians in the Atlantic Time Zone.