Back into the swing of things.

Thank goodness! Let me preface this by saying that I am waiting to find out what hospital room an old friend of mine is in at Mass General. He had surgery this morning at 10:30 and he still doesn't have a room! Yarg!

At any rate, daN and i were in Maine this weekend, and ... to avoid sounding pessamistic, it was overwhelmingly filled with mostly wonderful things as trips to Maine often are.
Pros:
1. Saw Emily Sibley! We caught up after about 7 years of having not really seen each other and split a bottle of wine on her porch. (maiden: Dail -- went to high school with her, and it was SO great to see her!) and got a wonderful free massage as a result -- she works at the Downeast School of Massage. I was so present, and the therapist in training who massaged me is a talented healer indeed.
2. Saw the Bogs! Actually, we didn't plan seeing them this weekend, but their warm open hearts and home made it impossible, and the day of recouperation was spent there, as we all sat around reading, went on a long walk down to the ocean, played video games, ate greens, etc.
3. Seeing Mum -- we hung out and shot the shit on the deck in the beautiful pre-fall Maine weather -- dry and warm -- while daN was fast asleep on the bed.
4. The Story Telling Circle at the Golden Raven -- Ron's project. We saw and heard some fantastic stories that will stick with me, and afterwards, we had a delightful time hanging out wiht daN's crazy Aunt Carol and Uncle Ron and Jon and Judy. It was a blast!
5. Got to see my Dad! And Jeanne and Yulia (his girlfriend and youngest daughter)! We also had a wonderful time. He made a DELICIOUS blue cheese and tomato tart with a green salad on the side served with lemon vinagrette. MMMM.
6. Saw the various aspects of the Miller Family! Young Alexander (daN's nephew) was baptized...and to be honest, a lot of that day was filled with awkwardness and disaster as specific people seem to have been excluded from specific things, but all in all, it was a fine day and we ate well at Debbie's afterwards.
7. Hung out at the Second Read! I love that place. Nuff said.
8. Had an EXCELLENT dinner (in fact, the only good meal we had out the whole weekend) at Rustica -- the new Italian restaurant on Main Street, Rockland. The service was unparalleled, and the food was wonderful and creative. I didn't even have to get wheat! I had a delicious salad with polenta (cornbased) croutons with roasted red peppers stuffed with sundried tomatoes and olive oil in a balsamic reduction. Oh my god. It was simply terrific. I was so happy.
9. We also, at the beginning of the trip, saw Graham Allen in "The Full Monty" at the Maine State Music Theatre. It was a fantastic production! I guess i would expect nothing less from a professional theatre, but, that having been said, the actual staging, acting, singing, overall talent were wonderful as was the play itself. I was very happy.

So, overall, good weekend.

Cons:
1. Overwhelmed with seeing people 24-7. I am half introvert, half extrovert, and daN more intro than i... and we started to fall, apart around Sunday night riding back from Dad's house. It was too much. Monday was the day of recovery at the Bogs.
2. Food -- we ate pretty much terribly a lot of the time we were there, and spent a disappointingly large amount of money doing so.
3. Too much time in the car, not enough time relaxing.
4. No time for each other, let alone ourselves! We actually had to go out on a date on Monday night to catch up!
5. Never are quite sure we'll be able to stay in or close to Union -- where most of the family is.

Proposed Solution:
Get a hotel room in Rockland for one of the two usual weekend nights, and perhaps more nights than that if we are staying for longer. This should help maintain the sanity levels.