Missing Old Blog Friends

I had so many blog friends at My Sisters Cottage and hope to get back in touch with many of you. I took a much-needed blogging break while I wrapped up my last year of teaching and prepared for retirement (Yay!) While this was going on, we were sorting through 30 years of junk downsizing, selling our big old Maine farmhouse and purchasing a smaller home near Casco Bay (aka "the ocean"). It was a crazy time.



When I was finally ready to start blogging again, I decided that it was time to "move on" in my blogging as I have been trying to do emotionally since my sister, Nancy (the "my sister" of  My Sister's Cottage) passed away. It is hard to believe that it has been three years since she lost her battle with ovarian cancer; it seems like yesterday and I miss her every day. In the spirit of moving on, I started a new blog, 22 Applegate Lane, which is where you'll find me now.

 



22 Applegate Lane is similar to My Sister's Cottage (because I haven't changed that much!) but is written from the perspective of a woman who now has more time to create, travel, and meet interesting people than she ever did before. I'm including features on Amazing Women, interesting Maine towns, decorating a downsized home, and what I'm learning in my 3-year effort to get and stay healthy ("The 150 Project"). Plus whatever else crosses my mind that day!



 



I miss so many of my old followers and friends and hope to get back in touch with each of you through 22 Applegate Lane. Thanks to bloggers Linda, Sherry and Pamela for finding me already!

Hoping to hear from you soon,



New Blog Address

Hope you'll come visit me at my new blog address 22 Applegate Lane...

 

See you there!

 

You're Invited!

To visit my new address...

It's been about a year since my last post on My Sister's Cottage and I've really missed all of the friends I've made through this blog. I had to take a "blog vacation" as I wrapped up my last year of teaching, retired, sold our home, downsized, and moved to a condo.

Welcome to 22 Applegate Lane!

Because of all the changes, I've have decided to also retire My Sister's Cottage and to begin a new blog for my new life as a woman of leisure (?). The new blog, 22 Applegate Lane, will still include crafts and projects but will expand to other topics as well: downsizing, organizing, simplifying, travel, getting healthy, and stories of women I admire.

I hope you'll stop by 22 Applegate Lane for a visit...and maybe stay awhile!

Getting Caught Up

Just a quick post to let everyone know that I'm still here, even though I've had to let this little blog go for so much of the summer. Here's a quick update on what I've been up to since school got out in June...

I took over Nancys' role as captain of our Relay for Life...lots of work but this year our team raised almost $2000 for the American Cancer Society. The whole family turned out, including cousins and grandchildren from Arizona and Brooklyn, so it was a memorable day.

Our cousin, Lynn, drove over from New Hampshire to walk in the Survivor. Sadly, our family is positive for the BRCA2 cancer gene, but Lynn is doing well...

Our team was  ready for this year's Wizard of Oz theme!

I've also been spending precious time with my daughter, Kristen...

And camping with the grandchildren...

Brian

Taka

and Toshi.

 I've been lucky enough to get outdoors to enjoy places like this...



and find some quiet tome to read some of the books I've been meaning to get to all winter.

In the middle of all that, we've been trying to sell our house, downsize, and remodel and redecorate a new smaller home, luckily in the same town and nearer the beach.
I never want to see a wallpaper steamer again!

I miss all of my blog friends and hope to be back in touch soon...

Lobster Bake

Thought I'd share some photos from the 2nd Annual Lobster Bake to raise funds for the Nancy Tufts Memorial Scholarship at Wells High School. It was pouring outside but the rain didn't stop Nancy's friends from getting together in K'Port on Sunday to remember her for a good cause.

Bebe...this post goes out to you!

Thanks to Bebe, Phil, Donna, Steve, Eddie, Betsy, Sted and Aaron for planning such a wonderful day and for sharing your love with Nancy for so many years.

I've been away from the blog for awhie taking care of "real life" but do hope to get back to it soon...so much to share...I hardly know where to start again!

Thinking of you all...friends from Maine and "from away".

 

Furniture Arranging Made Easy

I've been playing with different furniture arrangements lately and found an online tool that makes it fun. Really! What's more...it's free and easy to use.  I can't wait to share it with you...

The site is maintained by Bob's Discount Furniture Company but don't let that scare you away. You can log on and check off that you do not want to receive advertising by mail or to your e-mail account. Here's a link to the site.

I have nothing to do with Bob's Discount Furniture...I've never even shopped there...but this site is great. In fact, it was so much fun to use that I stayed up way too late last night playing house with it.

You can even add plants and pets!

And it's all to scale. Here's my craft room...

There are icons for every room, including the patio, game room and garage. There are TVs, kayaks, rugs, appliances, exercise equipment lawn furniture, walls, doors and toilets to choose from. You can even change the size and add color and text.

It sure beats this...

Gotta' go and rearrange the family room...

here's to another late night!

Karma

Karma...

Little sequences of deeds and effects...

The concept that good deeds are returned to you...

That what goes around...comes around.

I've always found that, when I'm having a bad day, the best way to get myself out of the funk is to do some little act of kindness for someone else. It works for me.

Saturday morning, I took my coffee up to the craft room to dig through the mess left from my last few episodes of postmenopausal hyperactivity creative energy.

As I sorted through piles of  brightly colored quilting fabrics left from various projects, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them...

I would pack them up in a box from the attic and mail them to the cozy little house of a friend who has been having some bad karma recently.

I'd pay it forward...in fabric.

As I was digging through the bins, I felt something hard between two layers of calico. I dug down to see what it was...

And pulled out a ring I had lost over a year ago. This ring meant the world to me and I've looked everywhere for it. It's a little sterling silver friendship ring that is inscribed with a cancer awareness ribbon and the word "HOPE".

My sister Nancy gave it to me.  

She wore one and I wore the other.

Until I lost mine.

Nancy is wearing hers on her right hand in this photo. (Don't you love her teal nails? Teal is the color for ovarian cancer and we all sported "teal toes" and teal nails during her illness.)

If I hadn't gone through that bin of fabric to pass some of it on to a friend, I would never have found the ring.

Karma?

I think so.