I need a vacation vacation.

As this summer has been primarily full of busy busy-ness, I've had less life exploration time. (Which is really how I like to spend my summer). I've had to grab adventures where I can.

Adventure the One- With the help of many kind friends and strangers, Aunt of Sophanne is safe and healthy and in a place where there is a good likelihood of her remaining that way- all things being equal.

Adventure the Two- I placed my introverted self in harm's way and made it through a weeklong Smithsonian Folkways class. (YouTube link of me on TV) I reconnected with old friends and made some new ones. Go figure.

Adventure the Three- in between visits to the aunt I stopped at the local "make cool crafts place" and came backe with these-

 

 

 

Adventure the Four- While on vacay in NC I went to a Ghost Tour at an old Library near Moorehead City NC. We didn't see any ghosts but I will now and forever refer to elevators a "fear boxes" as instructed by our tour guide.

Fear Box Selfie- do we look terrified?

Adventure the Five- also while on vacay I took the plunge and got my first pedicure (be grateful there are no pictures). I will say only this And then they got out the cheese grater...

Adventure the Six- we had leftover apples from vacay and I found this on the pioneer woman's website And this is the picture of the one I made!

 

Adventure The Seven- tonight I make my first solo drive in the evening to the Big Burgh To see Randy Newman play with the Pittsburgh Symphony. I've seen him perform solo before and honestly, the man makes a grand piano sound like an orchestra so I can't wait to see what's in store tonight. I'll be meeting knitnightdrjustine for the evening but I'm not even nervous about getting there!

 

 

Somewhere between adventure the Two and Adventure the Six I upgraded my Mac to the latest OS, finally committed to the iCloud and opened up the 1.4 of the 2G of operating memory which was down to 768MB

All this has happened as we have been buying a cute little house for my cousin and making the many necessary arrangements for her to move here. I've also been working with an amazing woman who's helping me get the aunts house "curb ready"for when she's ready to let it go.

When you look at it in one big collection, no wonder I've had my fair share of panic attacks this summer! Going back to work may be just the vacation I need. At least it will give me a break from feeling like I'm flying blind!

 

 

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Not this time

The Wonderful Husband of mine has been busy since retiring from the railroad. He's been working with a local non-profit organization to spearhead the establishment of an Oxford House in the local Burg of Wayne. It has been a labor of love and serves as a safe place for recovering addicts (drugs or alcohol) to begin their lives anew when they decide to.

Unlike halfway houses and rehabs, the Oxford model is a self-sustaining, democratic environment. Anyone caught using (random drug tests and room inspections take place and can be held at the request of any resident) has 15 minutes to pack up and leave. There are high standards but also high success rates for those who are really ready to get away from the "people, places, and things" of their addiction. I am really proud of all he has done.

This house (which is filled to capacity with six residents) has been in operation for the last six months. It took a lot of fundraising and volunteer work to get it up and running. There has also been a steep learning curve. The young man featured in the news article linked above had everyone buffaloed and was removed days after the article appeared. (Those heroin addicts can be so wily.)

Today there was a July 4th picnic at the house to honor the residents and all of the people who volunteered and donated to make it possible. There was also some irony. Police came to the house across the street just before the picnic began and took away two presumed drug dealers/users in handcuffs. A few hours later, two police cruisers and two ambulances zoomed to this neighboring house in what appeared to be an overdose.

I've got to believe that under other circumstances, this commotion would have drawn all picnic goers to the scene to gawk and stare and wonder and gossip. Instead all guests were ambivalent in a sort of "been there, done that" kind of way. Each one likely remembering Fourth of July's gone by when they were in similar situations. Someone joked, "the police are here, it's officially a party." Only this time they weren't there for them.