Heat!!!

It's been a long holiday weekend and I'm not ready for it to end. The weather has actually been nice - sunny, warm... kinda like summer! Sitting on my bed with the windows open I almost feel like I'm back at the ashram in Varanasi. I think I somehow upped my heat tolerance there, because I say bring it on! Which is good, since I'll be going to Senegal next year, and the weather where I'm going was 108 last week. Yeah, baby. Dry heat, though, which will be better. Don't get me wrong, I'm probably gonna fry, but strangely I'm looking forward to experiencing the climate there. I realized that I've wanted to go to Africa for about 20 years now, so it's about time! One thing that I've found absolutely shocking, however, are the prices of flights within the continent, like basically the same as a round-trip from the U.S. there. There are alternate modes of transportation, of course, but overland travel there is a serious time commitment, not to mention having to dodge places you might want to avoid. So hmm... I'll have to plan any travel there wisely.

I leave for Mexico in a month as well, so it's going to be a busy summer. From Mexico I'll be flying to Phoenix for training for this program in Africa, then back to Maine to pack and prepare. Gearing up!!

Random people photo from Venice Beach in LA. I liked the lighting with the sun setting in the distance. That and I thought these guys had a cool look.

Change of season

Maine is trying really hard to find her Spring this year. It's crazy, we'll have a 60 degree day followed by a 35 degree day. I think we all prefer the former at this point. Today started out rainy and gray, and then turned quite lovely. I went for a walk on Mackworth Island with my friend Shayna, who is coming with me to Mexico this summer. The air smelled fresh and when the wind wasn't blowing it felt almost there. That said I'm still looking forward to being in LA where it's supposed to be in the 60s every day this week. Will I get to the beach? Not sure, but you can bet I'll be wearing my sandals!

Rain, rain, go away

It feels like a rainy day today... maybe because it is. The skies just got super dark and it poured down rain. Bleh. Poor Paris is a wee bit bored. Right now she is being entertained by my mom, who is tossing her pieces of popcorn.

It's definitely a day for reading a good book or watching a movie in bed. The weathermen are particularly animated today because there's a chance of tornadoes, very odd for this part of the country. Hopefully it will be baseball weather again soon.

Mmmm...

Even though it's gorgeous out today, I was determined to do some long-overdue baking. Currently the house smells like pumpkin chocolate chip scones. YUM. After that I'll be baking off some chocolate decadence cookies. Any takers??

The windows are open, the breeze is warm, and the birds are chirping... feels like summer!

Bird in a cage

Oh nooo!!! It's been over a week since I last blogged. Real life is taking over my blog life. ;) I've hardly taken any pictures since I got home. I feel like I've been running around from job to job, makin' some green, and thinking about other ways to make it. I spent part of the weekend printing, cutting, and mounting about 50 photos onto handmade cards, in hopes of selling them. They look pretty good, if I do say so myself.

Weather update: rain, rain, and more rain. BUT it's supposed to be gorgeous this weekend. Woohoo!

Taking it easy

The trick to not completely sweating to death here seems to be to wait until the late afternoon to do anything outdoors. My approach has been to emerge from the hotel only for breakfast and lunch and then wait until dinner to do any extensive amount of walking. I don't know how anybody lives in this kind of climate, and the funny thing is I think this weather is still pretty mild compared to other times of the year. The crazy thing is some of the locals dress in a way that would suggest it's actually cool here - long pants, long-sleeve shirts, sweaters even! Some women in particular attempt to cover up completely, having nothing to do with the weather but rather in an effort to keep their skin as shielded from the sun as possible. I saw a girl on a motorbike the other day with a helmet, face mask, gloves, full-length clothing, and sandals with socks. She was serious! Apparently lighter skin is highly prized here. In fact, it's nearly impossible to buy any kind of skin cream that doesn't have a whitening agent in it, which is pretty funny considering most of us Westerners come to places like this specifically for the sun.

Deceptively calm

Yesterday was so nice, lying on the beach, swimming in the Gulf of Thailand... so peaceful. Even more peaceful because I walked a little ways away from where all the resorts are to find my own little quiet patch of sand. I threw down my beach towel and sunbathed for about an hour. It was so perfect until later that day when I realized I hadn't been alone after all... nope, I had many visitors in fact, in the form of sand fleas. "What are those bumps on the back of my arm?" I thought as I toweled off from my shower... "and my legs?" Basically every part of my body that didn't fit on the little beach towel now has a nice collection of bites, some big, some small. I guess there’s a reason all the resorts provide beach chairs here!

Not because of this, but I'm done with Phu Quoc island. There's a limit to how tan I can get and frankly lying in the sun is kind of boring. I know this sounds so ungrateful to all my friends and family freezing their butts off back in Maine, but I'm sorry, it's just too hot here. You don't even have to move and you're sweating. Tomorrow I'll head back to the mainland and work my way north until I find some cooler temps.


I have a really high tolerance for pain and bug bites, but it sure would be nice to scratch like this dog is doing!

Major detour

Hello, friends and family. I apologize for the longer-than-usual silence on the blog front. Not to worry, I am safe and sound and have just been out of internet range for a while. If all had gone as planned, I would be in Thailand right now, but as it happens, there was a last-minute change of plans and an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. Instead of catching my bus to Delhi, I ended up hopping in my friends’ car for a 12-hour road trip to a place that many call “Heaven on Earth,” the land of Kashmir. Before you freak out, Kashmir is nothing like you hear about in the news, at least not where I was anyway. There is definitely a military presence, but it didn’t feel any less safe than anywhere else in India. The stares were just as piercing, but the supply of chai was also just as abundant.

How to summarize a week of adventures? I’ll start by saying that it was absolutely freezing at night there and the most astonishing thing to me is that there is no central heating in any of the homes. This borders on insanity, in my opinion, but also makes Kashmiris a thousand times hardier than Mainers, probably. Folks more or less live in perrins, basically big ponchos, and carry congers, or fire pots, which are small hand-held wicker baskets that are lined and filled with hot embers of some extremely long-lasting wood. I’m not sure what temperature these burn at, but I had the unfortunate experience of knocking one over at my hosts’ house and burning a couple holes in their carpet liner. Other mishaps of the trip included losing one of my hiking shoes on the ride up, leaving me with just my Birkenstock sandals and wool socks. Very hippie, indeed, but thanks to the daytime sun these were sufficient. I also got a 24-hour flu, which nobody seemed to understand… I guess Kashmiris are also immune to the flu. Despite these relatively minor inconveniences, it was well worth the change of plans. I got to experience a Kashmiri wedding, see some beautiful gardens built by the Moghuls, meet so many warm and welcoming members of my friend’s family, eat some delicious food, and drive a car. That was an adventure, driving on the right side of the car on the left side of the road in a country where the rules of the road are fluid at best.

What is next? I’m not exactly sure. Thailand for sure, but I may continue my detour to the south of India, namely Goa, before leaving this country. I’ll try not to be out of touch for quite so long. As much as I enjoy having these adventures, I have to admit that I enjoy blogging about them almost as much. I hope everyone is well. Sending a big hug and kiss from India… still. :)


A group of Kashmiri kids take a break from their cricket game to pose for a picture.


In one of the Moghul gardens.


One of my friend's little cousins, sporting a perrin.

Holy Mackworth

Today was yet another beautiful day. I went for a hike with my friend Danielle, on Mackworth Island and then at Gilsland Farm. The sun was shining and the air was crisp and smelled of the ocean. It doesn't get much better than that. We both decided that Maine is beautiful... and if we could trade in three months of winter for three months of this kind of weather, it would be perfect. But then, what would happen to our reputation as "hardy Mainers"?


There was a decent crowd of fishermen on one of the jetties, apparently fishing for striper.


Trees galore.


The last of the season's sunflowers. Not far from these were enormous ones with heads the size of mixing bowls, so heavy they had fallen over and could only be seen from underneath.

The Urban Landscape

So I'm back in Maine! Transitioning once again, so the blog takes a back seat for a bit. Holy humidity is all I have to say. I never understood the difference between dry heat and humid heat so much as I do now. Despite the heat, Maine is a pretty cool place to spend the summer/early fall. I've been spending some time in Portland, wandering, drinking smoothies, and snapping a few shots. This permanent vacation thing is actually a little hard to get used to, but I'm getting there. :)


Outside one of the area's most popular restaurants before rush hour.


Ah, The Movies... a gone but not forgotten landmark with uncomfortable chairs, unreliable sound, but some of the best films around.


Random self-portrait in a boutique window. (One of the few boutiques that hasn't succumbed to the ailing economy.)

Rain rain everywhere

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right? After days of not taking pictures because all it's been doing is raining, I decided to take some anyway. Every plant, shrub, blade of grass, and dog's nose has little drops of water on it. What are you gonna do? It's 97% humidity here today. Ha. It's like walking around in a fog, literally. It sure would be nice to see the sun before I move!

The silver lining

It's another rainy day here in Maine, and the forecast for the entire week shows rain, rain, and more rain. I feel bad for the tourists who planned their vacations here this week.

The good news is, the lighting on rainy days is pretty awesome. Here is Paris chillin' on the couch earlier today, looking depressed about the weather. Nah, not really, she's just really good at looking sad... gets her more treats.


Kind of an Andrew Wyeth feel to this image, no?

It was only yesterday

I'm posting this picture of some of my mom's flowers, taken yesterday. It seems as though the rain has returned with a vengeance today and will continue through tomorrow. So much for that bike ride! I usually don't pay much attention to the weather, but I swear this is the rainiest spring here ever. I'm sure the plants are happy.

My favorite subjects

Today turned out to be a gorgeous day, despite forecasts of rain. I was supposed to do a photo shoot of a family, but that got postponed, so instead I ended up taking pictures of my own family. I hung out with my bro-in-law and nephews and we all took a walk to the playground. These boys have so much energy; I have no idea how my sister keeps up. It's always fun to see things through kids' eyes, though. Everything is new and exciting, from a tiny ant to a big tractor truck (or maybe it was an excavator... they know far more than I do about trucks!)

19 degrees

So, despite the fact that it was 19 degrees outside this afternoon, Paris and I went for a walk in the woods. It was beautiful!! Lots of nice sun coming through the trees and Paris was able to get her freak on. She tends to get these crazy eyes out in nature and runs around like she's just been let loose for the first time ever. Although I did not capture said activity on film, I did get some nice nature shots... most of which were taken at the beginning of the walk because by the end I just wanted to get back into the warmth somewhere!!

The 'phews

Got to play with my nephews outside in the new foot of snow today! They're soooooo cute and really photogenic (I am biased, of course). After this we went inside for hot cocoa with marshmallows and homemade bread. Did I mention that my sister is Super Mom??