What a fantastic way to celebrate a birthday! Share it with a delightful laughing 5-year old and a garrulous 70-year who is the reigning family patriarch who knows all the stories and tells them!
I slept in one of the attic bedrooms in the Big House up some stairs so steep I had to hang on to the walls as I went up or down. Paperthin but authentic (!) single-pane glass. Wind howling outside, electric blanket on the bed.
To come downstairs on my birthday felt like Christmas. The kitchen where my grandfather used to make blueberry pancakes was a bit chilly, but my cousin Pedrick had some coffee underway and had turned the heat up. Today was our birthday! Each person who came down gave each of us a hug. The celebration began.
By lunchtime everyone had arrived: my brother Charles was already there. Robin pulled up at 1pm, Emma and the kids showed up at 3, and a slew of new-to-me relatives filled up the dining room and the kitchen.
So many of my birthdays are low key. Perhaps a dinner planned with friends or maybe something the following weekend. What a contrast to have 20-30 people partying all afternoon and evening. Wow…!
My cousin Johanna had rented a local hall for us. It took a while to set everything up so Robin and Peggy and I wandered for a few minutes over to the sea shore where there was a sinuous stone sculpture. The elegant curves, the smooth polished surfaces, the rough sides…a good juxtaposition with the rough slate blue sea.
At dinner we had some games about Maine and Castine history. The away crowd (that would be me and my brothers) were singled out for extra razzing… All very fun. [Did you know that lobsters used to be considered the cheapest and least worthy food? Or that only 15 of Maine’s 4,600 islands are inhabited year round?]
My brother Charles:
And my cousin Pedrick:
Three cakes for three birthdays!
Lots of presents afterwards…
And, to wrap, the Maine coast is just gorgeous. Wild, remote, water bound. When the wind howls through, you’re glad to have fleece and heavy coats on. Beautiful but severe.
So enjoying your posts! What a couple of months you have had!! Glad to have been able to share some of it with you. Have a wonderful spin around the sun.
😍
Sounds like a really wonderful birthday Sanborn!
Great stories…….Now what about those yellow hats??
Love the posts! Keep em coming!
Love all your pictures! What a great celebration – including the ritual to become registered Down Easters 🙂
Hi Marnie, Yes it’s been busy. The trip with you was such a special time. It was very fun the other day to be on Facebook and see an item about you wrapping up the Colorado part of your life and moving on to Idaho. I was ” hey, those are my new friends!” What a great feeling. AND I get to ride with you again next year. Maybe twice. Yay!!
It was only one yellow hat. It was a gift to Pedrick but then we each had to wear it as we drank the toast. It’s called a “souwester” and is worn on fishing boats.