6-25-06 (Sunday): It’s been a great weekend. We started back to work yesterday (morning shift this week). Everything seems to have fallen into place and we’re both feeling quite comfortable with our job duties now. It’s funny how something that seemed so overwhelming now seems easy. I think we (especially me) got too stressed over the small stuff, and when we started to relax it all started to make sense and became quite easy.

Yesterday was Richard’s 62^nd birthday (Fran and Richard are the workamper couple who were here last year, and we’ve become friends). They’re from Maine, but way up near the Canadian border. They have an unusual sounding accent, which we’ve since discovered is French Quebec—they’re both fluent in French. It doesn’t sound like a French accent, though!

Anyhow, Fran and Richard invited us out to dinner to celebrate. It was great fun. We went to a restaurant called Conte’s, which is on the harbor in Rockland. It’s a really fun place. It looks like an old boat house or lobster shed, with lobster traps stacked outside. Inside, there’s a short menu (about six items) on a roll of butcher paper hanging from the ceiling. The waitress meets you up front and you decide what you want right there before you sit down. There’s a puppy wandering around and fish nets hanging at the windows and crates of books and lobstering equipment stacked everywhere. None of the tables and chairs, plates or silverware matched. We got a table right by the window, and while we waited for our food, we watched the lobster boats go in and out of the harbor. We watched a dog (outside on a leash) who played with a cat who must have been an old friend, judging by the way they interacted.

We stopped for ice cream at the grocery and then ate it back at our RV. Fran and Richard’s RV is a huge, fancy motor home, but they admired our humble place, called it cozy, and we just had a great evening together. I even won $4 on the lottery ticket I bought at the grocery store!

Wiley has been working so hard on our little yard and it’s looking so nice. Here are some updated photos of our home, sweet home (that's a fire ring on the left).

Today, I enjoyed checking in some of the first customers I’d ever made reservations for. One of them was from Winter Springs, where I lived when I first moved to FL. I can’t believe I’m living in such a gorgeous place, having so much fun at work and still getting paid for it!

After work, we took a walk around the neighborhood area of Rockland, away from the harbor. Previously we’ve only been to the shopping and harbor area. Parts of the neighborhood were rather run down, but even so there were gardens full of flowers and children playing who looked well cared for. I didn’t see any litter or graffiti. So, despite the peeling paint and older cars, it was a nice neighborhood.

Many of the houses were obviously turn of the century (or older).

I’m fascinated by the attention to detail that some of these older homes have. (Note the detail under the window on the picture on the right.)

I took some pictures (tried to be discreet—people live here). I think I’m beginning to be inspired to take up sketching again.

The garage at right was much more interesting than the house it was attached to! And the colors on the house on the left were very cool!

When we got back, Wiley went fishing and I turned on my favorite radio station and sat on the patio and read for a while. I still feel like I’m playing hooky when I goof off on weekdays!

I took this picture out of my kitchen window while I was cooking dinner--don't I have a great view?!

We miss you all—wish you were here! Can’t wait for Wiley’s family to arrive next week. We have so much to show them.