Life as I know It

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San Luis Obispo, California, and South Bristol, Maine, United States
Author ~ Illustrator ~ Lecturer

Monday, March 1, 2010

Grateful, but...


Oh yes, I am grateful for every minute of every day, but sometimes, just sometimes, I think about what is coming. Like MAINE. I miss it. The quiet, star-flecked night and the rare shimmering veils of the northern lights. Fireflies rising from the grass that skirts our driveway, winds whistling through our back screen door and then right out the front screen. Waves slapping the ledges or thundering up and down the coast. The scent of the fir trees, huge granite boulders patchworked with lichens, moss and miniature toadstools, faerie landscapes tucked under bushes and beside tiny spruce trees, slow and easy meals at the old round table in the screened porch, the chugging sound of lobster boats, a pocket full of mermaid's tears from a seaside adventure, holding hands with Jeff as we take our midnight "bat walk" with bats flying between us, crackling applewood in our stone fireplace, and morning sunlight streaming through the windows and lighting our rooms with a rose-colored glow.


Bear with me please and let me dream. I'll dip into some old Maine posts, and then you'll understand why this country-girl-trapped-in-a-city yearns for her beloved old seaside cottage.

39 comments:

Erin | Bygone Living said...

Sounds beautiful- I've always wanted to go to Maine ♥

Dawn said...

It's so funny, I have wanted to ask you so many times if you miss Maine and when you are going back! But then I always think that would make California sound bad, and I don't want that. :)
Oh, I can totally understand! I'm homesick for New England and I don't even live there!
That beach glass is so amazingly pretty. Isn't it astounding how the waves can transform it into looking like something nature made?
Wishing you happy days in California....and time to dream of your home in Maine. You'll be headed back there soon, right? And then we can all take pleasure in your posts from the little green island!
XOXO Dawn

Zuzana said...

What a beautiful post. I so recognize those sentiments. Maine is probably very similar to the part of Scandinavia where I live (and grew up), and I remember missing it at times while living in NC.
Lovely writing. Stunning pictures.
xoxo
Zuzana

House Mother said...

Oh boy, I'm afraid I say that a lot "I'm grateful, but..." You have much to look forward to.

Kathryn Zbrzezny said...

I finally got to go to Maine last summer! I fell in love with it, as I just knew I would. I want to go back, but if you lived there, you need to go back...♥

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

I love your sweet home in Maine and can definitely see why you are longing to be there. Hope the time goes quickly until you leave your home in CA to head to Maine. Love your bowls of shells and bits of sea glass. I feel soothed from these gentle pictures.

FlowerLady

Janna Leadbetter said...

Sharon, I want to be in the middle of it. In the middle of that first photo, in the middle of your cottage, and your reminiscing. So lovely.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

Oh, I see some pieces of sea glass mixed in with the shells. I love the ocean and I'm drawn to the sea! You've written this beautifully. It sounds like a place I would love! ♥

Carol Michel said...

You've made me feel like I should go to Maine this summer!

Elizabeth and Gary said...

Hi Sharon,
Thank you so very much for visiting "Home is Where the Heart is". It's a pleasure to meet you!.
I adore Cambria and the little shops to stroll through. My husband and I were just talking about a weekend getaway to Cambria with a visit to Hearst Castle.
I have enjoyed reading many of your posts and have become a follower, so I can keep up with you.
Take care and enjoy your day,
Hugs, Elizabeth

Delphine said...

I love your blog very much. I've made a little post about it here :
http://paradisexpress.blogspot.com/2010/03/sharon-lovejoy.html

Hindsfeet said...

sighhhhhhhhh.........

that's all I'm saying.

Linda Tunnell said...

I'v always wanted to go to Maine My favorite show lets me see parts of it!(Murder She Wrote)I'd die to live in your little cottage!Thank-you for sharing your garden ideas, I'v been looking for fragrant plants.Lovely, just Lovely!

Terra said...

I detect a hint in this post that Maine is coming, does this mean you still have this pretty cottage and will visit soon?
I love fireflies, and bats too and wrote an article about how bats are a grand addition to our gardens.

Nan said...

Such a lovely posting! Don't you just love sea glass. The colors are so amazing, and speaking of colors I love the floor! I'm not sure I could live in two places, but yours are both wonderful.

Lancerika said...

Loving such dreamy pictures..
before you know it, you will be
*home* again..
what a sweet, nostalgic memories
of an enchanted place..

Dan said...

Hi, thanks for visiting my blog, I'm just going to catch up with your story, especially after reading your post on Maine
Best wishes
Dan
-x-

Gabriella said...

Dear Sharon
It's beautiful! Lovely!

Have a nice day!

Gabriella

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Sharon, so much for visiting my blog and leaving me a comment so I could find yours. Your blog is lovely!
I look forward to reading more - I just added your blog to my blogroll so I won't miss a thing!

Sharon Lovejoy said...

This comment is for Thea who wrote me a lovely e-mail, but had a no-reply so I couldn't answer her.

Your words mean so much to me and YES, I do want to encourage others to express themselves. I love tuning into all the creative people who connect with others on their blogs. Wonderful.

I feel as though I have a family of caring friends.

Thanks for your words about my magazine articles.

Till we meet?

Sharon

Lori ann said...

Dear Sharon,
you've made me wistful for Maine and I don't even know it, but i can see how special it is to you. Your photos are so beautiful, are they all yours? I could be so happy there.
And oh! mermaid tears...my favorite!
I hope you will be going back soon!
♥ lori

Alyssa said...

To Sharon, my mentor! Thank you for posting this! Maine to me is everything you said and more in a "seashell." The power of the salty surf hitting the jagged rocks on the coast, watching the lobster boats come into the harbor and drop off the days catch into the trucks that are waiting to collect their treasures, the sea mist, the sound of the fog horn, those nasty lightning storms, the crashing surf, the warm summer days that are totally blissful and feel like heaven, walking on the wiggly bridge, mermaid's tears in my window, (hey, that would make a great book title...I think I'll write that into my writer's journal) Ahhh, only an hour away. I miss my Maine, but right now it's snow covered ;)

Anonymous said...

Oh Sharon,
What a lovely way to express such a lovely place. Although I've never been to your beautiful Maine, just reading your words takes me there in an instant. I'll look forward to reading more!

Anonymous said...

Hi Sharon~~ Your descriptive prose of such enchantment leaves no doubt that you are more than smitten with your Maine paradise.

My one question: What exactly are "mermaid tears"?

Ariella said...

Ooh yay! We might to Maine this Summer, glad to know it is such a magical place :)
Any suggestions on where to go?

Courtney at SL's No Ennui said...

Oh, that was beautiful! And the first time I have heard of two lovers taking a "bat walk" together. It actually sounds very romantic!

Your cottage is so ideal. No WONDER you miss it! It's absolutely perfect: cozy, homey, lived-in. I think a place MUST feel lived-in to be comfortable!

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

I smiled when I read the comment "a country girl trapped in the city". That was me and that is why I moved back to the country.
Maine - sounds wonderful.
Is there a bed and breakfast near you!!

Mozart's Girl said...

A beautiful, wistful but hopeful post, dearest Sharon. We have a second home too, in the city though (London) & I'm missing that place at the moment. We're too busy to leave here for a weekend right now, but I dream of it...it calls to me! And even though we only had a very short time in Maine last Autumn, I see why you love it so...the whole East Coast in fact..bliss. Love to you xoxox Rachel

Anonymous said...

Hang on, hang on...soon!! I know that longing and pretty soon we'll talk about our walks at dusk and early morning rises and all things we miss now...I'm looking forward to that!
I love your coloured glass...did you pick them up?
Ronelle

Suzanne said...

Oh the sea glass is so perfect!

Aunt Jenny said...

I would love to visit Maine some day. I haven't been further east than Minnesota...and that was many many years ago. Someday for sure.
I am LOVING your new book Sharon...just what I needed right now...especially the "long distance grandma" ideas..perfect!! You amaze me!!

Dee/reddirtramblings said...

Gosh, with all of your beautiful, descriptive words, I began to miss Maine too, and I've never been there. I want to go someday. This year, we are going to North Carolina to the coast. Being a prairie girl, I don't get to the ocean much, but I understand your affection for fireflies, bats and tumbled sea glass. I have it as mulch in a lot of my cobalt blue containers. Oklahoma was once part of the oceans. Maybe sea glass is my touchstone to that time.~~Dee

Susan at Charm of the Carolines said...

Sharon, I love your home, your photos, and your blog. Can't wait to read your work, too.

Thank you for visiting Charm of the Carolines today. How did you find me?

Please come visit any time!

Susan

Beth said...

This is so special. I am dreaming of summer, too. We are lucky enough to be able to get to our seaside place whenever we want. I look forward to it all week! But I love my weekdays, too. I adore the bowls and shells full of collections! So pretty! And there is something very special about the way seaside light fills the air, which you can see on the bits of glass and the wood. I envy you your experience of northern lights. I want to see that one day, too! love, Beth

Nina Suria said...

I just read Martha Stewart Living mag(feb 2010) n found that there was a young couples whos doing chocolate at the Maine Island, and I really enjoy reading their stories.. and love the island, too.

Becca said...

Ooo the sea glass and seashells jumped out at me! Love the display, and your blog! I'll be back. :)

Maryjane-The Beehive Cottage said...

What a sweet post and pictures of Maine! Beautiful. What a cozy little cottage! Your mermaid tears are precious! Thank you for stopping by my blog to say hello! Have a wonderful week!

Hugs,
Maryjane

sweetbay said...

Your descriptions, together with the picture of your cottage and its view to the sea, make where you live in Maine sound like heaven on earth.

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

I am feeling blessed to be able to go to the cottage on the family island every year. I love the way we can only get on the island at low tide...and I love to watch the tide come in and close us off...