In Which Groovy CANNOT Contain Her Excitement! (Or Her Illicit Punctuation...)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See? That's how excited I am. I am using the exclamation marks before I even begin to write!

And just why is Groovy so excited? I am so glad you asked! (and so amazed you took the bait...)

First of all, Groovy is excited because she got to go camping at Bradbury State Park this past week.

Unfortunately, things were a bit tense for an hour or so the first evening when the fellow in the campsite across from us started swearing profusely and verbally abusing his wife/girlfriend. I was tempted to go over and give him the Hey-knock -it-off-you-loud-mouthed-creep lecture, but it occurred to me that if he were truly abusive, I could be making things worse for her by butting in. I was glad the girls were too busy riding their bikes to notice the broohaha. The BHE was on a trail ride, so I used the time to pray for the couple and to ask the Lord if I should say anything.

Things only flared up once more and we had the kids pray with us for the couple. Finally, the guy quieted down. It was an awkward situation, but I am happy to report that the next morning, both the loudmouth and his wife/girlfriend came over to our campsite. He apologized to us most humbly and profusely - in fact, he was so ashamed of his behavior he was almost in tears. It was super groovy! Needless to say, we thanked them and forgave them.

So, what'd we do for camping fun? We got introduced to trail riding on mountain bikes. BHE is a big fan. He rode our older tandem (it has mountain bike tires) with Girly-Girl while Silly-Head and I gutted it out on individual bikes. The girls and I aren't quite on board. Frankly, I'm not overly impressed with a bike riding style that requires me to pedal slower than I walk! Still, it was fun to try something new.

We also did alot of hiking and playing. We climbed Bradbury Mountain (pretty easy) and dug groovy rocks out of a quarry. We also ran into town (Freeport) to visit LLBean and go to our favorite beach. Alas, Silly-Head had taken a spill on her bike and had a shredded leg. So we had to ditch the beach idea when they attendant told us there was a high bacteria count in the water.

What-oh-what should we do instead? The answer showed up in moments as we tooled down U.S. 1. We've lived in Maine for almost 20 years and yet have never stopped to see Eartha in Yarmouth. Eartha is THE largest rotating and revolving globe in the world. Clearly, it was time for a Semper Gumbi (Always Flexible) moment. So, on a sudden whim we turned into the parking lot. We had a very fun time looking at the globe (it. is. amazing.) and perusing the DeLorme Maps Gift Shop. It was so groovy we had a hard time dragging the girls away!

After that we went on to Portland for an exciting time at Chuck E. Cheese. Silly-Head and Girly-Girl played one particular driving game SO MANY TIMES that I am postive they could just jump behind the wheel of the van and go. Of course, they do still have to learn that crashing into things is not the object of real driving...

Secondly, Groovy is excited because she got to see her grandkids and their PrettyMom for lunch as soon as we got back from camping. Seeing the Grands is always a wonderful thing! And THEN I went to the farm with Girly-Girl so she could finish trimming her goat whilst BHE and Silly-Head unloaded the car at home. They came back with some sandwiches from Subway and there was much swimming and kayaking (we didn't check the bacteria count of the pond; Sometimes it's better not to know!) before we went home and settled into post-camping zombiness.

Thirdly, Groovy is excited because she got to attend a Christian Writer's Conference this past Saturday. It required rising Waaaaaay too early after our exciting week, but it was so worth it. I learned so much about how to avoid neophyte writing mistakes such as overusing exclamation marks and elipses and CAPITAL LETTERS. Of course, I NEVER do any of those things in my writing...EVER!!!!!

I also got the opportunity to read some of my YA novel aloud. The reactions were quite encouraging! Yes! I am using MORE exclamation marks!! Seriously, several people approached me tell me that they liked my writing, that they wanted to know what happened next, that they thought I was creative and funny. I really do believe that this conference has given me the inspiration to get back to some real writing - writing that moves beyond the occasional pithy comment on FaceBook.

Right now the plan is to set aside 15 minutes a day to just brainstorm and write. That doesn't sound like much time, but it's manageable and right now that's what I need. Besides that, I know me and once I start writing, that 15 minutes will turn into more, hopefully much more.

I'm going to focus on Through the Molasses Swamp for now. That and on creating a few new Squidoo pages. I have so many ideas right now that my head is spinning!

Fourthly, Groovy is excited because Girly-Girl just told us she is ready to be baptised next Sunday. Woot! We wanted her to be baptised, but strongly feel she must do so because she loves God and wants to follow HIM, not because she wants to please us. God is so good!

Fifthly, Groovy is excited because Girly-Girl and her friend Peanut got to show goats at the State Fair yesterday. They took fourth and sixth, respectively. They had wonderful attitudes and both were very open to learning from the judge so they could do better at the next fair. They helped other kids move goats and show goats and all-in-all it was a wonderful day!

Girly-Girl and Peanut are the two on the far right.

Silly-Head did not show this year, but she was a terrific helper. She ran errands, held waiting goats, cheered, and encouraged. She said she definitely does want to show next year. (Little does she know we'll have our own goats then!)

And Finally, Groovy is excited because she won a prize! My dear internutty online pastry chef friend, Jenni Field, had a contest. And my entry Won! The prize came today. Whatcanitbe? Whatcanitbe?

Oh Groovy! It's a book on "high fun, low stress dinner parties for 6 to 12 people". That's right up my alley. I am going to have a lovely time reading this new addition to my kitchen library and trying the author Bob Blumer's suggestions on guests. :-D Thanks, Jenni!

Whew! I think that's enough EXCITEMENT for one blog post, don't you? It's also enough elipses, CAPITAL LETTERS, and exclamation marks! *wink* (And let's not mention the overabundant use of the word "groovy", K?)

Now I'll use the rest of my exciting day off to read and write. In the meantime... tell me one or two exciting things that have been happening in YOUR life! (Dang. Did it AGAIN!)

*wink*wink*