The stories we tell ourselves
Looking for adventure? Find a foursome.
Greetings from snowy Vermont.
Every year for some time now, I get to escape for a weekend or two to places known -- and sometimes unknown -- with a group of friends who have come to refer to ourselves as the "Ladycationers." There are four of us, the perfect amount for traveling, and over the past decade we've had some lovely adventures and this weekend, we're in Vermont.
One of the gals is like the Harriet the Spy of the internet and can ferret out the most charming Airbnb, where you and I would be scrolling and considering staying at, like, the Haunted Mansion with spooky looking quilts and carpeting you would not consider laying a bare toe upon. She finds charming cottages with record players and outdoor firepits and marble bathrooms.
Last summer, we drove up from New Jersey to the Berkshires and stayed at a home overlooking a pond scattered with lilypads and we spent the weekend kanoeing, going to Tanglewood to hear the symphony and marveling at how civilized that part of the world was compared to the NY/NJ scene we lived in.
Other summer jaunts have brought us to the North Fork of Long Island and another year, the Catskills, and those homes had screened porches and patios with lounge chairs that we would sit in late at night just looking up at the stars and talking about life.
Five years ago, our internet detective suggested the four of us fly to Newfoundland for a long weekend and although I was still at that single lady-stage where I'd much rather have gone nuts in Vegas, we all bought our tickets and flew to--literally--the end of the earth (or North America, to be more precise).
We stayed at this amazing Airbnb in the harbor in St. John overlooking the water and listened to the seagulls squawk and watched the big ships coming in from the couch in the living room drinking our coffee. It turns out, Newfoundland has a significant Irish population due as its proximity to the Motherland, and many Irish swarmed to NF during the famine, drawn to the cod and whaling industries that were thriving in eastern Canada in the late 19th century.
Much to our delight, we discovered a whole section of St. John filled with Irish pubs where we danced to live bands playing Irish music and made friends with a fun group of guys we'd keep running into during our stay.
They'd grab our hands and twirl us around and buy us beer and made us laugh and gave us plenty of stories to tell over coffee the next morning. On our last day, we drove about half an hour to go on a whale watching cruise and noticed as we approached the ship that what looked like the captain was holding a microphone and greeting each passenger as she climbed aboard. He saw our group approach and started to laugh. "It's the housewives of New Jersey," he announced, and we realized he was the singer in one of the bands we'd been dancing to all weekend, who'd joked around with us about how we were dancing with all the fellas.
It wasn't Vegas and I venture to say maybe, it was even better.
This Christmas, the four of us gathered for lunch in a cozy restaurant that was decked out for the holidays with bows and garlands sparkling with twinkly lights. We don't always give each other gifts. It seems each year it varies if someone has struck upon a fun idea for the group. Last year, I gave them all pairs of those silly socks that say things like, "If you can read this, bring wine," on the soles. I could sit and look at a rack of those dumb socks for an hour and not get tired.
This year, one of the gals handed out gift bags and we pulled out a plastic mug wrapped in tissue and discovered she's had special Ladycation mugs made up for us, using a picture she'd taken during out trip at an art gallery depicting the neighborhood we'd stayed in while there. In fact, on the back of the mug is the actual home we'd rented for our adventure (the yellow one!) and I have to say, it's up there with one of the most special and thoughtful things I've received because every time I use it (about 100 times a day) I'm reminded of this group of women. This kinship of women of a certain age juggling marriages and children and careers and the day-to-day grind of trying to make sense of it all. And carving out time to be with people who don't really want anything from us other than to say, "Yes. I know. Me, too."
So, here's to shared experiences: whether it's dancing a jig, looking up at the stars or sitting in silence and reading. I'm lucky to have so many of those experiences with my children and this lovely group of women.
This weekend there are just three of us, one of our gang is in Japan on business, and we are off to snowshoe and eat yummy food and spend way too many hours and money at (one of my) my all-time favorite bookstore.
Happy Friday and ONWARD!
xoAmy
*PS: the photos above are not working with me and I can't figure it out so apologies.
If you follow me on Instagram (and really, you should), you would have seen last week my extremely professional video drawing for the winner of my premiere BOOK GIVEAWAY. In a nod to my early onset dementia, when I drew the winning email, I could not put 2+2 together to deduce teresaj@....com was none other than the lovely Teresa Jahns from my book club. I know, I'm alarmed as well.
Teresa won a copy of the recent novel Nothing to See Here and thanks to the yet more lovely women and River Road Books for helping this sister out for the giveaway. Hey, did you know you can order online from them to be mailed or picked up at the store AND you can buy your audiobooks through them?
They also have a fun card selection, and I am all about sending weird and funny cards, as evidenced by the one shown above. Honestly, consider that I just sent it to each one of you.
Let's just read book.
This Friday's Faves
I'm running out of time as the Ladycationers are suiting up for the day, so here are a few things that caught my eye this week:
I'm fascinated by mounting evidence about how our brains can be rewired, especially when it comes to addiction. I noticed this book at RRBooks this week and found an interview with the author on Fresh Air and it's enlightening/terrifying.
Do you remember the horrifying link I shared a few weeks ago about SCORPIONS climbing onto planes and biting people? Well now it seems there's another horror to fear.
Okay, I found a very dangerous podcast. Like, it makes me want everything, including this bag, which I would buy in homage to the 14yo me who would have killed for it. And this weekend, me and the Ladycationers are going to a kitchen supply store in search of this gadget, which apparently, WE NEED.
Finally, I am OBSESSED with proper dishwasher loading. I am weirdly good with spacial relations, and my skin itches when I see cups loaded haphazardly on a rack. Like, have you no respect for the allotted sections for these items? And please, keep all the utensils pointed in the same direction (always, tines down I thought). But it seems, I don't know everything, as evidenced by this.