Martha, Bar Harbor and The Approaching Fall

I used to be a subscriber to Martha Stewart Living, but gave it up when I realized I had seven brand new issues, still in the plastic, that I hadn't even glanced at almost three months later.

That means one of two things: A) I've been too busy to look through magazines or B) I've been too busy to look through magazines.

People think working full-time eats up their leisure hours. I beg to differ. As someone who used to work 40 hours+ a week, full-time, for 27 years....working part-time at 26-30 hours a week is worse – much worse. Not only do you not have the benefit of two full days off in a row (or rarely), but your days are literally pecked to death five hours at a time. And, this can go on for weeks, with one day off here and there. No benefits, no chance for advancement, and your eyes are eaten out by ravens. 

So, I got released from the job today at 1 p.m. and finally became sane enough to venture back out for groceries, and picked up a copy of Martha Stewart Living...the August issue. Had to get it – it promised simplified living, beachy colors (I'm a sucker for anything blue and green) and I love using the old magazines for my paper mosaics (she uses pretty high-quality printing...).

The calendar in the front literally just fell out of the magazine. It's something I never read. Quite frankly, reading a diary of what one does on a daily basis doesn't quite make for interesting reading, although I am an avid fan of facebook updates.

Well, Martha has been spending a lot of time (and apparently financial resources) in Bar Harbor, Maine. Which, you may or may not know, is one of my all time favorite places on the planet Earth. So, I continued to read about her donating books, hiking around local ponds and eating at Bar Harbor restaurants. I had to smile. She reminded me of a little hen, pecking at the soil here and there, picking up the stray beetle or two. A mega-millionairess, happily going about her homemaking, fertilizing roses, and harvesting the eggplant or two. Ah, the life. Then I read where she had a note down, on August 24, that she needed to "rotate her lampshades for uneven fading." Oh my. That's a bit much. Even I can whip my lampshades around in 15 minutes or so, and don't need to put it on a calendar to remember to do it. And, even if I did...heavens. I'm too cheap to worry about expensive lampshades  - so anything I have is under $15 anyway.

Martha, I truly love you, and you're an inspiration. But, lose the weirdness. Lampshades. Really.

Okay, so I'm going to do my own calendar. I'm going to have things like "cut toenails" and "water rosemary plant in front garden" and "feed dog." Just as important and timely.

When do you cut your toenails, Martha? Do tell.