June-Right Out Straight

the bathroom, the pond, and summer all around

OUT STRAIGHT, as defined by John Gould in his book Maine Lingo is “anybody bustling about, full of business, too active to do anything else, is right out straight. The phrase comes from teaming oxen; as they lean into their yoke and strain every muscle the chain connecting them to the load is right out straight.”

me in the half-finished bathroom. I’m a croc girlie now.

I am writing this while I wait for some superglue to dry. After a week of non-stop work renovating my bathroom and then a house full of guests over the weekend I leapt into calendar carving this morning with clumsy enthusiasm and immediately carved something away that was necessary. So yes, all mistakes on the calendar can be fixed. With superglue. If only it could always be that simple.

It has cooled down and it’s looking like it will rain all week. Summer kicks you in the gut here in Maine: spring feels more like more and more endless winter and then suddenly Summer is here and you’re sunburnt and slapping mosquitoes and trying to decide if you are going to sleep upstairs in the inferno or downstairs where it is cooler. Tonight will be an upstairs night. June has flown by in a flurry of little decisions like that. I did way less studio work and reading than usual this month. I spent more time at the pond, more time with friends, more time working on house projects and gardens, and more time driving in the car. Yesterday I ate only pie. And I’m back to feeling behind.

I’ve been working on the calendar a little bit every day. Taking a gamble on it this year with a little demon parade at the bottom, carrying the yarn across to the other side. I LOVE weird medieval depictions of the devil and demons, and love traditional sayings about sewing and idle hands etc and the devil, but I know the secular satanic isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Whatcha gonna do! I think they’re cute.

this photo doesn’t capture how beautiful this green is!!

I also finally stuck a big old pile of these two patches in the shop as a fundraiser for those impacted by the Robbin’s Lumber Mill explosion last month. Half of the proceeds will be donated directly to EMT Sarah Tompkins’ GoFundMe and half will go to the Maine Strong Relief Fund that will be shared between all the families of those impacted. The impacts of this fire continue to ripple through our community, thank you for supporting first responders near and far.

the old bathroom that all went out the window. We peeled back two layers of flooring, formica wall paneling from the 70s and so much YUCK.

The biggest project of the month was a whirlwind gut bathroom renovation: I moved into this house two and a half years ago knowing that at some point the bathroom was going to have to fully come out, be reinforced and rearranged, be put back in. My father drove from Pennsylvania to help me with the plumbing and carpentry and after five ~12 hour days we somehow had a tiled floor, rebuilt walls, a flush toilet, a sink and the tub all ready for 6+ houseguests arriving that evening. It was a tight deadline and there is still a lot to do, but it is so much nicer in there and I am so grateful. Tiles are from Zia Tile, beadboard and trim color is Farrow and Ball Pink Ground.

Tiles before grout, beadboard before quarter-round, bathroom before fixtures, but oh these colors!

Maybe this goes without saying I didn’t read much this month. I finished The Master and Margarita which I had a hard time getting into until Margarita showed up on the scene and then it was amazing. I listened to Tom Lake and it was so very sweet, and listened to Cloud Atlas which was, as promised, impressively written although wouldn’t make it on my list of all time favorite books.

I also watched the first two seasons of Derry Girls, the first season of The Four Seasons and just started Not Suitable for Work. Calendar season is brought to you by a lot of mindless television. Last year, for example, I carved the whole thing while watching The Righteous Gemstones. All four seasons. And the final season of Yellowstone. Please tell me all your favorite TV shows below, chances are I’ve seen em but I’m always looking for more cause oh boy I spend a lot of time working by myself and sometimes an audiobook just doesn’t scratch the itch.

taking self timer picture while also trying to carve, knocking the very important super glue over, not realizing you can see the phone in the photo sorta situation over here.

That’s about all I’ve got to say for this month. I’ve been putting maple syrup in my tea, actively getting braver by the day, and going to the pond as much as I can. Speaking of the pond and of being brave and of work, I’ve been trying to diversify my income a little and reaching out to brands I feel excited to work with to see if they’d want to work with me too. This is a weird and scary and new thing for me, but I’d love to get some passive income going on the side if I can. I get asked so much about clothes, etc, and am trying to reckon with how to ethically share things I like and be paid a little for my time. Also feels weird to get to a point where feel like I deserve to be paid for that sort of thing since it’s such a privilege to have a job like mine in the first place. So, bear with me, and as awkward as it feels to say, I do have a code for one of my favorite swimsuit brands, Youswim. ADDIEBEST10 will get ya 10% off.

okay also I have given up on towels and now just take my battered chenille bathrobe to the pond with me. Pond bath robe is the best thing ever.

Alrighty, that’s all for real. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you probably very soon since this newsletter is making its way out late late late! Please also let me know what sorts of things you’d like to read about around here. I’ve been feeling like I’m falling out of the easeful sharing of my life as so many things offline feel too sweet and tender to hurl them (or anything, to be honest) easily into the abyss. What say you?

Much love, thanks for your support.

-Addie