From way back in 2021. Forever ago. We still lived in downtown Portland. I do not long for those days.
I did however love that stove. Tiny and efficient.
I prefer my cannoli plain, but I would certainly never turn one down.
Blueberry cheesecake for me, Coffee for him. Predictable.
I remember this… It was full blown pandemic. We used to get in the car and just drive for hours. We found a country cafe that had opened a few tables outside. Last minute jam session with the locals. Simple and memorable.
Food cooked by someone else, that isn’t takeout, is one of my favorite things. I like going out to eat, I rarely want takeout – food gets weird in containers.
Slab, home of the very best meatball sub in history. But, they are now closed.
I have rewritten the first paragraph 30 times. I feel out of breath.
I have all the thoughts wriggling around and I can’t seem to get them out into coherent sentences. Like a stuck sneeze.
Let’s instead focus on my 50 year old Mr.
His ideal birth-day, which was not all that dissimilar to his regular days off.
Coffee on the beach with the Goof.
Rover Bagel for breakfast.
Sushi with friends for dinner.
I think it’s a beautiful thing to get to a point in life, that you get to do exactly what you want on your birthday.
And a party on the weekend.
Apple picking (and preserving) in the northeast is sacred.
We have it down to a science.
Start with breakfast. You will regret stuffing yourself with apples.
(Country fried steak is surprisingly hard to find on the east coast.)
Wear proper picking attire.
These were my dads overalls, now they are mine. Out of countless pairs, these are my favorite.
Husband to carry. Remember to balance your load.
Spend a stupid amount of money on apples that you pick yourself.
Most important – go to an orchard that makes apple cider donuts. Donuts right out of the fryer are superior.
He loves his soft pretzels.
11 11
We beach a lot…
Off to Montana…
I believe I’ve talked before about my journey to discover, or simply define what “home” is to me. It’s evolved. At this point is all over the map (literally and figuratively). I always go through this when I travel back to Montana. I makes me feel all the emotions.
How I feel today: Home is the people you love, and/or places you feel safe. Wherever.
I have a checklist while I’m back.
Dinner with my brother is very close to the top. Even though there is 12 years between us, we click. He is home.
A super artsy image of his headlights…
This is a a picture of my best friend and I back in what I’m assuuummminggg is like 1993/94 – it’s easily 30 years old. We still to this day prefer being together somewhere up in the mountains, driving around on a back road.
Montana on a whole is no longer “home” but man, the mountains sure are. And she defiantly is.
Newest members of our brood. Henry and William
My sister is digging being a grandma. (So weird to say that.)
Other sister with other baby.
The older I get, the more I appreciate having siblings I like.
Great Grandma…
My oldest niece Casey Jane, now has three babies. I remember her when she was this tiny
Edward…
For the last several years, my trip back has revolved around senior pictures for one of my nieces or nephews.
This was my last, Emma is the youngest grandchild.
As long as who you’re photographing stays looking great, it simply doesn’t matter if you end up in the swamp.
Sam. My parents favorite child.
Montana trip from a few years back…
That time it was for Emily…
See. It’s what we do.
Today is Election Day! And so you should.
My reason for voting? Privilege. I think about all the people elsewhere in the world, traveling for days, on foot, risking their lives, just to vote. I vote for them.
You know when a pendulum swings all the way out and hits that pause right before it swings back the other way? To me, that’s early August to mid/late September. The Pause. Fair Season. Warm days. Cool nights.
Something I’m really trying to work on right now is staying present. Stop wishing away this time in favor of a future time. (Which I will in turn wish away to the next time.) Naturally I’d be wishing for fall at this time. Deep Fall. Halloween Fall. So! I’m appreciating sweaters in the morning, tank tops in the afternoon.
For now, have some early Summer.
My parents came to Maine in June, It made my heart so happy to have them here. I lost all the pictures off my phone from when they were here, luckily James had a couple…
I think our favorite part was the botanical gardens up in Booth Bay. I highly recommend if you are in the area…
You can’t come to Maine and not go look at a lighthouse.
Random backyard photo shoot…
Costco. One of my favorite places. Grocery shopping makes me so happy.
My good friend, Elisabeth (yes, with an “s”) has the best crab apple tree in her yard. We picked them all last week and made apple butter. I have not tried it yet. Today hopefully.
(I’ve since tried it, and it’s fantastic! Tastes nothing like traditional apple butter.)
We live in an old mill town on the Saco River, in Southern Maine. (For those of you who are getting caught up.) That means very cool areas right outside our door to walk Max.
Dream Spot.
This is my salon, also in the same area. I’ll post more on that later.
Cabaret fundraiser for a friend.
Monthly Full Moon Women’s Circle. Self care for your soul.
We go to the beach several times a week. Soon to be more! Labor Day marks the end to “dog hours” on a lot of beaches. Now they can be off leash all day, any day. Makes my insides sparkle. Max’s too.
Our guilty pleasure.
Libraries are one of my happy places. My mom was a librarian, it makes sense.
My friend’s sister came to town with her band. Backyard concerts are my favorite.
I’m off to Montana tomorrow to photograph number 13’s (Emma Elizabeth) senior portraits. I’m excited for an entire week of friend/family love.
Thursday is Chocolate Milkshake Day, I just so happen to be spending the day with the number one fan of chocolate milkshakes. And so we shall…
At the moment he’s wearing his birthday suit, sitting in his new birthday sauna, while his birthday apple galette bakes in the oven. Pretty OK day so far…
I asked him what he learned in his first fifty years…. “Not nearly enough.”
Here’s to the next 50! Hopefully getting smarter.
Baby Max.
Weekend we met in person…
Finding a Dunks on the West Coast for National Doughnut Day.
This is a post that I published a very long time ago, and somehow managed to erase all the text and unpublish it. So it has been sitting in my drafts since 2016. I always meant to come back and add my thoughts back in. But, I didn’t. Looking back through it now makes my heart hurt. Two main things I am still, and will always be grieving for. I’ll talk more on that when I can.
Enjoy the pictures, they are the best part anyway.
When I got hired on to manage the farm portion of Caswell Farm (2022 season) this is what I started with, and I couldn’t have been happier. This was my dream.
When they dug the posts for the high tunnel they destroyed all pre-existing growing space. So, I started from scratch with some hand tools, and that weird thing inside ADHD people that makes them think they can do anything if they work hard enough at it.
I moved so much earth that spring. Wet soil, is heavy soil.
The ground there defiantly leans toward the clay side, so messing with it when it hasn’t dried out properly is asking for trouble down the line, but sometimes you don’t have time to wait…
And that right there feels like an accurate summary of my two years on The Farm.
I was stressed AF the entire time. But, I grew some beautiful vegetables.
Hi.
This is Brian. The on-site caterer. He prepares the food for the weddings that happen out there in the summer.
He is a good egg.
This is Al. Also a quality human. And, World class hugger.
And his Reggie.
Bees…
The catalpa tree is one of my favorite things on the property. It blooms a bit before the Fourth of July every year. It was cool to see how the weather affected the bloom time from year to year.
My Girl…
I’m not ready for that conversation yet.
My very first turning tomato of the season. It’s an exciting moment.
(Insert the sound of me blowing into a microphone.)
In this day I could probably find a file of someone actually doing that, and that would be cool. The most I could manage this morning: finding and downloading my favorite font that I use in the watermark for my photos, that I no longer have, which I should, because it’s my favorite. (You missed my ramblings…)
So much has changed in the 1128 days since last we chatted (I’m not counting the last post). Likely I’ll paraphrase the last three years, while also starting from today – just so you know the plan. There won’t be much, because like I said…
The reason I decided long ago, to do a blog (still hate that word) is because if I do not have something to do with my photos, I will not shoot. (Social media still makes me gag.) And I have to shoot. It levels me out, settles my nervous system, and sings to my soul. I’m ready to be here again, doing this again. My safe place to ramble, use improper punctuation, swear, and put up my photos of nothing in particular. And! most importantly: listen to my mom say “I just love your flower pictures so much”.
So to any of you who are new, welcome.
Hi Mom.
We’ll just start with this. And not overthink it. And not perfect it.
Oh, holy cow…(as I look at August 17) Happy Thrift Shop Day!! (Which instantly makes me think of my MIL and SIL.) Go forth and THRIFT! I’ll see you again soon, Loves.
The Mr. and I have started looking at houses. We knew right away we wanted to stay, plus dogs make finding a good rental almost impossible.
By nature I like simple and calm. I get overwhelmed easy, my brain tries to take it ALL in. Living downtown in a city is a challenge. I love it, however it keeps me a bit stimulated.
I get enough peopling in during my work day. I want peace when I come home. And growing things… Summer makes me wish for my future garden. Looking at houses made it worse. We are all so very ready for outdoor space again.
I want to be moving out by spring, at the latest. Just putting it out there…
I got a new lens! It’s inspiring.
Wynn found her spot…
We had a sleep over at friends. It was so very fun.
And isn’t that the most beautiful blueberry french toast casserole you have ever seen. I want a kitchen with pretty light…
We went out for our first meal, inside – post vaccine…
9 times out of 10, if there’s a burger on the menu, I will order it.
I just like them.
And french fries.
First East Coast oyster since moving back. NE oysters really are the best.
We both fell in love with this little crappy house. We started looking at houses like 25 minutes before this open house, but we still wanted it and were deeply disappointed we didn’t get it… in a housing boom with none of our pre-qualifier paperwork done yet.
Something just right will be there when we’re truly ready. We know that.
We still hope something falls through with this house and we get it. It is a four minute walk from J’s work. So perfect!
Marty, the guy we were talking to, was born in the house that is now Jade Integrated Health (J’s clinic).
Life is fun!
We met Mike and Kristi (J’s cousin) outside Portsmouth for lunch. More of our favorite people, we are surrounded…
So much has happened since last we chatted, but at the same time, not much has. Thats the name of the game right, balance…
This is officially the longest I’ve gone between posts.
I started a new job three weeks ago. So far so good. Akari (salon and spa) is a four minute walk from my front door. Since we live, and would like to remain living in, downtown Portland, it seemed feasible for me to find a job in the city so we didn’t need to get another car. (I’ll fill you in more later.)
For the first time in well over a year, we are going to get to see the majority of peoples faces. I’m both excited and weirded out by it.
Wow, these pictures are old.
I got sick in February, I kinda lost my shit: mentally and physically. It consumed me for three months. Very dark days in the Constantine household… I’m felling pretty ok now.
I’m happy it’s finally Spring, this winter was painfully long.
Sun on my face is my new favorite thing.
I love you all. Just so you know.
We still go to the beach as much as we can. The boy needs to run. One downside to summer is the beaches are closed to dogs most of the day. We just plan better.
He’s not a puppy anymore.
This was one of my first real meals in a very long time. When you spend an extended period drinking your food, you appreciate meatballs when you finally get them. (SLAB, one of our Portland favorites.)
We stopped for lunch at a place by the side of the road on a recent day trip. They just happened to be playing music. So we got lunch and CCR covers… We have good luck.
Blueberry cheesecake for me, Coffee for the Mr.
Now that it’s warmer, I’ll actually go out at night and photograph. I greatly dislike the cold. I’m weak, I admit it. I also feel better having a companion that looks like he could eat your face off.
Our first cannoli in Portland…
Today was National Rescue a Dog Day. That, like Valentines Day, should be everyday.
I miss all of you like crazy. I hope to see your faces soon…
Mrs.Dejo Grows... 