Live Lightly Tour

Our last stop in Maine was in Lisbon, to see a wonderful friend…Anathea. I met Anathea on MySpace, and then again on Flickr. She is a beautiful, free spirit and it was so lovely to spend time with her and her family. Anathea and her husband Timmy just bought a gorgeous acreage and the property is stunning with it’s trees, open fields, a river, an old “dance hall”…and more! They have big plans to refurbish the older buildings and I can’t wait to see it finished! The air was so crisp at night…and the stars were sooo bright. We were even able to enjoy a sunny 80 degree day…and ran around in sandals again!

They have two girls…Maya and Molly Sky. Maya and Bella immediately became the best of friends and were inseparable the rest of our visit. They literally played without interruption ALL day. I tried to keep track of the number of “costume changes” they went through…but there were just too many! They watched movies, ate together, played house, played dolls, rode bikes, ran and ran and ran, and just thoroughly enjoyed each others presence. They were such cute little kindred spirits…we had a great time watching them interact and talk with each other. Little Molly Sky wanted in on the action, but the older girls weren’t too keen on that. She is so completely adorable and independent. I loved watching her toddle around.

Anathea is a self-proclaimed “feeder”. She loves being in the kitchen…making people happy with her delicious meals! All of our meals were amazing…but my personal favorite was the stuffed squash with balsamic cranberry glaze. Oh my goodness. We also had many tea parties and the coffee pot was always full

It was a delight to watch Timmy and Anathea interact with and nurture their children. From Timmy taking walks with Maya…to Anathea having a tickle fest with Molly Sky, it’s clear that they are in LOVE with their kids. Anathea’s mother, “Granny LaVerne” also lives with them and she adds a fun dynamic to the family.

One of the highlights was walking down by their river and seeing all of the vibrant fall colors reflecting in the water. We continued on through the forest…seeing the evidence of busy beavers. We actually chased one of them down the banks…hoping to catch a photo, but he was too fast. He slapped his tail in the water with a SMACK…and he was gone.

It’s always hard to say goodbye after we’ve had such a great time, but this one was especially hard because Bella and Maya were just so wrapped up in their time together. As they hugged each other in the driveway, we heard them saying “I am going to miss you soooooo much”. It was like each was leaving their other half. So bittersweet.

We pulled down the driveway, waving as we went…and headed toward Boston.

Photo album here.