Hiking My Way to The Traveler

I have done two hikes this spring toward my goal of hiking "the Traveler" in Baxter State Park at the end of the summer. It is a 10+ mile loop over three different mountain ridges. The trail pretty much kicked my butt last year. I am resolved not to let a bunch of rocks and dirt get the best of me.

The first hike of the season for me was one up the North Ridge of Cadillac Mountain, down to the Gorge Trail, up Dorr Mountain and back to the Park Loop Road.

This picture was taken near the top of Cadillac overlooking Bar Harbor, Maine:



Not sure if this was on Cadillac or Dorr, but it will give you another view:



Here is me after climbing the North Ridge to Cadillac and starting down the trail that leads into the Gorge and then back up Dorr Mountain:



The following are pictures taken on the second hike. We explored the Sargent Mountain area (on the Northeast Harbor side of Acadia National Park). The trail took us through the woods and along a stream. Beautiful! (BF took these in black and white).

Blue Hawaii Wristlet (by Kim's Crafty Apple)

Spring Flowers Quilt (by Kim's Crafty Apple)

Interview with Kim (Kim's Crafty Apple)

Many quilters I know are deeply connected to family and friends. Perhaps because of the slow, often meditative rhythms of cutting, piecing, quilting and binding a blanket or wall-hanging, quilters have a built in opportunity to think about and reflect upon the people who will receive the finished piece.

Kim, of Kim's Crafty Apple, is no exception. She is a member of the Quiltsy Team and graciously shared some insights about quilting, creativity and family life.

"I've been blessed with an undramatic life," Kim says, "and extremely lucky to not have anything very traumatic affect my life so far."

An undramatic life, however, does not mean life is dull. "I recently retired from my full time job as a civil engineer," Kim continues, "and am currently a stay-at-home mom of two small baby girls."

Kim opened her Etsy shop in February 2008. It is a place where creativity blossoms in the form of quilts, pillow cases, onsies, rompers, dresses, t-shirts and the like. "I have been creating things my entire life," she says, "and whenever possible, I choose to make my own instead of buying something."

Kim's "Spring Flower Quilt" (pictured in the photo above) won the Etsy Baby Spring Fling Challenge earlier this year.

Kim works in many different mediums: beads, wire, fabric, paint. "Anything and everything," she says. "The variety of things that I create helps to keep me motivated and inspired. If I get bored by quilting, I make bracelets or rings for a while, or I paint pictures or whatever. I am always creating SOMETHING."

"The name of my store," Kim says, "comes from the fact that I am part of a family-owned and operated apple orchard." Lapacek's Orchard, when open for the season, offers freshly picked apples, freshly pressed apple cider (unpasteurized and no preservatives), hand-dipped caramel apples and more. "When I first started dating my now-husband, his family let me display my jewelry in the apple store. It went over better than I ever expected. I have continued to create things to sell during apple season."

"I am also proud to sell a few items made by my mother-in-law, Diane, and my sister-in-law, Karma. I lucked out when I married into an extremely talented family!" The long-arm quilting on many of the quilts you see in Kim's shop was done by her aunt-in-law, Barb, from Quilts by Barb. "Make sure you check out her shop," Kim says, "for more amazing quilts!"

In April 2009, Kim opened a second Etsy shop called The Apple. Here you will find a wide array of earrings, bracelets, necklaces and rings.

Along with raising two small girls, quilting, jewelry making, and helping out at the apple orchard, Kim is also involved with a fundraiser in her community each year for Cure Kids Cancer. "Hearing the stories of families that have had to deal with this just breaks my heart. I have two beautiful and vibrant girls of my own. I can't even imagine how families get through this type of tragedy."

When Kim is feeling crabby or sad, she turns to her family and to her work for support. "As I've said before, I haven't really had that many challenges in life...yet. I'll be interested to see how I handle them."

For inspiration and a chance to escape for a little while, Kim turns to her favorite fiction books. "Losing myself in a story is the best escape from the world for me. I have a tie for my all time favorites: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell and East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Two Books I can read over and over."

"Music can always pull my mood up," Kim continues, "I really like a little bit of everything. If you were to listen to my play list on random, you would be so confused--Andrew Lloyd Webber to Green Day to Black Eyed Peas to Ben Harper to Colbie Caillat to Metallica...a little of everything!"

As to what shoes Kim wears? "I would have to say I have a split-shoe personality. I am a city girl transplanted in an orchard. I enjoy being outside but I really am not a fan of bugs or dirt...I'll get dirty if I have to but I would prefer not to. I LOVE to get dressed up when the opportunity arises but it doesn't happen often. I still remember in college calling up my best friend and saying, 'I have mascara on...we're going to the bar!' That being said my shoes would be a TEVA and a fancy, fun high heel."

You may find out more about Kim's work in her quilt shop, jewelry shop or on her blog

For more information about Lapacek's Orchard, visit their website or blog.

Kim is a member of the following:

Carried Away Bag Team
Design Style Guide Team
Etsy Baby
Etsy Mom Street Team
Quiltsy Team
Wisconsin Street Team

What Shoes Kim Wears

Lunch is For Losers

I was chatting with some people online yesterday. I mentioned I was going to leave the chatroom to get some lunch. Someone responded "Sojourn, lunch is for losers." It was, in her estimation, more rewarding to deprive yourself of food all day and have just one meal at dinner. "Eating during the day," this person continued, "is weak."

I could not disagree more. I responded by saying, "Food is my friend."

She then went on to suggest the "No shadow diet" and, since this was a new concept to me, explained (incorrectly) that vegans "eat only foods that cast no shadow." This was, in her perception, "A highly recommended diet." Since everything on earth casts a shadow, I did not follow her reasoning.

I recognize this as the language of someone with an eating disorder. Misconceptions. Rigid rules about when and what to eat. Diminishing the act of preparing and eating food. Depriving oneself and using food as reward or punishment. Making food into a black-white dichotomy of good and evil, strength and weakness.

I persisted in my responses: I like food. I like to eat. Food is my friend. And, soon, other people were chiming in that, they too like to eat. The person finally, unconvincingly said, yeah, she liked food, too. She was only joking. I did not believe her.

This interaction made me feel sad for the people--men and women, boys and girls--who suffer with eating disorders. I do not know too many people who have never gained or lost weight in the course of life's ups and downs. But, it seems to me a serious and dangerous threat to one's well-being when food and the concept of nourishing one's self gets distorted to this degree.

I understand issues with weight and with food are very complex--well beyond my expertise and experience. I, personally, felt a wide range of emotions around food at different times in my life.

I grew up thinking I was fat, though pictures of me in childhood reveal I was not. I gained weight in college. Lost it. Lost a bunch of weight during my marriage and subsequent divorce. Stayed a fairly healthy weight for a while. Had my breakdown, felt depressed and tired for a long time and gained three sizes. And, now, having focused a great deal of energy on my emotional well-being, am slowly working my way (through exercise and an increasing interest in cooking and eating healthier foods) back to a better weight for my height and age.

I never hated food or experienced anorexia or bulimia. I do not know that I thought much about food at all. I saw food as pragmatic and not as the wondrous substance it is. I understand, now, that food is just part of a whole way of being. What I put into my body sustains me, gives me a quick energy boost or makes me feel a strange combination of being hyper or anxious and lethargic at the same time.

Soda makes me feel sick. Red meat leaves a heaviness in the pit of my stomach. Chicken or turkey settles me down. Fresh vegetables--especially brussel sprouts, lately--make my heart sing. Protein from eggs or nuts sets me up well for the day. I feel solid and satisfied. I enjoy the texture and tang of various cheeses. Bread and chocolate are still my comfort foods. I love cooking with and for friends and family. I make pretty decent homemade soups and pizza.

It was only when I became more in tuned with my emotional, physical and spiritual well-being I began to understand that food--and the acts of preparing and eating it--is such an important aspect of the day. Like taking a walk to clear my head, cooking a meal and then sitting down to enjoy it is not just something I am "supposed" to do. It is a way for me to honor my life and life's energy.

"Lunch is for losers?" On the contrary, I find eating when I am hungry is an act of great strength and respect for my body's needs. I find it infinitely fascinating and rewarding to listen to and understand my body's cravings for and responses to food. As with anything else in life, I can always learn more about nutrition, cooking and growing foods (my hope is to have a house some day and start a garden). I find a deep happiness and comfort when I give my body the nutrients it needs.

I have not stopped thinking about the chat since it happened.

I did not and could not respond to the person in the chatroom as I have here. Chatrooms are fast-moving and public in the way a blog is not. Chats are real-time and more like stream-of-consciousness expressions. People blurt out all kinds of things. Chats are not necessarily "conversations."

Writing this blog post is my way of offering a different perspective about food. I do not know if the person will find her way to this blog or be receptive to my ideas. I do hope and wish this person (and others who struggle to develop a healthy, viable relationship to food), one day finds the internal and external resources to challenge some beliefs she has developed around food. Perhaps these resources would help her explore the possibility that eating--and feeding one's self in emotional, spiritual and physical ways--is more complex and wondrous and life affirming than she might currently believe.

In any event, the brief interaction I had with this person touched me in a profound way. My heart goes out to her. I wish her well on her journey.

This N That Scrappy Quilt (by Dragonfly Stitches)