Maine Magic

Graves disease makes relaxing difficult. My mind races. I am prone to anxiety. My joints ache and kayaking, something I normally find very relaxing, is physically difficult. I'm not sure that my personality or my preferred activities is suited to wait I am suppose to be doing.

Looking north west over Linekin Bay.

Most certainly the baked goods here in Maine do not make sticking to my anti-inflammatory diet very easy either. (These people can BAKE up here. And that comes from someone who grew up in the heart of PA Dutch baked good heaven, ok?)

But I have managed to do some of the things on the proper road to recovery list as well. I've sketched, engaged in beach combing, tide pooling and cairn building, and just generally marveled at "God's handiwork".  Come on Maine - work your magic.

Ocean Point

Boothbay Harbor 

Change in course

While a re-charge was certainly in order after completing the anthropologie order earlier this year, I hadn't planned on one lasting months. Today in fact my family and I were suppose to arrive at the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean via royal mail ship, a trip we had been planning for well over a year. It was heart breaking to have to cancel the trip.

The view looking west across the South Atlantic when we were on Saint Helena in 2013.

But after an emergency trip to the hospital in March, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. And although I'm undergoing treatment, and the endocrinologist says she feels I'm in a good position to go into remission, the recovery time frame could very likely stretch into next March. And since I am still symptomatic (irregular heart rhythm, anxiety, muscle atrophy, sore joints) it was decided that the rigors of getting to Saint Helena (24 hr. flight to Cape Town followed by 5 days at sea), not to mention being on an isolated island without specialist doctors for 4 weeks, probably was not the best course of action. Clearly we are just not suppose to go this year but oh, how sad that makes me.

Hiking to distant cottage in 2013.

We had planned and planned. We were scheduled to volunteer at SHAPE; I was going to be helping develop new jewelry designs  and we were going to visit with friends we haven't seen since 2013. And now instead here I am, adjusting to the fact that, in all likelihood, I will be managing a disease for the rest of my life.

I'm currently working on beads made from recycled paper made at SHAPE. 

The decision was made that if stress reduction was an important part of me getting to remission, we'd do one of the things we knew had worked for all of us in the past - head to the Maine coast and stay for as long as we could. So we're packing up - painting supplies, kayaks, sailboat and all - and leaving this Saturday,  to "take the waters" as it were.

I'll be posting on Instagram if you're interested (@gwilliamson).

On a business note…the shop will stay open June 20-July 20 but orders will not ship until July 20, when we return. If you place an order by this Thursday it will ship Friday. It you've already placed an order it will ship Friday.