Girl's gone wild in the woods 2012

I woke up Friday thinking about all the possibilities of the day.  I straightened up the house, finished the laundry, and cleaned the airstream.  Okay, all I did was to move things to make room in the airstream, but it did not get vacuumed or completely cleaned up.  Then I drove up to Monticello and met with my accountant.  I had a woefully small folder with paperwork for her to use with my taxes.  Mostly I needed her to be able to fill out the forms correctly concerning my retirement and IRA and roll overs and all of that stuff.  I ran some errands and then headed home to finish getting ready for the girl's camping trip.

It was around nine and I was just laying down on the couch when they drove up.  They had gotten to leave a little early.  Rooms were assigned, bags were carried in, hugs shared, hearts connected and we settled in to the weekend.  Another girl's camping trip.  Mothers and Daughters.  Sisters.  Friends.  Grand daughters.  Everyone had been up early and it wasn't long before eye lashes fluttered against delicate skin.  Fluttering while the body rests and the mind soars to those places that piece together into movies we call dreams.  Together, all of us in one place, again.  Together and yet sisters and mothers and daughters, friends, were missing.  Some will never come back to us.  Others will be bringing their mothers or daughters, their friends to one next year or maybe the year after.  But those of us who were there felt whole.  Like those we missed were there because their faces were in photos and dreams and hearts.  As our eye lashes fluttered against the delicate skin of our cheeks.  We slept.

As the sunlight streamed in eyes popped open as excited as the first day of camp, or maybe even a little like Christmas morning.  Everyone was in a happy disposition and smiles came easily after the last few busy days.  Breakfast was made, coffee sipped, the smell of bacon and eggs and biscuits fed our excitement for the activities yet to come.  Plans and strategies were set and it was decided that soap would be made at the first available time everyone could be there.  Wives were away from their husbands and kids and calls had to be made, "I miss you" and "love you too!" had to be shared.  Sioux and I got things set up for tie dying and soap making.  Sioux also got her painting project out and ready to go.  Other bags with other projects appeared.  Gloves were shared, techniques discussed, rubber bands were hunted down and then into the dye, white v-neck Tshirts.  That is our favorite.  The theme, what would be the theme this year?  We had several techniques this year so we would be able to write the theme on our shirts and then dye them.  The brain storming began immediately with ideas tossed out into the air, all falling flat.  Some gave up and simply wrote the date on their shirts.  After this weekend they would be washed and folded and lovingly put with shirts from trips from long ago.  But the memories are stored in that soft cotton with swirls of color, mostly purple.

I was writing on my shirt, "Girls Gone Wild in the Woods 2012"  Everyone stopped and stared, Sioux stood up and announced the theme had been decided upon.  She is very regal in her announcements, having been queen several times in our past trips.  I had simply put all the words together that each person had thought most important.  A flurry of activity and writing using sharpie markers as Tshirts were grabbed from the fence.  Then once the flowers and peace signs were done a few drops of rubbing alcohol were dropped carefully onto the writing and design and the colors blur out and mix together like tie dye.  The skill these woman have in making these shirts is amazing.  Several new techniques in the art of dying were shared and each one picked up and enjoyed, assimilated into our genetic material along with all the other projects worked on at previous camping trips.  Here are a few photos of our tie dying:

Megen with one of her tie dyes shirts

My first shirt of the day

Audry with one of her treasures

Myrlene proudly showing 2012

We laughed and played all day.  I had forgotten how much brain power is needed to marathon craft, deftly switching from one craft to another, stretching your brain as you use different parts of it, different skills, different thought processes to work each craft.  We were able to make the soap late morning when all the calls had been made and we had finished standing in the morning sun, oohing and aahing over each shirt, each jeweled treasure being unfurled like an art exhibition.  Each shirt marvelled over and discussed, techniques reviewed over and mysteries solved over why it worked one way instead of another.  We do not only create and play, but we think and learn, store away the knowledge like survival skills for the long year away from each other and this weekend. 

After the shirts, various projects were started by each as we all started coming together to make soap.  Soap making is really only a one or two person job.  There isn't enough room for everyone to be in the kitchen at the same time.  In fact we assigned meals to people so that you only have to spend a limited amount of time in the kitchen, and have the most pleasant experience while you are there.  But this was soap making and we all eagerly crowded into the kitchen.  I moved to the counter and turned like the Julia ChildsCoolish spring temperatures and clear blue skies, what a perfect weekend.

The soap finally started to trace and now the real fun began.  We returned to the kitchen in force.  Molds were shared and embossing stamps placed.  Soap was poured, more molds cut from large yogurt containers.  Don't forget essential oils for scent as well as qualities needed by each for their skin type.  Those with sensitive skin avoided the dyes, a loofah sponge was brought in, cut and divided up while each of us tried a different technique.  The kitchen first, then the entire house, and maybe all the way into the yard and beyond filled with the scents of essential oils.  10X Orange, grapefruit, lime, lemon and tangerine, lavender, vanilla, mint, spearmint, and eucalyptus, rosemary, patchouli, gardenia and jasmine, drop by drop freed from their amber bottles into the smooth rich creaminess of the soap.  Wooden chop sticks were used to swirl in the scents and dyes, rose petals, jasmine flowers and peppermint leaves.  The molds were carefully taken back to a book shelf to be stored out of the way until the trips home. 

We ate all day.  Wonderful food lovingly made ahead of time and wrapped snugly up, stored in coolers on dry ice and brought here for this weekend.  A southern woman's fantasy, fried chicken with potato salad and cole slaw.  Cornbread pudding and baking powder biscuits, carrot cake and lemon tart, Godiva chocolate cookies and bags of Hershey's.  So much food, it is hard to name it all, but it was enjoyed with eyes fluttering closed and smiles that lifted our lips. 

We always end the weekend with high tea.  Once the camp fires have gone cold, the s'mores squished and eaten, the tents broken down and the crafts lovingly admired by all then packed for shipping we have our tea.  We have tea sandwiches, egg salad, chicken salad and cucumber.  We had the carrot cake, lemon tart and cookies.  Three types of tea was brewed, decaffeinated Earl Grey, Green Tea Jasmine and a small pot of a blooming flower tea for the grand daughters to see and marvel at the world of tea.  The sugar had pieces of rose petals through it  This bothered some of them, not truly sure it was petals instead of bugs.  That led to a lesson on how to properly dispose of an unwanted beverage using the over the shoulder snap, followed by the appropriate facial expression, depending on the beverage tossed.  When my grandmother first taught me about tea and how to dress and bake, brew and pour the tea, it was much more formal filled with traditions.  This tea was accompanied by squeals of laughter, hats covered in flowers and stars, ribbons and moss.  It was on the back porch where we posed together for the trip photo.

The Attendees of the Girl's Gone Wild in the Woods 2012

Walks were taken, talks were talked, catching up and smiling, hugging, making new friends, admiring the amazing talent and ability of such a diverse group of woman.  Such joy, such ecstasy, such drama!!!  I loved every minute of it.  They were so sweet to me and took such good care of me the whole weekend.  But after the tea, drives had to be made, rehearsals attended, interstates to be driven.  Home was calling some of them, work, children, spouses, pets.  All of us were sated with our time.  We will long for this again, and hopefully in another year we will meet again.  Maybe it will not take an entire year.  I love these girls and have watched them grow and be married.  They are wonderful mothers, all of them, each generation, and such lovely young strong women they raise.  Tears were shared between Sioux and I.  Thanks to her this year happened.  Thanks to her and our friendship, our desire to learn how to make soap we had our first girl's camping trip about 20 years ago now.  We looked at a picture from that first trip.  The faces of two beautiful young, strong, happy woman looked back out at us.  Such youth and beauty, how did we not know then?  But we do know now, and constantly urge our friends and ourselves to remember that 20 years from now we will look back in awe at ourselves right now, right this minute.

I shifted gears from nurturing and play to play and working.  I gathered up my things and drove up to my other home, the Opera House.  I started seriously thinking about props and where they need to be, and to start my check list.  I worried that I do not know my part any better then I do at this late date.  I need to figure this out now.  now.  I did try to be responsible and not over sensitive to my faults.  I work very hard and when I am on the stage I try and test out things.  Small.  Much too small for the actual play, but to sort of give the director an idea of what I could do at that moment.  I always smile when she looks at me and tells me to do what I was doing.  I know she saw it, and is really say, "yes, that works, now make it bigger.  much bigger."  I can do that.  I made magical scarves change colors and made magical flashes appear then popped poppers and threw paper in the air.  I love my part.  I just wish I could do a better job at memorizing it.  I need to get it down as of yesterday.  yikes!  But we all worked hard at rehearsal.  We are going to be the ones standing in front of the audience when the curtain opens.  I will be the first person to burst out on to the stage.  Bowing and tipping my top hat, dancing across the stage, pulling the old clown prank of throwing a bucket of water that turns out to be confetti on the audience.  Only this time I actually throw it on myself.  Rehearsal was a struggle, but a good struggle.  We are all getting it.  We are all showing moments of splendor.  We just need to practice and practice  We need to be able to feel totally comfortable so we can play.  We will.  We will. 

Then home I came.  I picked up the few remaining things that I had not allowed the others to do for me before they left.  I enjoyed this last little moment of picking up the dye buckets and storing them safely away for this coming week.  Seeing in my mind all of the colors swirling together on the shirts.  Seeing the smiles and sparkling eyes of my friends.  Picking up a glass or a napkin used by one of their hands.  Checking to see if there was any warmth left from their touch.  Smiling at the thought.

Then sitting down and posting the photos to Facebook so the girls would have them.  And finally calling my Dad and writing this post.  Closing a wonderful weekend.  So special shared with dear beloved woman friends.  Then shared again with my Dad.  My Dad who will be here tomorrow.  With my oldest brother, his wife and their daughter.  Spring break is here.  Such possibilities of lovely events.  Nights of rehearsals where I must be ready to do my best, be my largest, dance my dance across the boards.  Days spent looking at museums, visiting the doctor for good news and yes, such possibilities.

I am tired and it is much later then I had hoped to be up this night. 
But now to lay my head down and to close my eyes.
To have my eyelashes flutter against my cheeks as I sleep and dream
The garden circle went to McClay Gardens today
They walked around the gardens looking at the blooms at their peak
I ran across a stage in a dark theater with bright lights shining down on me
Such possibilities in my life
such possibilities
good night