I was still at my temporary home, The People’s Perch, in East Baldwin, Maine. That morning I woke up early and made a breakfast of potatoes with a side of random veggies that had mostly been picked from the garden. Ian had arranged a jigsaw puzzle swap at the library down the road, so after eating I headed over. There were three different tables set up with all sorts of puzzles, including 3-D ones and murder mystery puzzles. I had not realized that many different kinds of puzzles existed. I hung out for a while as random people came in and out with their puzzles. At the end I grabbed two puzzles that I planned on using as Christmas gifts.
Back at the water tower that evening, we worked on some more paper mâché projects for the upcoming masquerade party to help celebrate Maria’s Birthday. Ian was making a giant frog costume and Nolan was still working on his mask. Montana helped me by placing pieces of newspaper damped with a water/flour mixture on my face. It took about two hours for my mask to dry, which I spent hanging out and talking. Once it dried, it fit my face perfectly.
The next morning was Maggie’s and Maria’s Birthday! Maria and Dan had made a huge tortilla buffet for breakfast that we all indulged in. There were eggs, peppers, onions, apples, tomatoes, and all sorts of cheeses. While we were eating, we had music going and it turned into a dance party. We all moved and jumped along to the music. Nolan even brought in a karaoke machine so we could sing along as we danced. Our random little dance party lasted over half an hour and it was the absolute perfect way to start the day.
I spent some time working on and around the water tower with Ian afterwards. We cleaned up brush that was all along the bottom, hoping to eventually get grass growing underneath. Montana came over and installed a little swing hanging from the water tower too. We took turns pushing each other. As we swung through the air, Maggie chased alongside the swing the whole time, enjoying it as much as we were.
It was a chilly day, only in the low 60’s, but I knew it was time to shower, especially since this chilly day was warmer than it had been all week. There was an outdoor shower, but it only had cold water so I had been putting it off as long as I possibly could. It didn’t end up being as bad as I thought It would be. It actually helped my body adjust to the chilly temperatures outside and I felt great afterwards. The masquerade party was scheduled for the next day, and not a single one of us had finished our costumes yet. We turned one of the rooms in the house into a craft room, where fabric and glitter were thrown everywhere. I wanted a fairy costume. My first task was to make the wings, which I wasn’t quite sure how to go about doing. I dug through the fabric bin and found some pretty purple fabric that used to be curtains. I figured if I got some sticks I could attach them to the fabric to create wings. I found some sticks in the woods but they didn’t really work for what I needed. But in the backyard there was an old, rolled up wire fence that was no longer in use. I took some wire cutters and cut off two long pieces. After cutting the fabric to the size I thought I needed, I put the wire through the two pieces of fabric where the curtain rod would have gone. I twisted the wire together at the bottom in the back and connected them at the top where it would look like they were sprouting from my upper back. I took a ribbon and connected it to the wings so it would properly tie around my neck and waist to keep them in place. The wings worked out perfectly! Once I attached them they even looked as if they were flying while I walked.
Next I had to work on my paper mâché mask, which was now completely dry. I cut along the edges and at the eyes to shape it the way I wanted. I mixed two paints to make the base color match my wings perfectly, and painted some pink random designs on it so it would match a cardigan I was going to be wearing over a dress. The mask turned out perfectly, and my costume was complete other than a fresh flower crown that I planned to make right before the party.
The next morning we all completed the finishing touches to our costumes. I picked flowers from the garden to create my crown, and wove the stems together to get them to stay. We set up for the party, putting different dips and snacks out along with a huge pot of chili that Maria had made. We made the place look festive with candles and other little decorations. A small crowd of people showed up, and they all had little costumes on as well! We started a fire in the fire pit even though it was a warm day, especially for the middle of October, and we all sat and ate chili.
When we were done eating, we played different apple Olympics games. We tied apples to a tree, and people had to use just their mouth to eat them off of the string. We also had a little obstacle course game where everyone got into groups of three. The first person had to pick up the apple from the ground without using their hands. They would carry it to the second person who had to take the apple without using their hands, then walk across a balance beam while going through a hula hoop that was in the middle of the beam. The last person had to run all the way around the house and try to be the first team to cross the finish line. My team lost, but I think it was because it’s difficult to compete when you’re laughing so hard.
Next we did an egg toss, and Dan was my partner. A lot of peoples’ eggs fell to the ground and smashed within the first few tosses. Dan and I were doing really well at first, but eventually I threw the egg too far and it went into the garden. He searched for it with hopes that it had somehow survived the fall. To our surprise he found the egg intact; it wasn’t even cracked. We kept throwing the egg, taking a step back with every throw. As we got farther apart, we kept missing and the egg fell to the ground, but somehow instead of smashing to bits, our egg bounced! We kept tossing the egg, and while missing it multiple times, it just kept bouncing. Some people joked that we had hard boiled our egg, especially since it was Dan's Idea to play the egg toss in the first place. Eventually, the egg ended up breaking in Dan's hands as he caught it. But since our egg had lasted the longest, we won! A few people said we cheated since our egg kept bouncing, but the rules never said your egg couldn't bounce.
Next on the agenda was a pumpkin toss from the water tower. We all tried to convince Ian to throw it through a hula hoop that was on fire as Nolan held it from the ground, but unfortunately he said that was too dangerous. Instead we spray painted a large bull’s-eye on the ground. Ian climbed up the tower with three large pumpkins in a backpack. He threw them from the rail, one hundred feet up in the air. They exploded into a million pieces as they hit the ground, as we all applauded and cheered, getting louder and more animated with each drop.
We had music going and people started dancing as the sun went down. Montana got out a party light that lit up the dance floor in twinkles of blues and greens as we jumped around in them. It started to rain on and off but that didn’t stop us. Every time it started sprinkling, everyone just whooped and danced even harder.
Before bed we all gathered in the kitchen area making interesting cocktails with what we had on hand: a mixture of kombucha, seltzer water, and orange juice with a little vodka. We stood around the island joking, laughing, and thoroughly enjoying each others company. When our friend Scotty went to leave, we sent him off with loud howls and screams that probably echoed through the whole neighborhood. All the activity and fine company created such a natural high that it took forever for me to fall asleep that night.
If you would like to visit the People’s Perch website I posted the link below:
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