Spring Cleaning at the Shaker Village

Dear Diary,

What a glorious day at the Shaker Village at Sabbathday Lake!  50 volunteers, Friends of the Shakers, met early this morning to spend the day getting the village ready for opening on Memorial Day Weekend.  As they say, many hands make light work!  I began cleaning two garages, sweeping them out and washing windows. Not glamorous work but needed doing.

After a short break I went to work in the Herb Shop, processing herbs for their wonderful herbal blends.  Being in the lovely old building with all the heavenly smells of mint and lemon and cilantro was a reward for all the dusty work in the garage.

They treated us to lunch in the Family Dwelling House, usually off limits to visitors, and I was so happy to sit with Sister Francis and we chatted about her life with the Shakers.  She came to live at the village when she was ten years old and she will be 90 this summer.  What wonderful stories she had.

Of course I took a bit of time to walk around a feed the sheep and Highland cattle and just breathe in the beauty of this place.  I finally got home late in the afternoon, exhausted but very happy.  Helping out at the village is a great way to spend a perfectly beautiful day.