Almost Wordless Weekend: Why I Live Here

On this grey November day, which turned into a very rainy November night, I need a few reminders of why we live here, so here are some pictorial ones.

We have some great parades! There are boat rides to be taken all summer long. Many days during the year, the sky is a beautiful bright blue. And pretty soon, instead of rain there will be snow. Sorry Blogger is not cooperating and I cannot arrange these photos better.

Thanksgiving Thoughts, tending toward randomness

Happy Thanksgiving to all my U.S. readers, and I hope the rest of you have a good day too!

I've just put the Sweet Potato-Peach-Cashew Bake into the oven and cut the Exquisite Chocolate Mint Sticks into bars(see above). The cranberry sauce appears to have jelled nicely and reposes in the refrigerator. In about half an hour I'll wake up Onkel Hankie Pants, who worked last night, and we'll get ready to go to Bowdoinham, where we will share Thanksgiving dinner with Uncle Nepco, Mama's Baby Sister, and their daughter, Monkees Fan.  I used occasionally to babysit for Monkees Fan when I was in town, and Mama's Baby Sister used to babysit for me.  Although MBS is a grandmother, and Monkees Fan still has children at home (they're with their dad today), we are more or less functioning as contemporaries now. It's funny, and good, how that goes.

I took Rusty for a walk down Maine Street just now. It was odd, and nice, to see everything so quiet (and also to know that that's not a permanent condition!) If I had gone a little farther, I suppose the 7-11 would have been open, and perhaps Dunkin' Donuts? The German restaurant where we had Easter dinner was advertising that they would prepare your meal, I know, but I can't recall if they also were going to be open -- I think not. The coffeehouse down near the supermarket is hosting a Thanksgiving meal by donation, to make sure people don't have to eat alone, and to benefit young adult programs at the library. And there will be a potluck Thanksgiving at church. I saw only three people not in cars -- one of the smokers at the assisted living place down the street exchanged Thanksgiving greetings with me, and one of her co-residents was being escorted to a car for a trip to dinner, probably by a sister. 

I wonder, if I end up in a place like that, will there be as many smokers clustering outside? I heard on the radio that smoking among adults is down under 20% of the population; unfortunately among teenagers it's a little higher than that.

My Exquisite Chocolate Mint Sticks turned out a little oddly. They taste fine (I am sampling one right now, "to see if it's fit to eat" as my mother used to say). But some are thicker than others. Put it down to astigmatism, I guess. We cleaned the (self-cleaning) oven yesterday, and when I put the racks back in, I got them tilted. Somehow I didn't notice that when I put the pan in. Fortunately it doesn't show as much once they are cut up and arranged on a nice plate I got from Brother #1 and The Herbalist last Christmas.  By the way, although these are a family favorite, from Marjorie Standish's Cooking Down East, they are not a traditional Thanksgiving treat. Monkees Fan specially requested them after tasting one of the leftovers from the last time I made them. We will have pies as well. (I am expecting there will be more than one pie, although only 5 at dinner. It's traditional. When I was growing up, in a family of seven, my mother always made at least a dozen pies for Thanksgiving and Christmas).

Well, Onkel Hankie Pants is up, humming "Over the River and Through the Woods" in the shower. We will cross at least two rivers, the Androscoggin and the Cathance, on our way to dinner. The Cathance had flooded fields on the Bisson farm yesterday when we went to pick up the fresh turkey; they're used to it, they say. The Androscoggin was roaring loudly as water rushed over the dam near our house on its way to the sea. We are fortunate today to have electric power, drivable roads, and no flooding; others in Maine are not so lucky. We also must stop to remember all those affected by the terrorist action in Mumbai, all those who do not share the bounty we enjoy, and all those far from home today, especially our servicemen and women overseas.

Friday Activities

I spent several hours yesterday unpacking and displaying books and other media for the Halls of Holly Fair bookroom at church. I found a few treasures for myself, including a cassette tape put out by SW Wisconsin Mailorder Co. that has Christmas song parodies that will relate to Onkel Hankie Pants' seasonal job -- things like "Santa Got Run Over by a Forklift" and "Here Come Packages." Should be fun.

Then, after spending a little while chatting with Brother #1, we attended an art show opening! The Photographer has taken a lot of photos of my old high school (scheduled for demolition in the spring) and it's a great show. Here's the poster:

I can credit Rusty for my being able to mount the three flights of stairs to the gallery without having to rest in the middle, as I did the last time relatives had a show there (pre-Rusty and his health-giving daily walks).

After that, we went up the street to celebrate The Expert's 30th birthday, with a delicious dinner of paneer steaks, roasted potatoes and salad, followed by chocolate cake, all prepared by my niece, Polar Bear Artist. Here is a photo of one of her latest creations (she of course draws many more things than just polar bears, but does the college mascot quite frequently for her employer):

Two very tired people came home, and Onkel Hankie Pants sensibly went to bed. I stayed up to check in on Friday Five posts, and then noticed that Rusty had come into the office with a bar of soap from the shower! He was very protective of the soap although he quickly deposited it on the carpet; he growled and made the "bad face" when I remonstrated with him about the inadvisability of dogs eating soap. I was quite mystified by this odd behavior. But, I was also tired, so I went to the kitchen to turn out the light and then was able to come back and retrieve the soap. Rusty followed me into the bathroom and then stood looking at the (closed) toilet rather meaningfully. Came the dawn! I went to check his water dish and it was bone dry. He jumped happily as I was filling it and then drank for quite a while. I will leave it to you to sort out the doggy thought processes that led him to bring soap to tell me he wanted water....

Now I'm off to the actual sale. We are slashing prices in an effort to have as many books, videos, cds, cassettes, and games move out of the church and into people's homes and the several small island libraries in the vicinity as possible.

Reading the Local News

Our local newspaper, five days a week, keeps me informed about who has been born and died, what the Town Council's latest befuddlement might be, what's going on in terms of bean suppers, Christmas bazaars, art and theater, and -- something you probably don't get in a larger daily paper -- the local arrests and disposition of court cases.

When we first moved back here, I became rather alarmed at the thought that, apparently, nearly every driver we were likely to encounter on the roads was either operating under the influence or operating with a suspended license. This was because I would see lists of such drivers several times a week in the local paper. But, as we continued to drive without incident, I realized that the proportion of illegal drivers was probably the same in City of Lakes; but there, we would only hear about such a driver if he or she was involved in a fatal accident or a high-speed police chase. Maine actually has a famously low crime rate. But, we still have some miscreants, and some of them are quite intriguing. Today's paper noted a man, old enough to know better certainly, who was in trouble for "engaging in activities while suspended." HMMM! What KIND of activities? And suspended from WHAT? The mind boggles!

The headlines in our local paper are sometimes unintentionally funny (sometimes intentionally, too, for that matter).  Today, I learned that "Bowdoinham Mulls Sludge."  I'd rather mull cider, myself. And Onkel Hankie Pants was distressed to learn that "Supermarket Supports Freeport Elders' Drive to Replace Aging Coach."  He thought this showed insufficient solidarity among senior citizens, until he read further and learned that the "aging coach" was not a soccer or baseball mentor, but a bus used to take the Elders on trips to Reny's, Marden's, and the Christmas Tree Shops (three good places to get real bargains, none of which have outlets in Freeport).  

So, that's the extent of my deep thinking for today. It's turned into a grey, cloudy afternoon, and we are expecting rain.  I think I'll remake the bed with flannel sheets before bedtime.

At last, the birthday boat ride

Yes, today everything came together perfectly and we took my birthday boat ride. This was our last chance for this year, as the Casco Bay Lines ends this particular run on Labor Day. A few of the things we saw:
The boat has just come under the Cribstone Bridge. This is the only bridge of its kind in the world, made of granite blocks with no mortar and spaces to let the tide flow through -- plus the larger space for small boats and ice floes.
Here comes the ferry, the Island Romance. Passengers from Portland mostly get off here on Bailey Island for lunch, and we get on.
This is the really special one. It was such a clear day that you could see all the way to New Hampshire -- Mt. Washington, 90 miles away. You have to look closely at the righthand third of the photo, and you may have to click to make it bigger. But it's there! Really!
And last but not least (I took 40 photos but I'm sparing you), here is the marker/lighthouse on Little Mark Island. The story is that if a vessel was in trouble, and could make it to Little Mark Island, there would always be supplies there enough to keep a crew of 15-20 men for up to a month until they could be rescued. The black stripes on the marker, which you may see if you enlarge the photo, are to keep seabirds from flying into the marker on foggy days.
So, is my birthday finally over? I don't think so. For one thing, Sisterfilms has promised me a package in a week or so. Certain other offspring may profit from her example. Still, I feel very fortunate that today turned out to be such a beautiful day. Looking at this, it's hard to believe that some of my blogging friends in the Gulf Coast area are battening down the hatches for Gustav. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Friday Five: God Days of Summer

Presbyterian Gal at RevGalBlogPals (who obviously doesn't live in Maine, at least not this year) writes:
It’s August. An oppressively hot and humid month where many of us live.

I remember the Al Pacino movie though not much about the plot. Just that it was very, very hot. And he had giant sweat stains on his shirt.

As I pass through this year’s dog days in my felon ridden neighborhood (OK, just two housefuls. But isn’t that enough?), I am trying to focus on the blessings apparent around me, past and present, that I might not notice, necessarily. In that spirit, this week’s Friday Five goes thusly:

1. What is your sweetest summer memory from childhood? Did it involve watermelon or hand cranked ice cream? Or perhaps a teen summer romance. Which stands out for you?
Any summer when I got to spend time at my grandmother's home -- which was also my grandfather's farm. Although Grampie retired from dairy farming when I was fairly young, they both still gardened, and one memory is of freshly-picked summer vegetables, especially tomatoes with sugar on them. They also had a "camp" at "The Point" (one of many such in Harpswell) and we'd spend some time there too. In later years I had more chances to experience being with them in other seasons, but in childhood it was usually summer, so that's a great memory.
2. Describe your all time favorite piece of summer clothing. The one thing you could put on in the summer that would seem to insure a cooler, more excellent day.
In high school and college, I had a sleeveless madras plaid shift -- blue -- it was so cool and nice!

3. What summer food fills your mouth with delight and whose flavor stays happily with you long after eaten?
Berries -- strawberries, raspberries, blueberries. Yum!

4. Tell us about the summer vacation or holiday that holds your dearest memory.
I have a lot of trouble with those "-est" words, as they tend to change frequently for me. So, here's one of them: in 1973, after Onkel Hankie Pants got out of the Army but I was still in, he joined me in Berlin and at the end of the summer, we visited his cousin in Munich and also took a Rhine River cruise from Frankfurt to Coblenz. People actually do (or at least did then) sing the song as the boat passes by Die Lorelei. Here's what it was like:


5. Have you had any experience(s) this summer that has drawn you closer to God or perhaps shown you His wonder in a new way?
I'm afraid it hasn't been that kind of a summer. But it's not over yet.

Bonus question: When it is really hot, humid and uncomfortable, what do you do to refresh and renew body and spirit?
It has really not been bad here this year, and right now, and for a few days, it's been rainy with temps hovering around 60 degrees! My favorite memory of something to do in such weather was going to an air-conditioned theater to see The Secret of Roan Inish. The great story, beautiful music, air conditioning, and of course the windswept Irish island setting cooled me right down!

For Those Who Don't Believe I Live in Paradise

Here are some photos from our visit to Christmas Cove yesterday.
I call this one "Shades of Blue, Shades of Green." Click to enlarge.


Left: Martha was sketching.
Right: Surf on the rocks, viewed from the porch.


Left: Another view from the porch.
Below: Views of the porch itself.

By Popular Request: Tea Animals

In my Friday Five post I had a photo of my breadbox, with the top covered in tea animals. Actually the animals are ceramic, they just come in a box of tea bags (Red Rose is the brand). When we lived in Minnesota, we could get the tea, but not the animals, because of something about shipping (so we heard). Now that we live in Maine, every box of tea Onkel Hankie Pants buys has a little ceramic animal in it. They come in series; I believe we're into Pet Shop now, having started with Noah's Ark when we got here. There may be Circus or Zoo animals too. A lot of our relatives here are tea drinkers, and OHP buys the tea in fairly small boxes. I think this is because it stays fresher; or else he just likes to get lots of little animals. Each time the new box is opened and a new little animal goes on top of the breadbox, there is great danger of one of the old animals falling off. Every now and then I have to move the breadbox and rescue the fallen.
Why does the Red Rose company do this? It appears to be a hangover from the days of Dish Nights at the movies and such. It sets them apart from the other teas. And, if you want a fancy ceramic pet shop, Noah's ark, or whatever to display your animals in, they will be happy to sell you one for some (to me) quite large sum. I wonder how many houses in Maine have a stash of tiny ceramic animals somewhere on a breadbox, a windowsill, or on a knickknack shelf. I bet it's a lot.

Coming in Like a Lion

Here we go again! The snow started, as predicted, about 10 pm last night. At the time, I was trudging around the house trying to corral the dog. Rusty "escaped" when I fell in the snow. Fortunately, he was so interested in smelling the snow around the house (it had been a sunny day and squirrels were out) and looking through the basement windows to see the cat, that I was eventually able to lure him with a treat and grab his leash again.

It's still coming down; somewhere between 4 and 8 inches are predicted, but on the actual coastline and offshore islands there may be rain instead. Onkel Hankie Pants' performance this evening in Twelve Angry Men and Women has already been cancelled. After years of living in a major metropolitan area, it's almost culture shock to live where winter weather cancellations are so common. In City of Lakes, snow days were a rare occurrence; a former Governor who was born in New Jersey got a lot of kidding when he cancelled school for the whole state twice in one season because of extreme cold. When the girls went to Rudy Perpich's Good Idea (aka High School for the Terminally Artistic), there were more cancellations because many of the metro-area students drove long distances to school. Our kids usually listened wistfully to the long list of school cancellations and "two hours late, no morning kindergarten" announcements from the more rural areas of Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Church was never, ever cancelled, although once we cancelled the Christmas caroling party. But here, where many people have to wait for their driveways to be plowed out before they can even think of getting on the road, cancellations and postponements are a way of life in winter. "Life in the slow lane" is one of our t-shirt slogans; the constant reminders that we are not fully in charge, that we must pay attention to the weather and that human plans must sometimes be cancelled because of it, may have something to do with that. It's humbling.

My daily email update from the Washington Post this morning mentioned that "meteorological winter" is officially over. That's not just in the DC area, but here as well. The ten-day forecast has a lot of temperatures in the low 40s and no further snowstorms, just some "wintry mix." There is the old saw about March coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb, and the record high for March 31 here is 73 degrees F. It could happen again! I hope so. We are all getting tired of this. Here are some more photos I took out the front door this morning:




Get out the brushes and scrapers! We are so fortunate to have a garage (with an automatic door opener! connected to the basement!), which we pretty much lived without for all the years in Minnesota. Our apartment-dwelling neighbors are not so lucky.








This photo is of a few branches from our Christmas tree that remained on the (unused) front steps. Those steps were almost clear yesterday, but here they are being covered with snow again. This was taken about 2 hours ago, and you can hardly see these now for the snow. I am sorry to say that the trees and the parts we cut off are also still in the yard -- bad weather and procrastination made us miss the town pickup. No matter, OHP will saw them up after the snow goes and take them back to our woods to make humus.

It's not a good day to drive to Orr's Island for the church breakfast, so I'd better start cooking if I want there to be any. OHP is busy sending out our Valentine letters, which replace the 2007 Christmas letters we didn't get done. What's your weather like today?