A visit to Maine

A Year ago I was visiting with my friend in Maine and going on an on  about how I would love to live here and have a new start since the passing of my husband.
Fast Forward :
Last week my sister in-law was my first guest in Maine. We had a wonderful visit and it was so fun to be the one showing someone around the place that I love and  that I now call home.
We did so many of the things I did over all the years of visiting Maine.

Me and Janet at Camden State Park

Two Lights

We went to Light Houses

Portland Head Light

Lobster Roll at the Lobster Shack

 

1700 lb chocolate moose at Len Libby

Maple soft serve

We ate ice cream, lots of chocolate and lobster * not all at once LOL

Making off with the goods from the
Maine State Prison Store

There was a trip to the Old Port, North Conway, Freeport and even the Main State Prison Store

And an off the beaten path treat, at trip to Morse's Kraut House in Waldoboro for some great German food

Kraut Balls at Mores's Kraut House

It was a terrific visit filled with lots of laughs and soo much food..... my gosh, I think I'm still full .  

As I drove away from the airport I thought back to all the times I was the one being picked up and dropped off,and how things have changed. 

A year ago I was a visitor and now, I'm a resident.

I guess it just goes to show you never know where life my lead you if you're willing to take the chance.

My Neighbor , My Friend

 If you find yourself on a nice relaxing vacation in Maine this summer please make your way of to the  town of Cornish, a lovely town located in the foothills of the White Mountains. http://www.cornish-maine.org

Evie's  16 Maple St. , Cornish Maine

My neighbor: 
Evie's Eclectic Collections is a great old house tuned into a wonderful antique shop with rooms full of beautiful items.

I had stopped in and looked through the shop several time over my few years visiting Maine. And how funny it is that I found myself living next door to the shop when I moved here last summer.

Evie Webster shared this home with her husband Benjamin back in 1922 and continued to live there as a widow until her passing in 2007.

Evie

*A few have been heard  over heard to comment that the spirt of Evie is felt when passing through rooms in the house.





My Friend:
I meet Cindy (the shop owner) and I would stop over during the day to chat from time to time.
 I started baking and would bring over treats to share...we became fast friends.

chocolate zucchini bread

corm meal lemon zucchini cookies

The shop is a wonderful walk back in time, each room is arranged as the room it would be and filled with wonderful treasures , antiques, along with a mix of vintage and modern items.

Evie's original cookstove  

vintage bathroom

original "P" stained glass front door

so many treasures to look at

loving all the blue and white

And if you're a collector of Pyrex there is a wonderful selection of items to help complete you set.

RAFFLE DRAWING

Evie's will open for the season beginning Friday May 31st and in celebration of her 5 year Anniversary they are having a drawing for an antique Spinning Wheel along with a wooden American Flag.

Stop in, take a stroll around , fill out a slip for the Anniversary drawing *no purchase necessary
Say "Hello" to Cindy the shop owner and ya never know... I might be there too looking to add to my Pyrex collection.

Lobster dinner ????

Saturday lead to a beautiful afternoon at the beach.
After breakfast and a few stops at a couple yard sales we took a ride over to the coast.

We wound up at Popham Beach , Fort Popham , * Constructed to protect the mouth of the Kennebec River and the approaches to Augusta and the Bath Iron Works          http://www.fortwiki.com/Fort_Popha

 Walking around the inside of the Fort, it always seems to amaze me to see the work done... to think each brick laid by hand, the curve to the ceiling... the ached door ways

               

                     
     As we walked down towards the beach we passed a family. The little girl who was maybe 4 or 5 came up to me and handed me a flower (dandelion) she had picked .... It was a moment  <3








There was a cool breeze coming off the water  but the sun was warm on my face.
     
  Can smell the ocean ?     Can you hear the waves ?

            

  

Walking back to the car we could see two guys coming in from checking or maybe setting their lobster traps. 

        I was checking the traps too

Oh well....No lobster dinner for us, but we did have some pretty good chinese food and then of course ice cream for dessert.


It was another great weekend in Maine    

A Lazy Sunday

It was a perfect sunday...the sun was shining and you could feel the warmth of in on your face. On this lovely lazy sunday we decided to go fishing, well Tom would fish, me and Moose would watch. Fishing gear was retrieved from the shed,placed in the car and off we went.
We drove to a few spots and the fishing had begun. While Tom tested his patients hoping to get a bite on the line Moose and I would explore the area and take in the sites.

Moose enjoyed climbing the rocks... playing "king of the hill" I guess.
  



There was a slight cool breeze coming off the water and the sound of the water falling from the small damn was a calming and relaxing.

No fish were caught today but I still couldn't have asked for a better way to spend the afternoon and the company I had wasn't half bad either.

As we were walking back to the car I noticed a sign posted which gave me such a laugh, who are these select persons???

* FYI - the down side to fishing....finding the container of unused worms in the refrigerator  

"YUCK"

The Farm Girl in me

What a week it was ... I helped out a friend by staying at her house (small farm) to keep any eye on things while she was off to a sunny island for a vacation. My duties included, 3 dogs (4 when you toss mine into the mix) , 1 cat with 8 kittens, 4 geese, many ducks and chickens and oh yeah, her 16 year old son.
So for all who know me this is all comes as no surprise, since my move to Maine I have done many things I never would have entertained a few years back. It wasn't too hard, cats and dogs - easy, kid-easy-make sure he goes to school and eats dinner .

Now for some barnyard fun ;

I like the mornings best... everyone is so happy when you open the doors to let them out. As I walk towards the barn I can hear all the roosters crowing, hens clucking... ducks quacking... it's a serenade of sorts. I love opening to doors to see them all pour out wings flapping, feet hitting the ground as they all hurry down the ramp. I would greet them all with a "Morning Ladies", hoping the males weren't offended.

Now this is the best part.... the egg hunt, I'll always be amazed and in awe of these kind of things. I grew up in the nice suburbs of Chicago.. eggs come in a carton right?, you don't gather them yourself. So there I would go, up the hill to the chicken coop...a little egg basket in hand ready to gather the morning harvest. Typically I was finding maybe a half dozen eggs daily and a dozen on one day.

Through out the day chickens , ducks and geese wander the farm... the geese love the little pool set up for them... grooming their lovely white fluffy feathers. Chickens and ducks... just roaming and picking at the ground for what ever chickens and ducks eat thats in the dirt. 

Evening would come and it was close to the same routine, feed and water everyone. It was interesting to watch, as dusk would fall you can watch them all gather up and go inside their coop/barn for the night just waiting for someone to close the doors and leave them all tucked in for the night. 

The week went well ... no casualties, including me (again for those who know me will recall the last time I was alone at the farm with Chris I fell and broke my ankle in 3 places).

Although one night it did look like a pretty good party was rocking in the hen house . 

"Nite Ladies"

Batter Up

In general it was a quite week (not that I'm leading a hectic life these days).
Easter was nice, the morning started with coffee as usual followed by lots of chocolate offerings. That bunny sure knows the way to a girls heart. But I showed self control and didn't eat any peeps or chocolate for breakfast.

Waffles were the choice this morning, something in my 48 years I've never made myself. A great recipe was shared for a yummy dense oatmeal waffle.

So off I went , measuring and mixing, as the batter all came together  the shiny new waffle maker was preheating and getting ready to go.  In went the batter...down went the lid. With that a bit of steam rose, which according to manufactures book is "OK".







     
       The warm smell of the oatmeal and cinnamon filled the kitchen. And as the light turned from green to red and I knew they were done.

They turned out perfect, a bit crispy on the edges and soft in the middle. Oh so good and filling, some warm maple syrup, perfect....YUM.





It was another wonderful start to a sunday in Maine.



*stay tuned for my adventures ,the first week in April I'm stepping in as a farm hand while my friend is on vacation... chickens, ducks and geese... OH MY !