Maine-iacs

Earle and I spent a week in Maine visiting his parents, his three sisters, and their families. We spent time in Baileyville, Scarborough, Jonesport, and Bangor. It's been hard to pull ourselves back towards reality and away from "vacation mode". Here are some of the highlights of the week:


Shopping for handwoven woolen goods along the street in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada

A statue along the shoreline in St. Andrews dedicated to those immigrants who died fleeing the potato famine in Ireland.

Our blueberry harvest in Jonesport. Four acres of low-bush wild Maine blueberries. Yum.

Lichen covered tree on the edge of the salt marsh. This fallen branch shows the many varieties of lichen covering the tree.

Tidal grasses of the salt marsh on the edge of our property.

The salt marsh is like therapy for the stressed soul. Now, all we need is a house there to come to...

Earle's mum gathering a bouquet of sea lavender.

Low tide on the shoreline of Mason's Bay. Our salt marsh empties into this bay. I have yet to see another soul on the beach when I have been there. Just me and the gulls and the boot tracks of an early riser who went home with a bucket of freshly dug clams. All the large rocks are completely covered at high tide.

What's summer in Maine without lobsters? Earle's dad tends the pot. He's a "lobsta cooka" from way back.

Let the feeding frenzy begin. Last one to the tail's a rotten egg.

Time to go back to New York. Do you think if I sneak Sienna Marie into my bags anyone would notice?

Home at Last

Was it really only two and a half weeks? It seemed more like that many months by the time The Traveler returned! Tomorrow he gets to drag his jet-lagged "you-know-what" all the way up to Maine after just arriving home Saturday. I'm not letting him out of my sight this time though. I shall be accompanying him.



I always like to have a nice meal waiting for him when he comes home from a trip. Weeks of hotel and airline food can make one crave the simple pleasures of a home cooked meal. I opted for something cold instead of hot this time which worked out perfectly since his last flight was delayed. We enjoyed a cup of tea, of course, turkey and blt wraps, and guacamole salad (a recipe passed along to my by Gretchen). The food was welcoming, but the company made it feel like home.

Crafty Women

My friend Gretchen had a visitor this week. Her mother came to stay. On Tuesday evening we shipped all the kids off to vacation Bible school and had a little crafting party. While at Michael's on Sunday afternoon we found these wonderful glass-topped serving trays. The black matting below the glass already had four photo-sized cut outs waiting to be filled and personalized. Gretchen and her mom decided on a mostly black and white theme to surround black and white prints of the kids. I had a handy stash of postcards Earle picked up while in South Korea and decided on a travel theme. We spent the evening eating Cowboy Caviar (supplied by Gretchen's mom), blueberry iced tea, and topped off with some sour cherry pie.

Us gals with our finished trays. Aren't they lovely? (The trays that is!)

It makes a nice display on the dining room table with my (plastic) orchids, silk table runner, and terracotta pot for brewing traditional oolong tea.

In addition to the Korean postcards, I used some wonderful cancelled foreign postage stickers, pressed and dried leaves from our yard, craft luggage tags, ribbon, rub-on transfer words, and actual coins from Europe, Taiwan, and Japan.

Now, if only I could get my traveler to stay home for a while to enjoy it with me! He travels for work, not pleasure and would be on the road much less if by choice. We take the good with the bad. We have accumulated some wonderful memories, photographs, and memorabilia during his travels. I'm sure right now, after his latest travel fiasco of being stranded in Bangkok awaiting a plane repair, he would much rather be home with his feet up and a good cup of tea in his hand. Come Saturday he will get his wish for a few days. Then, we are off to Maine. But that, my dear readers, is another blog post...

Summertime Sensations

Last night was a treat for the senses, all of them.

Taste. The smooth sweetness of homemade sour cherry pie, a true summertime delicacy, the flaky crust mingling with the silky texture of the vanilla ice cream as it slipped past our lips.

Sight. The beautiful light show put on by the fragments of a comet's tail as they burst into flame in Earth's high atmosphere: The Perseid Meteor Shower. The night was so moonless and clear we could see the bright sash of the Milky Way like a belt around the sky, holding in the bulging light show.

Touch. The cool moistness of the grass at midnight as we picked our way carefully along the lawn to the meteor shower desired viewing location, away from the house and the trees. The warm, fuzzy blankets underneath and on top, the chill in the air tickling our noses as the Earth released the spent heat of the day. She wore no blanket to keep in her warmth last night.

Smell. The musty odor of decaying bark mulch, flowers that have seen their better summer days, and squash vines dying back to put the plant's full energies into the ripening of the fruit. The smells were magnified by the darkness. Our other senses compensating for our inability to see what was around us as we lay on the grass gazing skyward with anticipation.

Hearing. The symphony of crickets and tree frogs trying to drown out the hushed voices of the newcomers as they lay on the damp Earth gasping at each bright streak as it raced across the dome overhead. We were made aware of our status as intruders to this nighttime habitat by the many voices surrounding us. All day as we baked pies and waited for the dark skies the catbirds mewed at us unceasingly as if to say, prepare yourselves, summer is winding down. This morning the crows were here, cawing their arrival in the yard, announcing their domination of this post-dawn territory. When the days turn less hot and I again feed the multitude of neighborhood birds as they return from their wanderings, the crows will not be so bold. The jays and cardinals will send them packing.

Summertime sensations: Taste, Sight, Touch, Smell, Hearing. Each season brings its own sensations to our five senses. Enjoy the sensations of summer, it is rapidly slipping away. As I look forward to the sensations of fall, my favorite season, I am also keenly aware of the short time left of summer and am desperate to grasp hold of every bit of this season. The more years that are under my belt the more quickly the seasons change, and the more noticeably I yearn for a rope to tether them and slow them down. I am not so eagerly looking forward to what is around the next corner as I was in my youth. Savor the summertime moments, the voice inside my head entreats me. It will be gone soon.

The Kids

We have been so busy lately. The summer seems to be flying by. Shawn and I will be starting his 11th grade school work soon and Julia's classes at the community college with begin on the 20th. The books and supplies are mostly ready, but I wonder if our minds are ready to begin anew with another year.

Shawn's Shakespeare play rehearsals are in full swing. they began last week. The play, The Taming of the Shrew, is going to be hysterically funny. They will be performing it the last weekend in September.

This week Shawn will be spending his evenings at church for Vacation Bible School. Our youth pastor is wonderful, with a real heart for Jesus and teens. It is always an encouraging and uplifting week for all.

Julia and Derek were hiding out in my studio on one of the scorching hot days this summer. The air-conditioner was running full blast. Julia ended up with a blanket for protection on one of the hottest days of the year! Doesn't she look just darling with her pig-tails!!

Shawn and Debbie are locked in a cut-throat game of Scrabble. It looks like the most formidable opponent is Daisey Mae, seated in Shawn's lap! She is giving those tiles a good once-over.

The Color of Love

Something special arrived at my door this afternoon...

O my Luve's like a red, red rose

by Robert Burns

O my Luve's like a red, red rose

That's newly sprung in June!

O my Luve's like the melodie

That's sweetly play'd in tune!

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,

So deep in luve am I;

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

Till a' the seas gang dry

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,

And the rocks melt wi' the sun;

I will luve thee still, my dear,

While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only Luve!

And fare thee weel awhile!

And I will come again, my Luve,

Tho' it were ten thousand mile.

Twenty

Twenty. Such a small number really, and yet one large enough to
be filled with all the joys of a life together, large enough to hold the
very essence of togetherness and love.

These last twenty years have been a great gift to me, a treasure
beyond my greatest imaginings or longings. They have been a gift of oneness, a coming together of two hearts so that they no longer beat alone but as one, a combining of two minds into one purpose, a tying together of two lives to form an eternity of love.

Although we can't be together physically today, my love, you and I are never far apart. Whenever you leave the piece of my heart that is yours alone is ripped asunder from my chest and rests protected and secure in your tender hand.

Happy 20th Anniversary, treasure of my life! I look forward to
your return and our celebration to follow.

Here are a couple of memories for you. If anyone sees this young
couple today wish them a Happy Anniversary! They may have a faint tear in their eyes, but there is love and joy in their hearts.

A Bevy of Garden Beauties

Garden produce raised to the level of art. I give you:

Still Life with Vegetables and Herbs

2007

(Heirloom yellow crook-neck squash, Italian zucchini, red and orange peppers, and heirloom cilantro, against a backdrop of porcelain tile work, with an embroidered tea towel, and a stainless steel German olive oil decanter.)

Thank you, thank you. Please, the applause is just too much. Really, it was nothing.

(Some of my best work, don't you think?)

Today's Art Lesson

Today some friends came over for munchies and crafts. We revisited leaf printing and added a new twist.

Here we are in the studio hard at work (more like play!) creating our own greeting cards. It pays to be the photographer and avoid being in the photos. Notice my vacant place at the table.
Here's what we did and how we did it:


First, we used watercolors to give some color to thick card stock weight printer paper. We sprinkled some salt on top of some of the wet paint and laid some crinkled up plastic wrap on top of some of the other wet paint. After an hour or so in the hot sun they were dry. We gathered leaves from the yard and printed them onto the papers we had made and also onto some plain papers. The printed sheets also went out into the sun to dry while we munched and visited.

Then we cut the printed sheets into rectangles to fit the top of blank greetings cards. I pulled out my stash of patterned scrap booking papers, stickers, and transfers and we let the creative juices flow! Here Shawn is using a silver paint marker to add those last minute details.

Deborah is placing some colored paper on her card to border her leaf print.

Our wonderful masterpieces! This project was fun and pretty quick except the time waiting for everything to dry, but that time was well spent with good friends! Invite some friends over, have a craft gathering. you'll be surprised what you can create together.