Thought for the day

So my days at the Salt Shed are waning, in more ways than one. Oh, I will miss my house on the Little River. Not to mention the happiest place on earth: my studio. Here they are in all their autumn glory.

I was reading Eckart Tolle's, Rising Above Thought last night. He says that feeling will get you closer to the truth of who you are than thinking. I like to think he is right.

only the best invention EVER!

Joanne!

Joanne, I know you are reading this and I have just been informed that your son is a farmer. So, could you please call him and ask him what's up with this pig? My myriad readers need to know-hello!  And thank you!

Fryeburg Fair

As promised, here are a couple of pictures of the fair, courtesy of Rita. Ok, so on this first one, if you click on it and look at the people in the background, you will get a pretty good idea of what the faces of inland Maine look like.  In a word, Vacant. (And I mean that in the kindest possible way.)

In this next one, you will notice that the pig has two babies. Now does this account for her two, well you can see what I'm talking about, right? Is this normal???? Does anyone know??? We must have stared at her and speculated for a good 15 minutes. Not that we've know a lot of female pigs (although I can think of one right now and her name rhymes with Rielle Hunter) Rita even took close-ups but they are way too pornographic for this g-rated blog.

So, let's hear from all of you pig farmers out there!

Here is my batik quilt, started over a year ago in a fun class with Sue, now finally nearly finished. I just have to bind it.

Oh, I love the colors. Here is what it looks like on the bed.

Hunter's Moon

Mark Twain said, "Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody."  

Ain't that the truth.

Last gasp

The girls and I walked to the point and watched the sunrise this morning and it was breathtaking. But really, it is every day. Here is one of about a thousand pictures I took:

 And, apparently my yard did not get the memo that summer is over!

I was rewarded with one last rosa rugosa,

 one last dandelion,

 and one last hydrangea.

Really, who could ask for a better start to the day?  Certainly not these two

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer

I spent part of Sunday at the annual Making Strides walk hawking t-shirts. Honey, these women (and a few of the men) were wild for these t-shirts. I mean, watch out! You don't have the right size, you are liable to get that shirt snatched right off your body!

Anyhoo, it was a beautiful cold and sunny day, perfect for the walk, and we made lots of money for a great cause.
I celebrated afterwards by going to King Eider for a look at their new Fall menu. Had the lentil burger - awesome!
Also of note, my neighbor, Walt, did not have a heart attack. Repeat: did NOT have a heart attack. Turns out it was probably a pulled muscle from hauling out the dock. sigh of relief.

A few of the things I've been working on . . .

I finally finished up this backpack with little cell phone holder. Love the gorgeous fabric. It turned out bigger than I thought it would.  The little corduroy jumpers? Ok, dress making is definitely not my forte. Give me a quilt or a bag and I can seriously go to town. Dress making, not so much. Anyhoo, these are a labor of love for what it's worth. They will go to my little grand-nieces, Willa and Marin and if they wind up at the Salvation Army, so be it. Love the owls though, don't you?

When the rain let up a little, we went for a drive. This is what the Damariscotta River looked like from the point. Crazy.

The storm took a lot of the leaves down.

It was a beautiful day inside though. For those of you who think Disneyworld is the happiest place on earth. WRONG! It is my studio. Miss Elna and I spent a cozy afternoon here, warm and safe from the stormy weather. 

So, a nor'easter blew in last night and is battering Maine today. Here are some shots from yesterday versus this morning. What a difference a day makes. There are actual white caps on the Little River and I was out at daylight putting a couple of extra lines on the boat. We lost power over night but thankfully, it's back on this morning. I was glad for my wellies when I had to walk the girls and it is definitely an oatmeal morning.

This is the face of discontent. Didn't want to go out in the rain. Then, wouldn't poop in the rain, now needs to go out but doesn't want to get wet. I am inviting her to go out every 15 minutes or so but she is having none of it. What? Does she want a litter box? That is so not happening.

Oy vey what a day

But I just got back from walking the dogs and I found myself saying to them when we came back through the gate, "Gratitude, girls. It's all about gratitude." Ok, sure maybe I'm losing it- doh! but isn't it the truth? Aren't we all so lucky to be here?

First and foremost today, OMG, VIVA LOS MINEROS!!! Is that the best news ever??

In other news, my beloved neighbor, Walt, had a heart attack while I was gone this week. Bea told me (right before I got stung by the bee.) He is doing fine, on his way home to Virginia. I'll call him tomorrow.

My bee sting was the size of a dinner plate when I got home tonight, down to a saucer or even less, now. Grateful for that!

The milky way figures prominently tonight, half moon rising over the trees. I saw one shooting star (have to say, btw, too much freakin' air traffic in this world . . .but anyhoo,)

Surprise surprise, my neighbors are all gone. I think the water to the peninsula must have been shut off. It is dark and quiet on my street, just lovely and no, not scary.

So much to be grateful for. I love how Albert Schweitzer says it:

To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take 
nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind 
that will stand behind the action.  Nothing that is done for you 
is a matter of course.  Everything originates in a will for the 
good, which is directed at you.  Train yourself never to put off
the word or action for the expression of gratitude.


And because I am a Schweitzer fan and don't want to get too godawful serious tonight, here are a few more of his wise words:


Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.

I love that. Good night

***

Viva los mineros!!! 

I spent most of the day closing up the cottage at the Lake for the season. I was sad to leave but couldn't have had a better send off as far as such a lovely day. The colors are so beautiful and it was a balmy 60 degrees.

I got home to the Salt Shed around 3:30, put the key in the front door lock and felt a sharp (and familiar) pain in my hip. BEE STING  Oh Crap, I think to my self. (btw, I'm allergic.) Big old furry bee buzzing around me.

So, I called my doctor and of course she is off today so I explained to the nurse and said can somebody just please call me in some steroids so I can nip this in the bud. Not likely, so off I go to the E.R. at St. Andrews. I went through registration, got put in a room, saw a nurse briefly and then my (as my BFF calls it) shoe phone rang. It was the nurse at my doctor's office saying they were calling in the drugs to the drugstore. Buh bye, says I, and off I go.

A few more . . .

I woke up to a chilly 42 degrees this morning. My little heaters are working overtime. They said on the news that we are at 50-75% of color. Beautiful, isn't it?

The girls walked themselves this morning while I made a big bowl of steel cut oats with pecans and dried cranberries and maple syrup (from a friend's maple trees.) Life doesn't get much better than this.
So, yesterday was a long walk in the woods. I seeded and limed my lawn and put away the fishing rods, life preservers, noodles, you get the picture. Then an afternoon indoors  with Miss Elna. I finished up this bag. It was fun to make, is totally lined and folds up like so. Neat. It will be a gift for a very good friend of mine.

I also whipped up this square for Mary Lou's quilt. Shhhhhh, don't tell her. It's a surprise!

That's all for now.

So, I've been co-existing with this spider who lived in my mailbox for months. He grew quite large and had a big thick web in the back of my mailbox. I managed to forget about him between visits so of course, had a mini-stroke every time I went to get my mail and saw him sprinting for the back corner. Well, when I got home after a few days away, I went to retrieve my mail and he was gone, his web in shreds. I actually kinda missed him.

Look who was waiting for me in the bathtub this morning! A mailbox is one thing but there is something sacrosanct about one's bathroom. So I flushed him down the drain. Sorry Spidey.

* * * 

I'm back from the Fryeburg Fair today. I went up for a few days and stayed with my friends, Mike and Rita and Jasper.

 I misplaced my camera the day we went to the Fair but Rita is going to send me the pictures she took so, I'll fill you in later . . .
Meanwhile, it's that time of year again already and Pumpkinfest is in full swing. Little Damariscotta is busting at the seams with visitors, one last hurrah before cold weather forces everybody inside.

Here are some of this year's pumpkins:

Out for a walk with the girls

Leader of the pack

My little neighbor, Bea, with Guy













Good girls waiting to be excused after a car goes by.

Busy Saturday

So, I wanted to tell you about my Saturday. First of all, I showed up for my shift at the Botanical Gardens and my usual golf cart had a sign on it, Out of Order. So, I went in to the front desk and they told me to take the next one in line - there are five. Well, I did notice that the little gauge that tells you how much juice you have in the battery didn't work. Oh well. At one point, I picked up five sisters in the parking lot and drove them to the Visitor's Center. They were having a sort of reunion and were a lot of fun. I regularly picked up a man who couldn't walk well and I dropped him and his friends down at the shoreline at one point.


So, with 40 minutes left in my shift, I noticed the cart was getting a bit sluggish. hmmmmm I picked up the sisters again and told them I'd take them down to the shoreline where I figured I'd pick up the man at the same time and decided that would be my last run of the day as the cart was really slow, especially now that I had the five sisters aboard. Well, I'm sure you've guessed it by now. Yup, I ran out of juice. So embarrassing. I was out by the parking lots. Well these five, and I'm telling you there was not one under the age of 65, popped out and we all started pushing. Got to the top of a hill, jumped back on and rode as far as we could, then out again and pushing, until we finally coasted down to where the carts are plugged in. They were a lot of fun and I couldn't have hoped for anyone better to have aboard. Saved me from leaving the cart out on the road and walking back. Awkward. One of the sisters took a picture of all of us pushing the cart and I gave her my email address, but nothing yet. So, I borrowed the cart for the next shift, took the sisters down to the shoreline, picked up the man and delivered him to the Visitor's Center and...
...went like a bat outta hell from the Gardens to the wedding of Nicki and Dennis. It was so great! Here they are:

(btw, this is not a flattering picture of Nicki, just so you know. The dress was quite fitted and she had a diaphanous shawl on over it.)

We all gathered in their backyard in crisp sunshine. The bridesmaids, dressed in red and gorgeous, walked from the house up to the arbor to the bass beat of "Another one Bites the Dust!" Hysterical but just subtle enough that not everybody caught it. Then Nicky came out and she looked just beautiful. The music for her processional? Tom Petty's "American Girl." She started it out with oh yeah, all right, take it easy, baby . . . By the time she reached the arbor, everybody was vocalizing at the top of their lungs: She was an American Girl! It was hilarious. 

Her mom made the food and it was perfect for the autumn day: Mac and cheese, lasagne, spanikopita, prime rib, mashed potatoes. Comfort food. I left before the desserts but I heard they were fabulous. Also, kudos to the band. They were awesome. 

So, that was my busy Saturday.

In the kitchen with Lizzie

This afternoon I harvested half of my remaining basil and, feeling vaguely Suzy Homemaker-ish, I made up a batch of pesto from a recipe I’ve been using for years from In the Kitchen with Rosie. It is very low fat (so even my Dad would eat it), however, in my opinion a healthy dose of olive oil really enhances the taste. I do love me some garlic so I used like 5 cloves.  Yum.  Here it is:

1 ½ cup fresh basil leaves

at least 2 peeled garlic cloves

¼ cup pine nuts

¼ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

olive oil

Throw everything except the lemon juice in a blender or a food processor (I use my little tiny cuisinart) and then drizzle in the lemon juice. Puree until a smooth paste is formed.

You can put the pesto in an ice cube tray and when frozen, put the cubes in a freezer bag. Voila! A single serving of pesto whenever you need one.

Cook's helper.