Mainelife...thru the eyes of someone from away

A day in the midcoast

This morning we got up early and drove to Appleton (aka the middle of nowhere but beautiful Maine) to a yard sale that "read well." It promised antiques, machinery, collectibles, a tented area for browsing, old books, garden antiques and much more.  It disappointed, but the ride did not.  It was a cloudy, gray day, with the mountains of mid-Maine interspersed with the little lakes and bogs of the low lands, along with  antique houses and haying fields and horses grazing in pastures. 

On the way home, we passed this sign--evidently an homage to the newest Patriots' defenseman and Tedi Bruschi--not long after we stopped in the middle of a state route to allow 25  (we counted--we had enough time) turkeys to waddle across the road. 

 

In Anticipation Of Saturday

An Ohio State flag flies on Monhegan Island in August of 2006 ( I wanted to crawl up and unfurl it to get a better shot, but I was ascared).
I've got a wicked case of Buckeye fever and can't wait for Saturday noon. This season may well be Ohio State's third trip to the BCS NC game in three years and a chance at redemption.  I think we'll know that by 11:59  EST on September 13....

You Can't Judge a Book By Its Title

I really should be concocting a scintillating blog post about our woodstacking and kayaking and other assorted weekend activities, but I can't be bothered. 

I've just finished the most wonderful book, (The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and available in both a Kindle and a print version) and started on another page turner, and I just can't stop reading. 

I absolutely resisted the first book due to the title--what a mistake that was. In this case, one can't judge a book by its title.  Run, don't walk to the nearest bookseller or library and start reading. It's a lovely, wondrous, amazing book that's far more complex and nuanced and literary than the title would suggest and it's a  wonderful read. 

So thanks for your patience.  I promise to post just as soon as I know whodunnit in that second book.

Fish Chairs--Not So Much (Yet)

So it's Sunday and I've yet to park my behind in those lovely fish chairs (or in any chair for any length of time)--yet. I hope today's the day. 

We arrived on Friday in time for a late afternoon kayak, in which we hunted for drift wood to make folk art fish (RG's latest obsession); not making the trip on Thursday as we'd hoped for reasons so numerous that I'll not even bother to try to explain.  We scouted our cove, the next cove up and the next cove down and found enough driftwood to make at least six fish. 

Supper on Friday was tilapia with chili/lime butter, fresh corn from Beth's, and a salad of fresh greens from Beth's. Beth refills the corn bin three (weekdays) to four (weekends) times a day.  By our estimate, she sells 1500 ears of corn on a weekday.  For dessert, I had a bowl of fresh picked blueberries (from Beth's) with some blackberries (from us). Something's wrong with our blackberries this summer.  They appear to be dying on the vine before they ripen.  Last year, we had an abundance; this year, they're rare.   

Saturday, my day for fish chairs ended up being our day for chores.  It's the first time we've been up to Cushing without guests for about six weeks and things needed done.  The garden needed weeding, linens needed laundering,  and more importantly, RG decided that it was time to bring down the big dead tree that's been leaning toward the sleeping cottage and developing a decidedly more pronounced angle all summer. 

Suffice it to say that this story almost didn't end well.  Of course, we lost control of the tree as it was coming down.  Of course, trees are always much heavier than they look.  Of course, the hill is much steeper when you're trying to control a tree on its way down, and of course, RG is older and not in prime physical condition right now.    I consider it something of a miracle that he did not have a heart attack and that both of us didn't end up in the emergency room.  We eventually got the tree down and moved, but it took hours longer than either of us would have liked and it took far more out of us both than either of us wants to admit. 

After lunch and showers and some recovery time, we ran errands (took the trash to the transfer station--an hour long proposition, bought mums for the window boxes) and stacked wood.   For reference, the stacked wood on the left is over 5 feet tall...we've stacked a lot, we have quite a bit to go. 
Hopefully we've purchased enough for two years, as we had a heck of a time convincing our local guy to sell us wood.  He tells RG that firewood demand is way up and supply is way down--it's hard to convince anyone to go into the woodcutting work anymore.  The equipment costs too much and it pays too little.   And he had loyal customers who only heat with wood and he had none to spare.  RG reminded him that he sold us half a cord last year and this cottage had always purchased wood from him.....so, he finally agreed to deliver a cord of seasoned hard wood. 

The fish chairs await. Still.  While I was typing this post, high thin clouds have moved in and the temperatures have dropped.  Today might be a day for sitting in the bear chair by the fire. 

Oh, and today is the one day anniversary for us and the cottage.  One year ago today, we closed on this house, the hedge financial decision to help protect us against the volitile stock market.  Little did we guess that real estate would be come as volitile or that we'd grow to love this investment so much. 

We like it even more since we painted the bad 1980's trim color (above) a nice moonlight yellow (below) (yes, it's a little tough to tell from these pictures, but honestly, it's a 1000 times improvement .)

Best iPhone App. Evah!

 

Facemelter allows you to create funny facial expressions from pictures on your iPhone.   It provided much entertainment during our sales meeting last week.

A Glass Half Full

Back when I began my born-again blog life, I vowed that I'd not blog when I was overly crabby, over-whelmed life by responsibilities or just flat-out, plain mad.....and I've tried to adhere to that promise. Life is too stressful for all of us.  You don't come here to hear me whine (except about the weather. When I whine about the weather, it's totally charming, right?).   
So, lest you wonder where I've been since Saturday, you now know that I'm on day 17 of work without day off, day 2,467 of company this summer and hour 2,989,890 without a minute to myself,  but the end is in sight.   
I have one last responsibility to endure tonight and then I'm looking forward to four straight days in these chairs with a good book, a Hendrick's and no one to charm, cajole, manage, provide for, or talk to.   RG is on his own. 
Joyful, happy, lovely blogging to recommence soon. 

The Nubble

I like the clouds and the lighting in this shot. If it's not my favorite photo of the most photographed lighthouse in Maine.
Here in San Francisco, We have a half day today, a full day tomorrow and then we're outta here.
While everyone else us winding down, my editors and marketing folks are just getting started. We are presenting 20 times and still have 19 to go. Our presentations had to be backloaded due to the academic meeting we attended last weekend.

Our View at Dinner Last Night

Right now, I desperately want nothing more than to be in Cushing, sitting in the fish chairs with an iced tea and a good book.
But since that won't happen until Monday, enjoying views like the one above at dinner last night helps to pass the time.

Garage Sale Chic

Garage Sales are a big deal in Maine;  every weekend from late April until mid-October traffic jams occur all over the state, caused by garage sale shoppers and garage sale rubber neckers.  There are so many that the state of Maine considers garage sales as one of its "industries" and many residents make a goodly portion of their annual income through garage sales.  Some enterprising interior designers have even made Maine Garage Sale chic in the city.

 

A Riot of Color

 

I took this shot on Columbus Day Weekend, 2003.  My parents flew in from Ohio to visit, and we leaf peeped all over the western mountains of Maine. Luckily, the leaves were at their peak that weekend. We drive by this hill two or three times each fall, but we've never seen color quite as stunning as it was that first year.