Sailing

Well, not exactly because there was no wind!  So I guess you could say we went boating!  My wonderful realtor Louise (without whom we would never have gotten our lovely little cape), and her gracious husband Michael, invited us to go sailing yesterday.  Their good friends Linda and Fred also came along.  The weather was perfect! (Don't you get tired of me saying that?  Just wait...January...remember? Then you'll be laughing...)

Michael was such a patient teacher and is so knowledgeable about sailing (or boating as the winds may have it), all things mariner, the history of the area.  Just incredible.  He explained how the tides work - every 6 hours, but then after the tide goes either in or out there's about a 29 - 30 minute period where the waters just settle, and then they begin their journey in the other direction. 

About halfway we ran into a little engine trouble *exciting!* which was easily fixed (something about a vent not being opened in the gas line).  Here's a pic of Tom helping Michael pull the anchor back up when we were ready to get going again.

And then a picture of Michael's boat after we returned to the marina. 

 

 I can imagine it's even more beautiful when those sails are set!  He's putting the boat up for the winter, but said next summer he'll take us out on the bay where we'll be able to sail.

Thanks for a wonderful day, Michael and Louise!

 

A List

Things I love about my new home:

• The people!  The folks here are amazing.  Friendly, welcoming, all about community.  
• Our new parish.  Just lovely. We already feel at home.  God is good!
• My new home * - it's more than twice as big as my old house, has 32 windows so everywhere I look there are beautiful views and we get to watch the river and the eagles plus lots of other birds, etc.
• We have such a beautiful neighborhood in which to take walks, and friendly neighbors (see #1)
• An amazing Farmer's Market every Friday within walking distance from my house.  Fresh fruit, veggies, grass fed beef, pork, cheeses, homemade breads, and ale!
• Does it go without saying?  The weather.  So many glorious days in a row.  And also rain, which I had desperately missed in Texas.  I know, I know, the winter.  I know that's going to take some getting used to, but I am looking forward to snowy cozy days with knitting and hot chocolate and walks in the snow and a white Christmas.  I'm sure by February I'll be singing a different tune, but I'm going to really try to enjoy what each season has to offer.
• The food.  It's fresh, local, delicious.  And there's a LOT of ice cream to be had.  And pie.  Need I say more?  Because I could!  (Or just see the 5th bullet, above) So I won't...just trust me, its good.

Things I miss about Texas (& Colorado & New Mexico!):

• My family.  And friends.  I just miss them all like crazy, period.
• Lower utility bills - luckily they have ALL kinds of budget plans here for the heating oil and propane.  But it's still expensive.  Good thing our house has a propane gas fireplace, and it's supposed to be 99% efficient.  And from what others here have said, it should really help keep our heating costs in check. 

Things that will take some getting used to for me here:

• *Basements.  They are just creepy.  I've made my peace with mine (pretty much).  Our laundry area is down there, so I kinda had to make peace with it.  But I still will NOT go down there at night!  lol.  The previous owner finished off one half of it and made it into a "family room" and it even has a gas fire place.  But let me just say, there aint' NO WAY I would be in that basement with...excuse me?  A FIRE?!  Are you freaking kidding me?!  Anyway, I have dubbed that part of the basement the "Adam's Family Room".  Lest I spiral off in some sort of panic mode again...I'll move on.  You can tell I've made my peace with it though, right? ha ha.
• *My stairs!  It's like having a free gym membership.  Which I guess when I think about it, is a good thing, because of all the great food! Eat a bowl of ice cream, do a load of laundry! See how it can all even out? Ha!

So, overall, I feel incredibly blessed to be living this life.  I know the road ahead, like life anywhere, will be filled with a mix of joys and sufferings.  I pray I can embrace these beautiful days that are such a gift from God and that I can trust in knowing that His love for me will sustain  me through any hardships I will face.  Domine miserere nobis.

Bar Harbor

Yesterday we headed back to the coast and spent the day at Bar Harbor...along with about 99,000 German tourists!  Apparently we picked the perfect time...just after some huge ocean liner de-boarded.  Yay us! I lived in Germany when I was a kid...and honestly I heard and saw more Germans yesterday! It was quite the Euro experience - ha!  It was beautiful and fun and all that jazz, but boy was it CROWDed.  I didn't even take a single picture there because it was just too...well...crowded.  You get the idea. We plan to return mid week sometime soon.  We moseyed back toward home, and decided to stop at the College of the Atlantic.  What a treat!  And the best part?  No tourists! 
I think Paul Newman's daughter Nell actually attended this college.  So beautiful and right on the ocean.


Path leading to ocean



My best half chillaxin at the pier.

They also have a lovely little Natural History Museum that the students curated.  And because what visit to the ocean would be complete without seeing a whale skull...here ya go:

 

And the corresponding info on said whale skull:

Well, that's all for today.  But hold on to your hats, because...we're going sailing!  More pics and deets to come my friends!

 

The Common Ground Country Fair

A friend told us about this fair, taking place yesterday, today and tomorrow.  While we had planned to work around the garden here at home, taking another day off to go play sounded much more fun! So off we went to Unity, Maine.  This fair is a big deal around the state and fairgoers came from all over.  The Maine Organic Farmer and Gardener Association has held this fair for the past 37 years.  Healthy food at a fair?  Seems like an oxymoron, no?  But oh my goodness, the food at this place was wonderful.  We parked and took the train into the fairgrounds as traffic was really heavy.

 

Along the way this is what the scenery looked like.

The fair is a celebration of rural living, food, families, and community.  There were beautiful crafts, delicious foods, all kinds of demonstrations from rug wool hooking (something I definitely want to learn how to do):

 

to wool and fibre shows, livestock shows, border collie demonstrations, and on and on.

Here is a pumpkin that was carved in the Farmer's Market:

We had fresh blueberries and homemade ginger ice cream, cold pressed cider and some yummy baked beans. 

We also got to see Eliot Coleman give a demonstration on building a moveable hoop house (don't think we'll be up to that project this year at least...) and they had beautiful garden displays.  Here's one on square foot gardening:

We had a great time and will definitely make plans to go back again next year! 

Tomorrow it's supposed to be cool and rainy all day so after church we will be staying cozy in the house with some turkey chili in the crock pot and watching some football, I'm sure.   Hope you are all having a great weekend!

 

 

I took a walk in the wood

Okay...not actually "in the wood"...but the road we walk on around our house does have some "civilized" woods.  And here is a little sample of the beautiful sights I get to see on my evening walk with my sweet husband.

wild chamomile...see, it kinda looks like woods, right?

End of summer asters

Have a great weekend everybody! 

Life is but a picnic

Well, not always, as we all know.  But some days...yeah...it's just good.  The weather is fine, the sky is blue, and the best thing to do is just get out there and enjoy it!  And so we did. 

We went back to Camden State Park and up to Mt Battie which overlooks Penobscot Bay.  I really love this place.  To give you some perspective as to how high up we are here, the little dots you see above the green...those are actually boats. 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Friday as well! 

 

 

Fall Crafting

Okay, anyone who knows me, knows all too well how I enthusiastically dive into some crafty project, only to come to the realization (yet again!) how completely UNcrafty I am.  *sigh*.  Most of the time, my unfinished projects would find new (and more competent) homes with either my sister or my daughter.  Both of whom are extremely talented and crafty and all of that good stuff.  Not to mention, they both know how to finish a project! 
Well, today after running some errands I stopped by this charming little antique shop near my house.   (did I mention already how everything is so close to my house and how much I love that?!) I met the owner who was a delightful and talented woman.  She introduced me to something called "Penny Rugs".  I had never heard of these before, but they are so pretty!  These first came about in the 19th century when women had to be quite thrifty with their supplies and they would save bits and pieces of their wool used in other projects.  When they had collected enough pieces, they would use a penny (or another coin - hence the name) as a template and cut out the pieces of leftover wool  into which they would sew onto some kind of pattern onto a backing like burlap.  They would then do stitching (usually blanket stitching) around the design.  They would not actually be a rug on the floor, but the finished pieces would be used a table runners, wall hangings, or used in other decorative ways.  I've signed up for a class with her in October and we'll be making either a pumpkin or an apple penny rug.  I've chosen a pumpkin pattern, and I'm really looking forward to learning how to make one of these.  If it's something I end up liking, it might be a fun way to pass those long winter evenings.  It would be fun I'm sure for my sister and my daughter to one day receive something I made that's actually finished! 
Here's an example of a penny rug:


There are so many cute patterns!  I will keep you posted on my progress!

Water water everywhere

One of the things that I love about our new home is the tap water!  I have never, ever tasted such pure clean water straight out of the tap.  It's crystal clear.  My dishes come out of the dishwasher sparkling clean and there are no hard water deposits on anything.  We joke, "would you like some Evian out of the tap?"  So, I decided to do a little research on our water supply and I am happy to report the following:  Our water supply comes from a lake which  is located in a small town near here in a "pristine, forested, watershed.  The lake provides some of the purest drinking water in the nation." Public access and recreational activities are prohibited to keep this water source as pure as possible.  Because it's such clean water, filtration is not even required.  Bottoms up!

It's official!

We are here to stay.  We survived the DMV! And now we have real Maine license plates sporting a little chickadee and a white pine branch and real Maine drivers licenses will be coming in the mail!  And...*drumroll please* we also got our sticker for the Transfer Station where we take our trash.  So...Yay!  That's it.  We're staying!  ha ha.  And to be honest, the folks at the DMV were great...everyone was patient, polite, and just getting done what needed to get done.  Feels great to check that errand off the list.  We also stopped off at the LL Bean Outlet to buy some warm gloves and hats and ear warmers.  Slowly but surely, we're getting there!  I know, I know...where are the pictures???? But I thought I would spare you the inside of the DMV.  Ha!

Exploring

It was a beautiful, cool, sunny day here in our little spot of Maine yesterday.  Last Sunday we began attending  the little Catholic Church here in our neighborhood...we love it! The people are lovely and the priest is wonderful.  And bonus -it's less than a mile from our house! Yesterday after mass, we decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather, pack a picnic, and head off for Acadia National Park.  It was a lovely drive, even though LOTS of other people had the very same idea we did!  We stopped at the entrance to the park, where Tom got a lifetime park pass for seniors for...get this...ten bucks!  Good at any of the National Parks in the good ol' U.S.A.! And it's good for anyone who is with him.  He told me, "Stick with me, kid!"  ha ha.  We followed the Park Loop which was beautiful, but since it was all so new and we really had no idea where we were going, we decided in the future we would hop on one of the many free bus tours so we can both take in all of the sights.  We stopped and had our picnic here.

That is actually ocean off in the distance.  Admittedly a terrible picture.  But you get the idea.
On the drive home, we took a different route, turned a corner and came upon this!

 

 

 

 But honestly, the very best part of the day was after we returned home, we took a walk through our new neighborhood, then sat on our front porch and watched the tide come in on the river. 
Today...it's back to work trying to bring some order to this house! And a cool, rainy day.  So perfect for getting things done inside.  I hope all of you have a lovely week, and I may not have said so before, but thank you so much for reading my blog! 

It's beginning to feel a lot like Autumn!

From the local Fruit and Vegetable stand.  The sweetest family run the stand which was started by their grandparents in 1924!  They sell local honey from their farm, homemade jams and jellies, and of course, fruits and veggies and plants.  Next week they will have homemade pressed cider from their apple orchard. Yum!

 

 

And here are the sweet baby pumpkins:

 

The River

Our new home has views of the Penobscot River, and it's such a beautiful river!  I have lots to learn about it, but here are a few interesting little tidbits some of the locals have shared so far:
Because we are so close to the ocean, this is a river that has saltwater in it, and because of that it creates some interesting elements.  For several hours every morning, it looks like diamonds are dancing across the top!  And for a period of time every morning and every late afternoon, it has a reflective quality and mirrors perfectly the trees along the banks. 
Bald eagles nest up and down the river, and a pair are currently nesting about 150 yards from our house.  We occasionally get to witness them soaring between the trees and they are magnificent!

Forgotten Bounty

About a week and half ago, Tom mowed Maine.  Or it seemed like it,  I guess really he just mowed our almost 2/3rds of an acre, which includes some beautiful flower gardens that we knew about, and a forgotten vegetable garden!  It was so much fun to stumble upon. 
Since then, we've had lots more squash and tomatoes.  Being forgotten has not seemed to hurt their feelings in the least!  It's amazing to me, because my husband is a wonderful gardener, but it took everything he had simply keeping basic perennials alive through the summer months in our part of drought-stricken Texas.  We had given up growing any kind of vegetables long ago as they required too much water.  To have a garden be completely neglected and still produce delicious food...what a gift!  So, you can bet we will be showing that patch some love and spending plenty of snowy winter evenings day dreaming about planting in the spring! 

 

tomatoes, yellow squash, and peaches

 

 

 

In the spirit of...Keepin' It Real

         

Gosh, it feels like I fell off the face of the earth and climbed back up! So, yesterday, we finally got Internet!  Woo Hoo!  And, because we're only human and we are facing a good 6 months of wintry weather, we also got CABLE!  Woo Hoo!  A splurge for the ol' Post Retirement Budget, but we will make other sacrifices to compensate.  Because we both agreed that although there are many and varied wonderful (and free!) things to do here in our beautiful new home state of Maine, those options do narrow down when it's Zero Degrees Outside.  And you have thin Texas blood that will take some time to get hearty.

So...I'll bet you're wondering...what on earth has been happening the past few weeks?  Or maybe you're not, but since this is my blog...ha ha...you're going to find out!  If you keep reading that is.  Oh yeah, the Keepin' It Real.  Well, it turns out that moving cross country 2200 miles, leaving behind friends and family, and basically signing up for a whole new way of life...well, it's kind of stressful!  Who knew?!  And apparently I can only take SO.MUCH.STRESS.  And then I start having panic attacks.  Which is what happened to me the day we closed on our house.  And continued over the next three days.  These were not fun times, folks.  I would wake up at 3 in the morning, my heart racing, nauseous, crying.  Questioning if we'd done the right thing.  Wondering how we could have been so crazy to give up our *safe* life we had known for so long.  I started panicking that something bad would happen to Tom, that the heating furnace was going to blow up, that we'd be forgotten by our friends and family, that I would never be able to survive a winter here, that all of the naysayers were right and that we had just made the biggest mistake of our lives. 
Now let me add, my sweet husband had none of these worries or doubts.  He was solid as a rock, and I know God worked through him to help me finally find my peace again.  Three days after we closed on the house was Sunday.  We went to mass at the beautiful old church downtown.  As soon as we walked in, I was flooded with a peaceful joy.  I prayed.  And God answered my prayer. And at the end of that mass, I knew that even though we will miss our family terribly, and will be angling for them to come visit every chance we get, Tom & I are exactly where we are supposed be.  This is our home now.  And I am so very grateful that God is allowing us to have this adventure! 

Here is the view from my living room window.
I still have the occasional panic attack, but I did some research and read that they are often triggered when you have an informational overload.  So I'm trying to recognize when that happens, and change what I'm doing to get in a more peaceful place.  If I'm home, I'll make us a cup of tea and we go take a break on the front porch and look out at the river.  And take in the beauty. 
I cannot say enough good things about this community where we've chosen to live.  I honestly didn't think anything like this still existed in the United States!  American flags line the main street.  The people are so open and friendly and laid back.  And everyone has been so welcoming!  The day after we moved in, our new neighbors dropped by and gave us a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers from their garden to welcome us to our new street.

God has shown me so much grace...in the kindness of strangers, the patience of my sweet husband, the wise council of my precious family and of new friends here who have told me to not panic, take a deep breath, and enjoy the beauty of this place and the seasons to come.  I realize now that if I stayed in what I perceived was a *safe* place, I would not have been truly living, but would only be passing time.  There is a definite nip in the air at night now and the tops of the trees are beginning to change color.  And I can't wait to see what God has in store...