A Chill is in the Air

As you can see from my lack of posts, it's been a busy summer and quite frankly I'm having a hard time believing that it is over.  School has started, the pumpkins have already turned bright orange and the chill is in the air.  With that chill comes the need to clean the chimney and get the wood stacked in the wood shed in time for the burning season.  One project on my husband's "to do" list was to build a wood box.  This is no ordinary wood box I tell you.  The wood is loaded from the outside thus eliminating the need to lug wood into the house.  This does not mean that my 16 year-old son will avoid the chore of filling it.  I suspect however that my husband will enjoy the task for a while since he's so proud of the box.  He's so smart!   Check it out.

A~

Simple Beauty

One of my favorites times of the year is late May, early June when Lady Slippers bloom in my back yard.  I anxiously wait to see how many will bloom.  This year I counted over 100!

The $500 Egg

My good friend ordered a straight run (not sexed prior to shipping) of 25 chicks last summer.  She wanted to keep approximately 6 hens for herself and give away the rest to anyone interested.  I willingly agreed to take 6 chicks myself and hope that at least 4 turned out to be hens.  My husband and I had talked about getting chickens so he was on board with the idea.  Years earlier, he had built me a small shop/barn where I ran a small herb business.  Since we no longer used the shop for the business, I knew it would be a great space for creating a coop.

When the chicks arrived, I knew I had to get my husband going on building the coop so that when they were big enough to go outside, it would be ready.  Little did he know how much money we (ok, he) would spend on wood and materials, etc.  Little did he know as well, that the first egg wouldn't come for months.  But, $500 and a few weeks later, the coop was finished just in time for the chicks to move in.  Turns out, however, I only had 2 hens and 4 roosters!  We were not interested in keeping roosters so I gave 2 of them to my nephew who shows different breeds in the fall at the local fair and my friend took the other 2 to a free-range farm where they would live a happy (albeit probably short) life.  Meantime, my friend ended up with a few too many hens, so we did some swapping and trading and I ended up with 4 hens, Berniece, Louise, Sylvia and Sara (named after our grandmother's).

The $500 Egg

Raising "the girls" has become one of my favorite new pastimes.   They have the funniest personalities, are hysterical to watch, and best of all, supply my family with fresh eggs which we love!  Oh, and the first egg?  It came on Jan 25th.  Naturally, we let my husband eat it.  I think it was the best egg he ever ate.  For $500, it better be the best right?

A~

Bless You

Achoo!  In the last 72 hours, I have sneezed at least a thousand times and have gone through almost two boxes of Puffs Plus (they are the best tissues in the world!) due to the ever-annoying spring cold.  I don't recall however anyone in my family saying, "Bless you".  It occurred to me yesterday when I was driving my nephew to his high school as a favor to my sister.  Both my son and nephew were in the car when I sneezed and my nephew said, "Bless you".   It just fell off his tongue so naturally.  I then asked my son why he didn't say it to me.  His response?  Well he wasn't really sure why he didn't say it.  I pressed further asking him if he said it to other people like teachers and/or students and he said that he usually did.  Phew, at least I know he has some manners.  I certainly raised both my children to be polite and use such manners as "please" and "thank you" and "bless you" but when it came to saying it to his own mother, I guess it just didn't feel natural.  To me it's just the simple gesture of telling someone to be well.  I actually say, "Bless you" to strangers after they sneeze.  I honestly feel awkward if I say nothing.  Maybe he's just a typical teenage boy, right?  I mean I didn't expect him to say it a thousand times (which would equal the number of times I have sneezed this week) but once would have been nice.  I'll have to work on it; after all, he really is a great kid. He's smart, responsible and for the most part, polite and good mannered.   By the way, nice job Sis!  You've raised a very polite young man as well.

A~

Mashed Potato Pizza?

My girlfriends and I have a tradition where we go out to dinner to celebrate each other's birthdays.  Sometimes it's a month after the actual birthday before we can coordinate schedules but we always make sure it happens and last night was no exception.  Our friend Robin celebrated her birthday in early March and it took nearly a month to get us all together.  The birthday girl always gets to choose where we eat and Robin chose Otto Pizza's newest location at 225 Congress Street in Portland.  Otto Pizza serves, well, pizza and only pizza (you can get a salad too) and oh is it "wicked" good!  They have this Mashed Potato pizza (mashed potato, bacon & scallion) that is just scrumptious.  Yah, I know, at first it didn't sound good to me either but after you try it, you will be hooked.  Other specialties include Butternut Squash, Ricotta & Cranberry and Pulled Pork and Mango.  Yum!  Beer and wine are also served.  A great atmosphere, check it out!

So whose birthday is next?

A~

Spring Has Sprung

Finally!  Spring has sprung.  My crocus burst to life overnight and I was so excited to walk out of the house and see such an explosion of color.  I started the day having breakfast with a friend.  We went to Toddy Brook Cafe in North Yarmouth.  We, of course were only there to have breakfast but pulled into the parking lot at 8:30 AM to find a handful of golfers taking the course at a chilly 30 degrees.  The day quickly warmed up to 60+ degrees so I'm sure their first round of golf of the season was both memorable and warm.

My parent's arrived from Florida on Wednesday so today was a family reunion of sorts to welcome them home.  My mother made her famous lasagna and all 11 of us (10 + my daughter's boyfriend) gathered for a great meal, great conversation and great laughs.  We sat around the outside fire pit soaking up the sun when my daughter decided we actually needed a fire to take off the slight chill of the afternoon.  I, for one, believe in starting a fire from "scratch" meaning, using dry kindling and birch bark creating a good base before adding wood. My father on the other hand who has no patience what-so-ever prefers to give the kindling a little "help" with a dose of K-1 (just a little) to get things going.  Where's the romance in that?

We ended the day with a roaring fire (there were even a couple of kids and dogs we could have voted off if we were at tribal council on survivor) but I won't elaborate on that.  :)

I look forward to more family gatherings and the summer ahead.

A~

Enough Already!

I really shouldn't complain, I do recognize that.  I mean we are fortunate to live in a State where for the most part, the winters are predictable and manageable.  We didn't experience near the problems that some other States in the east experienced this year, with snowstorms completely immobilizing some cities and neighborhoods.  But this winter was long, cold with lots of snow and frankly, I've just had enough already!   I'm ready for spring.

My parents are driving back to Maine from Florida this week and my family and I spent Saturday getting their place ready for them.  The first order of business was to turn the water back on.  See if you live in Maine but go south for the winter, you need to drain the water so the pipes don't freeze.  Last year went smoothly.  My husband drained the water properly, turned it back on in the spring and the pipes were fine.  This year, however, not so much.  My poor husband spent the entire day fixing pipe that had burst in the system due to, one can only guess, water that had not been completely drained correctly?  I didn't give him too hard a time, he is a busy guy and we all make mistakes.  Besides, he spent the entire day fixing it and my parents will be very grateful to come home to a warm house and running water.

So, I'd like to see the snow melt, the cold leave and sunny, warmer days arrive.  It is one of my favorite times of the year after all.  Green grass, flowers ready to bloom, yes, mud too.  Oh and my lilac tree!  If someone could just find a lilac that blooms for more than two weeks, I'd be so thrilled.   Why do the most beautiful and fragrant flowers only last two weeks?  I don't get it.

But who's complaining?

A~

Did Someone Say Spring? Yeah, Right!

My very first post is very fitting to my Blog title (My Wicked Maine) as I am sitting here at home watching a "wicked" Maine nor'easter, on yes, April 1st!  I wish it were an April Fools joke but it is not.  It is a full blown Spring "dumping" as we sometimes say in Maine.  Heavy, wet snow, some 9 inches already.  I can already imagine how sore my back will feel after shoveling this stuff.  Wait, isn't that what my son and husband are for?  Yeah,  I think I will leave that job them for them.

A snow day is a good day for reading a book which I have not done in a long time.  But I just bought 4 copies of  Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo after having seen the author with his family on the Today Show a couple of weeks ago.  I gave a copy to my mother-in-law and my daughter, kept one for myself and am saving one for someone else who I think might enjoy it.  Heaven is for Real is the real-life story of an almost 4 year old boy's journey to heaven and back during an emergency appendectomy as told by his father, Todd Burpo.   I admit, I am not a very religious person and am sometimes a sceptic but this boy's story has certainly opened my heart up to the possibility of believing in what might be.

My intent for this blog is perhaps my own desire to tell stories of life here in Maine.  I was never really good in Writing class but secretly always wished I could write a good story or article.  I'm also not very good at expressing myself to others so maybe this is a way to do both and see what happens.

So for now, I will watch this very-pretty-but-better-melt-by-tomorrow-snow-storm and finish reading my book.

A~