Out and about…

view from Monhegan Island

At the end of September Chuck and I went for a short stay along the mid-coast of Maine. We love it so much here that we hate to leave. We started our visit at the Botanical Gardens in Boothbay Harbor. It is a very special place with beautiful plants, trees and views. We love to go to the gardens, Spring, Summer and Fall – it is always beautiful.

love pumpkins!

We walked the trails and took notes on what we might want to add to our gardens — it is nice to go at all different times of the growing season to see what is blooming. I like to have gardens that have blooms from late May until the first frost. I also like to see different types of plants that I may not have seen in bloom – it makes it easier to decide what to plant and where.

The next day we took the ferry out to Mohegan Island. The name of the Ferry was the Elizabeth Ann which was perfect because that is our daughters name.

Ferry to Monhegan Island

It was an absolutely beautiful day. It was a wonderful trip out to the island – the sun was shining, the seas were calm and the air was just the right temperature.

Chuck on the ferry

view from the ferry

view from the lighthouse on Monhegan Island

We wandered around the island – took a short hike and ended up at the Mohegan Brewing Company. We had a very cold beer and sat outside in the sun visiting with some of the other patrons. As is turns out 2 of the people we were talking to were from the same area in NY as we were. We discussed how small a world it is and the coincidence of meeting people who lived and worked right around the corner from us in NY, while having a beer 12 miles off the mainland on a small island in Maine.

Mohegan Island has 75 year round residents – they seem to be an independent brunch who like to live life with out the frills of the mainland. I am not sure that I could live so removed from the rest of civilization but I would sort of like to try. If not for an extended period of time, at least for a short stay. I could sort of imagine spending my days making quilts, spinning yarn, reading great books and cooking wonderful hearty meals. I might add this adventure to my bucket list. Hmmm thinking….

Island where the Wyeth family lived

afternoon view from dock in Monhegan

On the way home from the island Chuck and I sat right beneath the pilot house. The view was so peaceful and beautiful – we saw a whale cut in front of the boat and move off to the port side. I had never seen a whale before and have always wanted to go on a whale watch. Imagine my joy when I saw that amazing animal right in front of me. It was a great day and a wonderful mini adventure.

Since I have gotten home I have been working on quilts. I sent two quilts off to a wonderful organization that provides quilts to kids in hospitals and abusive situations. The groups name is Quilts for Kids. www.quiltsforkids.org – if you are interested in the group check out the website and if you can’t make a quilt you can always send a donation. Several other quilts that are gifts have been made and there are several more in the works.

Enjoy the wonderful weather that we are having.

Be Kind…

Faith

Acadia…

Dec5

Acadia National Park

One of the most beautiful places I have ever been. In mid October Chuck and I and all of our kids went to Acadia. There were 10 of us in total and we had the most amazing time. I first have to tell you that whenever we are all together the laughter is abundant! Everyone of us has a remarkable sense of humor and we especially enjoy teasing each other. If you have a thin skin we will go “easy” on you but as a rule the ribbing is all in good fun and is never meant to hurt feelings. We are just a really funny group – sometimes on purpose and sometimes purely by accident.

We had all been checking the weather forecast and the apps on our phones and the forecast was at best dismal. However, the luck of the Irish was with us and although the sun did not shine brightly on us, the rain held off for the most part and it was perfect weather to be outside walking around an amazing place.

Jordan Pond

We had lunch at the Jordan Pond house – popovers and tea – soups and sandwiches. We all walked around the pond and it was so beautiful – breathtaking actually. Here are a few shots of us all.

Summit of the Bubbles

view from the Pond House

We had dinner at Havana – a lovely restaurant in Bar Harbor.

Dinner at Havana

We walked along the Loop Road….

One of us went swimming at Sand Beach – the air temp was about 50 degrees and it was very windy.

Sand Beach the morning Charles went for a “dip”

We ate amazing Mac and Cheese at The Side Street Café –

Apple Cider Margaritas!

We drank lots of beer and wine – ate lots of wonderful meals – saw some amazing views of the Atlantic Ocean – and we laughed until our sides ached and we made some wonderful memories.

Our last day there we got up before the sunrise with hopes of seeing the sunrise. It is the first place on the east coast that you can see the sunrise during the month of October. I have seen it and it truly is an amazing sight. However the weather did not cooperate with us. It was a foggy, windy, drizzly day, but we were there for the sunrise and we can say we did it together.

Cadillac Mountain at sunrise!

The thing that amused us the most was that an engaged couple were having their engagement pictures taken in this horrible weather. They had to have been freezing and very damp by the time they were finished. I would have nixed the entire project but they were determined and who knows the pictures may have been amazing in the end.

We had a wonderful vacation – for many reasons. We were in an amazing place but more importantly we were with amazing people! It is wonderful to be able to spend really special time with really special people. I fear that with the crazy lives that a lot of us lead that we don’t always make the time to spend special time with the people we love. It is not always easy and it takes a lot of planning but if you can make it work it is one of the true blessing in life.

I am off to decorate the house, work on a quilt and complete some Christmas presents. I love having a really good reason to need to be sit in front of my sewing machine. Enjoy the process and remember why we all make ourselves crazy during this time of year.

Be Kind….

Faith

It has been a busy time of year for me…

Dec1

I have been having a lot of fun and having a lot of great adventures. In mid-August I went to my parents house for a party. I met 2 of my sisters and their families there and we had a party. Our parents were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. Wow! 60 years is a really long time.

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

We had a really great party! We sat around the dining room table and laughed and told our the nieces and nephews funny stories about their parents and grandparents. My parents have been a wonderful example of love, family and fun for the past 60 years. We all have wonderful memories of growing up laughing, teasing each other and developing a great sense of humor. It was a wonderful party!

in late September for our 29th wedding anniversary Chuck and I decided to take a day off and go to the Common Grounds Fair in Unity, ME. After sitting in traffic for 30 minutes without moving an inch we decided to redirect our fun. We went to the Botanical Gardens in Boothbay Harbor instead. We had a very nice lunch and then walked around the gardens. It was a beautiful fall day.

Boothbay Harbor

Funny Selfie – aren’t all selfies funny?

After walking around the Gardens we went into town. We walked around town – had an ice cream cone and then headed home. I am pretty sure we must have stopped at one or two quilt shops along the way – it is so hard to pass by one.

I have been doing a lot of sewing and quilting and cooking. I canned some wonderful salsa and some very sour pickles, I made several dinners with home grown peppers. Aren’t these beautiful!

homegrown peppers

We went for a lot of walks near where we live…

Life is good in Maine. I will show you more pictures of my adventures tomorrow.

Be Kind…

Faith

Eagle Lake – Acadia National Park….

Nov8

Eagle Lake

So the plan was to take a walk around Eagle Lake and then go to The Jordan Pond House for Tomato Bisque soup and Popovers. I am sure, had the day gone according to plan that I would have added a nice glass of dry white wine to that order. But the best laid plans do not always happen.

We had explored Bass Harbor Light that morning and had gone back towards Bar Harbor to park the car and start our walk. We had a little knapsack packed with water and snacks. We had our guide books so that we would not go the wrong way and walk even further than the 6.1 miles that we had planned. Chuck figured that we would be finished with the walk in about an hour and a half. I had my doubts about that – I was not going to “briskly” walk for over 6 miles. I wanted to see the beautiful scenery, take pictures of lake and the foliage. I wanted to stop and listen to the birds and the babbling brooks.

I wanted to savor the entire experience.

Well, I thought that it was a walk around the lake. Haha – it was an uphill walk around the lake. Of course when you go uphill you must go down hill. It turned out to be a beautiful day. The sun came out – the temps were around 58 degrees and the views were breathtaking.

Eagle Lake

It took us over 2 hours to finish the walk and by the time we were finished I was a sweaty mess. I had stripped off my windbreaker/rain jacket. My very light weight polartec was tied around my waist – the sleeves on my long sleeve t-shirt were pushed up as far as they would go and my new Red Sox cap was on only to hide the mess that was my hair. Not to mention that I had a huge blister on both the bottom of my foot and my heel.

Carriage Path

It was a beautiful walk – in a beautiful place with my best friend. It was never a race, it was always a journey. I love to walk – I have found that Maine is a beautiful place to walk. When you live by the ocean you have the advantage of seeing the ever changing seasons. The Sea looks beautiful in all seasons – but it can change from hour to hour depending upon the weather.

Needless to say we did not go to the Jordan Pond House for tomato bisque, popovers and wine. I would not be seen in public. I skulked back to the car – chugged a bottle of water and we went back to our rooms. Thankfully I was a girl scout in a previous life so I was prepared and had brought cheese, crackers, salami and a bottle of both white and red wine. The white wine was chilled to perfection and the cheese and crackers tasted wonderful.

We relaxed, showered and walked to dinner. The completion of a wonderful day. Thankfully the Red Sox were traveling that day so we didn’t have to struggle to stay awake to watch the game.

Take a walk, enjoy where you live!

Be Kind…

Faith

Bass Harbor Light House…

Nov7

Bass Harbor Light

In mid October Chuck and I took a couple of days off and headed Down East. Our destination was Mount Desert Island. We try to get to Bar Harbor once a year. It is one of our favorite parts of Maine. We love Acadia National Park and if you have never been there it is definitely worth the drive. It is an amazing mixture of mountains and ocean. Towering pines, crashing waves, amazing wild life and a wonderful place to relax, walk, ride a bike and see nature.

On the second day that we were there the day started out rainy and dreary. Not a great day to take a long walk. We decided to take a short drive to Southwest Harbor – the most southwest corner of Mount Desert Island. It is also the location of Bass Harbor Light.

Bass Island Light

This lighthouse is perched on the very edge of the rocks. The views are amazing, even on a drizzly day. We were on the edge of the rocks looking down on the crashing waves.

To the left of the Light house there is a path that brings you down through the woods to more rocks. It would have been a great place to bring a picnic. There was a very steep set of wooden steps that brought you even closer to the water.

I love walking through the woods on a rainy day – it reminds me of playing in the woods behind the house with my sisters when we were kids.

There is a certain scent in the piney woods that can’t be duplicated by a candle or any thing else artificial. It is a the smell of the woods – I can’t find the words to describe it, but I love it.

We wandered around the lighthouse area taking pictures and talking to other visitors, then we hopped back in the car. The rain was letting up just as the weatherman had predicted. We drove through Southwest harbor – stopping at a local quilt shop to pick up a couple of yards of fabric to supplement the stash. Then on to Eagle Lake for our hike. We had our knapsack packed with some trail mix, cheese, apples and a couple of bottles of water. The hike was a 6.1 mile walk. I will write a post about that in the near future.

Off to my sewing machine to work on a quilt for the veterans. Love being in front of my sewing machine!

Be Kind…

Faith

Wow – 1 year anniversary!

Nov6

Who would have thunk it??? I wrote my first blog post over a year ago. I have really enjoyed sharing my world with you and I hope that you have enjoyed taking a peak. This fall has been very busy – we have done a bit of traveling, we have watched our beloved Red Sox win the World Series, I have worked on many charity projects and Chuck has removed bags and bags of leaves from the yard. Over the next couple of days I will share a lot of the wonderful pictures that I have taken and tell you about some of our adventures.

In September Chuck and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary. Don’t ask me where those 28 years went. It is pretty nice to be married to and spend everyday with your BFF. We really enjoy each others company, we look forward to spending time together. That is a really good thing because we work together also.

We took a trip to Bar Harbor in October. Thankfully the idiots in Washington had re-opened the Federal Government so we could walk through Acadia National Park with out “breaking” the law. I have some really pretty pictures from our walk around Eagle Lake. It was mid-October so the trees were in full color.

leaves on the carriage road around Eagle Lake

I have been very busy being the President of Evergreen quilters. We hosted 85 quilters from all over southern Maine for a pot luck dinner and speaker. We had a wonderful meeting and handed out some fabulous door prizes. Leroy the Chicken was one of the door prizes.

Leroy

Leroy is a very large pin cushion. I need to make one for myself. I would love to have Leroy keep me company while I sew. I would just need to keep him away from Gracie -he is stuffed with crushed walnut shells. It seems Gracie likes to eat pin cushions that are filled with crushed walnut shells. She devoured Henrietta the hen a few months ago. Bad Dog!

So stay tuned – I have loads of wonderful things for you to see and read about.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog – I really enjoy the creative outlet that it gives me. I also love to share bits and pieces of my daily life here on the coast of Southern Maine.

Remember…. Be Kind…

Faith

A walk on the beach…

Oct14

I Love Candy Corn!

I love October. I also love it when the kids come up to visit. Saturday was overcast and windy here. The ocean has such a huge effect on our weather and sometimes storms just hang off shore and we have misty, windy days. It is part of living by the coast. I am not complaining at all – sometimes a drizzly day is perfect.

We had a semi-house full on Saturday. I decided that it was a perfect day for turkey. Not just any turkey, a deep fried turkey.

Deep Fried Turkey

It is amazing how moist and flavorful a fried turkey is. Of course you need stuffing/dressing, mashed potatoes, roasted butternut squash and carrots with and roasted garlic, cranberry sauce (yes jellied Ocean Spray, love it) and homemade applesauce. Pumpkin pie with vanilla bean ice cream.

YUM! We all ate well and then settled in to watch the Red Sox game. Sadly they lost but they evened up the series last night.

the beach

Yesterday was a beautiful day. Bright sunshine, clear skies perfect temperatures. Gracie and I decided that it was the perfect day for a walk on the beach. There were a lot of other furpals on the beach. Sometimes the beach is the best place in the world to be. I can’t ever imagine living too very far from the ocean. It has such a restoring effect on me, I always feel better after breathing in the wonderful sea air.

wet sand

There were several surfers in the water, lots of people sitting and reading books, just a wonderful day to be outside. We spent a good amount of time looking for heartstones. They are beach stones that are shaped like hearts.

Heartstones

I have several heartstones that have been given to me by people that I love. When I find them I keep them if they fit in my hand, they are smooth and cool and make me think about the ocean. I also give them to people that I love so that it reminds them of good times at the beach.

I hope that you had a wonderful October weekend filled with love and family and good memories.

Be Kind…

Faith

quiltingonthecove

A peek at my life. My quilting, my cooking and a look at the beautiful place that I live!

Archives

Out and about…

Acadia…

It has been a busy time of year for me…

Eagle Lake – Acadia National Park….

Bass Harbor Light House…

Wow – 1 year anniversary!

A walk on the beach…