Category Archives: News

Food for Thought, News, Television

I’m Back. Sort of.

74 Comments

What a difference a presidential election makes. Before November, I was full of enthusiasm for my blog, especially for my Thankful Thursday posts, where I wrote about the good things in my life.

Now, I have little enthusiasm and energy for my blog. I am just so sad, and the hose of sewerage coming from the first two weeks—has it only been two weeks?— of Trump’s presidency doesn’t help. In the face of such malevolence, writing about life on the edge of the woods seems trivial, my thankful posts naive.

And yet I have missed the blogging community. I’ve intermittently kept track of blogging friends’ posts, but it’s not the same as reading and posting regularly. So here I am. This piece is a tentative first step in returning to something approaching a normal blogging schedule.

Despite my heavy heart, I have still been reading novels, listening to podcasts, and watching television series and movies.

For reasons that shouldn’t be too hard to figure out, I have become obsessed with World War II. (No, I am not comparing Trump with Hitler. Bad as Trump as, he doesn’t reach the horrible evil of Hitler.)

A French television series I have become particularly engrossed with is Un Village Français (A French Village.) Covering the years from 1940 to 1945 (and beyond), the series centers on Villeneuve, a fictional French village, and how the various inhabitants cope with the German occupation of France. Some villagers just try and live their lives, no easy thing to do when the Germans are occupying your community. Others collaborate. Some join the resistance, an uneasy coalition of Communists, Socialists, and Gaullists, among others.

There is a huge cast in A French Village, with the focus on a group of main characters, all of whom are vivid. Because this a French production, there are affairs aplenty, but they never sink the show or get in the way of the central issue: who resists and who collaborates? Warning: main characters do get killed. Don’t get too attached.

As I watched the show I asked myself, what would I do? Would I resist, or would I keep my head down? I think of Marie, one of the main characters in the show and a hero of the Resistance. In one scene, she is biking madly down the road on some important Resistance business. Her expression is resolute, and the camera focuses briefly on her shapely legs. (Back then women biked in skirts.) I hope I would be like Marie, but in all honesty, I can’t say for sure that I would.

The series is not without its flaws. There are plot contrivances and jumps that don’t always make sense. Nevertheless, A French Village is a monumental achievement and very much worth seeing.

How to watch it? Here’s the rub. Some of the seasons—but not all—can be viewed on Amazon. The missing seasons are important, and I don’t recommend watching it this way. For those who get Kanopy, a library streaming service, all seven seasons are available. Our library system also has the seven seasons available on DVD. Yours might, too. Finally, the series can be watched via the streaming service MHz Choice, which costs 7.99 a month.

And for those who like podcasts, The Bulwark offers an excellent French Village series with Sarah Longwell and Benjamin Wittes.

Vive la France! They made it through hard times. I’m hoping that we can, too.

 

 

News

Au Revoir…

96 Comments

As the title of this post suggests, I am taking an extended break. For how long, I don’t know. I’m going to be honest—this election has really knocked the stuffing out of me—and I need time to regroup, to refocus. Somehow, writing about our happy little lives on the edge of the woods no longer holds interest for me. In time, I hope this will change, but I’m not sure that it will, and as this is a lifestyle blog rather than a political blog, taking a long break seems prudent. From time to time, I will be checking in with blogging friends’ posts to see how things are going with them.

There really isn’t much more to say. Our country is headed in a dangerous direction, toward chaos, vengeance, and authoritarianism. Most of Trump’s Cabinet picks seem to come straight out of Gotham City—the fabled hometown of Batman—with Trump being the biggest Joker of them all.

Before leaving, I do have a quotation and a song to share. First the quotation, from Jan Struther’s book Mrs. Miniver, published in England in 1939, a very bad time for the world.

“However long the horror continued, one must not get to the stage of refusing to think about it. To shrink from direct pain was bad enough, but to shrink from vicarious pain was the ultimate cowardice. And whereas to conceal direct pain was a virtue, to conceal vicarious pain was a sin. Only by feeling it to the utmost, and expressing it, could the rest of the world help to heal the injury which had caused it.”

I can’t help thinking about how disappointed and horrified all the Americans who fought in World War II would be to see where our country is going. They fought for this, for a convicted felon and a bully to lead the country?

During the next four years, however painful they might be, I will not be looking away. I’ve joined a local women’s advocacy group and will be doing my small bit to resist.

Finally, here’s the Tears for Fears song, “Mad World,” covered by Gary Jules. It perfectly captures how sad and perplexed I feel.

Farewell for now.

 

 

 

 

 

Fall, News

And the Leaves Come Tumbling Down

50 Comments

Note: It’s that busy time of year when Clif and I go around to various holiday fairs to sell our books. Therefore, until the new year, I will neither be reading blogs on the weekend nor commenting on those posts. It seems to me that those who post on the weekend also post during the week, which means I will be mostly keeping up with the comings and goings of blogging friends. Also, I am cutting back my own posting to once a week, on Mondays. After the new year, I am planning to resume Thankful Thursday posts.

Oh, Those Leaves

Right now the leaves are falling everywhere at our home by the edge of the woods.

On our front steps,

on the chairs on the patio,

and on the table, too.

A  couple of afternoons each week are devoted to leaf cleaning.

Clif takes out our trusty battery-powered lawn mower that crunches and sucks up the leaves.

Here’s the yard before lawn-mower Clif has done his thing.

Then along comes Clif.

Et Voilà! Progress has been made.

At least for a day or so.

***********************************************************************

For some silly fun, here are a couple of videos in honor of this delicious, spooky time of year.

First, from Saturday Night Live, the one and only David S. Pumpkins.

Second, “This Is Halloween” from the inimitable Tim Burton and The Nightmare before Christmas.

A happy Halloween to you all!

News, People

Birds of a Feather: Getting Together with Carol Ann and Kevin

69 Comments

Last Friday, Clif and I drove to Brunswick to have lunch at Wild Oats Bakery & Café with two special people—my blogging friend Carol Ann of Fashioned For Joy and her husband Kevin.

Carol Ann and Kevin live outside  Washington, DC, and they had come to Maine for a wedding. A while back, Carol Ann had let me know they would be in Maine in October and asked if we would like to get together.

My answer? Yes, indeed! I love meeting blogging friends, who prove to be just as delightful in person as they are on their blogs. This time was no different, and the four of us immediately fell into an easy conversation as though we had known each other for a long time.

We talked about family—we each have two children—and our jobs. Carol Ann has read my Great Library Series and had kind words to say about Maya, the main character, and the rest of the gang. Thanks so much, Carol Ann.

Carol Ann and Kevin have a Tesla named Natalia, which they drove to Acadia National Park, where they spent a few days before the wedding. Carol Ann noted that at the motel where they stayed, there were two Tesla chargers as well as two chargers for non-Tesla EVs. As Clif has observed, we are reaching a tipping point with EV charging points being pretty much everywhere. With the recent ferocious weather, it’s about darned time. (For those interested in the discouraging history of Evs, Who Killed the Electric Car is an excellent doc.)

Recently, Kevin drove Natalia to Iowa for a class reunion. He made it there and back again without any troubles. Clif and I have been EV enthusiasts for a long time, and it warmed our hearts to hear this. We are very much hoping to get an EV when our Honda Fit is past repairing.

We also spoke about home, for us a rural town in Maine and for them a neighborhood outside DC. Both have advantages—our town is in a region where there are many lovely lakes and ponds. It’s a quiet, down-to-earth community, and there is no keeping up with the Joneses. Their community, just outside DC, has many cultural opportunities, including some of the best art museums on the East Coast. Two hours in the other direction, there are sandy beaches with roaming ponies. (I sure would love to see those ponies.)

For me, the conversation took an especially pleasant turn when Carol Ann quoted from the excellent 1995 BBC television series Pride and Prejudice. I have watched this series many times, and it is one of my favorites. (I’ve also read the book several times.)

When we got home and I mentioned Carol Ann’s and my mutual love of Pride and Prejudice, Clif replied, “You two are birds of a feather.

We certainly are. And here’s a picture of the two of us, both smiling with our eyes closed. And note the similar color of our hair—Carol Ann, on the right, is Italian American, and I, on the left, am Franco-American.

At Wild Oats, we chatted for about three hours, and when we parted, I said “Au revoir” rather than goodbye.

Until we meet again.

From left to right: Kevin, Clif, Carol Ann, and Laurie

*********************************************

This post is dedicated to our blogging friend Platypus Man of Now I’m 64. He follows both our blogs and wished he could have joined us. Alas, an ocean separates us. You were there in spirit Mr. P, and if ever you and Mrs. P come to the East Coast, Carol Ann and I would be so thrilled to meet you.

News

And the Break Continues

56 Comments

How time does fly. I had planned to return to blogging in June, but then the days slipped by until it was July. Now comes the Maine International Film Festival (July 12-21), and let’s just say that when you plan to see 32 movies in 10 days, there won’t be much energy left for blogging.

So now I’m shooting for the end of July or the beginning of August. I’ve missed the blogging community, and I’m looking forward to returning.  As time has allowed, I’ve checked in on blogging friends, and I will be much more diligent when I return full time.

So what’s been happening? I’ve been working on my novel Darcy Dansereau, but have yet to finish it. We had a wonderful Fourth of July holiday with our daughter Shannon and her husband Mike.

It’s been horribly hot—for Maine—in the 90s with high, high humidity. If I wanted heat like this, I’d move south. As it is, I’m looking longingly at northern Maine, where the temps are 10 to 7 degrees cooler.

But the biggest news is that our daughter Dee will soon be getting an electric car, a Tesla, and our electrician Steve Wight, has installed the charger. A very exciting time for us. Before long, we will be tooting here and there in an electric car.

Unlike the humans, the flowers have liked this heat and humidity. It has rained enough to keep them and this gardener happy. The astilbes were especially lovely, and I’ll end this post with photo of these pink beauties.

Until the end of July or the beginning of August.

News

An Extended Break until June

60 Comments

Spring is always a busy time. In Maine, gardeners have approximately one month—May—to get everything in order. For me, this includes clearing the leaves from my flower beds, no small task when you live on the edge of the woods. Then, there is the adding of compost and fertilizer, and with my creaky knees, it’s a challenge to get this done before sweet June arrives.

Also, I am working hard to finish my next YA fantasy, Darcy Dansereau, and for various reasons, completely separate from creaky knees, the progress is oh so slow. But I still plan to have the book published in fall of 2024. Onward, ho!

All this is a roundabout way of saying that I will be taking an extended blogging break from May well into June. I’m not exactly sure when I will return. When time allows, I will pop in to read other blogs, but this will not be on a regular basis.

Spring is a beautiful time in Maine, and I leave you with these red-tipped branches against a bright blue sky. I took the picture when I was sitting on our patio, one of my favorite places.

Farewell until June!

 

News, Snow-Gauge Clif

One Heck of a Nor’easter

76 Comments

Last Thursday, the predicted nor’easter hit Maine, and it was every bit as bad as the meteorologists had anticipated—lots and lots of wet, heavy snow, the kind that breaks branches, which, in turn, fall onto power lines. The storm blew in early Thursday morning, and by 5:00 a.m., our power was knocked out.

Up came the folding table and the camp stove. We might not have had power, but gosh darn it, we did have hot tea, a soothing drink in a cool house. Temperature: 55°F. Clif started a fire in the wood furnace down cellar and brought up a bucket of water for the toilets.

It was chilly, even with the wood furnace, but at least it was up to 60° by midmorning. Settling on the couch, I wrapped up in a blanket and read the delightful A Vicarage Family written by Noel Streatfeild. Published in 1963, A Vicarage Family is a semi-autobiographical novel about, well, growing up in a vicarage in an English village in the early 1900s. Teenage Vicky, a stand-in for the author, is difficult, moody, and intense, a writer in the making, and the episodic novel revolves around the challenges, many of them self-inflicted, that she faces. As the snow fell, I read, glancing up occasionally to stare out the picture window at the white landscape.

Dee, who works from home, is prepared for power outages, which have been all too common this winter. She bought a big battery, which allows her to use her computer for the whole day. In this era of weird weather, those who telecommute must be prepared.

Fortunately, the high winds that came with the nor’easter did not make it inland, but Facebook friends who live on the coast reported that the wind was gusting at 50 mph. Because of the heavy snow, along with the wind at the coast, there were widespread power outages from central Maine to the midcoast to southern Maine. By 1 p.m., half of Central Maine Power Company’s customers were without power—330,000 out of 675,000.

When it came time for lunch, we were all chilly and ready for canned soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, which Clif prepared on the camp stove.

Even though it was canned soup, it tasted pretty darned good as my Yankee husband would say. (A shameless self-promotion photo, I know, featuring a mug advertising my third book.)

Here are more pictures of this snowy April day.

Behold our driveway. It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas, don’t you think? We got about twelve inches of snow.

A closeup of the trees.

Now to the backyard.

My poor clothesline took a beating. Clif had already repaired it once, and the way he bolted it now prevents us from being able to fold it down for the winter. Clif feels confident he can repair it again. Fingers crossed.

With such widespread power outages, we were sure we were going to go for days without power, but we were one of the lucky ones. Our power came back on at 2:15 p.m. on Thursday, and it stayed on. Oh, were we happy.

Other folks have not been so lucky. Despite the crews working tirelessly since Thursday, there are still 9,000 customers without power this Monday morning on April 8. As the title states, this was one heck of a storm.

*************************************************************************

Snow-Gauge Clif

All this snow provided Snow-Gauge Clif with opportunities to measure snow. (Was it only a few weeks ago when we foolishly wondered if we were done with snow?)

By Sunday, when the pictures were taken, the weather had become so warm that much of the snow had melted. Snow-Gauge Clif measured three inches of snow.

For readers who live in places where there is little or no snow, here is the giant curl of dirty snow plowed by our kind neighbor next door. When the town’s snowplow goes by, it leaves a wall o’snow at the end of the driveway, a formidable barricade when the snow is deep and heavy, the way it was after this nor’easter.

Now, let’s hope the weather gods are done playing tricks on us. Please, no more snow until next winter.

*************************************************************************

Listening

Moon Shadow by Cat Stevens

In honor of the solar eclipse, whose path goes right over Maine today, here is a classic by Cat Stevens. I listened to “Moon Shadow” many, many times when I was a teenager. Somehow, the song seemed appropriate for today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birds, News, Winter

Oh, for Pete’s Sake

68 Comments

As I mentioned in my previous  piece, I had planned to start posting on Wednesdays rather than Mondays in 2024. But guess what? Another nasty storm is forecasted to blow into Maine on Tuesday night and into Wednesday.  Along with a storm watch that will bring wet, heavy snow, we have received a flood warning and a high wind watch, with expected power outages. To borrow from the excellent crime show Fargo: Oh, for Pete’s sake. (Fargo is set in Minnesota and North Dakota.)

So instead of posting on Wednesday, I am posting today.

Tomorrow, I’ll be making a big batch of black bean soup, which we can heat up on the camp stove should the power go out. Also, because treats are important during a power outage, I’ll be baking oatmeal bars with chocolate chips.

What makes this storm so particularly galling is that on Sunday, we had the most perfect snow storm with six to eight inches of light fluffy snow. Clif and our daughter Dee were able to easily take care of the cleanup, and it was a pleasure to watch the falling snow while chickpea soup bubbled in the slow cooker.

Here is a picture from my dining room window taken during the storm. If you look carefully at the feeder, you might notice the falling snow along with a little bird feeding. I think the bird is a gold finch.

Here is another picture taken  from my dining room window this morning after the storm.

I must admit to feeling a little discouraged at the thought of having another power outage and all the work it entails.

But on a more cheerful note, I have received gifts from some of my lovely blogging friends.

Oranges and lemons from Betsy and picked in her own backyard.

Sweet Santas, again from Betsy, and a pretty quilting square from Judy of New England Garden and Thread.

Finally, a beautiful bookmark from Lavinia of Salmon Brook Farms.

With such thoughtful blogging friends, it’s impossible to stay down in the dumps for too long.

I’ll keep you posted about the storm.

Animals - especially dogs, Celebrate, cooking, News

Back Again in 2024

79 Comments

As many of you know, in September my daughter Shannon, her husband Mike, their two dogs—Holly and Somara—and their cat Penny moved in with us. One phase of their life had ended, and they were starting a new phase with different jobs. Staying with us allowed them to take their time to find a place that was exactly right for them as well as for the dogs and cat.

This Shannon and Mike did, with a lovely new apartment overlooking the water. In late December, dogs, kit, and kids left, leaving the three of us—Clif, our daughter Dee, and me. The house is now very quiet. While I miss the hubbub, it feels great to return to my old schedule, which not only includes blogging but also working on my upcoming book, Darcy Dansereau, a slice-of-life fantasy set in Maine in the 1970s.

Along with Christmas, December included a challenge courtesy of Mother Nature—a rain and wind storm with gusts up to 70 miles per hour. This storm whipped through central Maine with the expected results—widespread power outages in the days leading to Christmas. We were without power for four days, and it was even longer for some people in central Maine.

The storm also brought about an unexpected result—flooding for communities by a river. While flooding is common in the spring, it is pretty much unheard of in December. As I am fond of saying, in these times of climate change, weird is the new normal. These floods were as bad as I’ve ever seen them, but as we don’t live near a river, we stayed dry.

Because we have a wood furnace, we were warm and cozy during the power outage. In addition, we have a camp stove, and in town there is a business with an outside spigot where we could get water. So we were all right during our time without power.

During the power outage, we were still taking care of the dogs and cat while Mike and Shannon were getting settled in their new apartment. Here is the expression on Holly’s face as the storm blew and raged outside.

Because the light was low, the focus isn’t the best. Still, I think it captures her mood, which was pretty much the same as ours: none of us liked the storm one bit.

But through it all we did have a light to shine with an old lamp that belonged to Clif’s parents.

The Thursday before Christmas, early in the morning, the lights came on, and we all rejoiced.

The dogs and the cat settled back into their comfortable routines.

My brother, sister-in-law, and nephew came over to celebrate Christmas Eve with us, and what a jolly time we had. Unfortunately, no pictures were taken of the event.

I did, however, take pictures of Christmas morning, and our first ever Crustmas feast. The idea for Crustmas came from a delightful podcast called Strong Sense of Place: The Library of Lost Time. The hosts, Dave and Mel, explained how they celebrate the holiday with Crustmas, which revolves around their love of toast. (I, too, love toast, and as soon as I heard their idea, I was all in.) They buy a number of nice loaves of bread and provide a bunch of yummy toppings: Nutella, jam, cream cheese, butter. They also have a charcuterie board, which we did not do this year but might next year. However, the genius idea is to bring the toaster right to the table so that there is no running back and forth to the kitchen to make toast. At the table, out pops the toast, hot and fresh for eager eaters.

Here is the table on Christmas morning all set up for Crustmas.

Crustmas was a smashing success, and we will do this again next Christmas. However, as Dave and Mel reminded listeners, there is no need to confine Crustmas to Christmas. The glories of toast can be celebrated all through the year, and that’s exactly what we plan to do.

A very happy New Year to all my wonderful blogging friends. I will be posting once a week, on Wednesday, unless something special comes up that deserves my attention.

Until next Wednesday.

News

An Extended Break

61 Comments

The clocks have been set back an hour, and the dark now comes at 4:30 p.m. Most of the yard work has been done, and we are finishing up the last of it this week. Our son-in-law Mike has been a wonderful help, accomplishing in two days what it would take us a month to do.

Our hearts are still heavy because of the mass shooting in Lewiston. Winthrop was hit particularly hard—three dead and two wounded. The support has been tremendous. Very heartening. However, it hardly needs to be said that it would have been far better for everyone if the support was not needed.  Sigh.

As the title of this post indicates, I’m going to be taking an extended break from blogging. Nothing serious is going on, thank goodness, and it may it stay that way. Rather, it’s because of holiday and family hubbub, and the older I get, the more time it takes me to accomplish tasks that I once would have zipped through. Also, I’m halfway through writing book number 5—Darcy Dansereau, an expansion of The Dog Angel, which some of you might have read. I’ve begun referring to the novel as a “slice-of-life fantasy.” Darcy is entirely set in Waterville in the late 1970s, and while there is fantasy and mystery in the story, much of it focuses on Darcy’s everyday life, her sorrows and her triumphs.

I’ll leave you with a photo I took at Absolem Cider Company when we were there the end of October to celebrate Dee’s birthday. It was a beautiful day, warm enough to sit outside with our drinks and watch dusk settle over the countryside.

A very happy November and December to all. See you in January 2024.