After Dinner Dip Top

Lately, my nightly ritual

never even liked them as a kid

never knew what I was missing

the culprit

And there are 3 more of them behind the container of peanuts.

Well Fed

Just enough time for a quick lunch today.

Meal planning is a snap around here lately.

No cake, again?

Dexter, Maine

We took a trip 80 miles inland today to the town of Dexter. One of my favorite stores there is right on Main Street.

I love the look of their window boxes this time of year.

Just 1 mile from downtown Dexter, you'll find a simple country lane

that we named years ago

that leads to our special spot tucked away in the woods

This is the place that first inspired me to make these balsam filled pillows




to help remind us of the special times we have spent there.

My Aromatherapy Needs Tweaking

Today I combined lavender from my garden

with some lemon balm

I added a rough cut handful of each into 2 cups of boiling water,

and I let it steep for a over an hour, pleased with the aromatic blend it produced.

I already had a lovely glass bottle to pour my planned concoction into, but I still had a couple of things to tackle.

Yes, I think this will do nicely.

My goal was to make a scented body lotion by combining the necessary ingredients along with my herb-infused water.

And here's how it looks in the bottle.

But here's the scoop. It turned out a little greasy. And I can't really smell the lavender part.

Or even the lemon part come to think of it. It's pretty gross. My kitchen's a mess too. And it feels good just to get it washed off of my hands. Cute bottle though.

Raising Cod in Sorrento, Maine

There was a party yesterday on Sorrento's Village Green, courtesy of Great Bay Aquaculture.










In celebration of their first successful cod harvest right here in the waters off of Sorrento Harbor.













The view from the party tent.






Here's my friend Kathleen, who along with her husband and a small crew of people tend to the cod that are being raised in fishing pens 1 mile off Sorrento Harbor in Frenchman Bay. Year round, through every kind of imaginable weather, they make several trips a day to feed and care for the cod.

I was told this is the first and only successful cod fish farm of it's type in the nation. Great job you guys!

Garden Update

My first ever garden has been such a delight to watch grow.

We're still enjoying cucumbers...well just 3 more left right now.

My first summer squash is ready to harvest.




But let me tell you about the tomatoes.

They have finally grown to the size where they should be ready to ripen.

I consider myself fortunate they did not succumb to the blight that affected a huge number of crops in the Northeast this year.

So I will patiently wait for them to ripen in the sun and cross my fingers that this year's frost comes a little bit late.

More Felted Purses With Raku Embellishments

A raku pin I made

to embellish another purse I hand knit in wool and felted

And here's another raku fish pin

that I added to yet another purse I made

And here's that silly Ringo, the pink felted flamingo posing with all 3 purses.

I think he may be having gender issues...not that there's anything wrong with that!