Cabin Fever

About this time of year, all over Maine you can sense the beginning of ugly. I don't mean ugly as in unpleasant to look at, I'm talking ugly, as in having the temperament of a bear.

And yes, a lot of us here in Maine, tend to have at least 1 room in our house devoted to all things campy.

A room with lots of wood, where husbands would bristle at the mere mention of how a gallon of paint would sure do wonders to cheer up the place.




Fortunately, the State of Maine has come up with a cure for a mid-winter case of cabin fever.



It's a weekend of free fishing , which means you don't need to purchase a fishing license in order to fish, making it an affordable outing.




Interestingly enough, the free fishing weekend always coincides with Valentines Day. How romantic you say? Oh, and I'm talking ice fishing, where you drill holes in the ice, bait and set your trap and wait around in the cold for a flag to pop up, to let you know when you have a bite.

And let me just say, if I didn't enjoy going as much as I do, I would probably just stay home and dream about how a room of wood might look in a fresh coat of paint. Good thing I love my husband. Oh I really do.

Edgy Crochet

I love to knit, but learning how to crochet has always seemed to allude me. So today, I thought I would give it another try.

I found some instructions and patterns for making an edge on a tea towel. I gave up trying to follow the pattern because I didn't understand the instructions. What I ended up with, does not match the image of the pattern I was trying to follow, but it looked lacy enough, so I just went with it.

I hand stitched it to the bottom edge of the tea towel, but it looked a little too plain when I was finished.

I thought of adding some ribbons, but then I remembered my stash of fabrics. I love this pretty toile fabric complete with swans.

But then I decided it still needed a little something .

There, that looks about right. No?

Simplify Is My New Mantra

Today I decided to completely clear the space that I blog from of any unnecessary clutter. Gone is my bulky 3 in 1 printer, scanner, fax and in it's place there is a lamp. I have a favorite painting on the wall in front of me and a comfortable chair for me and also one for someone who may want to sit and chat.

No more tangles of cords either. I had my land phone disconnected and we will now rely solely on our cell phone. I may eventually miss my printer, but for now the plan is to hand write anything I wish to keep a copy of.

Although I've been using this table for my desk for a while now, I still enjoy looking at the chippy paint worn away from it's lovely hand painted scene.

Here's a closeup of the brass embellishment used to help protect the leg corners.

The painting above my desk is a pastoral scene with a young Dutch girl walking along a path.

My lamp shade is old beer bottle sea glass, that I strung with wire on a lamp base I found on clearance a few years ago.

It feels much better already, but will I miss my printer? Only time will tell.

Winter In Coastal Maine

Some people may find it a bit desolate. There are many places where you can go for miles and not see a soul.

It's a place where rugged coastlines are the norm.

And where scenic views abound.

It's a place where you learn to develop a watchful eye.

And don a beautiful coat while you stand outside.





And every once in a while, you stop and visit with a special friend you meet on the side of the road.

And before you know it

you realize, once again, your heart has been stolen.

Sea Biscuits And Other Coastal Fare

I have only attempted to make homemade puff pastry once. And this was not that time.

I used frozen Pepperidge Farm puff pastry and my nautical cookie cutters. Someday I would love to learn how to make homemade puff pastry, but I think it's an acquired skill that only comes to you after much practice and patience. And I think it helps too, if you just happen to be French.

I also used the easy method of cooking the haddock today. Drizzle with olive oil, add some freshly minced garlic, freshly grated black pepper, sea salt, lemon slices, then wrap in foil and bake at 375 F. until done.






Here's my baked haddock added to a bed of jasmine veg fried rice that I dished up into my new nautical bowls, I recently scored at a local thrift store! One of the benefits of living on the coast, is I often find nautical gems that were someones *last year* cast offs.





Oops! Dolphin overboard!

And I see that crusty crustacean has flipped over on his back.

Oh, I think I see the problem.

Someone must be a little crabby today.

Appetite For Stained Glass

These are jolly rancher candies, that are getting ready to get a good smashing.

That was fun. And it almost looks like sea glass now.

How I would love to find the colors of these little gems on the shore!

I've never made stained glass cookies before, but I looked all this up on-line and it looked pretty straightforward. So, with a few of my cookie cutters and a batch of sugar cookie dough, I began experimenting using pastry bag tips and other smaller cookie cutters to make cutouts in each cookie. After adding the jolly rancher shards to the cutouts, I baked them in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. To assure the candy doesn't separate from the cookie when they are done, they must be cooled on a rack for at least 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Here they are right before I put them into the oven.

I thought I should also make some plain ones just in case the candy part tasted icky.

Out of the oven and all cooled, they really do resemble stained glass.




Guess who's been drinking too much coffee today?

Like we needed more sugar.

I can't get over how easy these were to make.

We haven't eaten any of the ones with the larger span of candy yet.

The ones with the smaller bits of jolly rancher actually taste pretty good. And, I would even make them again too.

Monday Night Stained Glass Class

Tonight I went to a beginner's 2 hour stained glass class in the nearby town of Ellsworth.

It's located in the same building as the Riverside Cafe.

This is the tool I learned how to use tonight. A glass cutter.



And with a quick demonstration of the 3 main types of glass cuts, we were free to begin our project.

There were plenty of templates to choose from and the teacher said we were free to make up our own too.

Which is what I ended up doing after I saw some of the intricate patterns in the book.

I also ended up choosing just one glass to work with because it reminded me of old church window glass. Plus I was excited to begin cutting!

Thank goodness it doesn't have to be precise.

Our teacher said the next steps will be very forgiving.

I'm thinking, I will like this, very much!