The Winter Has Been Gentle

This morning as I stood by the window snapping a few pics,  I noticed that the plumage of our little American Goldfinches is already starting to brighten a bit.  Although, it may just be wishful thinking on my part. 

  

Off in the distance I heard the familiar sound of our chainsaw and decided to bring my camera outside while I caught up to Henri.  It was surprisingly mild and so I took a little look around dreaming of when I may get back into the garden.  

These dewy branches are the last remains of the dusting of snow we received late last night.

During our walk today, it was a little hazy looking across Frenchman's Bay where I noticed there was still a faint bit of snow left on the mountains of Acadia.  I never tire of this view.

We noticed these gulls out on the lichen-covered ledge taking a mid-morning snooze.  We made sure to tiptoe by, so as to not wake them.  Not that they would ever return the favor, but after all they did provide an appreciated photo-op on this hazy morning.

Back at home, another birdie serves as sentinel to my tiny backyard greenhouse that I am just itching to get back into.

A little reminder to me that as gentle as the Winter has been so far, it would behoove me to not let my guard down quite yet.  Nevertheless, the softening ground had me eager to get back into my rubber boots.

 Mud season, I'm all ready for you now!  Anyone else getting a good case of Spring fever too?  

Friday Night in the Neighborhood

Since the winter solstice we have gained about an hour of daylight in the evening, so we find ourselves once again enjoying this time of day for our walks.  

If only we were as tall and thin as our shadows make us look this time of year. That's me on the left and Henri is carrying his walking stick on his right side.  Notice the lack of snow around these parts for this time year.  

Here it comes, that warm glow of the setting sun starting to work its magic on these bare branches.  

The reflections in the water are incredible and it's hard for me to capture the beauty of what I see in person.

It's the end of the workday for these sternmen headed back to the shore.  Their commute takes them right into the setting sun.  

And then, as the sun sinks closer to the horizon a few boats in the harbor take on the eerie sight of a fire at sea.

Thus concludes the end of another beautiful walk and the beginning of a quiet Friday evening 'round these parts.  Thanks for stopping by to visit, and if you're a sports fan I surely hope your team wins this weekend, as long as you're rooting for the right one that is.  GO PATS!  [For the record, I am not a sports fan, but I can appreciate those that are, and so for my sweet friend Jeanne, this one was for you.]

frenchmans bay tea co.

It's time I introduce my new blog to you and invite you to come take a look at what living in a small town on the coast of Maine can do to your mind during these long cold winter months.  Yep, it's official, I have succumbed to a fantasy land where I dream up places that exist only in my imagination. Thus, I've blended my desire for sweet desserts, hot cups of tea, dreamy garden spaces and some much needed retail therapy and rolled it all up into a new exciting (for me) place where I can explore this wild imaginary dream I have.

Come on over for a few minutes and step into my dream world where I plan to give my imagination full reign.   You can find me here:  frenchmansbaytea.blogspot.com

Edible Pebbles For A Hardworking Man

Have you ever seen these cute little milk chocolate bits that look like beach pebbles? They taste a little like a popular milk chocolate crunch bar and are surprisingly soft and melty in your mouth. Anyway, I found them at a local candy store and decided to include them on top of my freshly baked spice cupcakes.

It's not that they look so much like our beach pebbles.  I checked.  For comparison, here's a pic I took on our walk after making them.  When I uploaded the picture, I noticed there was a piece of white sea glass that I missed while I was there in person.  

So when I was making these up,  I remembered something funny Henri's mother once told me about him.  

She told me that when he was about 5 years old

he used to pick up rocks from the ground

and put them in his mouth and try to eat them.  

 I'm pretty sure edible beach pebbles weren't around in 1957.  I also made a batch of lentil soup for lunch and I had to laugh when I realized how well it went with my edible beach pebble theme for the day.  I honestly didn't even give it a thought until I remembered his mother's story.  

While I was inside working on my pebble-themed lunch, Henri was down in our backyard hard at work.  I took a few pics of what caught my eye out there when I went out to check on him.

Here he is sawing up all the blowdowns, hauling them back up the hill and splitting the wood while it is freshly cut to ensure we will have a little extra wood in case winter lingers a little longer this year.  And yes that's a small plow you see on the ATV that will be put to good use for the snow we're expecting tomorrow.  You can never have too many plows here in Maine.  Or wood for that matter.

My hardworking man deserves a cupcake, don't you think?

For the record, no teeth were harmed in the telling of this story.  

All Is Merry and Bright

Thanks for stopping by on a day so close to Christmas.  I know you must be busy, so if you're reading this in the midst of this holiday season,  I  am especially thankful for your visit.  Today, our wish for a white Christmas was granted by a freshly fallen blanket of snow.   Here's a peek of my attempt at snowflake making. 

It's not that I'm fickle with my lighting, but I do admit this is the 3rd fixture in my kitchen that Henri has installed for me in the last few years.  This one's a keeper though.   I'm sure of it. I am totally in love with my new kitchen chandelier. 

So if the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, a way to my heart is through bright and shiny things and Henri must know this. While I'm in the kitchen gazing at my new light fixture I might as well keep baking.  My freshly baked Russian Tea Cakes that I boxed up for Christmas Eve.

While browsing Pinterest I came across a recipe for pistachio cranberry cookies that are ridiculously easy to make.  Just add a small box of pistachio instant pudding & pie filling, 1/2 cup of dried cranberries and 1 cup of roasted pistachio nuts (shelled) to a Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix.  We've been sampling the cookies as I bake them and I have to say these are pretty darn good too.   

So yesterday, while we were out trying our best to walk off all this cookie sampling, here's a shot I took of some pretty red rose hips.   Later, when I loaded up my pictures,  I noticed I caught the blur of a couple lobstermen passing in a skiff as they headed out to their boat. 

Then today while it was snowing (and in-between baking) I snapped a shot of this cardinal as he briefly lit on a branch.  It's badly out of focus, but I like the contrast of color in the snow.

Henri took this one today, but we don't know what kind of bird it is.  (We only know it's not a chickadee.)  I haven't looked it up yet, so if you know and have time to comment, please do tell us.  

I just realized I have never even shown you a picture of a lighthouse in Maine before.  So here's a close second for you.  Our lighthouse bird feeder mounted on the railing of our deck.   And for your viewing pleasure, here it is in today's freshly fallen snow. 

Nightfall in my kitchen. 

I hope your holidays are all Merry and Bright too.  Merry Christmas everyone!

Sweet Surprises

This is what I found on my camera this morning, even though I slept right through sunrise.  The view from our bedroom window that Henri captured for this sleepyhead. 

Want a quick snack idea?  I found the "everything bagel" pretzels at the grocery store last night and thought I might dip them in some white chocolate morsels for a sweet and salty treat. 

And then this morning inspiration hit me as I melted the morsels and then got distracted.  The white chocolate set up too fast and so I just slathered it on between 2 pretzels. 

Just look what Lee from The Way I See It sent me in the mail recently.  A lovely handcrafted rose pin. All I did was leave a comment on her post and she awarded me with this beautiful customized creation.  I just love it!

She has had her artwork featured in Somerset Apprentice, and she lives right here in Maine too. Thank you so much Lee, it was a very sweet surprise! 

Evergreens and Gingerbread

 This year I have a freshly cut tree.  And a new buffet in my downstairs kitchen.  I'm excited about both. 

The buffet is a chippy white painted dresser that I discovered was the same height as my kitchen counter top.  So I filled it up with some freshly baked gingerbread men. 

And a fresh cut spruce that I added as a table top tree inside my crackle painted urn. 

Everything smells so fa-la-la- lovely!  The scents of Christmas time gathered all together on my new buffet.  

My glittered pine cones have a wonderful cinnamon scent as well. 

I even have some paper whites growing in a Terra cotta pot. 

My table top spruce is decorated with a few mercury glass ornaments. 

I added some vintage and very distressed silver ornaments under a glass cloche atop a silver plated pedestal dish.  If you look closely, you'll see a starfish and white sea shell tucked in along side them. 

Truth be told, the gingerbread men you see in this picture are the first batch I baked.   Today I made another batch and then I moved the contents of the buffet around twice.  Just playing and having fun. 

The day sure does go quickly this time of year.  It gets dark here at 4:00 pm. 

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look at what I have been up too.  I hope your day was just as enjoyable as mine was!