Bringing About Change….

   I was scrolling around yesterday, and don’t ask me how, but I came across a nice blog, from right here in Maine. Her blog is called http://ruralmainelife.blogspot.com/ Rural Maine Life….I just dropped in a link to it so check her out. I have added her to my list of folks I follow and she has done the same. How cool to meet new folks right here in Maine! Kathleen lives in Millinocket, Maine.

   My cousin who lives on an island here in Maine, also has a blog called Island Paradise. Here is a link….http://islandparadisepi.blogspot.com/. When I told her of my new Millinocket blogger friend, she reminded me that my uncle Cy lived up there for years with his family and he was a caretaker at a catholic church up there. The name escapes me right now? Maybe she can mention it in her blog? His full name was Cyril Perry. Wouldn’t it be funny if Kathleen or someone she knows knew of him. I have discovered that this world of ours is really very small after all. We all seem to be connected in some way or other. How many times have you met someone that knows someone who knows someone that you know or are related to and so on? We are not so far away from each other as we think. Through Kathleen, I hope to find other crafty women and I will add them to my blog and follow their daily worlds. Heck…that’s why I started this blog in the first place! I have not added in my crafts that I make yet but I will. I sew by hand because I haven’t a sewing machine yet. I make pincushions and pillows and crazy quilt squares and I crochet purses and blankets. I am not great at any of it but I enjoy it all. I see that Kathleen has a store online and I am wondering if she makes all those goodies she has on there!? We’ll find out. We have many talented women on these blogs don’t we?

   Are you wondering what my title has to do with any of this?? Well…..after looking at Rural Maine Life yesterday, it occurred to me that she has a really cool background on her blog. Most all of the women following her site did too! Blogspot offers many but the choices are limited I think. So, that got my juices flowing and I talked to my husband, the Computer Mechanic about it. In no time flat, he had discovered online free blogging templates anyone can use. I was so excited but did not have time to check many out but guess who did? Yup….and guess what he did?….you got it….he changed his!! Now I thought I was the one that was excited about this? Hmmmmm…..Oh I am just kidding…..he didn’t steal my thunder….he jumped through all the hoops and tried things on so he will be all up to date when I do mine! He is still tweaking his but here is the new handsome look so far……http://pwrless.blogspot.com/ ….it is called One Space….and don’t forget to check out his website….It is called Flipping Bits and there is a link from One Space. Keep an eye out for the up and coming new Blueberry Plains look! Until then….happy blogging to you all. Check in with http://geegeesgraffiti.blogspot.com/  …..my mother in law and friends site…..and http://goodoldbeans.blogspot.com/ …..my father in laws……both are excellent, inviting, creative, and funny blogs….and check out Kathleen and Island Paradise! Here is a pillow I made for my mother in law for xmas……

 

 

See you tomorrow…………………………………….

Big…Big….Big….Storm!!

   We got hit with a huge storm and it ended up dumping 14 inches of snow in my little town and beyond! This is by far the biggest one I have seen in years. This latest storm brought some very heavy, sticky snow. It attached itself to the sides of trees and homes and anything else it could stick too. It was the most beautiful site! I tried to let Obie out the door to do his business and the door would not open. I pushed real hard and he managed to squeeze through. He burrowed a path through the snow, which was well over his head, and made it down the stairs off the deck while holding his head up! We headed out early and Bobbie got some great photos of the storm. I will add them in at the end. Poor Woody and Alice have been without power for over 30 hours now and we pray they get it back today. There are over 140,000 people in the state without power. The snow was so heavy, it took out many power lines and transformers. We were lucky as our power only threatened to go off a couple of times. The shoveling was back breaking and we are running out of places to put this white stuff! But….I am telling you still….it is so beautiful….even though it can be a big pain in the butt! Say a quick prayer that Woody and Alice get their power back today!! We are melting some already….thank God! In some areas up north and in the mountains, they got 2 feet or more. Crazy isn’t it? On the back side of our road, there was a line down on the road and a tree partially down. People were going around it…..so we did too. The town, did not plow that section, but if you have four wheel drive….what the heck?….it’s an adventure! Another one coming by this weekend they say. I think we need a bail out plan from the government for snow removal! Enjoy your day….

That’s a lot of snow….but it was magical to see.:)

Roasted Vegetables & Pasta

I thought I would share with you a dish that my husband and I just love. I got the recipe from a chef, who is a friend of ours. We first tasted this dish at a wedding he was catering. I asked him if he would share with me the recipe. It took a while, but while he was in Florida cooking one winter, he emailed me the recipe. It was a slightly different than this one. It had fresh fennel bulb in it, but I was not able to get it this time. Here is the version I cooked today, including pictures of each step. You can use any vegetables you like in this dish.

Ingredients:

• 2 Large Heads Broccoli Cut Into Florets
• 4 To 5 Cups Brussels Sprouts Cut In Half
• 2 Large Carrots Julienned
• 1 Large Sweet Onion Sliced
• 7 to 8 Cloves Garlic Minced
• 1 Large Red Bell Pepper Julienned
• 1 lb. Thick Sliced Bacon Quartered
• 1 lb. Spaghetti Broken In Half
• 1 Tbls. McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning
• 1 Tbls. McCormick Grill Mates Garlic & Herb Seasoning
• 1 Tbls. McCormick Grill Mates Roasted Garlic & Onion Seasoning
• 1/4 to 1/2 Tsp. Rosemary
• 1/2 Bay Leaf Crumbled
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup canola oil
  

Directions:

1. Rinse Brussels Sprouts, discard outer dry leaves and cut sprouts in half. Put sprouts in large bowl.

2. Rinse Broccoli, cut into florets and add to bowl.

3. Julienne two large carrots and a red bell pepper and add to rest of vegetables.

4. Slice the onion and mince the garlic and add to the bowl.

5. Add oil and seasonings to bowl of vegetables and mix.

6. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread vegetables that are mixed with oil and seasonings onto a 13 by 9 inch cookie sheet and roast for 20 minutes or until tender. I usually check them after 20 minutes and turn with a spatula.

7. Cook bacon and set aside. Cook spaghetti, drain and add to vegetable bowl. Season as you like and add a bit of oil to keep from sticking together. Stir in cooked bacon.

8. When vegetables are done, add to pasta bacon mixture and toss gently.

That’s it! Enjoy! :)

Some other variations that I did not use today are Butternut Squash, fennel bulb, celery, asparagus, and cabbage….red or green. You can also use many types of meat. like ham, Canadian bacon, chicken or pork. The one main ingredient that MUST be there for flavor is the Montreal Steak Seasoning. I must admit, I did add a little bit of the bacon grease today to the veggies going into the oven. We just got done eating this for dinner and my husband said it was so good that he could just keep eating it! We didn’t though…:)….leftovers for tomorrow. Try it and let me know what you think?

A Magical Place……

   I was at a big gathering the other night with over 150 people in attendance. At some point I was feeling like I was a little sardine packed into a can with many other little sardines. Because at events like that, you are almost joined at the hip with your neighbors, you end up having conversations with perfect strangers out of nervousness. Actually, what happened was slightly different than that. I ended up ease dropping on a conversation two men were having across the table. One I knew fairly well and the other not so well. The not so well guy was talking about his old home he lived in and it happened to be in the little town I grew up in. It didn’t stop there. He lives on my old street….Bates Street. For years, before he moved there, it was boarded up and looked like an old haunted house. He had heard several stories about this house himself. We talked briefly and found it kind of neat that he lived on that street, and I used to, but never at the same time. That got me thinking about that little dead end street I grew up on….here are some thoughts I had, and I will continue at another time, but for now…..

   It’s not a dead end street today, but it was when I was a kid…thank God. The end of that street was magical. A small brook ran perpendicular to our street and it was the place that all of us kids played. We built a makeshift bridge out of old logs…sometimes nailed together and sometimes just thrown together. There were many beaten paths through the woods. One went to a beautiful grove of pines that had a thick bed of pine needles and soft moss. At the base of the tree trunks, for some reason, we were able to always dig up black coal. I am not sure why and to this day it may have been buried there by a friend just to play a trick on me! We did that a lot…..we teased each other! Our little neighborhood gang built a sign for this lovely place and it was simply named Pine Tree Camp. (We were little!) ha ha  My friends and I spent hours and hours there playing hide and seek and pirates of the ocean and cops and robbers and cowboys and Indians. Yes…. Girls played those things too! Especially when most of the neighborhood kids were boys! Oh there were a few of us girls but we did have to become a bit tomboyish! There were many things to do each day. There were polliwogs to put in jars and frogs later to catch and occasionally a giant snapping turtle would show up. When that happened, a strange man named Mr. Spear would be called in to investigate. He would come down to the brook….take a long look…..back his truck up to the brook…open up the back…..take out some kind of contraption and off went the turtle into the contraption….into his truck and off to his mysterious house in my town. Yup….we loved that brook that ran to the left and right of the end of our road….the one that went further than we could walk at that age……until next time…… :)

Another Storm Is Upon Us

   There’s another big one coming into Maine. They are saying it could be a foot. Last time they said that, we got several inches. Maine is one of the hardest states to predict a storm. I understand that has to do with where we are situated. Either way, we are definitely getting some more snow. At this writing, I can see my front lawn…it is brown but it’s the lawn! It’s tricky trying to get the plow guy to do a good job of snow removal without digging up the lawn or the muddy driveway this time of year. We have had an awful lot of melting. According to the news, we have another storm following that one this Sunday. So…I guess winter is still upon us.

   I just got done reading GeeGee’s wonderful story of her Uncle Nap. What a fabulous story! She is truly a gifted writer who should have some of these stories published! Great job GeeGee!!! There are so many talented folks out there and isn’t it nice to have a format like this where they can share their talents with the rest of us?

   I wrote about the Valentine Bandit recently who strikes Portland every year anonymously. No….I didn’t find out the true identity of the bandit!….but…my cousin, who lives on an island here in Maine and has the blog name Island Paradise, tells me that the bandit also strikes on her island every Valentines too!! Can you believe that? The bandit is taking the ferry over to the island to leave heart stamped flyers everywhere! I was floored about that one! That made me wonder?…..could there be more than one bandit? Are there a band of bandits? Inquiring minds want to know!

   We watched another episode of 24 the other night and it is just as exciting this year as it was a couple of years ago! I love that show! It is very fast moving and has a surprise around every corner. So many twists and turns you cannot possibly keep up. Try and miss one show and you feel like you haven’t watched it in weeks! Am I right Alice? Copy that!

   Time to sign off and see you all tomorrow when we will be shoveling once again! Roger that!

 

 

It’s A Maine Thing…..

Today has been a very laid back day for my husband and I. It is presidents day and thanks to all the presidents that have ever served our country, we get a day off in their name! I must say that my favorite president was Ronald Reagan. He always had a way of making one feel proud and honored to be an American. Of course he was an actor too.:(….Hmmmmm….maybe that was why he came across so well? Oh well…I did like him…none the less. Happy presidents day to all our guys that are still with us and the ones that have passed on. We learned from them all and they certainly all contributed something significant to our country…..some more than others.

I was googling around earlier and found an interesting site about our state of Maine. It is called It’s A Maine Thing. It has a lot to offer, from blogs to events to news to recipes and more. It was too much to take all in, so I have added it to my favorites, and I will check back in to learn more. Here is a link in case you might like to see it….It's A Maine Thing.

It would appear that we are getting another storm this week. It is supposed to come in on Wednesday and go through Thursday with possibly several inches of snow. They are also talking about Sunday being snowy too. So….winter is not over with us yet. We have had a LOT of melting here though and that has been great. Large chunks of ice have just been falling off roofs in some areas. Spring is in the air but it will have a set back this week…..

Valentine Bandit

Here in Maine, we have a mysterious person in the big city that has been anonymously tagging giant valentine hearts all over the city for more than thirty years. Supposedly, no one seems to know who has done this, all these years and when you ask folks to comment on it….they all seem to love it! They put the heart stamped sheets of paper on the front of the museum and many other buildings throughout the city. The city has nicknamed this anonymous cupid “The Valentine Bandit”….and he/she struck again yesterday. Here’s a video clip from the local channel….

Valentine Bandit

Not a very long story but that is the jest of it. Here is what they said in the local paper about the bandit last year.

A long-standing Valentine’s Day tradition continued in Portland on Thursday, despite the snow and ice left behind by Wednesday’s winter storm….The “Valentine’s Day Bandit” made his or her way through a wintry mess overnight, leaving behind the crafty, romantic message.

After nearly 30 years, no one knows the identity of the Valentine’s Day Bandit.

I think it is kind of neat that we have a love bandit in our city. I wonder if it is going to be like “Deep Throat” who was the confidant who helped bring President Nixon down? Will we have to wait until our own deep throat (Valentines Bandit) dies before we find out who she or he is? I think there are people out there that already know but just don’t say. I’d like to know. Of course I have never been good at keeping a secret so maybe not!

Ok Margaret and Alice….I am back blogging again….and just where the heck are the two of you??? Hmmmm???? Ahem! Come on girls……:)

Happy V-Day

I have been away from my blog for a while as it has been quite busy over here on the plains. I just got an email from my cousin, who’s blog is Island Paradise inquiring as to why I am not blogging and telling me to get on the stick! Ok….here I am Margaret! Anyway….it has been a great laid back day over here….this Valentines Day. My very handsome and wonderful husband saw to it that the local florist would deliver me a most awesome bouquet of spring flowers this morning! They are just beautiful…..here is a photo of them…

And another…….

What a gorgeous spring bouquet… they are in a clear glass vase with the green stems all lined up like a piece of art work. He also made me a very loving and thoughtful card that was waiting for me on the dining room table this morning. What a great way to start the day! I had one for him too and I made us a scrumptious  early brunch, of fried potatoes, red pepper, onion and cheese omelets and blueberry pancakes. It was delish! Just a relaxing day here on the plains and getting caught up on sewing and chores…..spending time with my sweetheart….who is not just my sweetheart today but every day!!:) He’s a great guy….I am very lucky to have him in my life. God blessed us.

Congratulations to cousin Margaret on her new blog. We love reading her poetry and stories and seeing her artwork. Show us some of your sculptures Margaret! What about your muscle shell paintings? The jewelry that you make from clay and the beaded night lights that your friend makes that are so lovely? You have many things to offer up here in blog land my friend! Happy Valentines and maybe I’ll see you back tomorrow…….

24 Night……

   It was another beautifully sunny day today here on Blueberry Plains. The ice is melting and there is now just a little bit of snow left on our rooftop, but the banks are still tall and wide. Little by little the big white stuff is evaporating. Of course if that happens enough here in Maine, the next occurrence, will be another big storm!! I don’t ever mind that. After all….it’s winter isn’t it? Bring on the storms! The snow is so pretty to watch when falling.:)

   Tonight is 24 night. Every Monday my husband and I watch a show called 24. It stars, Keiffer Sutherland, and is a fast moving show. It’s one of those shows that seems to have the shortest commercials too. Before it is time to watch, you must take care of all your pre-24 business! Go to the bathroom….pop your popcorn….get your soda….make sure the animals have gone out already….find a comfortable place to sit and then you can batten down the hatches and begin to take it all in. For us, it is like watching the super bowl. If for some reason, you default on one or all of these pre-24 business items, don’t fret, just move fast and get right back to it! Yes, there is a knack to watching good television…..and there is not that much good tv out there anymore. For that matter, movies are beginning to get pretty weak too. We have watched 3 new movies in the past week and all three were very strange. They left both of us scratching our heads and wondering….who is  making these movies and what are they thinking?? Every once in a while you find a bit of a jewel in your choices. We found that a couple of weeks ago in a new Clint Eastwood movie called Grand Torino. A big surprise to us was how funny parts of it were! Here’s the trailer……

I hope it works. Check it out because I think you will love this new Eastwood classic, directed by him as well.

   Wow…..did I just write a review for a movie? Hah! I didn’t mean to do that but I guess I did!

   I cooked a homemade chicken pot pie today with leftover chicken we had yesterday. It smells great and that will be coupled with a fresh garden salad for our dinner tonight. Doesn’t that sound good? MMMMMMMM….good. You all enjoy your day now. Cheerio and will see you again tomorrow…..same place but probably a different time!:)

This is one of my mums from last year. The bees loved them!

A Trip Down Memory Lane

   Today would have felt like a heat wave if it wasn’t for the wind. It was 45 degrees and there was a whole lot of melting going on. As I sit here and write, I am smelling the wonderful aroma of a roast chicken coming from my kitchen. The smell of the rosemary is intoxicating! Bob is computering upstairs, baby is napping in front of the monitor and Obie is chewing on a big bone I got him earlier. The winds outside make him nervous and restless and chewing on a treat seems to calm him.

   Yesterday was a day of cleaning out cupboards and closets and reorganizing once again. Boy….if I keep this up maybe my whole house will be in order some day!….well….some kind of order I guess? I came across many old things I had forgotten about. Some good memories….some not so good. The not so good paperwork and reminders of things past were thrown in the trash. The good was kept of course and put into nice containers. I found some great old photos and artwork my kids did years ago and almost all of their report cards! I am sure they will not want to see ALL of those! Actually, some were pretty good. The one thing that surprised me were the demerit papers I had kept from my sons classes when he was a turbulent teen! He had one teacher that just did not like him and really kind of targeted him. I am not saying he was an angel because he was not!! But….this guy had it out for him and it was not just my son….he picked on others too. When my son was home, a month or so ago, we ran into this teacher at the local store. After saying hello and all the usual things like ….what are you doing now and so on…..he said something very rude and both of us were left just standing there with our mouths open! I am so glad he is no longer teaching.

   My darling little daughter showed up last evening to visit for a while and we watched old videos from the time she was 10 years old! It was a birthday party we had for her and she invited her entire class….boys and girls….plus my son (her brother) and his little friend and another couple. We had a barbecue and a relay race and many other things. It was so cute to watch. The surprise on the video was that it had many different events on it that we did not record on the jacket. It had a parade that my daughter was marching in….it had a festival we all attended in our nearby city, and a small family party. What a surprise at the end of that video to see my dear departed mom and dad and Bob’s brother Ray on there. Tears came to my eyes but I was overjoyed to hear all their voices and see their faces once again. It was like they were right here beside us. A moment frozen in time on those wonderful old VHS tapes. What a blessing that was. I have absolutely no other live video of my parents in existence so this was a rare treat. A gift from God. +

Alice's Wall Murel

My mother in law Alice Mary is quite an artistic person. She works in many mediums. One of these she recently has taken on is a beautiful wall mural in her home. She started working on it sometime ago. It is quite an undertaking, as it takes up a good size wall from floor to ceiling. She sketches the designs on the wall and then paints them. With this particular mural, she used at least 3 different mediums…..painting, decoupage and crochet. It is not complete but what is done is just beautiful and full of color. Some animals are outlined but not finished yet. Some of the leaves are decoupage and some are lovely hand crocheted leaves she made herself! Well……just look and you will see what I mean….Enjoy!!……….