In Pursuit Of Maine: April 21, 2014 - Thresholds

Monday, April 21, 2014

April 21, 2014 - Thresholds

An entryway built by the fairies, a threshold. It divides one "room" from another. When two people marry, it is customary for the groom to carry the bride over the threshold. Together they go from one life to another. Once they cross over, everything changes. Just a few inches and everything is different. But how can that be? Surely I can see through this doorway. I don't see anything different on one side than I do on the other. And yet . . . why would it be here if there were no difference between the two "sides"? Exactly. But that's how fairy magic works. Think of all the stone dolmens dotting Europe, some more than 7,000 years old. The explanation we're given is that they're burial chambers that have eroded away, leaving a stone skeleton that looks very much like a threshold. Too bad the archeologists haven't studied the fairies. If they had, they'd know that these thresholds are portals. Just a few inches and everything is different. Even so, I'll bet none of them step across that threshold. I'm working on getting the courage up myself.

"The Plain Maine Cookbook" is my own collection of vintage Maine recipes that will immediately bring you back to a simpler time, a less confused time. These recipes are more than just comfort food. They're family food, traditional food, simple food, plain food. One bite and you'll say, "Ah, yes! I remember my grandmother used to make this. I had forgotten all about it!" Recipes for whoopie pies, funnel cakes, fried fiddleheads, haymaker's switchel, coffee can bread, glogg, and much more are in these pages. There is even a recipe on how to render lard. So open the door and go back to some simple, time-tested foods you can prepare easily. You'll find that you save money and waste less by "making do" with commodity cooking. What's in the pantry or in the garden is what's for dinner.

"So You Want to Move to Maine" is an invaluable little book in helping people to make a permanent move to Maine. It will save you a ton of time because all the initial footwork is done for you, including 100 links on how to find work and living quarters, getting your driver's license, pet requirements, programs for people with disabilities, programs for senior citizens, getting married in Maine, hidden taxes and expenses, hospitals, health insurance, handling a real winter like a pro, etc. Stop being "just a number" or another face in the crowd. Walk away from the rat race. Become boldly individualistic and make your mark in life. You can still do that in Maine, one of the last holdouts of ordinary, old-fashioned, kind, and decent American living.

I’ve chosen 37 unique fairy tales that will be loved by both adults and children as they can be read and interpreted on many levels. But if you are looking for only sweet tales that end in joy and fairness, you may want to pass this book by. Some fairy tales are simply “dark,” and that is because sometimes life is simply dark. Not always, of course, but often enough. Sometimes the hero lives; sometimes he dies. Check out my book, “Fairy Tales of Maine,” in the photo link below. If you are brave, you might just meet yourself in one of these tales.