In Pursuit Of Maine: June 18, 2015 - Wanderlust

Thursday, June 18, 2015

June 18, 2015 - Wanderlust

Do you have wanderlust? I do; but not for ranging around the world to exotic places. My wanderlust sends me off to lonely places, to places others might shun. I see a small craft on the shore, and I can barely resist the urge to hop in and just . . . go. Where would I go, you ask? It doesn’t matter. The destination is not important. The journey is everything.

Every journey starts with the first step.

Sometimes I look out into a lonely field with nothing and no one around for miles and miles. Dark woods are in the background and looking very threatening. Or perhaps it's a lonely mountain in the distance. Then the overwhelming thought comes into my head: Start walking and keep walking. Don’t look back. Just walk until you can’t walk any further. Dangerous thoughts. If I couldn’t walk any further, how would I get back? What would I do out in the middle of nowhere? And by the time I got there, wouldn’t it be cold and dark and lonely, and wouldn’t I be hungry? Those are the sane ideas that rein me in every time, but I’m not sure how long they’re going to win this battle.

It’s a foolish thing, I know. There always seems to be something just beyond the horizon, just beyond my range of vision . . . if I could only reach it.

"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.