In Pursuit Of Maine: August 30, 2015 - Painting Maine

Sunday, August 30, 2015

August 30, 2015 - Painting Maine

It’s as though an artist came through the shores of Maine with a brush and lightly swished it across the sky, placing wispy clouds. Then she dipped it in white paint and placed quartz stones all amid the granite. A tiny sailboat in the background was added as an afterthought. Next she went to green and black and put some seaweed here and there. Then she chiseled the pine trees into the horizon, covering some of the stone she had placed. The rocks she made with shades of gray and bits of iron ore that splashed a rust color in random spots.

The artist's canvas.

First came the blue, though. She mixed it in slightly different shades and painted the ocean and sky. Somehow, even though they’re both blue, she made sure we could tell where the ocean ended and the sky began. A dark line differentiates the two, but it’s also a matter of texture. She put in the waves of the water and breathed secret currents into the air. Somehow the sky caught them and distributed them subtly so that we would have the feeling of great expanse and open space.

And as quickly as she came, she left. There were so many more paintings to make. There were forests and glens, hidden animals, lush pastures, and secret meadows. All were clamoring for the artist’s brush. Yet barely does she finish, when it is time to come through once again and paint us all into autumn.

"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.