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We had a wonderful, summery long 4th of July weekend. There were strawberries, birthday cake (for Mr. Cleaver) and Inside Out at the Drive-In, which LMC stayed up for the entirety of, and fireworks watching on PBS.
What are your favorite summer things to do?
Since I was either hip-holding or hand-holding a toddler for the majority of my time there, I didn't get many photos of this year's Maine Fiber Frolic, but I did have a great time. It's been a few years since I've been up to the Windsor Fairgrounds, (blog says 2012!) but it seemed like high time to return.
I spent several days talking up the sheep and bunnies to Little Miss Cleaver and then picked up a few from my knitting group and we were on our way. The car ride was just long enough to have some good conversations about knitting and wardrobes and work and plans and lupine season in Maine always makes the highways so pretty.
Doing anything with a small child is about expectations, so I knew that this visit would be pretty animal-centric. In any case, as I hardly need anymore yarn at the moment, my shopping list was brief. Bunnies were petted, and alpacas visited. I picked up a pretty shawl stick and some perfectly-matched vintage buttons for an upcoming sweater, ate a gyro and some fries and called myself content. That I got pie at the A-1 Diner and did some card-handing out/networking with local dyers/yarnies, was an excellent bonus.
One of my favorite things about these types of events is seeing just how many crafters there are, and the variety of things they love. From the woman who weave masks, to the felters and rug hookers and spinners and knitters, there's a place for all.
Did you make it up to the Fiber Frolic this year, or is there a great fiber festival in your area?
Last week my Aunt and Uncle out from California came to visit. This was their 4th trip to Maine, which meant that we had to dig a bit deeper for the "things to see" list.
Fortunately, they were staying in Ogunquit, which meant that we spent most of our time in the very Southern part of the state, which I hadn't spent much time in myself. So with no real plans and some surprisingly good weather, we mostly just wandered about - popping into a shop or two, consuming a lot of good food and drink, and walking a lot of local trails. We also, after brief google search of things to do, ended up at a quirky little monastery (!) in Kennebunkport.
LMC charmed other tourists in her mama-made tutu, and collected dandelions and rocks, and rode on my shoulders. She ate french fries and ice cream cones like a true tourist, and did surprisingly well with the lack of naps.
On the last day of their visit, LMC went to her regular day-care day and we had a grown up day at Prout's Neck, sipping cocktails at the Black Point Inn and taking the cliff walk.
The great thing about having visitors is the chance to 1) see things you normally don't take the time to see and 2) seeing them with fresh eyes.
When you live in Maine, its easy to take for granted how gosh-darn beautiful its coast line is, but to see someone take it all in for the first time reminds you of just how truly wonderful it all is. Wandering around the rocky beaches, it's easy to understand why so many artist are drawn to Maine. It certainly had me itching to pick up my long-neglected paintbrush.
Ogunquit
Kennbunkport
Prout's Neck
{this moment} ~ A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.*
* via SouleMama
Little Miss Cleaver is officially two! And as timing would have it, her birthday fell on Maine Maple Sunday - so it was a BIG day for a big little girl.
We kicked things off with cards and presents from Mom and Dad in the morning. She decided to open the books first, with Nothing Like A Puffin eliciting a demand for Daddy to "Read it." But as great as books are, it's hard to say what was the bigger hit, her new tool box, or the new playhouse.
Follow my trend of Pinterest-inspired projects, this playhouse tutorial worked out pretty well. Two extra-large moving boxes from U-Haul, one roll of colored duck tape and about 40 minutes of cutting and taping, produced what can only be called a new favorite hangout. I wanted it to be big enough for her to stand up in and this just barely made it. It's a tight squeeze when I'm asked to go in, but it's a perfect fit for her.
As we have for the past few years, we drove up to Sebago for a pancake breakfast at the town hall and then a quick jaunt to Grandpa Joe's Sugar Shack for the warm syrup on ice cream and sugaring demonstrations. It's always cold on Maine Maple Sunday, but this year it was really cold, so we spent most of our time huddling by the evaporator. And since it hasn't really warmed up yet, there wasn't much sap to boil, and we picked up the last pint of syrup they had (sorry everyone else!).
If we weren't sugar-ed and present-ed out from the morning, we had applesauce cake with maple buttercream frosting and more presents with Memere after naptime. LMC's uncle made the stuffed monkey, which is entirely hand-stitched and amazing.
I'm a sucker for traditions and in moments like these, those traditions really bring to the forefront how much LMC has grown and changed since last year and how much I've grown and changed over the many years I've been visiting sugar shacks and eating pancakes.
When my mother moved out of her house a few years ago, my brother, at my request, tossed 2 milk crates of my journals and sent about 8 years of my scrapbooks from my middle and high school years. I shelved the scrapbooks and have only recently been looking at 1998 a lot, because LMC likes the Winnie the Pooh cover.But looking back at that year, i doubt that girl would have any inkling who and where she'd be now and how she'd be so different in some ways and how very much the same in others.
With LMC its such a fascinating process as a parent to watch her grow and become more independent and opinionated and more herself and to wonder, which of these things will stick and what will change? Will she always love fixing things or will it go away along with the preference for pink socks? Or will the pink socks be a signature style? I can only hope that as a parent, I give her the room and support to explore and find out for herself.
I've packed away the birthday crown for another year, but I look forward to seeing who LMC will be when she wears it again.
We went Smiling Hill this weekend, picked some pumpkins, petted a goat or two and took a ton of photos. Beautiful fall day and adorable kid? It's hard not to.
Since we last came in the spring, the petting zoo goats have gotten a lot chubbier and LMC's gotten more independent. She wanted to be wherever the bigger kids (3-5 year-olds) were: climbing on the trains and planes, driving the John Deere-a-saurus, riding the mini tractors, going down from the top of the tall slides. She also wanted no help in carrying her pumpkins of choice. Is it any surprise that we've switched to the booster seat from the high chair at home? This girl is ready for her seat at the table.
With the pumpkins brought home and her costume finished last night (she's gonna be so cute!!), we're all ready for Halloween here. The only thing left to do is pick out the kind of takeout we want for Friday night (a Cleaver Halloween tradition).
Do you have a favorite pumpkin patch or Halloween tradition? When I was a kid in California it was Stanly Lane for pumpkins every year and my mom would sew whatever incredibly complex costume I desired that year (as chosen from the back of the Simplicity or McCall's pattern book at JoAnn's) including full renaissance dress. I figure this is probably my last year before LMC has an opinion about what she wants to be for Halloween (maybe one more?) so I'm trying to make it a good one.
Me-Mades: Minoru Jacket, Lamina Sweater
Little Miss Cleaver is, for the most part, a pretty good eater and if there's one thing she loves to eat above else it's fruit (unless it's honeydew melon, because she ain't having none of that).
She is, however, somewhat picky about the quality and seasonality of her fruit. Watermelon in July - gimme more! Watermelon in a fruit salad in September - no way. So it's perhaps unsurprising that her favorite outings seem to be our PYO trips, because fruit fresh off the plant? Nothing better than that!
And I tend to agree, our annual Ricker Hill trip is always one of my favorite days of the year. Beautiful views, fresh fruit, apple cider doughnuts, and Steinbeck gets to come too? And this year they even added a hard cider tasting room.
Its was unseasonably warm this year, but everyone still had a great time (even Mr. Cleaver, who we forgot to get in front of the camera!), but I think LMC had the best time of all!
PS - check out the photos from last year, my little one has gotten so big!
The Cumberland County Fair.
I love the Fair, and I feel like Cumberland County gets somewhat unfairly maligned locally when compared to the earthier Common Ground and more grand-scale Fryeburg Fairs (both of which I also enjoy).
I've never been into fairs for the midway or the rides that take up a big portion of the fairground real estate (though I do enjoy a good cheese fry and bit of fried dough), instead for me, it's all about the animals and the opportunity to see folks showing off their passions, be it raising rabbits, ox-pulling, quilting, or pie-making and Cumberland excels at this as much as any other fair I've been too. It's also the closest, which certainly doesn't hurt when you've got a 1 1/2-year old in tow and may need to make a quick exit when the tired grumpies strike.
But LMC was enamored with the whole fair affair, and held up for an impressive 3+ hours. And there was a lot to take in in those 3 hours: we saw animals, listened to a favorite local bluegrass band (Tricky Britches), watched 4-H-ers guiding sheep through an obstacle course, visited a petting zoo, tried our hand at train-car pushing, and caught the first part of a junior rodeo.
The feeling that I get again and again is, while this is a fun little jaunt for me and my family, this is a big showcase for the presenters and worth all the pomp and circumstance they can muster, even if it means that almost every major event starts with another rendition of the National Anthem.
So here's to you young lady who taught us all about the Argente Brun Rabbit, and the kindly gentleman who explained his concerns the effect vacuum tapping technology may have maple trees. Here's to you Channel 13 Chief Meteorologist Charlie Lopresti and your 990 pound pumpkin. Here's to you cow-wrestling teenagers and the veteran who played Johnny Cash songs on his harmonica to the goats. And here's to you 4-Hers who rocked the obstacle course and especially the ones who had to life their sheep over every obstacle - the Fair is yours, thanks for letting my family visit, we'll see you next year!
I think we saved the best for last. On our way back out of the Midcoast, we made two lovely stops on a beautifully sunny day.
First up was the Beech Hill Preserve in Rockland, which doubles as a working organic wild blueberry farm. This spot was recommended by a coworker of mine, and has some stunning views. It's also far less trafficked than Mount Battie, thanks to the fact that you have to do a (rather gentle, if you're not carrying a toddler on your hip) hike up to the top.
Finally we stopped at the Olson House in Cushing. Here I'm glad that Mr. Cleaver had me do some reading up on the Olson's and Andrew Wyeth's relationship with them. Without context, the Olson House is nice, if a bit dull, as it's basically an old empty farmhouse. With context, the place has a lot of resonance.
I mostly read the 1982 book by Betsy Wyeth, Christina's World, and the first chapter of Richard Meryman's 2013 Andrew Wyeth: A Spoken Self-Portrait, both of which I found helpful. We also picked up Andrew Wyeth, Christina's World and The Olson House at the Farnsworth gift shop. I haven't read it yet, but according to Mr. Cleaver, it tells more about the history of the house, in particular what happened after siblings Alvaro and Christina died.
After wandering the house and grounds, including a visit to the A. Wyeth and Olson graves, we drove back to Thomaston for a nice lunch at a local cafe, then it was back on the road and back home.
Beech Hill Preserve, Rockland Olson House, Cushing Thomaston Cafe, Thomaston
Day two of our trip took us to see two different kinds of beautiful sights, 1) the stunning views of Camden from the peak of Mount Battie (fortunately very accessible by car) in Camden Hills State Park where we got LMC the first stamp in her Maine State Parks Passport, and 2) the American art at the Farnsworth Art Museum.
The Farnsworth is known for its collection of paintings from all three generations of the Wyeths, N.C., Andrew and Jamie. Mr. Cleaver is a huge Andrew Wyeth fan (I'm most partial to the more fantastical to N.C. myself, but enjoy them all), which was a big part of our decision to visit the area, and the Farnsworth collection, particularly of Andrew Wyeth studies and paintings did not disappoint. I was particularly struck by the 1982 work Adrift.
The day as a whole, made me itchy to do some painting again, which I haven't touched in far too long. (So many art forms, so little time).
Camden Hills State Park/Mt. Battie, Camden Laite Memorial Beach Park, Camden Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland
