A Valentine Morning in Maine

After yesterday's snowfall, it was a beautiful winter Valentine's Day morning here in Maine. 

 I love coming up with little unexpected holiday surprises for people I love;

today was delivery day!

 So I left 22 Applegate Lane early with my little red mini-Cooper full of  Valentine treats.

My first stop was Dunkin' Donuts to wish "the regulars" a Happy Valentine's Day and bring a jar of candy to my  coffee-friend, Sue.

Then I headed to my daughter's group home. She and her housemates celebrate every holiday with gusto and were excited with their Valentine goodies. (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are the annual favorite!)

Next, I stopped at Plummer School to bring a rusty Valentine lock to my friend, Mary Elizabeth (she loves rust!) and then two more bags of candy to "the sisters", Margaret and Jo.

My route took me from my house (the red dot below), past our local landmark, The Town Landing Market (on the corner where the red line turns right), down to the ocean.

I decided to stop in to the Town Landing Market to warm up.

No "Native Ice Cubes" needed today!

But fresh Hazelnut coffee hit the spot!

It was a little early for a  lobster roll, as tempting as that was!

Since it was a little too cold to enjoy my coffee outside . . .

I headed down the hill   . . .

to the Town Landing, our municipal marina and beach area.

What a beautiful morning at the beach!

The little "hump" you can see in the distance is a small island (one of 360  "Calendar Islands" in Casco Bay) called Fort Gorges.  

It seems that Portland's famous "Valentine Bandit" made it out to the island before dawn to decorate the old fort for Valentine's Day.

Back at the Landing, things were quiet, waiting for Spring.

It was low tide

and the snow was taking turns  on the beach with the ocean water.

I feel so lucky to live within walking distance of Casco Bay and the Landing. 

I'm not sure I could survive without being able to smell the sea.

But, after a very cold morning, it was good to get home. 

My plan for the afternoon was to make some tea, read in "my chair" and work on my blog - 

with the fireplace going, of course!

Happy Valentine's Day from Maine!

Tips for Stenciling Flour Sack Towels

I haven't picked up a stencil brush in about 25 years . . . since about the time that country geese, ceilings covered with dusty baskets, and stenciled walls became overused died.

Recently though, I've been exploring different media for stenciling.

Flour Sack Towels make are a perfect material for stenciling and fit well with today's farmhouse decor.  They're simple, organic, and inexpensive.

My little "craft group" is planning to get together and make some of these soon, but I wanted to try the process first before attempting to teach it to others.

So . . . I've been stenciling like a crazy woman for the past three days . . . and really enjoying it!

I've learned a lot too. I actually read the directions on the back of one of my stencils and tried using fine grit sandpaper under the towel to hold it in place while I stencil . Works so well!

I also learned that the cost of repositional spray adhesive is well worth it. It holds the stencil flat so that no paint "bleeds" into the fabric and leaves absolutely no mark on the fabric when removed.

This is really fun!

I've purchased a few stencils (with 50% off coupons, of course) but have cut most of them myself  after printing templates from the Internet.

I just enlarge or reduce the printable as needed, outline it in Sharpie, place Mylar over it, and cut with an Exacto knife.  That's how this Maine lobster was born!

It's important to use good textile paint (I got mine at Amazon). After stenciling, allow the towels to dry for 24 hours before ironing for 30 seconds on the reverse side to set the colors. Now they are machine washable!

  Old craft, new use. 

I can't wait to stencil more towels to use for for fall and Christmas gifts

I've think I'm getting addicted to stenciling again!

This Post Is Linked To:

Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Through Life
Amaze Me Monday #276 at Dwellings
Happiness Is Homemade #234 at Bluesky at Home
Sundays at Home at Little Farmstead
Amaze Me Monday #277 at Dwellings

A Fiesta, Lobster Bake, Umbrella Tree & Windows 8 . . .What a Week!

The belated Cinco de Mayo dinner party with our Gourmet group last Saturday evening was so much fun! Here are some photos of the table...

and the Senors y Senoritas who attended...in sombreros and mustaches, of course.
The members of our Gourmet Group are nothing if not good sports!

What do you think? Should I keep the mustache???

Our Mexican meal was delicioso. My sister, Joanne, brought an amazing selection of Mexican hors d'oeuvres including authentic fish ceviche. The rest of the meal featured salad in baked tortilla cups, marinated grilled short steak, pablano peppers stuffed with rice and chorizo sausage, Mexican street corn rolled in cotija cheese, and for dessert ... Tres Leches cake!  (Did I mention the Margaritas???)

 Lots of work but a great time. 

The next day I was determined to blog about the dinner on my new ASUS laptop, which so far I love. But, by the time I figured out Windows 8 and uploaded my photo software, etc., I was exhausted. No blog post that day!

The reason I bought a new laptop is so that I can blog while we travel...which we hope to do lots more of now that I'm retired from teaching. For a trial run, I brought the laptop to Searsport with me last week. (We impulsively decided to "run away from home" for a few days in the Casita for some fresh air and R & R).

While we were walking in the woods at Searsport Shores, we came upon this amazing piece of "forest folk art" that we never knew was there. You climb the magical tree-steps...

and sit in a little carved out tree-chair under a huge umbrella woven of twigs.

From this hidden perch in the tree, you can sit and look down over the stream that runs under it, listening to both the sounds of the small waterfalls in the stream and the ocean waves just beyond the treeline.

I felt as if I was in a fairy tale!

Even though it rained a lot, we had a wonderful week. We searched for sea glass that had washed up on the beach, learned a new game (ironically, Mexican Train Dominoes) from our friends Anita and Fred, and shopped in Belfast with our friend, Carolyn, who drove up from Kennebunk for the day.

We got home from camping just in time for today's beautiful weather and the 4th annual lobster bake in Cape Porpoise/Kennebunkport to raise funds for my sister Nancy's Memorial scholarship at Wells High School. It is put on every year by her friends, who all volunteer their time...and their lobsters!

Cape Porpoise Harbor & Goat Island Light



the "Stunning Smith Sisters"...Joanne, Andi, & Cheryl.

 

some of Nancy's friends & family

Tomorrow we pack up again...this time to fly to South Carolina for our grandson, Robert's, graduation from boot camp at Fort Jackson. Our other grandson, Brian, will be graduating from Westbrook High School next Sunday. We're really proud of both of them.

Busy couple of weeks...I'll be blogging from the road!