Coastal Memories

I saw this beautiful oil painting on Esty done by the talented Shelley Koopmann (Please check out her shop, PastelPaletteArtwork).  To me it conjures up very fond memories of combing the beaches of Maine looking for sea glass, shells, and any other treasures that can be found.  A wave would go out, and I'd be tempted to venture quickly out on the shiny, wet sand for that too-tempting-to-leave gorgeous piece of roughed up glass, only to have to hurry back quickly before the wave came roaring back trying to get my shoes wet. 

I like that his picture has a lady fully clothed on a beach...it is usually quite cool on the beaches of Maine even in the summer. This is how I was usually dressed.  Only the heartiest actually swim in the frigid northern Atlantic!  I remember my feet going numb quite quickly --not to mention ache!--whenever I decided to take off my shoes and socks and venture out into the water to my ankles.  It has been many years since we've had the chance to go to Maine.  It is definitely a destination spot--not one of those places that you can just stop at on your way to someplace else.  Perhaps next year we will have the chance to go and comb the beautiful beaches while filling our lungs with the fresh salt air--much like our lady above is doing.  But, until then, I shall just enjoy Shelley's artwork and the wonderful memories it brings. 

I'm Back and Ready to Go!

Well, we have returned from our looooonng drive to and from Maine.  It was great to go back "home" to see the beauty and charm of Maine, where I grew up, hear the ocean, and smell the salt air.  We met up with my grandparents visiting from Florida, my brother and nephew back from New Zealand to enroll my nephew into college this fall, my great aunt, and other friends.  We also said our final goodbyes to my grandmother who passed away this past March.  We were all able to meet at the veterans' cemetery in Maine where my grandfather is already buried for a memorial service for her (this was our main purpose in going to Maine).  It was a beautiful, sunny day and the service, though teary for sure, was sweet and full of memories of dear Gram.  I say it was our "final" good-bye...but that, of course, is only on this earth because she had and we have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, and we know we will see hear again someday.  Such comfort this assurance brings!

While in Maine, we did a little antique shopping, eating on "the rocks" along the coast watching seagulls and fishermen check their lobster traps, hiking, eating fish (yum--can't beat fresh fish!), and looking for sea glass.  I even have a project or two to do with some that I found...that will be another post perhaps.  Anyway, it's good to be back to my real home, and it's time to get busy for the fall.

Roses in Bloom

I love this time of year when the roses start to really bloom. I pruned most of my bushes this spring--scaring a few with my unstoppable clipping perhaps. They look a little small...but I know they will be full and pretty soon. So far so good as far as the tent caterpillars go this year. They have been terrible the past few years eating my bushes down to the stalks. We are prepared this year....and are determined not to lose any bushes to them and their incredible destruction.

This is what the roses from my huge bush out back look like up close--they are rugosas. Though they are not the fancy kind but are hearty and fragrant and beautiful.This is what we see from our deck. We have a lot that extends a good distance in from the road. Mom brought literally a stick about a foot long to us from Maine about 4 years ago. It was October, and I wasn't sure it would survive. I planted it with banana peels and so hoped that it would make it since it was something from Maine and reminds me of the salt mist roses seen along the coast--a wonderful remembrance of growing up there. Well, not only did it survive, but it has flourished into this huge bush taller than I am. It smells wonderful, is hearty, and I just love the mass of green covered with pink. What a delight to look out back and see this...and I bet you can almost smell them!

A few Goodies from Yard Sale and Antique Shopping

We needed to travel light because, well, now that you have to pay for each piece of luggage, I was determined to be frugal and pack light. One thing I love to do while visiting my parents in Maine is going to yard sales and looking through antique stores. Not that I buy much, but the items seem to be different there than in the Midwest--older houses, older "stuff" to find. With a promise from my dear mom that we could do laundry whenever necessary, I packed particularly light (a hard task for me!) with room and weight to spare in each suitcase in order to fill them to the brim with good deals. My mom and I love to yard sale and peak into antiques stores together, so off we went bright and early four different days. I found some great deals on winter coats for both of the children and winter boots for one--even though it was a challenge squishing them all into a suitcase. How could I resist $1.00 for a warm coat and 25 cents for a decent, warm pair of winter boots?! Most of my finds were shoes and clothing for the children...but there were a few treasures for me that were inexpensive (all of these below cost less than $5.00) and quite irresistible.
One is the talc tin (and box!) above. It is in perfect condition and beautiful in every way. I don't know why some people sell such pretty things...but I'm tickled to have found it.
I found this book on Victorian crafts for 25 cents. I'm helplessly stuck in the romantic Victorian era because I can't resist its pages full of beautiful ideas. What a deal!
I love candle holders, and this brass one is from Italy. It features a thistle and should polish up well with my husband's Brasso.
Finally I'm a sucker for little cottages and have a collection of them in various forms and sizes on our mantle. This one turned out to be a Thomas Kinkade's Swanbrook Cottage for only $1.00.

I'm Back...and with a New Mousepad and Lollishop Widget!

Well, we had a wonderful past week with my family in Maine. The weather was cool this year--not the hot, humid, almost-unbearable weather of Julys past, but I really didn't mind. We picked sea glass off beaches, went to little shops, sniffed coastal rose bushes that grow wild everywhere, went to antique shops and yard sales (more on the goodies I found in a later post), and visited with my parents, grandmother, and friends at the church back "home". I bought this new mousepad at a store in Bar Harbor. I've always wanted one of these little rugs... being drawn, as you know, to genuine things that aren't in their usual size (like the genuine, leather-bound, miniature Bible I have and did a post about many months back). Our old mousepad was just that--old and stained--and we needed a change. I'm delighted! No doubt I will click better now. One new thing on my blog that needed attention right away is the new Lollishops widget to the right. Do you like it? Sadie got these widgets up and running while we were away, and I new that adding my Lollishop shop widget had to be one of the first things I did upon our return. Thanks, Sadie!

Sea Glass Found in Maine

I just couldn't wait to post the picture of the sea glass I found in Maine this past time. It is so fun and relaxing to search beaches looking for the little gems. Sea glass is glass from bottles and other items that has been thrown into the ocean from years past, broken up by the motion of the waves over the sandy and rocky bottom of the sea, and thrown up onto land by the waves. The glass comes in all colors of course--some colors more rare than others. There is plenty of brown, white, and beautiful shades of green. It is exciting to find light to dark turquoise, blue in various hues, red, pink, yellow, and light to dark purple (my daughter found one as you can see in this picture--a definite deep amethyst color). To find a piece of glass all roughened by the sea and in a gorgeous color is most exciting! It actually feels as if you are finding a precious gemstone. Many beaches in Maine have sea glass--some more than others, and you really must be determined to look. Some pieces are sharp and should be left to roughen up more. The best pieces (other than those with gorgeous colors) are ones that are "gum drops" as my mom calls them--so pitted and roughened by the sea they look like they are sugared gum drops (like the brown piece at the bottom left of the picture)--and pieces that you can tell they were part of a bottle, like the curved white piece at the bottom left, the white piece in the picture with "PA" on it, or the green piece with the maple leaf imprint on it. I have one piece from a past trip with "TEA" on it--perfect for me! Though I did not find any on this trip, my parents have found in the past small bottles and complete tops of perfume bottles. Lovely! Also, you can see in this picture a few pieces of broken teacups were found. I thought I'd include a penny for size perspective. Enjoy looking at my cache--real treasures indeed!

Maine's Salt Mist Roses

It's no wonder I love roses! While in Maine, we saw roses growing wild just everywhere in white and various shades of pink. It didn't matter if the soil was sandy or rocky, roses dotted the landscape and coastline. I'm convinced there is no better smell than the combined scents of wild roses and the salt air. **sigh**--I miss it already!

Back from Vacation in Maine

I'm back from my vacation visiting family in Maine. My husband is always so kind to make sure I get back "home" every year to visit my family and where I grew up. I love the coast and we went "to the coast" several times during our visit. A few times while on the coast were sunny, but most were foggy which can still be beautiful and romantic. We took a sail on the Margaret Todd (the only four-masted ship in New England) and even helped hoist the sails--no small feat! I tried to get a picture of her lovely reddish-brown sails in full sail, but whenever I had the chance it was too foggy to get a good picture. Visit the website about the trips aboard her on www.downeastwindjammer.com and for a good picture as well. Of course we went looking for sea glass, but I will tell you about that later!