Tag: Camden

Turkey Tracks: Beet Salad

Turkey Tracks:  March 4, 2012

Beet Salad

This picture of a beet salad has been waiting to be discussed since the Christmas holidays when Mike, Tami, and the kiddos were here.

It was too good to just move on and ignore it, so here it is.

It all started when we ha some roasted beets…

Just wash some beets, put them into a covered pan, put the pan into the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour.  Less for small beets; more for larger ones.  A knife will slide right in when they are done.  I also put about a 1/2 cup of water into the pan just to prevent the oozing beet juices from burning.  Let the beets cool.  The skins will slip off easily if you rub the beets with a paper towel.  If the beets are still too warm to handle, stick a fork in each beet, hold it up, and rub the paper towel of the surface while protecting your fingers from the heat.

Lay out a bed of spinach and put the chopped beets (bite sized) over.  We had some of our dried cherry tomatoes, so those went on.  Diced, fresh are also nice.  We had some leftover cooked string beans, so they went on.  Sliced onion.  Red onion would be even nicer, but I’d never make a special trip to the store for one ingredient as I tend to cook with what I have on hand.  Blue cheese crumbled over all.  And the dressing is a very mustardy, sharp, garlicky vinaigrette–lovely with the sweet beets and onion.  Salt and cracked black pepper.

There wasn’t a piece left at the end of the meal.

The picture does not really do this salad justice.  It’s fabulous for a dinner party.

PS:  The tablecloth is a hand-crocheted piece with butterflies in the pattern that I bought at our Coastal Quilters fall auction for, I think, $30!!!!  It has lived on the table since and washes and dries easily.   Thank you, thank you to whomever put this piece into the auction.  It is loved and cherished now.

Turkey Tracks: Knitting Class, Carrying Yarn Color

Turkey Tracks:   February 24, 2012

Knitting Class, Carrying Yarn Color

Once we got our yarn from Kelly Corbett’s Romney Ridge Farm, the next step in Giovanna’s and my “carrying color” project was to take Aloisia Pollack’s class and to buy her pattern.  So, she invited us to come to her home in Jefferson, Maine, which is located at the western top of Damariscotta Lake.  Off we went one fine morning a few weeks ago now.

Here’s the view from Aloisia’s front windows–her rental cabins (Sunset Cabins) lie in a string alongside the lake:

Here’s Aloisia with a sweater project that uses the “carrying color” technique.

To remind, here’s the sweater we’re trying to make, but using our own color choices:

As of Saturday, the 18th, here’s what Giovanna’s sweater looks like:

And, here’s mine.  I made the bottom bands one color and wider.  Since this band gets repeated at the top of the sleeves, I’m not sure I like the wider stripes…  Giovanna tells me that this kind of band is traditional in FairIsle sweaters.

And, Giovanna’s tension is looking better than mine.   Giovanna found a widget that fits over your forefinger that helps control the two yarns–in that it keeps them from tangling and twisting so much.  We got one for me in Belfast at Heavenly Socks, and it does help a lot.  You can see it dangling from my threads; it’s orange.

We both did wider ribbing than Aloisia’s pattern…  Perhaps my band will work with the longer ribbing…  And, I’m making a cardigan, not a pullover.

Giovanna and I are both still feeling like we have clumsy, slow fingers.  But, my knit row is now faster than my purl rows…   And, as we’re doing the sweater “in the round,” that slows down the process as well.

On the way home from Belfast, on Route 52 by Megunticook Lake, we saw an eagle in the middle of the road eating some road kill.  Giovanna stopped the car, and I got this picture after the eagle flew up into the trees.  Follow the two white birch’s up, and you’ll see him/her.

Turkey Tracks: “Neil Berg’s 100 Years of Broadway”

Turkey Tracks:  February 12, 2012

Neil Berg’s 100 Years of Broadway

Friday night held a special treat for us, besides dinner with good friends:  Neil Berg’s “100 Years of Broadway,” a Bay Chamber winter concert.

WOW!

Neil Berg is a very successful composer/lyricist–“The Prince and the Pauper,” “The Twelve,” “The Man Who Would Be King,” “Time and Scrooge,” “Heidi,”  and on and on…   He oozes music and knowledge about the history of Broadway.  He puts together this show where he asks major Broadway stars to join him in singing and dancing many of the songs/dances that they, themselves, have sung “on broadway.”  Along the way, we all learned a little Broadway history and some “insider” tales.

Berg played the piano, and there was a drummer and an electric guitar player.  And boy could Berg play the piano!

This show started with Natalie Toro singing some of the major songs from “Evita,” in which she starred.  She also had major roles in “A Tale of Two Cities,” “Les Miserables,” “Cats,” and “A Christmas Carol.”  Her gorgeous voice is laced with passion.

Rita Harvey is a major Broadway star, probably best known for five years as Christine in “The Phantom of the Opera.”  She’s married to Berg, and she has an astonishing soprano–clear and true.

Danny Zolli is probably best known for “Jesus Christ Superstar,” and he blew us out of the Camden Opera House with some of that music–but not before singing “Sherry,” from “Jersey Boys,” which made us all want to sing along and get up and dance.

Ted Louis Levy is a master tap dancer with a mellow voice and a soft-shoe pleasing manner onstage.  He made his Broadway debut in “Black & Blue.”

David Elder danced and sang “Singing in the Rain,” a la Fred Astaire style.  He’s been in “42nd Street, “Kiss Me Kate,” “Once Upon A Mattress,” “Damn Yankees,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Titanic,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Curtains.”

Were we ever spoiled or what???

One of the joys of living in a small town with a huge cultural component is that we get to see traveling shows like this one.  The Camden Opera House was sold out.

It’s Sunday now, and we’re still walking around humming bits of songs we heard Friday night.  And, we’ve checked our stash of Broadway CD’s to see what’s there.

The show ended–after three hours with an intermission– with “Seasons of Love” from “Rent.”  We think we’ll order some of the Broadway DVDs and have some fun on these cold winter nights.

If this show comes to a place near you, GO!

Turkey Tracks: Yarn Road Trip

Turkey Tracks:  February 2, 2012

Yarn Road Trip

Giovanna McCarthy and I hit the road one day last week.  Our destination:  Romney Ridge Farm Yarn Company in Woolwich, Maine, which is about an hour south of Camden.

There is a history to this story.

Last summer I met Kelly L. Corbett, the owner of Romney Ridge Farm Yarn Company, at MOFGA’s Common Ground Fair in September.  (MOFGA is the Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association, and they have a spectacular fair each year.)  Kelly had asked Aloisia Pollock, a master knitter, to make a sweater showcasing Kelly’s yarns.  Here’s the sweater–which uses a method of carrying two colors to make the little diamonds.

When I got home from MOFGA I went into our new knitting store here in Camden:  The Cashmere Goat.  They LOVED the idea of carrying Kelly’s yarns and hosting a class taught by Aloisia Pollock to make her sweater–and they have a wonderful space to take such a class.  The three groups came together, and that class will be taught in early April 2012.  The sweater is now hanging in the store, alongside some of Kelly’s yarns.

But, Giovanna and I wanted a larger yarn selection than The Cashmere Goat presently has, so we called Kelly and went down on a cold, wintry to pick out the 7 skeins we needed for this project.  We were blown away by all the colors, the possibilities.  Both of us were paralyzed for long moments.  Giovanna summed up what we were both thinking.  “How can I pick seven colors when I want every single one here!”

Here’s what I came home with–the yarn on the far right is the “natural” undyed color of the sheep’s wool.  And, the dark purple yarn above the mauve color isn’t showing up well in this picture:

I also came home with a turquoise yarn I thought would make a great scarf for my black winter coat–AND that will go with my Noro sweater and hat:

Kelly’s farm shop is easy to get to from Route 1.  She’s just below Wiscasset.  Her web site is www.romneyridgefarm.com.  She has a blog as well on that site.

Aloisia Pollock lives in Jefferson and runs the Sunset Cabins on Damariscotta Lake–www.sunsetcabinsmaine.com.

The Cashmere Goat is at 20 Bayview Street in Camden–www.thecashmeregoatknit.com.

Giovanna and I are going down to see Aloisia next Wednesday, and we can hardly wait!

Books, Documentaries, Reviews: Semper Fi: Always Faithful

January 23, 2012

Somehow I seem to have not shared with you the amazing weekend in late September/early October we spent at the Camden International Film Festivalk or CIFF, as we know it locally.  We’ve attended almost since it began–maybe missing the first year.  Every year it gets better and better, and it’s been fun watching many of the films we’ve seen go on to national prominence.  CIFF’s national and internationational reputation is growing, growing, so that helps with the quality of the films submitted.

Many of the films have the power to blow holes in the watcher’s head.  This year we saw a number of those.  Among them was SEMPER FI:  ALWAYS FAITHFUL–the story of one of the largest water contamination disasters in U.S. history.  The location, the Marine base Camp Lejeune, where the Marines, for DECADES, covered up the fact that the drinking water was lethal.  The tip of the iceberg here is that this kind of pollution is likely to be found at many military bases and is, also, being covered up.  The hook of the film is that Marine (myth?) is that the Marines are one big family where family members are loved and protected.

Here’s a recent Washington Post story about the film.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/documentary-reveals-how-contaminated-water-at-the-nations-largest-marine-base-damaged-lives/2012/01/10/gIQAfpy4GQ_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines

And, here are some other titles to watch for or be aware of:

HELL AND BACK AGAIN–the CIFF opening night film about a 25-year old career soldier whose wounds in Afghanistan mandate his return to a civilian life and to a life where his physical well-being is compromised forever–something young soldiers, who are willing to die during service, somehow, never see coming.

DOWNEAST–this story of the struggtle to replace a closed canning factory way up “downeast” with a lobster-packing business–which replaces 128 lost jobs with new work–garnered a standing ovation from the audience–especially when the audience realized the new owner and his family were present in the audience.  Entrepreneur Antonio Bussone runs headlong into entrenched local politics–to include those on the local boards who also work with lobsters and who do not want his business to come to fruition.  The film is an excellent look at the complexity of local change, of what happens when businesses close locally and move elsewhere–in this case to Canada.

A “SECRET CINEMA” early screening of an unnamed film about a social movement in South Africa protesting evictions from squatter homes near major cities.

Another “SECRET CINEMA” early screening about “the unregulated international machine that produces–though ambition, emotion, greed, hope, disillusionment–beauty.  Set in Russia and Japan (Russian girls are chosen to go to Japan to work as fashion models), the film details the terrible exploitation that occurs to under-age Russian girls.  In many ways, the practices detailed in the film play into the sex trade.

UNFINISHED SPACES–a film set in Cuba about architects chosen in the early 1960s to design and build Cuba’s National Art Schools.  The amazing buildings were halted before they were fully completed–for political reasons–and are now being completed.

BETTER THIS WORLD–a chilling film about two young men from Midland, Texas, who attend the 2008 Republican convention with the goal of protesting.  But, they have been drawn into these actions by a man hired as an undercover government informant.  They are arrested by a zealous prosecutor on terrorism charges, though they did nothing violent.  (They made molatov cocktails, but abandoned them.)  One is turned against the other through threats of prison time and promises of plea bargains.  It’s a terrible story that every American should know.

A program of short films started each day, and for the first time we attended and enjoyed them.

Turkey Tracks: Indian Summer in Maine

Turkey Tracks:  October 12, 2011

Indian Summer in Maine

Summer is officially over in Maine.

But, we have been blessed with some gorgeous fall weather, and now our leaves are coloring up fast.

We try to get as much outdoor sweater/light coat weather as we can these days.  Here’s John on the deck of The Waterfront restaurant in Camden, Maine, enjoying a fine, sunny lunch:

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We had a wonderful time at MOFGA’s–Maine Organic Farmers’ and Growers’ Association–Common Ground Fair this year as well.  I can’t imagine how we both left cameras at home, but we did.  And, as usual, there were many wonderful pictures to be had.  I would especially have liked some of the many, fabulous hand-knit sweaters made with local yarns we saw.  Or, of the conga dancers–we finally saw what that was–and it was wonderful–not like square dancing at all, but done in long lines with couples who do repeating patterns that ensure that they move up and down the line–all to the sound of fiddle music.  (A violin sings but a fiddle dances, we learned.)

Here’s a picture of the bird house that John bought and hung on a tree where we can see it all winter long.  People hang lots of bird houses in their woods around their houses in Maine–they provide shelter for the birds that winter off in a storm.  John wants to make some with the grandchildren next summer.  We can’t wait for them to see it.

We celebrated Bryan’s birthday here, as I wrote in an earlier entry.  Here’s a picture of the outside of his birthday card.  I used pictures from their time in Maine to create the card–along with other bits of flotsam and jetsam collected along the way.  The buttons come from South Carolina.  The blue ribbon is off a box of chocolates we got from our new chocolate store here in town, Chocolatier Blue.  You wouldn’t believe these chocolates.

We ate the last of our lamb from last fall:  lamb shanks.  John thought the plate so pretty, he took this picture.  Everything on that plate but the lamb came from our garden.  See the little white pearl onions in the background.  The spaghetti squash came from  Hope’s Edge.  The green is Gundru, for fermented kale.  The white sauce on the tomatoes is homemade mayonnaise.  It was all delicious!  A great fall dinner.

Turkey Tracks: Our Winter Turkeys

Turkey Tracks:  September 19, 2011

Our Winter Turkeys

Susan McBride Richmond and Chris Richmond live just up the hill from us, at Golden Brook Farm.  They have three children and are a source of ongoing inspiration.  Together they have put up three hoop houses, two of them large; have a large flock of chickens and sell eggs; and are presently raising some turkeys for winter eating.  We will get two of the turkeys around Thanksgiving.  Since we’ll be in Charleston, SC, for the holiday, we’ll have our turkeys for winter eating.

They are bronze-breasted heritage turkeys, and here’s what they look like now:

Turkeys are very social and will talk to you as long as you stand by a fence and speak to them:

This time will be the third that Susan and Chris have raised turkeys for us.  They have all been delicious!

And, last spring we got a lot of fresh wonderful greens from Susan’s second hoop house.   The third hoop house which is up and beginning to be planted will be icing on the cake for us since Susan will have greens this winter as well.  How cool is that!!

I wrote about Golden Brook Farm last fall when Susan and Chris hosted a potluck lunch and cider pressing.  This year they have purchased a cider press, and the event will be the weekend of Oct. 1st.  This year I’m bringing my camera!

Turkey Tracks: Garden Bounty

Turkey Tracks:  July 31, 2011

Garden Bounty

Mike, Tami, and the kiddos left Thursday morning for the two-day drive home to Charleston.  We miss them already.

 Miss Reynolds Georgia is so thrown off that she has pooped in the house for three days running.  Here’s the kind of attention she misses from all four children:

Here’s a picture I particularly loved–taken at the Camden Amphitheater during a music concert.  Wilhelmina’s hand is missing.  The children were new to making clover chains and insisted I make crowns, necklaces, and ankle/wrist bracelets:

Garden Bounty pours forth.  Here’s a picture of fresh-picked raspberries.  The bushes are thriving on the chicken-coop bedding dressings in spring and fall.

Here’s a picture of what we picked yesterday evening–except for a large bowl of raspberries that went home with Barb Melchiskey.  We got two kinds of onions–spring and bulb; the first zuke; beans–HARICOT VERTES we can’t wait to eat and Dragon’s Tongue (Heritage seed); and what is probably the last of the sweet peas you can eat right off the vine or blanche quickly–we love them on salads:

Turkey Tracks: Camden Inner Harbor, Summer

Turkey Tracks:  July 8, 2011

Camden Inner Harbor, Summer

Sometime last winter, I posted a picture of the Camden Inner Harbor with schooners all wrapped up for winter–taken from this same place.

Here is that same shot in the summer.

 I’m pretty sure the windjammer/schooner in the foreground is the Mary Day.   She would be provisioning to go out again for probably a week.  The equipment next to the water is getting a stage ready for our July 3rd (Sunday night) fireworks and music.  Sunday turned out to be overcast, so the splendid fireworks took place on Tuesday night.  I suspect the music went on as planned, though we wound up doing different things on Sunday.

It’s mid-afternoon, so many of the boats that “sleep” in our harbor are out for the day.  At night, the harbor is jam-packed with boats of all kinds.

The river comes into the harbor on the far right, and there is a lot of activity on that side of the harbor, which is out of this picture’s frame.

On this side, the harbor is surrounded by beautiful green lawns, with the library sitting above them.

Turkey Tracks: Around and About–June 2011

Turkey Tracks:  June 15, 2011

Around and About–June 2011

Chive is in full bloom everywhere now.  Here’s one in Margaret and Ronald’s garden.  I have three or four now as well.  They reseed themselves all over the place.  The leaves are wonderful snipped with scissors over a salad, over cheese (goat, feta, yogurt), or soup.  But, I didn’t know until coming to Maine that the flowers are also delicious.  I kept asking people at potlucks, “what are these lavender things in the salad?”   The chive is one of the earliest herbs to come back in Maine spring (and yes it is still spring here; we don’t get summer until July 4th or so), and it lasts all summer and up to a killing frost.

Margaret got  two pigs about 10 days ago.  They’re pink, so will sunburn; thus, the umbrella.  Margaret has always wanted to see what pigs would do on their land.   She’s talked about it as long as I’ve known her.  Now she’ll find out.  She’s moved them once already, and they had completely tilled their former pen at least a foot deep overnight.   They’re now in an area filled with alders–an area M&R would like to clear out for more gardens.  So, they just cut down the alders, put the pigs in, and voila!

I’m still awestruck at how big pigs will get and how quickly they do it and how much they eat–all info gleaned from FARM CITY, by Novella Carpenter, which is a terrific read!

M&R are also raising Freedom Ranger chicks.  Here’s one–a beauty–with her tail cocked and ready to fly!

The lupines are blooming everywhere–all along the side of the roads.  It’s a glorious sight.  Maine lupine come in a variety of colors:  the most common is blue/purple, but there are also pink and lavender shades and white.   Here’s some up at our neighbor’s home, Sarah Rheault:

Here’s some on the side of a road leading west out of Camden.  Lupines line both sides of the road:

Rose and Pete have finished their bread oven, and Rose is learning how to use it and developing recipes.  Here’s a pic of some bread in progress:

Our River Birches are something to behold.  I couldn’t resist taking this picture of the shedding bark:

We went out for lunch today and came back via Barrett’s Cove–one of our swimming holes and a beautiful view.  Here it is:

This little tour does not begin to cover everything exciting that is happening these days.  But, that’s Maine for you!