Supporting Local Business

 M-S and I joined some friends for some holiday shopping, and we started at the same place we always do - Maple Lane Farm. Robbi's pottery is the best around, and we always find something wonderful.

 We also stuck very close to home by hitting:

We had a chilly but very fun day. I've also had a couple of plates of leftovers. Pretty sure I'm seconds away from a stroke.
~MET

Thanksgiving 2013

 The end of another wonderful Thanksgiving Friday. I love getting up early and working all day to prepare the meal, and every year I think it gets a little easier and a little better. This morning while I was peeling potatoes M-S was getting ready to walk the dog and avoid the hunters:

 I have the meal timed down to the second, and the best thing I've ever done is to finish some of the veggies early and put them into crock-pots to keep them warm - I am up to 3 slow cookers now. Here are the snack foods this year:

 Chris & Lauren, Sarah, Kori, and Tut joined us this year. And of course two dogs - here is Sarah with one of them:

 This year's new items were an old favorite: green bean casserole, and a slow cooked creamed corn that was amazing. I also got a fresh turkey that brined for 24 hours. The meat was really, really, good:

 As is tradition, Baxter and Bella got a small plate:

 Young adults being kids:

 This year's desserts - cupcakes and cannolis:

 Baxter had way too much to eat, so he went out to play ball:

It was wonderful to see the kids and to enjoy their company. Tomorrow we'll head to Robbi's pottery show, do some errands, and try to get all these dishes done. Thanksgiving is the best.
~MET

Thursday is Not My Thanksgiving But...

 ...I do love this day. Thanksgiving has ALWAYS been my favorite holiday, and since we moved our meal to Friday its only become better. Today M-S, Baxter, and I went for a wonderful brisk walk, and then dad came out for a delicious brunch. We had poached eggs on really good toast, sweet potato hash, and Emery's breakfast sausage. It was all amazing. We watched some of the parade and started to get ready for tomorrow. Of course, at noon I listened to:

 ...on WBLM. They play the original vinyl, with all the 1970s scratches. I so look forward to this every year. I also was preparing this:

Thats an 18 pound turkey in a lobster pot beginning to brine. Lots of veggies, spices, salt, and so forth. I'm pretty sure this is going to be the best Thanksgiving meal of all time. I'll post tomorrow - life is good.
~MET

Colby Museum of Art

 Tut, M-S, and I made our first trip to the very expanded Colby Museum of Art. It is HUGE. In fact, we saw about 2/3 of the art. You can't take pictures of every exhibit, but I did take a few. Click on them to make them bigger. The one above was my favorite from today - its called Watching the Circus...I've already forgotten the artist. We all had a very good time drinking it all in.

 This sculpture is pretty amazing:

 There is a similar one in DC at the American Art Gallery of a woman drinking coffee. Tut is telling him where to place his next card:

If you get a chance to check it out, you should. They have a Chinese exhibit right now that is amazing, and they have a ton of American art. I think all of us are looking forward to going again, and maybe going out to eat after.
~MET

Democracy in Action

 I spent this morning with a group of about 75 education professionals interviewing candidates for the Maine Education Association endorsement in the gubernatorial race in Maine.

 The two candidates who showed up were both well-prepared and respectful.

The MEA endorsement will be announced on Monday, and then we ALL need to work hard to elect a pro-education governor to replace the mistake that currently resides in the Blaine House. It was a very good meeting and I'm always amazed at the level of commitment on display by my colleagues. The MEA is an outstanding organization.
~MET

The MEA, Oil & Vinegar, Dinner, and the Fall

 Friday after school I came home to visit with Baxter for a little bit before heading to the Samoset for the MEA Fall Conference. I've not missed one of these trainings since I became a local leader many years ago.

 There are lots of workshops on a variety of topics and I always learn something new.

 Its also a chance to see good friends, meet members from around the state, and have some fun. Jesse also attended this one and he joined M-S and I after the conference for dinner in downtown Rockland. Before dinner we went to Fiore:

 Its a wonderful vinegar and olive oil place.

 We got to try many different flavor combos and settled on a big bottle of Peruvian lime olive oil and two smaller bottles of vinegar to mix with it - honey ginger balsamic and jalapeno white balsamic. We'll be going back many times, and you should check it out:  http://fioreoliveoils.com/site/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=188:rockland&Itemid=25  For dinner we tried yet another new restaurant: 3 Crow. www.3crow.com  The picture is of my appetizer, which was biscuit and jelly. That paired with some gumbo was fantastic. The place is pretty funky and is certainly worth a visit.

This morning we went for a very quiet long walk with Baxter to get a busy day started. I will be visiting the dump, the grocery store, the bakery, the fish market, and the butcher. AND - M-S is making me brunch. Life is good.
~MET

Fantastic Friday

      Today was a no-school Friday. This was our comp day for doing two evenings of parent-conferences last month. I started early (6am) by taking Baxter for a walk. Right after that I went to Union to fish the Georges River. I had a wonderful morning. Walking down to the river I heard a strange sound and looked up to see a bald eagle take flight from a branch about 10 feet above my head. It was awesome. The only thing more amazing was the fishing:

 I caught two salmon and five browns. The one above is the last one and the one I took home. I went to Dad's for a delicious lunch and then we went to the State Museum - a place I haven't been in a LONG time. A lot of it is the same as when I was a kid, but they do have some new and pretty awesome exhibits. One of them is a bunch of rooms in an American home from different eras. Here is Tut looking quite at home in the 1960's living room:

 One of the rooms was from "Upta Camp" and included some great old fishing gear:

 The other big exhibit is Maine in the Civil War:

 It was really good, and all of the artifacts are from Maine soldiers. My favorite piece today was this one:

Its the remains from the 20th Maine battle flag that made it to Little Round Top at Gettysburg. Dad and I had a really fun afternoon.
~MET

The Weekend in Pictures

 This has been a fantastic fall weekend. We went on lots of walks to commune with farm critters. I made an AWESOME chicken/beer soup using a Marshall Wharf beer:

 I went to the 2013 Jefferson-Jackson dinner:

 I got to talk to Mike Michaud, Chellie Pingree, Emily Cain, and Troy Jackson. M-S, Baxter, and I tried a trail to the Georges River:

 We found this screened in picnic house:

 It has a great view of the river, and might be the coolest thing I've come across in the woods.

 Baxter had a great time, and I found some pools that I will fish soon.

 After a delicious brunch and grocery shopping Dad came out to build us a new bird feeder:

 The man is a natural engineer. The birds on this end of the Mills Road will have no trouble this winter. Dad took home some soup to eat before he goes bowling. This has been a fun couple of days. Life is good.
~MET