A Merry Christmas

 Another great Christmas in North Whitefield. Lots of fun with family, great food, and gift-giving.

 M-S's Christmas egg bake:

 Sarah got a special present from Uncle Jim:

 A Miss Piggy figurine that has been passed from person to person for decades.

Tonight we'll be having corn chowder in Mammie's holiday bowls. A very nice day.
~MET

I'm Starting to Get Excited to...

 ...get on some ice and catch some fish. The unofficial  beginning of ice-fishing season is the open house at Jack Traps in Monmouth. Jesse, Paul, and I went this morning and had a great time. As I write this I'm watching Hardwater, the awesome documentary about ice-fishing in Maine. The STAR of the movie is Bob Foster from Monmouth Center, next door to North Monmouth where my dad grew up. He is the gentleman in the picture above. I introduced myself and he recognized the name and said, "You must be Moose Thurston's boy" in that wonderful thick Maine accent. Jack Traps is a fantastic small business:

 They have an awesome product hand-made right in Monmouth:

 Every year a guy from Sanford brings his antique trap display:

 He has some really interesting stuff. This was my big purchase today:

Jack Traps' new jig stick - and like everything else its amazing quality and will last forever. I'm counting the hours now to opening day.
~MET