Too tired, too late, too old!

Today was a half free day, so I worked in the classroom this morning and then went out with Karen and Andrea to have another lobster roll at the same place we went yesterday - on the wharf in Corea.  We  stopped at a handcraft gallery  which had some beautiful things for sale, but I didn't buy any.   The back to Schoodic  for dinner.  Since then I have been working on the Surfside Quilters Guild newsletter which needs to go to the proof readers on Monday or Tuesday.  Hope to edit some Maine pictures tomorrow, but tonight I need to get to bed. 



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Road Trip Maine - Out to Lunch Lobsta Rolls 08-26-16

We went shopping for paper towels, counter cleaning liquid, Exacto knives, and a few other things for ourselves and others in the class.  Andrea Bacal, Karen Crossland and I left class a little early at lunchtime and drove to Winter Harbor to visit the grocery store and the mercantile.  Then we sought out the best lobster rolls in Maine (according to someone who does a survey every year) which are served on a wharf in Corea (pronounced Korea).  They were delicious- just a bun (sort of like a small hot dog bun), lobster and a little butter.  Mayo and mustard where served on the side.  We also shared a serving of cracked crab claws which came with a dipping sauce which wasn't necessary.  Yum. To top it all off we had ice cream.  Then we headed back to class where we had missed the teacher's afternoon talk.  But she made it up for us.  Here are some pictures from today. 

This sidewalk display at the Mercantile caught my eye.  It was the Flamingoes that stopped me.  In Maine?  It is, I think a display for people who have a summer cottage - badmiton, croquet, bird seed, and door mats made from fishing lines.  

Really low key entrance to the Lobster Roll stand- on the left. .  

Andrea Bacal and Karen Crossland ordering at the "window". 

This was the order before ours.  Lobster roll on the left. 

Here is the lobster fisherman, cracking open the lobster and crab. 

The little cardboard "boats" in the forground are for the lobster rolls. 

What did we do before  plastic? 

View of the harbor at low tide.

Here is our serving of cracked crab legs with lemon and the dipping sauce in the foreground. 

Karen Crossland

Andrea Bacal with her ice cream sandwich - "Moose Tracks" ice cream (vanilla with  mini peanut butter cups) between two chocolate chip cookies. 

My Summer Berry ice cream in a waffle cone. 

Karen Crossland with her Summer Berry in a plain cone. The cones were filled all the way to the bottom

Other guests on the wharf. 

At the end of the wharf a lifebuoy showing the name of the town. 

 

A flock of Canadian geese had been  enjoying a grassy patch on the hillside when a dog came along and chased them off.  They rose up clacking and shrieking to land in the harbor. 

 

Souveniers for the tourists.  These represent the buoys which were painted different combinations to identify the fisherman who planted the lobster pots.  I don't think they use them anymore.  These are keychains, I think. 

Looking back to the seating area on the wharf. 

It was a fun adventure and delicious lunch. 

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Day one of Elizabeth Busch class at Schoodic Institute in Acadia Nat'l Park, Maine.  

 

This is the building our classroom is in - the water  tower is behind the building.

 

See how we take over!  Those colorful rectangles on the side of the building are our painted pieces hung out to dry.  In the foreground is Andrea's rental car. 

 

This is Elizabeth's demo piece, she makes it look so easy.  It is done with textile paint on canvas.

 

Another demo, this one is chalk pastels on Black Trigger fabric.  Only about 9" x 7".

 

Several people do not want pictures taken of their work, so tonight I am posting only Elizabeth's work and demo samples.  The top piece is a completed quilt, on the bottom a painted fabric. 

 

I love this brilliant little quilt.  Such color!  All paint on neutral canvas.

 

More painted pieces demonstrating different techniques that can be used.

 

On top is another completed quilt using the painted fabrics.

 

Here is the first one I was working on.  I was trying for a light grey background.  And have since overpainted it with bright raspberry pink streaks.  Don't know yet if it will work.

 

Elizabeth sitting at her table in front of her pin  up board.

 

A classroom view.  Colleen Prindiville (Ireland), Mary Brown (England), Karen Crossland (San Diego).  with their pin up boards beyond them.

 

Far left is Karen Crossland, Andrea Bacal in the center and Carol Fleischer on the right.  The concentrated paints in the bottles are what we use with a medium - just a few drops makes a brilliant color.

 

Also in the class are John Cardin, Gwen Hendrix, and Benedicte Caneill, all with their backs to me.

 

Here is my table mate  Shira Singer from Bar Harbor, ME, which is just a few miles away, so she commutes. 

 

Guess today was stressful so all of us are very tired.  I am not going to work on the SQG newsletter,  Instead I am going to bed at 10:30pm.  Shocking for a night owl like me. 

Weather is comfortably warm, maybe 80F today if one keeps out of the wind and in the low 50s at night.  Blue sky with fluffy white clouds.  Green in every hue surrounds us.   

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My final destination Acadia Nat'l Park in Maine 08-23-16

This will be very short because I am exhausted and must go to bed.  It was a day of driving on narrow roads with trees along either side.  There were more little villages today, but that just backed up the traffic when everyone  slowed for the speed limits.  I stopped too many times - get gas, go potty, browse a fabric shop (not quilts), and to eat my leftover seafood pie which I think was better the 2nd day cold than it was hot fresh from the range.  I also stopped to find my way on the map, which has entirely too many peninsulas and little roads with similar numbers.  At any rate, I arrived here at the Schoodic Institute at just 5pm when the office closed.  Fortunately Andrea and Karen gook care of me and had my room key waiting.  We invaded out classroom and set everything  up and then went to dinner.  Tamale Pie, which I hope is not an indicator for meals to come!   Back to the classroom to finish set up and then back to my lodging, which is really a two bedroom apartment with living room, dining room and two bedrooms and a bathroom.  Very plain, very brown.  Andrea and Karen are directly above in a duplicate apartments.

 

There is no cell service in the lodgings, so I went out in the dark - and I mean DARK, not even any stars -.and drove around holding my phone up to see if I could get a signal. I finally found a spot on the roadway near the dining hall that gave me ONE bar.  But I was able to check in with two friends who are keeping track of me on this long journey.  Now you all know that I am doing just fine and need to get a little extra sleep tonight.  Hope to write more and include some pictures tomorrow.

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Road Trip Maine Pictures from just today 08-22-16

This morning I went to  Best Buy in Portland to talk to the Geek Squad, stood in line for about half an hour (did you know you can make an appointment?) and set my non-working laptop on the counter.  Told the guy it would only show a blue screen.  He opened it up, turned it on and it came on!  He had me put in my password and pulled up a few things, then repeated this three times.  Off and on perfectly and not a twinkle of a solid blue screen.  He said it probably just got jostled in traveling and decided to not work for a while.  Hmph!   So, I  went off happy, if feeling foolish, because I did have it on every evening for the last three and could not get it to work.  Bummer. 

 

Tonight I am at Bayberry House in Boothbay Harbor main.  It is a lovely B&B, I'd recommend it to anyone,  even if we haven't had breakfast yet!  Andrea, Karen and I went to dinner at the Tale of the  Whale, which seems to be a local favorite.  I  had the seafood pie, which is like chicken pot pie except it has shrimp, lobster, haddock, potatoes, instead of chicken.  It was delicious and I have some leftover for lunch tomorrow.  Andrea and Karen went right to  bed, but I can't eat a big dinner and go to bed without having a terrific stomach ache.  So, I  have been working on the pictures I've taken over the last few days.  Tonight I will give you those from today - from Portland, ME, to Boothbay Harbor, ME. 

 

There isn't much to see along the way because the trees grow close up to the road.  Then there will be a little village with either wood or brick buildings, some obviously quite old.  The architecture is very plain. 

 

Many of the building appear to have been added on to at some time.  The front of this house is to the right.  From this side view I believe you can see the original house on the right and the rear addition on the left. 

 

Wonder why they built these so close together - looks like S.California.

 

Maine has a terrifically long coast if you count all the bays and peninsulas - in and out  
To get to Boothbay Harbor you drive a long road almost to the point.

 

These may be peninsulas or islands, lots of little wooded islands. 

 

But mostly as you drive along you see trees on both sides of the road.  It seems that if the verge on either side and the median, if there is one, will grow up in trees very quickly if they are not regularly mowed.  So, signs saying "Mowing Operations" and, of course, the mowers are very common.

 

So, when you come to a place where the trees are crowding the road you know there is a place that receives regular cutting of grass,  weeds, and tress.  This one is a...........

 

.......cemetery, one of many along the way.

 

This pasture has a low spot where the water has collected and the trees have died - guess one could say they drowned.  I saw a number of these dead spots along I-90 through up sate New York.

 

I'll have to find time to sort through the pictures and present an album of my travels over the days of the dead computer. 

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Road Trip - Made it to Maine 08-22-16

Yes , here I am in Portland, Maine.,  HURRAH!  It has been a pleasant trip and I have enjoyed the drive.  Yesterday I visited Ruth McDowell in her very rural location in NW Massachusetts - just half a mile from Vermont.  Since I missed the turn off I went on north and the road signs changed to Vermont and I knew I had gone too far.  So, U turn and back to try again.  Although she has neighbors she can see partial views of through the trees, she is very isolated and loves the peace and quiet and the clean, fresh air.  Her  house is a quilter's dwelling with a few of her 600 wonderful quilts hung on the walls and other pieces of handcrafting she has done, such as funky peeled twig furniture.  Her flower beds are a combination of cultivated species and wild plants that move in.  There is tiny oxalis blooming between the stepping stones to her front door. T
here are towering trees all around - mostly deciduous and the sumac is showing signs of changing colors.  It won't be a good year for color because New England is suffering from drought, as it seems is much of the USA.  After about a two  hour visit with Ruth and her great dog, Sepia, a Bernease Mountain dog like Harvey of quilt fame, I hit the road again headed for Maine.  My mileage total for the day was only 250 miles, but that was enough to get me to my destination. 

I'm heading for Best Buy to see if their Geek Squad can do anything with my laptop.  I went last evening only to discover that they close at 7 on Sundays.   I went out for dinner at the Marriot, which shares the parking lot with HIE where I stayed the night, on the advice of the Auto Club Tour Guide.  I had a delcious salmon dinner and brought "home" some with two slices of bread so I can have a salmon sandwich for lunch.  Now to find some mayo! 

Later today I will go further north to Booth Bar Harbor to spend one night at a B&B and meet up with Andrea Bacal and Karen Crossman who have spent the weekend in Boston.  We will all be taking Elizabeth Busch's class at the Schoodic Institute at Acadia Nat'l Park.  I'm not sure they will have a computer I can use, but I will try to work something out. 

Rain during the night, but the sun is shining now - between the grey clouds.  And it is quite windy.  I did bring a sweatshirt vest and a light jacket, but I suspect it is not cold outside.  Elizabeth told us to expect every weather except snow - and she couldn't guarantee that.

Be safe, Keep well.  Love, Del-on-the-Road/ Portland, Maine
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Road Trip to Maine Chicopee, MA 08-21-16

I think it is the 21st, I am using the computer in the "business center" at the Hampton Inn which doesn't have a date liney I've had an uneventful trip, but had to make time yesterday, so drove about 600 miles. Most of the miles on I-90 which is sometimes a toll road and sometimes not. Racked up about $15 in tolls. But it is a great road surface and the miles just flew by. Not much to see - just trees and swamps and more trees. The median and verges are nicely mowed, so it is a little like a 200+ mile park.

I am off to see Ruth McDowell this morning and then on to Booth Bay Harbor. I have not done anything about my laptop because I am not in one place long enough. Maybe tomorrow. Weather warm and sticky. Feeling good and still going! Love, Del-on-the-road # # #