Category Archives: Living

Philosophy of a Business

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We had dinner at a restaurant called Avatar in Sausalito. The owner, Ashok, is at first glance, a happy man. Sit at the “bar” at his restaurant and you’ll find out why he’s so happy – he’s a food scientist and psychologist who will make you the best food you’ll ever have in your life. “You’ll want to lick the plate,” he told me. (And I did – want to, that is!) Ashok loves what he does every day. He loves his life and business.

Every year on the day before Thanksgiving, Ashok opens his door to the community and feeds all the people who walk through the door – last year it was over 1,000 – for free. Wine, beer, food, all free. FREE! Last year my brother worked in his kitchen for the event and this year both he and his beautiful wife will be there.

I’ve always heard that if you want to receive, you have to give and the bounty that this good-hearted man receives is (in part) due to his participation in giving back to his community. Or, I would contend, he really gives to his community – daily! He’s giving of himself – tell him what you FEEL like eating and he’ll prepare you a delightful dish. He’ll also look you in the eye, shake your hand, smile at you and remember your name. He’s thankful that you’ve chosen to eat at Avatar.

Blessings – gone knitting.

 

Are You Going to (Common Ground) Fair? Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme … For Fun!

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Prize Winning Posies

A great weekend with my knitting buddy, Kelly. She arrived in Bangor on Friday night … just in time for a lobster dinner at the lake and it was good!

Saturday, despite the dreary and wet weather report, we decided to chance it and head to the Common Ground Country Fair (MOFGA) in Unity. N. took the truck for his Saturday morning visit to the Transfer Station and then we hit the road – Ethel the GPS, plugged in and working hard to direct us!

The fair was excellent! And it only drizzled a little bit – enough to be bothersome for a very (very!) short while. We had such a great time and I ran into two people that I know – feels like I’m almost a native Mainer!

Here are the highlights:

Yarn! Yarn! Yarn!

Yarn! Yarn! Yarn! The displays were amazing and spread all over the fairgrounds. I bought a couple of gifts to be given on birthdays coming up. Top colorful purple/yellow/green (like Mardi Gras?) and the ivory yarns are DK weight merino and alpaca blends, very reasonably priced, from Oasis Farm Fiber Mill in Otisfield, Maine. The pale pastels yarn is from Good Karma Farm in their sea foam color way. I love the colors of this yarn and it’s a wool and alpaca blend from Belfast, Maine. I had to visit every booth at the fair (yes, I mean “every”) to decide just which ones I was taking home (since I’ve still got a few from last year that I didn’t knit yet.)

The Fiber Tent was very interesting. We touched almost every single bag of fleece. We both want to learn how to process the wool all the way from animal to knitting needles. We ogled a few spinning wheels and the Wednesday Spinners in action.

Is Your Mama a Llama? Check out that underbite!

We viewed a bunch of critters … bunnies, chickens, a very noisy guinea hen, the most beautiful turkey (Best in Show!) with copper and iridescent feathers – a truly gorgeous bird! We saw the sheep, goats, horses, a couple of llamas and oxen.

Blue Ribbon Butts!

Veggies and flowers and preserved food, oh my!

Wall of Pretty Pickles, etc.

There was a tomato that looked like a duck and lots and lots of pretty flowers, beans, beets, pumpkins, gourds, squash, beets, radishes, onions, leeks, quilts, knitting (I may have to enter next year!), potatoes, pumpkins large and small … phew! I need to take a breath!

Tomatoes are Ducky!

 

Bee-Utiful!

Beans, Beans They're Good for Your Heart!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had such a great time. We drank organic blueberry soda, ate stir fried organic veggies, some vegetable curry, pad thai, and for dessert a blueberry cheesecake cone (if you’ve never seen or heard of this, it’s worth a look for one!) The food area was simply amazing … if the day were a bit longer, we could have eaten more!

I found a really special poster from their 1998 fair … it’s un-BEE-lievably fun for this Queen Bee! It will be framed and hung in my Atelier! I’d love to show you a picture of it but it’s all wrapped up and waiting to travel!

I have only touched on a tiny corner of the iceberg (so to speak) and there was so much more to see and experience but I’ve not got the time here. Suffice it to say that while our feet and legs and hips hurt, our hearts and tummies were full and our souls were fed. It’s a great weekend, and a wonderful place to spend an hour or a whole day – next year, I’m taking my knitting and will sit and watch the people! Good for a family fun day, a girls day out or just about any “reason.”

We had a wonderful time at the Fair!

 

Self-fulfillment

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I have a very wise sister.

Daily, she sends me a text message with something to think about and often something I need to “hear”.

Today she sent this:

“If you look to others for fulfillment, you will never truly be fulfilled.”

Yup, absolutely. I know it’s true in my heart. So, why do I still look to others for their approval? Why does it matter? I know that I am still working on it – and that’s a good thing. I will get there. Some days are better than others. And today, I’ll be thinking about how I can help me to feel more fulfilled all by myself.

Gone knitting!

Getting it Done – a Lazy Sunday

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I planned to do nothing today. It was a bit grey and dreary … a lazy kind of Sunday.

Porch View - Grey-ish Sunday

I woke up late, had my coffee (soon it will be tea in the morning and no coffee but that’s a whole other story) and a rather sad looking pumpkin scone with the texture of a muffin, really. Then went outside because N. was going to mow the lawn … and I decided to weed the little perennial garden that we added by the big rock outside the front door. During the month of August, it went to heck and really needed some TLC!

We’ve been collecting the bits and pieces of scrap metal left behind by the railroad workers who’ve been upgrading the train tracks behind the house. And I decided that my garden needed to be edged with railroad spikes. I love it – and it’s so appropriate for this house that is so close to the tracks! (And we’ve still got a bucket and then some of pieces of metal for N. to practice soldering with!) A little bit of mulch and it will be done. Yippee! What do you think?

"Rock" Garden

After doing nothing this morning, I made a pumpkin pie. I thought I bought a can of pumpkin but it was organic pumpkin pie filling … and the recipe on the back of the can didn’t ask for any sugar so the pie needs a bit more sugar but it’s OK with some homemade coconut ice cream on the side!

We took the dogs for a walk down the street and chatted with neighbors and then I got to sit and knit a bit with a lovely cup of tea on the side porch.

So, for having planned to do nothing done today, I feel like I accomplished a little bit!

PS – We have been working on repainting the front screen door and the fence that surrounds the garbage cans. Though we didn’t do any painting today, we nearly have it done and it looks so much better! Now, on to the back of the house (or the wood shed or the bedroom door and window or …) Here’s the “before” … “after” pictures when we’re completely done!

Before #2

Before

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gone knitting!

Queen Bee Knits Sale

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My friends here (all two or three of you) and on Facebook, will be happy to hear that I’m having a sale for my friends, only. If you’re not my friend, don’t try to use the coupon code or your computer may explode. (Not really.)

When shopping at my Etsy shop, use this special code to win 15% off the price of any purchase! Yes 15% off! Lucky ducks! Are you ready? Here’s the code: QBKCIRCLE .

Happy shopping … and be sure to shop early. You know, it’s only a matter of time before Christmas and all the other winter holidays!

Gone knitting!

I See Old People

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Another road trip. To Naples, FL, this time … to visit N’s mother who is in a lovely Assisted Living facility here.

Getting old really sucks. All of her friends and her husband are dead. “Nobody” (we interpret this as “nobody who I can remember or really care about) visits her. The aides who work on her wing, at least a few of them, have a HUGE chip on their shoulders and the attitudes make her feel threatened to the point that she feels unsafe at times. I can’t imagine being dependent on people who come into your room (her only home, likely for the rest of her life) with a grimace on their face, people who can’t even grunt out a semi-pleasant greeting, who leave you sitting on the toilet knowing you can’t get yourself up or help yourself. Unacceptable behavior for “care-givers” paid to be helpful.

Visits are getting more difficult and Nanny’s getting more difficult to please as her words are becoming less numerous and more difficult to retrieve. Communication is wacky – with “no” being the first response to every inquiry but often followed by a “yes” or a few words strung together slowly. We’re finding that we have to speak more slowly and distinctly and a lot louder! We are learning a lot about patience and are able to wait much longer for her to figure out how to respond.

I wish there were a way to remove yourself from the world of the living when you feel that your life is no longer worth living and when you’ve got no quality of life.

On the flip side, it incentivizes me and reminds me to get moving and to keep my life and mind active and full today … we don’t know what will happen tomorrow.

Gone knitting!

Wondering …

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… whether to maintain my Etsy shop or move my knitwear items to my website.

… why some people can’t seem to share.

… how people who love each other (or did one day) can be so hateful.

… why people can’t leave their children out of it.

… if it’s going to be cooler today.

… what to have for breakfast.

… to knit or study?

… how to make my love of knitting and people and martinis and little dogs into a business that will support me.

… when I’ll see all three of my kids next.

… how to make this blog more interesting (and get more readers.)

Ugh. Study time. Four more chapters. I can do this.

When I Grow Up … I want to be …

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A farmer.

… and a knitter, a spinner and a baker, a potter, a Bed & Breakfast Inn owner, an adventurer, a lover, a singer, a mother-in-law, a grandmother, and probably many other things.

Peas From Our Garden

 

I’m not a very good farmer yet! This year our garden (I am told) was planted too early and the plants were stunted. So, they didn’t really grow. My seeds all died before the plants developed. We did get peas, though! (And some lettuce before it all went to seed overnight!)

There’s an “Open Farm Day” here and this year we took the nephews to visit Winterberry Farm in Belgrade. Mary and her three children are real farmers! They grow everything under the sun and they grow it well. The tomato “house” is amazing, the flowers are beautiful, the animals are happy and healthy (two legged and four legged!) and the children are knowledgeable and so polite. The kids provided tours of the farm and answered questions.

Winterberry Farm Tomato House

Baby Turkey

Do You Know Your Farmer?

Chickens Laying

When I grow up, I want to be like Mary who appears to calmly take everything in stride and is content to be working from dawn to dusk all year long to keep the farm and the children provided for. Baking bread and pies, canning, shearing sheep, spinning the wool, planting and sowing the vegetables, tending the animals (and doling out chores to the three kids because there’s not any way she can do it by herself).

And they have bees from which they make honey! Totally impressive!

We’re off to Portland to find an EZ Pass … when you can’t get to the bank and you’re travelling long distances, it sure does make life easier!

I’ll bring my knitting … don’t worry!

Gone knitting!

 

Laundry Soap Pudding

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Well, we’ve talked about making our own laundry soap and it seems fitting that we would do that here in Maine where because of our proximity to the lake, we feel like we care even more about the earth and what we use on it.

Today we washed (for maybe the first time in their lives) the seat covers on the porch chairs. To be fair, we had to pick two of the same items to see which one cleans better … laundry soap from the store or the soap we made.

No clear results. Our chair cushions were so dirty that we don’t see any noticeable improvement with either soap! Next!? Guess we’ll have to try our clothes and see what happens.

*Queen Bee’s Update* – I’ve got to tell you, this is a great discovery! Not only does this laundry soap really work (clothes are at least as clean as they are when washed in the grocery store soap) but it costs only pennies per load. And it’s easy enough to make and keep! Here’s the recipe:

Grate a bar of Fels Naptha soap into 3 quarts of water. Simmer the water and grated soap mixture until the soap melts. In a bucket filled with a gallon plus 1 quart of water, add 1 cup borax and 1 cup washing soda. Now mix the hot soap mixture into the bucket. Mix well.

That’s it! When you let the mixture sit around it’s going to turn to a pudding-like consistency. It’s not “pretty” but it works and you can buy all the ingredients at the grocery store. We are using 1/2 cup of soap per large load and the clothes are smelling fresh and getting clean! Woo Hoo!

Don’t Bring Your Ferret to Maine

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They say something like, “fish and company stink after three days” and sometimes it’s true. Sometimes it’s not.

My family (thirteen people and eight dogs) was here for nearly a week and there was no “trouble” … no issues, only fun and laughter and cooperation. Everyone pitched in. And we hardly even left “campus”.

It’s bothersome, though, that some people take a visit with others for granted and impose themselves on unsuspecting, welcoming, warm, caring people and then smack them upside the head because they’re unwilling to reciprocate. Or they leave half-consumed beverages to sour in bedrooms. Or they don’t lift a finger to help with cooking and the general upkeep of the house.

Fortunately, we mostly have the experience with friends and family where everyone is willing to strip their beds and even put the sheets in the laundry and they’re more than willing to share with us as we share with them. It’s the exceptions who befuddle me.