Maine...The Way Life Should Be........
The State of Maine used this catchy phrase for all of its tourism promotions throughout the 1980's and 90's. Truer words were never spoken! We love it here! It is such a beautiful place..so much diversity. We have rustic, remote woodlands, pristine lakes, quaint colonial villages, scenic rural farmsteads, a rugged rocky seacoast with lighthouses, clipper ships and fishing boats, small towns and bustling cities, sandy beaches, lobsters and loons..... and I love it all! That's why we moved here from the urban squall of southern New Hampshire. We sought the peace of small town life and as an artist, I sought the unlimited subject matter and inspiration that surrounds me each day. Our life is idyllic. How blessed Bill and I are to be here in this place, in this time. Every night when I watch the evening news with its murder and mayhem, greed and deceit, it seems so unreal, so unbelievable and hard to relate to as I look out at majestic Mount Katahdin and listen to the mourning doves cooing as they pick at the seeds on the ground below the birdfeeder. Such peace and harmony here and the world pictured on TV in economic and social chaos, so difficult to relate to. We get our Directv satellite network feeds from New York stations as no local stations here in Maine are available to us. It is so bizarre to watch the news as reported from New York City, to watch traffic reports that show the crush of cars in morning and evening rush hours (on my drive to "downtown Sherman" I often don't see another vehicle till I am right in the center of town), the glitter and glitz of metropolitan social events (here "Hunting Blaze Orange" is the "black"). I chuckle as I think what a slave to fashion I was as a younger woman in those 20's,30's and 40's years...appearance was so important. I wouldn't go out in the front yard without making sure my makeup and hair were perfect. Oh, how that has all changed! I have only worn a skirt once since I moved here to Maine in 1992....for my son's wedding. My daily attire consists of jeans and a Tshirt, sandals in the summer and hiking boots in the winter. I wear jeans to church on Sunday. I'm convinced that God looks at my heart, not my attire! To go to a movie we have to drive about 50 miles. The only restaurant in Sherman is a little 7 table truck stop, very common fair but the best darn fish fry you could want on Friday night. For fun, Bill and I go ride the logging roads in the North Maine Woods looking for wildlife and beautiful scenery. Our social life revolves around church, we attend every Sunday and Wednesday evening driving 25 miles south to the town of East Millinocket..... and that's it. That's our life! I am going to try to be more faithful in blogging as I have many people who write and ask me to tell more about my life now, and my life growing up in rural New Hampshire. My sister keeps prodding me to write a sort of family history, about our childhood for our kids as the way we grew up is so different from the way our grandkids live today. So stop back and check the blog as I will be posting more pictures and stories of life in Maine.
