Making Valentines at Sheepscot General

Happy Valentine’s Day to you all! My daughter and I spent some time Saturday at Sheepscot General making Valentines. It was a really great way to celebrate, and spend some time with other creative folks! And I think we can all agree that handmade Valentines totally rock!

Valentine artist at work

Valentine fun for kids and adults alike!

A beautiful Valentine for someone special!

Tools of the trade

It's great to make art with other folks!

Sheepscot General Store – the latest gem in the ‘buy local Maine’ movement

Sheepscot General in Whitefield, Maine

Here in Whitefield, we’re very fortunate to welcome Sheepscot General to the neighborhood. If you’re in or around Lincoln County, it’s worth the trip to the charming Townhouse Road store for fresh veggies, organic meat, milk, bulk wheat, homemade doughnuts, cold beer – and well – the list goes on and on.

“We see ourselves as both a collaboration of people interested in promoting the uniqueness of Whitefield, the Sheepscot region,and the State of Maine wrapped into a country-style store carrying everything we imagine a general store ought to carry.”

The store doesn’t only offer a wide variety of edibles; there’s also a long list of events, classes, and community services. There are monthly art exhibits, a book/video swap, seed library, movie nights, live music, and coming soon – a cafe. And last – but certainly not least – Sheepscot General is now offering fresh lobster (pre-order by Wednesday for Friday delivery) and will be offering fresh Maine shrimp in season as well. It’s best to call ahead to check availability. Enjoy your trip to Sheepscot General!

What else do you need?

Fresh and local fruits and veggies...YUM!

This month's featured artist: Julian Sacks of Whitefield

Sheepscot General's book/video library is cozy and inviting

A little baseball lesson on the streets of Damariscotta

The kiddos and I stumbled into a really cool and informative baseball moment this morning in Damariscotta. Bud Elwin, a.k.a. Ted Williams, had set up a raffle ticket selling display in front of the Maine Coast Book Shop & Cafe. With all of the Red Sox gear and Bud’s striking resemblance to the infamous Ted Williams, we had to see what was up!

Connor and Maddie pose with Bud 'Ted Williams' Elwin

On a rainy Friday morning, the bookstore was bustling; the smell of fresh coffee and books was a welcoming and intoxicating mix. Outside, we stopped to see what the fully-uniformed Bud was up to. It turns out he volunteers to raise money for assorted charities of his choosing.

Bud Elwin discusses the anatomy of a baseball with Connor and Maddie

This year he chose to sell raffle tickets for “Healthy Kids,” a community based family and professional network, offering support and educational outreach to families throughout Lincoln County. He’s raffling off Red Sox gear with the grand prize being an authentic, signed and framed photo of Ted Williams.

Bud shows the kids the diference between a brand-new baseball and one that has been "mudded"

We learned from Bud that Major League baseball goes through about 170,000 baseballs in a season, that the average game baseball sees about 6 pitches, the wool used inside is from New Zealand sheep, and one of the most interesting facts: when a baseball comes out of the factory, it’s far to smooth to be pitched effectively. The baseballs are treated with mud – literally – harvested from the Delaware River in New Jersey. A very fun and informative visit to Damariscotta, for sure! Stop by and see Bud if you’re in town, he knows his stuff when it comes to Red Sox baseball.

Baseball rubbing mud, the exclusive treatment for Major League baseball's baseballs!

Annual Victorian Christmas train ride, WW&F Railway Museum, Alna, Maine

It was the perfect day for a train ride!

This Saturday, we ventured down to Alna and the WW&F Railway Museum for their annual Victorian Christmas celebration. It is an incredibly popular event, with cars lining both sides of Route 218 and hundreds of folks awaiting a free train ride.

In addition to free train rides, there were plenty of handmade treats on hand

In addition to the very special treat of riding on an antique steam train, there were handmade goodies, hot cocoa and hot cider to keep the winter chill at bay. At the other end of the line, there was a bonfire, horse-drawn wagon rides, and SANTA!

5-gallon buckets full of coal were on hand to fuel up the steam engine

It was very cool watching the whole process of running a steam engine, with the volunteers fueling up the train between stops, buckets of coal were at the ready for to “speed” up the process. It was a great experience for all who attended, make a point of checking it out next year, you’ll be glad you did!

The train conductor brings the steam engine into station

Holiday “make a craft” fair

Well, it’s definitely that time of year, when communities large and small across Maine celebrate the holiday season with craft fairs.

This Saturday, I volunteered at the annual “make a craft” fair, an event put on by the Whitefield PTA. It is always such a great time, with lots of kids and parents creating holiday decorations and gifts.

I had one of the most glittery tables at the fair!

There were the usual suspects: A cake walk, face painting, ornament decorating, Christmas cookie decorating and Christmas music playing in the background. The table that I have been in charge of for the last three years is the “snow measuring stick” table. Kids (and their adults!) can decorate a measuring stick with lots of sparkles and snowflakes and use it to measure the snow when it falls. Always a popular item!  All of our Maine holiday craft fairs are such a great way to ease into the holiday season, and I’m glad our community is creating some holiday traditions that we can look forward to every year. Thanks to the Whitefield Elementary PTA for organizing this event!

A selection of some of the cakes up for grabs during the cake walk!

The art teacher from Whitefield Elementary, Rachel Hamlin, was the face painting master!