boden usa

My friend Carrie turned me on to this great line of clothing - BODENUSA, when she came for a beach visit a few weeks ago. She was wearing the fabulous dress below. One of the things I like about it was the ease of wearing and maintaining it. All you do is twist it up, tie it into a knot, and throw it into your beach bag, then when you are ready to go, untwist and presto.........it is fabulous, and on sale!


Love this coat!

and this dress!

so classic

and fun!

kampin' kokatosi

"welcome !"
I love to go camping. I love trees, which is one thing we lack at the beach. There is nothing better than sitting under a tree when the wind is blowing and the leaves are rustling. Kokatosi in Raymond has great tenting sites, they are on platforms built on the edge of the lake right in the trees. Fabulous for being at one with nature!
One of my favorite past times at Kokatosi is checking out the fabulous lawn decorations.I am sure some would say these are tacky, I say they are fun (for a campsite), not your front yard.
hmmmm
"is this Florida?"



"which one is dopey?"

"taxidermy ?"

turning 40

40 sounds so mature, I do not feel so grown up.
Sometimes I feel old when I first get up in the morning, and try to touch my toes.
I still want to shop in the funky clothes section in Macy's( I love Fossil, and Lucky brands), although my hips prevent this.
I do have an old pair of Frye boots that make me feel cool.
I have a new Town and Country cruiser bike.....I think it's an older person bike.
I like it, it's so easy to ride, it doesn't hurt my butt, and you don't have to hunch over the handles.

I went to see my friend Terri yesterday. (Terri is an attorney by education, but currently a stay at home mom with 4 boys under the age of 8).
She wanted to celebrate my birthday, and she never disappoints.
She is a true Diva, and truly understands, and enjoys the finer things!
(She should be a party planner, personal shopper, or a buyer or owner of a boutique).

She gave me a fabulous new Michael Kors handbag!

She made me lunch. We toasted to 40 years, and ate chocolate cake.



There were flowers, and a good book! What else could a girl want!
Thanks Terri!

sea urchin jewelry

Once in a blue moon I would find a sea urchin at
Higgins Beach.
I think in the past 6 years I have found a total of 10.
This year it has been unbelievable......there are hundreds!

The process of preserving these little creatures is not only tedious, but extraordinarily time consuming. To find them you often have to dig through stinky seaweed....eww! They have to be dried, cleaned out, dried again, filled with resin, dried again.....one out of every ten break...I use three different adhesives when making these pieces, and am constantly concerned that one that I have sold will break! eeekkk!

However, I love this jewelry, and so does everyone who sees it!
I have sold many pieces!

I use filigree and crystals on some pieces......

Others I use vintage mother of pearl buttons, and jewelery parts.....
ome have chains, or cording, or ribbon.....

I love this one!

Coming soon to my ETSY SHOP,
or if you are in the neighborhood stop by my summer cupboard!

thick as pea soup

This morning the fog was as thick as pea soup!




You know all those quirky saying that you heard from your parents...well, thick as pea soup is one that I often heard, and completely understood. I think pea soup is beyond thick, its like stuck....I do not like pea soup. To be fair, I have only had my mothers, who is a good cook if you like everything boiled and seasoned with a stick of margarine, and a cup of salt.

Peas are a great vegetable, as a kid I would eat them right out of the pod from my uncles garden. Peas are round, and roll around...they are fun.....there is nothing better than dipping your mashed potatoes(without lumps) into your peas. There is even a bumper sticker dedicated to peas..
VISUALIZE WHIRLED PEAS..... love it!



peas for peace!
peas should not look like this!

you can put it in a nice bowl and take a nice photo of it,
but it is still quite ugly.

Even putting a fancy frame around it doesn't work.

The other day my friend Lisa threw her 9 year old a Birthday Party....
Her menu was off to a good start...
Hamburgers, Hot dogs, Grilled Salmon on cedar planks,
mozzarella salad....(starting to sway from kids party)
then she lost it with an eggplant salad.
I almost wet my pants when I brought it out to the picnic table and saw the kids faces...
I could all hear (under their breaths) "No way am I eating that!


Even I had a problem with it...visually its a train wreck!
I have discovered the reason for garnishes...they are to distract your eye from whats really going on, on your plate (notice the parsley) - doesn't help!!!!!
I will tell you since I love Lisa dearly I did take a bite, and found it was quite good.
Lisa and I talked about writing a book called
"super ugly food that tastes super good".
Do you have a recipe for super ugly food that tastes good? If so please leave your ideas in the comments below. I will post everyones recipes!

the long and winding road

This morning I was happily surprised by a super low tide. I think it was the lowest that I have seen since living here for 7 years. I grabbed my camera and, summoned the dog and went out for a little exploration.....

I found some fabulous starfish......

starfish in love......but typical beach photos......
until I came across the plight of the snail...

this was the song that was in my head the whole time I was down at the beach....so listen, to get the full effect of their slow solemn journey...the long and winding road

makin' jam

I am sure some of you think that makin' jam is a hard laborious process.....well, it's not hard....it is a little labor intensive due to all the different phases....in this mini tutorial I will show you how easy it is to make "yummy in your tummy" jam!

step one: berry pickin'

find good workers! and friends!

try to find workers that pick more than they eat!

which is very difficult because they are so good!
you will need 2 heaping quarts to make one batch of jam.
I went to Patten's Farm in Gorham, they came to $5.00 for both quarts!

step 2: assemble the basic necessities!

cleaned, washed, cut strawberries.
sugar
a lemon
a package of certo (found near the sugar in the grocery)

step 3:the cookin'
add 4 cups of crushed berries to your pot.

add a few squeezes of lemon...pick out the seeds!

add 7 cups of sugar!
bring to a rolling boil and add the certo.
bring to another rolling boil for exactly 1 minute.

a rolling boil is when it boils when you are constantly stirring.

step 4: canning prep.
have your ladle and clean jars ready.

step 5: canning
ladle into jars...careful it is super hot!



fill to bottom of rim
wipe the jar with wet cloth, especially the threads....sticky stuff!

fill all your jars, put lids on very tight...use your muscles....

invert jar for a while....then turn over.
your lids, and tops should be tight......no popping when you push down the lid....
if you hear popping....refrigerate those jars(often jam lids will set after a few hours)......

these make great gifts.....I have many friends who request jam......
however, I love it so much I rarely give any away!