The Maine Event

This weekend I was again able to take advantage of our location in Rhode Island by making the now short trek up to Maine to visit my aunt and uncle in Standish. It was an action packed New England weekend and was made even better with the presence of my mom and my aunt's dear friend.

Saturday morning as soon as I arrived we were out the door to hit up the Maine craft show scene. Craft fairs are one of those things that make me feel right at home. Local people, local products, often a ton of junk, but often a neat find. First, we  went to the annual Cookie Fare at the Cressey Road United Methodist Church in Gorham, ME. Why I haven't been to something like this before, I don't know. You walk in, play a flat fee ($7.50) and walk around the room where hundreds of cookies baked by members of the church, have been laid out on trays. The goal is to simply fill your box with as many cookies as you can. Cookie lovers can walk away with dozens of assorted homemade morsels of deliciousness. We ended up eating a box later for dessert. Half of the fun is getting to try so many different flavors.

Rounding the cookie mile.

Getting as many cookies as we can!

Next we popped over to the Town Hall in Limington where we found some real gems. Naturally I poked around where I wasn't supposed to be because the building was old and probably had a lot of stories to tell. 

Upstairs was just an open space probably appropriate for more craft fairs, meetings, dances? It was a little on the creepy side so I slipped back downstairs to check out the craft tables. There were a lot of awesome trinkets, knits, and white elephant table items. Here are some of the gems we found that didn't make the cut to come home with us but were noteworthy.

A Red-Neck Dream Catcher.

 Life-size storm trooper helmets.

A $5.00 Bag O' Shoes. It's unclear if there were actual pairs in the bag. 

 We found ourselves at countless elementary schools at various sizes of craft fairs. That morning turned into a bit of a blur because we were moving along at top speed. Ya gotta move fast when you're with my mom and either of her sisters.

 We soon found ourserlves in Cornish, ME. Cornish is an adorable New England village and as luck would have it they were celebrating their official Christmas in Cornish weekend so there was extra small town charm to be had. The Cornish Historical Society had an exhibit on country doctors who worked out of the building that the historical society is currently housed in. We popped in and saw some cool artifacts and met some interesting people including the daughter of the one of the doctors and the grand daughter of another. 

Nurse-in-Training uniform.

Tools of the trade.

Civil War nurses uniform.

Look closely, yes, that is a breast pump.

The building currently housing the historical society

 We were very sweetly invited to stay for plum pudding, tea, and further conversation but declined and carried on with our Cornish Saturday. We popped in and out of a handful of the small, locally owned shops including a jewelry store, a florist, a gift shop, and a quilting supply store. For lunch we stopped in at Krista's and man did it hit the spot. The following food pics are drool-worthy.

                              My uncle's Harvest sandwich. He insists it is the best.

The mountain of bacon and scallion topped house-made potato chips served with a side of sour cream. Heart attack.

 I wish I could remember what I was drinking but I can only guess that it was a Moat from North Conway, NH.

                                     Mom got a special, the B.L.T. Quesadilla.

 This was my Northender which was a solid 6 inches thick of Italian meats and roasted red peppers.

                         My aunt's pulled pork sandwich was the size of my head.

They sent us home with our leftovers in the cutest Christmas doggie bags! My friends should not be surprised if one of their gifts shows up in this bag as I will certainly be recycling it.

Back at my Aunt and Uncle's house, which is tucked back in the woods alongside a brook that feeds into the Saco River, we all took a break from the non-stop day we had spent running around the area and did quiet-time activities. Then after dinner we picked right back up where we had left off with tree decorating, Christmas crafting, and decking the halls.

I also made sure that I took some Winter shots of the brook. I went kayaking down this sucker in August and it was gorgeous and it is still just as pretty now that it is frozen and completes the Maine wilderness experience. 

Something else that completes the woodland experience was the cozy pellet stove. This monster can produce some serious heat on a cold New England day. Also, any trip of mine has to include a dog so I'll give you a peak at my uncle's bull dog, Chowdah and his lady friend, Ellie. 

Before heading back to RI on Sunday, we all went the Maine Diner in Wells, Maine for breakfast. You may know it from the popular Food Network series Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. It was delicious, packed with locals, and the wait was only about ten minutes. I had the classic Eggs Benedict, which I tend to order everywhere I go. My mom had the Lobster Eggs Benedict which was decadent and delicious. My aunt and her friend enjoyed impressive Lobster Quiche and my uncle had a Meat Lovers Omelette that was ginormous (technical term).

After our huge, satisfying, and speedy quick breakfast (seriously the service was so fast) we headed to the outlets in Kittery, Maine. Obviously we headed to Crate and Barrel first for some amazing prices on home decor. I could have spent the entire day just in that store but everyone else was ready to keep moving. Then we ended the entire weekend at the Kittery Trading Post where I found some awesome Christmas presents. This place has everything. It is a huge store with outdoor gear, local products, apparel, and oh yeah, a huge moose when you walk through the door just begging for photo opps. 

All of the places we went this weekend in Maine were worth a stop and I'm so glad I got to spend some quality time with people I love in a state that I enjoy more and more every time I go there.