It was an ad in the Boston Globe that caught my eye. A very inexpensive cottage was available for one week on the Maine coast. We called and booked it, and in August of 1985 began the drive from Massachusetts to Maine. Six or seven hours later we were Down East… in the little town of Corea, Maine.

The cottage was small but cute, with a tiny kitchen and huge views of the rocky coast. Acadia National Park was nearby, and we spent several days on Cadillac Mountain, Sand Beach, and along the Carriage Trails by Jordan Pond. One afternoon we happened upon a huge patch of ripe raspberries. After finding containers we picked enough for me to make a pie. Back at the cottage we savored each exquisite bite while watching the lobstermen work their traps. We were falling in love with each other and with a place at the same time.

Good friends from Boston drove up to visit us and stayed a night or two at the tiny cottage. Those same friends were in Camden for dinner about a week ago. We laughed about the night we ordered way too many clams, not knowing a “peck” from a “pound.” We recalled the stark beauty of the Down East Coast. And then we waved goodbye and they headed to Bar Harbor.

A string of events — some of them chance — led us to Maine. Twenty-five years later, we are still grateful.

The start of the ride...

What a difference a year makes… and some sunny weather!

Last weekend’s trek was such a wonderful ride. The 180 miles flew by and the scenery was fabulous. Thanks to all of you who supported my ride this year!

And thanks to Robin Chace for these great photos.

Sue Chace, me, Ed, and Will

A Soggy 2009 Ride

The Finish Line in Belfast

The Trek Across Maine is coming up once more (June 18 to 20) and despite last year’s dismal weather, I have to say I’m looking forward to it. There is something great about spending a few days with nothing more to worry about than getting from point A to point B. The camraderie along the ride is fun, and the cause — clean air and healthy lungs — makes raising the money worth while.

I think I am nearly to my goal, fundraising-wise, but if you’d like to sponsor me with a donation to the Maine Lung Association, just click on my fundraising page.  Thank you!

Right now we are in the “gather information” phase (meeting with septic designers, electricians, contractors, etc) but before getting to this point, we had to decide whether it was worth it to purchase. This particular property can be divided so that in addition to a cute little house (at least we hope it will be cute when we finish!) we’ll have a building lot to sell. Figuring out whether a fixer upper is worth it involves having a realistic assessment of what you can sell it for when it is finished, balanced by what your budget will be. The aim is to make some money, not only to recoup what you’ve spent, but to compensate you in some fashion for your “sweat equity” — all that back-breaking work you’ve put into the project.

Although our real estate market is improving here in coastal Maine, it is still not on fire, so it is important not to think of this project as a flip. Our thinking is that we can rent the little house for a while and wait for the market to continue to improve.

I’ll include a photo when we actually own the place, and feel free to send me any questions you have.

Yesterday I took my first bike ride of the season — a little twenty-mile loop through Rockport and Rockland, and back into Camden via the “oreo cookie cows,” aka the Belted Galloways at Aldemere Farm — and it was spectacular. Once again I am training for the Trek Across Maine in June, but I’ll write about that at a later date.

Today was an uplifting church service for Easter — I love all the brass and the “alleluias”! — and then I spent the entire day outside in the garden.  We’re adding what I’m calling a “lettuce bed” this year, so we constructed that and it is ready for some compost.  My bed from last year got a gentle turning over and, after constructing a lattice for peas, my daughter and I planted both sugar snap and snow peas.  We also sowed some spinach — something new for this year.  Will we have jumped the gun and planted a little too early? Maybe, but that’s the fun of gardening. My seed-starting efforts are ahead of last year, too.  We’ll see!

I am also starting to hear from people who have finished reading A HOUSE TO DIE FOR, and the responses have been very positive. Good feedback always makes a writer smile…  I hope that you had a terrific weekend, and that wherever you are, your spring has sprung.

It’s almost time!

March is the month my book gets printed and shipped to bookstores. I can’t wait to see it… and for all of you to read it. Meanwhile I have finished the second book in the series and will be sending it off to the editor in a few days. What a fun experience this has been.  I love working away on my real estate tasks, meeting with clients and showing property,  and then taking a break and writing.  It seems to be a good balance and I’m thrilled.

See the book and read reviews at Midnight Ink, my publisher.

Here’s something else that gives me whatever the good endorphins are:  split pea soup. I had a hankering for this green comfort food last week and promised a friend I would make it and bring her some for lunch on Tuesday. Monday morning I took two hambones out of the freezer and Monday night I made the soup while my daughter worked away on an essay about the French Revolution and A Tale of Two Cities. (Did you know Dickens wrote Two Cities purposefully as a page-turning popular novel? It does have some excellent suspense, evil characters, and reversals of fortune. Another thing I didn’t realize is that Dickens feared that a similar sort of bloody uprising could happen in Britian, hence his novel was meant as a warning to the citizens there to mend their avarice-filled ways.)

But I digress… I’m sure you’re wondering how the soup turned out and the answer is: yummy. I have more than enough in the freezer for the next time I crave it.  Meanwhile, I’m pleased to see and list some lovely homes and I’m somehow managing both to get a little writing in and exercising.  I hope your New Year is off to a good start, too!

My Johnny’s Selected Seeds (a Maine company) came last week so the timing is perfect. Here’s what I do: start a fire in the living room woodstove. Get my list of what I bought last year and any left over seeds. Pour a glass of wine or a cup of tea (depending on mood and time of day) and start making some notes.

I think about the things we didn’t plant and wish we had (carrots, kale, swiss chard) and the things we planted that didn’t really work. For instance, the peas took up alot of valuable garden real estate (primo location by the fence) and didn’t do much of anything. Do I try them again? Try the variety that is “innoculated” this time? It was kind of fun to plant them because they go into the ground so early (Easter) but it was disappointing to only harvest a handful…

Lexi and I are making another small bed this year which will be solely for lettuces and other leafy things since the zucchini kind of bulldozed their way over those crops. (Yes, I will plant less zucchini this year!) And I am going to look for another type of cucumber as the one we planted didn’t do much.

Ahh… the winter garden dreaming. So rewarding and your hands don’t even get dirty!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas filled with peace and joy!

Ever vigilant Hoover guards the brussels sprouts.

I can’t wait to harvest the last thing in our garden — the brussels sprouts!

This is the first year we planted veggies and it was a great experience.  We started our crops  from seed back in February, transplanting the young seedlings into bigger pots when necessary and setting them outdoors once the danger of frost was over. We enjoyed plenty of pole beans, zucchini, lettuce, and radishes, about a half dozen cucumbers and peppers, and a handful of peas. Our tomatoes didn’t do too well and next year we’ll stick to the cherry and grape varieties.

Maybe it’s just this very mild November, but the cold crops don’t want to quit. Next year I’ll try chard and kale along with the sprouts.

Not only does having a garden give you fresh and tasty things to eat, it allows you the chance to say things like “nature’s bounty” and “plentiful harvest” and really mean it!  Tomorrow I’ll play pilgrim and bring our sprouts to our turkey day feast at my brother’s home in Portland.  It’s a fitting end to the gardening season, right? 

Happy Thanksgiving!