Category: Everything Else

#AtoZChallenge | A is for Arctic Blast and Frozen Pipes

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Arctic Blast has such a great ring to it. It sounds like something refreshing and fun that might even taste a little minty in your mouth but it’s not quite as nice as it sounds.

What is an Arctic Blast? “The word arctic describes frigid and inhospitable weather.”1  We do get extreme low temperatures in Maine from time to time during the winter and our cold snaps can be intense. We started the new year with a record setting January 1st when temperatures dropped to 17 degrees below zero beating the previous record of minus 12 which was set in 1957.2

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#AtoZChallenge | What’s my theme? I’m going with Winter in Maine.

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My theme reveal should have be titled “No Clue” as until yesterday I wasn’t even sure I was going to participate in this year’s blogging challenge.  I love the creativity of the A to Z Challenge and it always pushes me to expand and grow my blog but having recently changed jobs in real life has left things a bit hectic for me.

Once I thought about it a little more, I realized that was a poor excuse. Who doesn’t have a lot to juggle? Life is hectic for everyone and that’s not a good reason to skip the challenge. So, I’m diving in. A little less prepared than in years previous, but ready to jump in to make it as fun and creative as possible.

I began to brainstorm theme ideas as I sat in my kitchen table looking out my window at the snow covered lake, and two thoughts popped into my head. The first is that we’ve had a long winter full of extremes most recently marked by two back to back nor’easters.  The second is that winter in Maine is especially peaceful and beautiful. I had my theme: Winter in Maine.

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#atozchallenge | Reflections of a two timer and what comes next.

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I jumped in again and am now a proud two-time survivor of the A to Z Blogging Challenge. I learned from last year that the majority of my time would be spent visiting and engaging with other bloggers. I didn’t want to have something as pesky as actually writing a blog post get in the way which means that this annual one month challenge was in reality an intense two month process.

I researched, wrote and prepped everything in March while in April, other than some minor edits, I focused on all the social aspects of the challenge which is one of my favorite parts.

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Hiking Maine | Horton Woods in Saco, Maine

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Our January was mild. That’s not always the case in Maine, but it made for some nice outside adventures last month. On one outing, we decided to try the trails at Horton Woods in Saco. There wasn’t a lot of snow on the ground, but we were a little unsure about how icy things would be. We only owned one pair of crampons. Crazy, I know and an error we have since corrected. But, for this outing, even with just the one pair, we decided to give it a shot.

The trail started off with only a light coating of melting snow and little ice so we were encouraged, but as we headed deeper into the woods there was more of a mixture of snow and ice so we ended up with our own little A/B test. My husband wore the crampons and I stayed with just my hiking shoes. In the end, it was a tie as we both managed to remain upright for the entire hike and in a few spots the crampons were more challenging mostly because they came off and had to be re-adjusted. Continue reading →

Photographic Tour through the Western Cemetery in Portland Maine

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I am not a photographer but I love to pretend that I am. I compensate from my lack of skills by taking copious amounts of pictures even for the shortest of outings. With this strategy, I’m usually able to find a few pictures that don’t disappoint. It works for me although it still pains my far more skilled at photography brother that I never take my camera off automatic mode. Maybe someday.

So, when I heard that Portland Trails was hosting a Discovery Trek | Fall Foliage Photography tour through the Western Cemetery in Portland, I was quick to sign up. I’d never explored that area of Portland and the promise of tips to help improve my photography skills was added incentive.

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