C is for Carved Wooden Spoons | 7 Tips to Keep Them Forever Young

I have an antique glass picture once owned by my great-grandmother. It sits next to my stove. It used to have bright red, painted cherries decorating the outside but they were not resilient to the hot water of my dishwasher. The color is gone but the general design remains and it still tells a story.

These days, it is filled to the brim with wooden utensils that I use for cooking. I’ve picked them up at various locations over the years. Some on my travels, but most are inexpensive and often need to be replaced at regular intervals. I think it might be time to start upgrading the contents of my pitcher.

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B is for Baxter’s Fine Candies | They knew how to do candy right in the 1800s.

I’m the one that can’t quit sugar in my house. It’s not my primary vice, but it’s a lingering issue. My husband can walk away from just about any type of sweet except for one. He loves maple anything.

Even though he’s not a big sweet eater, he’s been known to enjoy the occasional maple sugar candy. Which in the giant realm of sweets is probably one of the sweetest, so maybe he’s really the one with the sugar problem? Or, his all-encompassing love of maple outweighs anything else.

I was excited to find a maple candy when I visited the holiday open house at Baxter’s Essentials this past December. I knew it would be the perfect treat for my husband, and would fit nicely into his Christmas stocking. It’s not that I only buy appropriately sized stocking stuffers for him. I use the stocking as more of a suggestion than a guide. Even so, it’s nice to have some things that will actually fit and not be relegated to the overflow pile.

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A is for Atayne | Even a couch potato needs good performance gear.

Okay, so maybe it’s not fair to call myself a couch potato. As my many hiking posts show, I enjoy being active and love to be outside exploring Maine, but I’m not comfortable with the word athlete. I once tried with little success to play at that level. I ran track for one year in High School. My strongest memory from that season is consistently coming in last place for my event.

The reality is that I could never be a true athlete. I don’t have the physical aptitude and in all honesty no desire to commit to that level of training. However, I do understand the importance of living an active life and, when I’m not trapped at my keyboard, I am always looking for ways to move my body.

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#AtoZChallenge | The Great And Powerful Theme Reveal… Made in Maine

I recently hit some milestones with my blog including passing the one year mark, and reaching my hundredth post.  While those were exciting moments for me, I want to continue to challenge myself and to grow my site while developing content that will connect with my readers.

Last year I participated in the A to Z Challenge for the first time and I am looking forward to taking part again this year. I love the creativity that comes from working with constraints such as those provided by the A-Z challenge.

Weekends in Maine is about optimizing life in Maine. Last year, my posts were all related to Maine but since my entire blog has that focus it seemed a bit like cheating when deciding on a theme again for this year. It didn’t really feel specific enough. So instead, I’m going to drill down and focus on one particular area of Maine.

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