Tag: maine made

A to Z Challenge Bonus | Galaxie Salsa finding a delicious new use for zucchini.

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One of my favorite non-fiction books is Barbara Kingsolver’s  Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. She is a beautiful writer.  I was mesmerized as she journeyed through a year of eating locally. It’s something I fantasize about trying.  However, since I have zero gardening skills, I don’t think I would be as successful as she was eating only foods grown myself or purchased from local farmers. Other than tomatoes and the occasional herb, I have limited knowledge on how I would actually feed myself.

I did consider jumping into the backyard chicken trend when we first moved back to Maine but then I remembered that we own a lab. My understanding is labs and chickens don’t always play nicely. It’s the whole retriever thing. While I might have been able to train my dog to “leave it” when it came to the chickens, overall it seemed too stressful especially for a novice chicken wrangler like me.

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Z is for Zeitgeist Factory | Using concrete in unexpected ways.

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When my girls were young, I had them make a mold of their hands and feet in the sand and then poured Plaster of Paris into the opening to create a keepsake. It’s one of those quick, easy crafts you can find on mom blogs, and in crafting books. It aligned well with my love of memory keeping. Making the mold in the sand gave the finished product a nice texture. I hung the castings on my wall where they stayed for many years. Sadly, the hanger on the back of one of them broke and it fell to the ground breaking into pieces. I took the other one down because it felt strange to leave only one child’s prints on my wall.

The made in Maine product in this post reminds me of those castings. Zeitgeist Factory makes a line of housewares made from concrete. I love the uniqueness of their products. They are simple and industrial. I think they would make a great contrast to the items with which they are paired such as a colorful handcrafted soap on their soap dish. Or, maybe some wildflowers spilling from their vases.

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V is for Vintage Maine Kitchen | Creatively flavored, all-natural potato chips.

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One of the first snacks I ever made for my Dad was a french fry sandwich which was exactly what you think it would be: french fries slathered in ketchup served between bread. This was not because I was young and creating whimsical food combinations. My Dad had requested it. He liked french fry sandwiches. It may have been an unusual way to eat french fries, but it’s not surprising that potatoes would be on the menu.

One thing Maine has is potatoes. We usually show up somewhere in the top ten for states that grow the most potatoes. We’re never at number one, but are always well represented. It’s something in enough abundance that I can almost always buy local ones during my food shopping excursions and I was happy to discover a local company making something especially delicious out of Maine potatoes. Now I have another fun way to support Maine potato growers.

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U is for U. Smelly Dog | Now my dog is going to smell better than I do.

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There are two types of dog people. Those that let their animals sleep in their bed and those that do not. We don’t share our bed with our dog; he shares it with us. As he’s gotten older, he likes to go to bed earlier these days. He’ll pace around in front of us at night impatient that we’re not ready to head up at the same time as him. Eventually, he’ll give up and head up on his own which inevitably means pushing him off the pillow when we do finally make it upstairs.

It does a number on our sheets. I wash them regularly, but it doesn’t take long before they start to smell like my pup again. It’s a small price to pay for the snuggles we get each night, but it is an ongoing challenge.

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O is for October Fields | Finding my zen with clean burning soy candles.

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One of my favorite quotes is from Gretchen Rubin, “The days are long, but the years are short.”  I think it’s just a great way to sum up our intensely busy lives and the importance in finding joy in the moments. Some weeks can seem to last forever, but then suddenly you’re into a new season. While I do try to appreciate all the moments, even the ones that are crazy busy, any time I can take a moment to breathe and slow things down is a good one.

One Friday night activity that allows me to slow the pace is staying up late, snuggled under a blanket, binge watching a favorite show on Netflix. To add to this peaceful vibe, I love to turn off all the lights and light one or two candles to add to the atmosphere. Candles really help set a mood and, at least for me, help to quiet down the chaos. We use them a lot at my house.

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