Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Home Tour: A Coastal Maine Farmhouse

Last week we were camping in mid-coast Maine when a dear friend invited us to Sunday brunch at her ocean front 1880's farm house. A beautiful active woman in her 80's (who still models!), our friend is known as a fantastic cook, so we couldn't wait to go.

What we didn't know was that she is also an interior decorator extraordinaire with a home that belongs in the pages of Country Living magazine.


When you step onto the side porch, the first thing you see is this old blackboard, covered with the words of a favorite poem about life by the sea. The old camp chairs are in the side entry, just outside the kitchen. I love that they are numbered!


 The little kitchen is filled with vintage cooking utensils, fresh flowers, herbs and antiques. 


Our friend is an artist at heart. She sees everyday objects as beautiful. On the way to the living room, we pass this old door hung on the wall . . . a piece of art.

She works on her watercolors in front of a big window looking out at the Atlantic Ocean . . . beautiful even on a foggy morning.

And decorates on a shoestring, using her creativity to transform flea market (and roadside!) finds.

The old iron beds in the guestroom are positioned so that they look out at the ocean.


  I could spend a week cuddled under one of those quilts listening to the sounds of the sea.

In the corner of the living room is a writing desk, an old table really . . . covered with books, notes, sketches, family photos, and yet another view of the ocean beyond.


Every corner of this home tells a story . . . 


And welcomes you to sit for awhile.


Breakfast was served on the old screened porch, with the ocean just outside.


The jam is home made and the Nasturtiums are from the kitchen garden.



No words are needed to describe this view!



I loved the little yellow playhouse hidden in the side yard.

It is surrounded by native wildflowers, which are listed on a board on the side of the playhouse!

 Here's a peek inside!



And this is the house from the driveway. There is a lighthouse just up the road.

The straw hat bird house on the door of the old garage bids us "Goodbye", although I really wished I never had to leave this place.


As the blackboard by the door says,
"I go down to the edge of the sea,
How everything shines in the morning light!"

Indeed it does.



This post is linked to:
Style Showcase #42 at Savvy Southern Style
Talk of the Town #136 at Knick of Time
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Flaunt IT Friday #412 at Chic On a Shoestring
DIY Salvaged Junk #439 at Funky Junk Interiors
Happiness Is Homemade #234 at Bluesky at Home
Sundays at Home at Little Farmstead
Amaze Me Monday #277 at Dwellings

Monday, March 2, 2015

Felting Class 201

On Wednesday evening, six of us got together at my house for another felting class with local fiber artist Kathleen Gerdes.



In November, we learned to felt 3-dimensional figures;  this time we learned to make wall hangings. Here's our inspiration piece, Kathleen's "Dancing Lady.


 

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Think Camping's Not For You?

People often ask why we go to all the trouble of camping . . . setting up, bugs, rain, dirt, taking down . . . when "at our age" we could just stay in a nice quiet motel.
 
Good question.
 

I love falling asleep to the sounds of the ocean and the little tidal stream leading to it.


 I love waking up to amazing views . . . like these - of Penobscot Bay and a bridge through the woods -  both from our campsite at Searsport Shores.


I love "camp breakfasts" . . . especially since DH likes to get up early and cook them.
I love the almost spiritual connection I feel with art and nature at camp. Around every turn at Searsport Shores, for example,  there awaits an unexpected little treasure...like these little "campfire teepees" that everyone is encouraged to add to.

Or these chairs under an arbor of squash . . . just waiting for me to stop and sit in for awhile.

In the garden, there are heirloom beans...

Honeybees...

And even dresses  . . .

hanging in the trees.
 

We spend hours combing the beach for sand dollars...

Sea Glass...


and heart-shaped rocks.


Camp is a place where friends, both old and new, still sit on porches...

Take walks in the woods (daytime clothing optional!) . . .
Carolyn & Michele

And share Fried Pickles at the local Pub.
Anita & Fred


Searsport Shores is a very special campground because of its emphasis on the arts; each September they sponsor an amazing get-together or artists called Fiber College. Each week during the year leading up to Fiber College, an Artist-in-Residence is on site teaching a new craft.


This week's artist-in-residence is Steve Schreurs from Maryland, who creates jewelry, armor, and upscale clothing from chainmail . . . thousands of little metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. Here is some of his work.

He has even created a chain mail t-shirt!

And, with a red hat on, Steve does bear a striking resemblance to someone else we all know.

DH even got to try his hand at spinning (not the kind in the gym...he's got that one down...the other kind!)
 
Camping for us isn't always a case of roughing it...we're too old for that! When it rains, we climb into our cozy little Casita and binge-watch Netflix . . .
 
Or read, play a game, and blog at our teeny-tiny dinette.

And there's always shopping!
 
 Cayote Moon...a favorite stop

Belfast Farmer's Market
 
Life is a grand adventure . . .


And we don't want to miss a minute of it!
 
 
On the road again,

 
 
 
p.s. This post is dedicated to all of our amazing friends at Searsport Shores...you know who you are!
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