A Valentine Morning in Maine

After yesterday's snowfall, it was a beautiful winter Valentine's Day morning here in Maine. 

 I love coming up with little unexpected holiday surprises for people I love;

today was delivery day!

 So I left 22 Applegate Lane early with my little red mini-Cooper full of  Valentine treats.

My first stop was Dunkin' Donuts to wish "the regulars" a Happy Valentine's Day and bring a jar of candy to my  coffee-friend, Sue.

Then I headed to my daughter's group home. She and her housemates celebrate every holiday with gusto and were excited with their Valentine goodies. (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are the annual favorite!)

Next, I stopped at Plummer School to bring a rusty Valentine lock to my friend, Mary Elizabeth (she loves rust!) and then two more bags of candy to "the sisters", Margaret and Jo.

My route took me from my house (the red dot below), past our local landmark, The Town Landing Market (on the corner where the red line turns right), down to the ocean.

I decided to stop in to the Town Landing Market to warm up.

No "Native Ice Cubes" needed today!

But fresh Hazelnut coffee hit the spot!

It was a little early for a  lobster roll, as tempting as that was!

Since it was a little too cold to enjoy my coffee outside . . .

I headed down the hill   . . .

to the Town Landing, our municipal marina and beach area.

What a beautiful morning at the beach!

The little "hump" you can see in the distance is a small island (one of 360  "Calendar Islands" in Casco Bay) called Fort Gorges.  

It seems that Portland's famous "Valentine Bandit" made it out to the island before dawn to decorate the old fort for Valentine's Day.

Back at the Landing, things were quiet, waiting for Spring.

It was low tide

and the snow was taking turns  on the beach with the ocean water.

I feel so lucky to live within walking distance of Casco Bay and the Landing. 

I'm not sure I could survive without being able to smell the sea.

But, after a very cold morning, it was good to get home. 

My plan for the afternoon was to make some tea, read in "my chair" and work on my blog - 

with the fireplace going, of course!

Happy Valentine's Day from Maine!

Moving To A Schoolhouse 1: Small Living Room on a Budget

My dear friend, Mary Elizabeth, is strong, creative, and never indecisive. Within a month, she decided to sell her home here in Applegate and downsize even further, to a new Senior Living complex just a few miles away.  In a matter of weeks, she has listed her home and moved to a newly renovated schoolhouse here in Falmouth.  We've enjoyed helping her.

This is Plummer School. It was built as Falmouth High School in 1931. and then served elementary students until a few years ago. As in many communities around the country, these beautiful old school buildings are finding new life as senior apartments.

It's kind of sad to see old school buildings giving way to modernization and yet, as a retired teacher, it makes me happy that they are not being torn down. In fact, Plummer School is on the National Register of Historic Places. Here it is just before renovation began. I can almost hear the ghosts of students past, gossiping between classes before the bell rings.

Each classroom makes a perfect-sized apartment for one or two people. Mary Elizabeth chose a small one bedroom unit , only 612 square feet. She looked at larger ones but liked the view hers has; it faces west and overlooks the old playground, which has been updated with flowering trees and walking trails.

So # 204 it is! Home Sweet Home!

Mary Elizabeth's living room is only 11 feet by 15 feet and has to do double duty as a dining area.

There were many challenges to decorating this room including : 1. Mary Elizabeth has a piano,  2. She wanted to bring her little electric parlor stove with her, and 3. Mary Elizabeth is on a limited budget. 

Although this is a work in progress, here's what has been accomplished so far. The walls are a warm beige; the woodwork is off-white. Neither can be changed.  I love the huge old school house windows and high, high ceilings. Both make the room look larger than it is.

We haven't spent much on this project so far (or should I say Mary Elizabeth hasn't; she always says hanging out with me usually costs her money!).  I love the curtains. We found them for only $12.99 a pair for 84" at our local Rhode Island Job Lots store.  Total cost to dress two huge windows" $26.00!

Mary Elizabeth loves both farmhouse and coastal styles and already had a lot of accessories we could use. I love the arrangement she did on her blue shelf above the stove. We updated further by adding the 24" tobacco basket which we found at T.J. Maxx for only $12.99. As you can see, there is still "stuff" on the floor to the right of the stove waiting to be unpacked . . . eventually.

While we were at it, we added a few accessories to Mary Elizabeth's front entrance. Since she spent her career working for AT&T, the wall phone was a must. The distressed chalkboard for messages and phone numbers was a Goodwill find (new) for $11.00.

And behind the door, we repositioned Mary Elizabeth's coat rack from her Applegate home, along with her "Falmouth" sign.

This is the living room before she moved in, taken from the window wall and facing the kitchen.

Mary Elizabeth found this adorable table and chair set for only $50.00 at one of her favorite antique shops. It's perfect here!

Today, DH and I went over to Plummer School to help Mary Elizabeth hang shelves and bedroom curtains. There's still a lot to do but I look forward to updating the blog with progress in the bedroom and storage areas of this cozy little classroom turned home!

So . . . can we live comfortably in smaller spaces as we age? Yes! 

Can we do it on a budget? Absolutely!

Can it be fun? For sure!

This post is linked to:

Homestyle Gathering 3 at My Wee Abode
Best of the Weekend Link Party at Calypso In the Country
Blogging Grandmothers Link Party at Grammy's Grid
Amaze Me Monday #300 at Dwellings
J & J Link Up #178 at Plunky's Second Thought
Flaunt It Friday #435 at Chic on a Shoe String

A Tisket, A Tasket at the Library

I love libraries. I love the bookish smell of them, the quiet, the anticipation of stories to be told and mysteries to be revealed.  At our little town library, I especially love the August fundraiser . . .

 "A Tisket, A Tasket". 

Any member of the community can create a themed "basket", donate it, and watch the bids increase as the Silent Auction progresses through the month of August. Isn't this "Fairy House" basket beautifully done?

 Here are the "rules" (Just in case your library, school or club would like to replicate this idea!)

My partner in crime friend and I have had so much fun thinking up themes, scouring our "stashes" and making baskets. . . .12 of them this year!

There are about 60 baskets (any container counts as a "basket") at the library already and they are so much fun to browse through. I'm amazed at the creativity of my fellow book-lovers.

Some of the themes on display include Quilting, Movie Night, "Mom, I'm Bored" (kids' crafts). Martini's, Lobster Dinner, Book-Lovers Basket, Pretty in Pink, Glitzy Home Office, Vintage Christmas, Grandma's Kitchen, and a "Campfire Basket" with S'more supplies, popcorn,  and a book of scary ghost stories!

I could bid on them all!

Now I'm kind of sorry that my baskets are finished. In addition to the fun of making them, they are a great way to down-size my craft room, kitchen, and hidden-away collectibles. It's nice knowing that things I love, but no longer need, are going to people who will enjoy them.

This is a such a fun project and the money raised will be used to buy new books.

What could be better than that?

This post is linked to:

Flaunt It Friday #412 at Chic On a Shoestring
Happiness Is Homemade 234 at Bluesky at Home
Sundays at Home at Little Farmstead
Amaze Me Monday #277 at Dwellings

Happy Veteran's Day, Arthur

For the past few years, I've been in the habit of stopping at our local Dunkin' Donuts for a few minutes of quiet time with my coffee and Portland Press Herald before the start of another busy day. That's where I met Arthur.

 

I'd see him again every Tuesday night at Weight Watchers, which is held at out local American Legion Hall. Arthur would always be there helping out before the meeting and teasing the ladies as we headed to and from the scale.

Arthur's dream was to create a lasting monument to the Veteran's of our little town of Falmouth. When he and his buddies graduated from Falmouth High School, classes of 1944 and 1945, there were only about a hundred students; six of the 100 were lost in WWII.

 

After years of planning and volunteer work years of planning and volunteer work by Arthur and his friends, the monument was dedicated this morning. It was completely paid for by donations from townspeople in honor of our Veterans.

 

It was difficult to photograph clearly, but the back of the monument, the side facing Art's beloved Legion Hall, says, "All Gave Some. Some Gave All."

Arthur passed away last April, before the monument was finished.

But he was honored today and a letter from him - urging the completion of the project - was read at the dedication.

I know Arthur would have been smiling that beautiful smile of his this morning to see the outpouring of support for our Veterans.



Job well done, Arthur.

You can rest now; we've got this.

 

Remembering Arthur, my Dad (Army Air Force, WWII) and all Veterans today,