At Home On Piety Hill

Blueberries are native only to North America. Wild Maine blueberries, like Maine lobster, are the best — finest kind. They are small and full of flavor, unlike the larger ones that grow higher off the ground in places like New Jersey, Oregon and Washington. Our friends in Maine will sometimes eat the larger, inferior blueberries from away but that’s an anomaly. 

Blueberries are raked and it is difficult and back-breaking work. If you are good at it, you can make a big wad of cash during the season, typically the month of August. In the 90’s, that’s how teenagers in our town earned money to buy a car. Camille raked blueberries one day and that was enough. Sam did it for a while longer than that. 

Here in California, we have found wild Maine blueberries, as well as those grown in the Maritime provinces at Trader Joe’s, in the frozen section under their own brand. Generally, Denise uses them for baking and my personal favorite is a coffee cake recipe she got from the baker at a country store in Maine. She had a good rep in town and the gentleman was happy to share it with her, under the condition that she never used it commercially and with the understanding that we were heading back to California. The secret was the crusty, sugary, tart, blueberry top on the cake. 

You can buy blueberries in a variety of ways, but we prefer the roadside stand where you leave your money in a jar. By the way, this is a common practice in Maine for selling anything from camp wood to blueberries to pies or baked goods. Many of the stands will have a sign advertising blueberrys. Don’t be fooled by this marketing ploy — the obvious misspelling gives the stand or display a down-home, rural ambience.  Denise enjoys blueberries al fresco and one at a time.

We decided to visit the Penobscot Narrows Bridge near Bucksport and take a trip up to the observatory at the top - 420 feet high, to be exact. Denise and I were vacationing and hunting for investments just about a year ago and happened to visit when the bridge was opened for the first public walk-across and Bridgefest. It was impressive.

While we were waiting, Emma was wishing she had brought her sweater. She did, however, bring a book along. It was one of about 8 she read in our 12 day vacation. Sidebar: Emma has always been a voracious reader. My memory of living in Maine is coming home to find Emma, dressed like a boy, sitting sideways in a chair, twirling her bobbed hair around one finger, with some sort of sucker or jawbreaker in her mouth, reading a book. Read, read, read… and, then, read some more!

The next photo is Denise and Emma from the observatory with Verona Island in the background and Blue Hill in the distance. For you history fans, the bridge overlooks the location of one of the most strategic towns in American history, Castine, and the site of the greatest single American Naval loss before Pearl Harbor. Paul Revere was court-martialed for his role in the debacle. 

Finally, we have a photo of me reeling after my trip to the top. I do not like heights and when you get to the observatory, you exit the elevator and the glass is about 3 feet from the door. So, if you are prone to vertigo, it comes on you all at once. After exiting the elevator, you take a couple flights of stairs, which are right up close to the glass, to the top. I was a bit wobbly until we reached the observatory, where I got acclimated and was able to operate the camera. Actually, I was fine by the time we got down and I am really looking towards Bucksport from Fort Knox, wondering where in town we would be able to find a decent whoopie pie, red hot dog or pizza. 

One of our favorite places to visit is Camden Maine, which most people know as Peyton Place. We know it as the home of Cappy’s Chowder House and the site of a wonderful webcam.

I love the library there. The town outgrew the old library, so they built a new one under the park out back, down by the harbor, and connected it to the original. Most of the holdings are in the new addition, while the original library provides a wonderful place to relax and read, as well as some wonderful views of town.

The first photo is of Denise and I in the underground addition, under the skylight that sits in the center of the lawn in the park. The interior of the original library is bright and airy. The views of the town from the southeast window are spectacular.

When you’re in Maine, there are a number of rare treats you’ll want to track down besides the best lobster in the world. Emma and I love two Maine staples, common to the working class downeast; red hot dogs and whoopie pies. The best place to find them in Hancock County are at the Eggemoggin Country Store or, as the natives call it, B&L’s (it was established years ago by Billy and Lorna… but, that’s another story).

Danny makes the best whoopie pies, bar none, anywhere in New England. He also has a recipe for the most righteous blueberry coffee cake ever, as well as cookies and other baked goods. Finest kind!

Red hot dogs are unique to Maine and they do taste a bit different. Authentic red hots are served in a split-top roll, the same as any good clam, crab, scallop or lobster roll. I like dogs steamed along with the roll, in the glass and stainless steel dispenser, common to any reputable Maine market or general store. Yes, red hots are some good!

Other mandatory items in a real, downeast Maine country store are pizza, Italians (the Maine name for a hoagie or sub), picked crabmeat, old VHS movie rentals and plenty of humor, laced with bits of town gossip. “Yes, deah!”

On one of our trips to B&L’s, we drove by the home of our friends, Don and Jane. They offered us their typical brand of downeast hospitality and we sat in the kitchen for a couple of hours, exchanging bits of news about family and friends in town, as well as our opinion of Obama’s choice for a running mate. When we left, Denise snapped this pose of what could pass for two Maine male models, whose bodies have been sculpted by years of hard work, red hot dogs and whoopie pies. 

When we moved to Maine in ‘93, our first home was down on Naskeag Point, site of the famous Revolutionary War battle. Denise and Emma’s passion for beach glass was born there. We ran straight down to Naskeag, as soon as we arrived on the Blue Hill Peninsula. Emma wanted to bring home a lobster buoy for a souvenir and immediately found a pink girl’s buoy on the shore. Unfortunately, the buoy she found is still an active, licensed color. It’s never a good idea to mess with someone’s lobster gear, so she left it at the shore. She didn’t find much beach glass this time, but plenty of clam shells.

This is the cape we made an offer on, sight unseen. It’s a quaint little home, built in the 50s, out in the Sunshine area of Deer Isle Maine. The owners thought our offer of $90k was way too low (starting at $139k and lowered to $125k when we got interested). They countered high, so we waited to see it. 

The property is beautiful, near some nice ledge and it is a short distance from the Eggemoggin Reach and swimming, as well as the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. We had hoped to make it a vacation home and rental for students / faculty / boaters. 

When we finally saw it, we realized that it would need about $50k of work to repair the failed septic, update it some (not much for our mid-century tastes) and deal with the moisture problems. I have allergies, so that’s an issue. We decided against going any higher than $80k. A comparable newer cape, the same size, would only fetch $120-135k in the current market, so it wouldn’t be a great investment and would require a lot of labor and headaches. We’re opting toward new construction or very recent, perhaps even a manufactured home.

So, we met some new friends in Sedgwick Me — Joanne and Doug. They told us that Pushcart Press, the world’s smallest bookstore, is in the building at the back of what was once Donny and Eleanor’s garage and auto dealership. We stopped by to check it out. The Pushcart Prize is a prestigious literary project, pioneered by Bill Henderson over 30 years ago. As it turns out, Mr. Henderson is now a resident of Sedgwick, where I once served as Postmaster and our family wintered for a year before moving up to Blue Hill. From the PP website:

The Pushcart Prize - Best of the Small Presses series, published every year since 1976, is the most honored literary project in America. Hundreds of presses and thousands of writers of short stories, poetry and essays have been represented in the pages of our annual collections. 

Writers who were first noticed here include:
Raymond Carver, Tim O’Brien, Jayne Anne Phillips, Charles Baxter, Andre Dubus, Susan Minot, Mona Simpson, John Irving, Rick Moody, and many more. Each year most of the writers and many of the presses are new to the series.

I’m sure you’ve all been wondering why the blog posts have dried up. In fact, I’m just sitting down to answer the backlog of thousands of email messages. We are winding up our trip to Maine and are finally relaxing on the shore of Allamoosook Lake. Emma is in a canoe, Denise is sitting in her Adirondack chair with a needlepoint and I’m doing what I like to do to unwind… writing. So, here are a few shots of the view from the lodge and a preview of posts to come.
There is a very picturesque island out in front of the lodge and it appears to have a camp with a dock out into the lake. It’s very quiet here, the loons and ducks are paddling by and there are only two boats out on the lake. I just heard some folks at their camp about a quarter mile across the lake discussing supper plans for the evening — Chinese food in Bucksport.
Emma is really enjoying her vacation and is now out in a canoe, trying to find an anchorage, so she can stop to read her book. I’ll plug away on a few posts about the house we let go out in Sunshine, the one that interests us in Lamoine, lobster supper, whoopie pies and, best of all, good friends.

Okay, so I’ve been a little nostalgic lately and I scanned some old photographs of our family. When Denise and I began dating, she had long blonde hair… naturally blonde. I had long hair, too. 

Denise also bought a brand new Landcruiser FJ40, which I loved to drive and she snapped this photo, as we drove by the 76 station at the corner of Painter Avenue and Lambert Road in Whittier.

In the Spring of 1974, after Denise graduated from Sierra High School, we drove north to pick up Denise’s brother at UC Davis and brought him home. We stopped in one of our favorite destinations from our desert days, Virginia City NV, and I took this photo of Denise. Wow!!! 

This is Denise about one year after we were married on this day, July 10, 1976. Yes, that’s 32 years of marital bliss (not 31, Sam). This photo was actually taken the day before Sam was born on September 5, 1977. I remember this day - It was hot, I took time off work for the birth and we went to walk around the Mission San Juan Capistrano and I caught Denise in front of this big, beautiful Bouganville.

Happy Anniversary Denise!

Resembles Sean, don’t you think? Parents are pretty excited.

Did I ever tell you that Denise can make excellent tamales and carnitas? ¿No? Well, then… About the time Denise and I started getting serious, she worked at a deli and meat market, owned by Jess (Mexican) and Julianne (Polish). So, while I was off surfing every single day during the summer of 1974 (I couldn’t get a job, because I wouldn’t cut my hair — Idiot), Denise (Anglo) learned how to make carnitas, tamales, tortillas, menudo, peirogi, golumki and fresh/smoked kielbasa. Yes, she was always good in the kitchen, but this experience turned her into a serious culinarian. 

Denise is not threatened by others, with more sophisticated or advanced skills. A few months ago, we dined at Las Pupusas, a Mexican/Salvadoran/Costa Rican restaurant on El Camino in Sacramento (please read the reviews). I’ve only had Mexican tamales, so theirs were a new treat for me. As one reviewer noted:

Their tamales remind me of my grandma’s cooking, had she known how to make tamales. What’s a bit strange (but it’s a good strange,) is that they put potatoes in their tamales and they wrap the whole tamale up in a banana leaf instead of a corn husk. You can definitely taste the difference and the essense of the banana leaf is in the maize.

However, it was their carnitas that really grabbed our attention. When I was paying, I asked the young woman at the register if they marinated their carnitas and told her it was the best we’ve ever had. She said “no, but my grandmother cooks it in Coca Cola before she roasts it.” Denise looked at me (like Joe Friday), nodded and knowingly remarked, “I’ve heard that before. I’ll have to try it.”

So, this weekend we looked on line and settled upon this recipe. Oh, blessed carnitas!!! It was wonderful. I would have to compare side-by-side with Las Pupusas, to determine the champion. But, really, who cares? It’s all good. Denise whipped up the salsa fresca, we rolled the pork up in corn tortillas and ate it with some rice on the side (Denise makes great rice, too).

Oh, yes. You were probably wondering what happened to Denise and the deadbeat surfer. Well, actually I had worked and saved a bunch of money up to that point. When I got home from the waves and she got off work, we went to a rock show or Dodger game or a movie almost every night of the week. I finally cut my hair and got a job in September (actually 3 part time jobs) and we got married and have been eating Mexican and Polish/Slovak food ever since.

Emma just completed her first semester at Sacramento State University with a Big Four Point Oh! She’s pursuing a degree in design — leaning toward architecture. This was confirmed to Emma on her latest visit to Chicago, the birthplace of the modern skyscraper, as well as home to the Prairie School and Frank Lloyd Wright. 

Emma’s strength, I think, is in photography. She has always had a good eye for an interesting composition and Photoshop is the logical extension for the skills she learned in the dark room years ago. Here we see two Photoshop projects and the final example is a graphic design assignment using Adobe InDesign. I really like that application for page layout, but I think Emma found it a bit overwhelming. However, she never used Quark, so she probably cannot appreciate the advantages InDesign brings to print.

I really think she’s on her way and will probably find a career in a design related field. And, that makes me happy.

Well, it’s official! Camille is pregnant, Sean is glowing and the Bailey and Salisbury families, here and across The Pond, are very excited. 

Sam’s show in Switzerland is drawing to a close. Of course, you can always catch some of his latest work at Marc Jancou Contemporary or on Artnet.

Denise and I were down in Roseville, so we dropped by Sean and Camille’s new home. It looks a little plain. I think it could use something… I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Okay, I can finally announce it! Camille has just been promoted to manager and she “broke the record for the quickest promotion” to manager in her firm’s history. There’s no CPA following her name, but that’s a mere formality.

What some may not know is that Camille developed many of her management skills as a young girl in her home, neighborhood and school under the able mentorship of her mother.

Pastor Steve has been busy here in Nevada County. We’ve been to prayer meetings, a youth meeting and even a Reformation Bible Conference, where Pastor Steve met Dr. Henry Krabbendam. Pastor Steve attended a pastors prayer meeting and spoke at a sports awards banquet for William Jessup University. He’s taught us some African praise songs. And, he’s working on a mission for Bo to come to Uganda. The indications so far point to May 2007, if the Lord wills.

On Tuesday, Denise and I said farewell to New York and flew out of La Guardia at 4PM. By 1 AM, we were back in Nevada City and I arrived at work in Camptonville by 7:30 AM on Tuesday. What a great time to be alive and who can deny that the United States is one of the best places on the planet to live?

The last morning in Brooklyn, we decided to take a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was chilly. On the Manhattan side, we looked around and thought we would see if anything piqued our interest. If so, we’d just take a train back to our apartment. If not, we’d walk back across the bridge. We kept finding promising places and things to see until we stumbled right up to the World Trade Center. Frankly, we didn’t remember how close it was to the bridge, having visited the WTC and the observation deck about 18 years ago. It was impressive then and it is just as impressive now, but for different reasons.

I won’t go into our reflections, except to say one more time that I like living in the US, where a working-class couple can travel, enjoy visiting friends and family, dine on all kinds of great food, see the sites and spend Sunday morning, worshipping God along with a bunch of people we never met before. Thank you Jesus!

On Sunday, Denise and I went with Sam to the MOMA. She got in free with Sam, because he’s a member… they even bought a couple of his pieces, but he doesn’t know what they are or when they were shown. How do you like that? Anyway, hope you like the photos here.