7/18/08 Pampered Chef...Maine Style

I was invited to a Pampered Chef party! Julie in Dallas will be sad that my first party was not one of hers (and I'm sad about that, too) but I thought it odd timing after the beef strogonoff incident. Actually, I had accepted the invitation before the strogonoff event, but it's still great timing. Rhonda, our hostess, lives about 30 minutes from campus. When she sent directions via email, I noticed that Kirsten was on the list, so I emailed her and asked if she wanted to carpool. She said yes! Shwew! That meant I had a navigator to help me get there OR a friend to be with in the event I got lost. Getting lost can be a fun adventure if you have a friend to share it with.

I loved getting to yack with Kirsten on the way out. We had been on a committee together this spring but the committee work was so intense, no one really got a chance to know each other on a personal level. It turns out that we both have sisters very close to our age, we both worked at summer camps as counselors and then as directors, and a few other fun things we had in common. The drive out was through gorgeous Maine hillsides and forests with plenty of lakes (ponds) nearby. The beginning of the trip was similar to the route I took last December to go to Harry's town supper in Chesterville. And very soon after turning left at the bridge, we drove past the Chesterville Town Office, which was the location for Harry's town supper. The next landmark was "the closed country store" and I was guessing that it was the then open country store where I got directions to the Town Office. Sure enough, it was. Only we were coming from the other direction. There really were angels out that wintry December night that got me to Harry's supper! Seeing it in daylight without snow told me how incredibly fortunate I had been that I even got to that supper that night. And just a little further down the road, we arrived at Rhonda's. Oh my! She lives on a real farm! There was a barn with heavy equipment outside and animals in the field and a dirt road to drive up to get to the farmhouse. It looked so "country"! It was fabulous.

The party was a blast. I don't know for sure since this was my first, but I'm pretty sure that this party was just like any Pampered Chef party where a group of women gather at a friend's home, someone does a fun demonstration of wares, then you sit around eating, yacking, and flipping through the catalog. This was no different until the Pampered Chef representative got to the part of the demonstration where she was talking about the boning knife that they offer. She showed its flexibility and explained its purpose and quality and then gave examples of how and why to use it. "You'll save those precious grocery dollars if you buy the whole chicken at Hannaford's and cut it into pieces yourself instead of buying the package of boneless breasts," she said. Then she got my attention when she said, "And for those of you who raise your own chickens, you can easily butcher them yourselves with this handy knife." Wow. I just don't picture housewives from the suburbs of Dallas being able to relate to that advantage of the boning knife!

Sylvia from the Computer Center was also there and the three of us hung out together most of the night. There were a lot of other nice people there, but I really enjoyed these two women. I had so much fun I forgot to take a photo, but on the way out of Rhonda's lovely farm house, I saw the pigs in the field and wondered if some day they'd meet the edge of a Pampered Chef boning knife.

7/17/08 Where the Sidewalk Ends

This doesn't quite capture it, but my walk home is eight tenths of a mile from my building on campus and the last tenth of a mile is uphill. It's not a steep climb, but it's noticeable. And near the top of the hill, the sidewalk ends. Fortunately, my apartment is not very far from that. In the winter, I don't know if the sidewalk will be plowed that far up like it was in my old house. We'll find out. Meanwhile, it's a most pleasant walk and twice as much exercise which is a good thing.

7/17/08 Sheriff Andy Taylor?

As I was coming out of the post office, I spotted MRM going in to Dunkin Donuts. This would be the second time in a week that I bumped into her in downtown Farmington. I dodged across the street, stopping traffic in both directions (as a pedestrian in Maine, that's my privilege) and followed her into Dunkin Donuts just to say "Hi" so that I can count this as another "running into folks on the street" event.

This week in particular I keep bumping into people I know as I walk down the street . . . Jo on her way to the post office to mail a package, Chris on her way into the Homestead with friends visiting from Michigan, Maggy and Harry on my way out of the post office. Part of it is that I know more people, part of it is that it's summer in Maine and nobody's hanging out inside, part of it is that this is a small town and your chances of running into someone you know are far greater than they are in a big town. But whether it's mathematical or magical, it's a blast.

I was sharing my enthusiasm for this activity with Rodney who said, "Next thing you know, you'll be bumping right into Sheriff Andy Taylor on the streets of Mayberry." He's right. And I look forward to that day.

7/16/08 Red Sox Rule

Tee hee! Gotta love it. This shirt exemplifies the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry. I know I saw these right after the World Series last year, but I had forgotten about them and how clever-yet-tacky they really were.

7/15/08 Dinner and Ice Cream

Are you sitting down? Last night I cooked. I know. It's hard to believe. Ashley will never believe me again when I tell her that I don't cook. It was such a departure from all that I know to be normal. Is it the air in Maine? Is it the after-effects of a guilt-free summer? Enquiring minds want to know. But until we know those results, here are the details:

It's Monday in the late afternoon and I'm sitting in my office pretending to get work done. Suddenly, I'm struck with the desire to eat beef strogonoff. Where did that come from? As a kid strogonoff was always one of my favorite meals. (I think any combination of dairy and pasta is good--mac and cheese, pasta alfredo, . . . ) I never fixed it for myself but in the last 10 years or so, my mom has gotten in the habit (and what a great habit it is, too) of fixing strogonoff one night when I'm in town whenever I visit. That means I only eat it two to five times a year, but that's better than zero which was where I was at before.

Anyway . . . so I get this urge for strogonoff and I start looking online for a recipe. I found one that sounded good and was meant to make only 2 to 3 servings. That's a desirable recipe for anything that can't be frozen when you're cooking for one. But it involved making it from scratch. There was even something called a "roux" involved in the process. Eeegads, what was I getting into? Oh well, I've got the time, why not?

Next, I'm shopping at Wal-Mart because not only do I need the ingredients for this recipe, but I need a pan, too. My little 4 pan set that's barely getting me by for frying eggs and making granola does not have a pan big enough or heavy enough for this task. I finally get to the meat aisle where I'm looking at beef tenderloin which is what the recipe calls for. Eeegads! Have you seen the price of beef tenderloin??! I quickly shift down to the stew meat section which is what my mom always uses. Hmmmm, this looks good but the smallest package is 2 pounds. But even so, 2 pounds of stew meat is cheaper than 1/2 a pound of tenderloin. I decide to rethink the concept. I whip out my iPhone and start searching online for beef strogonoff recipes that use stew meat 'cuz I know when my mom makes it, she "stews" the meat but I never paid attention to how she did that. I find another one, double check that I've got the ingredients for that one, finish my shopping and head home.

It's now 8:30pm and I'm just starting to make dinner. Oh well! It's an adventure! I've decided on some combination of the two recipes 'cuz the one tells me how to do the stew meat part but the other ones sounds yummier with fresh dill and some other cool ingredients. That means I have to triple the one recipe to make it fit the quantity of meat I have. All this for a non-cook. Why not start out simple? Because that would be too easy! And away I go, whisking flour into melted butter and searing stew meat in my tiny kitchen with no countertops. I put a cookie sheet over the two burners I'm not using to create a flat worktop and keep hounding away. Three hours later, the end is in sight. I decide not to cook the noodles that night and in fact, I'm going to eat it for dinner tomorrow. It's too late to eat it now. It turned out fabulous except for the very very last part where I should've drained the concoction the mushrooms were saute-ing in before I added the roux. Now I have very yummy beef strogonoff but very runny beef strogonoff. RATS! Oh well.

Hmmm, if you've read this far you're wondering why I called this post "Dinner and Ice Cream" on the 15th when I'm writing about the 14th. Well, it's just a long lead-in to [thank you Paul Harvey] 'The Rest of the Story'.

This morning as I was coming out of the post office I ran into MRM walking down the street. I love it when that happens! We start chatting and I'm inspired to say, "If you and RBF are free tonight, would you do me a favor and help me eat some beef strogonoff that I made last night. It's yummy but runny so I'm not inviting you to a dinner party, I'm asking friends that I trust to come help me clean out my refrigerator." Even though she rarely eats meat, I promise her I'll have enough salad and veggies that she can get a meal out of it. Then I call Rodney and invite him to the same event.

Of course, it did turn into a quasi-dinner party 'cuz I needed something a little bit more than just strogonoff. I went back to the store for some lettuce and crescent rolls; I had enough other stuff. I also bought some corn starch to see if I could thicken up the strogonoff sauce just a tad. I had spinach and artichoke dip plus the chips left over from Games Night, so they really were helping me clean out the refrigerator. We "dined on the verandah" and had a really good time. MRM was able to make pasta salad out of what I had available so we all ate to our fill. The strogonoff was a little less runny but now had a funny texture to it from the corn starch. I don't think I'll try that trick again. But I will try making strogonoff from scratch again (not during the semester, though) and I will invite friends over for dinner again. All in all, it was a worthwhile and not unpleasant endeavor.

After dinner, we all went to Gifford's for their famous ice cream. It was my first trip of the season to Gifford's. MRM and I split a strawberry shortcake. Wowser was that good! No matter how mediocre the dinner had been, the dessert made up for it all.

7/13/08 Yet More Theatre!

Andrea, the choir director at church, plays piano for many events in town including the summer musical theatre camp for kids. Rodney knew one of the participants and I'm always up for a musical, so we went to the Sunday matinee of Willy Wonka Jr. It was so well done and very fun. Apparently these "junior" plays are getting quite popular with children's theatre programs--they're scaled down versions (Reader's Digest versions?) with the same plot and all the music but simpler lines and choreography, etc. Andrea said the Into the Woods Jr. play is essentially the first act only of the original Into the Woods. I can handle this! It helps for the youngsters putting on the production but also for their friends and siblings in the audience. For those with short attention spans in the audience (grownups as well as children), this is a bonus.

7/13/08 Field Activity Continues

More work in the field. But look how the strip they already harvested has started to grow back. So they alternate between cutting the stuff and baling it into traditional bales and baling it into those big round bales. I've learned the word "tedding" which is when they cut it and then spread it out for drying. It's been quite fascinating watching the process slowly but surely happen over a period of a few days. Those in the know have told me that they'll harvest this field two or three times in a single summer. That means I get to watch this and learn more about it some more! I have no desire to become a farmer or anything that rural, but I do find it all fascinating.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Dr. Theresa Overall
Assistant Professor
University of Maine at Farmington
Secondary/Middle Education Department
office: Education Center 220
phone: (207) 778-7049
email: theresa.overall@maine.edu

7/12/08 Games Night

Games Night was at MY place! This is our sixth Games Night and I got to play hostess. It's actually my second time to host 'cuz MRM and I co-hosted back in April. Whooop! We started on the verandah and actually just sat around and ate, yacked, and drank for 2.5 hours until the darkness and the mosquitoes got to us. Then we went inside and played Tri-Bond and yacked, ate, and drank some more. People brought chairs (I was worried I wouldn't have enough), food, games, and FLOWERS! I liked that part! Here are roses from Michelle:

and here are sunflowers from Pearia:

7/12/08 iPhone 2.0

On June 9, Steve Jobs announced the new iPhone and all the new features in iPhone 2.0 software. The good news for those of us who invested in the first iPhone is that most of the new stuff is available for us, too! Because the iPhone is software based, a software upgrade gives us most of the new features. Whooop! So I've been anticipating the new software for quite a while now. and yesterday was the day. My techno-geek friend Rodney and I promised each other that we would upgrade our iPhones together. We tried but there were so many people upgrading on that day, plus we both had additional issues (my laptop hard drive was almost full and so it wasn't operating fully; he had just received a replacement iPhone and it hadn't been activated yet), that we didn't have any luck on Friday. But we got together today at the library (free wireless Internet) and pretty soon we were both up and running. Actually, he eventually got his up and running last night without me and had already downloaded a bunch of the new apps. Twit.

For all the details about the upgrade, check out my technology blog. (You'd think I already have enough blogs, but I'm thinking one can't have enough.)

So now that we both have the software, we wanted to find a place where we both could play on a wi-fi connection. The library was closed and in my office, only I can get it. So we headed over to The Big Burrito, a little restaurant in West Farmington that has free wi-fi. Here's Rodney sitting across from me at The Big Burrito (notice the wall-e watch).
He's totally engrossed in his iPhone while we're waiting for our lunch. We both were. At this point, I think he's installing Loopt software which I also installed. It's supposed to allow you to see where your friends are using the GPS or (in our case . . . on the older iPhone) cellular phone triangulation. It should probably be called "Stalker" software because if you didn't have the ability to block people from seeing you (you pick who you want to know your location and you can turn off the ability to be tracked at any time), it really would be software for stalkers. The funny thing about it was, it showed us to be 7 miles apart. That's a really big table at the restaurant! We figured the cell phone triangulation software only had 1 or 2 cell towers to work off of out here in rural Maine and that was as close as it could get.

And how are the burritos you ask? Well, to quote Trig (one of my fourth graders from a long time ago) when he found out I was in Maine, "My best advice is, 'Don't eat the Mexican food.'" I can highly recommend the ginger lemonade at The Big Burrito and the food is really good unless you're expecting spicy Mexican food.

7/9/08 An Evening at The Theatre

I'm sad to report that the great photos I had of this event got lost in a software upgrade. :-( But the memories are still there!

Luke is a UMF student who was in our Block classes in fall 2007. I saw him one day before the spring semester was over and when I asked what he was doing this summer he told me he was going to be Gilligan in The Lakewood Theater's production of Gilligan Island, The Musical. He told me I should come and I agreed it would be fun but I don't think he really believed I would make it. And we certainly surprised him when all 3 of us (Beth, Grace, and I) that teach the Block classes showed up!

The Lakewood Theater is America's oldest summer theater. What fun! We had dinner reservations for The Lakewood Restaurant which is just across the driveway from the theater. It was classic, too! The service was great. The food seemed to be one extreme or the other. My shrimp was particularly good and the cheesecake was yummy. We don't recommend the black bean cake entree.

The play was hysterical. I don't know how they were able to cast talented people who were sooo much like the TV characters that we all remember and loved. Even if we hadn't personally known the actor playing Gilligan, we would've enjoyed the show. But knowing Luke made the show about ten times funnier. I don't think I'll be able to call him Luke when I see him again--he will always be Gilligan from now on.

Here's my autographed program. It says, "To my Texas Theresa, Luke Ellis."

7/7/08 Old Crow Indian Band in Concert

Every Monday night throughout the summer at 7:30pm in the gazebo of the town park, the Old Crow Indian Band gives a concert. Yes, this is the same group that marched in the 4th of July parade. How fun is that?? I've actually heard them from my verandah, but this was my first time to purposefully attend the concert in the park.

I was helping a friend pack for his move when his cousins called from tonight's concert. We needed a break anyway and so we headed to the gazebo. It was everything you'd hope it would be. The music was good. There were long pauses between songs and no published program or list of songs. I think it might be more of an open rehearsal than a concert. But who cares?! Kids run around in the grass and climb over the monuments in the park, grown ups chat amongst themselves and wave at friends coming and going, folks sit in camp chairs and listen to the music, . . . it's all just good clean fun accompanied by live music.

7/6/08 Life on the verandah

Since it isn't attached to a doorway, I don't think it's a porch. I guess it could be a patio, but since it's covered and has columns and since it has such a lovely view, I do think verandah is the right name for this location, don't you? I do love it. And with all the sunshine lately (have you been looking at the sky in all the photos of the field lately?), I get to spend more time out here. (If you note the slits in the deck above, you'll know I haven't been sitting out there too much in the all the rain we had on a daily basis prior to July 4.) You're welcome to come join me on the verandah!

7/6/08 more progress in the field

7/6/08 Two Movies??

This afternoon I went to the afternoon matinée of Hancock. I actually knew nothing about the movie except that Will Smith was in it. If you know me, that's wild! I never go to a movie without prior assurance that it's going to have a happy ending and I don't do horror or violence. So to go without knowing was a big risk. Fortunately, I was not disappointed. In fact, I was delightfully surprised! Now even more surprising to myself and those who know me is that I went to a movie last Friday as well. That makes two movies in 9 days. Prior to this I don't think I went to two movies in 9 months. Prior to moving to Maine, it was probably two movies in 9 years!

What did I see last Friday? Wall-e! And on opening night no less! It was great fun and a great movie. AND I got one of the free digital watches that was supposed to be for kids but they had a bucketload and I asked and they gave me one. It took a while to figure out how to set it (I got good advice from an 8-year old friend at church on Sunday) but it works great. Rodney got one, too. He wears his all the time. I needed a desk clock, so I created a makeshift stand for it and it sits on my desk where I can see it easily. It reminds me both what time it is and what fun I am having in Maine.

7/4/08 4th of July Party #2

It's so fun to have two parties to go to on 4th of July! This is
Ashley's annual party but since she just got home from 3 weeks in
Africa and wasn't sure what condition her apartment would be in, it
was held at Sheena's house. What more could you ask for than some
fireworks . . .

. . . good food and fun people . . .

. . . in a beautiful setting.