Maine Moments: Relaxing, Reading & Watching

A LAZY WEEK

View from Southport coast (JWF)

We escaped the heat after Portland and are now happily settled mid coast on Southport Island.  I have to confess that we have been somewhat lazy this week.  Not in terms of projects, though.  I’ve re-discovered Zentangle and have been having fun creating one tile each day, while the Chief Penguin is keeping up with politics and writing.  

I joined my Zoom yoga group twice, and the C. P. and I went for a walk in the neighborhood on Thursday.  In between, we’ve been stocking the larder with multiple trips to Hannaford, the local supermarket, and Pinkham’s Gourmet Market.  The former has all the basics while the latter stocks fresh fish and seafood along with a variety of store-made deli salads and more jarred temptations than one can imagine.  We are now set for a while and the arrival of one sister and brother-in-law.

SUMMER READING:

POST OFFICE MURALS AND RACE RELATIONS

Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain (2019) 

Chamberlain (usmacmillan.com)

Set in Edenton, North Carolina in 1940 and 2018, author Diane Chamberlain uses the WPA contest for murals to be hung in post offices across the country as her jumping off point.  There was a real WPA competition to design and then create murals, but Edenton was not one of the chosen towns.  Aspiring young artist, Anna Dale from New Jersey, is selected for North Carolina even though she submitted a sketch for her own hometown.   

It’s 1940, and Anna must create a sketch for this small town, get it approved, and then actually produce it to be hung.  She solicits volunteer help from local students and initially has two white students, a boy and a girl, and then one talented young black man named Jesse who is a bit older.  The times being what they are, some folks in town are upset that she is working with Jesse. Popular local artist Martin Drapple and his wife feel strongly that his contest entry was unfairly rejected.

In 2018, wannabe artist Morgan Christopher, in prison for a crime she didn’t commit, is offered early release and parole if she will restore the Edenton post office mural.  It had disappeared in 1940 and never been hung.  It turned up in the possession of now deceased artist Jesse Williams who left specific instructions as to who was to restore it and the very strict timeline required.  Morgan takes up the challenge, moves in with Jesse’s daughter Lisa, and has to quickly learn about art restoration.  The mural is badly damaged and has some strange extra touches, prompting Morgan and her colleagues to want to know more about the elusive Anna Dale who disappeared. 

Alternating chapters about Anna and Morgan keep the reader in suspense about what ultimately happened to Anna and whether Morgan will be able to complete the mural in time for its public showing.  It’s a fast-paced read, and I whipped through it in 2 days!  Does it all hang together?  Is the ending too neat or is it convincing?  In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed it— good historical fare and gripping summer escapism!  I will miss my book group’s discussion of it, but now I really need to visit Edenton.  (~JWFarrington)

MOVIE TIME: HISTORICAL GEM

The Choral (Netflix)

Choir master Fiennes backed by Duxbury and colleagues (theaureview.com)

We missed this film when it aired in Cary, so it was a treat to watch it here.  Set in a Yorkshire village in 1916, it’s a worrisome time.  Young men are going off to war, often volunteering, but soon all of a certain age will have no option.  Mill owner Mr. Bernard Duxbury likes singing and is very proud of the town choral.  When the choir master leaves to fight, he must recruit a new leader.  

Mr. Guthrie is a musician, but he is suspect for having lived in Germany.  Initially planning to sing Bach’s challenging St. Matthew Passion oratorio, this rag tag band of locals and injured soldiers takes up a work by Englishman Edward Elgar.  Inspired by the real Huddersfield Choral Society, the film is sweet at points and also poignant.  The cast features Ralph Fiennes as the choir master and Roger Allam as Mr. Duxbury.  Recommended, particularly if you like choral music.

Maine Moments: Portland Interlude

ARRIVING

We landed in Portland on Thursday afternoon expecting cool breezes, but it was hot.  Not as hot as we North Carolinians have been experiencing, but HOT for Maine.  Also because we spent more time wandering around outside in the bright sun than at home.  Overall, the heat prompted a lazier approach to our 36 hours here.  More time in our favorite local bookstores, Longfellow Books, and Sherman’s.  Two long visits to Longfellow’s shop and a brief one to Sherman’s which was packed with browsers.  And we slotted in some delicious meals.  

EATING WELL IN PORTLAND

David’s Restaurant

Our tradition for dinner on arrival day is to head to David’s, a popular restaurant at Monument Square serving the requisite lobster roll and other more creative fare.  There are also a few daily specials to tempt the palate.  This time, we began with the fried calamari which pops with hot pepper slices, tomato bits, little black olives, and feta. Yum! 

Caesar salad at David’s

The Chief Penguin had Caesar salad, a stacked version with lovely lettuces, not the typical romaine, while I tucked into my first lobster roll of the season.  A tasty one with a small side salad, also interestingly done.

First lobster roll of 2026!

These dishes with glasses of a crisp Albariño made for a perfect first meal.

Duckfat

Staff at Duckfat

We could have had clam chowder and fish sandwiches for lunch, but opted instead to check out Duckfat, a very small eatery we hadn’t been to in several years.  Inside are counters with low stools and a bar; outside is covered seating, perhaps from Covid days. This was an indulgent lunch. 

 A stand-up cone of Belgian fries cooked in, you guessed it, duck fat and served with two dipping sauces, jalapeño lime and truffle ketchup.  We followed the fries with large sandwiches on some toothsome sourdough.  I opted for the grilled cheese and smoked turkey while the C.P ordered grilled cheese and Tasso ham.  This is not your ordinary grilled cheese sandwich; it is elevated with cheddar and raclette slathered with sun-dried tomato pesto. Had we not had fries, we might have been able to eat the entire sandwich; as it was we each savored just half.

Leeward (Arts District)

When it opened in 2020, Leeward was highly touted gaining lots of attention. Since then, its chef has been a James Beard Foundation nominee or semi-finalist almost every year.  On Free Street, not too far from the Portland Museum of Art, it’s light and attractive inside.  The cuisine is mostly Italian with a nod to innovative pasta dishes. The menu is compact and all the offerings carefully crafted.  We began with the Simple Salad—not so simple really with a red wine dressing, local lettuces, a few thin whispers of Piave cheese, and candied pecans.  Perfect for a warm night. 

I went vegetarian this meal (my sisters would be surprised!) and loved the luscious radiatore pasta with olive pesto, zucchini rounds, pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese. The CP went for the tagliatelle with fresh porcini mushrooms and a bit of prosciutto. 

Pasta with porcini

Delicious overall and very satisfying!

DEPARTING PORTLAND

 We got an earlier start than usual on Saturday morning, and all was well.  Then the car fob didn’t work.   A hotel valet extracted the key and was able to open up the car which was parked in a nearby lot.  But the car wouldn’t start.  Key question, was the car battery dead or was it just the fob battery?  Fortunately, testing indicated that it was the fob and not the car.  

Meanwhile, I was just outside the hotel on a bench keeping watch over our luggage and enjoying the now cooler air. With no hotel car available to provide a lift, and knowing his way around downtown Portland very well, the Chief Penguin walked briskly to the nearby CVS to purchase a new fob battery.  The helpful salesclerk there opened the plastic packaging and made it easy to put the new battery in the fob.

Fob in hand, the CP returned, the car started, the luggage was loaded, and we headed north.  We were grateful for the assistance of the enterprising hotel valet and the CVS clerk.  Now we’re happily ensconced on Southport Island with views of the ocean and cove!

Note: Photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

Carolina Comments: Observing the 250th

With temperatures reaching 101 here for several days, we have barely ventured outside.  It is definitely the hottest week I can ever recall experiencing!  Today’s high is slated to be only 98.  

JULY 4th ACTIVITIES

Declaration of Independence Reading

On Friday, residents where we live participated in a reading of the Declaration of Independence in its entirety before an audience.  The document was divided into 33 sections, and 31 of us each read a section (one couple took two sections each.) Lined up in order to keep things moving, we stepped to the podium, read our piece, and then sat down.  

Having not read this document or at least not all the way through, it was a moving and meaningful experience, both the words and sentiments, but also hearing so many different voices.  I was #27 in the line-up, and I chose my piece because of its first sentence.  “A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the rule of a free people.”  The capital letters are in the original document, and I thought this statement was particularly apt for today’s times.

As part of this program, we all said the Pledge of Allegiance and then sang the national anthem.

America’s 250th Patriotic Celebration (Cary Arts Center)

(carytownband.org)

The night of July 3rd, the Chief Penguin and I attended a downtown concert with narration and video images presented by the Cary Town Band.  Founded in 1987, with just sixteen members, the band now consists of 50 volunteer musicians.  It plays free concerts at a variety of special events each year.

In years past, in Swarthmore, PA, we loved attending the town’s annual 4th of July parade.  A small series of floats, lots of kids on their decorated bikes, and a chance to chat with one’s neighbors, followed by rides around town on the fire truck.  As I recall, our son adorned his bicycle with crepe paper one year and joined the parade.  In Florida, we didn’t attend any parades, but from our lanai overlooking Sarasota Bay, we could usually see fireworks go up-up in about ten different towns ringing the water.  Often, we got together with friends to celebrate this night.

The Cary Town Band is wind instruments, percussion, and brass as one would expect. The music was wide ranging, opening with The Federal March (1788) celebrating the adoption of the U. S. Constitution, and then the Armed Forces Salute, including the songs for each force from the army to the new Space Force.  What came next was a series of pieces, many unfamiliar, but selected to go along with a specific era in our history.  Beginning in 1776 and then advancing in 50-year increments from 1826 all the way up to 2026.  It was rousing music accompanied by historic images and text on a big screen; a history lesson that did not gloss over or omit our nation’s shortcomings.  Overall, it was a wonderful performance combining inspiration and appreciation for all that came before.

And yes, we said the pledge to the flag and sang the Star-Spangled Banner.  Twice in one day for me.  

SUMMER READING

Savor: A Chef’s Hunger for More by Fatima Ali with Tarajia Morrell (published in 2022)

Fatima Ali (penguinrandomhouse.com)

Fatima Ali was a young Pakistani chef who came to the United States as a child, studied at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), and aspired to one day own her own restaurant.  She was ambitious, determined, and had lofty goals.  She also wanted to do something to address hunger and poverty in her home country.  Alas, her life was cut short by a rare cancer.

Savor is an unusual memoir in that its primary sources are Ali’s essays, journal entries, and in-depth conversations that her co-author Tarajia Morrell had with her over the course of one intense week.  To provide more context for Fatima’s life, her mother, Farezeh Durrani, bares her soul and shares the story of her arranged marriage and divorce, along with other family secrets and regrets.  

The result is a very personal family history interspersed with details of Pakistani culture and its food.  Fatima extols the variety of Pakistani dishes with their fragrant spices as she advances her career, cooking in a variety of restaurant settings in New York and then competing in the Food Network series, Chopped, and eventually on Top Chef.   Along the way, she loves the greater freedom for women here while missing aspects of home.  It’s a rich book full of food and a young woman’s zest for life.  Recommended! (~JWFarrington)

JUST FOR FUN

I can think of no one I know who likes going to the dentist. Even for a cleaning.  Earlier this week, the C. P. and I visited our local practice which is across the street and down a ways.  I like my hygienist a lot and was pleased to see her since she had been out due to a skiing injury.  As I was leaving her room, she said, “You are Patient of the Week.  You get to take home the flowers.” Lo and behold, indeed, we did get to take a lovely bouquet of flowers in a tall glass vase.  First, a photo of both of us (yes!), and then you-know-who carried my flowers home.  Why me?  Why the middle of the week?  Do they do this every week?  The flowers were very fresh, not at all wilted, and they still look good 5 days later. Almost enough incentive to go back to the dentist’s office!

Happy July 4th weekend to you all!

Carolina Comments: Big Birthdays & Grantchester

MILESTONE BIRTHDAYS

Two of my siblings and the Chief Penguin have summer birthdays, one in June, one in July, and one in August.  

Chief Penguin earlier this spring

This year, this trio is turning 70, 75, or 80.  It seemed the right time for a family celebration.  The C.P. and I see the North Carolina relatives, my two sisters and spouses often and my nieces and their families less frequently. 

My 3 siblings

We hadn’t seen my brother and sister-in-law from the Finger Lakes region for almost three years.  Thus, the Milestone Birthday Party yesterday. Almost everyone came including our son and family from Manhattan!  (We missed my brother’s daughters and their families who were only present in photos. Another time!)

This was also an opportunity for the cousins of the two younger generations to spend time together.

Niece Erica & family
First cousins!
Watching gift opening, Pat & others

It was a lively 36 hours beginning with an Indian lunch in Chapel Hill for the four siblings and spouses. The Chief Penguin and I also enjoyed dinners and ice cream in hopping downtown Cary with Tim and Jen and our granddaughters.  An all-around good time with lots of laughter! 

Entire family group (minus sister-in-law Pat who took the photo!)

 I think we created some lasting memories, especially for the youngest generation.

WATCHING

Grantchester: The Final Season (PBS)

After three vicars and eleven seasons, Grantchester is finally winding up its last season.  The Chief Penguin and I have been loyal viewers since the beginning.  We have liked watching police detective Geordie deal with Sydney, Will, and now Alphy, distinctive vicars who assist him in solving local crimes.  The supporting cast of housekeeper and friend, Mrs. C.; the caring and sometimes doleful curate Leonard; and Geordie’s wife Cathy, who embraces new opportunities for women, add richness and depth to the series.

Geordie & Alphy, Mrs. C. & Cathy, Larry & Miss Scot (tvinsider.com)

In this final season, Geordie has an offer of a promotion, life changes for Miss Scott and Larry Peters, and Alphy confronts head-on his mother’s past and present.  It is partly a tying up of earlier issues but also settling the characters comfortably for whatever lies ahead.  Recommended!

Note: Family photos taken by JWFarrington, EBWalter, & P. Walter.