A few days ago, I couldn’t help myself…. it was too glorious not to just take pictures of the colors. When there are scarcely any bare branches left, when you start sneezing, and maple trees leave drifts of green fluff on the ground, spring has arrived in all its glory in Maine! When the tips of the forsythia start to go green, you know summer will be here in a month…

Even the parking lot by the police/fire station is glorious, with this tree in bloom:

Just LOOK at this!

That sky! Now that is SCREAMING BLUE!

Even the pavement is beautiful… look at the silhouettes of the budding leaves….

and the dandelions…. did you know the word comes from the French “Dents de leons” meaning (literally) “teeth of the lions”?

Spring is HERE!

Just a short digression from the Paducah news…. SPRING HAS ARRIVED in Maine! Here’s proof: photos taken while walking the pug-wonderfulness (a.k.a. ‘Widgeon)….

First, the quintessential sign of spring in Maine, the fiddlehead fern. Don’t they look like a family, turned to each other for hugs?

Then, the beginnings of iris (I think that’s what they are) at a neighbor’s house. Wouldn’t that make a great abstract background for a quilt?

Rushing water:

And, at LAST, green on the trees! In two weeks, we should be about halfway leafed out!

Daffodils in the sun…. a couple years ago, our neighbor Dave did a major landscaping which I have dubbed the “neighborhood beautification project” since so many of us can see and enjoy results of his major expense. Then the yellow house where the road splits put in a HUGE load of small boulders as retaining wall so she could plant on the tiers… this is one of the treats (the coral bells are on their way out of the ground….)

And up the road a piece, more of the wild fiddleheads, these a bit more unfurled

–a couple days ago I saw an old guy on the side of the road…looked like he was picking fiddleheads which are often used in salads or sauteed….haven’t tried that yet… I like looking at them too much!

Eli competed in a tournament for the first time in Isshinriyu karate, an Okinawan style. He had a fun time visiting with the kids from the Tae Kwon Do school (where he started his martial arts training). He performed his kata (routine) very well … the second time. Alas, when he was almost done, he blanked out and got lost in the routine, so asked to start over. He did, and performed very well. If he had not had the mandatory deduction for starting over, he would have placed first or second! Here is the opening part of his kata:

The main judge came to me afterwards and said Eli had done very well despite having to re-start. She said that most kids who forget, just totally blow it on the second attempt, and Eli had done even better on the second try than the first. I think that is awesome… that he had the guts to say I forgot, start over, and then do it BETTER. Good on Eli! Here’s another photo from the end of the kata:

In fighting, he survived three rounds with other kids, despite the fact that he hasn’t sparred with kids in over a year.

He does practice with the adults in the Isshinriyu dojo, though, and is quite good. Still, I think he would benefit from being around kids more. Eli learns more of the martial arts in the dojo, and because he is so intense and focused, this is a good thing for him. But being able to goof around with kids is good, too! And being fit and strong is best of all!

WOOT!

My copy of the May/June issue of Quilter’s Home Magazine arrived, and I’m IN it! Page 41, to be precise! Back in January, I received an e-mail from editor Mark Lipinski saying “YOU CALL ME tomorrow for an article on you. xoxom” Ya think I called? I sure did! I am totally and completely thrilled with the article, and still amazed that he asked *me* to be in the magazine! Here’s the cover of “my” issue:

And… lookit the table of contents…. who ever woulda thought that I’d be in a national quilting mag’s table of contents, but there I am (if you click on the photo, they’ll pop up a bit larger, but you’ll need a real copy to be able to read it)!

Originally, I think the article was going to be one of his intermittent series of articles on things like the contents’ of famous (definitely not me) and not so (still probably not me, unless you drop the “so”) famous quilters purses, refrigerators and the like. This set was to be “Hometown Favorites.” Mark e-mailed a long list of questions, to which I replied by e-mail, and then helped him out by sending a CD of photos of various of these places. At least half of my (lengthy…sigh) replies made it into the article.

THEN, while I’m out in California in February, I’m standing in the grocery store with my frail, wobbly 89-year old mom, when my cell phone rings. It’s MARK! He had been trying to reach me by e-mail, but I’d been off helping my sick mom get a root canal (we had just come from having it done no less), so hubby gave him my cell number. SO, with mom propped up on the grocery cart and the Novocaine wearing off, I’m doing an interview with Mark on my cell in the middle of Scottie’s Market in Terra Linda, California! Here’s the result:

I couldn’t be more thrilled and honored. And he used my photos! I’m still amazed that he asked me, and grateful that he did. One step at a time, I’m getting to pursue doing what I love for a career (tho it’s a long way from a full-time wage!), and I so appreciate the exposure for both me and my wonderful home town of Camden.

Quilter’s Home has been out for about two years now, and they began subscription service (at long last!) at the end of last year— the magazine is truly a breath of fresh, sassy, quirky air in the world of quilting mags. So, this issue will be on newstands soon… go see what’s fun and new in quilting mags and see what a nice job Mark did… especially on page 41! And thanks again, Sarah

It has been a snowy season, with many cancelled meets, but the end has arrived. I’ve got pictures of the regionals (held last weekend), but not the state meet (yesterday) since I was at the karate tournament with Eli. Joshua placed fourth in his weight class in the Eastern half of Maine, despite lackluster performance on the mat (which he acknowledges). But all in all, Joshua did phenomenally well (especially considering he got hit by a car last July), and the Camden team did outstandingly well, too. Here’s one moment early in one of Joshua’s matches:

Still, Joshua did well enough that he was able to compete in States! Although he didn’t place there, the mere fact that 8 months ago he was in the hospital receiving his second transfusion after the accident and still on morphine makes it amazing that he has recovered so well! And just six months ago, he had recently given up using crutches and limped even when walking slowly!!!! Like the other 8th graders on the team (most of the team!), he plans on wrestling next year at the highly competitive high school level.

We had a priceless moment early on…. Codi is Joshua’s best friend; this year, his family moved to the neighborning town, so he’s on the HAL (Hope-Appleton-Lincolnville) team. Codi’s younger brother (a year younger) is a great fan of Joshua’s, and he brought this sign… WE LOVED IT!!!!!! CRMS is the Camden-Rockport Middle School, 135 is Joshua’s weight class, and JoshWah is how Joshua signs his name sometimes on his MySpace, with an umlaut over the “o” and “W”….

Here are the boys “waiting” (as boys will–mucking around) for the awards ceremony; that’s Paul in the red sweatshirt on the far right toting a goatskin leather bag he has had since Peace Corps in Niger in the early 70s:

And the individual awards… Joshua receives a 4th place finish:

And the boys in his weight class…. the winner receives the flow chart of matches showing the 1st place win:

Joshua’s best friend Codi, on the HAL team this year, came in second in his weight class and at states came in 4th in the state! WAY TO GO CODI!

Then…..the team results. Belfast, whose team is a combination of three middle schools in/near Belfast, won. Camden-Rockport came in SECOND in the region! WOOOHOOO! Here the boys are hoisting their trophy to the happiness of one and all:

Joshua’s girlfriend Kristina came up to regionals with Eli and me. She doesn’t like getting her picture taken, so I snuck this one with the zoom:

I also got one with her face, but the second shot, when she realized I was taking pictures is so much more typical and kinda funny that I’m posting that one instead:

And here’s Joshua with his one-man cheering squad, Nick, brother and best friend Codi, Kristina, and Codi’s mom (white shirt) and step dad John (walking towards the group upper left):

All in all it was a wonderful season. The boys on the CRMS and HAL teams got to practice together this past week; they’ll all be on the same high school team next year and were cheering each other on at the meet (as long as the opponent wasn’t someone on their own team!). It’s a wonderful thing…. the five towns are all kind of “Us”. It’s good to be from a small town, and it’s good to live in Maine. As the saying goes, Maine is “the way life ought to be!”