Thanksgiving and the Beginning of Christmas

Slightly delinquent with postings, thus having several weeks to review, I'll hit the highlights of the past few weeks of life with brief words and telling photos.

Table of Contents:

1. Thanksgiving in North Carolina
2. Cape Elizabeth/Fort Williams Park (with camera this time)
3. L/A Light Parade
4. Bethel Country Christmas

Thanksgiving

I went home for Thanksgiving. I sat on couches, watched too much tv, ate too much food, and went on long runs outside (all of these are things I can't do in Maine right now). I was antisocial outside of a few rendezvouses with old friends and celebrating my sister-in-law's birthday. While this kind of downtime is important, I found myself restless after just a day or two; it was a seven day vacation. Home is not the place you live but the place(es) where your people are. My people are quite dispersed at this point.

My contribution to Thanksgiving dinner was a delicious new drink I made up that tastes like drinking a cup of Christmas cheer. I have a secret love for concocting new cocktails. Concocting cocktails. While I don't think I ought to reveal my recipe, below are its components.

My very favourite. I must spell favorite favourite when speaking about Pimm's.

Did you know eating fresh cranberries is like eating Warhead's candies? I didn't.... til I did.

The lovely table scape my mom put together.

I was very ready to return to Maine at the end of my visit home. It was a gift to spend time with my family, but I take it as a very confirming emotion to the very confirming knowledge that I'm right where I need to be in life right now.

Returning to Maine

My flight from Raleigh left at 6am so I arrived in Portland by noon on a Saturday. I decided to go back to Cape Elizabeth/Fort Williams park because I had my camera with me, and last time I was there, I had forgotten my camera. Trés, trés décevant!* This time, most of the brilliant foliage had fallen away and the mystic, semi-ominous and violent-looking fog had lifted, so it was not quite the same experience, but still awe-inspiring. This is a favorite place of mine.

* I ought to make a note here that I've found a recent fascination with inserting French into normal conversations; perhaps it's an osmotic effect of being so close to French Canada.

I like this guy. Everybody has to sit on this log when they come to this place.

Cool breeze. I take photos of strangers?

Weird Snowman? The rocks on the shore are very round and smooth. I've collected a couple and use them for votive trays in my apartment.

A great place for sitting and thinking, thinking and sitting.

Part of Fort Williams and a plant I love seeing up here called a Bittersweet.

Bittersweet berries!

She said no.... (there's graphiti all over the fort)

Bittersweets, all wildly twisted together on the cliffs.

The rocks are beautifully marked by the constant erosion of the waves.

The Portland Headlight. Iconic.

The winding path to the cliffs. I love this. It feels like a secret place.

Christmas that feels like Christmas

Maine is a joyfully charming place during the Christmas season. This week, I attended my city's Holiday Light Parade, a Country Christmas festival in Bethel, Maine, and helped decorate my church for Advent. The smallness of each of these celebrations set in snow (it's snowed thrice this week) make them have the story book quality of Christmas in terrible holiday music and Hallmark movies, but are REAL!, earnest, and authentic. IT EXISTS. The Christmas Spirit lives in Maine.

Lewiston-Auburn Light Parade

Lewiston's sort-of epicenter, Lisbon Street. Lisbon Street was once very sketchy, but it's been revitalized with the influx of Somali-owned stores which have benefited the entire economy. It has so very cool restaurants I'm eager to try out when I find a pile of money under a rock.

A plaza where the townspeople were gathered to listen to music, watch the tree lighting, get free hot chocolate and treats from the Salvation Army, and generally soak up the pleasure of gathering with a large group of people that love Christmas enough to stand outside for an hour in temperatures in the 20s.

Lewiston High School choir singing carols

Precious little children were handing out donuts to go with our hot chocolate.

Horse drawn wagon rides went through the street before the parade began

Look at that tongue....

 This parade was quirky. Anyone that wanted to could put lights on a some type of vehicle or trailer and join the parade. People started walking in the streets if they saw someone they knew in the parade.

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This is my favorite.

Sweet little hockey player nuggets!

The abominable snow man! This was of course the local bar's.

 After all the "floats" passed through the street, all the spectators walked down to the plaza to watch the tree and menorah lighting. Santa Claus and the mayors of Lewiston and Auburn all spoke about Christmas. Then, the Head Rabbi? Rabbi General? I'm not sure of his official title... for the Central Maine region spoke about Hanukkah and what he said was absolutely beautiful. I wish that Christmas were handled with as much reverence as this Rabbi used to speak about Hanukkah.

Christmas!

Country Christmas in Bethel

My friend Kari is the master schedule keeper of all things Christmas-eventy, and she found one in Bethel, Maine, that she, my friend Laura, and I went to this Saturday. Bethel is about an hour and fifteen minutes driving from L/A and is the quintessential New England small town. It's surrounded by beautiful mountains and is punctuated by white church steeples every 50 or so yards. It was covered in a light coat of fresh snow and it was snowing while we were there. It was pure magic.

Our first stop was this church for a Christmas Tea & Fair for the whole community!

Are you dying?

Downstairs was a bazaar that was part yard sale, part craft market, part gourmet food shop. I did not buy anything, but ran into a woman I met at a training at the Center for Grieving Children in Portland. I said hi to her and she invited my friends and I to "crash at her place" (this was especially endearing because she is a gray-haired lady) next time we visited Bethel. ! Small Town!

Upstairs was the Christmas Tea! The feeling of community here was wonderful. I felt like I was part of it.

Such a welcoming room.

These sweet ladies served us hot tea with clove-spiked lemons in real china teacups on real china saucers with off-set indentations to hold the cup in place while still accommodating lots of food.

Tea sandwiches and yummy, yummy, yummy treats to go with our tea.

After the tea, we walked along the streets and found free horse-drawn carriage rides. From our ride, we got to see all of the town in about 7 minutes.

So charming!

Sweet fella :)

 Next to the horse carriage ride waiting area was a public park area where my friends and I played around as we waited for our turn on the horse wagon.

Sweet friends!

 After this, we joined a Jingle Bell Walk. You are given jingle bells tied to yarn that you tie to yourself and then you just walk up the street! It was mostly little children and local families, but again, we were warmly welcomed to join in what felt like a special town tradition.

The fire truck behind us was our escort. Mr. & Mrs. Claus were holding on to the back.

 When we reached the end of our walk, we were back in the park where the gazebo was. We sang jingle bells, were given candy canes from Mrs. Claus, and the tree was lit.

This is such a special time of year and I'm so grateful that I've been able to join in the people's traditions here. Community is a beautiful thing.

With a full heart and warm thoughts for you,

JB