Maine so far

We've been in Maine a month now, so I thought I'd post some stories and photos.

We used a moving company, meaning they packed and moved our stuff separately from us, and we drove up about a week ahead of our stuff. That meant we were in a very sparse home for a few days, during which time we were also incidentally without hot water for a day, and without internet for 2-3 days. So it was really some 1850s times in our 1850s home.

When we realized we'd need internet access in the evening, we immediately went to my old stand-by: the local library. Augusta is the next big town over, and their library, the Lithgow Public Library, has some stunning historic reading rooms.

Fun to do any project in here; I was grading bar exam practice essays.

Then our stuff arrived one day ahead of a big nor'easter, which I had heard of before but never experienced. Apparently it is a sort of snow hurricane, dumping lots of snow and wind in its path. We got over a foot and had to dig ourselves - and our car - out the next day. 

Here's our little gingerbread house, with Dave shoveling diligently out front.

Our little Victorian home in Gardiner

I've been working from home on Fridays in a little nook in the upstairs part of the house; luckily I have a cute desk and office supplies, so I don't mind it being out. It's a sunny area above the stairs.

My work-from-home nook

We've visited lots of area breweries, restaurants, and yarn stores. In Freeport a few weekends ago, I got a super cute new project bag with knitting bunnies on it. There are lots of yarns dyed in the northeast and also ones that are made in America.

From Mother of Purl in Freeport

My new employer, Colby, sports a beautiful campus and wears winter well. Dave got a membership at a coworking space in the same town as Colby, so we've been commuting together most days.

The classic view of the Colby Library

Another thing we did in Freeport is visit the LL Bean mother ship. We each got a flannel (of course), we bought some sheets for the guest bedroom (for all the guests that have threatened to come visit), and I even got a Yeti mug engraved with my name.

LL Bean has nice stuff and also has put a lot of investment back into Maine (not to mention hiring a lot of Mainers), so we are happy to support it instead of other national retailers.

And, of course, my goals don't just include exploring, they also include staying in touch with my midwestern roots. I got Dave a coffee subscription from one of our favorite south loop coffee roasters (a black owned company, too, which is hard to find in Maine) and I got a monthly subscription to the kringle of the month club with O+H Bakery in Racine, WI. I might regret that one eventually, but not yet.

"Frozen Tundra" flavored kringle from O+H

We also attended a beer / food fest this weekend, which was sort of an ill-conceived adventure, but was worth it in the end because we made a new friend (another child-free couple who recently located to Maine). We're at the beginning of an adventure where we're spending most nights indoors due to the weather and lack of things to do, but it won't always be that way - soon we will fill our schedule with friends, activities, hikes, and coastal trips.

More soon!