Before 2010 closes, I had to get in one last blog about the very important topic of…the CDBG annual Yankee Swap. I must say, I’ve never gone to a Christmas party at 7:30am before joining this group, but the December meeting of our Camden Downtown Business Group is always devoted to fun and this good old fashioned tradition.

I did a little (read: a very quick Google search) research, and learned that the Yankee Swap may have actually come from Civil War days when the Yankees and Confederates once swapped prisoners in a game-like style in efforts to have some lighthearted fun (because, really, nothing says “lighthearted” like prisoners of war). Other names for the Yankee Swap are White Elephant Exchange, Chinese Auction, Dirty Santa, and Yankee Doodle. (If you’d like more details, such as the rules, this a good information source.)

Drawing our numbers from the coffee cup, I discovered Christmas luck was with me that morning: I picked number one! As always, we had a lot of laughs, and the gifts were ALL good–no “white elephants” with this group. For the final swap, I did a slow walk around the room, hovering here and there before settling on the adorable and artsy Santa decoration made from old quilts: I’m already looking forward to unpacking him next December!

Happy New Year,

Elizabeth

Windjammer Weekend got off to a late start due to “hurricane” Earl. We didn’t get much of old Earl: Friday night the fog rolled in thick and the rain started a bit after 9pm. By 9am Saturday, however, the sun was peeking through…perfect timing, because the festival schedule had been finessed to start on Saturday.

The Paranoid Social Club put on a free show that evening at the Camden Opera House. And this year we managed to meet my dad at the blueberry pancake breakfast on Sunday morning (stood him up last year). After our hearty helpings and fueled by coffee, we walked the docks and scoped out the windjammers in the bright sunshine, including one brand new lady called “Charm,” recently launched by Rockport Marine. The fireworks went off on Sunday night instead of Friday, and everyone’s been talking about what an impressive show we have for such a small town.

Below find pictures of the fleeting fog, the red & white vessel “Charm,” and the schooner Olad among others. And I just discovered if you click on a picture, it enlarges (duh!).

-Elizabeth

I usually keep a mental tally each summer of where artwork we’ve sold has gone…thought I’d treat you all to it this year, in threes (more or less):

Panama, Canada, Switzerland, Italy,
the French West Indies,
Indiana, Germany, England,
New England, New York, New Jersey
California, Washington, DC, Vegas,
the Carolinas, Georgia, Louisiana, and Oregon,
Texas Texas Texas!
Illinois, Missouri, Ohio,
PA, VA, LA, FLA
Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware,
Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia,
Arizona, West Virginia, Minnesota…

Kentucky, Scotland, Tennessee

And counting…

“It’s about time for another blog post,” I’ve said to myself lately.  Immediately followed by, “Or maybe I’ll get to it next week.”  The problem this time of year—as any business owner in Camden will tell you—is time. I have a shortage of time to write the post, and unfortunately, to do activities to write the post about!

But, before I continue lamenting (and you all groan at the sound of the violins tuning up) I do have some highlights from the past month or so.

The 4^th of July: once again, I made my initial ocean-swimming splash of the summer on the weekend of the 4th. Twice. Fireworks were a smashing success this year, as was the weekend as a whole.

Father’s Day weekend: our family went up to the spectacular Baxter State Park. Ayuh, it’s a good piece up into Northern Maine, but worth the drive. And baby made his first splash ever into South Branch Pond.  The only disappointment was not seeing a moose.

The Harbor Arts Festival is in Camden this weekend.  I’m excited to cruise the booths tomorrow after work.

Okay, back to work!

-Elizabeth

Camden is looking so great. Yes, it’s early spring blooms and warm temperatures (as officially noted in my previous post). But it’s also the businesses: we have some cool new energy about town! I bought a few Mother’s Day gifts in the just-opened lavender store Glendarragh on Main Street–everything is made from locally-grown lavender, so just walking by their door you get a relaxing and therapeutic contact high! And three new businesses are moving in on Mechanic Street: Leslie Curtis Designs, Sugar Tools, and a bookstore. Stay tuned for their arrival on our site!

I don’t really have a good sequitur into this picture I took by the Camden Yacht Club on my Sunday morning jog…I just think it’s utterly irresistable!

It was the star magnolias that did it.  Sure, I’d been noticing signs of spring for a few weeks, but I hesitated before calling it “spring.”  Mother nature has a history of throwing us some, shall we say, unfortunate setbacks this time of year…and I, being how I am, don’t like to think I’m dealing with one thing when really it could be something else…

But last week on an afternoon walk I decided it was official.  The grass is vibrantly green, tulips are everywhere, and the forsythias are bursting.   The aforementioned star magnolia trees are beyond gorgeous, certainly not winter parading about in spring’s clothing.  So there we have it, spring, and it came a month early: love it!  This week, I feel like I could take a whole new set of photos: trees have leaves!  fiddleheads are unfurling!  boats are in the harbor, and schooner crews are here, already working on the pre-season punchlists.

And because I cannot resist a corny pun lately, I’ll end by saying there’s certainly an extra spring in everyone’s step this year…

-Elizabeth

Rumor has it Toboggan Nationals were spectacular this year–despite the cold winds and competing with the WhoDat! (or WhoDat?) fever of the Superbowl. There were even Saturday night fireworks (oh, how I do love my fireworks!). Unfortunately, however, I’m going on hearsay alone as, alas, I was not out there on the ice. But I’ve gathered a few nifty links that give an overall impression of the festivities, including a sweet (and fast!) ride down the chute…

Watch this to feel like you’re the toboggan’s front-man and click here for a Down East writer’s competition and costume experience.

As usual, I end my post ruminating on how lucky I am to live in such a cool place…Next year, you can be sure I’ll be reporting from the Snow Bowl live!

Well, it’s a different world since my last post: as I write, it’s a measly 9 degrees plus a windchill; we’ve officially had our first two snowstorms; Thanksgiving has passed, Hanukkah is winding down, and Christmas is less than a week away. And, most personally important, this is my first posting since becoming a new mom!

As you might imagine, the holiday season is feeling extra special for me this year–my family has NEVER taken so many Thanksgiving pictures (I’m not sure we’ve really ever taken any, come to think of it). One of my favorite Camden holiday traditions is the star on Mt. Battie. This giant lit star sits on the top of Mt. Battie’s tower. It’s lit on Thanksgiving night and every night through the new year. Remarkably, the generator has been fired up by hand each night for forty years, through all kinds of Maine weather. You can see the structure of the star in one of my pictures below. Most nights it’s impossible to see the outline of Mt. Battie, therefore our star often looks magically suspended in the sky, twinkling over our beautiful town.

The day following both storms was bright and brilliant, allowing everyone to enjoy the fresh snow (or, if “enjoy” is overstating things, at least shovel in the sunshine). I’m pleased to say that even with a new baby, I was able to get out and do a little easy winter hiking. The key is, of course, dressing for the weather and taking it slow. The pictures below depict my adventures: after the first storm we walked up the Mt. Battie road; we did Bald Rock after the second storm.

Finally, a reader asked a few months ago for some kid-friendly ideas for her visit…now, instead of having only word-of-mouth knowledge–and the somewhat dusty memories from my childhood–I’ll have some first-hand info. Stay tuned for a “Activities for Kids” page in the future!

Happy Holidays!
-Elizabeth

I cannot believe it’s the beginning of November already! September and October went fast–it was a spectacular leaf peeping AND apple season, apparently due to the rainy start to summer (sweet redemption!). The Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) and PopTech came to town, both extremely successful weekends from what I saw and heard. This weekend we host the Maine Literary Festival.

While there’s still a lot going on, it’s now quiet enough to hear the leaves crunching underneath our feet, and traffic has thinned out, both on the streets and in the harbor. Only a few boats remain, and our beloved schooners are wrapped in plastic, ready for hibernation. There’s also the palpable anticipation for the first snow…coming…??? Stay tuned. It’s been falling all around us, but so far none in Camden!

Once again I found myself on Beauchamp Point, enjoying a glorious Sunday afternoon bike ride. The first two pictures below are of Rockport Harbor; the lighthouse in the distance is Indian Island Light. The other three pictures were taken from a friend’s deck in the back of her store; too beautiful not to share!

-Elizabeth

Windjammer Festival was a smashing success this year. From our gallery, I was able to watch the bustling set up on Friday morning and hear the Harbor Master kick off the weekend by announcing the arrival of each vessel.  From there, it was nonstop action all weekend with fireworks, a blueberry pancake breakfast, maritime activities and exhibits, and a boat parade! And the weather was perfect, absolutely perfect. I wish I had more pictures, but I got some great ones, especially of the “traffic” in the outer harbor lined up for the boat parade.