Winter Solstice and beyond. . .

 

We had some remarkable weather in early December. Two rain storms devastated this part of Maine, including coastal towns. It was actually rain and wind during the worst storm. The wind was clocked at 65 mph. That might have been tolerable, except that we also got 5" of rain (unheard of here), and temperatures were in the 40's. So the earth was absolutely soaked and then the wind knocked trees down. We lost many many trees, and a good number of them took power lines with them. Our power was only out for 24 hours, but many people lost power for 5 days. We are still trying to clean up the devastation on our trail system, and I find myself writing proposals to get funding for said cleaning up and rebuilding. 

These things are unpredictable but they are hardly unexpected. It's what keeps me working for the Citizens Climate Lobby when it honestly feels so hopeless sometimes.

But! Things settled down, and by the time we had our Solstice Party, the weather had improved, but we were still without snow. Still. The cold clear weather and sunshine is hard to beat, even if the days are short. And frivolity and good will among our friends is a lovely antidote to the sadness in our world. Jam was made from berries from the garden (frozen in between), and John developed a new talent: Peanut Butter Blossoms!

 

I had a couple of poinsettias from last year (as you know from a previous post), and I took the opportunity to make pots for them. . .big pots. About 12" tall. I love the chance to make something unique. . .that most people will never even notice among the cacophony of my plants.

And then a friend's dinner party (16 people! I don't know if I could do that!), and then came Christmas Day. Our holidays are different when the kids don't visit, but we're happy to be together, and hate to see them try to travel during the holidays. We took one of our favorite hikes (Saunders Hill) with a picnic (including a nip of wine), and settled down to watch the stream rushing rushing rushing past us. All of that water falling from the sky heightens the stream and drama level. 

We had a great dinner, which was all small plates, but honestly I don't remember much except the Pecan Pie. That's the most important part for me. The celebratory Martini (thank you, Dad), and the wonderful company is pretty sweet too.

And for decoration, a be-ribboned Jasper and candlelight is nothing short of ethereal.

I'll close there, though I know I still need to talk a bit about January. It is almost February. Unbelievable.

 

A long time between. . .

Gate to Old Quebec City

Well. I have some catching up to do. Volunteerism kind of morphs into larger and larger pieces of time, and then there was all of the holiday frivolity. You wouldn't think 2-3 parties would be so exhausting, but we're of an age, of course.

Jacques Cartier View

I'll start with Thanksgiving, though. It was one of the best we can remember. We drove to Quebec City and stayed in a dog friendly hotel that was perfectly situated and simply lovely. A large city park, The Plains of Abraham, was across the street, and we could walk to one of the gates to the Old City, which is a major shopping/tourist center. Very old world. Full of lovely shops, restaurants and hotels. I'll get back to that!

 

We drove about 1/2 hour north to hike in the Jacques Cartier National Forest on Thanksgiving Day. It was ethereal. Very few people (which I think is not the norm) and vistas that looked like Christmas cards. The snow was just deep enough for decoration, and we hiked for 3-4 miles. Jasper was quite pleased, and we really earned that Thanksgiving dinner.

Jasper in Jacques Cartier

Jacques Cartier View 2

 

I had reservations at Le Sam in the Frontenac Hotel (very famous) in for the evening, so we went home, showered, took a nap, and headed back out for a Thanksgiving Dinner in Canada. It was fabulous in every respect. . .service, food, ambience. And the company couldn't have been better. I can't tell you how grateful we were/are for that trip and everything that we have found here in Maine.

Dinner at Le Sam

We stayed in Quebec City through Sunday, so we had some time to visit the shops and the Christmas markets in the Old City.

We found a great yarn/fiber shop, as well as a lovely china shop. The latter isn't usually my addiction, but I couldn't resist this little plate that was displayed in the window.

Very Sweet.

Le Bunny

We headed back on Sunday to begin the Further Holiday celebrations, which started with a Solstice party at our house. More on December in the Next Post.

Sorry I've been so long between posts!