The Widows' Cooking Club

                                          So I seem to have disappeared from the blogger world altogether!   I haven’t posted an entry since April.   What happened?   Well, you can put it down to the giddy joy that comes with the long-awaited warm weather in Maine!   May can be a show-stopper with everything starting to blossom, and days that just demand that you sit on the porch and watch the water.   And then, my boat went in the water before Memorial Day.   Whenever the forecast is favorable for calm seas and gentle breezes I take the boat out for a lunchtime cruise, pack a sandwich and a cold beer!   The bottom line is that spending time in front of a computer is not as appealing these days.   Add to that a much-welcomed extended visit from a family member and the blog fell by the wayside.   I’ll probably post less frequently during th...

  My grandmother, “Nana” had an April birthday so this month’s blog entry is in honor of her. Did you have someone in your life as a child or youngster who fostered your devotion to a particular interest, skill or hobby?   For me that person was my Nana, my maternal grandmother.   By the time I was born she was living beside my parents in a multi-family home.   So I had the pleasure of her companionship every day.   She was born in Eastport, Maine in 1898, one of seven children, five girls and two boys, a poor, hard scabble family.   She learned to cook from her mother, on a woodstove in their drafty kitchen, fetching wood from the woodpile and water from the well.   She inspired me to love cooking because she did it so well and she was a great storyteller.   For every recipe she had a fascinating story, like getting stung by bees while gathering blueberries for a pie when she was little.    My earliest memory of her showing me how to ...

  I usually include enticingly beautiful photos of the Maine Coast in my blog entries.   But just to prevent readers from getting too serious a case of “Maine envy”, this photo shows what it really is like to live in Northern New England in March, a.k.a. Mud Season!   I live on this dirt road with a few other hardy home owners.   Those without four-wheel-drive better stay home this time of year!   The pot holes are pools and the ruts are canals!   The road will look like this for about a month!   The timing of this spring phenomenon is such that it serves to depress Mainers, who’ve just about had it with winter, have seen a few glimmers of spring-like weather, only to be stuck in the mud for a few more weeks.   Those nice walks in the woods?   Forget about it, the trails are extremely wet and muddy!   The subtitle for the blog entry might be: “Making and Taking Sides” !   In the “slice of life” segment of my blog, I’ll be talk...

  When you see a rainbow, do you think of a loved one who is sending you a message?   I always think that Bruce is sending me his blessings and telling me that things will be alright and to keep on living!   I have photos of the two most recent rainbows over the river, including a rare winter rainbow in the middle of February, a Valentine’s message from Bruce!   And the other rainbow was so perfectly reflected over the river  this fall! Thanks to a little help from my friends, I can keep on living the good life!   I treasure my friendships more than ever!   If it weren’t for friends, I’d be a very lonely person!   I am so blessed that every friend I have checks in on me and comes up with ideas for things to do together.   The older I get the more I realize that experiences and the memories they generate are so much more precious than material goods.   If I had $1000 to spend on items I could purchase or spend the $1000 on a trip that w...

  January 21st would have been Bruce’s 81 st birthday.   And on January 2 nd , we would have celebrated our wedding anniversary.   So, the special dates that trigger sentimental thoughts have been coming hard and fast with the holidays just past.  That means that I’ve had an extra dose of missing my guy! What I have discovered since Bruce has been gone is that I barely recognized the daily joy in my relationship with Bruce when we were together.  Now I know that he surrounded me with a blanket of love and admiration every day we were together.   I miss that very much. Yes, my family and friends all do love and support me, but there is something special about the comfort you fall into with a long-time companion, if you are lucky, as I was.   So, I strive to cook up contentment every day.   I sprinkle in moments of joy in the present, seasoned with fond memories of the past.   One of the best ways to bring small pleasures into my life is wit...

  Everyone dreads it. It is a struggle at first.   The loved one is missing from the holiday dinner table, the chair next to the Christmas tree is empty and holiday traditions are bittersweet.   But I know it is important to stay upbeat.   Friends and family members try so hard to keep me company and create a cheerful atmosphere. I try hard too.   It might feel like a pretend smile, but after a while, it becomes a real smile. It helps to live in the moment, but not ignore the past, conjuring up fond memories. My husband loved to see the newly decorated Christmas tree and would bring his evening glass of Jack Daniels to sit in the living room just to enjoy the lights, balsam fir scent and the sentimental ornaments collected over the years (lots of black and yellow labs for one…). I’d light a fire in the fireplace to make it perfect.   A live Christmas tree is an important tradition for me, so I continue on.   I simply love Christmas and this year, her...

  I hope you’ve been able do all three of these things this holiday season. It has been a remarkable year and I am thankful that I’ve survived and thrived with the help and companionship of friends and family.   I am nothing short of astounded at how many people, busy with work and their own lives, still make time to check in on me, or give me a hand with things I cannot do without assistance.   The carpenter who built our home 12 years ago spent time here last weekend, to change out my water filter and repair a closet shelf.   Other friends sometimes call or stop by to ask if I need anything.   For this I am very grateful. To elaborate on sharing…   It was a joy to volunteer for a recent community turkey dinner fundraiser and share the work with many other wonderful folks.   We served 120 turkey dinners on a Saturday afternoon, and gave meals away to anyone who was in need.   Recently I also had the unique joy of sharing the experience of...