Sunday, September 2, 2018
Today was the first of two days of driving to get back to good old Lancaster County,
and the places we call "home". We were ready.
We left Saint John in New Brunswick and headed toward Maine. At Customs, we did declare my bag of PEI potatoes and they did not say I had to surrender them! We weren't sure if we could take them across the border because the web site said "no fruits or vegetables" could cross into the US.
As we drove, we were planning to again listen to the church service at New Covenant,
as we did two weeks ago on our way up, but the scenic road we were on did not have sufficient coverage.
So Margie read our devotional to us, as she did most days,
and then shared some personal reflections on the names of Christ, using the alphabet A-Z.
We also sang along to an acappella hymn CD.
It was a simple, but meaningful Sunday morning worship experience.
After driving for awhile we passed this amusing sign.....
As we passed, we saw a low tent canopy under which a lady was doing something.
So we turned around to investigate, and maybe buy some wild Maine blueberries!
We chatted with the lady for a bit, as she told us all about the work involved in harvesting her 2 acres of wild blueberries. She was winnowing the blueberries she had "forked" earlier this morning.
I did not get a picture of the fork, but the tines are close together and about 12 inches long,
arching up in the back toward the handle, creating a bit of a cradle to hold them.
The belts drove a fan which blew air through the berries as they passed by, blowing out the little leaves and small sticks that were forked along with the blueberries.
Here is the box full before they were cleaned.
And here is a box all cleaned up and ready to sell!
The blueberries are much smaller than cultivated blueberries, such as we picked back in Nova Scotia.
And the flavor is more intense....more blueberry-like! Absolutely delicious!!
She was selling them for $6 a box and Marie and I each bought a box.
They seemed rather pricey, but the quality is unsurpassed.....grown wild without any tampering by mankind,...
no sprays, no fertilizers,and freshly picked this morning!
And of coarse, it took a lot of work doing it all by hand!
Doesn't get any better than that! They were worth the $6.!
Afterwards I wished I had bought a half dozen boxes for my freezer!
Our first destination today was Brunswick, Maine. Margie was looking forward to meeting with a friend who is near the age of her daughters, whom she had met many years ago on their visits to friends in Maine, when Christie was a little girl. Christie spent several weeks in the summers with Ed and Margie and their family back in the '80's and have kept in contact all these years since then.
Christie and Margie had earlier agreed to meet at the Wild Oats Bakery and Cafe for lunch.
Eric and Christie have two teenage daughters.
It was a perfect day to eat lunch outside!
They had so very many choices of good healthy food!
Some of us opted for soup and a sandwich, and some of us settled on a large salad.
The first thing I saw when we walked down the few steps into the cafeteria-like setting to order our food,
was a Wild Maine Blueberry Pie! I decided I would buy a pie to share for dessert.
But then I saw the price! $20. I was a bit hesitant.
While we were eating I told my idea to Marie,
but also said I think I will pass the opportunity this time, mostly because it seemed too expensive.
It wasn't long before Christie came out of the cafe with the pie, and 8 plates and forks to share!
Unbeknownst to me, she had over-heard our conversation and took it upon herself to treat us!
I must admit, it was the very best blueberry pie I have ever eaten!
(and I have eaten a lot of wild blueberry pie, having lived in Northwestern Ontario for over 5 years!)
Thank you Christie and Eric!
After we were finished eating, while Margie and Christie visited,
and Marie and Barb explored Brunswick,
I followed my GPS for 15 minutes to visit some dear friends, Mark and Deb Bucher.
When Deb (who incidently is my second cousin) was 4 years old, and I was 13, I began working for her mother as a "mother's helper" in their home. I worked there for 5 years, as the Hernley's
added 3 more children to their family. Her mother, Mary Kathryn, taught me most of what I know about homemaking, and was a very significant influence in my spiritual growth back then.
I became very close to the family, but over the recent years have not had a lot of contact.
We had a great time (although too short!) catching up on their back patio, among the beautiful flowers and plants lovingly nurtured by Deb's "green thumb"!
The street dividers in Brunswick were planted with beautiful petunias, for blocks!
(Sorry about the side-ways picture!😕)
On Saturday evening as we were fine-tuning our final two days of driving, we decided to drive south into New Hampshire for the night. I suddenly realized how close we were going to be to another dearest friend,
Donna and her husband Randy, who live in Northwood, NH.
(We call each other "Kindred Spirits" for years already!)
So I made a quick exciting phone call and asked if I could stay for the night!
So after driving several hours south from Brunswick, Margie, Marie and Barb dropped me off at Donna's place,
then went on to their hotel for the night.
Randy and Donna knew that when I arrived they would be not quite home from a family event in Massachusetts,
so told me where to find the key.
Below is what I found on my bedroom door when I arrived.
Their hospitality is so very warm and inviting! They returned home a half hour later.
We had a wonderful time catching up, face-to-face, and stayed up waaay too late talking!
