Friday, June 22, 2012

FREE STUFF!




Who can resist free stuff?  It seems foolish to pass it up, right?  Who couldn’t use another rubber jar opener or keychain or tote bag? 

Me.

A year ago you wouldn’t have heard me say that.  I’ve always loved the little freebies.  As this year has rolled on, I’ve done some work related traveling that took me to different consumer shows – travel shows, travel industry events, shows sponsored by magazines and newspapers – and at all of these, people flock to the tables with the free stuff.  Everyone grabs something.  I would stroll by them, glace at the table and the grinning salesperson (I assumed), and try to graciously snag whatever item was up for grabs.  After one show, I can home with a large, heavy tote bag, loaded with brochures and catalogs of places I want to visit someday and  . . . . wait for it . . . more tote bags!! Flash drives, bottle holders, lots and lots of pens, magnets, clips, small notepads, and water bottles.

The lure of free stuff extends beyond the giveaways at trade shows.  That’s marketing.  It’s meant for you to take and use and maybe remember the business when you need a limo to the airport. 

But the free stuff isn’t really free.  It comes with a cost.  For that travel show where I got all the stuff, the cost was an aching back and shoulder from carrying it around, the loss of time and space trying to figure out where and how to store this “reference” material, and just another square foot of my home filled.  Is this what I’m paying the mortgage for?

George Carlin used to say that our homes are just a place for our stuff.  My stuff happens to fill up a two story Cape style home with a basement and garage.  We pay the mortgage to house this stuff and what of it do we actually need? 

These thoughts come to mind a lot lately.  I’ve been reading books about minimalism and seriously considering what surrounds me and the associated costs.  I’m not talking the monetary costs, although that is a part of it, but the costs to psyche from the added stress of maintaining the stuff, storing the stuff, and shopping for more stuff. 

There are a whole bunch of people out there who write about the joys of less stuff.  Who would have thought?

Some of the books I’ve read recently include:


This is the one that started it.  I was in my hotel room in New York with my Kindle and somehow searching for “simplify my life” brought me to her book.  It inspired me in that she kept reminding me that less stuff means more travel, and I like travel.  I did find her a bit extreme, though, and couldn’t imagine living in a space without art on the walls.  Here’s her website:  http://www.missminimalist.com/


Simplify – 7 guiding principles to help anyone decluttertheir home and life by Joshua Becker.  Joshua and his wife were doing what many homeowners in suburbia do, clean out the garage, when it occurred to him that if he got rid of some of the stuff, he’d be able to spend more quality time with said wife and their children.  He wasn’t as extreme, and I think my goal would be along these lines.  Here is his website:  www.becomingminimalist.com

Minimalism - Live a meaningful life  by Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus.  Two young guys, friends for years, plodding down the road into adulthood, doing what we’re all told to do, go out and get a job and be successful, but after a few years of “success” – making big money, buying lots of big stuff, carrying big debt – all the while feeling like something’s missing – big time.  They shed their stuff, downsize, get rid of their crap, and now write and lecture about the minimalist lifestyle.  Here’s their website:  www.theminimalists.com.  If you go to Amazon today and tomorrow (June 22nd & 23rd, 2012) you can download Millburn’s new book, After the Crash for free. 

How to start a freedom business  by Colin Wright  I love his idea of traveling full time and living wherever the urge takes him.  I’m not sure that I could do that but I’d be willing to try traveling for a while.  I think it’s the idea of not having any roots whatsoever that throws me.  Here’s his website:  http://exilelifestyle.com/


Especially # 6 . . . I have a spare room like that.  It’s only a place for stuff.  No one has lived in it. 


So this ought to get you started down the road.  Seems odd to suggest you buy more stuff to learn how to get rid of old stuff.  My Kindle is bearing the weight of my purchases.  At least I don’t have 4 (or more!) actual paper books to add to my already cluttered bookshelves. 

Now I’ve got to start getting rid of my crap.  And stop bringing in more crap.  I read this earlier today – sorry but I’m not sure where to attribute it –


It went something like:
Step 1: Rent a dumpster.
Step 2: Put your stuff in it.
The more you let go, the easier it is to let go, and the freer you become.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Things to do in Maine this weekend


Ripped sand at Hills Beach in Biddeford, Maine


It’s summer in Maine – my favorite time in my favorite place to be – and there’s always a lot to do.  I’ve been looking at my calendar and it seems that there are not enough weekends to do everything I want to do. 

I have a family event this weekend but if I didn’t I’d be checking out some of these fun things! 

Some of this weekend’s events include:






1.                  The Annual Lupine Festival, held in Deer Isle – celebrates these vibrant, summertime flowers that bloom in June and make me smile.  More info here:  www.deerisle.com

2.                  Legacy of the Arts Festival, June 17th in Bar Harbor – Live music, art exhibits, demonstrations and historic tours at a variety of sites around town in celebration of the area’s rich history of art, music, Native American culture and more.  More info here: www.legacyartsfestival.com

Native American handmade baskets


3.                  One of my favorites . . . The Downtown Bangor ARTWALK – it’s a gorgeous day in mid June, the days are long and you can stroll from studio to shop to museum and check out some great art, music, and awesome people.  Look for some of my work available for sale at a few of the shops!  Here’s where you can get more info - Art walk maps listing the participating venues and featured artists will be available at The University of Maine Museum of Art, Metropolitan Soul, and One Lupine Fiber Arts. Additional information can be found at www.downtownartscollaborative.org

4.                  In the Greenville area – join the fun at Moose Mainea, a month long celebration of the area's favorite resident - The Moose. The events include a town wide yard sale, craft fair, kids fun day and more. For info phone (207) 695-2702 or see our Facebook page.

5.                  In Wells - Beach Bike Ride for Charity was founded in 2010 by a pair of Wells resident families and a couple of young sports/technology enthusiasts looking to give something back to the community.  The ride has been a huge success. In it's first year the ride attracted over fifty riders and raised over $8,000. The second year, the ridership doubled with over 100 riders and raised a whopping $11,000 for charity.  More info here:  www.beachbikeride.org

Bike at Casco Bay

 
I know I know, the screens need cleaning and the garden already needs to be weeded and you’ve got to figure out what to do with the patch in the front lawn that the grubs attacked.  There are a million reasons not to go to one of these events, or any of the others that are happening all over the state.  I am running the list through my head right now.   


Obligations and to do’s so often get in the way of the things we’ll truly remember.  Your kids won’t look back fondly at how great the bushes looked when they were young.  They’ll remember the time you all danced under the tent at the American Folk Festival (www.americanfolkfestival.com) or how often you rode bikes to Jimmie’s Ice Cream (North Main St. Brewer) for a cone that melted faster than you could eat it. 

So get up and get out there and have a fun weekend everyone!


Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Summer is here! A visit to Old Orchard Beach



I love Old Orchard Beach, Maine.  Always a signal of summer’s arrival, a few hours at Old Orchard just spins you right into summer mode.  The vinegary pier fries, the fried dough dusted (very liberally) with powdered sugar and cinnamon, the classic Lisa’s Pizza, it all brings me back. 

Growing up in southern Maine, Old Orchard Beach wasn’t as much a regular thing as you’d think, living only a few miles away.  For my family, with four kids, the cost of the rides and the food made this a twice a summer – maybe – kind of thing.  As I got older and could drive or had friends that could drive, it was where everyone went to “cruise” in the summer.  For many of us, as teens, it was where we had summer jobs and summer friends.  For me, it was the place I had my first record store job and because of that, the place I met my first husband.  



Like everything else, things change.  The town has had some rough times.  But if this past Memorial Day weekend was any indication, this summer won’t be remembered as such.  It will be a good year for Old Orchard Beach.

My daughter and I had a few hours to spare on Sunday of that weekend.  The weather was beautiful – warm, sunny – kind of a surprise at the end of May.  We decided to go “down the beach.”  I wanted to get some photographs from the top of the ferris wheel and my daughter just wanted to ride it.  One of the great things about the amusement park at Old Orchard Beach, called Palace Playland, is that you can buy just enough tickets to ride one ride, or in our case, three.  You don’t have to pay the big money for the whole day.  You don’t have to pay to get in.  You don’t have to pay if you don’t ride.  Easy.  Good for parents with kids.  If your kids are little and you’re not sure if they’re going to even want to ride, you get just enough tickets to find out.  If your kids are old enough and can ride by themselves, but still need some supervision, you can go and not pay for the privilege of that experience. 

So we rode the ferris wheel . . . 

from the top of the ferris wheel

looking west towards Saco

looking east toward Scarborough

Old Orchard Beach's main drag:  Old Orchard Ave.

And the “Superstar” – the scrambler ride you see at every fair.  And the little roller coaster, the Galaxi – not sure why, since we’ve ridden the big ones at Busch Gardens, Six Flags, and Cedar Point – but it’s been a while since we’ve had a roller coaster ride, so why not?  I’m not trying to compare Palace Playland to any of those parks.  It’s a totally different thing.  It just felt good to be flung and lifted and dipped and spun after a long winter. 

We walked around a bit then up the street.  Now I’ve seen the fried food options at some of the big fairs – fried twinkies, friend snickers bars, heck, I even saw fried butter and fried kool aid (don’t ask) last year.  Interesting as they might be, I’m usually watching what I eat and don’t want to part with six bucks for a fried twinkie when that could buy me two boxes of them (not that I would).  

But . . . we found fried oreos.  And they were only $1.00 each.  So we got three.  Powdered them up and then took them to the beach to eat.  They looked like squashed donut holes and when you bit into them, the cookie was warm and the creamy center, melted.  

fried, well, everything

deep fried oreo cookies with powdered sugar

creamy and melted on the inside . . this could be a new tradition


Old Orchard is a nice little community.  There are plenty of hotels, condos, shops and restaurants to support the large influx of tourists that come during the summer.  Visitors come from Quebec and New England and from all over Maine. 

Beyond the fried food, pizza, ice cream, and caramel corn . .beyond the lights and the rides and the games is . . The Beach. 

Go for the beach!






At low tide, the beach is flat and wide, great for running or playing games.  It’s clean and the sand is soft and powdery east of the pier.  Music is playing from the beachfront bars.  Seagulls and terns dip in and out of the tide.  Kids play in the sand.  Groups of teen girls lay on their towels.  Families and couples set up for the day with coolers and umbrellas. 

A short walk away is a carousel ride and a slushie drink.  What could be better?


For travel information about Old Orchard Beach and the Maine Beaches check out these websites: