Cracking claws!

Much to the amazement of Mainers, I had never before had the full lobster experience...never until tonight! I got to experience a proper lobster dinner with the other teachers on my wing. I did need to suspend my vegetarian principles a little to enjoy it fully.

The lobsters were fresh from Casco Bay, thanks to Sarah's husband Jeff, a lobsterman. They were transported bravely by Sarah in a Hannaford carrier bag (equivalent of Sainsburys) in the back of her car. This did cause her a little distress as she had visions of crawling lobsters seeking revenge from the back seat. She managed to emerge unscathed. The same can't be said for the lobsters...

Julie soon had her lobster pot boiling on the stove. The bands were exeprtly removed from their claws  and the lobsters quickly plopped into the pot. They made last ditch attempts to escape their fate and seek freedom but were quickly trapped beneath the lid, thankfully without any screaming. (Apparently, in Regio Emilia, Italy, you can be fined almost 500 euros for killing lobsters in this way as it is thought to be inhumane).

Twelve minutes later, our lobsters emerged nice and pink and ready to eat...hmmmm I wondered about this ready to eat part but the table was set with lobster crackers so full steam ahead. Luckily, I was surrounded by experts who directed me to remove the claws first and pick out the meat. Very nice, so far so good. Then it was on to the body and there was no being dainty about it. Crack the shell with your hands and yank the tail away from the body. Next it was off to the sink to clean out the poo shute...not so pleasant but much better to see it float down the plug hole before chomping on the rest!

It was a really great and tasty experience. One I wouldn't mind repeating at all so a big thank you to the lobsterman, the chef and my instructors this evening.

Fascinating lobster fact: Eating lobster in the U.S. used to be a sign of poverty and it was reserved for servants and prisoners. Servants specified in exployment contracts that they would only eat lobster twice a week.

Witch you were here...

This weekend I headed out of Maine and down to Massachusetts on the I-95, my first big American driving adventure. I have to say I was nervous. I'm not liking the fact that the roads are so dark here due to the lack of street lighting and the on and off ramps for the highways are tiny so you sometimes have to stop...anyway, the time had come to just get on with it and, thanks to the loan of a sat nav, I was fine and made it to Salem in one piece.

Salem has made a name for itself as the home of witch craft, thanks to the witch trials that happened there in 1692. The city is therefore completely crazy for the whole month of October, full of tourists in fancy dress prepared to buy all manner of witchy tat!

I decided to head for the tourist office to find out what I should see. The reply was "The witch trials are 5 months of Salem's history, maritime makes up 300 years" so first stop the harbour then! I watched a short historical film (complete with very naff acting) and went on a tour of the custom house. In the 16 and 1700s, Salem was a major trading port from which boats set out on risky voyages carrying goods, usually salt cod to to trade first in the West Indies, then in Europe, the coast of Africa and round into the Middle East, India and Malaysia. Successful boats came back laden with rum, tea, coffee

and spices. In Salem's heyday, the customs duty that ship owners paid on their imported goods made up 7% of total U.S. Government income. Then came the Napoleonic war. The U.S. declared itself neutral so both sides attacked her ships. Jefferson declared an embargo on shipping to keep boasts safe, however, scuppered the profitable trade and practically bankrupted the Government. So what were people to do? Go privateering, silly. Salem's ships were kitted out with weapons, and then English ships were taken over and either sold alongside their goods or turned into more battle ready ships. This didn't work so well long term though and the maritime industry faded.

After doing justice to the maritime history, I then went to visit the Peabody Essex Museum. There was an interesting photography exhibit and as a complete contrast, the Native American art was also fascinating to see.

At nightfall, it was time for the Witch Trial Trail. I wandered down to the town hall for a walking tour led by Jim McCallister, a local historian and was amazed by the sheer volume of people who had similarly turned up. I reckon there were about 200 of us. We were all given orange candles to guide our way as we were talked through the history of the witch trials. It was fascinating to hear how the whole episode developed from hatred. Two separate groups of people in Salem hated each other and therefore one group sparked the rumour about witch craft to build fear among the other group with disasterous consequences. People were put to death after trials based on non-existent evidence, yet could save themselves if they were prepared to share the names of others who had signed the devil's book (hence the non-existent evidence). Finally an end was put to the hysteria when it was decided that better, substantive evidence was needed if the punishment was going to be death...It was a captivating hour!

Local historian, Jim McCallister on the steps of the Old Town Hall

I think I look rather sinister here...thank goodness it isn't 1692! 

On Sunday, Beth (the lovely friend of Sallie's with whom I was staying) decided we needed to escape the Salem bedlam so we headed up the coast in beautiful, warm sunshine to Marble Head where we visited Sewell fort and watched as people swam in the sparkling blue waters. I was envious and wished I could have joined them for it looked idyllic but I had stupidly ignored the weather forecast as I wasn't prepared to believe that I could see people scraping frost off their car one day and then be back in shorts the next. Silly me!

On we headed to Bear's neck point, another beautiful spot with some great little independent shops and a wonderful ice cream shack...yum! I tried another new flavour, purple cow - blackcurrant icecream with chocolate chips.

Our final stop for the day was Gloucester to visit the Fisherman's memorial. If you've seen 'A perfect storm' with George Clooney, you'll know the story of the Andrea Gail, a sword fishing boat which left Gloucester harbour and never returned. It is a true story, but just one of the many tragedies the community has faced over the years. The names of men lost at sea are chronicled from the 1800s, with some years having over 4 columns of names, many of those who died sharing the same surname.

I left Massachsettes this morning feeling very glad to have visited, thanks to Beth and her daughter Paula for their hospitality and such beautiful places and weather. To add to the treat, I became a leaf peeper on the way back. The otherwise ordinary drive was made stunning by the range of colours on the trees - every shade of yellow, orange, red and green imaginable.

 

I am so not cool

If anyone was in any doubt, tonight proved the above. Sarah said I had to blog about my ineptitude so here goes...
On the way to the cinema/movies, I decided I needed a coffee and should take advantage of the wonderful world of drive-thru cafes. Bearing in mind that I haven't been through a drive-thru for years and years and years, I don't think I did that badly, afterall who expects a voice to come from the middle of a massive neon menu???
I pulled up way past it and was about to speak into a garbage can I believe, much to Sarah's amusement, so on instruction I reversed back (luckily there was nothing behind me) but went past the menu as surely that couldn't be where the voice was coming from, but oh yes it was...eventually I got myself into vaguely the right position and managed to make an order despite then being flustered by whether I wanted milk or cream, sugar, this or that. Luckily I had a dark room to crawl to and recover from my trauma. I don't think I would pass as an American yet!!
As an aside, I would fully recommend the film. We saw 50/50, a heart warming film about a guy's battle with cancer and the friendships that make and break along the way. Sounds depressing, but it was humurous and touching. Well worth a watch.

Are we going to Cumberland fair? Animals, fried food, junk and rides...

The song would have been a little different had Simon and Garfunkel been to the Cumberland fair!

The fair lasts all week long and the kids have been so excited about it, seeing the animals, eating the legendary fried dough (how my teeth, skin, body all cringed at just the sight of it, batter having been deep fried, smothered in butter and then liberally coated with sugar) and going to bracelet night - all rides included in the entry price.

I popped along last Sunday for a visit. The animals ranged from the very cute - lots of piggies, goats, hens, rabbits and guinea pigs, miniature ponies - to the not so cute but rather majestic - oxen and pulling horses.

               

We watched some prize goat judging which looked kind of mean to me as they all desperately needed to be milked and could barely walk, but they had to be this way in order to be judged properly.

We also saw some horse pulling. Humungous horses are all decorated beautifully and are attached to a harness to pull along some very heavy blocks of concrete. I almost forgot to mention the weighing of the pumpkins. These incredible brutes had to be picked up by a fork lift truck in order to be transported to the weighing scales. The one in the picture weighed 1050 lbs. You could make a fair bit of Pumpkin pie out of it, but carving it up might take a while! 

There were some great exhibits about Maine's agricultural history but it reminded me a bit of the balloon festival in terms of the quality of the stalls!  

As you can see from the pictures, we had a September heat wave last weekend too. Away went the tights, out came the shorts and sunglasses again and it was beautiful. Not so as I write this...chucking it down and feeling very autumnal. Fall is well on the way and the leaves are beginning to change. It is strange without conkers. Not sure I miss that blooming conker tree in the playground though, or rather I don't miss having to be the tree police and draw monitor for mouldering conkers!

 

Halloween too is on its way and preparations are in full swing. There's a great house I pass on my run which is already done out with pumpkins and ghouls and the front door is covered in cobwebs. Pumpkin head beer has hit the shops and my taste buds, as has Anne's yummy homemade pumpkin bread.

To avoid ending on a food note yet again...I hit the charity shops today (or rather the Goodwill thrift shops) in search of reading material,  having completely given up on American TV, and came home with a bounty of books for 10 bucks. Did have to laugh that a British copy of one of the books (telltale sign was a 99p sticker) cost a dollar more than the US version. Obviously British translations are worth a premium here..it must be the extra letters in colour and bahaviour that do it! 

Did Newton come up with his theory in Maine?

Maine is currently in apple season. There are lots of orchards locally selling an abundance of apples from farm stands, at farmers markets and by opening up their own orchards to pickers. On Sunday, I was taken fittingly to Thompson’s orchard by Teresa and her husband Tom. Teresa had the foresight to order donuts in advance so when we arrived we avoided the huge line and headed straight for the counter. That lovely sweet, sugary smell filled the air and wafted from the kitchen and in to our hands. Warm pumpkin and chocolate donuts of the delicious non-greasy but very sugary variety quickly made their way to our bellies. Yum, yum, yum!

Posing for both of these pictures required bumping little kids out of the way...luckily none of them recognised me from school!

  

Then it was down to task. Wandering through the orchard, we began to fill up our bags from laden trees, sampling the wares. By the time I’d eaten 2 rather large apples (trying out different varieties is my excuse), I had had my fill of apples. Very reminiscent of days strawberry picking where by the time I’d scoffed my way round the pick your own, I didn’t actually want to look at another strawberry, never mind eat one, ever again...or at least for a very long time!

It was then back to Teresa’s for a lovely afternoon pottering around in the kitchen making apple crisp (or crumble to us Brits) and then of course having to sample a bit warm from the oven with a dollop of ice cream. I can then say I didn’t eat for the rest of the day, so full was I of apples!

I now have a large quantity left. Baked apples, apple and raisin bars, possibly some apple muffins are all on the cards. Any other suggestions gratefully received!

Breaking news: Godzilla rears ugly head in Portland

Hating the idea of wasting any of precious summer that remains, I was searching for something to do this weekend. I was going to take a ride out to one of the islands in Casco bay that remain unexplored (well by my feet at least) but then Barbara told me about the Space Gallery Block Party that was happening in Portland. Her company was a sponsor so she was going along to set up a table on the street to drum up interest and I invited myself along...I did help a little, accosting strangers and asking them if they were interested at all in affordable housing. I also got to explore the street which was shut off to traffic but open to artistic types, hangers-on and passers-by. Several installations set themselves along the stretch for people to watch and interact with. One of which involved a giant printing press. Members of the printing press had hand made lots of individual letter stamps and were asking people to submit analogue tweets to be printed onto giant sheets and raised up for all to read...

Another of the arty events going on was the creation of a stop-go animation of Godzilla in Portland. Very amusing to watch the process. Saw the woman climbing in to the Godzilla suit, then watched as they filmed a bit of it (it was an epic undertaking). There were loads of camera crew plus kids doing the moving bit by bit of the cars and buses. Lots of instructions were shouted as objects were moved too far or not quickly enough.

There were various other street performances and installations going on too including a guy dressed up in a kilt and reciting in a good, but not authentic, Scottish accent, McGonagall's poem about the River Tay Bridge Disaster. Brought back memories of mum's hysterical (and better!) version over the breakfast table! 

A highlight was a performance by the 'What cheer? Brigade'. A 19 piece marching band which had the whole street jumpin'. See what you think...Watch this clip (sadly it wouldn't let me upload my video but you'll get the picture!)

To top off a great afternoon, Nick and Barbara took me out for dinner. A very nice little bistro in Portland where we had a delicious vegetable curry to warm us up and some incredibly yummy deserts. Portland is a foodie city as well as an arty one. Every time I go out with someone, they point me in the direction of another 10 good places to eat...size of a house, here I come!

Or not...I went for a great cycle ride this morning in the sunshine. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! 

My first ball game is a Cumberland affair!

I went to my first ball game yesterday…I went to see the Sea Dogs, Portland’s minor league team (but importantly they are a feeder team for the Boston Red Sox, a major league team).  It was a Cumberland affair firstly because our neighbour, Will, was juggling on the pitch before the game and between innings. He’s 14 and won the juggling championships in Illinois earlier this year. He spends absolutely ages practicing out in the street and is pretty amazing to watch!

Secondly, my house mate Sarah was conducting her Greely High School singing group who were in charge of singing the National Anthem before the game. The poor kids had to wear tuxedos in the stifling heat but they looked very smart and did a great job!

Then the fun began. Here’s a run down of the game from my rookie perspective (The guy behind answered lots of my questions and so did Sarah when she returned):

·         There are 9 players on each team

·         There are 9 innings each (Yes, 9!!!)

·         Thankfully, these innings can be short as an innings only lasts until 3 people are out. You can be caught out (the most common), run out or struck out (3 strikes and you’re out! This means if the ball is pitched just right and you swing and miss/ don’t bother to try 3 times, you’re out)

·         A home run is where the batter hits the ball over the boundary of the ball park and basically can make it all the way round the bases back to home before the ball is returned.

The Sea Dogs didn’t play very well…they lost…but sitting in the sun, soaking up the atmosphere was great. You can be thrown out of a game for uttering profanities...can you just imagine that at a football match? Ha! Half the ground would be ordered to leave. Just like in the UK, spectators didn’t stop eating. My word, what a load of junk was consumed. I was out of place with my apple!!! What was also amusing was how, between innings, various sponsors took to the pitch and stands to hold competitions for various bits of their merchandise. We saw kids throwing newspapers, families throwing balls into a giant shopping trolley and kids playing musical chairs in ginormous inflatable arm chairs. Then there was the ‘at the ball game’ 7 ½ innings stretch and sing…what a day!

Also on the agenda this weekend was having a go at baking. I made raspberry and lemon muffins for breakfast and a pavlova to share for Sunday night dinner. All done whilst wearing my Union Jack apron, the only thing vaguely patriotic I brought with me and that was only thanks to Carly!

Pavlova for dessert...it quickly turned into Eton mess.

Sarah, Stuart and Sophie sampling