Margery Niblock

April Fool

Love in the Street (of All Places)

 

I'll take love wherever I can find it. Today I found "love" in the street. Of course I had to bring this love home. I've hung it in a kitchen window, where I can enjoy seeing it.

My New Dog

 
This is Rover, my new dog. He's very easy to care for. Quiet; obedient; doesn't require food or walking; the best kind of dog for me.

I have him sitting and looking at the gas fireplace. He seems to find this location a pleasing one. He can watch the flames. And when there's no fire going he likes to watch the pilot light. We're getting along very well. We're both happy. And he doesn't take up too much space.

Snowstorm April 1

 

So what if it's April? So what difference does one more snowstorm make in Maine?

No big deal! Today is the third of April and it's almost all gone. Yesterday and today the temperature was in the 40s so the snow is melting very quickly.

Lucy

 
 
She's a bit dirty, after getting into something she wasn't supposed to be near. But you can tell that she's a cute dog, I'm sure. Lucy has a great personality and she loves to fetch. She's really good at that.

She was given a haircut a couple of Saturdays ago—for the warmer season coming up. I was outside chatting with Alice, who was giving the cut.

I sat down on one of the steps and when I got up Alice informed me that I had a new appendage, which was made of dog hair. And this is what it looked like.

So here's what I'd look like if I had a tail. Somehow, we managed to get it all off. But I was glad that I didn't have to attend some formal gathering right then.

So fluffy!

 

 

 

 

 

Back to Trash Again

I'm sure those of you who follow this blog might remember the stolen trash bags given mention this past winter.

I never discovered who was taking them but that was all right. It didn't press on my brain at all. But—now my brain is being pressed. So I have to tell you the latest event.

A couple of weeks ago I put out a trash bag at 5:30 p.m., the evening before pickup. I'd taken my foot and stepped onto the bag to consolidate its contents. I did this a couple of times before putting the twist tie around its neck.

I must tell you that the joke is definitely on me! As I was placing the trash bag on the sidewalk, I thought: "I don't have to even consider that anyone might want this bag of trash because it's filled to   capacity. Ha!"

I'm always one to admit when I'm wrong, and I couldn't have been more wrong when I had that thought. The next morning when I opened the door to bring my newspaper in I saw this sign in place of where my trash had been.

 

The sign was nailed to a piece of wood, which was stuck into the dirt right next to the tree near the curb (which was where the bag had been).

Look at how artistically this sign has been done. And someone obviously went to an awful lot of trouble to cut these letters out of magaziness. I am especially fond of the exclamation point! So cleverly done!

I have no idea who might have done this. I'd love to know though. I'm going to make a color Xerox of this sign and then I'll put it back in the same spot, with a little message.

So stay tuned, as they say. This is a fun mystery!

This week I put out a message taped onto a color Xerox of the sign. It said "For what?"

 
The morning after I'd set out the trash and the sign, guess what? The sign had been removed. But nothing was left in its place.

No message. Nothing.

 

The sign was gone. The metal piece the sign was attached to was gone. And the mystery continues.

Bicycle Bread? What's with That?

 

It was a perfectly delicious looking bread, just resting across the bikes that were locked to a pole on Sheridan Street, right outside my editor's apartment building. Seeing things like this, does make you wonder. There are numerous questions I might ask, but I won't burden you with those. I'm sure you'll have your own.

 Two days later, this is what I saw at the corner of the same street. Bird food! Smashed bird food!

 

Pumpkin Time

Pumpkins! They're great. The sight of them adds so much to the months of October and November. They have beautiful color, wonderful shapes, and I love looking at their stems.

 

The neighborhood is beginning to gear up with fall decorations, getting ready for that big night, Halloween. 

 

I was told that the pumpkin "head" is actually a lamp and it gets lit at night. Wonderful things can be discovered at yard sales, and that was such a find.

While taking my walk on a lovely fall Sunday, I noticed this hand sticking out of a car's trunk. I was pleased to have my camera with me. I should have it with me all the time.

  How about that lilac nail polish? Pretty spiffy, isn't it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my "baby" pumpkin, which I have on my dining room table. I like to get a small pumpkin with a wonderful stem, and this guy certainly fills the bill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at this lineup! They're hoping someone will take them to a nice home.

 

Around the Corner

Street Art

I have a lovely neighbor whose name is Simone. She adds delightful bits of art to our neighborhood.

One of the things she does is to put colorfully-knitted cozies on tree branches. You never know where one might appear.

This one is on a tree on the sidewalk just in front of the little pond at the corner.

I saw an article about "street art" in a local free paper here, which referred to these items as "Ninja" knitting / knits: It said these are knit pieces that are prepared in advance and fastened onto poles and trees.

The author, Matt Dodge, went on to state "These are very time-intensive, coveted by collectors, and easy to remove so they often don't stay up very long."

Simone has also placed one of these cozies in front of her own house.

Here's what hers looks like.

In addition to adding decorations to neighborhood tree branches, she also decorates fabric with beautifully embroidered designs of her own making.

The other day I ran into Simone while on my walk and she was wearing a delightful long skirt with some of this embroidery. I didn't have my camera with me then. But I did have it the next time I ran into her. When I mentioned her skirt, she said she had just washed it and had it hanging outside.

I walked Simone home and laid the skirt out flat so that I could take a few shots of the designs.

These are some happy dogs! 

 

Here are a couple of cute mushrooms.

The teapot and the rabbit are also on this skirt.

 

 

I need to have Simone wear the skirt, and then photograph it on her. There are so many other things that have been lost by doing it this way.

 And here is something that is literally art I saw lying in the street. So it definitely falls under the category of "street art."

I think it was drawn by a child, a talented child.

I like it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Colorful Wreck (featured in The Bollard)

I've been somewhat neglectful of my blog for several months. I believe it had something to do with joining Facebook. If I took a photo of something interesting, I posted it on my Facebook page and never bothered writing a blog article.

Thank goodness that didn't last too long. So I'm back at it again.

I'd taken this picture quite a while ago. This house is set way back from Cumberland Avenue and I walk past it several times a week. It was as though I'd never seen it before. And I guess I really hadn't seen it. I would just glance at it and know there was a house there that needed a great deal of work, but I never really looked at it.

When I actually saw it, I was astonished that I'd passed so often without truly taking notice.

Awfully colorful, isn't it?

When I was looking through The Bollard the other day, there was the house in Emily Guerin's feature article entitled "That's My Dump!" It was fun to read the story behind the building. It sounds like John Edwards, the owner, is a very nice man. I wish him luck with his refurbishing of this property.

Hot Men, Hot Colors, Hot Car!

Here's my neighbor Joe, of the beautiful garden with the pond. His passenger is my favorite Inca, Byron. They're both nurses and they're also lots of fun. That's an important attribute for anyone to possess.

I neglected to ask where they were headed. I was glad I had my camera with me. You just never know what you're going to see. I'm carrying the camera everywhere I go.
 

 

Here and There

Support Your Local Farmer

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is very popular around here. Many people participate by getting fresh produce on a weekly basis from a particular farmer.

 

Several people in my neighborhood gather at the little park at the top of Munjoy Hill at the end of the day and meet up with the people from New Beat Farm, in Jefferson, Maine. They do this from May through October, so that season has just started. 

The man with the blue shirt is Markos Miller. He's brought his son Oliver with him to pick up their produce. 
Oliver is a delightful little boy who is bilingual. Spanish is his second language. Since his dad teaches Spanish in high school, it's an easy way for a child to become totally comfortable going back and forth between two languages.

 

Here's a Cute Outie

Poor dolly, left out on the street! I was really tempted to bring her home and give her a good bath because I love redheaded dolls, especially Cabbage Patch dolls. But I restrained myself and she was gone the following day.

Looking at her here, now I'm sorry that I didn't save her from the trash heap. At least I don't have many other regrets in my life.

Neighborhood Fish Thrive

Our neighborhood fish pond is such a joy to everyone. Children are always stopping with their parents to admire the fish.

The fish are getting really big. Joe worries about where he's going to keep them all when the weather requires bringing them indoors. I tell him not to be concerned. It worked out last year and it will be be fine this year.

The water plants are also doing fantastically well. It's so nice to be able to hear that gentle sound of water and to see how well the fish are doing at that location. And it's right there at the sidewalk, which is the best part. 

Check Out This Tiger Car!

This wonderful car, painted like a tiger, was pulling up right in front of my FlameMobile the other evening, making my block a pretty snazzy-looking place, if not a bit outre.

I was able to speak briefly to the woman who was the owner, who said she has a business painting cars. She's just moved to Maine from Rhode Island, so perhaps we'll see lots of unusually decorated vehicles on Portland's streets. That's OK with me.

Curious Place for a Lighthouse

Several years ago there was an event where people and schools created colorful lighthouses with various designs and themes of their choice. The lighthouses were all the same size and had been fabricated somewhere and then given out to be decorated.

For an entire summer they were at various places around the city, giving a festive air to Portland. 

A Snappy Little Boat

My North Street neighbor, Tom, has been doing a lot of work on his boat.

The other evening while taking my walk I noticed the celestial pattern that had appeared since the last time I'd seen it.

He explained that it was fabric, which he had adhered to the boat and was then coating with some wonderful magical resinous substance. 

I passed by a few days later and Tom was once again diligently at work on this project. He said that he'd run out of material to cover the ends. When I asked what he was going to do, he dug into the boat and came out with fabric having a different pattern, although still in keeping with his celestial theme.

And here it is!

Voilà! That works just beautifully. I'm looking forward to seeing the completed boat. 

Spring in the Air

A Beautiful Spring Parade

On April 11, the Maine College of Art and the Museum of African Culture hosted an Ebune Spring Festival & Parade.

The parade was marching up Congress Street and that's where I went to get some photos of the action.

Oscar Mokeme, head of the museum, led the parade and looked spectacular.

It was a most festive and colorful display, with all the animal costumes participating in the event.

  I especially liked this bird.

The parade is a celebration of spring and the ram is symbolic of renewal.

Here and There

What have we here?

I never know what I'll come across when taking a walk. That makes a jaunt around the neighborhood quite an exciting event.

I was thrilled to see this little pink snake (or perhaps worm) a block away from my home when I was returning the other day. It's made out of jiggly plastic, so that when you hold it up, its movements are very snakelike (or perhaps wormlike). 

I considered this a highly successful walk because of such an unusual find. It doesn't take much to please me. I'm very easily amused. That's a good trait to have.

 

 

Look at this! A real pink worm. I found them just one week apart. I think that was really considerate, so I'd have them for this blog.

The dumbest parking sign in Portland

 

 

In case you're not able to read this sign, it says "NO PARKING HERE TO DRIVE."

And I hope you've noticed that the distance between that dumb sign and the driveway is less than three feet.

Maybe the parking people and/or the sign people were drunk or hopped up on drugs when they came to Montreal Street to install this ridiculous item.

Let's not even talk about wasting money. I feel like organizing the neighbors to have a "take-down" party.

I got it! Those sign people must have also seen this cup that was sitting downtown on Portland Street. They obviously went and got some good free drugs, and then continued their important work of putting up ludicrous nonsensical signs on Munjoy Hill.

I'm glad I figured that out. I feel much better now about that sign.

Graffiti is nasty!   

The fools who did this must have thought they were very clever.

They're idiots! And they've made an ugly mess. Obviously they have nothing better to do with their time, which is a sad thing. Just imagine, stomping around in white paint in the middle of the night.

Vandals that do this are a drain on society. It would be nice to catch them and force them to do something beneficial—like graffiti removal.

What a thought!

New pin

This is my new "precocious" pin. People like it, and so do I.

I'm not sure what the image is but I think it's some sort of neuron. That sounds good, doesn't it—like I know what I'm talking about?

I actually looked up a picture of a neuron and I'd say that's what it is. That high school biology is still stuck in there somewhere.

I got the pin at ferdinand, a delightful shop with handmade goods, located on Congress Street at the bottom of the hill near India Street.

They had a little basket filled with pins that had words and pictures on them. It was a lot of fun just browsing through and looking at all of them. It's a great store for gifts, either for a present for someone you know or for yourself. Hey, we all need to give ourselves presents every now and then. At least that's my philosophy.

Moola from Italia

My dear friend Vince, from oh so many years ago, sent me these incredible Roman coins.

He's a retired former Major Crimes Detective from Philadelphia, who now lives in sunny, humid Florida, playing lots of golf and loving it.

He said he'd been traveling in Italy and came across an area with a lot of pieces of lava. He picked up some of the lava and saw that there were coins embedded in it. He removed the coins and sent them off to me.

I've been working on cleaning them up. I know that if they are valuable coins, you shouldn't remove the patina. But they're not valuable, so I'm not concerned about that. I'm just interested in seeing the images that are on them.

I do a little cleaning and then I peer at them through my large magnifying glass. It's fascinating to me.

I was thinking that I might want to make a bracelet or necklace from them. We shall see. But right now they're just neat to have around so I can look at them whenever I want to.  

Politix lite (April 1, 2010)

On April Fool's Day the President of the United States of America paid a visit to Portland, Maine, a place that is quite fond of him.

I didn't even try to use my West End NEWS  press credentials to get in for the speech. There were two reasons for this: The first is that I truly detest political speeches and the second was that my editor, Ed King, was inside.

It was a perfect spring day in Portland, and I was happy just being outside watching all of the goings on at the site where President Obama was coming to speak.

This lovely young woman and her parrot were standing behind me, and I turned around to take a few pictures of them.

I wanted you to see her Obama T-shirt, but I'm posting this second photo of them because it's such a nice shot of the parrot.

See what I mean?

 

 

 

 

Can you imagine losing this car?

When I returned to where I thought my car was parked (after the presidential excitment), it wasn't there! This is the car Ed King, editor/owner/publisher of the West End NEWS dubbed "the FlameMobile." I like that and think it's quite fitting. Aside from being a talented cartoonist, Ed is also very good with words. And we're not surprised.

Since no one in this country likes to take the blame for anything, I'll be a good American and blame the losing of my car on someone else. I can do whatever I like here and so I'm going to place the blame on a handsome young policeman who'd pulled up right behind me and double-parked. It was someone I knew, and I thought "Oh, there's Handsome Young Policeman."

We chatted for a couple of minutes and I walked up to the next street, looking for the person I was originally going to check in on, someone who wasn't there at that time. This was the street where I'd originally intended to look for a place to park. Perhaps that's why I returned to this street when I was leaving. I knew I'd parked there. I even had to walk an extra block to get there.

This was a first for me: losing my car! I'd locked my keys in my car once. And now I'd lost my car. I thought it might have been towed—or heaven forbid—stolen. Since I'm probably the only person in Portland without a cell phone, I was at a total disadvantage. It was also approaching five o'clock, so I was afraid I might not be able to reach Mary-Ellen Welch at the Midtown Policing Center. I thought of her as my savior. She'd be able to accomplish anything! She had magical powers!

But I did reach her! And that wonderful woman did save me. She came to get me. It wasn't far away, but for me it would have felt like walking ten miles because I'd taken a long walk earlier and I'd been on my feet for a couple of hours at the "event."

Another officer checked to see whether my car had been towed. The answer was negative. Mary-Ellen was going to drive me around that neighborhood (with her top down—it's a convertible) to see if we could locate the car.

Then we saw Handsome Young Policeman up ahead. That was good. I said "He'll know where I parked because I spoke to him right there."

He did know and he told us. It was one block west of where I thought, and I'd started walking east. So the car was found, in exactly the same spot where I'd parked it.

Thank goodness I'm beyond embarassment! (To me that's like the Dr. Seuss book Beyond Z.)

The next time I ran into Handsome Young Policeman, I told him I was going to blame him for the loss of my car, and that brat said: "Why, because you got twitterpated when you saw me?"

I said I was going to add him to my "stable." We like those clever, fresh wise guys. Another clever one was in the room and his comment was: "Why do you want hamburger when you can have steak?"

Do you think one of the two men on the right made that statement? And if so, which one?

I'd say the one with the Taser on his belt looks like steak!

And lest we forget, this is a reminder that April 15 is coming right up.

 

Keep the Baddies Away from Your Car!

Auto Burglaries Abound

I've written many articles for The West End NEWS about break-ins to cars. It always bothers me when I hear that people have left valuable objects in plain view because that encourages someone to break a window to get at what they see in the car.

This is what I saw this morning while I was taking a walk. It may be difficult for you to discern what it is from this photo, so I'll tell you.

It's tiny pieces of broken glass from a car window, which was evidently shattered last night because of something that was seeen that looked like it might be worth taking.

The map to the right was displayed at a news conference held by the Portland Police Department the other day. It represents motor vehicle burglaries in the city from January 31 through July 31 of 2009.

The numbers have gone down from last year's 388 to 355. But the police want to prevent more of these incidents.

A flier has been created to warn people about locking their cars and not leaving valuables inside vehicles, particularly if they are visible, as they become invitations to car burglars.

It's common sense after all, to not leave a purse or an iPod in plain view, but evidently there are many people who lack that attribute.

Here's the flier that police have started to place on car windshields to make people more aware of what might happen if they leave things visible in cars.

Hopefully people will respond by following the simple directions given on this flier.

The areas where people park their cars and then go jogging are prime targets. And these are the areas that police are concentrating on to start this campaign.

A few weeks ago, after writing my last story about a theft from an automobile, I decided that I would look into people's cars while taking my walks and if I saw anything that looked enticing, I would take photographs of those objects.

So that's exactly what I began doing. I now have some results from those car-peeping walks.

This is a good-looking briefcase, something that should not be left visible in a car. And who knows what might be inside it.

This could be quite tempting to someone looking to make a few bucks.

Here are some other items left in cars that would have been better left in a trunk or someplace where they couldn't be seen.

These items would be temptations to someone with criminal tendencies.

Last night police were called by my neighbor, who had noticed two teenagers going through contents in an unlocked car parked across the street. The two got away. It's nice to know that I have neighbors who are aware of what's going on and who are willing to dial 911.

I came across an interesting fabric on someone's car seat as I was being nosy about what people's cars contained.

Check this out. It's sort of creepy. I wouldn't want to be seated on a strand of skulls. But I know that people have different tastes. I liked the artwork and the design a lot. It's just the topic that I don't find appealing.

The difficult thing about taking these photographs was all of the reflections that came out in the pictures. As you can see, the house behind me is very well depicted here.

 

Skulls are wonderful to draw. One of my favorite scratchboard illustrations that I did for a book contains a skull. The title of the pictures is "Canyon."

It's from a teacher's guide to the works of Gary Paulsen. Five of his books are discussed and I'd done a picture for each of them. The title of this book was Canyons.

I'd read each of the books that I illustrated, even though I didn't have to. These were all books for young adults and it was interesting to see what people in middle school were reading. Gary Paulsen was one of my favorite authors from the group that I read. And I did read a lot of those books, 35.

While strolling around and looking into cars as I conducted my research, I came upon a car that I can only refer to as an "art car."

The interior of this car is sort of a shrine. And there are all sorts of wonderful shiny decorations that have been pasted on.

Here's the dashboard, and you can see what I mean about it looking like a shrine. 

Now check out the rear of the car. That is also quite an interesting sight. As you can see, all of the bumper stickers are black and white, and they're pasted right next to one another, with no space in between. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to see this oddly decorated vehicle parked in my neighborhood.

It's not a car I'd ever seen before. And I like it. But as we know, I think odd. So what?

I like the sticker that says "unmarked police car."

No one will be pulling any bank heists with a car like this. You know that the person driving it is probably a very law-abiding citizen. The car itself attracts so much attention that you wouldn't dare do anything bad. It would be very easy to provide a description, just like my FlameMobile!

The message is simple: Don't leave anything visible in your car and keep it locked.

Thinking Odd

 Layoffs in Portland

I went to a rally on the steps of City Hall, organized by Portland's firefighters. Nine of them are being laid off because their union wouldn't accept a one-year wage freeze. The two good-looking specimens of manhood at the left were at the event. I just had to capture them with my camera. Can't blame me, can you? I really like those macho types. There's nothing better than a manly man. Androgyny leaves me cold. Give me a bruiser any day!

It was a well-attended rally, with the general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters in Washington, D.C., as one of the main speakers.

I was standing next to a good friend of mine of the male persuasion, and was impressed and fascinated by the passion exhibited by this union leader. Passion is a good thing! And it's not something I run across too often in Maine. I turned to my friend and said "I bet he's good in bed."

My buddy said "You think odd."

Huh?

I don't see anything odd about that. Passion at a rally should be able to be converted to a bedroom. I'm still pondering that statement about my odd thinking.

 

How's This for Odd Thinking?

See the creamer. It has a specific job to do. Pouring. This one works as it should. It doesn't drip after the milk is poured from it. Isn't that a good thing? I think so.

But after all, we've learned that I think odd, so perhaps we shouldn't give too much credence to my thoughts. But that won't stop me; no, sir, it won't, because this is an issue that annoys me. I could even become passionate about this subject, but that's because I'm a passionate artist. And that's a very good thing.

Someone should give a course to potters on the purpose of creamers and spouts. That purpose is not to have milk dribbling down the front or side while it is in use.

Thank goodness I only break these ceramic items about every 10 or 12 years. I have learned, however, when purchasing a new creamer that the most important attribute is the ability to pour driplessly. So now, on those rare occasions when I have to replace one that I've just carelessly knocked to the floor and smashed, as happened Memorial Day weekend as I was removing some things from the refrigerator that I was bringing to a barbecue I was about to attend, I have the person in the shop where I'm making the purchase fill the aforesaid vessel with water and demonstrate its ability to pour without dripping.

Those people who are requested to perform this task, probably say to themselves: "She thinks odd!" But they comply with my wishes, hoping to make a sale, thus enabling me to choose the proper creamer to bring home and hopefully to use for the next 10 years of coffee drinking. It's sort of sad that I usually can't choose the one I consider to be the most beautiful because of the fact that it doesn't work.

When I bought the creamer in the photo above, early in June, I went to a shop that handles work created by Maine potters. It's a store that has many lovely objects. 

I told the woman behind the counter what I was looking for. She was very pleasant and helpful, and mentioned that she was a potter and her work was exhibited in the store. I said "I may as well buy one of your pieces then." I chose an attractive creamer of hers from several that she had on display. There was a problem though. When she did the pouring test, her creamer failed—big-time.

She then went into a detailed explanation of why the water dripped, saying that if the spout is formed in a certain manner this wouldn't happen and the problem would be solved. So—if you're a potter, making creamers that are supposed to be functional items, and you're aware of what the problem is but you don't resolve it, what on earth are you thinking?

To me, that's "thinking odd." I'm quite pleased with the creamer I left the store with on that day in early June. It does its job well. That's what it's all about, after all.

 Someone Who Really Thinks Odd!

I subscribe to The New Yorker magazine because I have always enjoyed their cartoons. I don't like to place too much pressure on myself, therefore I don't. I get this magazine only for the cartoons. If I want to read some articles in a particular issue, I do so, but I never feel compelled to. I also don't want to have a huge pile of these magazines taking up space in my home, so I recycle them by passing them along to friends who live nearby.

I normally don't pay attention to all of the small ads appearing in the magazine, and that's why I hadn't noticed one placed by The Soul Storage Company at www.storeyoursoul.com.

Here's what it said in this add: "Is your soul weighing you down? Store it! In a painless outpatient procedure, Dr. David Flintstein can extract and store your soul in our state-of-the-art cold souls storage facility. 

I never would have seen this ad if it weren't for friends who hosted a dinner party a week ago and pointed it out to me when I arrived.

I was asked which ad on the page might look like a joke. After a very cursory glance, I pointed to the soul storage advertisement.

I was then told that this was a legitimate Web site, that my friends had indeed researched it, and although no prices were given for storing souls, it had lots of other information about the process. My friends were believers that this was an actual business for storing souls.

If that were the case, someone would be raking in a lot of moola from idiots and fools, and I would think the government would be after those folks, ready to lock them in some federal clinker.

I was not going to be hooked into this concept that easily. The next morning I started looking things up on the Internet and discovered that these ads are actually for a movie called Cold Storage, starring Paul Giamatti playing a man named Paul Giamatti. This site will take you to a clip from that film. 

Here's a photo of the soul extractor.

Pretty nifty, isn't it? Of course I have no desire to spend the rest of my life without my soul intact. And it seems as though any extraction would be painful. Ouch!

And so I must say at this point, that anyone who sees any of these New Yorker ads and believes that they are true is someone who thinks odd. It seems as though the movie might be pretty funny though, and its opening on August 7 "in select cities."

July Is Here

 St. Lawrence Hosts a Wedding

It's July! So far we've had an inordinate amount of rain, but thankfully the Fourth became quite a lovely day. That was a good thing because many people would have been disappointed if they hadn't been able to view the spectacular fireworks.

July Fourth was an extra-special day for celebration on Munjoy Hill because City Councilor Kevin Donoghue tied the knot at the St. Lawrence Church on that day.

Ed King, the editor of The West End NEWS had done beautiful wedding invitations for Kevin and Krista, with delightful caricatures of them. He did this chalk drawing on a large, heavy piece of slate that was inside the church. Ed's cartoons are a delight; I now own three of them. It seems as though a lot of people who read the paper on a regular basis aren't aware of the fact that all of the cartoons, including the large one in the centerfold, are done by Ed. The man has talent!

Best wishes and a toast for a long life with much happiness!

The photographs below were taken during the period when part of the church was being dismantled due to safety concerns.

All of the pieces that were removed were numbered and have been stored in a safe place.

It's hoped that at some point enough money can be raised to return the building to its former stature. It was a beautiful building, and it's still a shock to walk by and see such a large portion of it missing.

When a structure that was such a prominent part of the neighborhood becomes reduced to an empty lot, it's difficult to come to terms with the loss.

I'm sure there are many people who still see the ghost of the tower when they walk past the part of the building that remains.

. . . and Down on the Promenade . . .

This polar bear amused the assembled crowds. Many children had conversations with the big guy, but many were also a bit fearful of him at first.

There were vendors selling food and toys for children. It was an atmosphere of fun and joy.

I must admit that I'm always happy to see July Fourth end. The fireworks are held right down the hill from my home and thousands of people flock to the neighborhood. Of course they do!

It's nice to see everyone walking back up the hill from the Eastern Promenade, heading home. This year seemed to be more quiet than usual. There were no people setting of firecrackers and bottle rockets until two o'clock in the morning, which was a welcome relief from previous years' festivities.

July Fourth Plus One

 

The weather was beautiful, so there was no need to put anything away—evidently.

I always look forward to strolling along the Prom early on the morning of July fifth, to see what people have lost or left on the grass. This is the first year I haven't come back with a miniature American flag. I usually find one. What I always find is at least one brand-new cigarette lighter. Of course there's always change that's dropped and that gets added to my found-object vases with the money collected from my walks.

These flip flops are quite jolly. Looking at them on the grass makes me wonder what sort of condition the person was in at the time she left that location. Perhaps she was carried away? Mmm.

 

Don't you know that you're leaving an event barefoot, when you arrived wearing something on your feet?

I have to assume that it just didn't matter.

 

And so we leave the remnants of America's birthday party to be cleaned up by the city's able crew. The Promenade once again becomes the gem of Portland; the trash and the crowds have left. That's okay with me!

Outside Joys

Local Postings

People just can't leave signs alone, can they?

And here's a rather charming thank-you note that was posted on a car parked on North Street. This warning is much better than having the air let out of your tires, as would have been the case in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love.

 

 

Stuck in the Street

As I was crossing Cumberland Avenue, I noticed something that appeared to be silver in the middle of the street.

It was silver! An ankh, the Egyptian symbol of life. But alas, I wasn't able to pick it up and bring it home to place it with my other found objects and money. It was embedded in the tar.

It's quite attractive, isn't it? I don't think I'll be going back to pry it up. But I will enjoy looking at it whenever I cross the street at that particular spot.

A Lovely Gift

When my friend Megan took a little trip back to New Jersey to visit her folks and attend a reunion a couple of weeks ago, she returned with this decorated shell that she gave to me.

Both the inside and outside surfaces of the shells have been painted. It's the work of Wendy A. Morrison, who happens to be a friend of Megan's sister Tara. So that was a nice connection to the gift.

Since I had a business selling sea glass jewelry for many years, I am fond of things found on beaches. As a matter of fact, the beaches I prefer are not the ones where people are basking in the sun. I'm attracted to the rocky areas where people used to dump their unwanted possessions before trash was collected by municipalities. For me, those areas are pure treasure troves. Mm. Makes me want to take a trip to the beach right now. I wonder what level the tide is at.

I still purchase a tide calendar each year, so I know when low tides are. They're my favorites, of course! And minus tides are the very best of all. That's when I used to find antique bottles stuck in the mud. I think I got all of the worthwhile ones from the one beach that had all the treasures.

The World's Longest Lobstah Roll!

Only in Maine would this happen. The West End Neighborhood Association decided to have a fund-raiser, and at the same time to get into the Guinness World Records for creating the longest lobster roll in the world.

 

That's the roll being carried down Commercial Street to the very long table in front of Portland Lobster Company, where it was put together by members of the neighborhood group. The cute costumed lobster is a hardworking young man employed by Three Sons Lobster & Fish. My editor, Ed King, of The West End NEWS had given me an assignment to take a photograph for the event that would have "a little action and be a bit different."

That was a stumper, since there were dozens of people with cameras at the assembly table, waiting for the long roll to arrive. I started walking toward India Street, where I knew the roll would be coming around the corner for its final leg of the trip. When I came to the dressed-up lobster, I thought "This is it!"

 

With a lot of hard work, organization, and volunteers, capped off by a perfect day of weather, a 61 foot 9 1/2 inch roll was filled with 45 pounds of luscious lobster meat, cut into four-inch pieces and sold to an eager crowd.

The group pulled in a total of about $7,000, which will be used for a swim scholarship program. Approximately 200 children will be taught to swim at no charge thanks to the good work of everyone involved in the event.

After I spoke to the lobster guy, asking him if he'd grant me the wish of taking his photo near the roll as it passed down the street, he went to speak to his boss, who gave him permission to follow the roll bearers to the tables where the lobster roll was going to be put together. He was able to hang out in front of the table while the event continued.

 

 

Outdoor Still Lifes

I liked the little sign saying "WATCH YOUR STEP." Looking at the shoes left out there, it sort of becomes a small story of its own.

I have giant hostas in my side yard along the driveway. When I planted them 20 years ago I had no idea how huge they would eventually grow. It was a stroke of luck they wound up in the right place, with enough room for expansion. They looked quite lovely the other day, with raindrops still sitting on them.