Wool blankets, rain slickers, and marathoners

When I was six, we were living on a farm in the state of Washington and all I wanted for my birthday was a sheep. Even then, or perhaps especially then, I was spoiled rotten and got what I wanted. I named her Kate Greenway and have adored sheep and all things ovine ever since.

Which is why I stopped at the Swans Island store on my way to Rockland recently. I first felt their blankets' loveliness at Paradise City Arts Festival in Northampton, MA, a scrumptious art fest, should you ever be out that way. Turns out in the summer, the Swans Island folks have sheep right there on Route 1! In February they don't but they do have time to give a tour, showing off the dying room (enclosed but with a pebbled floor for drainage, which is very cool), the room with the big looms, and the gallery of blankets, throws, and pillows. They even make fancy bags for storing the blankets (with cedar sides to help keep moths away). It's a little confusing because much of the wool for the winter weight blankets comes from sheep living on Nash Island. The reason for calling the company Swans Island is that that is where the founders, umm, founded it.

Potholes vs. Frost Heaves
I'm not sure why some areas tend toward one and not the other but we are certainly in the frost heave part of the world.
Have you ever heard of frost creep? Me neither. What about frost law? We'd call it a load limit or road restriction.

If you're eager to start your 2008 charitable giving, I have a great idea for you. I have this perfectly nice friend, Joe Greenberg (of the Left Bank Cafe Greenbergs), who I have known since 1988 and my days working at the Cafe in Blue Hill. Well, I thought he was perfectly nice. Turns out he's crazy. I say that because he's in training to run a marathon June 1 in San Diego as part of a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. No offense to Joe, but when I saw him last, he was not looking like a marathoner! So I have been inspired to donate big and try to get others to, too, because Joe running a marathon is crazy.
Crazy. Like me running a marathon... Or SpongeBob... You can check out his site. When I last spoke to him, he was up to 8-mile runs and thinking it was pretty cool that a 5-mile run was already no biggie.

Have you been watching the crazy weather? On Monday we had a bring-out-the-rain-slicker-and funny-rubber-boots rainstorm. Since then, though, we've had sunshine and birds singing and Ken, the webmaster, says one of the geese laid an egg--spring must be right around the corner. I'm not sure how I'll recognize it here in Maine. When I lived in Western Mass, I would drive by not one but two sugar shacks on the way to work. I would love to see the billowing steam...

I'm so happy to be able to say, "Darn it! I missed the Polar Bear Dip again." The Bangor Daily News had some great photos of the swimmers.