January passed quickly and now it’s nearly the middle of February.  It seems I can’t quite get a firm grip yet this year but I’m trying to find a rhythm and kick the mid-winter blues that have seized me lately.  Good food and company have helped and I’m hoping to jolt myself into an exercise routine, which should help.  That and a fresh coat of snow.
I embarked on a 365 photo project at the beginning of this year and haven’t missed a day yet.  You can see my progress on flickr if you’re interested.  I will leave you with some photos from January.

January, February, March

April, May, June

July, August, September

October, November, December

We spent a winter evening in a greenhouse last weekend for a lovely holiday bash, complete with live music.  The cold heightened the senses, the candles and Christmas lights dazzled the eyes, and the food and libations warmed the belly and soul.  You couldn’t ask for more.

It’s definitely fall here in Maine.  Had I any doubt, it was certainly dismissed by the evidence I witnessed on my run this morning: cool crisp air, leaves strewn and swirling about in eddies as the wind picks up or cars pass by, and that slant of autumn sunlight slowly revealing itself.  This is so much better than summer, really.  Blankets, sweaters, wool socks, pumpkins, apple cider and the mental and physical anticipation and preparation for the coming months.

In honor of both my new hometown and its upcoming 247th Birthday Celebration, I thought I’d post a smattering of pictures from around the town of Bowdoinham, Maine.

I have yet to post anything about it, but I participated in a letterpress print exchange a couple months ago.  I made about 50 prints and sent them off and patiently waited until a couple weeks ago when I received the batch of prints in the mail (thanks to Kelly of Paper Stories for all her work organizing and executing this exchange).  What a treat!  Everything was fantastic and the swap contained very diverse styles.

For my print I used wood type to spell out TOOLS and then I carved a linoleum block with a spade, saw, pitchfork and hammer.

Now there is a giveaway being done on Poppytalk so if you’re interested in winning some fabulous letterpress prints, head on over and follow the instructions.

I allowed myself copious amounts of both sunshine and reading today.  Despite many other tasks and projects I knew needed tending, I sunk deeply into a fictitious world while basking in the glorious sunshine that was overdue here after days of rain.  I finished the book, Out Stealing Horses, a few minutes ago. It’s been quite awhile since I read a whole novel in one day and I was glad of the time and opportunity to do so.  The author, Per Petterson, is Norweigan and the translation for the book was done by Anne Born.  I’m not sure exactly where I read about the book, but I requested a copy from interlibrary loan and it arrived on Friday and I picked it up just before I left for the weekend.

I was wholly impressed with the book for a few different reasons.  I have been enthralled with Scandinavia for the past few months and so it was nice to read a novel by a Norwegian author.  The way in which Petterson allowed nature and the outdoors to play an equally important role as that of the protagonist, Trond Sander, is refreshing and seemed perfectly appropriate.  I won’t say much more than this, but will share a couple of passages that really stuck with me.

I don’t know when I last watched the news.  I did not bring a television set out here with me, and I regret it sometimes when the evenings get long, but my idea was that living alone you can soon get stuck to those flickering images and to the chair you will sit on far into the night, and then time merely passes as you let others do the moving.  I do not want that.  I will keep myself company.
I can still feel the same thing today when I see a hayrack in a photograph from a book, but all that is a thing of the past now.  No-one makes hay this way any more in this part of the country; today there is one man alone on a tractor, and then the drying on the ground and the mechanical turner and wrapping machines and huge plastic white cubes of stinking silage.

These are certainly not spoiler quotations but hopefully they give you a small taste of this book that I hope you read and enjoy.