New local history book from Marilyn!

This spring my new book Hidden History of the Sebago Lakes Region was published by the History Press. In the book, are several Little Sebago Lakes stories and photos. This summer, 2015, I will be blogging about that book and revealing more hidden history tales as I discover them! Stop by for a visit at Hidden History of the Sebago Lakes Region.blogspot.com.

Final week at camp

Here it is. Our final week at our camp on Little Sebago Lake for summer of 2011. It is bittersweet---the last boat ride, the last lobster dinner, the last walk on the dirt road with Oliver. It makes me sad.

I have put together a photo album of lake memories over the years. You can view it here

Farewell to summer. Soon, I hope to retire. Then summer will stretch on into October.

Books

Recently my publisher decided to forego the publishing of print books for eBooks. It is cheaper I suppose, and technology enables readers to download reading material instantly. My last book was published as an eBook, in fact. All of my print books are now available as eBooks. It makes me a little sad to think that I will never be able to hold one of my books in my hands again.
Although I own a Kindle and an iPad on which I have downloaded many books, I do prefer to hold a paper book in my hands. I like the smell of the ink and the way the pages feel. I like the sound of those pages when I turn them. I like to organize them on my bookshelves at camp, and I like the way the colors of the covers brighten the room.
You can see my Little Sebago Lake camp bookshelf here.
When I am visiting others folks’ homes, I like to explore their bookshelves to see what they like to read. That’s why I was delighted to find a website called Breathing Books devoted to showcasing photographs of other readers’ bookshelves. Call me old fashioned.

Uncle Henry's

When I am at the corner store near my camp on Little Sebago Lake in Maine, I often purchase a copy of Uncle Henry’s Weekly Swap it or Sell it Guide. It’s digest sized and costs two bucks. When I get back to my deck, I read it as I would a magazine. Uncle Henry’s lists 30-word private party ads at no cost from folks in my area who want to sell or buy stuff, or in some cases, give stuff away. The digests lists everything from appliances to yard sales. I
I’ve seen listings for everything and anything you’d want to buy or sell, including the kitchen sink (pg 45: “Kitchen sink. Dbl bowl American Standard white, Mohen telescope faucet, exc. Cond. $100”). Now why would anyone want to sell her kitchen sink?

I peruse “Uncle Henry’s” for the unusual. I guess I have too much time on my hands when I am at camp. This week’s oddity I found under Firearms, p. 159: “Moose hunt swap zones. Looking to swap my Zone 23 either bull or cow for the whole mo. of Nov. for your Zone 4. Week of Sept. 26. Let’s talk.” A phone number follows this. In Maine, there is a moose hunt lottery every year, so this listing makes some sense. Unless you’re a moose in Zone 4.

Summer guests

I get a little panicky when guests are coming. This week we we will have nine guests, all family, most of whom will be with us at camp for an extended stay. Oh, yes, and another dog too. I have so many lists, I can't find them all. I have written extensively about my guest preparations in this blog. One story was published in the Portland Press Herald and you can read that here.

My grandson Ben will celebrate his first birthday this week with us here at camp. I can't wait to get him in the water and on the boat (in the new life jacket I bought for him at L.L. Bean). He is walking now. So, another list: things to do to baby proof camp! Today my husband and I will run forty yards of netting around the perimeter of our deck, transforming it into a giant playpen. We will close off the steps with gates. We tried to remove all the splinters from the dock. I kid you not. We Velcroed the shaky book case to the wall and took the heavy tv off the top of the high chest of drawers. The glass knick knacks have been moved to high places, and we plugged up the unused electrical outlets. Welcome to Maine, baby Ben! And everyone else too, of course.

Gardening project for camp, 2011

My friend Mary is a master gardener. Her yard makes my yard look pitiful. But every summer I try to beautify the sand pit that surrounds my camp on Little Sebago Lake. Here is this summer's beautification project, with instructions in case you want to do it yourself. I'll bet you do.

Sunsets on Little Sebago Lake

The deck of my camp faces west, and quite often, we enjoy beautiful sunsets as we relax there in the evening in our Adirondack chairs. The most beautiful sunsets are red, and I can never seem to capture them in photographs. Why is that?

I Googled “red sunsets” once. This is what I found out. Sunlight is made up of different colors of light, each with a different wavelength. At sunset, more red light is scattered to us because of something in the lower atmosphere. It’s a little too scientific to explain fully. My enjoyment of our sunsets might be diminished if I really understood why they are red, but I sure wish I could capture that essence in a photograph so I could enjoy Little Sebago Lake sunsets all year round, not just in the summer.