Author Archives: Julie-Ann Baumer

Living in These Days

Posted on April 17, 2017 by Julie-Ann Baumer

In January, I began writing a series of articles about the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Lewiston.  It’s a year-long project which will end in October.  It’s interesting and if I did not already have a full-time job, … Continue reading →

Posted in Experiments and Challenges | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Lunkheads

Posted on April 10, 2017 by Julie-Ann Baumer

Back when I used to post links to my blog posts on Facebook, I would sometimes get three or four “likes” within 30 seconds of posting the link on social media .  This puzzled me because my blog posts run … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Writing | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Chimes of Time

Posted on April 6, 2017 by Julie-Ann Baumer

The John Marshall and Alida Carroll Brown Research Library, tucked away behind Portland’s Longfellow House, is a treasury of books, manuscripts, photographs, and ephemera. Many of the library’s visitors come to do genealogical research.  A video posted on the library’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Back to School | Tagged , | 2 Comments

On Granite

Posted on April 3, 2017 by Julie-Ann Baumer

When I’m working on a freelance story, my office looks like a disaster area.  There are two computers running and one of them will have ten or twelve browsers open.  Books are all over the floor with handwritten notes stuck … Continue reading →

Posted in Experiments and Challenges, Just Writing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Just Maine Folks

Posted on March 30, 2017 by Julie-Ann Baumer

Over two weeks have passed since my last biographical sketch of Lisbon writer Eloise Jordan.  In this last post, it was June, 1924 and Jordan had just graduated from Lisbon High School.  I’m a person who enjoys things in chronological … Continue reading →

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The Faded Frito and Other Food Infamies

Posted on March 27, 2017 by Julie-Ann Baumer

Last week, after finishing the Joy of Cooking biography, I was inspired to cook with gusto.  I stirred up a pot of chili and planned to serve it “street food” style over bags of Frito corn chips.  It had been … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking and Food | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Bitterly Beach

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Julie-Ann Baumer

On Tuesday, it was sunny with temperatures in the 40’s.  It was a day for lazy perambulation and dogs at the beach. On Wednesday, the temperatures dropped and the wind blew bitterly. No dogs, no driftwood sculptors, no one.  It … Continue reading →

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The Joy Review

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Julie-Ann Baumer

My cooking experiences with a cookbook called Joy started when I bought a used spiral bound paperback edition published by New American Library under the “Plume” moniker.  It must have been in the 1990’s.  Only one recipe is tabbed; “Ginger … Continue reading →

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The Joy of Snowing

Posted on March 16, 2017 by Julie-Ann Baumer

I recently finished reading Anne Mendelson’s 1996 book Stand Facing the Stove.  It’s a dense and interesting biography of Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer, and the cooking compendium they created, Joy of Cooking. I picked up the book to learn … Continue reading →

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Spring So Beloved

Posted on March 13, 2017 by Julie-Ann Baumer

On January 6, 1979, Eloise Jordan’s New Year’s column in the Lewiston Evening Journal’s Magazine was what I like to call “weather and seasons.” Looking out over the year ahead she wrote: “We know the January blizzard that flares over … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Writing, Lady Alone Traveler | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments