Talk of The Toile – Show House Books

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Julie-Ann Baumer

When I was the co-chair of the Junior League of Boston’s 2006 Decorator Show House, I not only spent a lot of time at the Show House in Cambridge, but I spent a lot of time in meetings at the League’s Boston headquarters at 117 Newbury Street.  It’s a lovely old building; if you’ve ever been to the Kate Spade store on Newbury Street, you’ve been to it.  On the top floor is an old filing cabinet, filled with disintegrating paper folders full of Show House history.  I still dream of writing a book about the Junior League of Boston’s rich show house tradition.  When I write my memoirs, there will be a chapter called “How a Decorator Show House Saved Me from Being a Lonely Divorcee.”

If one puts “Decorator Show House” in a search engine, there are many hits for show houses past and present.  I’ve found only one book about the subject, aptly called “Decorator Show Houses.”  It’s a coffee table book.  Could there be a place in the book market for an insider’s look at the subject?

Thursday was a good night to start my research, so I headed to the University of New Hampshire’s Dimond Library.

I love the summer silence of a college campus.  It’s easy to slow down and imagine it’s a different time and place.  Two ladies in smart summer dresses walked by; they would have looked oddly out-of-place had school been in session.  Were they a mirage?

Whooshing through the big library doors, I was easily and happily distracted.  If you like books, a university library is a big buffet.  Even though I didn’t study enough when I was in college and I deeply regret taking all of the Fogler Library’s beautiful silence for granted when I was there, I did spend a lot of time in the stacks.  I would pick a random topic, pull 7 or 8 books, and then sit and shuffle through them.  Papers didn’t get written that way, but it was interesting.  I still do this when I go to the Dimond Library and fortunately, there is only this blog waiting for me.

There weren’t any books about decorator show houses per se, but I ended up with two books remotely related to “homes” and “decoration.”  One scholarly volume was “The Invention of Comfort:  Sensibilities & Design in Early Modern Britain & Early America” by John E. Crowley.  The other was a humorous distraction called “A Skeptic’s Guide to Writers’ Houses” by Anne Trubek.

I pulled and then rejected the following books:

  • Travelling by Sea in the 19th Century:  Interior Design in Victorian Passenger Ships
  • Toilet:  Public Restrooms and the Politics of Sharing
  • The Palace or the Poorhouse:  The American House as a Cultural Symbol.

I was dissatisfied with the available books at the Dimond Library; maybe I was dissatisfied with my available time for research, reading, and writing.  Driving home, I mentally ran through my own little personal library.  Maybe I didn’t need the Dimond Library after all, since I had the following pertinent volumes right at the Coop:

  • The Decoration of Houses by Edith Wharton
  • A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy
  • A Field Guild to American Houses by Virginia & Lee McAlester
  • Historic Maine Homes published by Downeast Books

Add to these books my own personal collection of carefully annotated Junior League of Boston Show House magazines and I think I have everything I need to write a fascinating insider’s guide to decorator show houses.

Now, just where am I going to find the time?

As a reminder, the York Historical Society’s 23rd Annual Show House opened on July 14.  I’ll be visiting next week and writing about it on Friday, July 27, 2012.

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5 Gallon Bucket Experiment

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Julie-Ann Baumer

You can do a lot of things with a 5 gallon bucket.  I’m conducting an experiment in one right now.

Can you guess what I’m doing?

Posted in Minimalist | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Urban Tomatoes

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Julie-Ann Baumer

On May 31, 2012, I got an e-mail from my nephew, Mark.  He lives in Providence, Rhode Island.  It’s urban.  His note follows:

Dear Aunt Tomato,

I adopted a shriveled tomato plant today.

Someone at work was giving away a bunch of plants.  I got the last one.  It looks like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. 

I’ve been feeding it chia water.

What is your expert advice?

I provided the usual “expert” advice; hydration, soil high in organic matter, maybe a few crushed egg shells in the dirt to help increase calcium and reduce the chance of blossom end rot.

Knock it off on the chia water.

On July 7, 2012, Mark sent me this picture:

I couldn’t help but wipe a little tear from the corner of my eye.  I try not to hit people over the head with my thoughts and opinions about the importance of growing food.  People with a big lump on their heads are usually not interested in picking up a shovel and growing food.  My technique has been to grow my own food, share the bounty with others, and occasionally talk and write about my experience.  I try to inject a little humor into the process.

It’s true, though, if I can do it, you can do it.  Mark Baumer is growing a tomato in the middle of Providence; sounds prophetic and poetic.

I’ll stop now.

The tomatoes are coming.

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Potatoes For Breakfast

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Julie-Ann Baumer

When I first started scaring myself by reading about the coming Apocalypse, I thought it might be safer to move to Aroostook County, Maine. I’ve never been to Aroostook County, but I spent some of my free time searching for land and reading about farming there. By putting certain words into a search engine, I found Wood Prairie Farm in Bridgewater, Maine.

Wood Prairie Farm is a family farm owned by Jim and Megan Gerritsen; they’ve been growing food organically for 35 years and specializing in seed potatoes. Jim is a distinctive-looking man, with a determined face and frame; his face was made to be chiseled in granite.

One January in my journey towards farming, I went to the Maine Agricultural Trade Show and Jim Gerritsen walked right by, probably on his way to a break out session on potatoes. I could hardly believe that someone who looked like a hard-working farmer on the internet looked the same way in real life. Farmers had become like rock stars to me.

This past February, Jim Gerritsen and one of his sons made the 5 hour drive from Bridgewater to Exeter, New Hampshire to give a talk about his farm, growing food, and his role as the president of the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA). It was held at a restaurant and many of the attendees were not farmers. People identified themselves as “concerned citizens,” “mindful consumers,” and “landless homesteaders.”

Mr. Gerritsen’s talk was primarily about the work OSGATA is doing to protect small farmers from being sued by Monsanto for patent infringement. It is a very complicated thing. Imagine if your neighbor Tom had a show dog; we’ll call the dog Roundup. Roundup wasn’t on a leash and he came over to your house and bit your children. Your children were ok, but Roundup broke a tooth. Your neighbor Tom then sued you because Roundup couldn’t be a show dog anymore with his broken tooth.

It sounds crazy, doesn’t it?

I’ve simplified things, but that’s what has been happening in the farming world. One farmer will plant a crop of Monsanto’s genetically modified seed and if it ends up on another farmer’s property, Monsanto might sue the receiving farmer for “patent-infringement.”

It’s not easy being a small, local farmer, but they’re important and we need them. I try to support them. After hearing Jim Gerritsen speak, I decided to order some seed potatoes from him. I ordered them and they arrived in a little box, all gussied up with a pretty label proclaiming themselves to be “The Organic Potato Blossom Festival.”

Late this spring, I planted them. The instructions said “In a 4’ by 4’ garden bed, plant uncut tubers 3” deep, spaced evenly. Apply thick straw mulch around plants when 8” tall.”

I was nervous. My grandfather had grown potatoes and I had picked them, but I didn’t know very much about growing them. A gentleman at the Hampton Victory Garden had grown a row of potatoes once.

I planted the coin-sized seed potatoes exactly as instructed, after letting them “warm up” in my kitchen. After a few weeks, they sprouted and eventually grew up enough for their blanket of thick straw mulch. They flowered. For the last two weeks, I’ve been tentatively digging around and picking potatoes out of my little 4’ by 4’ potato bed. It’s amazing and encouraging to grow such beautiful and healthy food in a tiny little corner of a garden.

I don’t understand everything about the OSGATA vs. Monsanto lawsuit. I think of it as a “food sovereignty” issue and it affects us all. At the end of Mr. Gerritsen’s talk, people asked him what they could do to increase the safety of our food. He did not tell us to whip out our wallets and give to his cause; he humbly encouraged us to grow a little bit of our own food.

I can do that. So can you.

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Monday Main Street Challenge

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Julie-Ann Baumer

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you now know quite a bit about Lisbon Falls, Maine and Moxie soda.  It’s Monday and I’m not sure I’ve still got Moxie; I’m tired on every level.  I talked to a lot of people from home and every once in a while, I managed to sneak in a question about why they still lived in Lisbon Falls or thereabouts.  A few tears snuck out when I told Faye how hard it is to drive back to The Coop after three days in a place where everyone knows my name.

I’ve been thinking about this picture.

Small towns usually have a Main Street.  In Brunswick, Maine, they spell it “Maine Street.”  It might also be called some other term, like “Market Street” signifying it as a place where folks gather to “market” or participate in local commerce.  Before cars, strip malls, and suburbs, Main Street was a place to which a person might walk and do some business.

When I was growing up, our Main Street was somewhat vibrant, although the exodus out of the downtown area had begun with the building of the Mid-Town Shopping Center.  It was a “strip mall.”  There are good sidewalks in Lisbon Falls, though.  A person who likes to walk could easily walk from Main Street to the Mid-Town Shopping Center.

Thousands of people have written about the death of small towns, the death of community, and community building.  I don’t have any new ideas about community building.  I’d like to see my own little Main Street bustle more than once a year.  Maybe people don’t care about Main Street; before I get too busy creating schemes and plans for mine, I’m curious about other Main Streets.

Is there a Main Street or its equivalent where you live?  Do you go there?  What do you do and see on your own little Main Street?  Is there a Main Street you have visited in the past that you particularly enjoyed?  What did you like about it?

Just curious…get back to me, ok?  And…thanks for caring about Main Street.

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Just Chillin’

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Julie-Ann Baumer

The Moxie Festival is winding down; today will be the Car Show and the Chief Worumbo Androscoggin River Race.  I’ve paddled in the canoe race three times; twice with my Dad and once with my best friend from high school.  No paddling this year, but if life allows I will again.

Walking to the library this morning to post the blog, there were two teenagers sitting in a community garden, smoking cigarettes and whispering.

“What are you doing up so early?” I asked.  “I thought I would be the only one up this morning.”

“Just chillin’.”

I wished them a good day and walked on.

It’s time to put the Moxie Festival in the rear view mirror and get back to the garden.

Don’t forget to spend some time chillin’ today, though.

Posted in Today We Rest | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Deliberate Kindness

Posted on July 13, 2012 by Julie-Ann Baumer

I have long been troubled by a bumper sticker which says “Practice Random Acts of Kindness and Senseless Acts of Beauty.”  I’m sure someone will stop by and explain it to me.  Maybe there is a book I can read which will provide me with the tenets of this random philosophy; I welcome the suggestion.

The reason I am troubled is because I do not think there are any “random” acts of kindness.

When I am waiting in line at a coffee shop and I give a person two quarters for a parking meter, this is my deliberate decision to be helpful.  There is nothing random about it.  Fifty cents seems like a small amount of money to help a busy person.

When I realize my car is located in a locked parking garage that closed at 6:00 p.m., I call the “after hours” number.  Someone from a security company arrives, unlocks the garage, and lets me out.  They charge me a “fee” and I go on my merry way.  This is called “doing business.”  There was nothing random or kind about it.

When my Jeep and I are sprung from the parking garage and I’m hungry, I stop at Espo’s Trattoria and order a “Stevie’s Meatball” to go.  I sit at the bar while I’m waiting, trying to read some notes I scribbled in my reporter’s notebook.  The bartender, Paul, lets me borrow his cheaters when he realizes I am having trouble reading my notes.  Paul made a deliberate decision to help me while I waited for my dinner.  Again, nothing random; it is Paul’s job to keep his customers happy.  Paul’s a friendly and helpful guy.

When I deliberately write a blog post about meatballs and cheaters and sweet little neighborhood restaurants in Portland, Maine without receiving anything in return, it is called “appreciation.”

I’ve written about Moxie soda every day for the last week.  I’ve done this deliberately because I love Lisbon Falls and the people who live there; Moxie is what is left of Lisbon Falls.  The mills have closed and the Navy base is closed.  We’re down but we’re not out.  We still have Moxie and we’re deliberate about it.

I don’t know how to change the world and I don’t have many bumper stickers on my car.  If a bumper sticker could save the world, maybe I’d consider adding it to the trio I’ve thoughtfully placed on my Jeep.  I’m going to keep being deliberate about the things I say and do.

Be deliberately kind and thoughtful today.  Oh…and DRINK MOXIE!  It’s wicked good stuff.

(Deliberate wink, wink, nudge, nudge.)

Posted in Experiments and Challenges, Home | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Long Road Home

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Julie-Ann Baumer

This is the long road home.

I’ve only been stopped once on this road, in a Pontiac Fiero.  I’ll save that story for another day, maybe some long wintry one.

For everyone who reads this little blog, thanks for riding shotgun with me on the long road home.  I’m glad you are here; let’s keep working.

For everyone planning to attend the Moxie Festival this weekend, the weather’s looking hot and humid.  This is going to be one hot road.

Drink Moxie!

Posted in Home | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Kind of Like Bill Lee

Posted on July 11, 2012 by Julie-Ann Baumer

I’m not sure what compelled me, but I listened to the “All Star Game” on the radio last night.  I never used to listen to the “Planet Mikey” show on WEEI either, but I’m starting to like Mikey’s quirky ways.  Last night, Bill “Spaceman” Lee was a call-in guest on Mikey’s show and he had some fascinating thoughts and ideas about major league pitching, fitness, and the Red Sox.  I was entranced and swept naturally from Planet Mikey into the “All Star Game” without realizing what was happening.

As I was cutting up Moxie soda boxes and laminating them for my “Surprise” garden in Lisbon Falls, I heard two anonymous-sounding announcers discussing that the National League had the biggest lead in All-Star Game history.  The National League?

The National League?

National League teams are the equivalent of space aliens with bats and gloves (sorry Bill Lee) and they are not supposed to win the All-Star Game.

I was disgusted.  I kept cutting and laminating and thinking.

I wonder if Bill Lee likes Moxie?  He’s got moxie, after all, using the dictionary definition of the word.  According to the American Heritage dictionary, moxie is “the ability to face difficulty with spirit and courage,” “aggressive energy, initiative,” and “skill, know-how.”  Bill Lee is also “distinctively different” like Moxie.  I think he’d like the oddity of 30,000 people converging on a small economically depressed Maine town to celebrate the virtues of a century-old soda and small town life.

If Bill Lee were to ask me what he needed to know about Lisbon Falls and Moxie, I’d say “Bill, here are the 7 things you need to know if you’re coming to the Moxie Festival this weekend:

  1. There is no Starbucks in Lisbon Falls.
  2. The parade starts at 10:00 a.m., but people start lining the parade route much earlier.  It is the largest parade in the state of Maine.  If you’re not in Lisbon Falls by 8:30 a.m. you’ll be stuck in traffic.  Get a Starbucks when you get off the interstate in Topsham and sip it while you’re waiting for the parade to begin.
  3. Please don’t pick or step on the flowers in front of Faye’s Barber Shop or in the community gardens.  Lots of real people volunteer to create and maintain those gardens and make our tired little town prettier.
  4. Please do visit the Maine Art Glass Studio; it’s a beautiful old church turned art glass studio and there are some amazing surprises there.  See for yourself!
  5. You are not in Beverly Hills, Boston, or Boca Raton; you are in Moxieland.  Behave appropriately.
  6. You struck out on a pitch from Jim Baumer in 1993.  He’s not pitching anymore.
  7. Uncle Bob would be happy to talk southpaw with you.

(Newspaper clipping of a photograph by Allan Detrich, date unknown.)

Hey, Bill Lee, the more I think about it, the more I think you’d make a great grand marshal for the Moxie parade next year.  Get in touch with me and we’ll talk.

Bill Lee’s got Moxie, Uncle Bob’s got Moxie, Jim Baumer’s got Moxie, I’ve got Moxie…

Do you have Moxie?

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Moxie’s Slow Burn

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Julie-Ann Baumer

For Red Sox fans like me, the All-Star break can’t come soon enough.  Something is wrong with this year’s team and in spite of a steady stream of problem solving on sports talk radio, I don’t think things are going to be any better for the Red Sox when the second half of the season begins on Friday, July 13.

Thank goodness I’ve got the Moxie Festival to distract me; I admit the anticipation of going home to drink Moxie and seeing old and new friends is wearing me out a little bit.  I call it “Moxie’s Slow Burn.”

Since I would prefer to stick pins in my eyes than listen to the “Home Run Derby” on the radio, I sought refuge in the Hampton Victory Garden after work Monday night.  It was dreamy and beautiful; a pleasant 75 dry degrees with a light breeze.  The gardens are on fire right now, growing steadily.  My father says Uncle Bob’s cucumber plants are growing 2 inches a day and I believe him.  It’s the same story in the Victory Garden.

This Tiger Lily looks explosive, doesn’t it?

Looking around my Hampton garden and doing a little math in my head, I calculated it was time t0 plant summer crops for September and October harvest.  Seeds for bush beans, pole beans, beets, carrots, kale, lettuce, winter radishes, kohlrabi, and turnips can all be sown right now.  Let’s call it All-Star break in the garden; if your first set of plantings didn’t go so well this spring, here’s your second chance to come smoking back in the second half of the season.  The second half will be different; things will grow slower as the sun’s position changes.  Weeds will grow slower, too.

Second chances are good.

Speaking of fires and smoke, The Lisbon Historical Society will host their monthly meeting on Wednesday, July 11, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at the MTM Center in Lisbon Falls with a commemorative program called “Remembering Worumbo.”  This program will mark the 25th anniversary of the blaze that destroyed the once world-renowned Worumbo textile mill.  Guest speakers will discuss the impact of the Worumbo fire on Lisbon and there will be a film viewing of a 1954 episode of the old Tee Vee show “Truth or Consequences” featuring the Worumbo Mill and showing the entire process of wool making from “sheep to suit.”

Although this blazing affair is not on the official calendar of Moxie events, the Lisbon Historical Society is just plain dynamite; everything a person could hope to know about the history of our little town has been lovingly catalogued and curated in this hot spot, thanks to longtime volunteers Dot and Al Smith.  Dot and Al can explain it all to you.  If you tire of all things small town, they’ll even discuss the Red Sox with you, if you must.

See you there.

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