Enough with the rain!  I’ve lived in New England my whole life so I’m used to rolling with the weather punches, but this is over the top.  The biggest crop in my garden is a herd of juicy slugs, all my shoes are wet, and my house feels damp and dreary and everywhere I go people are complaining about the weather, so of course I join right in.  As a New Englander I know this only makes it worse.  The cardinal rule of surviving New England weather is that you never acknowledge how bad it is; that would be like making eye contact with an attacking dog.  Instead you are supposed to stoically go about your business and when people bring up how bad the weather is, the only concession you make to acknowledging it is to bring up a time when the weather was worse.   So next time someone starts talking about the weather I’m going to say “I remember that June a few years back, when we had torrential rain for three days and our driveway washed out and it cost a fortune to repair.”  I feel better already.

So in that spirit, summer is here!  Hot Summer Nights kicks off tonight with Slaid Cleaves. Based on the amount of press this is getting all over New England, I’ll bet there will be a big crowd.  The concert will take place in the auditorium at Marshwood High School so concert goers can stay dry.

On July 4th you can catch Cormac McCarthy and MAINESQUEEZE at Summer in the Street in Market Square in Portsmouth, NH from 5:30 – 9:30 PM. It’s free and there will be dancing.  (There are also rumors that the sun may make an appearance.)

On Sunday, July 5, Sunday in the Gardens Concerts at Hamilton House  kick off with Harvey Reid.  (Again, more rumors of sun.) Check out the calendar to the right for all the details about all the concerts in this series.

Jennifer Houghton tells us that The Little Hat Company’s South Berwick Long Sleeve T’s are again available online. The SoBee Tee’s were one of the best sellers at their retail store so they are excited that they are available online.  They have all sizes in red, green, and blue.  Get your shirt and show your South Berwick pride!

Speaking of the weather, a bright spot is that I have the best crop of wild strawberries ever.  They are like tiny jewels of flavor just waiting to be picked when I go out to tend my herd of slugs.

This is cool:   One of The Little Hat Company’s hats has earned a spot in the swag bags that will be given out to celebrities at the Daytime Emmy Nomination Party in New York City.  This morning, the bags, which include a hat from South Berwick’s Little Hat, will be featured on the fourth segment of NBC’s “Today” show. Read more… Good for Little Hat, but it hardly seems fair that celebrities are always getting swag bags.  Wouldn’t it be nice to the rest of us got swag bags once in a while?

Did you know that this week is American Craft Beer Week?  Well it is, and both Pepperland Cafe and Nature’s Way Market of South Berwick earned a mention for their great selection of craft beers in an article in the Portsmouth Herald.

I ran into Mark Gagnon, one of the Board members of the Marshwood Education Foundation last night.  The planning committee has been working like crazy to put the the finishing touches on their Kick off Dinner & Auction.  He says it’s going to be a great event and that there is lots of “swag” to bid on, the dinner will be delicious, and it will help our schools offer more educational opportunities to our children.  They want to fill up every seat available, so buy your tickets today. (see the article below for all the details.)

I heard yesterday from Nicole St. Pierre that the schedule for Hot Summer Nights is almost firmed up.  All the details aren’t available but two things are set.  Sobopalooza, the young local talent festival is on again and Slaid Cleaves (with Dan Blakeslee opening) will kick off Hot Summer Nights’ 10th year.  Nicole also has this news, “We also have a new website and will be on Facebook – we are just so darn modern!”

Spring arrived at 7:32 AM EST today.

I got an email yesterday announcing that SoBo Book & Bean is not closing.  Marie has taken on a partner, Amanda Lash, and SoBo now has new expanded hours:  Monday thru Friday:  9am-5pm; Saturday: 9am-4pm; Sundays/additional hours by chance.  Stop in and have coffee or get a good book.

Driving through town this morning I saw a sign at Fogarty’s saying they are looking for summer waitstaff.

Pricepoint Eyewear, the newest business on Main St. is open and looks great.  I love the neon signs in the windows, especially the neon cat glasses.

I heard yesterday that the Town’s Conservation Commission is organizing an Earth Day road clean-up on April 18 and they will once again sponsor well testing this spring.  More information to come, once I get all the details.

Did you happen to see the story in the Portland Press Herald about the wedding business in Maine?  Even with the down economy people are still going ahead with weddings and all the trimmings.  This should bode well for South Berwick.  With the Red Barn at Outlook, Springhill Lodge, and Hamilton House the town has become a place for weddings and we have many other businesses and services that serve the wedding trade.  The Press Herald article, Blissfully booming amid a bust, quotes Nicole Bouchard from South Berwick’s Monkey Business Bakery.

I hate plastic bags.  The other day I had to run a bunch of errands and everywhere I drove I saw plastic bags blowing across the road, plastic bags stuck in trees and shrubbery, and plastic bags floating in streams and puddles.

It is cold!  The other night Don and I were both wearing scarves at dinner. My car sounds like a bucket of bolts when I start it.  But there’s also a brutal beauty to the cold.  I love that squeaking sound that really cold snow makes when I walk on it.  Yesterday morning I went to Kittery Point and saw sea smoke.  The nights have been crystal clear and that moon last week was stunning.

Anyway, here’s a cold related joke with South Berwick roots.  This was passed to me from Norma Keim, via Wendy Pirsig.  This joke comes from the 2008/9 Farmer’s Almanac (p. 205) — Nathaniel Low was a physician and amateur astronomer, who built and lived in the bright mustard colored house that is now 117 Portland Street.  More about him on the OBHS website .

A Revolutionary Idea:  High Heat, No Fire Needed

Nathaniel Low popularized this method in 1777, the year that General George Washington’s troops experienced bitter cold at Valley Forge:

“Take a billet (log) of wood, fling it out of the window into the yard, and then run downstairs as hard as you can, and when you have got the billet, run up again with the same measure of speed; and thus keep throwing down and fetching up, till the exercise shall have sufficiently heated you.”

“Repeat as often as the occasion shall require.”

There was some good news at Monday’s Town Council Meeting.  Roberta Orsini reported that South Berwick got a federal disaster designation as a result of the ice storm and the storms of December 19 and 21.  That means there will be assistance for the Town’s costs.  She also reported that the Town has begun health benefits with a new provider.  The change will yield a $13,000 saving for this fiscal year and will result in at least a $39,000 savings for next fiscal year.

An offering from Childlight Yoga:  Baby Itsy Bitsy Yoga – A nurturing, loving yoga practice for baby and caregiver.  6 week session.  Thursdays, 11:30am-12:30pm.  July 31 – Sept. 4 at Dover Yoga Studio.  Register at www.childlightyoga.com or call 603-781-3323.

The Salmon Falls Mill Front Street Market, Sundays through mid-October from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Front Street in Rollinsford.   The market features local growers, breakfast, lunch grill, baked good, raffles, vintage clothes, fiber art, paintings, jewelry and activities for children, including a Rollinsford fire truck for children to climb on and explore.   I went last Sunday and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, some shopping and people watching.  Check it out.

The Children’s Museum opened at its new location in Dover yesterday.  This article is running in the NH Union Leader today:
Museum quality opening in Dover
New Hampshire Union Leader –The opening was celebrated as a boon to the city…Jack Buckley, the museum’s vice chairman and the executive director of the Dover Housing Authority, called the museum “the most important single economic revitalization project in a very long time.”

Today, July 27 at 4 PM: International performer Randy Armstrong at Hamilton House Summer in the Garden Concert Series.  Hailed by the Boston Globe as a “sure-fingered guitar virtuoso”, guitarist/percussionist, Randy Armstrong, brings his jazz – world music to the garden.  An educator as well as a performer, Armstrong will entertain on a variety of instruments from around the world.  A show sure to please all ages.  For more information: Historic New England at (207) 384-2454 or visit www.historicnewengland.org.

One more day of the Antique Tractor Show in Eliot:  At 10 a.m. the tractor tour starts — a 14-mile parade around Eliot. At 10:30 a.m. a kid’s pedal tractor pull begins. At 1 p.m. a tractor parade begins around the show grounds and at 1:30 the tractor pulling begins. Find out more:  www.eliotantiquetractorandengine.org.

The Front Street Market at the Salmon Falls Mills in Rollinsford kicks off today from 9 am until mid afternoon.  Artists, craftspeople, and growers will be offering their wares, there will be music all day. Rollinsford Fire Department is providing a fire engine for children to explore from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Front Street and Lower Mill restaurants will be serving breakfast. Story-telling will be held in the new Rollinsford Public Library, located in the Lower Mill. Childrens crafts will be in the Upper Mill. FigTree Café (located daily in the Lower Mill) will provide a brisquet in the grill area from noon – 3 p.m.

Hamilton House offers the third concert in its Sundays in the Garden series:  July 20: Omalley’s Alley.  Including bassist Tom Martin and drummer Gene Guth of the popular seacoast R& B band Rhythm Method and guitarist Justin Walton of Dreadnaught,  this ensemble will reach into each other’s repertoire to give material by artists such as Booker T & the MG’s and George Harrison their unique stamp.  The concert begins at 4:00 p.m.  Admission is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors, $4 for Historic New England members and children, free for Historic New England Garden and Landscape Members.  Concert goers are welcome to bring their own chair or blanket and picnicking is encouraged.  In case of rain, concerts are held in the garden cottage.

A portion of Route 91 will be closed to traffic starting July 23  through Aug. 30 for culvert work. Local traffic will have access to their homes but the road will be closed to through traffic from Pudding Lane at the York Corner end to Scotland Bridge Road. Traffic will be diverted down Route 1 to Beech Ridge Road and then to Scotland Bridge Road. The Town of York website has more details.

Nature’s Way Market is offering locally grown produce this summer.  Last night I had local baby squash and crispy cucumbers from local farms that I got at the Market. I can’t wait to see what’s coming next.

Feel like getting away from Maine this summer?  Head to the Jamaican Jerk Center, 1400 Route One in York (Cape Neddick) to be transported to the Caribbean.  This jerk stand serves up chicken, pork, and rib jerk (spiced and marinated meats) served with rice and plaintains as well as goat curry and Ackee and Saltfish, Jamaica’s national dish, if you are feeling adventurous.  Food is packed to go for take away or for eating at the picnic tables and hammocks set up around the stand.  The Boston Reggae band, Counscious plays every Saturday night until Labor Day.  It will make you dance, mon.

There’s a new restaurant in the Kittery Foreside area.  Tulsi serves up Indian specialties based on fresh and local foods in a sophisticated atmosphere decorated with the rich colors of Indian spices and bold abstract art.  It’s at 2 Government Ave. in Kittery.  I was delighted by their mussels served in a rich and spicy curry sauce accompanied by a warm crispy naan bread.  I also had a vegetable korma that had fresh corn in it.  Chef Rajesh Mandekar says they try to use as much local fish and produce as possible to create traditional Indian flavors with a Maine flair.