Note from the Farmhouse: Thanksgiving In Maine

Saturday sunset, 4:11 p.m., Curtis Light in Camden, on the far right. I went lighthouse-chasing while Dan and his brothers took a walk. Fig saw a friend, and Spice was with her cousin and aunt.

View from the 100+-year-old farmhouse in Belfast, where we are staying. Pat and Martha bought it and made it into an amazing Airbnb.

At the Lost Kitchen in Freedom, Maine, on Friday.

                                          Cheese board, hot cider. See The Lost Kitchen.

Well, my fingertips have not touched this keyboard for days, despite my best intentions. Dan and I arrived by about 8 p.m. Wednesday to a Hannaford supermarket stripped clean of every can of spray whipped cream, every drop of heavy cream, and even Cool Whip, even vegan whip, everything. (The one thing I didn't hunt down was Dream Whip, sold in boxes.) We hunted in desperation for the required pumpkin pie adornment. No one wants naked pie. But apparently, Thanksgiving brings on a dairy stampede in Maine. Belfast Variety, open 365 days a year, with gas pumps, had two tall cans of Oakhurst sweetened whipped cream and we went there first, so I got one. Luckily, as in other years, my sister-in-law Martha snapped up a quart of pure whipping cream before the shelves were bare.

I knew we should have gotten it in Montclair but Dan is always in too big a rush to start the long drive. Fortunately, I got a tub of dairy-free CocoWhip at Whole Foods West Orange on Tuesday to cobble together a vegan no-bake pie for Figgy.

It is late, already 10:45 p.m. I've been off-kilter. I ate too many sweets and probably should not have made Fig that pie, but rather bought a vegan dessert. The cobbled-together dessert had a graham cracker crust, vegan mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, peanut butter and that fluffy CocoWhip.

But would an alcoholic make spiked sangria? I was tempted and succumbed. Sugar addict layering sugary things. Nope, not good. 

Today is a new day.

We were all planning to drive back today, Sunday, but Dan really wanted to do this family hike at Camden Hills State Park, where they walked to a cabin and, incidentally, made s'mores and hotdogs. It was a big group, and sounds refreshing, but I can't hike a mountain. I get too tired. So I walked over the Belfast bridge in the bay, and that was pretty. Figgy drove Spice home to Montclair so they can go to work and school tomorrow. 

We have tasks and packing in the morning, so I better resort to a list here. I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving.

• Sitting with Figgy as she crocheted on a couch in the farmhouse. Hearing everyone compliment her on the sky-blue top and knee-length sweater coat she had made, and wore Thursday. I really don't want to write here about Spice. Things are still very rough around the edges. How much is enough? How much is too much? Questions from a battle-weary mother.
• Seeing our big family this long weekend. Nieces, nephews, nephew's adorable little boy, 100 percent Hurley, with that brown hair and mischievous spirit. Girlfriends, husbands. Dan's four brothers (John, Mike, Dave, Pat), their wives (Therese, Sheila, Martha). My mother-in-law! Four of her sons carried her into our car and she stayed in her wheelchair  for the holiday meal. Her daughter stuck close by her side.
• The turkey James carved perfectly, rich gravy, Martha's great salad with beets and apples, Ian's homemade rosemary dinner rolls! 
• The Lost Kitchen in Freedom, Maine. My niece Mariah told me about it on Thanksgiving. The holiday shops were open Friday and Saturday. Mariah thought I would like it. She was right. So did Spice. I got my first Erin French cookbook, with beautiful photos, stories and recipes; Maine taper candles; the restaurant's coffee bean blend from Deer Isle, etc. How could I not have known about this, and about Erin? She and her husband were outside, stoking fire pits and helping us find a seat. It was an experience to remember.
• Drove by the first house in Camden where poet Edna St. Vincent Millay lived as a girl. Did not want to be a stalker, and house number (100) was not visible. 
• Curtis Point Lighthouse, so lovely with its green beacon. Good view from the overlook.
• The winter star was lit atop Mount Battie. I saw it on my 6 p.m. drive back to Belfast.
• The lavender store, which I always love, and the Swans Island shop, with blankets and scarves, both in Camden. Beautiful. 
• The Christmas tree by the Belfast Post Office is shining bright. The tree lighting was yesterday.
• Walk over the Belfast bridge. Chilly but pretty.
• Cup of cinnamon-orange tea with my niece Leah today in her Dad's comfy High Street kitchen. Long talk. We've grown closer.