The Camden, Maine Goody Bag

It's nearly 11, and I should read, and sleep, and step away from this table--where I'm getting eaten alive by mosquitoes that slipped in when the front door was open [there's a tear in the screen door on the little porch].

Yet I want to report on Camden. It's just such a postcard-pretty coastal town--and a dream shopping destination. [Please see previous post for Main Street photo.]

But that's it for shopping! Had to get gifts for some people, but now the debit card must be stashed away.

My favorite Camden stops today:

• Our Lady of Good Hope Church. We missed the one [8:30 a.m.] Mass in Belfast so I drove Punchy to 11 o'clock Mass in Camden, a storybook village I love to visit on every Maine trip anyway. Over 100 years old, the church was built by a wealthy summering family from Cincinnati, whose Irish year-round help didn't want to come for the season unless they could go to Mass every Sunday. After a few summers of the help traveling out of town for Mass, the employer and other wealthy friends spearheaded the building of this country church. I like that Catholic Mass elements are constant from New Jersey to Maine--the Holy Water, the hymns. Punch and I also liked the Knights of Columbus member selling raffle tickets after Mass. The prize for four lucky winners? Live lobsters, delivered to their homes.
• Someone's Garden Around the Corner from the Church. Wow, the giant coral and orange poppies, the candy-colored lemon drops, the peach tree. All set against an old Maine house. Lovely. Thank you, unnamed gardener with artist's eye.
• Glendarragh Lavender store. A family-run store featuring products made from the lavender they grow by the bundle on their Appleton Farm. Enjoyed talking to Lorie, the woman of the house. For $5 a cup, bought lavender-flecked bath salts for Fig and Punchy. Gave Punch a bath tonight in the tiny cabin tub and she seemed to relax quickly.
• Stonewall Kitchen Store. On Main Street in Camden--we got a pretty, silvery seashell-shaped dish and a little lobster-printed bag for Punchy's mom, and other treasures. Including: A seashell chocolate bar [pictured above] made by Maine-based Byrne & Carlson. It seems to be about $3 cheaper on the candy site itself vs. Stonewall Kitchen, but the size and design may vary. I have to say the one I bought is gorgeous. Meanwhile, Punch went through so many pretzel stick samples with Horseradish Mustard in the store that I ended up buying a jar of the mustard and a sack of pretzel sticks at the little grocery store. Figgy can snack on this too, and they both like it a lot. The young one also loved the Wild Maine Blueberry Jam they were sampling on crackers, so I got that, too. 

I guess I'm grateful that two of the loves on this list are spiritual--church and a flower garden spilling over with beauty. And the lavender...that lifts the spirit, too.

Already melancholy that we return home Tuesday morning...one more day. I hate leaving this coastal and mountain beauty in the rearview mirror. Good night.

TCOY

1. Church--food for the soul. Prayed that I could get settled productively into my work at home and work peacefully and confidently.
2. Seeing family.
3. Blogging. It's good for my spirit.