Good Friends & Elizabeth Gilbert

Our book club, like many others, just read Eat, Pray, Love.
How lucky for us that the author, Elizabeth Gilbert, was at the Merrill Auditorium in Portland recently! I was thrilled when I found out that she was coming before I started reading the book and a little bit disenchanted about spending $30 for a ticket midway through the book. I found, at times, it to be somewhat wordy, redundant, and personally, somewhat difficult to relate to.

I finished the book at 3:26 the afternoon of the lecture. In the end I did grow to understand and appreciate Elizabeth. I was emotional several times during her journey and was rather pleased with the book afterall. Although, much to my dismay, I didn't LOVE it. I really wanted to LOVE it! I will have to settle for I liked it. What I did love, though, was Elizabeth herself! She was funny, quirky and inspiring!

Six of my girlfriends and I carpooled downtown to see her. We all enjoyed hearing her speak whether we loved the book, liked the book or didn't even finish the book! She was captivating, humorous and enjoyable. We left the Merrill Auditorium and gathered at a local restaurant and conversed about both the book and the lecture. We had a great, fun evening out, which none of us get much of a chance to do; sharing conversation, our thoughts, laughter and our points of view as we ate interesting food and drank a tasty beverage or two.
I am happy that I finally read Eat, Pray, Love. Happy that I got the chance to hear and see Elizabeth Gilbert in person. And so happy to have such fantastic, enjoyable friends to share it with!

I look forward to the prospect of other authors coming to Portland to share their stories in person with us as well!

Oh, an added bonus was that the proceeds from the event will go directly to support the work of The Telling Room, a non-profit dedicated to imbuing kids ages 8 to 18 with a love of storytelling through the introduction of positive role models. I love that!!!

Picnic like no other!

Well, I must tell you all about this event that I was part of this past weekend.
It was...in three words...fan tas tic! It was called Picnic Music & Art's Festival. Lincoln Park on Congress Street in downtown Portland was full of activity and excitement, the likes of which, I have never seen before!
Canopies were pitched and all sorts of interesting people set up shop!
You could find prints, artwork, incredible bags, jewelry, bird houses, antiques, clothing, pottery, baby bibs, bath and body products, fun plush stuffed animals, and even tarot card readings! What a talented, eclectic group!

It was well planned out and well organized. Their attention to detail was obvious!The posters were whimsical, fun and eye catching (and everywhere!) They even had the Picnic logo on their table umbrellas! The music was great and entertaining! They left large grassy spaces for people to lay a blanket and have a picnic! How neat is that?
Whether you were selling your goods or services, shopping, were in a band or listening to the music it was a great time to be had by all!

I would find it hard to believe that if you live in the greater Portland area that you didn't see a poster on a telephone pole, in an area shop, restaurant, business, or see an ad in the newspaper for this well publicized event!
If you, somehow, didn't know about it, or if you just couldn't make it, don't fret! Simply Go to www.picnicportland.wordpress.com and click on vendors. The list is there of all who participated and with one click you can be at many of these crafters web sites! Be sure to shop with these hard working, talented, local folks! You are likely to get fantastic, personal, customer service and a great deal of gratitude!

I use this word often but it fits so I will use it again, BRAVO to all of you who spent your valuable time to present Portland with such an exciting, cultural venue!
My vote is to have the Picnic Music & Art's Festival once a month from June-Sept.! Is that asking too much???
Oh, I must give a big THANKS & shout out to Mother Nature for providing us with a foggy at times, yet relatively warm, sunny and, most importantly, rain-free day!

The sales person in me must tell you that if you were at Picnic and didn't purchase something from me but wish you had you can reach me at www.jennifersmells.com! If you live nearby I would be happy to meet you with your order and save you the delivery cost! I also sell my products At Hair Artistry Salon and Day Spa in the Hannaford Plaza at 65 Gray Road in Falmouth!
Have a super day!

Jen!

Three Cheers!

My family and I just had an amazing, inexpensive evening out!
We packed up our cooler with tasty treats, some crudités, fried chicken, potato salad, and soft drinks. We gathered our binoculars, sweatshirts, books, playing cards and lawn chairs. We knew our wait would be lengthy so we were prepared!
If you live here in Maine you are likely to know where we were heading! Surely you have heard about the FREE concerts that L.L. Bean in Freeport provides for us in the summer months! The place fills up quickly with lawn chairs and blankets. Folks that live nearby stake out their space early in the day, or even the night before, to ensure that they will have a prime location for these events! (Note to self... must find a friend that lives in Freeport by next summer!) We got there nearly 3 hours before the concert was to begin and were hard pressed to find a spot but we did and we had a great view!

We went to see an amazing blues performer named Keb Mo. I was not familiar with him but my husband and daughter were. He was terrific! His band was fabulous! Certainly worth the wait!

After listening to several songs I noticed a person in the far corner of the stage signing for the hearing impaired. My heart sank, at first, to think of the people that could not hear the sounds of this soulful music but, on second thought, I was glad and so grateful that through this person signing for them they could actually feel and hear the music! Wow! Talk about a gift and a talent! I got out my binoculars to get a closer look at this intriguing person giving the hearing impaired something that we often take for granted to find that she was our friend and neighbor Meryl Troop! I knew that she signed but had never seen her in action! She was amazing! I actually couldn't decide who to watch! Keb Mo or Meryl! She was such a delight! Keb Mo even thanked her personally and told her that she was beautiful! I am sure that he was also thoroughly impressed, as were we, by how well she knew his music!

Three cheers and a great big THANK YOU to L.L. Bean for providing these free, clean, fun family events, to the band for their incredible music and to Meryl Troop for her fantastic voice and ability to "sing" with the likes of Keb Mo. Bravo!


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