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Sunday, May 05, 2013

I Heart Maine!

We drove RIGHT PAST the State Capitol in Augusta!

And the sun was just going down at just the right angle, back lighting the dome, casting a nearly rosy glow over and around the entire edifice.

This was my first view….the back side.

As Callie drove slowly around the building, I snapped a bunch of photos hoping just ANY of them would turn out good enough to share.


Things I didn’t know before this trip…..

Maine used to be part of Massachusetts!  They broke away and became their own state in 1820, with Augusta becoming the official state capitol in 1832.

I bet you didn’t know that one of my hobbies is visiting state capitols?

I wish there was time to walk inside this one, but we were on our way to dinner, it was after hours AND it was the weekend….there was no way to get in, not this time around.


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Front of Capitol

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Heading around the corner, losing the dome to the nearly budding trees.

I just love history, and it was really neat to be here.

And it was neat to be HERE!  The May meeting of the Pine Tree Quilters, the State Guild of Maine!



And look who I found at the meeting....Or who found ME:

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My teacher-friend Sarah Ann Smith!

Sarah Ann lives here in Maine, and she and I taught together and were roomies at the Vermont Quilt Festival last year.  SO FUN to have her come for a visit!  

She is an amazing art quilter.  If you want a visual treat..visit her website HERE and prepare to be Wowed!  She has the kind of vision in her art that I will likely never have ---where I am intrigued and delighted by simple repeats of easy geometric shapes, her quilts speak volumes about nature and humanity and life as we know it.

Don’t you agree that Art Quilters and Traditional Quilters can learn so much from each other?  I think so anyway.

The meeting with the State Guild went wonderfully.  The twice a year general meetings move around to different locations, and the sudden warm temps made the high school auditorium we were using as our meeting place a little bit…..STEAMY!  

It’s Maine!  There isn’t a/c in schools in Maine – school is usually let out for the summer by the time the need for a/c would become necessary---so we all sweltered and sweated our way through the morning business meeting, through our lunch in the cafeteria ((Boy, doesn’t THAT take me back a few decades!!)) and finally my lecture in the afternoon.

Attendance was really good…..and afterwards it was back to the hotel for a rest and out to Hallowell’s historic district for dinner, and a walk around town.

Today is my BIG DAY.  40 students for Smith Mountain Morning ---it’s going to be a bit crazy, but if we are all patient with each other, and relax into having a good time….we will nail this day and finish off my Maine visit on a high note!

Tomorrow…..HOME AGAIN!!  The past few days have flown by, and I definitely can’t wait to return to Maine, it really is a beautiful place full of friendly Quilters!

7 comments:

  1. Love. to travel with you Bonnie. Have a great day!

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  2. I love to visit state capitols buildings, too. My most recent favorite is the one in New Mexico. They were so welcoming and have an art gallery on their main floor and had lots of fiber art.

    Madison, WI's building is a replica of the US Capitol and is beautiful inside. Hope you can come visit Wisconsin someday.

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  3. Yes Miss Bonnie, as part of the Missouri Compromise of 1820, Maine was created and entered the Union as a free state to counter the admittance of Missouri as a slave state.

    Just another in a long line of failed compromises that kept us out of a civil war for the during the first 70 years of our existence.

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  4. I love traveling with you Bonnie, via blog posts....I almost feel as though I had been there and the pictures here are just beautiful...I lived on the east coast for many --well, a few years, but never have been to Mass or Maine...I dont miss the crowds but I do miss the east coast....love historical areas the most! thanks for sharing!

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  5. Looks like a fun time, I bet those ladies will have a great day sewing with you!

    Safe travels and Happy Sewing :0)

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  6. You managed to grab so really nice pictures of the Capitol. I really liked your first view, the back side! I would never have guessed that it was the back side if you hadn't told us. I never knew that there were State Guilds. I'll have to look into whether there is one in Colorado. Thanks for taking us on your trip!

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  7. Ahhhh, the sweat lodge! So that's how you got over your ticklish throat, lol? You are such a trouper! sorry I couldn't make it for this one.

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