~ All in a Word ~ 

                                          T 
                                for time to be together, 
                            turkey, talk, and tangy weather. 
                                          H 
                                for harvest stored away, 
                             home, and hearth, and holiday. 
                                          A 
                                for autumn's frosty art, 
                              and abundance in the heart. 
                                          N 
                             for neighbors, and November, 
                          nice things, new things to remember. 
                                          K 
                               for kitchen, kettles' croon, 
                              kith and kin expected soon. 
                                          S 
                             for sizzles, sights, and sounds, 
                          and something special that abounds. 

                         That spells THANKS -- for joy in living 
                             and a jolly good Thanksgiving

Welcome to the "Vacationland State" ~ the beautiful state of Maine ~ now absent of the flock of tourists
who enjoyed mountain climbing,
golfing, Acadia National Park,
Baxter State Park,
Mount Desert Island, fishing,
or just like seeing the sites.
We've had a very, very dry and
hot summer here
in Maine with temps
in the mid-90's ~ very strange
weather for us,
but it was good
for the tourist season.
Soon our state
will be alive
with the "leaf-peepers".

~Here are some fun and easy recipes you can make!!!~
             [BE SURE TO GET AN ADULT'S HELP IN THE KITCHEN!]



Monster Brew
Mix 8 cups of cranberry juice and
 6 cups of apple cider in a punch bowl.
Add ice cubes and serve. Makes 14 cups.

Pumpkin Pops
Freeze orange juice in ice cube containers
 with wooden ice cream sticks.

Ants on a Log
Rinse 1 or 2 celery stalks.
Have an adult cut the stalks
 into halves or thirds.
Fill the hollow of each celery piece
 with peanut butter then
 sprinkle raisins across
 the peanut butter *Yum*

Beetle Brunch
Use a pear half for the beetle's body.
Add orange or peach slices for wings
 and apple or carrot strips
 for antennae and legs.
Use raisins and apple
 or carrot strips to add details,
 like eyes, spots, or stripes.

Stuffed Snails
Have an adult boil and drain 1 cup of
 jumbo pasta shells.
Let the pasta shells cool completely.
Stuff the shells with small pieces
 of your favorite cheese and cold cuts.

Centipede Surprise
Place a pretzel stick into each end
 of a jumbo marshmallow
 (use the short, thin pretzel sticks.)
Keep adding marshmallows in
 either direction to make your
 centipede as long as you like.
Use pretzel stick halves for legs.