Bangor Metro - May 2019 Proof

you

healthier

Living Mindfully Taking yoga off the mat

Benefits of playing

in the mud

Angela Fileccia,

yoga instructor at Om Land Yoga

$5.95

May 2019

CONTENTS

MAY 2019

FEATURES 36 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MONEY How one Maine woman rebooted her relationship with money

40

JUST PEACHY

Visit an Albion farm growing an unusual crop in Maine

ALL ABOUT YOGA 46 MINDFULNESS & MEDITATION Tips for calming the chaos 52 YOGA & YOUR BRAIN Yoga can offer an outlet for healing 58 YOGA EVERYWHERE Taking yoga off the mat

64

46

MINDFULNESS & MEDITATION

40

JUST PEACHY

GET OUT

Head west to explore Quebec’s east

08

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Local news & sightings

14

OBSESSIONS

What we can’t get enough of this month

72

THE VIEW FROM HERE

Momming is hard

ON THE COVER Angela Fileccia leads a class at Om Land Yoga.

Photo by LINDA O’KRESIK

2 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

PHOTOS: (TOP) LINDA O’KRESIK; (BOTTOM) COURTESY OF GORDON KENYON

IN EVERY ISSUE

FOOD & DRINK

HEALTH & FITNESS

HOME & FAMILY

18 IN SEASON NOW: MICROGREENS

22

30

Seasoned Rice Noodle Salad topped with microgreens — yum!

20

A HEALTHY INDULGENCE

Love sushi? Try it at home with this simple sushi salad with quinoa.

HIKE ME

Aislinn Sarnacki shares three walks perfect for avian adventures.

28

MUD PIE SEASON

Why letting kids play in the dirt is actually good for them.

THE OCEAN EFFECT

Can ocean air really cure what ails you? We’ve got the scoop.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN SOAP

PHOTOS: (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) KATIE SMITH; AISLINN SARNACKI; ©KOZOROG/ADOBE STOCK; BDN FILE: ©CHAMILLEW/ ADOBE STOCK; ©SVIATOSLAV KOVTUN/ADOBE STOCK

PAGE 32

HOW TO

OUTSIDE

32

70

CRAFTING WITH KIDS

Lather up with homemade soap.

34

WOODS & WATERS

Head down east for the greatest show on Earth.

CREATE IT AT HOME

What to know to get started with water-bath canning at home. www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 3

EDITOR’S NOTE

Working your way toward a

HEALTHIER YOU AS IT TURNS OUT, I FEEL AS AWKWARD AS AN ADULT AS I DID AS A CHILD. In a social media conversation about making friends as adults, one person said it was simple: “Just ask!” The answer seemed like good advice.

Except, I wondered, what do you ask? (So I asked, because it was a mystery to me.)

That’s when I realized the awkwardness I felt as a third-grader, trying to make friends in a new school, is the same thing I experience today.

As a child, I had friends in my neighborhood, dance friends, church friends and later swim friends and drama friends. I didn’t always have — or, at least, feel like I had — friends in school. That was tough. But I had plenty of people elsewhere.

FRIENDSHIP IN ADULTHOOD IS A WHOLE DIFFERENT BALL GAME. In some ways, I thought adulthood would reflect what I saw in my favorite TV shows. My friends and I would meet at our favorite diner for comfort food and catching up (“Seinfeld”), drop into our go-to coffeeshop for lattes (“Friends”) and have cocktails at the hottest nightspots all the time (“Sex in the City”). There would be weekend brunching and dinner parties and trips to the theatre. It would be a constant flow of laughter and fun.

Life hasn’t exactly imitated art in this way. I mean, my friends and I have done all these things over the years, but it was never the constant flow I imagined. We’ve had jobs and other commitments. There were bills to pay. Plus, our lives changed. Many of us have kids. Some of my old friends have moved. I moved. That picture of adulthood I had was as fictional as the shows I loved.

But I’ve discovered the magic of friendship. The very best of friends are the ones who still touch base on a random afternoon to commiserate about the fact that our kids are about to start high school.

Maybe you don’t speak every day, but when you do it’s like no time has passed. And then there are the new friends — the ones who share your love of cooking or your adoration of showtunes. They are the ones you haven’t known as long but feel so compatible with.

I’m lucky to have some of those, too.

And as I sit here now, I think I know the answer to my question about what to ask would-be new friends: It’s anything. Ask them about their weekends. Ask them to grab a cup of coffee. Ask them to catch a movie or attend a book signing. Heck, just ask them about their adorable pet.

Opening that door starts with the simple act of saying hello.

This month’s issue is all about being a healthier you. We’re talking about yoga, mindfulness, financial health — and friendship. Because having friends is important, too.

SARAH WALKER CARON, EDITOR

Connect With Us Online bangormetro.com facebook.com/BangorMetro @BangorMetro bangormetro talkback@bangormetro.com 4 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

www.bangormetro.com P.O. Box 1329 Bangor, Maine 04402-1329 Phone: 207.990.8000

PUBLISHER

Richard J. Warren

EDITOR

Sarah Walker Caron scaron@bangordailynews.com

ART DIRECTOR

Amy Allen

aallen@bangordailynews.com

SUBSCRIPTION & PROMOTIONS MANAGER

Fred Stewart

fstewart@bangordailynews.com

COPY EDITOR

Kaylie Reese kreese@bangordailynews.com

STAFF WRITER

Julia Bayly jbayly@bangordailynews.com

STAFF WRITER

Abigail Curtis acurtis@bangordailynews.com

STAFF WRITER

Aislinn Sarnacki asarnacki@bangordailynews.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS Sarah Cottrell, Bob Duchesne, Natalie Feulner, Jodi Hersey, Rosemary Lausier, Emily Morrison, Linda O’Kresik, Katie Smith www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 5

6 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

MEET OUR CONTRIBUTORS

WHAT IS THE

Bangor Metro Magazine. May 2019, Vol. 15, No. 4.

Copyright © Bangor Publishing Company.

Bangor Metro is published 10 times annually by Bangor Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

This magazine may not be reproduced in whole or part in any form without the written permission of the Publisher.

Bangor Metro is mailed at standard rates from Portland, Maine.

Opinions expressed in either the editorial or advertisements do not represent the opinions of the staff or publisher of Bangor Metro magazine. Advertisers and event sponsors or their agents are responsible for copyrights and accuracy of all material they submit.

Bangor Metro magazine to the best of its ability ensures the acuracy of information printed in the publication.

Inquiries and suggestions are welcome and encouraged. Letters to the editor, story suggestions, and other reader input will be subject to Bangor Metro’s unrestricted right to edit and publish in the magazine both in print and online.

Editorial: Queries should be sent to Sarah Walker Caron at scaron@bangordailynews.com.

Advertising: For advertising questions, please call the Sales Director Todd Johnston at 207-990-8129.

Subscriptions/Address Change: The one year subscription cost is $15.95. Address changes: to ensure delivery, subscribers must notify the magazine of address changes one month in advance of the cover date. Please contact Fred Stewart at 207-990-8075.

Accounts Payable/Receivable: For information about your account please contact Todd Johnston at 207-990-8129.

COVER PHOTO: Linda O’Kresik

SOUNDTRACK TO YOUR MAY IN MAINE?

“

One of my favorite things to do when May comes around and the weather warms up is driving with my windows down. I love the breeze, but I mostly love blasting my music at high volumes and singing for all to hear. I love playing ’80s pop and rock music. It has a good beat, I can sing along and it’s a great warm up to my summer soundtrack of Kenny Loggins and Steely Dan.” — ROSEMARY LAUSIER, STAFF WRITER

“My favorite is to play big band as loud as I can and dance through the house to get spring cleaning underway. My kids love it.”

— SARAH COTTRELL, CONTRIBUTOR “I’m a sucker for a bubbly-but-bitter pop-punk group — bonus points if they have fun Kiwi accents and a cool chick as their lead singer — so I’m completely obsessed with The Beths’ album “Future Me Hates Me.” The New Zealand indie band’s fizzy hooks and harmonies are perfect for sing-screaming with the windows down as the weather starts warming up, but their self-deprecating and searching lyrics still speak to me as a wayward 20-something.”

— SAM SCHIPANI, STAFF WRITER “I like to hit “shuffle all” on my iPod and pound the snow-free pavement while rocking out to Pink, Sara Bareilles, and T. Swizzle (Taylor Swift).”

— EMILY MORRISON “Anything from Brendan James but especially his song “Simplify,” a reminder to stop for a minute and breathe in the coming sunny days and late summer nights.”

— NATALIE FEULNER

“When the weather warms enough that we can air out the house and start ridding the house of the stuffiness of winter, I love to put on some classic tunes. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is a favorite, and their greatest hits album can often be found playing on repeat on my record player as I sweep, cook and plan for planting.”

— SARAH WALKER CARON, EDITOR www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 7

WHAT’S HAPPENING

MAY The Downtown Bangor First Friday Artwalk returns for its 2019 season on May 3. Organized by the Downtown Bangor Arts Collaborative, the Artwalk is a celebration of artists and artwork held throughout downtown on the first Friday of each month from May through October. Join local and regional artists and artisans for an evening celebrating creativity throughout downtown Bangor 5-8 pm, on May 3. Free.

8 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

MAY 4 KID CENTRAL FESTIVAL Downtown Bangor becomes a hub of kid activity on the first Saturday in May every year. Kid Central Festival, presented by BangPop! returns to Downtown Bangor on Saturday, May 4 for its ninth annual event. Families will enjoy a wealth of fun and free activities both indoors and outside. There are activities for everyone ages 12 and under. Kid Central Festival begins at 10 am and continues until 3 pm.

This year’s event will include a special Storytime with Maine Author/Illustrator Chris Van Dusen beginning at 10:30am.

Schedule and information will soon be available at www.KidCentralFest.com.

And did we mention that it’s FREE?

MAY 4-5 ALICE First performed in 2012, Robinson Ballet Artistic Director Stevie McGary’s adaptation is based on Lewis Carroll’s iconic characters and includes stories of both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. This fun and energetic contemporary ballet is entertaining for all ages and runs just under an hour. A wonderful kids show, Robinson Ballet will stage the production at Brewer Community School on Saturday, May 4 at 6pm and Sunday, May 5 at 3pm. It will also be staged on Saturday, May 11 at 3pm at the Crosby Center in Belfast.

PHOTO: BDN FILE

MAY 3 DOWNTOWN BANGOR FIRST FRIDAY ARTWALK

MAY 4 Kid Central Festival, Bangor

10 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

WHAT’S HAPPENING MAY 5 BANGOR’S BEST BLOODY MARY CONTEST Join the Hemophilia Alliance of Maine for Bangor’s Best Bloody Mary Contest on Sunday, May 5 from 10 am-1pm at the Hilton Garden Inn in Bangor, 250 Haskell Rd. Try vendor samples of Bloody Mary’s as participants vie for the title of best Bloody Mary in Bangor! Admission for attendees 21 and over is $10 online and $15 at the door and includes 5 tokens for tastes and one voting token. The winner of the populous vote will receive a $100 cash prize. The winner of the judges overall best bloody mary will receive a trophy and $250.

Proceeds benefit the Hemophilia Alliance.

MAY 17-18 ALL ROADS MUSIC FESTIVAL The All Roads Music Festival returns to Belfast on May 17-18. All Roads is a celebration of local and indie music talent that brings some of Maine’s finest emerging musicians under one banner in a city known for its passionate support of the arts and locally grown creative talent. Performances,

panels, artist development sessions and special events will be held in multiple venues throughout downtown district. It will feature 30+ bands and over 150 Maine musicians from across the state. General admission tickets start at $20. VIP tickets are also available.

MAY 18 THE BIG DIG The Big Dig is the day Adopt-A-Garden adopters, volunteers, passers-by, friends and neighbors are invited downtown to help make Bangor bloom by helping to plant over 140 different gardens. Whether you have adopted a garden or just want to lend a hand for the day, you are welcome.

All ages. All skill levels. Volunteers will be based out of Norumbega Parkway between Franklin and Central Street.

This begins at 9:30am.

MAY 25-26 ANNUAL SPRING ARTS & CRAFT FAIR Maine Made Crafts will host its Annual Spring Arts & Craft Fair from 10 a.m. to

STILL STUMPED?



 





4 p.m. on May 25-26 at the Augusta Armory, 179 Western Ave, I-95 exit 109.

Admission is $2 for adults and children under 12 are free. Buy your gifts from our talented artisans selling their hand made products including wood items, quilt work, knits and crochet, jams and jellies, dolls, jewelry and more for prices you can afford. For more information call Steven or Lois at 207-946-7079, STpromo37@aol. com or LTpromo@aol.com.

MAY 30 WINGFEST MAINE Wingfest Maine returns for the third year.

Who’s going home with that amazing chicken wing trophy for Best Wing? Will anyone unseat Husson University, our two-time winner? The event will be held on Thursday, May 30 at 5pm at the Cross Insurance Center. More than 20 restaurants will bring their wing wares for you to sample and vote on whose is the best!

Tickets are $25 each. Kids 6 and under are free. Doors open at 5pm, People’s Choice voting ends at 7pm. Tickets are available at the Cross Center Box Office. You can charge by phone by calling 800-745-3000.

Here are the answers to last month’s Pop Quiz.

 Visit our Bangor Metro Facebook page to play online!

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 11

WHAT’S HAPPENING

HERE’S A LOOK AT JUST A FEW SPECIAL EVENTS FROM THE PAST MONTH...

1

2

1: Eastern Maine Medical Center Auxiliary hosted its 13th annual Winter Beach Ball last month, featuring disco music from Motor Booty Affair.

2-3: Literacy Volunteers of Bangor celebrated its 50th anniversary at its 7th Annual Literacy Tea recently. The family-friendly event welcomed more than 300 guests at John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor.

Volunteers decorated tables to created a “living library” where guests toured tables decorated to represent different children’s books. Maine author is Liza Gardner Walsh read her book “Do Fairies Bring the Spring?” to the crowd of party-goers.

SHARE YOUR EVENT PHOTOS! 12 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

Email your photos and captions to

talkback@bangormetro.com

PHOTOS: (2, 4) JEFF KIRLIN / THE THING OF THE MOMENT

3

HAPPY MAY!

4

The sun is shining and it’s time to celebrate all things May! Play Pop Quiz online for your chance to win a FREE one-year subscription to Bangor Metro!

4-5: Mad Science of Maine presented a Fire and Ice show during the Maine Science Festival. Children got to explore the 3 states of matter and learn about the amazing properties of fire and combustion.

6: Artist Robert Shetterly interviewed activists Bree Newsome and Maulian Dana at the Bay School in Blue Hill recently for his project “Americans Who Tell the Truth.”

5

6

FIND ANSWERS TO LAST MONTH’S POP QUIZ ON PAGE 11!

Visit our Bangor Metro Facebook page to play online! www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 13

ARTS & CULTURE

OBSESSIONS

OBSESSIONS WHAT WE CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THIS MONTH.

OUTDOOR LIVING SURRY GARDENS, SURRY WHY DO WE LOVE IT? Since we moved into our new house last fall, my husband and I have been preoccupied with fixing up the place. This spring, the focus has turned to the overgrown backyard, which we’ve been busy transforming into our little “outdoor living room,” including reviving a long-dormant raised bed. What are we filling it with? Flowers, plants and other gorgeous flora from Surry Gardens, which, for my money, is the prettiest nursery and garden shop in eastern Maine. It’s been a beacon for Maine gardeners for more than 40 years, offering up the best selection of perennials, trees and shrubs in the state. It’s also a lovely place to just walk around in when the weather’s still not quite spring-like. It’s lovely to look at — and lovely to smell. A dose of floral medicine.

— EMILY BURNHAM

THE THERANOS SCAM

DIONIS GOAT MILK HAND CREAM

WHY DO WE LOVE IT? I can’t get enough of Elizabeth Holmes and the Theranos scam. To catch those of you up who haven’t been following the drama of this multimillion-dollar medical fraud, Elizabeth Holmes dropped out of Stanford at age 19 to start Theranos, a company that purported to be able to run hundreds of blood tests with a single drop of blood. Holmes received millions of dollars in investments from big-name donors and even had medical centers set up in Walgreens across the country — but it was all fake.

The technology she claimed to have invented didn’t exist, the blood tests that were conducted were completely inaccurate and she even put on a fake baritone voice to seem more enticing to investors (seriously). If you’re intrigued (and how could you not be), I highly recommend listening to the podcast “The Dropout” and watching the HBO documentary “The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley.”

WHY DO WE LOVE IT? During the winter and spring months my hands get insufferably dry. It’s hard to find a hand lotion that will not make my hands feel greasy or require multiple applications per day. One of my favorite hand creams is from Dionis Goat Milk Skincare. Founded in 1982 in Virginia, Dionis is a family owned company now based in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

It is packed with multiple vitamins and triglycerides, which help prevent moisture loss (and the pesky reapplying). It also comes in wonderful scents, including lavender and water flowers and sea salt. Dionis also sells bath, body, foot and lip products. A 2-ounce bottle can be found for $6.99 at Ulta Beauty.

— SAM SCHIPANI

— ROSEMARY LAUSIER

14 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

PHOTO: ©JADOO, ©JCHIZHE, ©RONSTIK, ©ALEXNGM/ADOBE STOCK

BEAUTY

NEWS

READ So many books cross my desk at Bangor Metro, and I purchase even more. Every month, I select a few that catch my attention.

“THE MISSING SEASON” BY GILLIAN FRENCH — Maine writer Gillian French has solidified her presence as a young adult suspense author over the last two years. Her latest book, “The Missing Season,” is a complex story filled with twists, turns and nuance. Clara is the new girl in town, but she makes fast friends with a group of teens who tell her about the Mumbler, the mythical creature that stalks teens every October, stealing one and killing them. She doesn’t believe it, but when a girl goes missing she begins to wonder if the legend is more than a tale kids tell. What I especially loved about this book was that it wove together stories of relationships, hardship and being the new kid with an undercurrent of suspense and wonder. A fun read. (YOUNG ADULT) “SAVE ME THE PLUMS” BY RUTH REICHL — Ruth Reichl was a restaurant reviewer when she was tapped to lead the venerable Gourmet Magazine. “Save Me the Plums” is a look back at that time in her career — from acceptance to when the magazine suddenly folded a decade later. For those of us who loved the beautiful stories of meals around the world and breathtaking photography, this is an ode to a magazine gone too soon. (MEMOIR ) “THE LOST GIRLS OF PARIS” BY PAM JENOFF — This book is the proverbial slow-burn. It draws you in with vivid and intense character building for a story told with alternating viewpoints and across decades. As it unfolds, you find yourself wanting to know more and more about the women spies of World War II and what happened to them.

Engaging, beautiful and heartbreaking, this is a novel to curl up with. (HISTORICAL FICTION) — SARAH WALKER CARON

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 15

FOOD & DRINK

OBSESSIONS

OBSESSIONS WHAT WE CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THIS MONTH.

EAT

WHY DO WE LOVE IT? As much as I adore the subs from Jersey’s Subs & Sweets in Downtown Bangor, sometimes I want something a little lighter. And that’s why the salad version of their subs has quick become a favorite for me. All the fixings of the subs are mixed up in a salad form — perfect for spring eating. I like mine (#4: The Boss featuring Ham, Capicola & Salami) with the same oil and vinegar dressing they use on the subs. Delightful. And it’s an added bonus that it’s among the fastest grab-and-go lunches in Downtown Bangor.

WHY DO WE LOVE IT? From health benefits to the cheesy flavor it adds to all my favorite recipes, nutritional yeast is a favorite among vegans, and I am no different. A deactivated yeast packed with vitamin B12 and other nutrients, it adds an earthy, nutty and, yes, even cheesy flavor to your meal. You can find it at local health food stores such as Natural Living Center or Tiller and Rye. Whether you’re an herbivore or an omnivore, it’s worth tossing in salads, soups or any other savory dishes. Don’t let the less-than-exciting name fool you. Start adding this into your life, and you will soon find yourself obsessed as well.

— SARAH WALKER CARON

— NATALIE WILLIAMS

ORDER

PHOTO: TKTK

SALADS FROM JERSEY’S SUBS & SWEETS 25 HAMMOND STREET, BANGOR

PHOTOS: ©VICUSCHKA, ©PAUL PELLEGRINO, ©BRAT82, ©AKVALS/ADOBE STOCK

NUTRITIONAL YEAST

16 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

LOCAL EATS

WATCH “SALT FAT ACID HEAT” ON NETFLIX WHY DO WE LOVE IT? As far as cooking shows go, this should be the gold standard. In four episodes, chef and food writer Samin Nosrat explores what she’s identified as the four most important elements of good food: Salt, Fat, Acid and Heat. Told through travels, tours, interviews and hands-on demonstration, this show is beautiful and inspiring. And Nosrat herself is a bubbly, fun character who feels like someone you’d want as a friend. I can’t recommend this show enough.

Also, the cookbook, with the same name, is totally worth investing in and reading. When my cookbook club explored it last month, we all were wowed by what we learned (and how good our potluck was).

Your ad could be on this page.

Advertise in Bangor Metro’s Food & Drink section.

Call 990-8000.

— SARAH WALKER CARON

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 17

in season now

FOOD & DRINK

MICROGREENS

STORY & PHOTOS BY SARAH WALKER CARON

I AM A SUCKER FOR trying new vegetables. In the springtime, the farmers market always seems to be teeming with them. In fact, that’s how I came to first try pea shoots years ago. These days, I use them in salads, stir-fries, quesadillas and more.

A member of the microgreen family, pea shoots are a great introduction to the joys of barely grown greens. Read on to learn more about microgreens and how to use them.

What are they? Microgreens are the edible early sprouts of plants. Readily available at farmers markets and stores like Tiller and Rye in Brewer and the Natural Living Center in Bangor, you can find them from local sources at this time of year when growing is just beginning.

How do you eat them? Microgreens typically are used as garnishes for dishes. I like to pile them on bowls of risotto, serve them on rice bowls, mix them into salads and enjoy them on crostini. With delicate flavors, they add a certain something that’s just so nice. Pea shoots are grown a little bit longer and can hold up to stir-frying as well.

Where to find them: Farmers markets, grocers, naturual food stores.

SEASONED RICE NOODLE SALAD serves 4

This salad is light and refreshing and a favorite in our household.

I love to serve it cold with warm chicken (grilled is best).

INGREDIENTS 8 ounces rice noodles 1 cup julienne-cut sweet red bell peppers ½ cup chopped pea shoots (a heaping half-cup!)

2 scallions, thinly sliced 2 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger ½ teaspoon garlic powder

INSTRUCTIONS Cook the rice noodles according to package directions.

Once cooked, rinse immediately with cold water and let fully drain.

In a large bowl, combine the rice noodles, bell peppers, pea shoots and scallions. Toss to combine.

In a small bowl, whisk together the seasoned rice vinegar, soy sauce, dark sesame oil, ginger and garlic powder. Pour the dressing over the rice noodle mixture. Toss to coat evenly.

Enjoy immediately or chill until ready to serve.

SARAH WALKER CARON is the editor of Bangor Metro magazine. Her newest cookbook, “One-Pot Pastas” was released by Rockridge Press on Jan. 15. She’s also the author of “The Super Easy 5-Ingredient Cookbook” and the popular food blog, Sarah’s Cucina Bella (www.sarahscucinabella.com).

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 19

FOOD & DRINK

A HEALTHY

Indulgence TRY THIS SIMPLE SUSHI SALAD WITH QUINOA

BY KATIE SMITH

MY KIDS AND I LOVE SUSHI and could eat it a few times a week. It’s healthy and satisfies that craving we all get for something salty. While there are a few amazing places near us, sushi can be an expensive dinner option when you are feeding your entire family.

There are nights when we make it at home, but by

the time we are done with all the prep: cutting the veggies, making the rice, rolling and slicing the rolls, we are exhausted.

One evening I was making rolls for a dinner party and I only wanted to take the pieces of sushi that looked really appetizing so, I threw the crumbly ones in a Tupperware container, splashed some soy sauce over the top and had myself a snack.

As I was digging in with my fork, it made me realize the broken sushi

pieces tasted just as good as when the seaweed, rice and fish were intact.

Not only that, a sushi salad would be much easier to throw together. And if it didn’t compromise the flavor, why not make it this way instead?

I took it a step further and made a healthier version using quinoa for my first try, after discovering I’d left the grocery store without the sushi rice. My kids didn’t even notice the difference, and had it eaten up very quickly.

If you are a sushi lover but don’t want to roll it yourself, you’ll love this easy version.

QUINOA SUSHI SALAD Serves 8

INGREDIENTS 1 box quinoa, cooked (I use chicken broth instead of water — it adds so much flavor) 1 bag of shredded carrots 1 bag frozen, shelled edamame 3 English cucumbers, chopped (I don't bother to peel them) 2 bell peppers, sliced ½ cup sesame seeds, toasted 4 sheets of nori torn into pieces ½ pound crab meat, imitation crab, tuna or other fish of your choice 1 avocado (I usually save this and add it right before serving) Throw all ingredients together in a bowl and toss, saving half of the sesame seeds for the dressing.

DRESSING: ½ cup soy sauce ¼ cup rice vinegar 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 1 teaspoon fresh ginger 2 teaspoon wasabi powder ½ lime Remaining toasted sesame seeds Whisk all ingredients together and pour half over salad. I like to save the rest and serve on the side so people can add more to their salad if they want.

This usually feeds my family of four for at least two meals.

We love to have it alone, but it’s great when served with chicken wings, pot stickers, egg rolls or all three.

The salad keeps for about two days in an airtight container in the fridge.

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 21

HEALTH & FITNESS

HIKE ME

AVIAN Adventures WALKS FOR BEGINNER BIRDERS STORY & PHOTOS BY AISLINN SARNACKI

A MALLARD DUCK waddled across the sunlit path, followed by a line of fuzzy ducklings.

One by one, they disappeared into the tall grass at the edge of the marsh, where red-winged blackbirds perched on the tips of cattails and phoebes swept through the air, snatching up dragonflies. Spring had arrived at the wetland and with it a host of birds.

Walking along the gravel trail, camera in hand, an amateur birder searched shallow pools and the limbs of waterlogged trees for her next subject to photograph. A flutter of wings, a piercing call, a rustle in the bushes — these things caused her to pause and look closer in hopes of observing another species.

Some birds stood out, like the great blue heron, tall and regal as it waded slowly through the water on stilt-like legs, hunting for fish and frogs. Other birds blended into the landscape, like the woodcock shuffling through the reeds, its mottled brown plumage causing it to all but disappear.

New to birding, the photographer was excited about all species, from the bright yellow warbler flitting about the trees to the elusive sora hiding in the grass. Many birds she couldn’t identify, but using her guidebook and the photos she captured that day, she was determined to learn their names, one at a time. She’d caught the birding bug, and the wetland — which attracts a wide variety of birds for nesting and hunting — was a perfect place to learn.

ESSEX WOODS

IN BANGOR

(Left) A gravel path runs around the marsh in Essex Woods.

(Top to bottom) A shorebird in the marsh; a great egret; a Wilson’s snipe wades in the shallow water, likely stopping to rest during its migration south for the winter.

EASY In the midst of the bustling city of Bangor, Essex Woods is a 70-acre city-owned property featuring a marsh that attracts a wide variety of birds, spring through fall. Bordering that wetland area is a wide gravel trail that makes wildlife watching easy. Once a local dump site, this property is now one of the most popular birding spots in the area.

Some of the birds that commonly live in the marsh include red-winged blackbirds, grackles, snowy egrets and a wide variety of ducks, including mallards, wood ducks, blue-winged teals and hooded mergansers. Canadian geese, soras, cowbirds, redbelted kingfishers, cedar waxwings and bobolinks

are also spotted there. Eagles and a variety of hawks will also visit the marsh to hunt.

Dogs are permitted. For more information, visit bangorparksandrec.com.

DIRECTIONS: To reach the main entrance, start at the intersection of Stillwater Avenue and Essex Street in Bangor. Drive 0.7 mile on Essex Street and turn right onto Watchmaker Street. Drive to the end of Watchmaker Street to a large parking area for Essex Woods, where there’s a dog park.

The trail network also has trailheads at the ends of Molly Lane and Garden Way. www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 23

HEALTH & FITNESS

HIKE ME

(Top) A song sparrow hops about in the grass at Fields Pond Audubon Center.

(Bottom) A pine siskin perches in a tree.

(Right) A trail perfect for bird spotting at Fields Pond Audubon Center in Holden.

FIELDS POND AUDUBON CENTER IN HOLDEN

EASY TO MODERATE Fields Pond Audubon Center is one of eight wildlife sanctuaries owned and maintained by the Maine Audubon, a nonprofit organization that connects people to nature. The 192-acre property features a trail network that explores fields, forests and visits the edge of Fields Pond. Bird nesting boxes and bird feeders are scattered throughout the property, attracting some species for easy viewing.

In the spring and early summer, tree swallows raise their young in the nesting boxes that dot the fields, and a variety of ground-nesting birds lay their eggs in the tall grass. Be sure to stay on the mowed path so you don’t disturb them. Some of the birds commonly spotted at the bird feeders include house finches, chickadees, goldfinches, blue jays and nuthatches. And in the property’s mixed upland forest, barred owls are frequently sighted and more often heard.

Dogs are not permitted. For more information, visit www.maineaudubon.org or call 207-989-2591.

DIRECTIONS: From Route 1A in Holden, turn onto Copeland Hill Road. If driving east towards Ellsworth, the turn will be on your right near the Myerowitz Chiropractic & Acupuncture Clinic, which has a yinyang on its sign. Drive until you reach a stop sign. Turn right on Wiswell Road. You’ll pass Copeland Hill Cemetery. In a little less than a mile, turn left onto Fields Pond Road. Drive about 1 mile. Fields Pond Audubon Center will be on your left. Pick up a map of the trails in the center or from the wooden cubby on the right side of the nature trails kiosk.

24 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 25

HEALTH & FITNESS

HIKE ME

ORONO BOG CONSERVATION AREA IN ORONO EASY TO MODERATE The Orono Bog Conservation Area in Orono encompasses several parcels of land that have been conserved by the Orono Land Trust and Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in Orono. Altogether, these purchased lands and conservation easements cover 1,000 acres and feature ponds, wetland areas and forested hills. The land also features a trail network that explores these natural features.

You don’t have to walk far from the parking area for a good birding spot. At Boulder Pond, wading birds such as great blue herons and American bitterns are common. A variety of ducks and geese may also be found at the pond, as well as flycatchers, such as the eastern phoebe.

From Boulder Pond, the wide, easy Railroad Bed Trail leads to Black Pond and Beaver Pond, as well as a side trail that leads to Pine Ponds. All of these bodies of water attract a wide variety of water birds and songbirds. And at the far end of the Railroad Bed Trail (about 1 mile from the parking area) is Heron Loop Trail, which circles around a great blue heron rookery and beaver flowage.

This route is closed off in the summer so the herons aren’t disturbed while raising their young.

Dogs are permitted. For more information, visit oronolandtrust.org.

AISLINN SARNACKI is a staff writer for Bangor Metro and the Outdoors and Homestead sections of the Bangor Daily News. An expert on the Maine outdoors, she is author of the just-released guidebook, “Maine Hikes Off the Beaten Path,” and also “Family Friendly Hikes in Maine.”

Follow her adventures on her blog, actoutwithaislinn.bangordailynews.com.

26 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

(Top) A Canada goose and her goslings swim in a pond in the Caribou Bog Conservation Area in Orono.

(Below) A yellow-bellied sapsucker clings to a tree trunk.

DIRECTIONS: Take I-95 Exit 191 for Kelley Road in Orono. Drive northwest on Kelley Road 0.5 miles then turn right onto Stillwater Avenue. Drive 1.1 miles, then turn left onto Forest Avenue. Drive 1.4 miles, then turn right onto Taylor Road (also known as Dump Road). Drive 0.25 miles, then turn left onto Putnam Road, which leads to the parking area.

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 27

PHOTOS: (BACKGROUND) ©BILETSKIY EVGENIY/ADOBE STOCK; (OLD PHOTOS) MARY EVANS PICTURE LIBRARY 2017/ADOBE STOCK

HEALTH & FITNESS

The Ocean

EFFECT

28 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

DOES OCEAN AIR REALLY HEAL WHAT AILS YOU? VICTORIAN ARISTOCRATS THOUGHT SO, HERE’S THE SCOOP

BY SARAH COTTRELL

IF YOU’VE EVER spent a summer day by the sea’s edge, with salt water splashing over your toes, the sun tingling on your skin and the salty fresh air filling your lungs with its magical effects, then you’ve probably witnessed the healing powers of the cold Atlantic waters. But is that salty fresh air actually healing?

The Victorians thought so, and now science is backing up some of those old-timey beliefs.

During the 18th century, British elites would seek out the healing power of the sea, believing that breathing in the salty air, drinking salt water, and steeping for hours in the cold salt water would cure a number of medical problems that ranged from digestive problems to stupidity (yes, really, by visiting “bathing hospitals” for months at a time). But for many people, the sea was not a romantic or even pleasant place to be. It was an expensive medical treatment intended to heal the wealthy from everyday health problems.

As we moved into the 19th century, people began to realize that all those tales about sea creatures and grumpy and vengeful seas were mostly untrue, and people began to think of the ocean as not only a place to heal their minor ailments but also as a place to play and relax, which ushered in the new era of seaside resorts.

Although the Victorians are long gone, their wisdom that the ocean has healing powers may actually prove to be true. Lora Fleming, an epidemiologist at the University of Exeter in England, has been studying the healing powers of the sea. She is finding that, indeed, people really do relax and are more susceptible to healing when they experience the ocean firsthand.

Fleming and her colleagues found that people who live near the ocean report feeling healthier than their inland neighbors. And while it may be tempting to believe that this is probably because seaside living is costlier and, therefore, people with more money and access to better health care are skewing those study numbers, Fleming reports that her team is finding that economically disadvantaged people are reporting they feel healthier near the ocean, as well.

New studies are being designed to see whether the placebo effect of simply looking at images of the ocean can affect people in stressful situations such as visiting a dentist for that root canal. The results are not in yet, but Fleming and her team are seeing signs that even just focusing on the thought of being near the ocean may be enough to relax people.

So the next time you’re stressed out or feeling a bit down, try taking a day trip to the ocean to breathe in that salty air. And if you can’t get to the sea, then you may still reap some health benefits by simply meditating on a relaxing image of ocean waves lapping up on a shore line.

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 29

HOME & FAMILY

30 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

MUD PIE

SEASON WHY LETTING YOUNG CHILDREN PLAY IN DIRT IS ACTUALLY HEALTHY FOR THEM

PHOTO: ©KOZOROG/ADOBE STOCK

BY SARAH COTTRELL

SPRING HAS SPRUNG and summer is inching closer, which means it is peak mud pie-making season. If you’re a parent like me, then the idea of your kids being covered head to toe in dirty, icky mud is probably enough to send you to the edge of sanity. Who wants to clean up that kind of mess?

But it turns out that letting kids get slathered in mud and dirt outside is actually beneficial to their immune systems — not to mention their sense of fun and creativity.

Jack Gilbert, a research scientist from the University of Chicago and co-author of “Dirt is Good: The Advantage of Germs for Your Child’s Developing Immune System,” recently told NPR that what parents have always been told about kids and dirt is just plain wrong. Take the famous five-second rule, for example. Gilbert told NPR, “The five-second rule doesn’t exist. It takes milliseconds for microbes to attach themselves to a sticky piece of jammy toast, for example. But it makes no difference. Unless you dropped it in an area where you think they could be a high risk of extremely dangerous pathogens, which in every modern American home is virtually impossible, then there’s no risk to your child.”

Gilbert has found that when kids are exposed to germs through dirt — from the garden to the kitchen floor — their immune systems kick into gear and become more robust, which is beneficial to a growing body. Further, Gilbert says that when kids get exposed to different kinds of germs it may actually prevent or decrease the risk of developing some allergies and even asthma, a respiratory condition that affects 6 million American kids under the age of 18.

Beyond the science of how dirt and germs benefit a child’s immune system, we’ve long known that kids who play outside often are more relaxed, better focused in school and at home, and have lower levels of stress and anxiety. It could be the physical exercise, fresh air, and even all those germs working in tandem to protect a child from getting sick.

So, this mud pie-making season, make sure to let your kid get as dirty as possible. Not only will your kid have a blast and probably consider you the best parent in the world, but you get the assurance that your child will come out of their creative play with a tougher immune system.

That’s a win-win.

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 31

HOW-TO

CRAFTING WITH KIDS

LATHER UP GETTING CLEAN WITH HOMEMADE SOAP

BY AMY ALLEN

32 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

WHAT YOU’LL NEED: • Soap base — there are lots of options out there, like goat’s milk or honey soap. We kept it simple with a clear and solid gylcerine soap. They break apart easily and melt quick in the microwave.

• Food coloring • Molds (candy or soap molds) • Extras: dried flowers, lavender, fruit slices, sugar, essential oils, etc. Sky’s the limit!

PHOTOS: ©SHMEL, ©ANNA KHOMULO/ADOBE STOCK

LITTLE BOYS AREN’T generally known for their cleanliness. While playing in the dirt is fun and even good for you (see page 32), we have discovered a way to have just as much fun getting clean. My son first tried his hand at soap making thanks to a Kiwi Crate project, and now he can’t get enough. It’s a fun, relatively easy project that you can make as elaborate or simple as you want or time allows. And in the end you have useful product to enjoy over and over during bath time.

If you’re short on time or crafting patience, a simple solid colored block of soap will take only minutes to make, plus about 20 minutes of cooling time. If you want to get a little crazy, try layering (just be sure to let each layer cool first), adding flower petals or slices of fruit like lemons or oranges, embedding different shapes, marbling colors, adding essential oils and more. You can even mix in sugar for a sugar scrub soap.

We found inexpensive molds at a local craft shop — some were meant for soap, some were meant for candy. They all worked fine. Silicon molds work particularly well and will release the shape very easily. There’s tons of inspiration available online — get creative and have fun!

DIRECTIONS & TIPS FOR CREATING SOAP WITH EMBEDDED SHAPES 1. Start by making the shape you want to embed in the soap. We found lots of cute molds at local craft stores — molds made for candy work just as well as those made for soap. Silicon molds are particularly easy to use, but the hard plastic ones tend to be less expensive.

2. Melt a block or 2 of your solid soap base according to the package directions — typically about 30 seconds in the microwave in a heat-proof container. A glass measuring cup with a spout works well. Add a few drops of food coloring (and essential oils or anything else you’d like to include) to the melted soap and stir. If there are still unmelted bits of soap, microwave for another 15-30 seconds.

Stir to help release any air bubbles.

3. Slowly pour the colored soap into the shape(s) you plan to embed in the final soap. Let cool. We found carefully setting the mold in the refrigerator for about 15-20 minutes cooled the soap pretty quickly. Once your shape is cool, remove it from the mold.

4. Set the cooled shape in the bottom of the soap mold. Melt 2-3 blocks of clear soap base, stir, then pour slowly into the soap mold, starting in a corner to avoid melting the shape inside. You can embed additional shapes in the soap at this point, or wait for it to cool and then add a thin layer of solid color as the background.

PHOTOS: AMY ALLEN; (MIDDLE) ©SINHYU/ADOBE STOCK

5. Let your final soap cool completely before removing from the mold. Get creative and try different patterns, marbling colors, or adding funky layers. There are tons of ideas online to spark fun ideas!

with KIDS

HOW-TO

CREATE IT AT HOME

GET STARTED WITH

CANNING WHAT TO KNOW TO TRY WATER-BATH CANNING

HOME CANNING is a great way to preserve the season’s freshest produce for enjoying all year. And though it may seem daunting, with a little knowledge and the right supplies you can learn to become a successful canner.

But, experts caution, it’s important to understand that canning is a science so recipes from reputable sources need to be followed exactly.

“Canning is not one of those things that you can just wing it and you will be ok. A lot could go wrong,” said Lisa Fishman, a regional supervisor and nutrition education professional with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

Still, Fishman wants to see more people embrace the practice. “I want to see a lot of people canning their own [food] and saving money … but I want people to do it the right way,” Fishman said.

Author Marisa McClellan, who teaches water-bath canning and has written several cookbooks about canning including the recently released Food in Jars Kitchen, agrees.

“Yeah, [canning is] cooking, but it’s also science.”

Water-bath canning is a great entry point for people who are interested in trying canning.

34 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

PHOTOS: ©GRAHAM TAYLOR, ©CHAMILLEW/ADOBE STOCK

BY SARAH WALKER CARON

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO TRY WATER-BATH CANNING: WHAT YOU NEED: A LARGE POT — Although you can purchase pots made specifically for canning, you don’t need a specialty one. “Being the thrifty Mainers we are, you can use any pot that is deep enough to cover the cans by two inches that you can fit a rack in the bottom of it,” Fishman said.

A RACK FOR THE JARS — This sits inside your pot. Likewise, you don’t need special gear. Just something large enough to fit so the jars don’t sit on the bottom of the pot.

SOMETHING TO LIFT THE JARS — Jar lifter tools are available, but anything that will grip and lift jars will do.

JARS WITH THE TWO PIECE LIDS — Be sure that you purchase or use jars intended for canning. “There are a lot of beautiful jars out there. The spaghetti jars are made to look like canning jars. Those jars are not tempered to be used for multiple cannings,” Fishman said. So stick to real canning jars.

A LADLE FOR FILLING THE JARS — Again, you don’t need something special for this. “You can use any kind of implement you can find in your kitchen to ladle food into a jar and you can jerry rig things to lift jars,” Fishman said.

WHAT TO DO: CONSIDER TAKING A CLASS TO LEARN THE BASICS. The UMaine Cooperative Extension offers ones throughout the state. Check out extension.umaine.edu to find ones near you.

FIND REPUTABLE SOURCES FOR RECIPES FOR CANNING. The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, for instance, is filled with recipes and information for successful canning. Other good books include Pressuring Summer’s Bounty, Preserving Memories and Food in Jars.

MAKE SURE THAT YOU ONLY CAN HIGH ACID FOODS USING THE WATER BATH METHOD. “Most fruit is going to be high in acid on its own,” McClelland said. Blueberries, strawberries, peaches and pears, for instance, are appropriate for water bath canning. However, tomatoes are trickier. “We think of tomatoes as being very acidic but plums are actually way more acidic,” McClelland said. Both Fishman and McClelland said that tomatoes today have been bred to be less acid than those grown 50 years ago — which means that things your grandmother canned with the water bath method may no longer be safe to do so. “We don’t necessarily know how acidic a tomato is anymore.

The USDA actually recommends that you bolster your acidity of home canned tomatoes with bottled lemon juice,” Fishman said.

Bottled is important because it has a standardized acidity level — something that can’t be guaranteed with fresh produce.

DON’T USE OUTDATED INFORMATION. Books from prior to the late 1980s are based on outdated canning information.

They shouldn’t be used.

CHECK WITH YOUR LOCAL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION if you aren’t sure a recipe is appropriate for water bath canning or if you have questions. They are the experts and there to help. www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 35

FEATURE

The PSychology of

MONEY HOW ONE MAINE WOMAN REBOOTED HER RELATIONSHIP WITH MONEY AND IS HELPING OTHERS DO IT, TOO

BY ABIGAIL CURTIS

WHEN SARAH NEWCOMB was growing up in Orono in the late 1980s and 1990s, she always felt like a misfit — like she was less-than.

That’s because in a town full of the children of University of Maine professors and professionals, who went on ski trips and vacations to Disney World like it was no big deal, Newcomb’s family was different.

“Orono was an upper middle class town and we were lower middle class. I felt we might as well be white trash,” she said. “There were people I felt I couldn’t date because they were off-limits. Class was just so obvious to me. To me, it was ever present. It was not fun for me to feel poor.”

Newcomb was pretty and smart, creative and musical, and in a way it’s surprising to hear that she didn’t fit in. But the financial divide that loomed between her and her more well-off peers showed itself in ways that were both big and small. Her family couldn’t afford new clothes from stores like The Gap or The Limited, so she shopped at thrift stores instead. When she was on school field trips and the bus would stop at McDonald’s so the students could get a quick bite to eat, Newcomb stayed on the bus because she didn’t have $5 to spend that way.

36 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF SARAH NEWCOMB

(Top) Sarah Newcomb (far left) with her family at her childhood home in Orono.

(Right) Today Newcomb is moving back to Maine to help people better understand their finances.

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 37

FEATURE

Sarah Newcomb with Daniel Kahneman who was awarded the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

38 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

‘NOTHING TO DO WITH NUMBERS’ So how did she get from there to here? And how can others do it, too? To better understand, it’s important to look even farther back in her life.

When she was a child, she was raised as a very conservative Christian. (She declined to name the denomination.) In the church, she learned very strongly that money was the opposite of what’s good and what’s moral.

“The teaching that is very common in many religions glorifies poverty as a spiritual state,” Newcomb said. “It teaches that money is the root of all evil and that the pursuit of wealth is the sign of a poisoned heart. That things like wanting material comforts are greed and avarice.

The deep lesson from religion that I internalized as a child was that you either care about other people or you care about money. Choose a side.”

So she chose people. Or, perhaps more accurately, she chose the side that didn’t have money.

“I thought I hated the rich, and everyone around me hated the rich, so I felt justified,” she said. “My problem was that I was blaming money itself for choices that some people make with their money.”

And even after Newcomb graduated high school and struck out on her own, she brought

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF SARAH NEWCOMB

“Little expenditures that meant nothing to most people were a big deal in my family,” she said. “What happens with people is that you start to internalize it. It becomes part of your identity.”

Newcomb’s experiences growing up in a lower middle class household have inspired her, as an adult, to help people with similar backgrounds overcome the bad lessons, shame and self-doubt that come with growing up poor. Nowadays, she’s a senior behavioral scientist at Morningstar, a global financial services firm where she researches why we make financial decisions and how we can make better ones. She received her doctorate in economics and psychology from the University of Maine, and although she has been living and working in Washington, D.C. since she graduated in 2015, she’s getting ready to move back to Maine with her daughter, Zoe. It has taken time and work, of course, but Newcomb clearly has found career success and financial stability. Still, the lessons she internalized as a child are never too far from the surface.

“Here I am, about to buy a house,” she said, a trace of wonder in her voice. “I never thought I would own a house. That wasn’t for people like me.”

REALTORS

these lessons with her and her financial situation didn’t improve. There was no money for college, so she went to Portland and worked a series of dead-end jobs while trying to get a theater career going.

But it wasn’t financially sustainable. Once, she even turned down the opportunity to have a record contract.

“I was afraid of the kind of money [the producer] was talking about,” she said.

When she turned 24, she was living in Massachusetts and was able to put herself through college without her parents cosigning the loans. She enrolled at Salem State University with an undeclared major, but ended up falling in love with math.

“So at 28, I graduated with a math degree and still couldn’t get my finances together,” she said.

It was one of her first big aha moments.

“I said, this doesn’t have anything to do with numbers,” Newcomb recalled. “I was so tired of being poor, because being poor is exhausting. And thought, OK, fine.

I’m going to learn how to be a financial planner, and learn how it’s done.”

She started the training, and ended up taking a class on psychology and financial planning. The teacher didn’t focus on interest rates but on something that was, for her, much more important.

“The big lesson I got from that class is that it’s never about the numbers,” she said.

“A number means different things to different people because of the stories we tell.”

The teacher asked the students to examine their own histories with money, which led to a second epiphany for Newcomb.

“It was at that point I began to wake up to the fact that I both feared and hated money,” she said. “It was never a source of opportunity. It was always a source of barriers, and I had come to resent money and the people who had it. In order to feel OK about myself, I had to judge them. I was also afraid that if I had it, it would corrupt me.”

REWRITING OLD STORIES ABOUT MONEY Money isn’t inherently good or bad, she realized. It’s a tool that can be used in lots of ways.

“Some people take money and use it to exploit others and the planet. Other people use their money to heal and to serve and

to comfort and to build,” she said. “It’s just money. It’s all human choice.”

As Newcomb worked to rewrite her stories about money, she decided she wanted to help others do the same.

“I started to realize I could not possibly be the only person who was hardworking and motivated and smart and stuck,” she said. “I realized I didn’t want to be a financial planner. I wanted to help people get unstuck.”

Newcomb finished her program in personal financial planning, moved back to Maine with her then-husband and young daughter, and enrolled at the University of Maine with the goal of studying the psychology of money. She loved the experience, and when she graduated she got a job at a startup called “HelloWallet,” which was owned at the time by Morningstar.

“What they wanted was a behavioral scientist who would help them make tools so people could manage their money better,” she said. “It was like, this job was made for me.”

Later, she moved from HelloWallet, which had been purchased by KeyBank, to working directly for Morningstar. While there, she had the opportunity to advise officials from the U.S. Department of the Treasury about financial management tools; write a book, “Loaded,” about money and psychology; be a regular contributor to PsychologyToday.com and more. In Maine, she will work remotely for Morningstar and, she hopes, make a difference locally as well.

“I have a dream of working with communities, places where their entire economic identity has changed, or left,” she said. “How can a community reimagine itself? I would love to find a way to help distressed communities use resources in a way that feels right. How can they imagine their own resources, their own community, in a new way?”

Mainers may not always have money.

But they do tend to be resourceful, and that’s innately valuable, she said, adding that if she could tell her childhood self one thing, it would be that.

“I think I’d want to say something around the idea that it doesn’t matter where you start,” she said. “You have resources. You have value. All you have to do is turn that value into something that serves your community.”

Your listing could be on this page.

Sell it faster.

Advertise in Bangor Metro’s Home section.

Call 990-8000.

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 39

FEATURE

JUST

PEA HY ALBION FARM GIVES VISITORS ‘A DRIP DOWN YOUR CHIN TASTE OF SUMMER IN MAINE’

BY JODI HERSEY | PHOTOS COURTESY OF GORDON KENYON

THERE IS JUST SOMETHING about the taste of a tree-ripened peach that attracts taste buds of all ages. Its juicy sweetness grabbed hold of Gordon and Marilyn Kenyon early on while the two were living out west.

When the couple moved to Maine in the 1980s, their palates yearned for the succulent fruit that always seemed to evade them. So, in 1985 the Kenyons decided to plant their roots and a few peach trees in the small town of Albion, where today their love for one another and for peaches continues to bloom.

“When you handle and taste a peach that’s right off the tree and almost perfectly ripe, you become a fan very quickly,” Gordon Kenyon admitted. “We got used to eating peaches when we lived out west in Washington and eventually Oregon. When we bought this location, we started looking for anything that tasted like a decent peach. Of course, there was none to be found. So I planted some.”

The first trees Kenyon planted back in 1985 basically took care of themselves, budding a bounty of peaches each August. When they were ready to be picked, Kenyon would take them off the trees and sell whatever quantity he had to neighbors and motorists traveling by his Locust Grove farm on Quaker Hill Road.

“I’d just open the door of my garage and customers would be in my yard,” Kenyon said. “Then in 2000, I said to myself, ‘What would happen if I actually took care of the peach trees?’ So I started planting peaches in an effort to actually raise peaches. I now have 14 different varieties, and the reason for that is to try and extend my season, because each variety produces at a different time in the summer.”

40 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

Despite Kenyon’s green thumb, peaches can be a finicky fruit to produce in Maine and other parts of the United States. At Locust Grove, all the peaches are grown without using any sprays.

“The average lifespan for a peach tree according to the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service is seven years and the reason for that is because if you plant one in the wrong place, they are susceptible to cold and will freeze out,” Kenyon said. “I think one of my original peach trees is still living. It’s called the Belle of Georgia, which with a name like that you would think it wouldn’t do well, but it turns out it does very well.

But peaches aren’t durable. When a peach is ready to be picked, you got to pick it and they have to be sold very quickly because they don’t have a shelf life.”

Colleen Hanlon-Smith, the former general manager of the Unity Food Hub knows firsthand how the environment and location are key factors in whether or not peach trees thrive.

“I hope this becomes another item farmers can successfully and reliably grow, but there is a degree of risk. They do require micro-climates,” Hanlon-Smith said. “The site we’re at [at Locust Grove] is very unique.

I love peaches, and when you bite into one of the Locust Grove tree ripened peaches it is, in my opinion, a drip down your chin taste of summer in Maine.”

In 2015, Kenyon reached out to Hanlon-Smith for help marketing his crop.

“It happened to be the year southern New England had a peach failure. What Colleen did was work with her markets and connections, and before the end of the summer we were selling our peaches in both Boston and

Trees in bloom at the Albion peach farm.

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 41

FEATURE

Rows of peach trees ready for picking at Locust Grove farm.

New York City,” Kenyon reminisced. “That told me if there was anyone I wanted to be in the peach business with, it was her.”

Kenyon’s Locust Grove peaches have not only attracted loyal customers, they’ve also encouraged some to plant trees of their own.

“I’d say 25 percent or more of my peach tree customers are planting them. The next ridge over in Albion there’s another peach orchard, Bessey Ridge Orchards,” Kenyon said. “The two of us know each other pretty well. And as a matter of fact, we like each other. We’re friends. He’ll come over with a leaf in his hand and say, ‘What’s going on with this tree?’ So he’s looking for advice.

There’s a big enough market, so I don’t think either one of us is interfering with each other’s business.”

However, after 30 years in peach production, Kenyon is ready to share the orchard and farming duties with the next generation. He and 33-year-old Hanlon-Smith have decided to become partners at Locust Grove, helping the farm’s raspberries, blueberries and peaches continue to prosper.

“We’re working together as a partnership initially and eventually it’ll all go over to her,” Kenyon said. “I am 76, but I’m not planning to hang up my peach basket anytime soon. Given my options, I will fall over in the orchard. And she’s aware of that and she can accept it.”

Hanlon-Smith is just as excited to work in the orchard alongside Kenyon. There, she hopes to soak up all the knowledge and advice he has to offer while surrounded by the love and beauty of peaches that he and his wife have successfully created.

“I’ve always entertained the idea of being a farmer. However, I felt my skills were best used in helping farmers find markets. This is an opportunity through Gordon to learn the production end of the equation, but not feel like I’m entering into a marketplace where there is a ton of other people doing it,” Hanlon-Smith explained. “I think that whether we see peaches become as big of an economic driver as lobsters are or it is kind of a hidden jewel that exists in these microclimates of ridges where they can be grown, it’s a very special addition to Maine and I’m happy to be part of it.”

Locust Grove peaches are available the second week of August through the middle of September. They can also be found at the Belfast United Farmers Market and the Portland Farmers Market.

For more information, visit mainepeach.com.

42 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 43

ARE YOU SEEKING

NON-INVASIVE AND MEDICATION-FREE THERAPY? PULSED ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD (PEMF) THERAPY MAY BE THE ANSWER YOU HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR. COURTESY OF ELECTROMAGNETIC WELLNESS

WHAT IS PEMF? Let’s start with the basic science. The planet we live on is a huge electromagnet. Most of the Earth’s crust and the inner core is solid, but between them is a miles thick layer of liquid iron and nickel. Due to the Earth’s rotation, this churning, flowing liquid metal is organized into powerful cyclones of rising and sinking material. Strong electrical currents are powered by the fluid motions, which result in a planet-wide magnetic field. These magnetic fields radiate out through the surface of the planet as low frequency (natural) energy that humans have been exposed to for millennia. With the onset of civilization, people no longer walk around barefoot or sleep on the ground. We have insulated ourselves from Earth’s magnetic fields, which is not necessarily a good thing.

PEMF therapy is the application of a dynamic electromagnetic field to the body to stimulate the physiological processes of cell repair. Cells are electrically charged; this charge is vital to the activities that our cells carry out daily. When the electrical charge becomes disrupted, the decrease in electrical charge is experienced as pain. Pulsing electromagnetic energy through the cells restores the electrical charge and stimulates cell repair.

FOR BRAIN FUNCTION & FOCUS

FOR BETTER SLEEP & RELAXATION

FOR BONE & JOINT HEALTH

FOR BETTER ENERGY & METABOLISM

Is this the same energy associated with cell phones and microwaves? It is, but there’s a big difference. All radiant energy, from electricity to sunlight to sound waves, travels through space at a certain frequency and wavelength. The greater the energy, the larger the frequency and the shorter the wavelength. Cell phones and microwaves are high energy sources, frequencies are >100,000 Hertz, with wavelengths measured in centimeters (or smaller).

In contrast, PEMF is low energy, its frequency is in the 30-50 Hertz range with wavelengths measured in meters, mimicking the magnetic energy generated by the Earth.

Over the past 40 years researchers have studied the effects of PEMF, publishing thousands of peer-reviewed studies. As a result, PEMF has been shown to: • Reduce arthritic pain and inflammation.

• Stimulate healing in non-union bone fractures.

• Stimulate tissue healing in post-operative and diabetic wounds.

• Reverse bone loss and muscle degeneration experienced by astronauts.

That research has produced FDA approvals for: • Healing of nonunion fractures (1979).

• Treatment of urinary incontinence (1998).

• Cervical fusion patients at high-risk of non-fusion (2004).

• Treatment of depression and anxiety (2006).

• Treatment of brain cancer (2011).

SPONSORED BY

50 Columbia Street, Suite 75 Bangor, Maine 04401 (207) 631-0089 44 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

www.facebook.com/electromagwellness

What can you expect from a PEMF therapy session? Typically, you either lie on a massage table or sit in a chair while an accessory that produces the electromagnetic field is positioned to deliver therapy to a certain area of the body. The PEMF generator is powered up and the frequency of the pulses to be delivered and the strength of the magnetic field is adjusted. Aside from the sound of the pulse generator, not much happens at first. The intensity of the magnetic field may produce a tingling sensation in the body, a feeling as though energy is flowing through the area. The majority of those experiencing PEMF for the first time will feel energized, as if their cells have been recharged, or relaxed. A joint issue receiving therapy will most often result in an increased range of motion and a reduction in stiffness and pain. There are few side effects, some will experience fatigue or soreness, easily addressed with rest and hydration. Positive results are more pronounced with repeated use, and a regimen of therapy is recommended for anyone who is physically active or has a chronic condition.

Paid Advertisement for Electromagnetic Wellness

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 45

FEATURE

YOGA

Mindfulness

MEDITATION PAYING ATTENTION & CALMING THE CHAOS

BY ROSEMARY LAUSIER | PHOTOS BY LINDA O’KRESIK

THROUGHOUT THE COURSE of your day, your body and mind are on high alert. Between your phone, jobs, morning and afternoon pickups, errands and meals, we can forget to pump the brakes and find time to take care of ourselves.

But in the midst of all the chaos, stillness can be found through mindfulness. And you can practice it anywhere.

WHAT IS MINDFULNESS? According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, a professor at the University of Massachusetts, as well as writer and meditation teacher, mindfulness is the act of paying attention, on purpose and with intention.

You are aware of your surroundings in the moment, not about events in the past or future.

It may seem impossible for some, and the process can be really challenging and awkward at first, according to Angela Fileccia, a yoga instructor at Om Land Yoga and clinical social worker. It’s because we are so used to multitasking at all times, whereas being mindful requires us to focus on a single task.

But maybe that is what we all need.

The two different forms of mindfulness based practices are mindfulness-based stress reduction (developed by Kabat-Zinn) and mindfulnessbased cognitive therapy, which focuses on one’s relationship to unwanted thoughts and their reaction to them.

46 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

In a 2017 survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, nearly 1 in 5 adults in the U.S., or 18.9%, live with “any mental illness,” a classification on the survey.

According to a study by the American Psychological Association, the benefits of mindfulness can include stress reduction, reduced rumination, decreased negative affect such as depression and anxiety, and less emotional reactivity and more emotional regulation.

HOW DO I START? In January, Fileccia held the first of a threepart series at Om Land Yoga in Bangor called Mindfulness Yoga: East Meets West to Reduce Stress. The workshop covered how to apply mindfulness in one’s yoga practice and how to use it in everyday life. It included an intro to mindfulness, meditation techniques, reflection and a yoga asana (poses) practice.

“Yoga in the west is focused almost exclusively on the physical aspects of the practice with much focus on strength, flexibility and other physical benefits. There is little, if any, focus on the mental/ emotional benefits of the practice,” Fileccia said.

“I thought it could be helpful to participants to discover how being mindful can improve mental and emotional well-being.”

The workshop covered the “Mindfulness How-To’s,” which include different practices of

Angela Fileccia has been a yoga instructor for 12 years at Om Land Yoga.

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 47

YOGA

Angela Fileccia leads a class at Om Land Yoga in the Brewer studio.

48 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

PHOTOS: TKTK

FEATURE

mindfulness: observing, describing and participation. Observing requires being in the moment and allowing ourselves to experience feelings and events without judgement or fixation. Participation is about awareness and being in the moment without ruminating on worries or being totally present in an activity. (This tool in particular is helpful for those who are in distress.) Describing is noticing the different experiences without a focus on emotional feelings such as the feeling of soap or the color of the water while washing dishes.

American psychologist Albert Ellis formulated the phrase “Don’t ‘should’ on yourself.” An aspect of describing is watching for “should statements,” such as “I should have woken up earlier,” “I should have gone to the gym,” or “I should have practiced more.” “Should” statements put blame on yourself, release negative emotions and are considered a form of self-harm.

“It [the phrase] goes to the heart of mindfulness in a way. Don’t get fixated on things that have occured” Fileccia said.

“It creates a focus on things that we have already done and creates stress and pain.”

Fileccia said the key to mindfulness is to practice on an ongoing basis.

Mindfulness is not something to attain but is an ongoing practice.

An easy way to start, she says, is to have a mindfulness meal. Instead of watching TV or browsing on your phone while you eat, you sit and focus on aspects of the meal like taste and texture, or just the process of eating. The practice helps with single-tasking, which will train your brain to focus on singular events, like the present, instead of past or future ones that could cause stress.

“We really live in a culture that has become focused on multitasking,” Fileccia said. “Our multitasking has contributed to the challenges we have in our day-today life. If you incorporate mindfulness in your life, you can meet some of those challenges head on.”

WHERE CAN I BE MINDFUL? One can practice mindfulness in other ways through yoga and meditation. Meditation can have many definitions but can be described as sitting in stillness and being aware of your thoughts. It allows your body to slow down so you can explore the thoughts and be mindful.

Meditation can be practiced in many ways, through guided practices or silent www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 49

YOGA

practices, where you concentrate on one thing such as your breath or body.

Fileccia says practicing yoga can help train your brain to be mindful from a body perspective and requires you to focus on what your body is doing and feeling, such as pressing your heels and hands on the yoga mat or relaxing your shoulders.

At her January workshop, Fileccia had participants practice a sun salutation — a series of 12 postures where the yogi goes from standing, down to the mat and standing again — with each movement coordinating with the breath. She had participants close their eyes so they could focus more on the breath and other senses without getting distracted. It was all about being in the moment and paying attention to a singular thing.

MINDFULNESS AND YOUR SELF-CARE JOURNEY Meaghann Foster, a yoga instructor at Om Land Yoga in Portland and owner of Meaghann Foster Massage and Wellness, says her interest in mindfulness started when she began yoga nearly 10 years ago.

She says mindfulness, in part, has changed the way she lived.

Foster credits mindfulness and yoga with helping her become more aware of self-destructive habits from her youth and determine the changes she needed to live a healthier life. With mindfulness, she realized how her behaviors affected her life and her relationship with herself and others.

Foster says any amount of mindfulness can go a long way. Being non-reactive to our 50 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

Meaghann Foster practices seaside yoga at Wolfe's Neck Woods State Park in Freeport.

thoughts is especially important, “YOUR THOUGHTS AND she said. Being non-reactive is FEELINGS HAVE AN not about avoiding or ignoring thoughts but allows us to ask IMPACT ON YOUR BODY. ourselves what and why were YOGA AND MINDFULNESS are feeling before we respond.

“I think a lot of people GIVE US PERMISSION TO think that mind and body SLOW DOWN AND START are separate, but if you really want self care, you have to LISTENING.” realize that mind and body are not separate at all. Your thoughts —MEAGHANN FOSTER and feelings have an impact on your body,” Foster said. “Yoga and mindfulness give us permission to slow down and start listening.”

Besides mindfulness and yoga, Foster has been practicing breathwork communication, lower her stress levels and — taking deep continuous breaths become less reactive in situations. through the mouth — since 2015, taking And although it is not a cure for a formal training course in 2018. In depression, anxiety or other mental health breathwork, many things may happen disorders, Foster said mindfulness and yoga including laughing, crying, emotional can be tools to help those who are on a release and hand tension. The practice healing or self-care journey. affects the sympathetic (fight or flight) “When you start on a self-care, mindful nervous system but helps access our journey, you start to pinpoint where things parasympathetic (rest and digest) system, started and what happened to cause that which helps create a sense of calm and reaction,” Foster said. “When you start release pent-up emotions. to be aware of these things, you start to “I think that breathwork can help change your patterns and behaviors, and create mindfulness in everyday life,” Foster healing can begin.” said. “When I started to do breath work I Fileccia says mindfulness has helped started responding differently to situations her worry a lot less, as she tends to be in life. It’s amazing what pausing and an anxious person. She uses mindfulness taking a few breaths can do before you with clients at work, and it has helped her react or make a choice.” appreciate her day to day life more.

She credits the three with helping her “I find it to be one of the best things that improve her personal and professional I’ve done.”

PHOTO: JESSICA FORD

FEATURE

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 51

YOGA

yºga your

BRAIN YOGA CAN OFFER AN OUTLET FOR HEALING & RECOVERY

BY ROSEMARY LAUSIER

WHEN YOU’RE HURT or ill, all you want is a feeling of comfort and warmth from others. But when isolation and stigmatization caused by a trauma or accident replace that, some feel there is nowhere to go.

However, studies and literature have shown that yoga and meditation can provide an outlet for healing and recovery and helps those recovering take back what their brain injury once took from them.

Yoga is known for its physical benefits, such as an increased flexibility, weight loss and increased muscle tone. But yoga, which also integrates meditation and mindfulness, can also benefit one’s mental state, including attention, memory, stress level and balance — all things that can be affected by traumatic brain injury (TBI) or other mental ailments such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

WHAT IS TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY? TBI is an invisible disease and can referred to as the silent epidemic.

Those suffering from TBI may appear physically OK but often feel misunderstood because they are battling myriad mental and emotional symptoms no one else can see.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes a TBI as a “disruption in the normal function of the brain that can be caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head, or penetrating head injury.” Not all hits to the head cause TBI, but the severity can range from mild, such as a concussion, to severe, which can cause irreparable damage. Symptoms can include headaches and a loss of coordination or balance to chronic pain, anxiety and denial.

PHOTO: ©JENKOATAMAN/ ADOBE STOCK

FEATURE

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 53

FEATURE

YOGA

TBI AND LOVEYOURBRAIN YOGA According to studies compiled by the LoveYourBrain Foundation, between 3.2 million and 5.3 million Americans are living with a traumatic brain injury.

The LoveYourBrain Foundation was founded by former professional snowboarder Kevin Pearce and his brother, Adam, of Vermont. During a practice in 2010, just before the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Kevin suffered a traumatic brain injury that ended his career. His experience and journey to recovery were documented in the HBO documentary “The Crash Reel.”

Yoga and meditation have been instrumental in aiding Kevin’s recovery, and the foundation brings awareness and means of support to those who suffer from TBI and their caregivers.

The foundation’s website offers multiple tools for those in recovery such as daily meditations, yoga videos and education on TBI. LoveYourBrain also offers LoveYourBrain Yoga which is a free, six-week program that is offered in studios in 30 states, including Lila East End Yoga in Portland, the first and only program in Maine. LoveYourBrain offers trainings for yoga teachers, health professionals and caregivers to learn the tools and skills to make classes more accessible for those with brain injuries.

“Our program is really designed to meet where they are,” Kim Baker, director of implementation at the LoveYourBrain Foundation, said.

54 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

PHOTO: ©RAWPIXEL LTD./ADOBE STOCK

Dr. Caroline Hollnagel, neuropsychologist at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, said yoga and meditation can help supplement primary care therapies — physical, occupational and speech — patients have to undergo but should not replace them.

In addition, Hollnagel said there needs to be more research on the benefits, but findings are promising so far. Meditation techniques used in yoga can help with mental fatigue and to improve self-regulation and parts of the brain attached to attention and arousal. This can help patients pay attention in their core therapies or increase their desire to participate in them.

Yoga helps build your core and back and helps improve posture, which are things patients work on in occupational therapy, Hollnagel said. Yoga can also help patients with higher fall risk, including those with brain injuries, because it can improve your balance.

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 55

FEATURE

YOGA

YOGA AND PTSD RECOVERY Yoga can also aid those with PTSD who suffer from changes in their nervous system functioning, sleep difficulties, intrusive thoughts and severe emotional pain, including veterans.

The Veterans Yoga Project is a nonprofit organization that aims to improve the wellbeing of veterans with PTSD through free yoga classes, retreats and trainings.

Kasia Moffett is a yoga instructor at Om Land Yoga and teaches classes weekly on behalf of the Veterans Yoga Project.

She took the organization’s Mindfulness Resilience Program, which in order to teach included an overview of military history, scientific information, languaging and the effects of service, especially PTSD, and other psychological injuries vets can suffer.

“It makes yoga more accessible to them.

They have high standards to themselves. It’s off putting if they don’t know what to do,” Moffett said. “It provides a space where veterans can feel more comfortable to know the basics.”

Hollnagel, who used to work with first responders with PTSD in San Francisco, says meditation helps to activate a sense of calm and relaxation as PTSD is an anxiety disorder. Those who suffer from PTSD need deep breathing, which brings relaxation, and stretching — things yoga can provide.

The feedback Moffett has received from her students include having more resilience, improved sleeping patterns and improved body awareness for those with TBI. “Mindfulness practice is paying attention to your breath. Yoga helps enable that by the nature of it,” Moffett said.

“You have to be present to the practice.

That’s all you have to do.”

56 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

PHOTO: ©MAYGUTYAK/ADOBE STOCK

Baker said the classes have been adapted so they may be more accessible to those suffering brain injuries and are designed to foster community and resilience. A way they do that is by adapting specific poses, offering movements that will help support memory development and combat negative thoughts associated with their injury.

According to Baker, the classes have a set structure and includes times for breathing, meditation, gentle yoga that has been adapted and 20 minutes of group discussions to help foster community among attendees.

The LoveYourBrain Yoga at Lila East End Yoga will hold it first six-week series for brain injury survivors and their caregivers in July.

IS THE HIGH COST OF YOUR PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

MAKING YOU SICK? JOIN AARP IN THE FIGHT TO STOP RX GREED AND LOWER DRUG COSTS. COURTESY OF AARP MAINE

THE SIMPLE TRUTH is that Americans pay the highest brand-name prescription drug prices in the world. In February, seven pharmaceutical company CEOs testified before the US Senate Finance Committee.

One CEO couldn’t answer why some medications cost 40% less in other countries than here in the United States. They all agreed that their companies spend more on advertising and administration than they do on research and drug development.

Consumers of all ages struggle to pay for their medications while the drug companies reap billions of dollars in profits each year.

It is time for our representatives to take a stand and for Pharma to take responsibility.

Seniors are particularly vulnerable because they take an average of 4.5 medications a month. In Maine, 62 percent of Medicare beneficiaries have at least one chronic disease which usually requires that the patient take multiple prescription drugs.

Chuck Stanley from Ellsworth takes 10 medications. He takes some of them twice a day to treat his heart condition. He also has diabetes. At 62 years old, he does his best to

stay ahead of the costs and keep his health in line, but 10 percent of his income is spent on medications. “At the end of each month, there isn’t anything left,” he says. “Let’s face it: the sicker we get, the more money the drug companies make.”

In March, AARP launched StopRxGreed, a national campaign calling on lawmakers in Washington and across the country to enact legislation that will provide relief to older Americans and all consumers struggling to afford their prescription medications.

As of mid-March, several Maine legislators had introduced bills to confront the issue. For example, Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Allagash) introduced multiple bills focused on improved access through safe drug importation, and affordability through the creation of a Prescription Drug Affordability Board. At the federal level, AARP endorsed the CREATES Act which would deter brand name pharmaceutical companies from participating in certain practices that can delay or block the availability of less expensive biosimilar and generic drugs.

Maine’s U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R) and

Paid Advertisement for AARP Maine

Angus King (I) joined a bipartisan group in introducing the legislation.

AARP is calling for policy solutions (visit www.aarp.org/rx for more information) that actually lower drug prices instead of simply shifting the costs around within the health care system. To do that, we must deal directly with the root cause of high drug prices: price gouging by drug companies. We welcome a broad look across the entire drug supply chain to find ways to help drive down drug prices.

To learn more about AARP’s Rx advocacy work and to make your voice heard, visit www.aarp.org/rx. If you are willing to work with us to bring down prescription drug prices, or if you have your own Rx story to share, please email me@aarp.org.

Drug companies must stop overcharging older Mainers and their families for the medications they need to stay healthy. No one should have to choose between food and medicine, but some Mainers are doing just that. The time for change – the time to StopRxGreed – is NOW.

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 57

FEATURE

YOGA

People of all ages enjoy an Acadia Stand Up paddleboard yoga class at Echo Lake in Southwest Harbor.

58 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

YO G A everywhere TAKING YOGA OFF THE MAT

PHOTO: BDN FILE

BY NATALIE FEULNER

INHALE REACH THE HANDS toward the sky, exhale forward fold — take a sip of beer? Inhale halfway lift, pet the goat, exhale run the fingertips across the top of the water?

Yes, all of this.

If you’re looking to head outside and mix up (or begin) a regular yoga practice, Maine is the place to start. Alongside traditional yoga styles such as Vinyasa and Bikram, the Vacationland’s many studios also offer classes that include disco yoga, beer can yoga, goat yoga and aerial yoga, all of which teachers say are good for the new or veteran yogi.

“It’s easy to get caught up in the mechanistic forms of postures and focus on alignment,” Krista Hastings, owner of Orland-based Yoga DownEast, said. “And alignment is really important, but sometimes you just need to cut loose with your practice.”

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 59

YOGA

(Top) Holly Twining (center), twists her body while using the aerial yoga hammock at Om Land Yoga in Brewer.

(Below) Holly Twining, founder and owner of Maine Yoga Adventures, leads a snowshoe-yoga session, also known as “snowga,” at Hirduno Wildlife Refuge in Alton.

60 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

The benefits of yoga are almost endless.

The combination of stretching and moving through asanas (poses) along with learning to control the breath has been proven to reduce stress, lower blood pressure and improve flexibility.

But it can be easy to get into a routine of repeating the same postures or sequences which while good for practicing, can become monotonous.

“Isn’t it just good to take your practice out for a spin every now and then?”

Hastings said. “Let yourself explore a more dance-y flow or sing your heart out without any concern for how you sound or who you might hear … break out of your yoga rut.”

Holly Twining, founder of Orono-based Maine Yoga Adventures, said people who take her classes or join for a combination of adventures, such as hiking and yoga, enjoy blending the practice with another activity.

“Going on an interdisciplinary adventure packed with lots of different explorations is a great way to take on yoga for the first time,” Twining said. “It’s simply part of the mix, part of the fun.”

Other nontraditional yoga styles such as aerial allows yogis to practice more complex poses, such as inversions, with the assistance of props.

“Aerial yoga allows students to have the opportunity to access poses in a different way,” Christine Mihan, an aerial yoga teacher at Om Land in Brewer, said. “With the support of the hammock, you can try inversions without the fear of falling, find a range of movement without weight in the joint, and have support in balances.”

Plus, Mihan said, what’s more fun than rolling around in silks hanging from the ceiling or painting yourself in glitter before practicing?

Don’t have a regular practice but are interested in developing one? Sometimes a nontraditional class may be the best place to start.

“Going into a yoga studio can be very intimidating, especially for someone new to the activity,” she said. “Taking yoga out of the studio takes away some of that fear.

Because it is so fun and different, it allows you to release some of your inhibitions and just let go,” she said.

And try out as many teachers and styles as you can find.

“Yoga is not a one-size-fits-all practice,” Hastings said. “Experiment. Be willing to be a beginner for a long time. It’s so much more fun that way.”

PHOTO: (TOP) BDN FILE PHOTO; (BOTTOM) AISLINN SARNACKI | BDN FILE

FEATURE

FEATURE

YOGA

Intrigued?

Aerial yoga at Om Land Yoga in Brewer.

CONSIDER ONE OR MORE OF THESE NONTRADITIONAL CLASSES THIS SUMMER. MOON OFFERINGS: These classes are offered during both the new moon and the full moon. Timed with the lunar cycle, the classes begin with “moon salutations” and a Yoga Nidra meditation practice somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.

During the full moon sessions, students will take part in a sound bath featuring gongs and crystal singing bowls which help deepen their state of relaxation.

AERIAL YOGA

COST: Depends on class taken • LOCATION: Orland FOR MORE INFORMATION: yogadowneast.com SATURDAY NIGHT FUN CLASSES: Whether yogis are decorating themselves with neon body paint and practicing under black light during “Blacklight Neon Flow,” or splitting the class between a power flow (salty) then a half-hour of restorative (sweet) for “Salty & Honey” yoga, these nontraditional classes are set to fun music and usually include a glittery or funky twist.

COST: $20 • LOCATION: Orland FOR MORE INFORMATION: yogadowneast.com AERIAL YOGA: Aerial yoga allows students the opportunity to access poses in a different way than they’d experience on a mat.

Using the support of a hammock, a student may try an inversion without the fear of falling or experience a range of movement without weight on the joints.

Beer can yoga at Geaghan Brothers Brewing Company in Brewer.

BEER CAN YOGA

COST: $18 • LOCATION: Brewer FOR MORE INFORMATION: omlandyoga.com

COST: $20 • LOCATION: Brewer FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.geaghans.com/events GOAT YOGA: Class starts with 15 minutes visiting the goats at Smiling Hill Farm, followed by an hour-long class. The session ends with another 15 minutes to snuggle with the goats.

Cost: $14-$20 • LOCATION: Westbrook FOR MORE INFORMATION: ashleyflowersyoga.com

Goat Yoga led by Ashley Flowers at Smiling Hill Farm in Westbrook.

62 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

STAND UP PADDLEBOARD YOGA: Stand Up Paddle Boarding meets yoga. Move, breathe and meditate from a floating “mat,” which challenges balance and transforms a lake into a studio. No previous paddle boarding or yoga experience needed.

GOAT YOGA

Cost: $26 • LOCATION: Bar Harbor FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.acadiasup.com

PHOTOS: (TOP TO BOTTOM) BDN FILE; COURTESY OF BRANDI S. MCLELLAN-LEROY; COURTESY OF ASHLEY FLOWERS

BEER CAN YOGA: Yes, drinking beer during yoga. This event held quarterly at Geaghan Brothers Brewing Company in Brewer incorporates the consumption of a can of beer throughout an hour-long class.

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 63

GET OUT

QUEBEC

GET OUT:

Quebec HEAD WEST TO EXPLORE QUEBEC’S EAST STORY & PHOTOS BY JULIA BAYLY

I DO LOVE A GOOD SPRINGTIME ROAD TRIP. And when you live in Maine, just about any compass point you choose to follow for a few hours is going to lead somewhere great.

In this case, let’s travel west to go east.

More to the point, a four-hour drive west of Bangor takes you over the Maine-Quebec border and smack into Quebec’s Eastern Townships, a region packed with lakes, agriculture, farmers markets, gourmet restaurants, quaint inns, spa hotels, concerts, vineyards, art and some of the friendliest folks you are going to meet west of Maine. There is plenty to see, do and taste for a long weekend escape or weeklong vacation.

So, let’s break it down.

PHOTOS: TKTK

SHERBROOKE — QUEBEC’S QUEEN CITY For a long weekend, one of the best Eastern Township destinations is Sherbrooke, which is located in the middle of the region. If you don’t have a lot of time to spend in the Townships, Sherbrooke is a perfect representation of the region. It has all the excitement of an urban area, the cultural opportunities of a heritage center and the activities available in a gorgeous natural setting.

It was the natural outdoors offerings — alright, and the food — that drew me to the area, so once I checked into The Grand Times Hotel Sherbrooke [1 rue Belvédère Sud, www.grandtimeshotel.com] I changed into cycling clothes, grabbed my bike off my car rack and headed out to check out some of the 60 miles of dedicated bicycling paths in and around the city.

64 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

There are no bad views from The Grand Times Hotel in Sherbrooke, like this one from my room overlooking Lac de Nations.

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 65

GET OUT

QUEBEC It was a perfect early summer day for pedaling. Warm but not hot, sunny, clear and gently rolling trails. For my inaugural ride in Sherbrooke, I opted for a loop that took me around Lac de Nations for about 3 miles. From there I followed paved routes that took me along the Magog and SaintFrancois rivers and eventually back to my hotel. All in all, I spent about two hours and covered about 15 miles, with plenty of stops for cool drinks and photo ops.

The online site www.bikemap.net has some great routes mapped out to ride both on pavement and dirt in Sherbrooke.

Above: There are miles of paved bike trails in and around Sherbrooke.

Below: The selection and variety of locally made cheeses in Quebec's Eastern Townships is amazing. Try and choose just one! Not possible.

66 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

TASTE OF THE TOWNSHIPS There’s nothing like time spent on a bike to work up an appetite and no place quite like Sherbrooke to satisfy that appetite.

Taking the advice from the kind folks at the front desk at my hotel, I walked the short distance to Marche de la Gare de Sherbrooke [720 place de la Gare, marchedelagare.com].

It may not have been the wisest choice to go in there as hungry as I was.

Simply put, it’s the kind of place you can eat your way through a region without ever leaving a building. Well, except in summer, when you want to step outside to check out the overflow of vendors and craftspeople offering the best of eastern Quebec food, wine, beer and handmade goods.

These seasonal vendors come and go depending on the time of the year — midto late summer is the best time to catch the greatest variety — but Marche de la Gare always has something to offer thanks to its permanent residents.

At Fromagerie de la Gare [www. fromageriedelagare.com] I was able to sample from among more than 150 varieties of local, national and international cheeses.

In the end, I happily left with a package of fresh Louis d’Or, a Quebec cheese which has been named Canadian Cheese of the Year several years running.

At William J. Walter Saucissier [www. williamjwalter.com], I shifted my attention from cheese to meat. There they’ve been upping the Quebec sausage game for more than three decades.

Now, I do love good sausage, and what I saw at William J. Walter blew my mind. Among the 60 or so varieties were bison, dark chocolate and port; duck with orange peel; turkey, pear and brie cheese; pork, figs and rosemary; pork, goat cheese and mangos; rabbit and hazelnuts; and

my personal favorite of wild boar with blueberries and ice cider.

With a fresh baguette from a nearby bakery I had the makings for a perfect postbike ride afternoon rapaste.

Oh, and for dessert? Marche de la Gare had me covered at Savoroso [www. savoroso.com] where the fresh mango gelato was a refreshing finishing touch.

For dinner I headed over to Restaurant La Table du Chef [11 rue Victoria, www. latableduchef.ca]. Located in a former presbytery, this is yet another dining option that pays homage to the foods of the region.

Chef Alain Labrie with his wife Joelle Beaupre use that local fare to create Frenchinspired cuisine. I found the atmosphere cozy, relaxed and welcoming.

As for the roasted elk medallions served in a black tea sauce with roasted vegetables? Sublime.

WALKING WITH LOCALS For my second day in Sherbrooke, I decided to take advantage of the city’s “volunteer greeters.” These are residents who know Sherbrooke and the surrounding area like the back of their hands. In fact, they only thing they love more than their city is showing it off to visitors.

Greeters are personal tour guides and must be booked at least 48 hours in advance through www.sherbrookgreeters.com where you can select your greeter based on areas of expertise including food, history, art, music, religion, sports or night life.

So, bright and early on a Saturday morning I was grabbing a cup of coffee

and getting to know my personal greeters Karine and Marcel, a retired couple with a shared fondness of food, microbrew beer, nature and city life.

After we got to know a bit about each other, we headed out on foot to explore the city. Along the way we made a bit of a game seeing if I could spot any of the 16 massive murals that celebrate Sherbrooke’s history and culture [www.murales-sherbrooke. com]. Not to mention turn neighborhoods into wonderful street museums.

I’m proud to say I found about half the murals during our four-hour walk.

Along the way Karine and Marcel chatted with me about the city’s history and indulged my desire for a return trip — cooler in hand — to Marche de la Gare, where I purchased more cheese, sausage and bread to bring home with me.

Marcel even carried the loaded cooler back to my hotel for me. Talk about a greeter who went the extra mile.

LUXURY MEETS RELAXATION After saying goodbye to my new friends, I packed up my bike and car and drove a halfhour south to Ayers Cliff, Quebec and The Inn at Ripplecove [700 chemin Ripplecove, www.ripplecove.com].

Located down a windy private road and hugging the shore of Lake Massawippi, The Inn at Ripplecove is the kind of place that manages to strike that perfect balance of rustic and luxury, attention to detail and relaxed atmosphere. I was smitten the moment I walked in to the lobby that looked like something out of

When it comes to Sherbrooke's famous street murals, it can be hard to tell where art ends and reality begins.

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 67

GET OUT

QUEBEC

Above: Eat in the dining room or enjoy a meal on the deck at The Inn at Ripplecove.

Below: At Poutine University, all class projects are edible and delicious.

68 / BANGOR METRO May 2019

an 18th century hunting lodge. There was gorgeously crafted wooden furniture, bookshelves jammed with an eclectic selection of reading materials, oil paintings on the wall, decorative sculpted animal heads looking down from several corners and massive windows overlooking the lake.

The first thing I did upon arrival was schedule a massage because, you know, luxury.

The spa is located down on a lower level and furnished with the kind of crafted rustic chairs, lamps and tables you find at many upscale Maine sporting camps.

Lots of wood, comfy cushions and walls paneled in knotty pine.

The masseuse Vincent ushered me into a private room where the window was open to let in the smells and sounds of the lake — lapping water, rustling leaves and birdsong.

It’s not a stretch to say I was asleep before any muscle was massaged and all too soon my 60 minutes were up.

Wrapped in a fluffy robe and sipping herbal tea on the patio just outside the spa I think my post-massage classification could be listed as liquid.

Later on I walked around the inn’s 12acre grounds where, if I wanted, I could have borrowed any of the canoes, row-boats, kayaks or bicycles available for guests.

Instead, I headed back to my peaceful room for a nap.

That evening, feeling refreshed and remarkably hungry given my lack of physical activity, I headed to the inn’s Le Riverain Restaurant, where I was joined by owner and innkeeper Jefferey Stafford who gave me a history of the inn. He said it began in 1945 as a seasonal sporting camp for fishermen coming in from New York City and Montreal to fish the lakes and escape the heat of the cities.

These days Inn at Ripplecove is still a popular destination for those who like to fish. In fact, according to Stafford it’s still possible to pull 25-pound gray trout of Lake Massawippi. And the chef will prepare that catch, if you want.

The inn is also now open year-round and offers a full spectrum of winter activities from snowmobiling options to ice fishing to skiing or snowshoeing with days ending wrapped in Hudson Bay Blankets in front of a bonfire sipping hot chocolate.

In the summer there’s hiking, cycling, water activities and simply sitting on the dock next to the lake taking it all in.

“People who come here want to escape and disconnect from their daily lives,” Stafford said. “We mostly get couples who want to recharge.”

The Inn at Ripplecove does not discourage guests with children, but Stafford stressed any children are expected to be well behaved and under the complete control of their parents at all times.

And if not?

“Our staff is trained to deal with kids,” Stafford said with a laugh. “But really, we are not a family resort.”

Rather, he describes his inn as “12 acres of some of the most idyllic settings you will ever experience.”

I believe him. The night I slept at Ripplecove was one of the best nights of sleep I had gotten in some time.

Then there is the dining, which draws heavily from the area’s local meats, produce and other seasonal edibles.

While there I had the Ripplecove smoked salmon with citrus crème fraiche for an appetizer before my dinner of arctic char with almond and sweet pepper crust, roasted nuts, basil oil and celeriac purée.

Each course was accompanied by a wine from the inn’s 5,000-bottle cellar featuring a selection of 500 different wines.

As full as I was from dinner, I amazed how hungry I was for breakfast the next morning.

Hungry enough for the inn’s eggs benedict on an English muffin with lobster, spinach and Mornay sauce — and a really, really good cup of coffee.

Then it was time to say goodbye to Mr. Stafford and Ripplecove. But I vowed to return. Among the things I did not have a chance to do was a 22-mile bike ride that would take me from Quebec into Vermont.

How fun would that be?

POUTINE U FOR ME On the way home I took a bit of a side trip to Drummondville, Quebec, for one reason and one reason only: poutine.

That hot, gooey mix of layered Frenchfried potatoes, gravy and fresh cheese curds called to me.

Drummondville lays claim to being the birthplace of poutine, which is somewhat debatable. What is not debatable is that the city is also home to what is informally known as “Poutine University” in the former College d’affaires Ellis.

There, the owner of the restaurant chain Planete Poutine has developed a training facility for potential Planete Poutine franchise owners to get schooled in all things poutine.

This I had to see and sample.

The extensive menu had the standard fries-cheese-gravy option along with signature versions made with sausage and bacon or hot sauce and over the top “prestige” selections, including poutine topped with smoked meat, pulled pork or an entire green salad.

Then it was on to home, a cooler packed to the brim with edible goodies, a camera full of images and my mind already full of plans for a return trip.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: • You need a VALID PASSPORT OR PASSPORT CARD to cross in and out of Canada. If you are a Maine resident or resident of any US-Canada border state, you may also use your valid passport card.

• If you are shopping, especially for food or alcoholic beverages to bring home, check what you and can’t cross back into the U.S. by looking at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection online site under TRAVELERS BRINGING FOOD INTO THE U.S. FOR PERSONAL USE. [www.cbp.gov] • Quebec’s people are very proud of their French language and heritage. But DON’T WORRY ABOUT BEING UNDERSTOOD OR TALKING TO PEOPLE. Virtually everyone in the province is French-English bilingual, and they love sharing information.

• Detailed information on TRAVELING TO AND IN THE EASTERN TOWNSHIPS can be found online at www.easterntownships.org.

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 69

WOODS & WATERS

The Greatest Show on

EARTH

HEAD DOWN EAST FOR ONE OF THE GREATEST SHOWS ON EARTH

BY BOB DUCHESNE

IF YOU STRETCHED out Maine’s rugged coastline, it would extend 3,478 miles.

That bests California’s coastline by 51 miles.

Southern Maine has sandy beaches. The midcoast region shelters the windjammer fleet. Lobster boat races attract the Deer Isle-Stonington crowd. Acadia is a mecca for tourists. With all that awesomeness, is there one place that out-awesomes all the rest?

Submitted for your consideration: Head Harbor Passage.

The channel that separates Canada and the United States is uniquely irresistible.

Blame the tides. Visitors are rightly impressed by tides of 10 to 13 feet in Bar Harbor, but they’re positively gob-smacked by the 19 to 23 footers in Lubec and Eastport.

These communities lie at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, where tides will rise even higher by the time they reach the northern end of the bay in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, up to 55 feet.

The moon’s gravitational pull gets the tides moving as the Earth rotates. Beyond that, local differences are the result of geography.

The Bay of Fundy happens to be just the right shape to produce an oscillating effect, like water sloshing back and forth in a bathtub. As Fundy narrows, the water piles up on itself, creating the biggest tides on the planet. More than 70 billion cubic feet of water sloshes back and forth every 12 hours.

Now, if that were all that were happening, it would still be very impressive. But throw a few islands into that oceanic stream, constraining the flow even further, and weird natural phenomena will emerge. One of them is the Old Sow, the largest whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere and the second-largest on Earth. It swirls between Maine’s Eastport and New Brunswick’s Deer Island. There are

SUMMER IS FOR TOURISTS. THEY’LL HAVE A GREAT TIME IN BAR HARBOR. MEANWHILE, SAVVY MAINERS WILL HEAD DOWN EAST FOR ONE OF THE GREATEST SHOWS ON EARTH.

PHOTO: BDN FILE PHOTO

Seals bask on small rock islands in the sun in the Bay of Fundy between Eastport and Campobello Island.

legends and fables of how this maelstrom has sucked down boats. In truth, a modern power boat can cut through it with ease, though all hands on deck will feel the circling eddies as the current grabs the keel.

The Old Sow is really nothing more than a parlor trick perpetrated by Mother Nature. The real show is the sea life. Huge tides carry fish and marine organisms along with the current. Tidal fluxes passing over ridges on an uneven ocean floor push that food source upward. It’s a banquet table for birds and marine mammals. To watch it in action, just wait for the mackerel to school close to shore.

Mackerel are 12- to 18-inch-long fish that come into bays and estuaries to feed in summer. Mackerel are oily and strongflavored but when prepared properly are a favorite for many anglers along the Maine coast. There are many places to fish for them, but none is more productive than Head Harbor Passage. It’s common to see fishermen standing on piers, casting lines with multiple hooks, then reeling in several wriggling fish at a time.

It’s easy to tell where the mackerel, herring and other fish are schooling. Just look for the harbor seals and porpoises chasing them. Expect to see whales.

Minke whales gorge themselves on the abundance all summer, venturing nearly to dockside in Eastport. Minke whales are the smallest of the baleen whales, and several well-known individuals return each year. There’s “Gonzo,” so-named because he jumps more often than the others. There’s “Breadknife,” whose dorsal fin looks serrated due to something biting it long ago. There’s “Slice,” who doesn’t have a top fin at all.

Occasionally, one of the larger humpbacks or finbacks ventures deep into the passage.

Watch for big flocks of gulls feeding voraciously in the channel. The waters are so food-rich that one odd species of gull has chosen to make a permanent home there.

At the upper end of the channel, White Horse Island is the southernmost nesting colony of black-legged kittiwakes in the world. Another gull — the Bonaparte’s gull — is a small, tern-like species that nests on freshwater in northern Canada. Tens of thousands swarm into Head Harbor Passage in late summer.

You don’t have to get on a boat to witness all of this natural spectacle.

Much of it can be seen from shore in Lubec and Eastport. More can be viewed from Campobello. Nonetheless, several small boats offer inexpensive tours up the channel, and they are well worth taking. Favorites include the “Tarquin,” based in Lubec, and the “Pier Pressure” docked in Eastport.

Summer is for tourists. They’ll have a great time in Bar Harbor. Meanwhile, savvy Mainers will head Down East for one of the greatest shows on Earth.

BOB DUCHESNE is a local radio personality, Maine guide, and columnist. He lives on Pushaw Lake with his wife, Sandi.

www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 71

Z

THE VIEW FROM HERE

Momming B

IS

j

HARD

BY EMILY MORRISON

B

and performing miscellaneous mom tasks, work is a long rest stop and an awesome hydration station.

Or, if your vocation is different than mine and your day job is taking care of children, home and hearth, then bless you, bless you, bless you. You deserve two gold medals, mother-friend.

When it’s quitting time for me, the real work begins. This is when I figure out who’s getting who and who’s got something to do. Two kids have track, the other’s a walker, and I need to squeeze in a real run before I get groceries, make dinner, help at least one child with their homework, put the food away, do one load of dishes and one load of laundry, take the dog for a walk, finish my school work, bathe, then dig deep for the last mile.

Every mother knows the last mile is what this race is all about. This is the homestretch. This is the good stuff. This is cuddle time, talk time, curl up and watch-a-movie-together time. It’s laughter and hugs and “show me that music video that you like again” time. It’s everything you ever dreamed about when you were a little girl, curled up beside your mother while she read to you from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House on the Prairie.”

You hear her voice in your head as you read to your children.

You remember that extra glass of water she brought you when you were supposed to be going to bed, and you say the prayers she taught you while you drift off to sleep. You understand that the love she gave you and these sweet children you’re sharing it with is the most amazing gift you’ve ever been given.

Maybe you don’t need that medal after all.

PHOTO: ©SOUPSTOCK/ADOBE STOCK

MOMS DESERVE MEDALS — we really do. When we lay down our weary heads at night, there should be a gold medal stretched out on our pillow for crawling across the finish line, because make no mistake, motherhood is a marathon moms run every day with our kids on our backs.

Between waking my children (my youngest is up with the sun, but the other two are vampires), making the family breakfast, packing lunches, and dog-proofing my home, mornings are rough. This is the first leg of every mother’s run.

It’s called “getting out of the house,” and it takes every ounce of coffee and empty carbohydrates you consume to achieve it.

“Who needs a snack?”

“Who has to brush their teeth?”

“Who hasn’t showered since last week?”

“Whose turn is it to feed the dog?”

“Can somebody tell me where your father is?”

I don’t know about you, but I could pre-record my voice and hit play at the same time every morning. When things get truly crazy — when my kids pour juice into their cereal bowls because we’re all out of milk and we’ve only got one slice of bread left and it’s the heel, so it doesn’t really count — I try to remind myself to “keep calm and mom on,” but my dog is pawing through the trash, my husband has slept through his third alarm, and I just can’t fathom why the world needs to start at 8 a.m. everyday.

Why, sweet baby Jesus, why?

Then we’re off like a dirty shirt, and the next leg of the day is a breeze. Sure, teaching isn’t always smooth sailing, but when you compare talking to teens to doing dishes, folding laundry, going shopping, cleaning my house, chauffeuring kids, scheduling appointments, cooking food,

EMILY MORRISON is a high school English teacher, freelance writer and editor from coastal Maine. She is living happily-ever-after with her handsome husband, three beautiful children and two beloved dogs. And a cat.

ROGER TORREY // BROOKS, ME

RESTING IS FOR THE BIRDS. JUST ASK ROGER.

When Roger suffered a stroke, he was rushed to Waldo County General Hospital. Once there, local ER doctors consulted with neurology experts at Maine Medical Center to save him. And save him they did. Thanks to the MaineHealth Telestroke Network, Roger made a quick recovery, and his neighborhood birds couldn’t be happier to have him back in the workshop. Compassionate care.

Coordinated care. Through MaineHealth, you are connected to better.

Imagine a network of hospitals, health care providers, and specialists, built with your needs at the very center. We did – that’s MaineHealth.