It Was a Cucumber Conundrum
Though I like to cook and especially like to bake, canning or "putting up" vegetables is something I've stayed away from. But this year, our backyard neighbors have provided us, my husband says, "a conveyor belt of cucumbers," and we just can't eat (or give away) enough of them.

What to do? Refrigerator pickles. It takes fewer steps and is easier all the way around. While true canning preserves your harvest for months, these will give you just one month in the refrigerator. But that's enough because repurposed, cukes are making a comeback—as bread and butter pickles.

As You Like It — it's a lofty goal.
Company arrives and finding new and interesting things to do can be challenging. This year we focused on activities held in our local parks. And we weren't disappointed. A late morning stroll through Farmers' Market in Deering Oaks followed by Art in the Park in South Portland's Mill Creek Park led to lunch at Nosh, and finally, Fenix Theatre's performance of Shakespeare's As You Like It, again at Deering Oaks Park.

Gardeners were delighted, doubters pleasantly surprised, and the tired—well, they rallied to attend an evening performance worthy of applause.

Summer Car Shows
When the weather is good, car shows pop up in grassy fields and empty lots all over the state—raised hoods and gleaming chrome beckoning passersby.

In the past few years I've walked the aisles of three shows: the Macworth Island Show & Shine (where I spotted the AAHHHHH plate), the WSCH6 Auto Show that runs with the Sidewalk Art Festival, and another in Fort Fairfield a few years back. Pull over, and like us, you'll find yourself choosing what you judge "Best in Show." It's hard not to.