cabinets

Often I seem obsessed with cups and bowls and plates and dishes of all kinds. How lucky that there are a handful of kitchens here to stock and then re-stock with these lovelies. There is a shifting and sharing this time of year, and such fun in creating new groupings.

So if you arrive at a community kitchen or are staying at one of the cabins and you seem to be missing your favorite tea cup, don't worry, it is still somewhere here On Olive Street. It's just having a visit and being a part of a new adventure in another residence's cabinet.

This very often happens with furniture too, as you might notice.

Simply without the cabinets, of course

self-serve tea

The studio space at the Sugar Tree Cottage will be unavailable until sometime in mid-June, so the tea spot has been moved to the porch at the Perkins House.

It is currently BYOWater - as I can not be relied upon to bring freshies every day at this point, and you should maybe BYOCup too....   so really all I'm providing is some tea and a way to heat water, along with a place to sit; but the flowers should be blooming soon, and the sound of the brook is always amazing, so a sit down will do your soul good. 

Feel free to take your cup of tea across the street and enjoy it on the porch of the Gardener's Cottage instead if you wish.

Just remember, the grounds are under construction still...  be careful where you walk, and be aware that progress related eyesores are present. Just overlook them and find beauty where you may.

little details

Loving the new beautiful trim on the Cabbage's loft windows.  

Simple, but these are the things that often set me down to sit and stare, and ponder. Things like the art of shapes, wood grain, the sound of the brook rushing past, trees in bud, the pattern in the fur of the cat outside stalking a bird on the pine-needle covered ground. 

When the world can seem so very big and overwhelming sometimes, it's the little details that can matter so much.

space available

Cast notices for the 2023 Lakewood Theater Season went out today! There will soon be a bustle of folks picking up thier scripts and getting ready for rehearsals! 

Just like you, I'll be waiting to hear who is in what, but know I am excited to be welcoming back MJ Clifford, Tucker & Autumn Atwood, and Colton Bagley here on Olive Street [Jakob Sutton, of course, is already here... and it is confirmed that he will be appearing on the Lakewood stage as well]

We still have space available for theater & restaurant folk (read more about that on the LCH page) and artists in residence (please see the Art Residencies page for that)  

duck & cat

Each springtime, my favorite resident pair of mallards returns. They will spend the summer visting the brook often [I think they nest in a bend a little further up] and become a daily routine to see floating by. First sightings in the spring have varied from in the brook, swimming in large puddles beside the cottage or across the street, to just merrily walking down a muddy Olive Street. Today they decided to traverse a snow bank to check out some birdseed that had swollen as it soaked in the melting snow, and in doing so, provided much entertainment for Peach.

sneak peak

While the remodel on the Brook House is still undergoing, a sneak peek at the kitchen's double ovens. And the awesome country boards. Such cool custom work. 

coffee

This morning was a coffee morning! I have been wanting to try KittyTown ever since hearing of this amazing women-owned business whose slogan is "Drink Coffee. Feed Cats." With every bag sold, they donate to a shelter's general fund the cost equal to feed a kitty there for a week!

Every. Bag. Sold.

Ethically sourced, chemical free, each blend named after a kitty... and very yummy!

Will be making these coffees available to folks on Olive Street!

waiting

In the snow, in the quiet, the community bridge between Olive Street and the Lakewood Theater parking lot waits for heavier traffic.

Local folks occasionaly cross on thier winter walks, and to go ice fishing, but for the most part few go by this time of year.

Last summer it was beautiful to see her rail lit by a string of tiny lights each evening and I'm looking forward to doing that again.

Arts Access Sponsor

On Olive Street is so very pround to be an Arts Access sponsor to an upcoming show at the Skowhegan Opera House!

On Sunday February 26th at 4pm, the SOH welcomes the one and only Scot Cannon, who will present "Be Positive Be Productive" a Mime & Music Workshop Show for Kids & Families

Tickets are $5 each or $20 per family, but through the Arts Access program a number of tickets are FREE to children! Email Lyn at wesartsinfo@gmail.com or call/text 207-399-3181 for more information about this wonderful opportunity. 

I first met Scot a little over a decade ago when I was co-director of the Elementary Performing Arts Enrichment Program at RSU#3. His performance captivated the students! In years following that, he returned to Mount View to do interviews & recordings of various student projects for his WERU radio show, including school musicals, band performances, and the Mount View Chamber Singers. 

You may have heard my son and On Olive Street resident Jakob Sutton in his recurring radio role as the voice of Thor on the 'General Store Varity Hour with Annie & Andy' on HooSkow Radio WXNZ 98.1, but we like to say that Scot gave him his big radio break first!

This performance of Scot Cannon's show "Be Positive Be Productive" is presented by Friends of Skowhegan Opera House, and all proceeds will go to updating and renovating SOH.

let's get cooking

The kitchens at the cabins/cottages/houses here On Olive Street, deserve some good cooking pots, pans, bowls, utensils and so on. Part of the project is community cooking. Growing our own foods in our own gardens and preparing them in meals for the other members of the residence on a regular basis, and occasionally the community at large. 

After quality research and budget considerations, the Pampered Chef plan was decided upon as a means to acquire the items through fundraising.  Eventually every residence will have a selection. Additionally we may use the Pampered Chef catalog/website sales for fundraising for the On Olive Street project in general.

Catalogs can be found in each of the residences to share with family and friends if you wish. The weblink is here  and there is a facebook group here.