Category: Uncategorized

Aroostook County Asked To Host Biathlon World Cup Event.

Maine Winter Fun Playing Outside, Red Cheeks, Fresh Air Filling The Lungs.

Did you get to see the last U.S. World Cup event In Northern Maine when the biathlon championships took place in Aroostook back in 2014?

The Nordic Heritage and the Maine Winter Sports Centers hosted the event in Presque Isle Maine and your Me In Maine cub blog post reporter was lucky enough to be able to attend. To have it so close to home in “The Crown Of Maine”. The news of the return to “The County” hit the wire services this week.

Besides seeing so many countries from around the world represented in the Northern Maine competition, the economic impact to Aroostook County and New Brunswick the neighboring Canadian province is huge.

When you do the math, add it up and consider all those television crews, the sports teams and their coaches, support arms that crowd the highway. Roll up US Rt 1. Or fly into Maine. To compete for the bronze, silver, gold medal for the respective countries from around the World that they represent.

The biathlon events held at the Nordic Heritage Center in Presque Isle and the 10th Mountain Lodge in Fort Kent Maine have been many. World Cup and Junior Cup events plus other competitions have used Northern Maine’s facilities and volunteer network. And been pleased with the support enough to tap Aroostook County on the shoulder again with the invitation to come back for more warm hospitality. Extra helpings of the spirited, professional event competitions. Watch and IBU Maine World Cup Video.

All the hub bub spills over to an economic shot in the arm too. One more winter recreational event to consider, take in.

For the other County towns to benefit, besides just the host city. Putting cash in lots of local coffers retail registers. Like neighboring Fort Fairfield to the east. Houlton Maine to the south and everything in between all win.

Much happens all four seasons right here in Maine. The door is always wide open, never locked. If you decide to hop in the family sedan and cross the big green bridge to our south. Fly into one of our many Maine airports. Climb on a chartered tour bus.

No matter how you get here, find yourself possible in Kittery Maine heading north on Interstate 95. Or coming over into Vacationland sideways from the Trans Canada highway or routes that wind, twist and turn into the heart of Maine in all directions. Thanks for being a faithful follower, reader of the Me in Maine blog posts.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
207.532.6573
info@mooersrealty.com

October 25, 2013
The Hysterical Players Put On Comedy Production In Smyrna Maine.

Small Maine Community Theater Play Productions Are Fun, Entertaining, Home Grown.

Getting out to a small Maine community play where you know all the cast of characters.

No one is a stranger and the audience is familiar to the production cast too. Community theater with home grown talent polishing the lines, rehearsing a play script to raise money for a good cause. And to give locals something different for entertainment options close to home.

This Friday and Saturday, October 25, 26th at six pm, The Hysterical Players perform a comedy “I Only Have Fangs For You”.

Another production on the road to the north in Bridgewater 32 miles away means the curtains at the local Grange hall goes up again November 2nd at 6pm. That production helps costs, funds future projects at the Bridgewater Historical Society. The desperately needed roof of the old Smyrna Methodist Church gets a shot in the arm with funds from this weekend’s play.

The cost of that drip drip drip leaking roof replacement project estimated to be in the neighborhood of eight thousand dollars.

Good play, great cause, a night out for entertainment. Like a pot luck supper tasty. Everyone brings their best covered delicious signature dish. That all the locals know you would win hands down. If there was an Olympics for this particular dish all in the area knows is to die for, heavenly good.

Take a gander at some of the shots, a glimpse of the players for this Halloween flavored Maine community theater play. Or (whispering) SSsshhhh, let’s sneak a peek, tip toe in the big back double creaking doors to sample part of an earlier play production rehearsal.

Have you ever been in a small Maine community theater play, theater production?

Either in front of an audience or behind the acts, scenes in a support role? Designing a set, doing lighting or sound? A seamstress for the wardrobe? In makeup, in charge of the meal or snacks during intermission? Or behind the promotion, publicity, ticket sales marketing to get the word out? So nothing is kept a secret.

All that work that goes into the planning, rehearsals, the nuts and bolts of a theater play to make sure it is noticed. Not witnessed only by a few of the lucky ones that are out in the audience. The bigger, better the audience, the more the cast reaches higher to go over the top with their performance. In the role they are playing to the hilt in front of the bright hot spot stage lights and open velvet curtain. The audience and play cast need each other. One partnership in the back and forth that feeds on the other.

They say that life is but a stage and every man but an actor.

For fun, entertainment and the chance to play the part in someone other than yourself, consider involvement in a locally produced, small scale play production. Or get behind a high school, college or children’s theater production so that your small local community shines brightly with the flair of drama, comedy, lights, camera, action. Break a leg. in a good way in community theater.

Maine small towns are big on the fine arts in lots of little ways. Get to Maine, you have a part waiting, become involved. Add your skill set, hone that talent on a grass roots, small town level. In small Maine town living, you don’t just attend events, you are involved in the local activities working them. That’s what happens and everyone has a part, place, spot in the sun and fun.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
207.532.6573
info@mooersrealty.com

October 24, 2013
The Weather In Maine Can Change Quickly.

You Go In For An Ice Tea, The Maine Weather, Seasons Suddenly Change By The Time You Get Back.

Something new and different, to shake it up is what weather in Maine is all about. Hey.

Never boring, not ho hum dreary. The cobalt blue cloudless skies with sunshine on your shoulder as you hike up the mountain trail, or snow ski down the other side is part of Maine weather. The weather can “turn yourself all about” as it changes quickly. Back and forth on the same day, overnight.

Finding yourself roughing it. Settled into a fall weather woods camp relaxed mood. With a crackling fire, gas lights, sparse furniture, no neighbors. Except the wildlife that occasional saunter by outside the hand peeled, crevice chinked log walls. With rain on the tin roof to put you to sleep. Or part of the background pitter patter as you prepare a joint hunting party produced supper. With local bounty harvest foods grown close to home part of the simmering stew. As card games are played, jokes are shared. The rain double clutching, changing speeds from heavy to barely audible, then to silent, in park gear. As you read a book. Write in a journal. Drift off to sleep. Think about loved ones, home.

Or floating your boat, kayak, canoe out on a lake in Maine.

The wind comes up and things go south fast. Being out to sea with the main land, islands no longer in sight. Big waves, deep inside scary fear building as your gut feeling shouts out “this is not good”. Could be the end. Reruns of the Perfect Storm and Titanic playing endless loops with deafening volume between your ears. Weather in Maine is to be respected. To be lost any where on land or out on the open water in Maine could mean someone will perish. If left in the elements exposed too long if temperatures lose red, go lower in the glass tube.

Some trick or trick Halloweens it can be balmy bag filling. For the trick or treat bell ringing too warm dressed in costumes to scare. Or a tad nippy on the “wicked good” door to door sugar high neighborhood canvas.

On the cable or TV news when Mainer’s watch someplace like Washington DC get a few inches of snow and go into a tail spin, it seems like over reaction.

Like a knee jerk reaction where you put the boot in your own forehead. But those areas don’t have experience with plowing snow. Lack the removal equipment. Folks not use to snow driving. Roadways jammed, loaded up with a slew of cars, motorists to maneuver around. And the municipalities end up putting garbage trucks, city vehicles pickup snow plows tacked on the front to battle snow fall. Grocery stores get overrun and shelves quickly go bare. Life comes to a stand still in areas not black belt accustom to the new snow experience.

Driving in snow is an art but you’ll find Maine roads remarkably well cleared of white stuff.

We take snow accumulations, what a good ripping northeaster delivers in the front yard all in stride.
Less people to avoid head on collisions, rear ending, t-boning into the side of whatever they are driving on the roads in Maine. And there is a neat homey feeling when you let it snow (times three) and you are in a rocker sipping something hot. In front of a cheery woodstove safe and sound. To ride it out. And thing about the pleasure the new blanket of white fluffy snow creates for the next day. As you thumb through the latest edition of the Maine snow sled magazine.

So when someone asks you what about Maine weather, remember we have no polar bears. That’s Artic Circle talk. Does not apply here and winter is one of the favorite seasons. Because we’re still outdoors cross and down hill skiing, playing pond ice hockey, fishing the lakes opened up with a Jiffy ice auger. The fresh air, friendly people, slower pace is quality of life. Awareness of the great outdoors around us and how lucky we are to be alive. To live in Maine.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
207.532.6573
info@mooersrealty.com

October 22, 2013
Life Is Short, How Much Time Robbed, Wasted Waiting?

Seems Like It’s Been A Dog’s Age Waiting, Hanging Around, Killing Time. Cat’s Need Chasing.

Traffic is the biggest time spender, waster for most.

Getting to the hardware store across town in a city can eat up the better part of an afternoon. And when you consider the folks that commute to work two hours. One way. Have done that milk run for years, decades. Whoa. A lot of idle time to count cows. And if behind the wheel 10 and 2, not being able to read to make the most of the travel. The down time if driving themselves to the nine to five. Telecommuting to work from Maine has helped many big time.

A little commute from home to work and following the bread crumb trail back is healthy.

Because you can shift gears. Have a little pause, space to prepare for the decompression from an action packed day at the office, factory, out in the field. Much of the year my “commute” is 32 feet from home to work.

Two things cause the need for gobs of time spent getting to and fro from home to work. Too many people to move around, avoid hitting on the way into the urban office. The conveyor belt to deliver the workers is big, cumbersome. And add some inclement weather to the roller coaster ride and chaos happens. Expect longer delays, waiting away from the home where you long to be, where your heart is parked.

The other cause of major portions of your life allocated to travel back and forth to work is employment.

What you are trained to do, good at or just pulling down steady employment may mean another zip code far away from the one from the one where you mail gets delivered. You do what you have to do to put food on the table, keep the lights on, home fires burning right?

The trick to steady employment living in rural Maine is to live small. Spend less. Save more. And always find a niche, employment where for the most part, local is your audience for customers. But using the Internet, harnessing it’s vast exposure power. To put the small burg on the map. For a greater client pool to draw from, peddle services, goods to in scratching away a living. To keep you, your family clothed, fed, warm, safe, secure. They say love will find a way. If applied to anything you enjoy doing in life, relationships. Where that passion propels the labor put in and the paycheck return that comes out the other end of the pipeline.

How Do You Handle Waiting, How Fast Would You Like Life to Go Video.

Or Is Time Standing Still, Tension Building Excitement Causing Video

Life ticks by regardless.

No matter how you use it. Rack and stack, pack it. Lock and load. Time sifts by. Like the red hour glass sands that the terrified pig tailed girl with the small dog found out. Dressed in blue, white and clicking her ruby red sparkling slippers on script cue. How concerned are you for the time wasted waiting? And is that the pause, space between events to catch your breath? The only time to reflect, search inside and spend time with yourself in transit from A to B?

Waiting for good or bad news. Routine check ups. While pretending to read outdated magazines in a dentist, doctor’s office waiting areas. Or killing more time in the dark car repair reception nook droning out. Detaching, day dreaming. Tilting your head back. Cranking your neck high to see the hoisted now being fed to you sight and sound. On the reality show boop tube production blaring loudly to drown out thought, conversation. To those huddled, hunkered down. Next to the same strong smell of day old or more Joe steaming in the Mr Coffee maker canister pot.

Maine, what are you waiting for? Come for a day, end up staying a lifetime.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
207.532.6573
info@mooersrealty.com

October 20, 2013
Love Where You Live, Maine Small Town Living Blog Posts.

Maine Moonlight Shines The Way, Time Yet To Move On Down The Line To Simpler Rural Living?

Mainers are fiercely independent, resourceful, proud of their small towns.

And each one is unique, special because of the people who live there. Make them shine. Stand out. Like the stars dotting a Maine night sky. The surroundings help. The natural back drop creates the perfect setting for simpler Maine rural living. Something folks in a crowded, expensive urban setting have been missing. Trying to locate. Forgot existed except in history or canned movies from the town with the white letters on the hillside.

The small Maine town members, population have a greater stake in the community too. All of them. Because each is a corner stone of the social fabric. When there are less of us here to drive the fly wheel. To each year pick your events. Step up to the plate. Sign up, pitch in, work the local activity you can. Which all cause a deeper love and appreciation of the small Maine town. There is a strong connection among the individuals in rural areas where everyone is pretty self sufficient. Has a personal stake in what happens in the rural areas of Maine.

The life template you apply to a small Maine town is so vastly different than the filter you screw on, the lens you look through in a big city, urban area.

Instead of expensive productions where companies put on events and tickets to the venue are peddled, even scalped, it is home grown. Small investment of funds, major helpings, portions of volunteers time. Poured in talents, blood, sweat and tears. That’s what you find served up family style in a small Maine town.

More skin in the game is part of the deeper attachment. More of your personal effort to go over the top in the areas you have a skill set, aptitude for and because when you look over your shoulder, there is not a deep tier, row after row of replacements. To step up and take over if you decide to drop out. Small town individuals count on each other. Everyone is working hard to help row the boat.

There is nothing stronger than a Maine volunteers heart.

Especially if tied to something involving our kids. Just attend a couple home town sporting events. A local school play production or church bizarre. Or a benefit supper for a family in a bad way. Struggling with medical bills, serious illness or a loss of everything fire, other tragedy caused. Take in, watch a regular civic group fund raising for a local cause activity and whoa. It hits you as pretty darn impressive, special.

Get out of the way. The volunteers highly organized, well orchestrated, lubricated.

Seasoned with experience from the grass roots up. Built from scratch with what’s available and with a wish list created. So others add to the stew. Many contribute in lots of little ways. So eventually the entire town pretty much is on board, involved in some fashion. That is a very special experience to behold when you live in a small Maine community. Anything can be done with a spark that grows into a passionate fire with that kind of chemistry going on in a small Maine town.

Boatloads of creative spirit to put the event over the top. Make it memorable, special and causing other local community members to find their niche. Seek out “what can I do, how can I help” for a segment of events. To close ranks, join forces. Come aboard to put their shoulder where needed. To inject one big give it all you’ve got heave ho shove, push. You don’t just live in a small Maine town and spectate. Don’t hang around the shadows of the side lines. You are pulled into the fray.

You don’t move, relocate to an area of Vacationland and expect everyone to come knocking at your door anxious to meet you either. You get involved, you take away way more because like a good relationship, you build it together, collectively. And go above and beyond what just one person could have accomplished all by their lonesome.

Maine. Is it like that this where you hang your hat, call home now?

Did it used to be but suddenly a stampede of people cruised in from all directions and whoosh. Air brushed out that special small town feeling the smaller zip code used to radiate? Was it lost in the shuffle of the hustle bustle? Consider Maine, bring that job with you telecommuting. Feel stronger connections online, off line too in the Maine small town simple living lifestyle that is waiting when you are ready. To bail out of the city, to start enjoying life, living healthier, happier in Maine.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
207.532.6573
info@mooersrealty.com

October 18, 2013
The Attraction To Over Spend, Why It’s Done Without Much Thought, Worry.

Maine, Simple, Real, Natural. And Not Over Spending Flashy, Expensive, Artificial.

Simple economics drives home the point that you don’t continue to spend more out for expenses than is coming in for revenue for very long.

The cupboard goes bare. Becomes empty and as Billy Preston crooned “Nothing from nothing is nothing”.

The need for the basics of food, shelter, heat, security come with a price. And in a simpler Maine small town rural living atmosphere lots of those areas can be shouldered by the individual. With a home grown not store bought approach. Big gardens that get canned and preserved, stored. Tree length logs worked on in the back yard with the cutting, splitting and stacking for the next winter. Because this winter’s heat supply is already in place. Parked and ready, waiting for snowflakes to fall from the Maine skies this winter. Put on a sweater, don’t wear a t-shirt in winter if you are cold common sense works well here.

The car, pickup in the yard, the vehicles are not brand new and shiny.

Not Mainer’s not in the habit of being loaded down with thick like prime steak payment booklets. Needing monthly attention to keep them parked in the driveway, parking lot. Away from the tow truck big hook tugging, taking them away if you don’t. In Maine what you must drive is not to fill a need to impress, to fit in. Following the crowd or wasting money on something frivolous does not happen when the basic needs of a Maine family household need attention, funding.

When you remove the store bought temporary need to buy your happiness and replace it with making your own way under your own power, simple living happens. Less or no debt, an aversion to it happens. And you lose the habit of constantly reaching for your wallet or purse. To ching ching, count out one by one the saw bucks with the various President’s portrait stamped on them. Or to automatically swipe like a chain smoker reaching for one after another from the thick stack of small plastic rectangles with the magnetic strip. Without thought, a nasty habit grows because it’s how you live when life is higher higher, faster faster. Until something snaps. Breaks. Goes bankrupt.

Raise Your Personal Spending Debt Ceiling Video.

What happens on the local level can be elevated as okay on the national level too.

Like a cancer spreading and with less thought, worry. No pit in your stomach of dread or concern. Because this is how you, the local town, county, state and country roll too. Spend like a drunken sailor. Eat, drink, be merry. Because tomorrow you shall die. Don’t give it a thought, concern as long as it happens drive through window quick.

Right now, gotta have it quick and easy. Living in the moment and not giving thought to what happens in the long term with a pattern of spending more than you make. And saving money? Why would you do that when it burns a hole in your pocket? Someone else will “save” me, catch me, rescue me. not my problem. Expecting someone else to do all that fiscal worrying, creative book keeping to keep it coming strong and easy. Free to me. Cause it’s all about me.

It used to be “if it is to be it is up to me”.

Do or die, sink or swim. And you felt satisfaction because the best sparring partner is adversity. Every one saw what you were made of when up against it. The tough get going when the going gets tough thinking kicking into gear. And you felt good about yourself when you came out the other side of a storm in life. Because you took charge, made the effort. Did whatever it took to keep your head above water. Not looking around the room and with a default mode hand extension, looked, expected someone else to carry the load. While you sat in the wagon waiting for anyone but yourself to pull the cart.

How do you feel about debt?

Are you scared of it, is it viewed like a cancer draining you that you just avoid thinking about? Or feel powerless to get your financial house in order because it’s not the norm where you live, swim among your peers? Maine kids are taught work ethic early on. To pitch in, help out and earn their keep as responsible members of a family not flush with cash. But rich in love, everything that matters that is real, important and not man made artificial.

Maine, simple approach to life, taking the need for lots of money right out of the equation.

Replacing it with more self reliance, pulling yourself up by the boot straps. Cash spending only, long term goals, have a serious talk with the guy or gal you brush your teeth with each morning at the bathroom sink. To examine emotional spending, that is a form of retail therapy that does not last. Leads to more and more like any addiction to meet unmet needs. Good or bad.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, Real Estate Broker
207.532.6573
info@mooersrealty.com

October 17, 2013