Maine Spa Treatment

Christmas Cove, South Bristol,Maine

I needed to recharge as we say… the batteries… Could not think of a more beautiful place than my husband's family magnificent spot on the coast of Maine. This is no near as far as Roque Island, our beloved Island way up North in Maine.

Recipe for my "get in shape" in 5 days program:

Be present in the moment, absorb you surroundings, breath in the fresh scented air, feel the ocean,
leave behind newspapers, computers, TV. Listen to the music of the birds.

Up early, I eat a  healthy breakfast of home made bread and jam, scrambled farm eggs with freshly harvested Chantarelle mushrooms and chopped bacon strips all topped off with a glass of fresh juice.

Then onto the bike for a challenging ride. Starting at 10 miles on the first day to 20 miles by the fifth day. The ride is rigorous with steep hills, fast descents, curved lanes which makes it  an interesting and fun work out while  burning calories and  great leg and thigh workout.

Back to the house for a light snack and ready to hike the beautiful wooded trails along the coast. Along the walk, I love to explore in search for beautiful moss and some more Chanterelles which will be perfect for a light lunch. The paths are covered in the most stunning varieties of  moss. The air is richly scented from the pines, the sea, the humus. Breath in….breath out… clean the lungs.

A kitchen with a view

Back at the house, time to collect blueberries that will be transformed into delicious pies.
A lunch of fresh crab salad on home made bread, local peaches for desert, and a strong espresso.

Time to lounge by the pool or on the grass, looking at the bay, a nap, a great book…moment of bliss.

Part two of the "perfect healthy day":

Off to our dock to get the kayaks in the water. I love kayaking, it is a contemplative exercise, silence only broken by the cries of the birds, the sound of the wind. We have had some intense kayaking as well, being caught in some rapid currents. The Maine waterways and ocean is treacherous and one has to be very aware of the change in tides, winds and storms surging. I try to kayak for at least one and a half hours... it is a great exercise for the shoulders, arms and upper back.

Then comes my final ritual, not for the faint of heart: swimming in rather cold water. I always swim in the late afternoon to early evening high tides, when the water had a chance to warm up to a roaring 60 degrees. (Roque island water is in the low to mid 50's…) I have a strict method of counting each stroke. 1000 strokes is close to 1 mile and that is my daily goal, it takes about 1 hour. If the water is too cold, I unfortunately cut it to half a mile to avoid hypothermia. I feel euphoric from the swim, it is truly an amazing feeling. The water is just so cold, so pure, the scent in the air is incredibly fragrant, the nature surrounding me is magnificent and I forget the world….

Last part of the day is running on the dock to get as fast as possible to my well deserved hot water shower. It does take a little while to bring back the body temperature.I dress comfortably and warmly, light a big fire, serve myself a glass of rose and get lost into the sunset.

Dinner is usually clams, lobsters, oysters, fish…all food from the sea and local vegetables.

The day is gone...walking back from the main house to our smaller cottage, we stop to stare at the stars,  They are brilliant in the unpolluted sky.

I thank God, kiss my husband goodnight and enter the world of dreams.

A Bientôt,

Francine

Finding Serenity

Green is the color of life, green symbolizes self -respect and well being.

Green is the color of healing, it represents regeneration and growth, balance and harmony. It brings calmness, and soothes the senses and the nerves.

People who favor green tend to be kind and giving, loving, family oriented, creative and artistic. They enjoy life and comfort and care for the well being of others. 

Healers' first choice for treating physical, emotional, mental and spiritual is green as it contains powerful energies of nature, growth and energy.

Green is a medium for creativity, changes, growth, green protect from fear and anxiety.

I am in need of a little green!

It seems that my life is a constant whirlwind, professionally, emotionally and physically. It has been more than a month since my last post! Exhausted and stressed, I took refuge to our beloved family island in Maine. Drove 9 hours each way, wind blowing with the top down, to meet my family and friends. Three blissful days, immersed in green is all it took to soothe my nerves, brings back peace and calm and re-envigorated me for my creative quest. 

Church in Iceland

 Iceland original houses

via Pinterest

via Pinterest

via Pinterest

All photos by Francine Gardner, otherwise noted

Hope you have a little green in your life

If you would like me to create your personal and ideal home, contact me about our Interior Design Services

Time away

"Great Beach" at low tide image Francine Gardner

Living and working in America, specifically in New York is rewarding but extremely tasking. From my first days in business school in Boston, I have embraced the american entrepreneurial spirit where one creates their own expectations and thrives for an accomplished life. In France, one tends to take for granted the privileges of employment, long extended vacations and social services. I will admit that France offers an amazing quality of life. A while ago, the New York times listed the best countries for americans to retire, if they chose to live abroad. My home region of the South West of France made the top 5 list... I feel that I have always compromised between my french upbringing and my acute need for a faster, exiting, adventurous life. I became an entrepreneur of sorts, having started my design showroom and Interior design business Interieurs 15 years ago. I work hard, awake at 5Am, home around 9pm. My days are hectic, stressful and extremely challenging especially now in this deep recession. For too many years, I ignored my needs for a "time out", I had live-in nannies for my children, their summer vacations were spent in France, Spain and Newport at their grand parents' houses. I felt torn not to share these wonderful years with them, but there is one place, where I would leave everything behind to just "be" with my family and close friends, and that  is my husband's family retreat in Maine.

My sons are now adults, 20 and 24 and we have a wonderful, open relationship. They are kind, generous, great fun to be around. We often talk of the choices I made, being a career oriented mother, and they always reassure me that they actually like the fact to have a working mom. Our time together is very precious, they became very independent, self entertained, curious and enriched from all the traveling experiences we have shared, and the summers spent with grand parents, which has taught them a strong family sense and security.

I have been absent from the blogworld and am starting to catch up my reading and will reply to all the wonderful comments. Indeed, I was in Maine with my very dear italian college friend Ettore and his family, as well as a close friend and her son and a couple of their friends. The first time Ettore came to Maine with us, my husband and I had just been married, and we we were a wild fun loving group. 

Sitting at our lobster dinner, I looked around the table, and felt as if I was in a time warp, as if the years were reversed and it was us, the rambunctious  group with our lives ahead of us. Instead, I was looking at the new generation of men and women laughing at the table, sharing their stunts of the day, planning their night walk and camping, all beautiful, full of life and dreams. I left the room for a moment, with teary eyes...I thought... well done... what better accomplishment in life than looking at our children, happy, joyful, loving their special time with their parents, their friendship perpetuated through the next generation.

Then I stepped outside, took in the beloved scenery and thanked God.

A Bientot,

Francine

For more on the Maine Island, read my post from July 2010

A MAINE EAGLE

As August came to a close, I was able to escape New York summer heat and drive with husband, sons and friends to our beloved Maine family island. 

I treasure every moment spent on this stunningly beautiful island, with its sandy beach, magnificent woods, amazing rock formations and the most spectacular moss species (moss post to follow!). I love taking long early morning and late afternoon walks, camera in hand of course. To my bewilderment, I spotted a bald eagle, rather rare and highly protected (a mere possession of a bald eagle feather can cost a $25000 fine!)

Camera set, I very discreetly started to follow his path and his flight...

A Bientot,

Francine

An Island in Maine....my American summers

While finishing Business School in Boston, I met Luke. Luke was this incredibly handsome, free spirit daring young man.....my student visa having expired, I needed to go back to France to run the family business.
On Christmas Eve, Luke showed up in our family house's kitchen unannounced....three months later we were married both in Boston and in my village church in France.
 I happily return to Boston and started to meet Luke's very large family which had been in Boston since the days of the Mayflower. I buried myself in the family history books and through the story of the family's life learned a very personal fascinating part of American history, how enterprising, adventurous, cultured, well bred this old blue blood american society thrived financially but also contributed to their country through their generosity and political savvy.

On our first summer, Luke brought me to his cherished family Island in northern Maine in hope that I would be willing to trade summers in Saint Tropez for a completely isolated Island surrounded by frigid water.

It was love at first sight.....

Since then, we have spent the most memorable, happiest days in company of our friends, parents, relatives, our children took their first steps there...hiking, swimming ,riding, collecting moss, sailing, cooking. There are no distractions on the island, the houses have no televisions, no radios...only the farmers who live on the island all year around do have Tv, radio, wireless etc... the island is self sustaining, large vegetable garden,berries, chicken coop, lambs, cows, pigs...and off course fish, mussels, clams, lobsters.
When the children were little we would ride to the beach in beautiful horse drawn carriages dating to the early 1800's, we spent Christmas surrounded by iced sea, cross country skiing on the mile long beach or riding in horse drawn sleigh...
I hesitated in sharing this part of my life, but also felt compelled to express my gratitude for so much beauty that God had created, and as a new american (for only 4 years) feel extraordinary privileged to live during these precious summer days, what I would define as the ultimate american experience. Life lived in harmony with nature, away from the distractions and all the negativity of the world.

When Joseph Peabody first set foot on the archipelago in 1806, Indians lived on the main Island. To date we still find numerous Indian artifacts. Joseph Peabody thought the Island would be perfect to build his clipper ships to sail to China for trading purposes.He bought the main island and later on also purchased the 5 smaller surrounding islands  which creates very protected natural harbors,  Joseph Peabody built a few ships on the Island as well as gristmill and saw mill and went on to build more than 80 clipper ships in Salem, Massachuaetts using the lumber from the island. The island has remained ever since in the family, the farm house was built in the early 1800's, then two more houses were added  in the mid 1800's followed by a smaller guest house in the early 1900's.
The interiors are filled with beautiful english and american antiques and the bookshelves are filled with history books, sailing adventure books, books about genealogy, birds, farming....my goal is to read every single book in the large library.... For privacy reason, I will not show the interior of the houses, but will let you explore the beauty of this very special american place.

After a 10 hours grueling drive, we arrived to Roque Bluff where we garage the car, and take the boat to the main dock on the Island. this is truly a blessed moment when I first set eyes on the island

Our sons and friends thrilled to finally arrive, soon they will be sailing, riding, preparing for lobster and clambakes

Each year, we book time for one of the 3 houses.Only the farmer's house is lived in all year around.

The island is a working farm with stables,chicken coop, barns, boathouses etc..

We have working horses and horses for ridding or pulling carriages

The interior of the island is spectacular, it took me more than 10 hours of brisk hiking to go around the island. It is an extremely strenuous hike that is not for the fainthearted.

Amazing vistas such as  Great beach 

The island is blessed to have the longuest (more than a mile) sand beach in Maine. My daily exercise is to run the length of the beach and swim from one side to the other (more than 30 minutes in frigid water)

Another favorite place to swim where the water is slightly warmer.We access by speedboat, I jump in an swim to shore

The boys stay on board and rather not brave the cold water

Love to wake up for the sunrise

Love to read about the clipper ships being built here and their journeys

Suggested readings

Blogs:

http://littleaugury.blogspot.com/2010/01/mrs-jack-new-chapter.html

www.gardnermuseum.org
www.peabody.harvard.edu/

Books: