A New Day With No Mistakes In It

Looking east across the Kennebec on a new day

A few of our friends and neighbors on Washington Street gathered around the dining room table on New Year’s Eve to remember our youth and talk about our future as we consumed bowls of hearty vegetable soup and said yes to homemade apple pie a la mode. The food was simple and good; the conversation was deep and sincere. I was sitting next to Elizabeth Knowlton, the innkeeper at The Inn at Bath, when my thoughts turned to Anne Shirley, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, Miss Stacy, and Gilbert Blythe, all beloved characters in Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea by Lucy M. Montgomery. Anne once inspired her teacher, Miss Stacy, by asking, “Isn’t it nice to think tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?” 

Anne of Green Gables, a book of kindred spirits

Swept up by the nostalgia of New Year’s Eve 2015, I shared the story of how my family found Bath, and how my daughter, Katie, wrote in The Inn at Bath’s guest book: “This place is a little bit Anne of Green Gables and a little bit The Gilmore Girls.” At the time, I couldn’t think of a better description of The Inn at Bath or of Maine’s Cool Little City.  As fate and Bath would have it, everyone at the table knew the story of Anne Shirley, but Elizabeth and I had to bring a few of our friends up to speed on Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, the endearing mother and daughter duo of the television series The Gilmore Girls, which aired on the WB network from 2000 to 2007, and was hailed by Time magazine as one of the top 100 television series of all time.  Elizabeth added an extra cherry to our dessert, when she informed us that Netflix would be airing four new 90-minute episodes in 2016. Knowing that there is going to be a revival of The Gilmore Girls, how can anyone doubt that 2016 is going to be a great year? And true to Anne of Green Gables, there aren’t any mistakes in it yet!

Like Anne Shirley of Avonlea and Rory Gilmore of Stars Hallow, my daughter has been seeking beautiful and fascinating places since the moment she could walk and talk, and just before the New Year started, Katie discovered the culinary delights and the cozy warmth of the Live Edge Deli at 102 Front Street in Bath. This new, hip lunch spot had its soft opening on December 7, 2015, and a rising tide of customers have been filling its seats and singing its praises ever since. Hungry holiday shoppers and hard working shop keepers were grateful for its quiet opening because its menu offered comfort at a busy time of year. Specialty sandwiches named after Bath built ships, like the Hanover (pastrami, swiss and spicy mustard on rye), and the Seguin (salami and black forest ham with tamponade spread on sourdough bread) suggest the salty sea stories that make Bath so charming, and the desserts, like blueberry lemon cake and whoopie pies, make everyone feel at home.

The Live Edge Deli at the time of its soft December opening

On Katie’s recommendation, Joe and I visited the deli on December 23. Truth be told, as a Brooklyn girl, I'm partial to delicatessens! We ordered soup with an old fashioned BLT on toasted whole-grain bread. I was tempted to buy a whole loaf of the deli’s rye, sourdough or whole-grain bread to bring home, but I felt I had already enjoyed too many guilty pleasures for one day. (The bacon was so good!)  A week passed, and I was still thinking about that delicious bread, so on December 31, I returned to the deli to buy a loaf of whole-grain to serve to my guests at our “soup and pie” gathering.  I was happy to see that all of the chairs were filled at Live Edge.  Considering the warm glow of the deli’s soft December opening, I believe its grand opening later this year will be like fireworks on The Fourth of July! I hope the next time you’re in downtown Bath you step inside the new Live Edge Deli and look for a seat at the common table up front near the window. While you’re enjoying a chicken potpie or a cheesy potato soup, you may start a conversation with a native Mainer, or meet someone from away, or perhaps you’ll just savor the view. It’s a great place to dream.

There’s another new kid on the Sagadahoc Block called City Drawers, a lingerie store that sells sleepwear, yogawear, hosiery, and best of all, pretty undergarments. The window dressing is sassy and challenges the ladies of Bath to live boldly. When shoppers spy a window with a snow lady dressed in only a bra and panties, they tend to stop and look! The divine City Drawers opened about six months ago, and business has been brisk. The women of Bath have gone shopping, and not a single man has complained. Here's a secret, I purchased something pretty there shortly before New Year’s, and the size was a surprise. Glamour and Vogue are right. If you go to a good lingerie store, they will tell you that you’re wearing the wrong size, and you’ll find that vital information to be uplifting. City Drawers is a great new resource for the women of Bath! Let’s all enjoy it!

Springer's jewelry store - inspiring new beginnings!

I’ve been told good things come in threes, so I’d like to highlight a third shop on Front Street that is the oldest operating jewelry store in Maine, but every year is responsible for countless, happy new beginnings. In 2015, I know at least two young men went to this lovely shop to find a diamond for their true love. That’s right, they went to Springer’s! Mark, my youngest son, proposed to Lauren last April, and the wedding will take place this summer.  Scott, my soon to be son-in-law, proposed to Katie last October, and the wedding will take place in Maine this spring! Clearly, Springer’s can help you celebrate true love with a ring! At my dining room table on New Year’s Eve, I quietly gave thanks for all the love that's in the air in Bath!

Calvin And Hobbes (December, 1995)

Ringing in the New Year, I was reminded of my favorite Calvin and Hobbes comic strip that appeared on December 31, 1995. This particular Sunday installment of the hugely popular comic marked the retirement of its creator, Bill Watterson. It remained on my refrigerator for over ten years before I was forced by the lack of magnetism of new stainless steel refrigerators to place it in a folder as a treasured keepsake. Ironically, Calvin and Hobbes was launched in 1985, the same year our older son, Matthew, was born. As soon as Matthew learned to read, he became a huge fan of Calvin and Hobbes, and in many ways, like Anne Shirley is to me, I saw Calvin as Matthew’s kindred spirit. Today, at thirty years old, Matthew is a pediatrician and a third year fellow in neonatology, and he is about to become a father for the first time. Matthew’s wife, Lauren, is due to deliver their baby some time in February, and our family is excited about the future. Imagine all of the adventures we’ve yet to live and share! In the words of Calvin and Hobbes:

Calvin: “Wow, it really snowed last night! Isn’t it wonderful?”
Hobbes: “Everything familiar has disappeared! The world looks brand-new!”
Calvin: “A new year…a fresh, clean start!”  

Hobbes: “It’s like having a big white sheet of paper to draw on!
Calvin: “A day full of possibilities!” “It’s a magical world, Hobbes, ol’ buddy…Let’s go exploring!"

Happy New Year! Create a new adventure and fall in love with the  possibilities!

                                                                                                     

 

  

TM