Thank You!

Before I tell you about the gorgeous mail we've been receiving, I must tell you about a funny thing that happened today. In the fall Portland is visited by many, many gigantic cruise ships. An especially large ship was docked in the harbor today as we drove into town to do an errand. We both noticed that, although it was a really lovely warm day, many folks downtown had on winter coats. What in the world is going on, we wondered. Were we going to get out of the car to find a strange pocket of cold air had enveloped Portland? Then we realized that the people we saw were tourists, or shall we say, guests, from the ship. Where could they be from, we wanted to know, that this warm, sunny day seemed cold. The answer? Texas. Or at least that's what we were told. Yes, of course. In Texas this must be cool, autumn weather. For us, today's warmth was a reminder of summer's passing. As I sit here I'm thinking that those folks must be really chilly now, as even I have grabbed a sweater for the evening. Or, perhaps they're already gone. Quite often they stay in our port for just a visit, waking up even farther up the coast the next day. I can only imagine how cold they will feel in the morning!

But, back to the mail. We received mostly hats this year. Mittens, scarves, a sweater, and a few shawls, too. But mostly really, really gorgeous hats. Some hats were made from the softest merino handspun. There were hats for babies and children. Hats for adults. Striped hats, and hats with buttons and ribbons. And before long we'll all be needing our hats. There is nothing quite as comforting as a warm handknit hat when Maine's winter winds really get going. So, we thank you for sending your beautiful hats to Maine. And for the kind words that I so often find tucked into your packages. Quite seriously, every time I collect a package for Nest I am reminded that there is so much goodwill in this world. Thank you for sharing yours with all of us.

Tomorrow morning all of your contributions will head home with Laura, to Ft. Kent. I'm sure that mornings are getting frosty in northern Maine and that all that lovely work will arrive just in time.

Peace,
Jean