Blog No. 245: No Place Like Maine, About Bees, Crumble Recipe (Copy)

September 5, 2025

There's No Place Like Maine

Nothing like a family vacation in our favorite vacation spot in the state of Maine, "the way life should be!"  I am not sure all vacation places are like this but Maine seems to attract generation upon generation of summer people who continue to carry on the family tradition...our family included.  Our special spot is mid-coast.  

This year there are sixteen of us in a huge house and you could say it is a bit of a United Nations--we have two Chinese, two Danes, one Brit, a Greek, two Puerto Ricans and the rest of us mundane Americans (although many of us hold multiple European passports)...Feel so lucky to be able to gather and that everyone wants to come time and again...so many beautiful memories over the years.  Blessed...

My nephew Aaron Schoenfelder has documented much of his experiences in the state with these wonderful paintings--creativity does flourish in our breed...

About Bees

click image above to see more animal prints by Pam Smilow and Gert Mathiesen

My friend Regina is one of the foremost beekeepers in Maine and she has mentored many newcomers to the field.  I had the good fortune of suiting up with her one day and going into one of her four hives and having a look.  Totally fascinating!  I was a little nervous at first but realized I was totally protected by the suit and the bees weren't interested in me anyway...

We all love honey.  Here is a crash course on the wonder of bees and that sweet divine nectar they produce:

Click to watch a brief video, courtesy Flow Hive US, honeyflow.com

Click to watch how beeswax is made, courtesy Flow Hive US, honeyflow.com

And on my travels across bee-land, I came across this cool Australian company called Flow who have invented a new kind of beehive, easier on the beekeeper and easier on the bees.

Courtesy honeyflow.com. “With our new invention it was now possible to harvest honey from a beehive quickly and easily, without disturbing the bees and without requiring a honey shed or special extraction equipment. We were convinced that our invention could change beekeeping forever. Now it was time to introduce the Flow Hive to the world.”

Click image to shop all these innovative beehives by Flow Hives

Steve and Maia's Famous Crumble Recipe

My beautiful mom and daughter, many moons ago!

MAIA AND STEVE'S CRUMBLE

Topping: 
mix together 

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

Filling: 
mix together 

3 cups fruit #1

2-3 cups fruit #2

1/4 cup flour
 
2 tbsp brown or white sugar 

Spices (cinnamon or vanilla etc)
Bake at 375 degrees for approx. 40 minutes

Painting of the Week

Painting by my very talented nephew Aaron Schoenfelder. Click image to see more of his work.

Charity of the Week:
Unicef Aid to Gaza

About The Author

New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow, began writing the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her and her art, visit her website and check out the essay written by Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.

Source: old-age-young-at-heart-chorus-mark-nepo-no...

Blog No. 246: Child Prodigy Identifies Music, Tennis and Boris Becker, Billy Collins Poem

August 31, 2025

Toddler Identifies Classical Music

Not much to say about this one except click here and take a listen. How does one explain this! Isn't it wonderful that there is mystery and magic in the world...

Tennis and Boris Becker

It is U.S. Open Tennis time right now--it has been going on for two weeks now and the finals are this weekend. This is one of the sports I really enjoy watching (and in the past, playing) so I always look forward to this time of year. It reminds me of my Dad too--he was a big tennis player and took my sister and I to some of the U.S. Open tournaments, even way back when when it was still held at Forest Hills.

I recently met the filmmaker Alex Gibney and his wife Anne DeBevoise and decided to have a look at his documentary on Boris Becker entitled Boom Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker since I've been in the tennis mood. I remember Becker pretty well--he was of my era--a very exciting time in tennis--and the film brought me back to the primary players of that period. It was fun seeing some of the more recent interviews in the film, all these men players all grown up and looking older. My favorites were Bjorn Borg (I think everyone's favorite) and Guillermo Vilas and my least favorites were John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors (America's sore sport, poorly behaved players in my humble opinion) ...

Boris Becker was a German wunderkind, the youngest player to win Wimbledon--he already had two of those titles by the time he was 19. Aside from his stunning sports prowess and his sheer power, he also had a colorful underside when he ended up in jail for tax evasion a bunch of years later...Becker has a very interesting story and this film does a good, thorough job of covering it as well as showing an insider's look at the sport and what it takes psychologically as well as physically to be a champion. Gibney is a great storyteller and I highly recommend this documentary, available on Apple TV

Forgetfulness by Poet Laureate Billy Collins

FORGETFULNESS
BY Billy Collins

The name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot,
the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel
which suddenly becomes one you have never read, never even heard of,

as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor
decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain,
to a little fishing village where there are no phones.

Long ago you kissed the names of the nine muses goodbye
and watched the quadratic equation pack its bag,
and even now as you memorize the order of the planets,

something else is slipping away, a state flower perhaps,
the address of an uncle, the capital of Paraguay.

Whatever it is you are struggling to remember,
it is not poised on the tip of your tongue
or even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen.

It has floated away down a dark mythological river
whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall

well on your own way to oblivion where you will join those
who have even forgotten how to swim and how to ride a bicycle.

No wonder you rise in the middle of the night
to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war.
No wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted
out of a love poem that you used to know by heart.

Painting of the Week

Tree of Life Series, mixed media on paper, 60” x 22” $4000

Charity of the Week:
Unicef Aid to Gaza

Source: old-age-young-at-heart-chorus-mark-nepo-no...

Blog No. 244: Michael Singer LIVING UNTETHERED, The Secret Life of Four, Five and Six Year Olds and the Documentary CHASING CHILDHOOD, My Mother Edith Smilow's Prized LINZER TORTE

August 24, 2025

I’ve had a busy few week and not much time to write so I decided to launch my very first ever BEST OF from past Things We Love entries…Hope you enjoy revisiting them or seeing them for the first time if you missed them before.

Michael Singer Living Untethered

Click image to see a review of this book.

Just finished Michael Singer's book Living Untethered--it made a really big impression on me. If I had to summarize it (and I might massacre it, I am warning you), I would say that it is very clear account of what it is to be inside of you, why the mind does what it does, how the heart opens and closes and why we have such trouble "being here now." When we encounter an interaction that is uncomfortable, we push it away in order to protect ourselves instead of letting the experience come in and go out again--i.e, if we have a bad encounter with a snake, we then associate every time we see something snakelike (i.e., a piece of rope, a big worm) to that bad experience and it brings up the past trauma over and over again even though it is not the reality in front of us. When we store up these past experiences, they compound and become a mess of blockages that inhibit our energy flow, prohibit us from our natural state of wellbeing and affect our spiritual growth. Singer attempts to shed light on this by illustrating how the moment in front of us is not bothering us but we are bothering us. He shows us that we have the capability of freeing ourselves from this scenario, leaning away from the noisy mind and changing our focus to what is right in front of us, the reality as seen clearly in the stillness. Away from worldliness into spirituality. A lot to work on but being clear and aware is the first step...

The Secret Life of Four, Five and Six Year Olds and the Documentary Chasing Childhood

Click image to see the very important documentary Chasing Childhood: a must see for any parent of young children…

So much for me these days is trying to find some distraction from what is going on in politics and the world...and it is a struggle because I know that looking the other way is what enables the status quo to exist--I suppose there must be some kind of balance between burying my head in the sand and seeking joy in other things.

This entry is in the category of seeking joy: The Secret Life of 4, 5 and 6 Year Olds is a heartwarming and often humorous, sometimes distressing, British television show that gives us amazing insight into the emotional and social development of children. A specially designed playroom is the setting of the show where we can observe, through hidden cameras, a group of children in the midst of their free play. As viewers, we have the opportunity of watching them make friends, communicate with each other, juggle leadership roles and behave and navigate life in a group setting... The show's expert psychologists offer commentary on the children's behaviour, providing insights into how they are developing and offering advice for parents and educators. This is one of many episodes of The Secret Life of 4, 5 and 6 Year Olds which can be found on youtube.

This is a good follow up to my recent post on Chasing Childhood, the documentary I recently wrote about in a previous blog post and one no parent of young kids should miss-- it accentuates the importance of free play in childhood.

My Mother's Prized Linzer Torte

This recipe is my mom’s crown jewel. She made it for every special occasion and it was anticipated and beloved by every member of our extended family and friends alike. It is my great pleasure to share it with you right now. She would be happy to spread the word…

EDITH SMILOW'S LINZER TORTE

1 stick and 1 tbsp. butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 egg yolks

1 cup all purpose flour

1 1/3 cups ground almonds

2 squares semi-sweet or unsweetened chocolate, grated

Dash of Kirsch (optional)

Dash of cinammon

Three types of jam mixed together (for later)

Mix/Beat sugar, butter, egg yolks together--can be done in a food processor. 
Add the rest of the ingredients except for the jam until everything is mixed together. 
Place dough in refrigerator for 1 hour or more wrapped in plastic wrap.

Divide dough in two parts, one slightly bigger than the other. 
Roll out each part between two pieces of lightly floured wax paper. 
Place the bigger half of the dough in a greased spring formed pan about an inch up the sides as well. 
Spread a layer of the (mixed together) three jams on top (my mom used raspberry, strawberry and blackberry but the type of jam is your choice). 
Use the other smaller half of the rolled dough for the lattice work by cutting into 1 inch wide strips and arrange in a lattice design over jam layer. Don't worry if it breaks--you can just press it together. 
You can also fill the spaces between the lattice strips with a little more jam if you would like. 
 Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly and crust is browned. 
Cool completely. 
Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

Painting of the Week

My latest commission for a wonderful couple in New Harbor, Maine.

Charity of the Week:
Unicef Aid to Gaza

Source: old-age-young-at-heart-chorus-mark-nepo-no...

Blog No. 243 : William Kentridge, Animal Telepath Sharon Loy, Billy Strings & Bryan Sutton Music

August 15, 2025

Artist William Kentridge

I'm still hitting myself that I missed this William Kentridge exhibition in NYC by one day...Painful... South African William Kentridge (born 1955) is, in my humble opinion, one of the most interesting artists alive today...a real artist's artist. Some people have even deemed him the Picasso of South Africa. Kentridge is most known for his large works in charcoal and his animation, although he does not limit himself to just that--with chalk, with film, with charcoal, with metal, he crafts his drawings, paintings, sculpture, operas and film.

His latest exhibition centered around the idea of studio as self portrait--how does one make sense of the world with the tools and techniques of the studio. According to his artist statement, "I have never been able to escape Johannesburg, and in the end, all my work is rooted in this rather desperate provincial city. I have never tried to make illustrations of apartheid, but the drawings and the films are certainly spawned by, and feed off, the brutalised society left in its wake."..."I am interested in a political art, that is to say an art of ambiguity, contradiction, uncompleted gestures and uncertain ending - an art (and a politics) in which optimism is kept in check, and nihilism at bay." And on his drawings: "The drawings don't start with 'a beautiful mark'. It has to be a mark of something out there in the world. It doesn't have to be an accurate drawing, but it has to stand for an observation, not something that is abstract, like an emotion."

The Hauser & Wirth Gallery website shows a big selection of the works in this show--have a look and let me know your thoughts in the comments...

Animal Telepath Sharon Loy

Do you ever have the impression that so much of what we have been taught is wrong...Take animals for example. So many of us have just accepted the paradigm that humans are superior beings, the only conscious ones, the only ones capable of evolving, the only ones with feelings, the only ones who are able to use tools... Animal telepath Sharon Loy knew all that was not true ever since she was a little girl--acutely aware that our spirits bloom when we are connected with animals.

I hope you will take the time to watch this inspiring mini documentary about Sharon Loy and the animals (and humans) whose lives she has touched...Guaranteed to cheer up your day, no matter what state you are in...Magic does exist in the world!

Billy Strings and Bryan Sutton Music

Click the image above to hear the album Live at the Legion

Spent the early morning hours lying in bed listening to Billy Strings and Bryan Sutton's relatively new album Live at the Legion, suggested by David Kowalski, aka vinyljunky by his own admission, owner of Deep Groove Records in Brunswick Maine. It's a great record store and the go to place if you are looking for absolutely anything vinyl. The red white and blue vinyl version of this album is one of their very many offerings.

William Lee Apostol aka Billy Strings (the name given to him for his prowess in that arena) and Bryan Sutton have put together their spin on a mix of traditional bluegrass and folk influences including the work of Doc Watson, Norman Blake and Tony Rice and have even included a number written by Bob Dylan. They have made these traditional tunes alive again, "innovating on and carrying their songs to new heights for a new generation of listeners."--Henry Carrigan of Folk Alley.

Rolling Stone wrote an interesting article on Strings a few years back if you want to take a deeper look at his tumultuous and wondrous life.

Painting of the Week

One of my all time favorite pieces of Gert Mathiesen (1951-2013) which if it hasn’t moved hangs in the home of a wonderful family in Berkeley, California.

Charity of the Week:
Unicef Aid to Gaza

Source: old-age-young-at-heart-chorus-mark-nepo-no...

Blog No. 242 : One Red Lego, Adama Bakery, Zucchini Tots

August 9, 2025

One Red Lego

If you believe that we can receive signs from our loved ones who have crossed over, here is an amazing story that will confirm your belief. And if you are not a believer that our souls survive our body, this might just make you think again...

I love Laura Lynne Jackson for writing her book Signs and for being our guide into the world of psychic abilities and mediumship and for disseminating this One Red Lego story of Tara Stilwell and the sign she received from her son Wilder.

Tara, thank you for sharing your beautiful story of connection with Laura Lynne and the world and for having so much grace, beauty and strength...

Share

The Adama Bakery and Foundation

Women baking bread at the Oruchinga Settlement Camp.

The ADAMÂ Foundation is dedicated to baking bread and building community in refugee camps. My friend and college roommate Claudia has been trying to put them on my radar for quite a while now and I finally took it off the back burner and had a look.

Founder of the Adama Foundation, Israeli Ayelet Berman-Cohen has had a long time interest in indigenous cultures and the plight of people who have lost their homes and family due to war. Berman-Cohen also relies heavily on her dreams and has used them throughout her life as her guides. In one of her dreams, she dreamt that women, whom she had long considered her “enemy,” would bake their native bread, and share it with her.

Who said dreams cannot come true...

The Adama Foundation grew out of this dream inspiration, building its first bakery in the Oruchinga Settlement Camp in Southern Uganda in 2020. The camp is home to over 9000 refugees from Burundi, Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, and other parts of East Africa.

Adama set out to train and empower the refugees, especially women, with skills that will enable them to earn a livelihood; to become a focal point for the community; and to feed the most vulnerable refugees – the children, on a regular basis." I was immediately impressed by their mission, their success and the real help they are giving to women and children in the refugee camp of Oruchinga Click here to explore more about them and their current projects.

Billy Strings and Bryan Sutton Music

ZUCCHINI TOTS
Courtesy Market Grow

Ingredients:
* 2 grated medium zucchinis
* 1 large egg
* ½ cup breadcrumbs (panko or regular)
* ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (optional)
* 1 clove of garlic, minced
* ½ tsp. onion powder
* ¼ tsp. salt
* ¼ tsp. black pepper
* Olive oil spray (for baking)

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Grate the zucchinis.
Squeeze the liquid out of the zucchini on a cheese cloth or clean kitchen towel.

3. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well and shape the mixture into small, oval-shaped tots and place them on the prepared baking sheet.

4. Lightly spray the tops of the tots with olive oil spray to help them crisp up.

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden brown and crispy on the outside.

6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving with your favorite dipping sauce.

Enjoy!

My favorite Maine August joke about zucchini:
"Why do people lock their cars in Maine in August?
To ensure that people don't put zucchini in it..."

Painting of the Week

Charity of the Week: Adama Foundation

Source: old-age-young-at-heart-chorus-mark-nepo-no...

Blog No. 241: Carl Jung on Human Connection, Stanley & Astrid Samuelsen Tribute to George Harrison, Peter Beinart on Gaza

August 1, 2025

Carl Jung Wisdom

There is so much of Carl Jung's wisdom in this 43 minute youtube video and the more I know about this Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist, the more I embrace his philosophy and school of analytical psychology.   

For me, the most important things in my life are my art and the connections I have with my family, friends, and people in general whose paths cross mine.  According to Jung, there are no accidents and people don’t just show up by chance—-they come to us as guides and messengers.  Jung believes every human interaction is sacred data, every relationship a spiritual classroom and every heartbreak is a syllabus for transformation.  But people come into your life to reflect the very thing you are not willing to see, your fears, your wounds, your worth...It is your soul calling in whatever is needed, not what your ego wanted but what your evolution demanded...that is the way we grow...and  

Tribute to George Harrison by Stanley and Astrid Samuelsen

I have shared music with you before from my Danish/Faroese musician friend Stanley Samuelsen and here I present to you a full tribute album to George Harrison he made with his talented daughter Astrid Samuelsen. I love their choice of the five songs--sit back and enjoy this beautiful and touching music by my favorite Beatle, played with loving care by this father/daughter duo...

"Stanley Samuelsen is one of the most highly praised Faroese songwriters. His melodic and beautifully haunting songs are accompanied by his impeccable fingerstyle guitar playing, which some might hear is influenced by esteemed guitarists such as Stephen Stills and John Renbourn."

"As the daughter of beloved Faroese musician Stanley Samuelsen, Astrid Samuelsen has been rooted in music since birth. Together, they have performed countless times and, with Astrid contributing to several of Stanley Samuelsen’s releases. In 2014 they released the critically acclaimed tribute EP Long, Long, Long, featuring interpretations of songs by George Harrison. Astrid has been nominated for two Danish Music Awards: first in 2014 as Talent of the Year at the Danish Music Awards Folk, and again in 2016 when she, together with De Underjordiske, was nominated for Live Act of the Year."

Peter Beinart on Gaza

This entry falls into anything but the upbeat category but I think it is a very important discussion to listen to. It might make me some enemies because this is not an easy subject to talk about, and in so many ways, this critical issue is way overdue to address, but please take the time to hear journalist and political commentator Peter Beinart have a serious conversation with Jeremy Ben-Ami, President of J Street (the political home of pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy Americans) on the subject of Gaza, Israel, October 7th, Hamas, and the future of the Middle East.

Peter Beinart is is a contributing Opinion writer for The New York Times and a professor of journalism and political science at at the City University of New York.

And since we are talking about the tragedy that is Gaza, I will also include Mandy Patinkin's comments on the same subject.

Product of the Week: Botanical Tea Towels

check out these and other products based on our art on our website

Tea Towels: 6 different design, cotton/linen blend. Shop this and other products based on our art in the artSHOP section of my website: www.pamelasmilow.com/shop-all

Charity of the Week: Doctors Without Borders

Source: old-age-young-at-heart-chorus-mark-nepo-no...

Blog No. 240: Andrea Gibson, Debbi DiMaggio Podcast with Me, Obama Sings Amazing Grace

July 26, 2025

Tom DiMenna tonight is at City Winery in NYC: 7:30pm Story Songs of the 70s: Music of Jim Croce, John Prine, Leonard Cohen along with all time favorites Cat Stevens, Gordon Lightfoot and Harry Chapin…Tickets still available

Andrea Gibson (1975-2025), Poet Laureate of Colorado

Photo Courtesy Boulder Library Foundation. Click image to read more about them.

So many tributes right now to this obviously incredible person, Andrea Gibson, poet laureate of Colorado, who recently left this planet after living with ovarian cancer for four years. I wish I had known more about them before. In honor of their beautiful poetry and their well-lived life, here is one of their poems that speaks to me and to the content of my newsletter as well:

A List of Things I Love

I love. That could be the end of the sentence, but I love sentences. I love words huddled together like strangers trying to survive a frigid night. I love rock sculptures built in windstorms. I love sandcastles crafted inches from the waves. I love the drama of an 80’s ballad. I love grandparents holding hands in rocking chairs on the porches of old houses in northern Maine. I love penguins, though I’ve never met one. I love how shocked I was when I realized my Superman cape couldn’t lift me into the sky. I love that all these decades later, I can still be that exact same kind of surprised.

I love cucumbers straight from the garden. I love old typewriters even if they don’t work. I love imagining I am a bird who is imagining what it’s like to be human in the dead of winter, wearing an upside-down nest made of yarn atop the head. I love wishing wells and the dreams that fill them.

I love scared rescue dogs who can’t live in homes with small children. I love the kids in junior high talent contests who always forget their lines. I love the nervous love in their parents’ chests. I love mother starlings racing home to their babies’ open and rowdy beaks. I love the perfect smiles of people with crooked teeth. I love daydreaming about the pep talks butterflies give to depressed caterpillars. I love that bumblebees taste with their feet. I love when it’s so cold out I can walk atop the sparkling snow. I love tiny libraries. I love stained glass windows in people’s homes.

I love how my partner takes karaoke far too seriously. I love my very first crush in the 4th grade, wherever he is, whoever he became. I love phone booths in London. I love ketchup chips from Canada. I love Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. I love the six perfect holes in my most worn pair of boots. I love that pigeons can recognize themselves in photographs. I love that laughter is more contagious than the flu. I love thank-you letters mailed to teachers twenty years after they graduate. I love the romance of merge signs.

I love watching people pull over on the side of the road to take pictures of a rainbow. I love that I can fix almost anything with shoelaces or duct tape. I love listening to my partner yell, “Andrea! Where did my shoelaces go this time!?” I love pointing out the window at our singing wind chime.

I love listening for the quietest notes of the loudest songs. I love carnivals in the parking lots of tiny towns. I love paper planes with love notes written inside. I love watching children realize that the seashells on the beach are free. I love the perfect contentment of a kite caught in a tree.

I love coffee shops on Saturday mornings. I love the kind kids who have hard lives. I love the mean kids who haven’t yet learned a better way to survive. I love that after chemotherapy, my straight hair grew back in curls. I love the tiny hurt that makes each pearl. I love trying to jump over puddles and failing.

I love that cows have best friends. I love that fleeting moment of annoyance while deep in writing a poem, someone interrupts to ask me to come look at the sunset. I love the instant that follows, when I recognize that to be a true poet, I must abandon every poem for every pink sky.

I love the pink sky and the sound of my grumpy neighbor opening his door at the same time that I do. I love both of us peeling off the husks of our minds to taste the sweetness of the world’s truth. I love what I have in common with people I have nothing in common with.

I love that my best friends kiss me on the forehead whenever I am sick. I love the baristas in fancy coffee shops who never ever smile. I love old diners with signs that say, “Stay A While.” I love the desert. I love the sea.

I love how much longer this list would be if the sunset were not, in this very second, calling me.

And I love all of you, friends, for caring about what I love. What are you loving today?

Love, Andrea

Debbi DiMaggio Podcast Interview with Me

Debbi DiMaggio Interviews Me: Click image for the whole podcast

Wonderful podcast on much more than real estate with Debbi DiMaggio

I usually don't like sharing this kind of thing because it feels like I am showing off and I get nervous when I do interviews and end up sounding like an idiot. Furthermore I don't usually like the way I look on camera but this time it actually went off without a hitch and I am actually proud of the interview.

I took a pitstop in Portland Maine on my way to New York City and the Press Hotel in Portland Maine was kind enough to let me find a quiet place in their lobby to tape the podcast. Debbi DiMaggio, a client of mine who has become a friend is a great interviewer, aside from being a California real estate broker par excellence. She put me totally at ease, prompted me with good questions and I definitely know the material since it is my life...

Many of you know a lot about me already but if you don't, have a listen--it's a good way of getting to know my background, my approach to my art and some of what I have been up to all these 68 years...

Amazing Grace sung by President Barak Obama