#dancing couple waterwheel

[thechampagnecircus]

Forever in Love with Fall

The air is touched with chill as the sun sets each night.  Leaves are rustling as if eager for their upcoming wardrobe change.  The days are getting shorter, and summer drifts off to sleep for it’s annual slumber.  The oranges, reds, yellows and browns, anxious to replace the vibrant greens and blooms that have shone since Spring.  The settled smoke from smoldering wildfires to the West have finally waned and bluebird skies show their face again.  It is the first whispers of fall that need not be so timid.  I invite it with open arms, as I have since I was a kid.  It brings the unspoken pledge of warm hopeful togetherness and gratitude.  The approaching holidays awaited for their festivities abundant with plentiful meals, libations and laughs.  

Growing up, the fall brought not only the beginning of a new school year, but the Fryeburg Fair.  Since I can remember, I looked forward to it; like Christmas morning or the first day of school.  The carnival food, greasy, gooey and delightful. One of my favorites was funnel cakes. Though there were many stands throughout the grounds that offered them, we always went to the same place, owned by the same older couple.  Their funnel cakes were fluffy and golden brown, topped with a fluttered dusting of powdered sugar.  If I close my eyes I can almost smell the sweet steam coming off it, as I put the paper plate up to my mouth, inevitably getting sugar everywhere.  Another classic was Sunflower pizza. It always had a large line, but never disappointed with its oozing cheese and square shaped goodness.  The rides, rickety and terrifying, never failing to fulfil some quintessential desire to be scared and thrilled at the same time. Every year the Zipper seemed to get rustier and dicier, manned by someone sketchier and shadier. The events were classic; live music, the fireman’s muster, truck pulls, 4H competitions, and the pig scramble.  All of these things feel so deliciously Maine and have a special place in my memory.  

Once I was old enough to go off with my friends- before cell phones were a common commodity- the typical meeting place for my parents and I was the Waterwheel.  It was nothing special but for some reason harbors instant flashbacks.  It was just a smaller standalone version of a wheel seen on the sides of old mills, or in puzzle landscapes.  It’s perpetual motion, neverending and constant.  The soothing sound of moving water somehow resounded over the overwhelming din of the midway in the background.  The bottom gleamed with pennies and coins; people’s unforgotten wishes, praying to be granted.  It was not just the food, rides and good times that made it so special to me, but the bustle the Fair brought to our small, quiet town.  It promised excitement and a flurry of activity that I yearned for even as a kid.  I know other people loathed it, since it also brought a little bit of traffic fueled by crowds of flatlanders and leaf peepers.  I understand the skepticism of hordes of people flocking to an otherwise sleepy town, but I greeted it with sweet hopefulness.

It is funny how reminiscing about the Fair brings such joy yet longing that I can hardly describe.  I have to admit, it is one of the things I truly miss from home.  Every last week of September, the young girl in me’s stomach flips, ready for the lights of the ferris wheel, shouts of gleeful kids and the eccentric spectacle brought to you by Smokey’s Greater Shows.  In fact, I had my first kiss on the ferris wheel when I was 15.  How stereotypical is that?  I had my retainer in and everything.  It still makes me laugh and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  But it wasn’t just the fair that imprinted the fall season into my heart, but Thanksgiving as well.  

Now that I live in Canada -  I’m sorry my beloved and fellow Canadians - but Canadian Thanksgiving is just not the same.  Having said that, the only thing better than one amazing Thanksgiving meal and celebration, is two! Before Covid, my husband and I would make it back to Maine every other year for the holiday.  Moving forward, we have chosen to take some alternate trips with my parents instead.  Perhaps it is the end of an era, but the memories of Thanksgivings passed still flush my heart with enchantment.  The original feasts we had at the Farmhouse when I was young still paint a jovial picture.  My aunts, uncles and first cousins all came into town.  Again, I loved the life and busyness it brought.  The food of course was the major highlight.  A golden turkey, homemade gravy, whipped mashed potatoes, candied yams, and my grammy’s unparalleled pies.  My favorite was the rhubarb - amazing.  Great Aunt Theo’s tuna surprise which was a little scary and I think collectively avoided, though I am sure she meant well. My Aunt Jane’s dilly beans, that she grew and pickled, were also the tops.  To this day I buy pickled green beans from the store and they are NEVER as good.   The house was warm from crackling fireplaces and the residual heat from stoves and ovens being used all morning. The juxtaposition of the cold, grey air outside seemed to illustrate some universal balance that just always felt right.  Though November, in New England is truly chilly, rainy and topped with silvery muted skies, Thanksgiving was a glowing ember that paved the way for December and Christmas.  In my adulthood that same feeling still resonates.  

For the umpteenth time, I adore this season.  I want to drink all the apple cider, pumpkin spice lattes and robust reds I can.  I want to frolic among sunflowers, and dance beneath falling leaves like some paegan harvest nymph.  I think back to the days of apple picking at McSherry’s apple orchard, climbing the gnarled trees reaching out like giant botanical fingers.  We would eat as we picked, which looking back I am sure the apples were covered in pesticides and lord knows what.  But it was a simpler time, long before I let worries like that seep in.  The air always smelled impossibly fresh, and we took hay rides through pumpkin patches and rows of apple studded trees.  You would leave with bushels of McIntoshes and at least one jug of cider.  I could seriously gush all day.  But since I plan to make multiple posts confessing the utter obsession for this time of year, I will leave you with this.  Soak it in.  Even if you find this season irrelevant or trivial, try to embrace the change.  Stop to admire a colorful set of trees, the brisk sensation of cooler air in your lungs, or even the closing of what was hopefully a well spent summer.  Whatever it is that fills you with a grateful heart, try to grasp on and immerse yourself in the thankful essence of autumn. xx

Copyright © 2021 Carly Eddy.

[girlieinterns]

Maxine Musto here!  This week’s Professional Confessional was particularly fun for me because of the eager musings of Peyton Moore, Connector of People and Guardian Angel of Guest Experience. Check out the interview below to learn more about Peyton’s time at Complex Magazine, her current work with Adult Swim, and how she got her start.

Maxine Musto: Tell me the steps you took to get to where you are now.

Peyton Moore: I'm originally from Richmond, Virginia. I went to college in North Carolina at Appalachian State University where I minored in Marketing and I majored in Clothing and Textiles. 

I started seeing a lot of live music in college. While I was volunteering for Phish’s non-profit, The WaterWheel Foundation, I was connected to another band who I got an internship with. It was great and was my intro to the music industry. I was doing anything I could to work hard, kick ass, and prove I was worth keeping around.  

As a music fan, I was always super passionate about the guest experience. But what marketing has taught me is that fandom extends across all borders. Music fans, Comic-Con fans, sports fans, they all share a common thread of passion. I GET IT and that's why I care so much about the tiny details of my job now. 

After college, I moved to New York, which ultimately led me to become the Business and Financial Manager at Girlie Action. After that, I took a job with an event company in Boca Raton, Florida called Cloud 9 Adventures. Cloud 9 pioneered all the current day music cruises like Jam Cruise and Holy Ship!. They also produce many music events in Mexico like Mayan Holidaze, Panic En La Playa and One Big Holiday.

I was hired as the Assistant Director of Sales and Travel and ultimately worked my way up to Marketing Director. After that, I moved back to New York and started working at Complex Media.

MM: That’s incredible!

PM: I’m assuming you know what Complex is?

MM: Of course!

PM: I didn’t have any context to the magnitude of what Complex was. I vaguely remembered my college boyfriend having the magazine. Complex was acquiring smaller brands like Do Androids Dance, Pigeons and Planes, and a music app called SuperGlued. I was hired to build the audience for SuperGlued. The app was sunsetted after a year and I was moved to the Audience Development team under the Business Development umbrella.  

I ran our content syndication program with Business Insider, Yahoo, Huffington Post, and MSNBC. I would set up happy hours with them so our teams could get to know each other. I took our music writers to Spotify to meet their data team. I was doing a lot of introductions. I also worked closely with Live Nation touring on ticket giveaways to grow our email subscribers and build social followings. 

MM: Where did you go after Complex?

PM: In 2015 I moved out to Los Angeles, as the Senior Brand Manager at an advertising agency. For the last few years, I've been with an experiential marketing company called NCompass International. 

I'm an Event Producer there, where my main client is Adult Swim. I produced and tour managed a 10-city tour last summer for them. Last fall I was brought on as the Producer of Guest Experience for the first Adult Swim Festival, and now I'm doing it again. We just announced the festival a couple of weeks ago. 

MM: What is a typical day like for you?

PM: Well, no day is ever typical. I have my hand in just about every aspect besides the actual stage production. I'm currently contracting artists, monitoring ticket pages, working on app development, connecting with the creative and tech teams, and making sure that all our work is presented well to the clients at Adult Swim. I work closely with our Executive Producer who oversees the things I don't manage like labor, power, permitting and stages. 

MM: What advice would you give someone interested in working in your position?

PM: My biggest piece of advice is to work hard and be nice to people. I also have lots of snacks. If someone on my crew is working a 22-hour shift but Slim Jims make them happy, you better believe I have Slim Jims onsite. Take care of your people so that they will love, respect you and have your back. It's the little things. Pay attention to the details.

My other advice is to find an internship and get your LinkedIn pulled together. I didn’t even know that some of these jobs existed, so it took me a while to find them, but interning, working hard, listening to people, and being a team player are all really important. Everyone’s journey is different. Just trust the path and you’ll get there.

[tokyototokyo]

Day 17, Kinugawa, 12th April

Today we visited Edo Wonderland Nikko Edomura which was a theme park where the culture and life of the Edo period was reproduced. A samurai was guarding the first checkpoint into the complex. The whole area was extremely well done with many people playing the parts of people of that time.

Christine had a run in with a samurai as we entered. The walkways and gardens were lovely and you really had a feel of going back in time.

Waterwheel and mill.

Cane store.

Cheryl being given a ride.

Lady selling goods.

Village house.

Confusious.

Outside the temple.

Lovely view along the canal.

Street scene.

One of the theatres.

This couple were tourists. You could dress up in traditional clothing for the day.

It was shoes off and sitting on the floor. We are getting used to this aspect of Japanese life.

The main star of the water magic show.

The show was very clever.

Another street scene.

Love the cherry blossoms.

Fancy house.

Getting water from the well.

The samurai taking jenny and Al’s photo which I thought looked so funny.

Cleaner/ street sweeper.

Elaborate gates.

A samurai and me.

Street scene.

There were still a lot of cherry blossoms around even after travelling north. We thought we might have been to early for them.

Loraine, Cheryl and I on the Main Street. It was starting to get very cold but we were all rugged up. However, they didn’t have cafes in the Edo days but we did find a tea house that was warm and we could get a hot drink.

The Geisha show told a little story which was entertaining.

There is a real skill to the way geishas move.

Beautiful embroidery on the back of her coat.

Ready to preform the tea ceremony.

The geisha dancing.

A ninji.

No photos were allowed during the ninji show and it was darkish anyway. There were three ninjas after one person and they were sneaking around, jumping on roofs and fighting with swords and even a star throwing. Just like in the show ‘The Samurai’ that we all used to watch on TV in our youth.

The ninjas.

Kitchen area.

Lovely indigo patterns hanging to dry.

A material dying house.

Lots of scenic vistas with the locals wandering around or getting on with their business.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped at a rice cracker factory and had a go at cooking the rice crackers over a big heater. The Japanese love their rice crackers and they come in all flavours.

Dipping the rice crackers into soy sauce.

Back to the hotel and the onsen. Everyone has really got into these. It’s pretty relaxing at the end of the day. Then drinks before dinner. Six people left to go home or travel further today. The bus took then back to Narita. We will miss their company. It was a great day for all of us.

[beer-glasses]

German Black Forest Clock & Waterwheel Ceramic Beer Stein with Ornate Metal Lid

Brand: Essence of Europe Gifts

See our other steins to add to your collection!

Also available without metal lid

Clock & Waterwheel Beer Stein

Height: 10.5"

1.2 Liter

Clock & Waterwheel Beer Stein with metal lid (1.2L). This decorative engraved stein (10.5") features a classic Bavarian scene with a dancing couple, waterwheel and Black Forest cuckoo clock. It will make a decorative accent to your collection!