All books, patterns and magazines will be 20% off for the month of November.

(Magazines make great, inexpensive gifts. Who doesn't like to read a magazine with a cup of tea by a woodstove on a snowy day?)

Shown here is Rachel, of drafthorse-powered Smith Farm in Troy, perusing one of our many knitting books. She knit her scarf with Malabrigo yarn in a broken-rib pattern (which Helen taught her how to do!). The pattern is available free at the shop.

Aarhus Gallery's annual Holiday Extravaganza kicks off early this year and runs from November 5 through December 24. The opening reception is on Friday, November 5, 5-8 pm.

This jam-packed show features smaller artworks and a wide range of creative craftwork priced with gift giving in mind. Over 70 talented Maine artists from throughout the midcoast and beyond are represented in a dazzling variety of mediums, including: pottery, poetry and painting, collage, etching and photography, woodblock prints, turned wood, fiber, assemblage, cards, calendars, ornaments, new Glass Plate images, jewelry, music and more! Artists who have shown at Aarhus over the past year will be featured, along with some newcomers and the usual Aarhus partners.

For more information, visit Aarhus Gallery.

Artist Jude Nickerson's show Fragments will be featured at Betts Gallery at The Belfast Framer from November 5-27. The opening reception will be on Friday, November 5, 5-8 pm.

For more information, visit The Belfast Framer.

Bog Shod -- A Damp Pastoral runs till November 29. All are welcome for the opening reception on Friday evening, November 5 from 5:30-8 pm, at Maine Farmland Trust Gallery, 97 Main St., Belfast. The show features a selection of agricultural images from a larger series documenting life and landscape along the coast of Maine. Photographer Jonathan Levitt looks for dreamland within drudgery.
 
Says Levitt: "I like taking the documentary perspective, but I try to reach past the surface into something more metaphysical. I look for emblematic moments that feel both timeless and contemporary."
 
In Levitt's show, the farmer and his/her herd -- be it cows, sheep or pigs -- make up the subject matter, but it is really the infinite complexities of that relationship, and the context of the living landscape that holds that relationship, that interests Levitt.

To learn more, visit Jonathan Levitt and Grassdoe. For more information, visit Maine Farmland Trust.

Shari Greenfield's Oak Hill Pottery is having a seconds sale on Saturday, November 13 and Sunday, November 14, 9 am-5 pm. Featured will be Joie-de-Vivre Handwoven Originals and Oak Hill StoneWear.
 

Preview all new glazes for 2011, and view a large selection of handwoven scarves. 10% to 80% off everything!

For more information, visit Oak Hill Pottery.

November Eat Local Challenge
Twice a year we challenge our community to help strengthen our local food system by eating more local foods. "Local" for this challenge means the state of Maine; the closer the better. We invite and encourage your participation: Spend at least $15.00 on local foods each time you shop at the Co-op, making you eligible to enter the raffle for a Local Food Basket valued at $100.00.
 
Food for Thought: Ten years of farm branding
Showing in the Belfast Co-op Cafe, November 3-28. Vinalhaven resident Gabe McPhail initially developed these illustrations for a variety of Maine farm products labels and other marketing materials, then transformed them into a series of archival prints, representing a wide range of artistic mediums and styles. 
 
Gluten-Free Cooking
Thursday, November 4, 6-7:30 pm in the Belfast Co-op Cafe: Hester Kohl, Belfast Co-op's Outreach Coordinator, will present this free talk on eating a gluten-free diet, which will include signs of gluten intolerance and an overview of which foods contain gluten and which are gluten-free. Bring your favorite recipe, which she will help you convert to gluten-free.
 
Wine Tasting and Art Opening
Friday, November 5, 7-9 pm in the Belfast Co-op Cafe: The art opening for Food for Thought coincides with the Co-op's free monthly wine tasting, which consists of a sampling of highlighted wines along with snacks provided by the Co-op. A local wine distributor, and Co-op wine manager Ron Poirier, will be available to answer your questions. Featured wines are 10% off during the tasting. Must be 21 or older to attend.

Gluten-Free Baking
Thursday, November 11, from 6-7:30 pm in the Belfast Co-op Cafe: Hester Kohl, Belfast Co-op's outreach coordinator, will present a second talk on eating a gluten-free diet which will include signs of gluten intolerance, and an overview of which foods contain gluten and which are gluten-free. This talk will focus on baking for the holidays. Bring your favorite recipe, which she will help you convert to gluten-free.
 

Free Energy Efficiency and Winter Weatherization Workshop
Sunday, November 14, 2-4 pm at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, 95 Court St., Belfast: Free and open to the public. Learn how homeowners can get up to $4500.00 back through the Maine Home Energy Savings Program for home weatherization needs. For more information, or to register, click Energy Efficiency Workshop or call 207-721-0444.
 
Resilience in Cuba, Kerala and the Newforest Institute
Tuesday, November 16, from 6:30-8 pm in the Abbott Room of the Belfast Free Library: Presented by Jim Merkel and Susan Cutting, co-directors of the Newforest Institute, this event includes slides from a 2009 bike/bus/auto tour of Cuba and an Earthwatch fellowship in the southern Indian state of Kerala in the Nineties to study low-resource use. Together they offer a glimpse into a positive vision of a post-corporate, post-fossil-fuel, post-war-time-economy where education, the environment, health care and eradication of poverty are priorities.
 
Local Food Celebration
Tuesday, November 30, from 5-8 pm at the UU Church of Belfast, 37 Miller St.: Music, storytelling and a local food potluck are the focus of the grand finale of our Eat Local Challenge. All are welcome! Bring your favorite local food dish to share and be prepared for a fun time for all ages.

For more information about events, contact Fran Clemetson at 207-338-2532, or e-mail education@belfast.coop.

Helen did not win her bid for the Maine House of Representatives. She will be returning full-time to the greatest job anyone could have. So you will be seeing much more of her than you have in the past six weeks!