To find out more about the great work that LPI’s doing and view a trailer of the pilot episode, “Two Murders,” click here.

Wow! What an amazing and inspiring woman. Jones is a terrific storyteller, and she told us some great tales about Julia Child and James Beard (one in particular had the audience in stitches as she recounted how, during a visit with Child in France, Child showed her how to remove a tendon from a goose which involved snapping off the foot at the ankle, hooking her finger around the tendon, putting the goose on the floor, holding it down with a broomstick handle with one hand, then with the other she tugged, and with one strong pull yanked the whole thing out!).

Some of the things I took away from her lecture were:

Don’t be afraid to try new things.

Stick with your convictions even if they’re not popular with your colleagues or friends.

How much she loves garlic.

It’s important to know how much to eat and when you’re full, stop. Even if there’s food left on your plate.

She’s very concerned about obesity, our food sources in America, and the American lifestyle of eating quick, fast food meals.

Food should be respected and savored.

Cooking keeps your brain working—doing two or three things at once keeps your noggin active.

When cooking for one use smaller pans!

After the lecture Jones signed her books at the Portland Museum of Art. She was kind enough to let me sit by her while she signed my book and had a photo taken of us (thanks, Marj and Judith!). If you ever get the chance to attend a lecture or book signing by this inspiring lady, all I can say is, “go!”

For more, check out Keith Shortall’s interview with Jones for Maine Public Radio. Or Judith Jones’ website.

A Visit to The Garden Project from Jennifer Smith-Mayo on Vimeo.

In the summer 2007, I received a photo assignment from Down East Magazine to cover a story about students in the Garden Project at the Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast, Maine [see DEM, March 2009]. What began as a regular assignment quickly developed into a longer, more involved project. I spent nearly two years photographing the students, teachers, and Garden. During the summer 2008, I also collected audio interviews with some of the students and teachers. To accompany the photo assignment, DEM commissioned me to produce a multimedia project, this video, “A Visit to The Garden Project.”

(Plus, how cool is it that my food pics are in the same issue as my idol Julia Child!!)

Check out Cafe Sorpreso: it’s a really fab place to eat in the County.

Learning to Grow: In the Garden with Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast, Maine is an exhibition of photographs, from 2007–2009, by freelance photographer Jennifer Smith-Mayo, documenting THMS students as they learn to sow and grow . . . and so much more! The show, Learning to Grow, will be on display in the Kramer Gallery of the Belfast Free Library, March 1-31, 2010.

In the summer of 2007, photographer Jennifer Smith-Mayo received a photo assignment from Down East Magazine to cover a story about the Troy Howard Middle School Garden Project in Belfast [see Down East Magazine, March 2009]. What began as a regular assignment quickly developed into a longer, more involved project.

While spending time with the students and teachers in the THMS Garden, she quickly realized how important this garden is for the students, the school, and the community. The Garden helps students build gardening skills, teaches them how to run a business, eat healthy food (tons—literally, tons—of freshly harvested veggies are used by the school’s kitchen annually), get outdoors and flex their muscles, and it serves as an outdoor classroom.

One autumn day while photographing, Smith-Mayo noticed a group of students and their math teacher in the pumpkin patch. When she asked a student what they were doing, he said his team was calculating a pumpkin’s weight by taking measurements of the pumpkin and working with a chart. Smith-Mayo realized that the Garden offered students an experiential way to learn, hands-on, in an outdoor classroom. “Every kid in America should have this opportunity,” she says.

“I believe that by working in the Garden students gain life skills that will help them become better citizens,” continues Smith-Mayo. “THMS students run indoor and outdoor farmstands at school, they sell their vegetables to the Belfast Co-Op, and throughout the year they deliver boxes and boxes of veggies to the soup kitchen in Belfast. And more often than not, they do all these things with smiles on their faces.”

For more information, contact Smith-Mayo at jsm@jennifersmithmayo.com