We're a family affair!
Hi and welcome to The Wilderness Wife Blog! We're the Thompson family and the creators of The Wilderness Wife. The Wilderness Wife is a collaborative family effort. Matriarch Sheryl started the blog in February of 2012 as a fun way to share our life in Maine with family and friends "from away". As time went on more and more visitors showed up that she had never even met. It is amazing that she was able to connect with so many wonderful readers from all over the world who have enjoyed her recipes, crafts, gardening tips, decorating ideas, and the family pets. In 2014 son Doug joined to take on photography and tech/IT responsibilities. Shortly after that daughter-in-law, Lynn, joined to help with editorial and organizational duties. It's definitely a family affair! In 2020 we decided to make this strictly a recipe site as readers seemed to really like our recipes the most.
This blog contains time-tested recipes that contain butter, flour, and sugar.
Before we go any further we need to make a disclosure here about our recipes. We are all about easy, tasty and "reasonable" recipes. Wilderness Wife recipes will not contain exotic, hard to find ingredients or require gourmet chef equipment or techniques. Sheryl is an "old school" home cook passing on favorite recipes she has gleaned from her experience as a working mother and from family and friends. You will not find a lot of recipes for the latest food fads here. She uses butter, sugar, and regular all purpose flour. This blog is not a source for gluten free, keto, or other special diets. Personally, we hate kale so you won't find many recipes using it. Kale chips, yuck, who thought of that horror? Same thing with cilantro. Sheryl says that cilantro tastes like paint thinner. Should we be concerned that Sheryl tastes paint thinner? Sheryl grows herbs in containers on the deck right outside the kitchen door as she loves having fresh herbs to use in her cooking. Cilantro will never be one of them!
Our recipes are basic, tasty, fairly economical, sometimes not very healthy (to that we say, "All things in moderation", so keep that in mind. No one says you have to eat the whole pie in one setting (occasionally we have come close LOL). Baking, slow cooking, and grilling are some of her favorites styles of meal preparation. Cooking and creating recipes is one of her joys. She has years of experience cooking for her husband and 3 sons and loves sharing her knowledge with the young families that visit our blog.
Our other passion is our pets - 2 crazy cats, 3 German Shepherd dogs, and an Odie. Doug and Sheryl breed, raise and train German Shepherds to be mobility service dogs for the disabled. For more information about our German Shepherds and other pets go to our kennel website - The Haven Kennels.
Sheryl is also an artist.
Creativity and crafting has always been an important part of Sheryl's life. She is a professional folk artist, telling stories through her paintings. She has taught decorative painting as a national travel teacher, written articles for craft magazines such as Paintworks and Decorative Artists Workbook, and designed painting projects for craft paint companies including DecoArt, FolkArt, and Delta Ceramcoat.
Her paintings have been licensed and reproduced as home décor prints, greeting cards, and home décor products under the pseudonym "Grammy Mouse". One of her favorite painting endeavors are her Americana house portraits that allow her to work closely with clients incorporating special memories into the painting.
We live in the North Maine Woods
We live in a tiny town called Sherman, Maine in the heart of logging and potato country, about 90 miles north of Bangor. Sherman has a small (population of 450) and is very remote but incredibly beautiful. We are very fortunate to have picturesque views of Mount Katahdin, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, which is about 20 miles to our west. We have a thriving Amish community in Sherman and their lifestyle is fascinating.
We look forward to sharing our life with you so we hope you join us as we share our special recipes and holiday fare. If you would like to join our mailing list for our monthly newsletter, just sign up on the form in the column to the right.
As bloggers we offer the following services -
The Wilderness Wife Blog has turned into a very successful full time business for us, something that we never realized would happen when Sheryl started the blog. It provides Sheryl, Doug, and Lynn with very interesting and creative jobs.
Sponsored Posts - We have worked with numerous brands including Minute Rice, Birds Eye, Rachael Ray, Smithfield Meats, Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Tyson, Kraft, Green Giant, and more. We also offer post-specific recipe development and giveaways. All sponsored content is supported with social media posts and strong SEO for search engines.
Recipe Development - Sheryl has been baking and cooking for years. She knows what it is to try to get a meal on the table for a husband and 3 sons after working all day. Helping working families plan and cook meals is one of her favorite endeavors. Let her create a recipe using your product to share with our readers and yours.
Social Media Campaigns - We offer campaigns on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to promote your content.
Contact the Wilderness Wife Blog at [email protected]
Robyn W says
Hi Sheryl,
I love "moose hugs from Maine"---absolutely adorable! I would have to use Duck Hugs from Dayton or Otter hugs from Ohio! Wait, wait! How about Rabbit Hugs from Robyn! I really want a signature like that! Moose hugs!! I am so motivated to find one for myself now!
Nice to meet you and thanks for sharing!
Liz Mathews says
Hello!
This is my 1st visit to your page and really enjoy it. I hope to get mail and recipes from you. Have a wonderful day!!
Sue from theT2women says
HI Sheryl!!
This is sue from thet2women.com here to tell you that we will be featuring your lumberjack cass. this Sat at One Sharendipity Place!! BUT I've just now discovered that we were probably once both living in Hudson NH at the same time!! We brought up our family in Hudson and moved to TN once the kids were grown!! My husband moved a business here!! Small world!! 🙂 Hope to see more of your posts on our site in the future!!
God bless,
sue
Kathy says
Hello from damariscotta Maine! Found your blog while listening to the loons tonight. I'm learning about Maine native plants and your site came up. Nice to see
Sheryl T says
I love Damariscotta. Back in the 70's we lived in Mount Vernon and Damariscotta was one of my favorite day trips. It's so quaint.
Kate says
Hey, I'm Kate, I live in Bath!
Sheryl T says
A fellow Mainiac.....welcome! I love visiting Bath! A very quaint Maine seacoast town!
Lisa says
Hello from a fellow New Englander! I love your blog!
Sheryl T says
Well, welcome and glad to have you stop by! I can't imagine living anywhere but New England - the four seasons, the seacoast, the mountains, the lakes, the colonial villages. I could go on and on. Those of you who don't live here, put it on your "bucket list". It is an amazing place.
Jenny says
It is so nice to "meet" you. I found your blog through your scalloped potatoes recipe that I came across while browsing the internet. My husband and I are brand new homesteaders on 10 acres in Northeastern Oklahoma, and we just quit our computer consulting business to try to become full time market growers. I co host a Thursday blog hop featuring homemaking posts and recipes. I would love to have you join us sometime! http://blackfoxhomestead.com/the-homeacre-hop/the-homeacre-hop-11/
~Jenny
Wanda Ann @ Memories by the Mile says
Sheryl,
I am a new follower, I found you on a link party. Your ham looks amazing. I came to ask you to link it up at my party going on over at http://www.memoriesbythemile.com/
But I found oh so much more. Your blog is beautiful. I love your pictures. I do a Tuesday Trivia each week on a different state, followed by a link party. Then I Thursday I do a follow up on the state and features from my party. I feature people pictures and link them back to their blogs several times. I would love to share some of your pictures. Next week I am featuring New Hampshire. If your interested please let me know at [email protected]
Hugs,
Wanda Ann @ Memories by the Mile
Vicki Valenta says
Visiting from The Grand Social. I'll be back to look around later. We spent ten days in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine last fall and I fell in love. I'm definitely coming back. We were only in the very southern tip of Maine for one afternoon. I want to plan a trip to cover more of Maine. It's gorgeous.
Beth J says
Love your view! I too grew up in NH. (Exeter) Now living in Phoenix!?
I have very fond memories of holidays and summers in Greenville ME where my cousins still live and work. Look forward to your newsletter.
Sheryl T says
Phoenix....talk about an extreme opposite to New England! I can't imagine it. I'm not a fan of heat so the cool, snowy north is the place for me. Even going back to NH for a visit in the winter seems like a tropical vacation! I love Greenville. Back in the 1990's I sold a lot my paintings at a shop there called Maine Street Station, a sort of lodge look boutique. My first visit to Greenville was back in 1979 on our way to a camping trip in the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. I always got a kick out of the "town" of Kokadjo, population 3 and still have the Kokadjo T shirt I bought, but it doesn't fit quite the same! LOL Glad you enjoyed the view of Mount Katahdin. It's the reason we bought this property. We get the most fantastic sunsets as Mount Katahdin is to our west. I am going to look into the equipment needed to have a live streaming "Katahdin cam" on our front porch. I think it would be fun for people to be able to check the view of the mountain any time they wanted to.
Judy Ryder says
How wonderful to find a blogger from Maine writing about life here. My late husband and I spent nearly all our play time in the Maine Wilderness and both of us were born and lived and worked here. I can't wait to check out all your past posts! It sure brings back great memories!
Sheryl T says
I am so glad we have found each other! We defintely have one thing in common....a love for Maine! I have lived here for 20 years and can't imagine living anywhere ejse. I love the change of the seasons....I even love the snow....only thing I don't care for is Black Flies LOL! But they only visit for a couple of weeks so I can put up with that! It's a small price to pay for living in such a great place!
Peggie says
I just found your blog and am looking for a way to follow by email. I lived in Maine for some time and know your area. My late husband's family is from up there and we ran around many times trying to find gravestones for his genealogy. Beautiful country. I so miss the moose!
Sylvia Phillips says
Sounds like a beautiful paradise to live in! My daughter recently visited Maine near Ft. Williams. "It is gorgeous there!