I didn’t see much of the lakes when we visited the lakes region the other day.
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But I did see every single antique store in the town of Bridgeton. Some even had their very own Name That Crap pieces.
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Seriously, this thing had a question mark on the price tag. Anyone want to hazard a guess? I can’t answer because I have no clue.. so no judgement if you get it wrong.
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It was approaching 1:00pm when we hit this store and my stomach was grumbling it’s protest of a lunchless noon. I believe the store was also sending me subtle hints it was time for a cocktail.
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Because if a bottle hugging lobster isn’t clear enough… there’s martini Jesus. And who am I to argue with the Lord?
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I’d been hearing about this place for years but never tried it. The atmosphere was fun, very horsey.
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The rosemary pear Cosmo? Meh. Nothing to write home about. My Rachel sandwich was much the same, and while the husband’s French onion soup was tasty.. his fish and chips was a solid chunk of heavy batter encircling the skinniest, most anorexic haddock ever to float the sea. Seriously, the saddles hanging on the wall would have been more appetizing.
Stomachs full but not overly satisfied, we kept shopping.
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At Grandma’s Front Porch we found another Name That Crap mystery item. Seems to me if you’re going to price and sell something… you should know what the heck it is first.
There’s always something that needs to be repaired at Casa River, and sometimes that something is the Barn Mahal porch.
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For some reason ( read – crazy Maine weather, massive frost heaves and lack of gutters ) one section of the porch lifted over the years with the result being smashed and then rotted wood under the corner post.
A cousin was called to assist… as there was heavy lifting required and yours truly sucks at that.
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I also suck at not exclaiming WTF! when I go outside to check on the repair progress.
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I doubt that set up was OSHA approved… but it did the job and supported the roof while the post was removed.
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Rotted wood.
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Please note I am not standing on the porch to take pictures.
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Rotted wood replaced….
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Corner post cut and reseated.
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With a hammer, because fine tuning was required.
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And yes, it’s a bit crooked now.
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But my bat was rehung and the roof is still over our heads… so I’m calling it good.
A beautiful Maine summer day demands a road trip to the lakes…
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Long Lake, pictured here, is in the Sebago Lakes region of our state with the western mountains rising in the distance. The lakeside village of Naples is charming, and perfect for leisurely strolling with random stops to enjoy the views… unless you’re my husband who drove straight through on his way to a store in Windham called the Den of Antiquities.
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This is the view he prefers.
It was a great store with a converted pre Civil War era barn. Treasure was abundant.
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Like this fabulous old slot machine. Please note at $3,950 the price was not even close to fabulous.
Vintage white enamel bed pan used as a display container? Now that’s fabulous.
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I’m still hunting for vintage wooden beer or whisky crates to house my vinyl collection and thought I’d hit the motherload here..
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But in all those boxes, there wasn’t one alcohol related piece of wood in the bunch. Oh sure, I could have bought this …
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But who wants their records stashed in a giant box of rubbers?
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This crate had promise… it said it housed a dozen quarts which denotes liquid, but for the life of me I couldn’t make out the name. Google search came up empty as did all the other customers I asked. Even the owner didn’t have a clue. We shifted it every which way trying to decipher the lettering to no avail. I was struggling to understand what the hell ‘Caitus Guhs’ was when the owner had a eureka moment and figured it out.
The blog report of my husband saying goodbye to a motorcycle was premature. After he spent hours washing and polishing it the other day, he registered it. And then because it was clean, pretty and legal.. he wanted to ride it. That’s when the trouble began.
Said motorcycle would not start. Which wasn’t surprising since it had been sitting unused for a few years. A new battery was purchased, but it didn’t start. The fuel tank was drained, refilled and dry gas added, but it didn’t start. New spark plugs were purchased and installed, but it didn’t start. It was at this point the limit of my husband’s motorcycle mechanical repair ability was reached.
After an hour of research and fruitless calls (no one wants to work on a bike more than ten years old these days) a repair shop was found and arrangements made to diagnose and fix the problem. Carburetor? Starter? Time will tell.
Since my husband’s truck is currently in the shop (having a little body work done – think face lift for Fords) and he is the least patient man on the face of the planet… the issue of how to transport the bike to the mechanic became problematic.
We’re AAA members and have had cars and trucks towed by them in the past, so that was our first call. Everything is automated these days which means I could hear my husband cursing and stabbing buttons like a coked up stenographer in the kitchen. When he kept yelling OTHER at the top of his lungs? I knew things were not proceeding smoothly. He hung up some time later and assured me they were on their way…. so we waited. And waited. And waited. Did I mention my husband does not wait well? 😳 An hour and a half later we received a call from AAA saying though we did have premium coverage, it didn’t cover motorcycles and unless we wanted to pay $350 out of pocket the order would be cancelled. We cancelled, and called a local tow company who would charge $120 and be at our house in 30 minutes. Problem solved.
As soon as we hung up with the local company? A tow truck sent by AAA pulled into the yard asking which car we wanted towed. When we explained the situation the driver was not pleased, but my husband is a talker and was soon finding common ground and giving him a tour of the man cave. The driver was soothed and happily left, saying he was charging AAA for a full call regardless.
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This is the local tow truck driver… and the rig they used to secure and slide the bike on the flatbed is pretty darn slick.
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So there it goes.
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Off to a mechanic who will fix it for God only knows how much money… and now? The husband wants to keep it.
Sigh. Looks like the only thing I’ll be saying goodbye to is the bank balance.