White Mountains trip… Day 1.

October 31, 2019 Rivergirl 26 Comments

It was a little dreary the day we left, with rain threatening in the distance… but we made good time and actually arrived too early to check into our resort.

What to do. What to do…

Who am I kidding?

It was margarita time.

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So we found a chicken themed bar…

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And settled in for lunch. Liquid and otherwise…

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It was a funky place…

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Basically a converted farmhouse with lots of quirky little rooms.

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And though they don’t look wonderful….

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The homemade chicken croquettes were to die for.

Bellies full, we headed out.

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Fall color was intermittent during this trip. Some places gorgeous, others past peak.

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We got to Newry, still too early to check in… so we explored.

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Found a covered bridge….

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Built in 1872…

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And enjoyed the views.

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It was peaceful…

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And smelled like autumn.

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For those not familiar…

That means fresh air, apples, a hint of wood smoke, and dry crackling leaves.

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Nectar of the Gods.

Down the road a ways, we had a laugh.

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We followed the sign, but found neither hole nor Frenchman.

But we did pass a camp….

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With the perfect name.

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That says it all.

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I love the country!

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We’re baaaaack!

October 28, 2019 Rivergirl 33 Comments

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I know, you never missed me.

But we had a fabulous nature filled week in Western Maine and Eastern New Hampshire and are happily exhausted.

We toured the White Mountains…. hiked, resort hopped, slept with rubber ducks, took beautiful scenic drives, leaf peeped, stalked a moose, went sight seeing, built a cairn, peed in more portapotties than I thought possible, and basically ate and drank our way across 2 states.

Life is good.

At least for us.

There are 1704 photos waiting to be posted here… so it may not be good for you.

And if you thought my series about the red rocks of Arizona were plentiful?

We were in granite country for 7 days people!

Rocks and trees, trees and rocks, more trees, even more rocks. We even went to a rock museum.

Weeeeeee!

But there are some baby barn updates I need to fit in, as well as all the other scheduled stuff…. so it won’t be wall to wall granite.

You’re welcome.

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Because everyone needs a drink.

October 27, 2019 Rivergirl 24 Comments

Bird baths.

They’re not just for birds anymore….

These little guys never used to drink here until an apple tree sprouted in my garden bed a few years ago.

Now they’ve realized they can safely climb onto an overhanging branch and jump in.

Like I do…

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Actual photo of me last Saturday night.

Pardon the quality of these shots, but it was dark and I was shooting through a window.

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I’ve often wondered why the deer don’t stop to slake their thirst.

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Now, I have proof that they do.

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Colors and critters.

October 26, 2019 Rivergirl 30 Comments

Looking across the street to our neighbor’s organic vegetable farm is always interesting.

But this time of year, it’s downright beautiful.

Who knew artichokes could be so pretty?

And when our neighbor has wood chips delivered….

HE HAS WOODCHIPS DELIVERED.

When you’re a farmer’s child?

You don’t need no stinkin’ sandbox.

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On the critter front,

We’re down to one lone woodchuck.

He’s still fat…

And still clumsy…

And still hangs out on our deck once in a while. But it’s autumn, and all his brothers and sisters are finding dens and getting ready for winter. I doubt even this one will be here much longer.

Sigh…

Autumn also means the deer are changing into their darker winter coats. One summer coated hold out is on the right for comparison.

A murder of crows have now discovered our bird bath.

Why are they called a murder?

The Oxford English Dictionary suggests this is an allusion to the crow’s traditional association with violent death or its harsh and raucous cry. If you’ve ever heard dozens of agitated crows in full cry, it really does sound as if they’re yelling bloody murder.

As long as they don’t murder me in my sleep, I don’t care what you call them.

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Uh oh.

And finally, we have a new skunk in town.

I admit I never really paid attention to skunk tails before, but we’ve had so many different families this year I’ve gotten to recognize them by their individual patterns.

This is Tippy.

Brilliantly named for the white tip on her tail.

Is she really a she?

I neither know, nor care to get close enough to find out.

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Scrambling…

October 25, 2019 Rivergirl 49 Comments

No, not eggs.

Vacations.

You see, for the entire year my husband has been saying he’s going to retire in December. He also forbade me to book any vacations because he works for the Federal Government and can sell back his leave when he goes.

(He gets 5 weeks off every year, so the payout can be substantial.)

Except now that the day is rapidly approaching, he decided he’s going to work a little longer.

Yes, his reasoning is sound.

The old boss he hated has left and been replaced with a laid back, drama free manager.
Starting next year, they’re going to push teleworking from home 2-3 days a week…. and since he already works four 10 hour days, it will probably be a 1 day a week commute.
Good benefits.
Good pay.
The ability to dump more in our TSP (Thrift Savings Plan, the government’s answer to a company matching IRA).

I get it.

I do…

But our retirement plan was to travel, and I’d like him to be semi-mobile and breathing without a respirator when we do. (Hauling a corpse in and out of resort elevators is such a drag.)

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But back to the scrambling….

It’s almost the end of the year and I don’t have much time to plan and book 5 weeks worth of vacations before time runs out. It’s not easy with the holidays right around the corner. We have a timeshare on a points system and can go anywhere, but since he’s waited so long to request time off, he can’t get more than a week at a time…. which leaves out long distance trips. I hate spending 2 days flying back and forth for only 4 days on site. With the price of tickets these days, it’s not worth it.

So thanks to WordPress’s magic scheduling ability, as you read this… we are currently returning from a week at a ski resort in the western mountains of Maine.

That’s right Lionel, I haven’t been here for a week and you didn’t even miss me.

God bless technology.

Did we ski? Hell no, it’s too early for that… even in Maine. But it’s a beautiful area and I’m sure we explored. And drank. And took pictures.

The deluge of photos will begin shortly….

not again

You’ve been warned.

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The D word.

October 24, 2019 Rivergirl 58 Comments

It’s four evil letters…

And I dread it like the plague.

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But the time has come.

Entering my 50’s, a hysterectomy forced menopause and long Maine winters have taken their toll and I swear I don’t even recognize myself when I look in a full length mirror.

Alright, yes.

Bacon may have had a little something to do with it.

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So now I’m eating healthy.

I’ve given up bacon, and cheese, and gravy, and bread, and chocolate and all those other wonderful things that make life worth living.

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I’m back on the treadmill for 2 or 3 sessions a day…. panting, sweating and realizing how horribly out of shape I’ve become.

And believe me when I say I hate exercising.

Really f*ing hate it.

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I’m not enjoying the process, but I’m down 14 lbs…. and that’s rewarding.

What’s not rewarding is that I can’t even tell the difference. And that, my friends…. is a sure sign you’re overweight.

I mean damn… shouldn’t my clothes be falling off me by now?

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It’s been 5 weeks of abstinence…

(No, not that kind. I’m overweight, not crazy.)

In a perfect world, I lose another 30lbs. But I’m not holding my breath for miracles. The older we get, the harder it is to lose and at this point I’d be happy to just fit into some of my old clothes again.

So, give a girl a hand. If you have any dieting tips or tricks? I’m all ears…

And hips.

And thighs.

And boobs…

actual footage of my treadmill motivation

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It’s that time again…

October 23, 2019 Rivergirl 45 Comments

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I hadn’t checked my spam folder in a while and boy, was it bursting.

Let’s take a look.

We’re a group of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our community. Your website offered us with valuable info to work on. You’ve done a formidable job and our entire community will be thankful to you.

This was interesting since it was posted on my blog about Woodstock. If the new scheme of their community is peace, love and drugs?

They’re a little late.

Right here is the right site for anyone who wants to find out about this topic. You understand a whole lot its almost tough to argue with you (not that I actually would want to…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a subject which has been written about for many years. Great stuff, just wonderful!

This was on my post about baby woodchucks.

And while I appreciate the compliment, I wasn’t aware the subject had been written on that extensively.

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I like this site, it’s a master peace !

Clearly this spammer enjoyed my post about the Red Rocks of Sedona, and who could blame him? Shame he doesn’t know how to spell…

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I am glad for writing to make you understand of the incredible experience my wife’s princess experienced browsing your web page. She even learned so many things, which included how it is like to have an incredible teaching spirit to have the mediocre ones completely know just exactly a number of advanced topics. You truly did more than people’s desires. Thank you for producing the priceless, dependable, revealing and even fun guidance on the topic to Janet.

Janet is quite welcome. I constantly strive to do more than people’s desires with my advanced topics and am thrilled to be recognized. Please give the princess my regards.

I imagine she looks something like this:

Hello there! This article couldn’t be written much better!
Reading through this article reminds me of my previous roommate!
He constantly kept preaching about this. I will send this
article to him. Fairly certain he’s going to have a great read.
Many thanks for sharing!

One has to wonder who this spammer’s previous roommate was and why he constantly preached about the Suc It product I blogged about.

Best or worse? You decide…

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And finally there’s this one, which was a little too spot on… even for me.

It was posted on my previous blog about spam: Monty Python and Spam….

Thanks for sharing such an awesome information with us.

Learn the world leading technology from the best industry certified Professionals of python training in bangalore who can help you to learn the technology from scratch to advanced level.

Pythons for Monty Python.

Well….

They were close.

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Can I get an oohrah?

October 22, 2019 Rivergirl 39 Comments

As most of you know, my husband is a Marine. (And as I learned many moons ago, once a Marine always a Marine…. hence the is, even though he retired from the Corps years ago)

Being a Marine means being inundated with Marine Corps stuff. Newsletters, fliers, reunion notices, junk mail and catalogs… like this:

Sgt. Grit appears in our mailbox on a regular basis because I made the mistake of ordering something for the husband from them online. I usually chuck it, but was bored the other day and started flipping through it.

OOHRAH!!

The beloved Marine Corps grunt that I’ve never managed to perform to my husband’s satisfaction. This may have something to do with the fact that I sound more like Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman than Chesty Puller…..

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And that’s Army. A big no no in this house.

(A little history below for those who care…. though my husband would tell you he’s not doing it correctly either)

The catalog has all the usual USMC geegaws and gifts…

As well as those oh so subtle tee shirts young men love to wear….

Thankfully my husband hates those.

He lived it, and doesn’t feel the need to advertise.

There are knives…

And Ka Bar sporks.

For those days at Kentucky Fried Chicken when plastic just won’t do.

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And now you can, for a mere $12.99

You’re welcome.

There are items for children…

And good God, there are even Marine Corps gnomes.

But it was the ladies section that made me choke.

Because even when I had the figure (way back when) to wear these?

No.

Just no…

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Babies can be annoying.

October 21, 2019 Rivergirl 36 Comments

Let’s face it, there’s going to be a weekly baby barn update for the duration of the deconstruction/construction.

Which, at this point…. I figure will end sometime between Jesus, isn’t it done yet? and If I have to pry one more splinter out of my hand, I’ll shoot myself in the head and call it good.

Walls.

If you’re an immigrant during this administration? Not Good.

If you’re a rotting baby barn circa 1974? Very good.

Here’s a pic of the husband using his vintage (what feels like 50lb) saw.

You’ll notice he’s hunched over and applying pressure. That’s because the damn thing shimmies like a tilt a whirl on crack and might fly apart if you don’t.

Walls.

They’re a good thing. But sometimes…

You see where I’m going with this?

From the outside all looks well.

From the inside, things went a little squirrelly on the right.

Crooked?

little bit

Do we care?

We do not.

Do we wait for the wife to bring the dust pan during clean up?

So, another weekend done.

Another section framed and ready for siding.

Did I mention that the husband’s plan of starting at the halfway point on the front and working his way around makes it look a bit odd?

Rather like a schizophrenic.

Perhaps I shall name her Sybil….

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Well, that’s a new one.

October 20, 2019 Rivergirl 40 Comments

As you know…. my husband has a habit of coming home from the dump with more than he went with.

But this week?

I think he even surprised himself.

We’d been working on the baby barn and the truck was full of rotted wood.

Our local recycling center won’t take it because it was painted, which means a 40 minute trip to a solid waste disposal site. He came back with an empty truck….

And this:

Yeah.

A 2005 BMW.

Did we need another one? No.

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And come on, you know owning two BMW’s is twice as obnoxious as owning one.

Why did he buy another one?

Because it was clean…

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Had low mileage for it’s age…

And the little old lady that owned it treated it like a child.

I really have to stop letting him go to the dump alone.

*Disclaimer – technically he didn’t get this at the dump, just found it at a house along the way. Hell, if he’d found it for free at the dump… I wouldn’t be complaining.*