Monthly Archives: March 2024

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New appliances.

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Remember that fancy schmantsy toaster my husband gave me as a gift? The one with the ridiculous price tag and all those bells and whistles no one needs?

Well, it died the other day… 3 months past it’s warranty of course.

So before I could run to Wal Mart or Target to purchase a more reasonable replacement?

My husband came home with this…

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An even more expensive version with bells, whistles and flashing lights.

Sigh.

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Does it toast bread? Sure.

Will it live longer than 3 months past its warranty? Only time will tell…

In other news (not to mention definitive proof I’m old) I’m going to gush about a vacuum.

Or more precisely the adorable Dyson Omni Glide rechargeable stick vacuum.

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It’s small, easy to operate, disconnect and empty. The multi positional head is a dream and glides everywhere… effortlessly. Smooth fabric rollers won’t scratch our new floors and it has two suction settings to pick up His Lordship’s messes.

I’m in love.

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❤️

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Things that made me look twice.

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It’s not every day you see a sleeping opossum hugging a crocheted opossum while wearing Crocs, but here you are.

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I remember having Barbie Dolls when I was a child. I never really liked them but people always gifted them to me because, ya know.. girl toy.

Back in my day there weren’t many varieties of Barbie, maybe Malibu… and that seemed exotic at the time. Now? There are hundreds.

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Damn. That sure beats a suntan.

And lest you think these versions are cheap, Barbie with psychotic birds will set you back $399…. which I thought was outrageous until I saw this –

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Yikes!

The title of this next photograph I took when we went out to lunch the other day should be Are we doing this now?

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How about you just pay your kitchen staff a decent wage and not expect the customers to pay extra to keep them happy?

🥴

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The Great Lost Bear.

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When it’s a dark and gloomy rainy day? Yours truly heads for the Bear.

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The Great Lost Bear in Portland is a beloved institution with an average of 60 beers on tap on any given day.

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It’s a perfect way to spend an afternoon.

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With so many beers to choose from, a flight is required.

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My fave?

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Barreled Souls Little Havana. A tropical Gose brewed with Mango, Pineapple, and Guava…weird and totally wonderful.

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The Bear is a quirky place and if you’re a fan of John Connelly’s character Charlie Parker… you’ll feel right at home.

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Their sweet Thai chili wings are massive and delicious.

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Sadly the husband’s French onion soup was so salty it had to be sent back.

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But his beer was fresh and cold and isn’t that really what’s important?

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Free bumper stickers don’t hurt either.

🤣

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It pays to shop around.

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My husband couldn’t understand why I wanted to visit sooo many different furniture stores. We’d picked out the style of couches….

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And the matching chair and ottoman.

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I’d even decided on the fabrics.

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But the price quotes were all over the place.

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That’s a considerable difference, and surprising because the highest quote came from the large chain store that constantly crows about its low prices.

And just when my (very patient) husband was crying uncle and telling me to “buy something already!”….

I found an even lower price for the exact same thing.

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From $7,775 to $5,798.

A savings of $1,977.

Yay me.

Less money and the satisfaction of supporting a small business that’s been in the same family for over 100 years.

That’s what I call a win win.

Free delivery in 6-8 weeks.

😊

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Let’s play.

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You know you want to.

If you’re like me you’ve held multiple jobs in your life. Some you liked, some you hated.

So let’s have some fun by picking a profession from this 1881 list.

What would you have been doing?

Choose and defend.

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I’m going with turnip shepherd. There’s got to be a lot of down time with this career. Turnips aren’t well known for straying… so I’m imaging myself kicked back under a shade tree tending my flock with a good book and a pitcher of margaritas.

How about you…

How would you be earning a living in 1881?

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If ever there was a reason to drink.

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After spending an hour here…

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I needed to spend two hours here.

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At the bar of one of our favorite restaurants.

Though this sangria was a tad disappointing…

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The thyme and temp martini and crabmeat arancini appetizer more than made up for it.

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Sicilian Table in Falmouth, home to the fabulous fish.

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And a Wagyu filet in burgundy glaze for the husband.

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Shrimp and scallop lemon risotto for me.

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Tiramisu with brandy soaked cherries?

It almost made me forget how much money we have to pay the IRS.

Almost…

😩

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Beer, food and a decision I just can’t seem to make.

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Because we never pass up an opportunity to do a flight.

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Hobbs Tavern and Brewery.

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The Two and Two white stout was delightful.

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Broccoli cheese soup and a pomegranate margarita to start for me.

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Husband had a yummy bacon wrapped herby meatloaf.

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And I had a great turkey club with cranberry mayo.

On the furniture fabric home front… we’ve narrowed it down to this accent pattern but can’t decide between solids for the couches.

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In certain conditions the light is too light.

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In others, the dark is too dark.

Lord Dudley Mountcatten couldn’t care less.

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But I’m leaning towards the light.

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Of foggy morning and cats.

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Spring is here … though to be honest I’m still waiting for winter. March in Maine used to mean cold and snow but temps have been near 50 most of the month and up until last week’s snow storm we had green grass in places.

Sigh.

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It’s been damp and too warm all winter.

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Though I admit the morning fog is soothing.

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His Lordship?

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Never misses his morning coffee.

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And now that his scratchy post has been returned to its normal living room site…

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All is right with his world.

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I just hope the furniture stores don’t mind a little cat hair on their fabric samples.

😉

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