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My husband watches old westerns and political news ad nauseam. We have satellite television with channels and choices up the wazoo.. but he rarely switches.
Until the other day.
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Now this is classic.
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Natives in loincloths were being wiped out left and right.
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Beware the stump.
🤣
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This is Lord Dudley Mountcatten surveying his domain.
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Here’s Lord Dudley Mountcatten noticing an interloper in his domain.
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten’s reaction was priceless.
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After some closer inspection?
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And a positive baby woodchuck identification…
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten was clueless.
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And looked back at me as if to say, “What am I supposed to do with that?”
🤣
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My husband came home with a treasure the other day.
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He bought it a flea market from someone who had no idea what it was.
He paid $7.
Tasking me with research, I came up with this:
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And this:
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They both look exactly like what he brought home.
I have doubts about it being a tea whisk. The Japanese take their tea ceremonies seriously and I think their tool would be more decorative.
Either way, it seems to be worth more than $7.
What’s your guess?
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As you know, my husband takes on a lot of projects around our house.
A lot of projects he probably shouldn’t.
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Yes, he saves us money we’d otherwise spend on contractors… but those savings come at a price.
Workmanship he would never accept from a contractor are commonplace. Like these unevenly matched boards I’m sure to stub a toe on.
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Mitered corners?
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Not his strong suit.
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Gaps?
Yeah, we’ve got those too.
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The composite decking is finished.
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And while this end looks pretty good…
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The other end was a total clusterf*ck.
I gasped when I went out there and saw how far off the edge was… thinking, surely he’s going to fix that.
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But no.
That’s the finished product.
Close on the left, but not nearly close enough on the right.
This is what you get when you don’t hire a professional.
🥴
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I could have gone all day without seeing this.
Really, I could have.
And if it’s something horrible?
Something retina scarring?
You know I have to share it with my WP friends…
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It’s going to haunt my nightmares…
Now it will haunt yours.
🤣
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While driving in Portland the other day we saw some very large egrets by the shore.
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And when I say large?
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I mean large.
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Not sure who sculpted them or why.
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But it was an interesting sight.
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Because I said so, that’s why.
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Although my opening line probably resonates with a lot of people, my mother never said that.
To be honest I can’t remember anything she said from my childhood that annoyed me… but in later years, whenever I forgot something I wanted to tell her? She would say, “It must not have been very important.”
To which I always wanted to reply, “Oh yes, now I remember. Your house is on fire .”
How about you…
What did your mother say that drove you nuts?
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Day lilies are popping.
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And they’re such a great burst of color…
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I wish they were at least week lilies.
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Here today.
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Gone tomorrow.
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Good thing there are a plethora of buds.
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😊
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My father painted this large canvas when he was in Hawaii during WWII.
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I never questioned when a man at war would find time to paint because my father painted anywhere, everywhere, all the time… even if he only had ten minutes.
This painting has hung over our bed in 4 different homes and hangs there still.
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My father was mostly a water colorist so his oils are rare, I only have two. The frame is basic, handmade with whatever was nearby at the time. My mother never liked it… so it was hidden in a closet until I got married and adopted it 40 years ago.
Am I overly fond of Hawaiian palm tree scenes? No. Does the tropical island design blend with our house in rural Maine? Probably not. But historical provenance and sentimental value trump decor every time.
Point of this blog?
Since we seem to be redoing everything else in our home.. I decided it was time to update this old girl as well.
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Which wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped.
Mind you, I knew this would be pricey… isn’t everything these days? But since it’s an oil that didn’t need to be restretched, an oil that didn’t need a mat or glass … I was hoping to get away for $300-$400.
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This frame?
$825.00
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This one?
Almost $1,300.
*Gulp!*
It’s clearly been a long time since I had anything framed.
😳
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I have a 2014 Subaru Forester named Ethel.
We bought her in 2013 and due to always taking my husband’s car when we go somewhere together, she has been driven a paltry, gentle 77,000 miles. Always garaged, Ethel is still pretty and nowhere near worn out. But my husband has been after me for two years now to buy a new car while we can still get some decent money for Ethel. We’ve been spending an utter fortune on home renovations so I kept putting him off… but this week?
I caved to the pressure and we went car shopping. Being loyal to Subaru and wanting another Forester, we found a new 2024 fully loaded Touring.
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My husband fell in love with the two tone leather interior.
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But for me, it had two strikes against it.
#1 – It’s a 2024 and the 2025’s are already here.
#2 – It’s black. The same color as my last two vehicles. I’ve driven black for 22 years.
I’m seriously over black.
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This is a 2025.
Totally redesigned and chock full of goodies. Truly, there’s so much high tech on these cars it will take me a year to learn how to run it.
Problem? This was a Limited trim and to get the two tone interior you have to upgrade to Touring.
So we dealer hopped for three solid days. To every dealer in Maine. ( Don’t be impressed, we’re not a big city dealership state .. there are only 7. )
We even went across the border to New Hampshire. Nothing. Apparently the Touring Foresters are selling out before they even hit the lot.
We only found one…
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But they wouldn’t let us test drive it because someone had already claimed it with a deposit.
If I want one, I’m going to have to order it and wait a couple of months.
Of course, there was always this one….
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A 1968.
The first Subaru in America.
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High tech it was not.
🤣
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River's world..... 