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Maine winters can be long, and out here in the country you take your entertainment where you can find it.
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Often times, that’s on a frozen river.
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Smelt, a small oily fish people enjoy fried…
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… run thus time of year and intrepid Mainers set up ice fishing shacks.
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Sitting in a plywood box in sub zero temps staring at a hole in the ice isn’t my idea of a good time.
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But to each their own.
🐟
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You may even enjoy it.
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Clearly this feline is Jonesing for some kitty weed and had to hit the ATM to pay his dealer.
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Catnip withdrawal is real.
Now you.
Why does that cat need money?
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When it comes to wanting a weird and unusual item to bring to the Antique Roadshow, I don’t think you can beat what’s hanging on our wall.
Do you see it?
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It’s a bizarre rock crystal piece that’s been gracing my family’s homes since the late 1800’s.
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What is it? Good question.
My grandfather traveled the world at the end of the 19th century and brought this back from Egypt in the early 1880’s or ‘90’s.
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When I was a child I was sure it was pirate treasure because of the skull and crossed bones.
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But the story was it came from an ancient tomb.
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For over 100 years no one in my family knew what it was, so back in 1994 I contacted a museum curator.
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Turns out they weren’t sure either. Early Christian or ancient Coptic?
Interesting.
And in case you’re wondering, I did send photos to Christie’s and Sotheby’s… both of whom sent back replies stating it fell below their $5,000 value requirement ($10,657 in today’s dollars) for auction. And if they’re not auctioning? They’re not identifying.
So…
Another definite Roadshow possibility.
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The husband and I found a (not so new, but new to us) brewery in Lewiston recently.
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Baxter brewing is housed in the old Bates mill complex …
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And has a fabulous tasting room space.
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I love when companies repurpose old buildings. This was a hydro powered textile mill back in the day and if you look closely in the far corner of that picture you’ll see a raw rock wall. During heavy rain storms it weeps… wear waterproof shoes if you sit there.
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The beer?
Yeah, there’s lots of it on tap.
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That chocolate orange stout?
Primo!
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They also have a full bar and since I’m a sucker for fresh herbs in my cocktails…
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I sampled the thyme after thyme mule with pear and lime ginger beer. Yum!
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At the bar we spied an outdoor mural we missed on the way in.
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Along with the beer?
Food.
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Sadly it wasn’t as good as the booze.
The husband’s French onion soup was sent back because it was basically just a bowl of soggy bread.
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My dumplings were tasty but a bit overdone with hard edges.
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The generator that powered the mill.
It’s massive and would have cost a fortune to remove so they just painted it and left it in place.
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The husband liked his chicken tenders, though I thought the coating was too heavy and too dry.
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I should have known better than to order a smash burger… I don’t usually like them as they’re thin and well done… but the bartender said the maple honey cream sauce was amazing so I took the plunge.
Sauce aside, it was a dry hockey puck.
Am I the only one who hates this smash perfectly good meat to smithereens trend?
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Poor pub food aside, the atmosphere and beer were good enough to warrant a return trip.
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We’ll just order something it’s harder to screw up. Like nachos, or salad.
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😊
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If we get picked to go to the Antique Roadshow taping in Maine this summer, I want to bring something unusual.
Something you haven’t seen a hundred times before.
This might fit the bill…
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My father was of Scottish ancestry, but born and raised in England. This framed print was passed down through his family and though it doesn’t currently hang in our home…. it is interesting.
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Mine is clearly hand colored.
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And the only other one I could find on line is in the National Portrait Gallery.
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A distinct Roadshow possibility…
👍
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You … and everyone else.
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Because they’re more bored than I thought humanly possible?
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I stand corrected, there are one thousand and two uses for duct tape.
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Right now I’d settle for reaching back before the past few administrations.
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Sh*t just got real.
😳
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Of course they did.
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What?
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“While Texas grapples with its worst measles outbreak in decades, its Republican lieutenant governor has moved for the state’s restaurants and groceries to change the name of the “New York strip” steak cut to the “Texas strip” in what he evidently hopes is a blow to liberals.
And, perhaps anticipating reproval for his choice to focus at least some of his attention on renaming meat after a child in his state became the first person in the US to die from measles in a decade, Patrick’s statement said: “In a world filled with serious issues that address every day at the Texas capitol, this simple resolution will help better market Texas beef.”
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Unvaccinated people are at risk…. so he wants to rename a steak?
This only makes sense in Texas.
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These winter pictures popped up on my Facebook memories recently and I thought it would be fun to share.
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Backyard deer on their path. They don’t stray very far from it once it’s cut.
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That’s my husband shoveling out our neighbor who thought she could make it down her driveway in her car before plowing.
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She couldn’t.
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And here’s my husband a year later pushing his snowblower next door….
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To help dig out her husband’s plow truck.
My husband is a good neighbor to have.
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This is Mr. White, a beautiful boy who is no longer with us. He always wanted to go outside in the winter…
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But didn’t really like it once he got there.
❤️
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My husband and I met and got married in 6 days.
We would have done it sooner, but had to wait 3 days for the license.
True story.
Really.
Our “wedding” was at a town hall, performed by a Justice of the Peace. It took place in January, in Maine, during a N’Or Easter. We had to take a boat across the bay and schlepp up a ramp and across a pier in the frigid blowing snow. If memory serves, the temperature was 2 degrees. Instead of a gown, I wore dress slacks, a cashmere sweater and fancy boots. Instead of guests, we had 3 family witnesses. There was no reception, no photographer, no band, no caterer. My guy was on leave from the Marine Corps and after the ceremony we had to jump in the car for a thousand mile trip south to get him back to base on time.
Total cost?
$35, plus tip to the JOP.
That was 41 years ago.
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A friend of mine spent over $50,000 for her elaborate destination wedding. The dress was from Paris, the flowers were flown in from a trendy designer in New York, the bridesmaid’s gifts were from Tiffany.
They were divorced 2 years later.
Make of that what you will.
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It’s about love and commitment, not what you spend.
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After we visited the delightfully quirky Calefs General Store in New Hampshire last week, we were hungry for lunch. Not being familiar with the area we asked the ladies who worked there for a recommendation.
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They directed us to Dante’s, an Italian restaurant we were assured was popular, crowded and always delicious.
Unassuming from the outside…
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And not at all crowded on the inside, I was beginning to doubt the review.
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The bar is always my husband’s preferred seating choice and since it was completely empty, we got started.
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I like arincini, but have never in my life been served any this large.
Seriously, they were the size of tennis balls.
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Almost as big as my blood orange and vodka spritz.
Shame they were cold in the middle and virtually tasteless. If they’d been tasty I could have eaten them as a meal.
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This was supposed to be ravioli carbonara, but instead of pancetta they used ham and instead of garlic there were large chunks of onion.
The portion was huge, but again… rather tasteless.
Vowing never to return to this disappointing place, we noticed a woman walking out of a doorway adjacent to the bar with a brush and a can of hair spray.
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Turns out it’s a hair salon.
Right there.
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And next to the hair salon? A fitness center.
It was a regular one stop shop!
You could work out, blow out and pig out all in the same building.
Now that’s multi tasking.
🤣
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Try.
You might even enjoy it.
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I don’t mean buying a big waterfront house with hot and cold running gardeners or a snazzy little Lamborghini for running errands…. those go without saying.
I mean something that’s insignificant to others but seems like pure bliss to you.
I’ll go first.
I want…
A personal hair stylist at my beck and call to keep my big ‘80’s hair looking perfect all day, everyday!
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She/he doesn’t have to follow me around with a brush and a can of hair spray all day, but my hair is labor intensive and not having to worry about styling it would be a real treat.
How about you…
What rich person luxury would you give yourself?
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River's world..... 