Monthly Archives: April 2025

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I hope we love it.

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After multiple stores, extensive research and an extremely aggravated husband…

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A mattress has been chosen.

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An Aireloom night stars luxury firm.

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It will be hard to say goodbye to our old mattress that’s served us well for an unbelievable 39 years.

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But stretching out on this handmade beauty was almost a spiritual experience.

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Firm, but soft… if that makes sense.

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And while I know this one won’t last nearly as long as our first..

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I’m looking forward to the change.

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And though the furniture store hopping drove my less than patient husband nuts, it paid off in the end as I found a family run store that was celebrating its 70th anniversary with a 25% off sale on mattresses.

Delivery in 3 weeks.

😊

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Newport – Day 6…. an antique peek, a scenic drive to Bristol and the best meal of our trip.

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Deciding to take a drive to Bristol on our 6th day of vacation, the husband spotted an antique shop on our way out of town.

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Which turned out to be more of a tourist trap gift shop where the new items outnumbered the old so I thought I’d dodged a bullet. Until my guy started chatting up the owner and she told him about two giant antique malls he simply had to visit.

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Damn her.

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Bristol, Rhode Island is a lovely spot.

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Waterfront, like most of the towns we visited.

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With its share of stone walls and beautiful old homes.

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Arriving at lunch time, we chose an assuming little place called the Beach House.

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It was on the water, no surprise there.

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And was nicely decorated, with a warm, welcoming beachy feel.

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One aperol and pink guava spritz in…

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I was feeling right at home.

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My NY strip crostini with shallot brandy cream sauce appetizer?

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Omg.

I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. The beef literally melted in my mouth.

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And when my husband raved over his butternut squash bisque? I knew we’d chosen the right place.

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They even had his new favorite local beer.

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My main course of homemade wild mushroom ravioli with caramelized onions and porcini cream sauce?

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Absolutely decedent.

But the husband’s crab topped filet mignon with stuffed lobster tail, sautéed garlic spinach and mashed new potatoes?

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Huge.

Filling.

And perfectly cooked.

This entree alone… in Maine, would easily be $100. And we’re the land of lobster. In lovely little Bristol, Rhode Island? $44.

We were stunned.

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And vowed to come back to this hidden gem if we’re ever in the area again.

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Newport – Day 5… a brewery/vineyard combo where we made a new friend.

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As our fifth day in glorious Newport, Rhode Island was drawing to a close… we made one final stop.

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Needing a bottle or two of regional wine to gift our pet sitting neighbor upon our return, we ducked into a local favorite.

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I can honestly say I’ve never visited a winery that’s also a brewery, but this place made it work.

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With multiple tasting rooms…

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And outdoors spaces…

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We browsed their large retail shop, purchased two bottles of wine for our neighbor and chuckled at this hard cider I know Mark would love.

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Making our way into the tasting room, we stood on line and ordered a flight.

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Which is when the men who stood beside us paid for it. Thanking my husband for his service and saying Semper Fi started a conversation with one of them which would last until the employees were locking the doors and we were the last people in the building. My husband’s money was no good and stories of the military flowed.

Turns out this fellow was a Commander who was in the Persian Gulf the same time as my husband and an instant friendship was formed.

I’ve been married to my guy for 41 years and have heard his stories so many times I could recite them myself, but there’s something about veterans getting together and talking about their experiences that resonates. It’s special. A brotherhood that civilians can never truly understand.

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Commemorating the meeting with a photo as I always do, our new friend asked me to text him a copy and shortly after we parted ways sent me this message.

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He included this old photo.

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And not that we needed one, but reuniting these two men will be an excellent excuse to visit Newport again.

❤️

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Newport – Day 5… Watch Hill scenic drive, the Ocean House and a home literally ON the ocean.

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After our lovely lunch in Galilee we took the advice of some locals and headed off on a scenic drive to Watch Hill.

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A popular beach destination in the summer, the carousel.. and pretty much everything else.. was shut up tight off season.

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But the beautiful waterfront homes were still there.

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With impressive stone walls…

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And neatly trimmed hedges.

I include this photo because the perfect shrubs weren’t just in front of one home, it was an entire neighborhood of likeminded shrubbery.

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Which was hella impressive and must be beautiful when fully leafed out.

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Along the way we drove past this.

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An impressive looking place of which I had no previous knowledge.

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“…one of only fourteen Five-Star resorts in the world to hold this honor.”

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Impressive indeed.

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Reading that, you know I had to check out the accommodations.

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Oh my.

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Holy hell.

I somehow doubt any bed in Rhode Island is worth that.

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At the end of our drive we were astonished to find this house.

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Where being waterfront meant on the actual water.

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How crazy is that?

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News you can’t use.

18 Comments

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Use is a subjective term.

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How about… don’t.

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Geese.

You never know where they’ll show up.

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Bit noisy for nesting, but clearly she’s a Cubs fan.

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Lord, I hope not. Mine have expanded greatly post menopause.

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I’m sure you’ve all read about this genetic abomination. And while I am completely and absolutely 100 percent against rejuvenating extinct species… as a GOT lover I will say this now that’s it’s done –

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😉

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Good for her…?

🥴

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Does Artificial Intelligence require bacon treats as well?

How odd.

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He likes it … in theory.

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There’s a restaurant under the black awning in this corner building in downtown Augusta.

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It’s a place my husband continually thinks he likes, but really doesn’t.

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I love that their beer is tapped in an old copper still.

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And while the pomegranate margarita was killer, I admit their version of hushpuppies was not.

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We’ve been here a few times and because I enjoy barbecue, I liked my meal.

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Half a dry rubbed chicken, sweet potato fries, slaw and jalapeño cornbread.

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My husband on the other hand complained his (very tender and flavorful) ribs didn’t have enough meat, his beans weren’t New England style, his slaw was too dry and his cornbread too spicy.

He doesn’t really like barbecue, but always thinks he does… no matter how many times I tell him he won’t be pleased.

Short memory, or stubbornness? Either way it will probably be another year before he suggests going out for barbecue again.

😉

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Newport – Day 5…. in which we visit Narragansett and Galilee and have lunch beside an old Marine.

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Another day, another scenic coastal drive.

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Through Narragansett…

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And under the remnants of its once famous casino.

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Down to the end of a peninsula, an area called Galilee.

You can see Jerusalem from there.

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No, I wasn’t kidding.

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Our destination was George’s.

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A seafood restaurant with a water view.

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Lunch off season left us with the place pretty much to ourselves….

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So I settled in with a perfectly refreshing Spring Sangria…

grey goose l’orange vodka, st. germain, pineapple, white wine, club soda

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Husband started with garlicky mussels..

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And I had Rhode Island clam chowder, which is pretty much the same as New England clam chowder… rich, creamy and delicious.

Before long a few locals joined us at the bar.

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Since the gentleman closest to me was wearing a Marine Corps hat, a conversation began. These two men had been friends since they were in elementary school. They married local girls, went to war and came back home to raise families.

We bought their drinks.

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As we watched the Block Island ferry come into port.

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My crab stuffed shrimp with garlic butter roasted baby potatoes and broccolini was divine.

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As was the husband’s shrimp scampi.

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After eating, serious storytelling commenced.

😊

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I left them to it and wandered outside to enjoy the view.

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You can always tell when a fishing boat has taken on bait.

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They have a dedicated seagull following.

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🐟🐟🐟

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Random nonsense.

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Because they took care of our cat while we were in Newport, I returned the favor and watched our neighbors two cats while they were in California. Upon return she brought us a thank you gift of regional beer.

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But not just any beer.

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Beer with a sense of humor.

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Ah, spring in Maine. It can go from 70 degrees to snow in 24 hours.

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And when the grass starts to green…

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The deer start blowing winter coats.

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They look like scruffy ragamuffins..

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And we find clumps of hair all over the lawn.

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We definitely did not.

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Unfortunate typo aside, I’m going to try this and report back.

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Newport – Day 5… The Elms’ actual kitchen, servant cloaking vines and exterior pics.

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Finished with the family’s personal space, we moved down the back staircase …

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To the beehive of the house…

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Past the upper level of the butler’s pantry.

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Which had some rather lovely wrought iron rails of its own.

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Down to the kitchen.

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The main kitchen had a coal fired stove and the heat was stifling. So much so, there was a completely separate “cold” kitchen with an enormous zinc topped prep table. (stainless steel wasn’t invented until 1912, the oxidized surface of zinc was naturally antibacterial)

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Naturally there was a separate service entry for deliveries and staff which was cleverly hidden from the family by a massive wisteria vine.

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Mind you the family was only here for 6 weeks in the summer so it would have been in full bloom and pretty then, not the dormant skeleton we saw.

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Exiting to the rear of the house, we strolled the grounds.

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Which retain only a fraction of their original size.

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And on the back lawn?

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The ever present Canada geese.

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My husband was impressed with the nicely trimmed shrubbery.

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As well as the art.

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These really are grand old buildings…

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And well preserved portals to the past.

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What?

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You don’t have a life size bronze sculpture of a tiger killing a crocodile on your lawn?

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Don’t feel bad.

Neither do we.

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An elm tree, from whence the house was named.

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