All posts by Rivergirl

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Giving him a little taste of the frustration.

February 5, 2024 Rivergirl 22 Comments

My husband rolled his eyes and scoffed at the idea of me not being able to choose a fabric for the sofa he liked among a hundred and fifty choices so I decided to let him experience the joy of fabric selection first hand.

Since we needed to find a different brand of furniture, shopping began anew.

Can you tell how thrilled he was?

He didn’t mind that couch, but vetoed the square arms.

The salesperson said it could be ordered in a rolled arm style….

And we were off.

Standing in front of that brand’s wall of fabric, I started pulling patterns.

The following comments are his.

Too swirly.

Too wavy.

Too blotchy.

Too hippie dippie.

45 minutes later, he started wandering around and picked these.

Too bad they belonged to a brand that didn’t sell a couch he liked.

The designer in residence took up our cause at that point and pulled this.

The husband?

He said it looked like television static.

Almost an hour and a half in, he was done…. and pointed at this.

“That one.

Get that one.”

I thought it an odd choice, but the salesman plugged it into the creation app and the husband was so sick of the process he approved.

I argued that it would be too light a pattern for an ottoman not to mention our white walls and opted to take the swatch home.

The husband? He opted for a bar because the whole thing had driven him to drink.

Cranberry gin fizz for me.

Two beers and a disappointing French onion soup for him.

My crab cakes with spicy remoulade were wonderful.

Fortified with lunch and alcohol… we kept shopping.

😉

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News you can’t use.

February 5, 2024 Rivergirl 26 Comments

Because the world is full of useless news.

Thinking about this, I’m not sure I can get past the short term injuries.

🤢

Post Traumatic Sh*t Disorder, no doubt.

This handsome fellow ate $4,000 off the kitchen counter.

Bad dog. Bad.

That’s a little extreme. Even for the journal…

I’m sure they meant to say incorrectly, but never mind.

Risk management aside, who in their right mind belongs to a Bladder and Bowel Community… and what would you bring to that potluck supper?

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In which I take an old Marine back to boot camp…. part one.

February 4, 2024 Rivergirl 35 Comments

Day two of our anniversary trip started with a glorious sunrise.

And the required selfie with palm tree background.

We headed out early and pointed the beast south.

Through low country marsh…

And those wonderful live oaks. (You’re going to see a lot of them in the days to come because they were everywhere and I love them.)

More marsh.

More moss draped trees. (I did warn you)

An hour and a half later, we reached our destination.

Parris Island, South Carolina. The base that serves as east coast boot camp for the Marine Corps. The last time my Marine had been here was in 1966.

Almost 58 years had passed and he was interested to see how much he remembered.

Those palm trees lining the entrance road?

Nope.

The rifle range?

Yes. Though the brick jersey barriers were new.

I could tell this was an emotional trip down memory lane for him. The last time he walked these grounds he was fresh out of high school and training to go to war.

We drove slowly, touring and taking in the sights. Base housing has definitely improved over the years.

And as we rounded a large bend?

A beautiful golf course…

Complete with live oaks…

Ponds…

And shore birds.

Egrets and herons were everywhere.

As were the moss covered trees.

I asked if the golf course had been there in his day and he honestly didn’t know. During the Vietnam era, boot camp was condensed from 3 months into 2 and every single minute was spent training, drilling or sleeping. No days off. One hour a week to write a letter home and mandatory church service Sunday morning. There was no time for golf.

My husband really wanted to see his old barracks, but they were made of wood and torn down long ago. Modern brick was in their place.

Just when the husband was feeling disheartened that everything had changed… we saw this.

New recruits.

Looking lost and scared to death.

Scurrying to and fro beneath the famous sign.

Turn up your volume for the full effect.

Now that was familiar.

To be continued…

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I really missed hushpuppies.

February 3, 2024 Rivergirl 39 Comments

(Don’t worry, I won’t post every meal we had on vacation… just the highlights.)

After settling in to the condo and unpacking we realized we’d skipped lunch and were hungry, so we jumped in the beast and headed out in search of food.

Okay, with electronic running boards that magically appear every time you open the doors we didn’t really jump into our giant luxury rental so much as glide … but you get the idea.

It was 3:00pm and two starving northerners were searching in vain for an open restaurant on the beach during the off season. Round and round we went, at 15 miles per gallon, but nothing opened until 5:00. Yes, I love tourist free times of year… but this is the price I pay.

At 4:30 we found a waterfront spot with an open bar and a kitchen that opened in half an hour. Score!

It was empty so we got great service.

The cocktail list was uninspiring but the panty buster was tasty.

We drank and enjoyed the view until the bartender took pity on us and put in an appetizer order.

When you’re in the South Carolina low country? It’s all about the shrimp… and they were fabulous.

When you’re a Yankee girl who used to live in the south and then moved back up north where no one even knows what a hush puppies is? You order every one you see… and these did not disappoint. Served with warm honey butter it was all I could do to let my husband have one.

Shrimp and hush puppies by the water.

It made me miss the south.

I followed my appetizer with a large plate of fried shrimp… because when in Rome.

After our meal we walked the pier.

That’s the restaurant on the right.

The sun was setting on our first day of vacation.

The water was calm.

The sky was beautiful.

I was with the man I’d married 40 years ago.

And our beast sent out lighted signals on the pavement to guide us to its doors.

Life was good.

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A finished renovation project! Well, almost…

February 2, 2024 Rivergirl 16 Comments

Both of our new doors have been installed. Rotted wood and sub floor sections have been replaced and our contractor made double and triple sure they’re sealed up tight against the weather and rain proof.

Hallelujah.

Bedroom and living room door, respectively.

It took an awfully long time, but I’m pleased.

But as the title says, while it’s done…

It’s not exactly finished.

Since the new flooring is next on the renovation list, there didn’t seem to be any reason to put the interior trim back on only to take it off again…. so for now I get to live with a rough insulation filled border.

There are worse things.

I can deal.

And I’m loving the built in blind.

Progress is a beautiful thing.

👍

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Location is everything. The resort…

February 2, 2024 Rivergirl 31 Comments

Our home base for the anniversary trip was a two bedroom condo at Wyndham Ocean Ridge on Edisto ( Ed-iss-toe) Beach. Mid way between Charleston and Hilton Head…

It’s a quiet, laid back mostly residential beach community without all the tacky water parks and touristy crap cluttering most southern coasts. It’s the undiscovered country and that’s just how we like it.

When we arrived at the resort and checked in, we were given a unit on the golf course. We travel through our timeshare so sometimes it’s a crap shoot where we’re placed. But seeing that my husband has the gift of gab and makes friends easily, we were quickly reassigned to one of the deluxe units in the best area. (Me dropping the 40th wedding anniversary bomb may have had something to do with it as well. 😉 )

If it hadn’t been January, in the height of the off season this wouldn’t have happened. The Bay Point association is the primo spot of the entire resort and people book them two years in advance.

The peninsula itself is Edisto Beach with private homes all around. The areas in green are the resort and it was a crazy set up. One second you’re on the resort, the next you’re on a private road. As you can see by my arrow we were right at the tip on the water.

Our condo was in the middle on the top floor, which in reality is only the second but you have to climb 4 flights of stairs to get there.

It was clean and spacious.

With a decided seaside decor.

It was newly remodeled with carpet that looked like waves.

And had a pretty sweet view from the bed.

And speaking of views…

One look out the balcony and I was a happy camper.

Off season with an entire beach to ourselves. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Second bedroom. No, we don’t use it… but if you book a two bedroom unit you get two baths and that my friends is the key to a long and happy marriage.

Master bath. This was mine in case you were wondering.

😉

We settled in and unpacked.

Very pleased with our South Carolina home for the week.

❤️

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And we’re off!

February 1, 2024 Rivergirl 40 Comments

My husband and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary last month and decided that milestone needed to be marked with a trip.

(Bet you didn’t even notice I was gone. Yes, I’m that good. 😉)

And my husband being my husband… that meant getting up at 1:30am to fly out of Portland at 5:00 in the morning. It’s an ungodly time of day to travel but landing in DC at sunrise made for some pretty spectacular photos from the plane.

We arrived in Charleston, South Carolina late morning and while the airport itself is well laid out and efficient.. the path to the rental cars is anything but. I’d reserved and prepaid for a mid size luxury SUV with Avis… but upon arrival was told there were none available. Not an auspicious start to our vacation to be sure.

The agent tried to pawn off a four door sedan on us but I wasn’t having it. After some polite but firm no’s from yours truly… we were upgraded. Which must have ticked him off because he gave us these directions.

Which were as clear as mud so naturally we got lost. Dragging our luggage in and out of elevators and searching parking garages. We had no “space” and there was no red tent. Good times.

A kind woman took pity on us and told us we were in the wrong building altogether as the rental cars had moved. 20 minutes after we started and cursing the rental agent quite colorfully, we finally found our vehicle. A (holy crap that thing was big!) Lincoln Navigator. I’m not kidding when I say it had every bell and whistle imaginable.

I’m also not kidding when I say it took us a good ten minutes to figure out how to run it.

Did I mention it had cooled as well as heated seats? Be still my little hot flashing heart.

More about the beast later, but just so you know?

This was not an inexpensive vehicle.

Driving south from Charleston we headed for our resort in Edisto Island. (Pronounced Ed as in Sullivan… iss as in hiss… toe as in the appendages at the end of your feet. Say it with me … Ed-iss-toe. The natives corrected me numerous times so I want you to start this vacation saga on the right foot, so to speak. )

We passed under and through magnificent live oaks dripping with Spanish moss.

For a northern girl like me this is heady stuff.

45 minutes later, we reached the bridge to the island.

And entered the heart of the low country.

Marshes.

Inland waterways.

And numerous sea islands. Rich in history, natural beauty, fresh seafood and Gullah culture.

This is an area I’d always wanted to explore and I was looking forward to a week full of adventures.

To be continued…

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The furry, four legged escape artist.

January 31, 2024 Rivergirl 19 Comments

Lord Dudley Mountcatten likes to look out the back door and that hasn’t been possible with the plastic barrier in place.

His Lordship was not pleased.

Just after it was erected, the old door was removed…

So of course, it snowed.

We haven’t had snow all winter… but let our contractor start working and bam. White stuff.

The rotted sub floor and framing was replaced and as work continued with a giant hole in the living room …

Lord Dudley plotted.

I guarded against it and tried to keep a close eye on him, but naturally the little devil found a weak spot and made a run for it.

Thankfully His Lordship is not a fan of snow and after a few cursory steps that resulted in wet feet… he just sat on the doorstep and watched birds.

After hustling him back inside?

He decided a warm sunny spot was more to his liking.

And at least someone was using the treadmill.

😉

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It’s the Amish for the win…

January 31, 2024 Rivergirl 30 Comments

Though I really wanted to purchase living room furniture first, we seem to have put that on hold (due to ugly ass fabrics) and moved on to the dining room.

This is what my husband fell in love with.

An extremely high quality, Amish made, Mission style table and chairs made of elm and maple. He surprised me by liking the black contrast but was so impressed with the quality he may not have even noticed.

A feature he really liked? The leaves store in the table itself.

He also like the table base which has an odd… shelf? Place for tablecloths? I don’t know what it is but I can totally see Lord Dudley Mountcatten claiming it for his own.

This is the arts and crafts style hutch we also purchased, though it will be in the darker stain like the table and have glass sides on the top cabinet.

It’s unusual to see my husband so thrilled with furniture… but the man couldn’t stop rubbing his hands all over this so I guess it’s worth the jaw dropping price.

Delivery in 12 weeks.

😊

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The fishing life.

January 30, 2024 Rivergirl 28 Comments

Maine is a coastal state and has a rich fishing heritage. Lobsters are our mainstay but we also harvest scallops, crabs, oysters and numerous deep sea fish.

The men who work the ocean are a hardy bunch. Strong, stoic, and weatherbeaten. They also have a quirky sense of humor.

So when a local apparel outfitter started a big catch contest giveaway and asked fishermen to submit pictures, you know it was going to get interesting.

Here are a few of my favorite entries.