All posts by Rivergirl

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Random photo drivel.

 

(Otherwise known as I need to clean out my files and none of these shots warranted their own blog.)

 

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Is it wrong that every time I see our organic vegetable farming neighbor’s migrant workers heading out to the fields I hum “Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It’s Off To Work I Go?”

(It is, isn’t it?

Damn. I’m not sure I can stop.)

*Note to self – do not search Giphy for Hi Ho Hi Ho, you will not get the 7 dwarfs*

 

 

In other neighborhood news, a nice young couple down the road got married in their backyard last month and wanted to include their dog in the ceremony.

 

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Now, how cute is that?

 

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You’re welcome.

In garden news, I’m quite enjoying these funky pink flowers I didn’t plant.

 

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I love it when random drive by bird pooping results in something pretty.

 

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I mean look at these little guys….

 

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They could be planning next year’s perennial bed right now.

Or… they’re an evil sparrow cabal plotting revenge for my decision to switch bird seed brands.

 

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Tough call.

Men, decorating… and a bucket.

 

Summer in Maine is short, so you have to rush to get all your outdoor projects done before the weather turns.

 

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So aside from the barn walls and garage makeover we’re doing ourselves, we had to break down and hire a professional to replace part of our chimney and stop the roof from leaking. Our house has a central fireplace and was built in the Brady Bunch era so the insert is metal instead of masonry. Don’t ask.

When it came off the roof it looked like this:

 

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It had been rusted for a while and unbeknownst to me, the husband had snuck up there and tried to pretty one side of it up.

 

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Yes, I married the Martha Stewart design school reject who thought a can of fire engine red spray paint was a decorating improvement.

 

 

I truly have no idea how long this monstrosity was up there looking like this…. or why none of the neighbors weren’t driving by and snickering. I know I would have.

 

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So we hired a chimney guy who came highly recommended  (read $$$)  and he got to work. After 3 days he told us he’d done all he could for now and was waiting on a metal fabricator to make the top piece, which would take about 2 weeks.

So now?

 

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We have a tarp and a bucket.

 

 

Improvement?

Not so much.

Ode to a Cheeto.

 

You can’t improve upon perfection, so why do they try?

Witness the Cheeto.

The guilty pleasure snack everyone loves, but no one will admit to eating. With the texture of fine styrofoam and that glorious radioactive neon orange dust… how can you resist?

 

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And yes, I confess.

I have been known to squirrel away my bag in the back of the coat closet so no one else can eat them.

 

 

So why?

Why would my girlfriend offer this pale excuse of a substitute and think I would approve?

 

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Yes, she’s the same one who put kale chips with the french onion dip at her party.

And we all know how I feel about kale.  So what’s up with Kale… and why does everyone want me to eat it?

But… Cheetos, made out of beans?

 

 

That’s just wrong.

(And trust me… beans are not better. These things tasted like crunchy industrial sewage.)

Leave me and my Cheetos alone!

And bury my dust covered corpse accordingly.

 

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You’re never to old to learn…. Potatoes.

 

In my continuing effort to enlighten…

Let’s dive a little deeper into continuing education.

 

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Last week’s spoon bending was a hit,  You’re never too old to learn…. Spoons.

And while this week’s class may be a little Maine-centric…. isn’t that half the fun?

So grab your taters and let’s go to school.

 

 

***

Spud Night – I’ve Got My Eyes on You!

If you are a Mainer (or from away) who is stuck in a potato rut, you will want to join us! We will learn how to choose the correct potato variety for use, see and taste many grown varieties and taste Roasted Fingerling potatoes. The class will make Swiss Rosti Potatoes, warm German Potato salad and Sweet Potato Puree with Smoked Paprika. The evening will be both demonstration and hands on. Bring a peeler and sealed tubs to take home leftovers (if there are any!)

$10 material fee included. No discounts

****

Again, yes. This is real.

There is actually a course on potatoes.

 

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And admit it, you’re stuck in a potato rut.

We all are.

Hell, even Mr. Potato Head needs an update now and then.

 

 

Look how downright creepy he started out.

 

 

Would you let your child on the playground with that moustache twirling tater?

Of course not, so grab your peeler and get to class.

Thurs, Oct 25, 6-9 PM

1 Session

 

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I have piles.

 

 

 

 

No, not that kind of piles…. the remodel the garage type piles.

There are piles to go to the dump…

 

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Piles that the neighbor across the street might want.

 

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There are big piles.

 

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And little piles.

 

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And piles that the husband might want to use for something, someday… which really means never.

 

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That’s entirely too many piles!

If we were better acquainted,  you’d know how crazy this makes me.

 

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And if all those piles aren’t enough to make me  stab my husband with a fork  twitch, there’s this one:

 

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Which interferes with my late afternoon summer reading.

And that… can not be tolerated.

 

 

 

 

 

And then there was (more) beer… Part 2.

 

Our second brewery of the day was a place that came highly recommended. It got great reviews, and was said to be a “must visit”…so we did.

 

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Oxbow is a larger organization with multiple locations and wider distribution, so I was expecting it to outshine Odd Alewives.

It didn’t.

 

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Tucked away in the woods of Newcastle, it was rustic and a little bit rednecky.

 

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Well, I didn’t hear banjo music…

But the place was a bit of a mess.

 

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And the rest rooms?

 

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Not what a girl wants to see when she’s been drinking beer and riding a motorcycle all day.

 

 

But, we were there.

And there was beer, so we  didn’t have to but I made them  had to try it all.

 

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Eight 4 ounce samplers of dishwater later… I still hadn’t found one I  would order full sized.  How was that possible?

The one on the end was called Magenta and was made with… are you ready?… grape juice.

 

 

It smelled like sweet grape candy and tasted like  fermented pigs feet, sour piss, rotted muskrat carcass  I don’t know what.

But trust me, it was bad.

I ended up finishing everyone’s samplers, because bad or not… beer is a terrible thing to waste…. but I was thinking of alternate uses as I drank.

 

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And then, since our friends had a long ride home, we saddled up and headed out.

 

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And bad beer aside…

It really was a lovely day.

 

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And then there was beer…. Part 1.

 

We love craft beer, and we love discovering quirky new breweries. It’s a rapidly growing industry in Maine and we tend to take full advantage.

 

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First stop on Sunday was Odd Alewives in Waldoboro.

An alewife is a fish.

 

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And thankfully, there weren’t any in the beer.

This was a brand new, small batch brewery run out of a renovated 1850’s barn on a young couple’s farm.

 

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It was literally on their front lawn.

 

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And absolutely not motorcycle friendly.  A steep gravel  (not good!)  driveway and a sloping parking lot is not what 2 wheels and 850lbs wants to find.

 

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But the brewery was wonderful, with a lovely laid back vibe.

 

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And the tasting room/bar was fun.

 

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Of course my purist husband looked like this….

 

 

When he saw they had painted the old barn board floors….

 

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But after a few samplings, he got over it.

 

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We did flights and tried all they had on tap before choosing.

 

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The Buzz and Blue were delightfully light and refreshing, while the Spell was deep and full bodied.

 

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There was live folk music, and it really felt like you were just hanging at a friend’s house knocking back a few. I wanted to take my beer and walk around the farm gardens…. but I was out voted and we moved on to brewery #2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All work and no play….

 

Yeah, to hell with that.

Sunday found us blowing off some steam on 2 wheels.

 

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We headed up the coast with some friends for a little scenery…

(And a lot of craft beer.)

First stop was East Boothbay and one of the best coastal roads around. There were a few too many tourists to make a great video… but you get the idea.

 

 

It really is a beautiful spot.

 

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(Did I mention there was beer?)

Our friends are new Maine residents, so they really enjoyed the tour.

 

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(And the beer)

Boothbay is oceanfront living at it’s best.

 

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And it was perfect weather for riding.

(Not to mention beer)

 

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Next up?

Beer.

 

Because garages need facelifts too.

 

Work continues on the garage, and the paper walls are still a nightmare.

 

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Seriously, wth?

 

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The fact that it all has to be replaced with plywood means more time and money and work…

 

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And my instruction  to the husband to stop napping on the job was not well received.

Go figure.

 

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We turned the corner and I had to say goodbye to my beautiful daisies.

 

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Yeah, that was depressing.

But not as bad as the husband refusing to heed my advice to clean out the wood shed before he removed the panels…

 

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And having cement blocks fall on his toes.

I tried not to snicker.

Really, I did.

 

 

So, the woodshed was left pretty much like this.

 

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And progress was made elsewhere.

 

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The siding doesn’t exactly match the house, but in this light, it’s pretty close.

 

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And we’re getting there.

One wall at a time.