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Aside from wall to wall cows, my other favorite part of the Fryeburg fair is the carriage museum.
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These beauties are well cared for and painstakingly restored to their former glory.
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Spit on the leeward side. There must be a reason for that…
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A fire hose cart.
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Gypsy wagon.
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Pretty tight living quarters.
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All cars go to Bloomies.
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Snake oil peddler’s wagon.
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Now that’s a beer cart.
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This hearse was fabulous… and delightfully creepy.
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Our ditch is the gift that keeps on giving.
Or more accurately, the nightmare that never ends at this point.
It’s also why after my husband complained yet again to DOT, we woke up to this the other morning.
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A crew of workers with multiple pieces of heavy machinery …
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Spreading a line of dirt right next to the road.
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Which in theory sounded good.
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But in actuality will make no difference or help the original erosion problem.
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Because after sweeping it…
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The packer didn’t pack it.
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But road his little machine on the very edge of the road never compacting or even touching the dirt.
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WTH?
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We’d just started to see some grass grow on the sides which we were hoping would keep the erosion to a minimum…. and now there’s more unpacked dirt to wash away.
Where’s the logic in this?
Where….
🥴
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What is it with men and motors?
For my husband the older the better, so he was fascinated to see these vintage ( read, old as dirt) machines up and running.
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His favorite?
The double log splitter.
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I swear he could have stood there all day and listened to it belch purr.
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Ditto the corn sprayer…
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And the shingle cutter.
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Machine or no, that’s a lot of work.
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He also got a large kick out of this relic on the right.
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An early self propelled lawn mower. Christ, it would have to be… it probably weighed 300 lbs.
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While I love seeing the animals at a fair, my husband prefers the old and rusty things in the village of yesteryear.
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Some interest him from an engineering stand point, some remind him of his childhood on the farm.
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Yes, he spread his share of manure when he was a boy.
Good times.
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There’s a wonderful museum at the Fryeburg Fair filled with antiques. The old wall phone I want to put in the man cave, the one that I’ve been endlessly searching for was right there in the middle… in perfect shape and mocking me with its unavailability.
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Husband got a kick out of these old washing machines.
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This one was called Easy and never has a product been more egregiously misnamed.
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The husband, pointing out all the rusty crap he has at home.
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I can’t imagine dragging this behemoth around every time I wanted to take a picture.
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And because no post about old tools is complete without a game of Name That Crap..
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What is it?
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Someday… someone will be able to use it and I’ll have to stop posting these.
But it won’t be today.
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I don’t pay extra for Apple news so I couldn’t read this article. Which is a shame because it sounds like a grand idea.
Not.
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I do love a bargain.
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$100 to $10 million? That was a good investment…
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I didn’t know this existed, but I also didn’t explore the topic further.
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I haven’t been to a Jack in the Box since I was a child, but I don’t remember their fries being that good.
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My question to this type of thing is always.. why?
Just because they can isn’t a good enough reason .
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As I said yesterday, our master bedroom will be getting new windows and a new exterior door this week. But of course nothing is ever simple at Casa River.
We ordered the windows at the beginning of July and have waited (none too patiently) until now for them to arrive. We did not however special order a door since we just needed something basic and everyone has those in stock.
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This is the weird set up of the back of our house. Two doors in a corner opening to the deck. The right goes to the living room, the left to the master bedroom.
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We replaced the right door 10 years ago and though that already needs another replacement… the bedroom is going first for good reason.
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Rotting wood, warped frame and general ugliness.
When the husband and I ran over to Lowes yesterday to buy a replacement we were thinking along these lines. Not dark brown, but with a little window on the top.
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So I measured the door’s width and off we went.
Only to get there and realize doors are not a standard size and I hadn’t measured the height. Another round trip home and back to the store with a 32×78 result.
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(Yes, it’s a stinky little door because the idiot designers of this house stuck it in between the bathroom and walk in closet.)
Measurements in hand we were ready to buy a door… or so we thought.
Did you know in order to measure for a replacement door you have to pop the trim off to measure the rough opening height, width and depth? We didn’t.
The other issue…. none of the pretty doors with fancy windows on top are available in a 32 width.
So… I’ll wait for our contractor to pry the trim off, measure correctly and decide if it’s worth the hassle and cost of enlarging the opening just to have a pretty window on top.
I’m guessing not.
🥴
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I’m pleased to report the giant lemon lemonade stand was operational at the Fryeburg Fair …
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And though it cost a ridiculous $8 per ice laden glass, I purchased one…
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To accompany the husband’s three $10 chicken fingers and $5 bottle of water. $23 for what amounted to a nibble. Welcome to the price gouging, we know you have no alternative, fair food concession stands.
Trying to make up for it, I made a beeline for my favorite fair treat…
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Which sadly was an undercooked, under spiced disappointing piece of fried dough. Boo to that.
I ate said disappointing dough in the grandstand of the pulling ring where the husband likes to watch the draft horses. I don’t enjoy this spectacle as I always feel sorry for the animals. The teams of three are expected to pull double their weight which can end up being 10,000 lbs, and while I know they’re bred and trained for this exact purpose… it still makes me cringe on their behalf.
I did however smile at this happy fellow who started the show in true Fenway Park 7th inning stretch fashion.
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If you’re not a Red Sox fan?
Never mind.
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This team was amazing. Perfectly matched and working completely in unison.
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I may not like it…
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But it’s hard not to be impressed with the strength of these magnificent creatures.
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It’s fall… and in New England that means cooler temperatures, turning leaves and pumpkins.
And no town takes pumpkins more seriously than Damariscotta, a coastal village that devotes an entire week of events to the glorious orange gourd. There are parades, size contests, art contests, races, recipe challenges and even a regatta of giant floaters.
They like their pumpkins.
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Every year we say we’re going to visit, and every year we don’t for some reason or another.
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Which is a shame because this year my favorite bar in town has the best decorated pumpkin I’ve seen in a long time.
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Imagine having a few too many and stumbling outside to come face to face with this guy.
😊
And speaking of bars…
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A seasonal margarita that sounds damn near perfect for this time of year.
Moving on, I have a bone to pick with a few of my readers. You were joking about emotional support pickles for cats on my post the other day and while I tried to discourage the topic in fear of pickle retribution from my squirrelly algorithms… the concept has become reality.
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Damn you.
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten has his mice.
No kitty support pickles will ever be entering this house.
🥴
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First we did the driveway. Then the back deck, followed by the living room beam and ceiling repair… next up?
Bedroom windows and exterior door.
We replaced 16 windows in the house about 7 years ago but somehow never got around to the master bedroom and they’re long overdue.
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Our bedroom has 5 old (1994) wooden Anderson windows and to be honest, the seals were broken on some when we moved here in 2002.
Things have only gotten worse since then.
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Every time you take a shower? A wet spot of condensation appears on the picture window.
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And that’s not a foggy day outside, just old cloudy glass.
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With rotting wood.
Did I mention the old lady who lived here before us nailed all the windows shut?
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Can’t say I’ll miss those holes.
Yes, it’s well past time to replace them all so I emptied the room as best I could….
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And will wait for work to start on Monday.
P.S. When this is done? Bye bye horrible dusty rose carpet and the first set of furniture we bought as a married couple.
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Every agricultural fair in Maine has a few cows, but the Fryeburg Fair has multiple barns devoted to multiple breeds, varieties, colors and sizes.
For a cow lover like me, it’s blissful bovine heaven.
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Look at that beauty!
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Beef cows, dairy cows…
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Large cows that pull things…
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Gentle cows who enjoy a scratch.
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Seriously big ass impressive cows…
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Sweet baby cows.
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There’s even a barn filled with Oreo cookie cows.
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Cows!
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I not so subtly pointed out there were even cows for sale to my husband….
But the man kept right on walking.
😉
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River's world..... 