Category Archives: Uncategorized

A new twist.

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During a recent shopping trip with a friend, we ducked into Macaroni Grill for lunch. It wasn’t our first choice, but after trying four other restaurants and being told it would be an hour wait due to short staffing…. we figured any port in the storm would do.

After a mediocre lukewarm meal that arrived late and with the wrong vegetables, the bill was presented. Now I don’t know about your part of the world, but here in Maine restaurants are having a hard time staying afloat since no one wants to work. There are no waitresses, no hostesses, no busboys, no cooks. Every where you go has the same issues. They apologize for it when you enter and we’ve come to expect the worst. What I didn’t expect was this:

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A little inflation surcharge they sneak in without telling you.

And hey, don’t get me wrong…. I understand prices are up everywhere, and naturally the increase in the cost of food has to be passed along to the consumer. But this sure seems like a strange way to do it.

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Let’s play.

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This is an easy one for me….. it’s Hellmann’s mayonnaise hands down.

And while I never buy generic brands if I can help it, the occasional Covid shortages have forced me to embrace no name ketchup and the grocery store’s line of honey mustard when there’s no other choice. But mayonnaise? Nope. Never. Not happening. If I can’t have Hellmann’s I’ll do without. Truly, no other brand will do. And if you mention that ghastly creation from Kraft that purports to be miraculous? I will seriously have to contemplate unfriending you.

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So how about you…. what won’t you buy generic?

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What’s in a name?

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As you know, it was me who named the current descendant of an Egyptian God in residence at Casa River.

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I chose ‘Lord Dudley Mountcatten’ as he seemed quite regal, even from day one. But I’ve taken nothing but flak from my husband who thinks it’s a ridiculous moniker and refuses to use it. Every time I introduce his Lordship to a friend? The husband snorts, informs our friend he had nothing to do with the weird name and says ,”I call him Buddy”.

And while my other half has given me a lot of grief for my name choice in the last year, today I was vindicated.

Today I read an article about a national contest for the weirdest pet name, and though a cat from Maine won….

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It was not Lord Dudley Mountcatten.

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So take that spouse of 38 years! And consider yourself lucky the name Pickles McButterpants the Muffin Slayer was already being used.

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F.Y.I.

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Since reaching the advanced age of 58, there are times I find myself woefully out of touch.

I don’t know many of the new artists on the charts and I’m sure I don’t have any of the hip new trends in my closet.

So it shouldn’t come as any surprise that I was also blissfully unaware which emojis are being used in the drug trade these days.

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The red maple leaf is the universal symbol for drugs. Has anyone told Canada?

While the money bags make sense for a dealer, and the 🍪 for large batch is cute in a disturbing kind of way…

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Someone needs to explain to me why Percocet and oxycodone rate a banana. Because at my advanced age bananas mean fiber and extra potassium… and I can’t see anyone getting high on that.

🍌

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Of baseball and cheap chicken.

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Spring is back… and so is baseball!

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Though the evil empire managed to beat my beloved Sox two out of three at Yankee Stadium in the opening series. I fear for our bull pen this year, but we have good bats, so my fingers are crossed for a good year.

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I continue to be astounded by the cheap prices at the meat counter at the military commissary in Bangor.

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We’re making a once a month pilgrimage and if I buy nothing but beef, chicken and pork it’s well worth the drive.

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But finding the laundry detergent that costs me $17 at the grocery store for $9? That makes me one extremely happy shopper.

And lastly, because it’s been a while….

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Required cute photo of Lord Dudley Mountcatten.

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This inventor must have a death wish.

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As if the cat bathing kit I posted about the other day wasn’t bad enough, some moron has come up with a muzzle.

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Grooming restraint? Anti meow? I don’t know about that, but I can guarantee there’s going to be some biting in your future if you attempt to put this on our cat.

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How often do you walk your cat around the neighborhood?

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Oh look, it works in the shower as well. Not. The photos can’t be real. Those cats are either heavily sedated or long dead and stuffed.

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Amen to that!

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Because apparently sleeping can be dangerous.

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It’s official,

I have reached that age.

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I woke up the other morning with a slight pain on the left side of my neck… but didn’t think much about it and went about my day.

Until I couldn’t.

Until I realized the mere act of sleeping has rendered me into a blubbering idiot positively alight with pain. It seems I pinched a nerve and holy hell does it hurt. 24 hour burning, tingling, numbness and sharp spasms of agony every time I move my head. I’ve never pinched a nerve before and let me tell you, I don’t want to do it again.

The doctor said to alternate cold packs and the heating pad, take ibuprofen for swelling, rest, sit up straight to correct my overall posture and perform this series of exercises.

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I’m doing all that and nothing helps. After reading it can take 6-8 weeks to heal I’m quasi suicidal… so what have you got? Ever experienced this, and if so what did you do for relief? At this point I’m open to all cures… so please include your witch doctor’s phone number or voodoo priestess’s email.

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Oh deer.

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Don’t you hate it when someone beats you to the buffet line?

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The only thing you can do is use your superior size to muscle out the competition.

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Or so I’ve heard.

The next two pictures aren’t the best quality…blame my zoom lens and our resident buck’s propensity for showing up at dusk…. but I thought someone might be interested to see the antler shedding process.

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One half gone, one to go. Talk about being lopsided.

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Right after the shed. What’s left are big boney bumps with an active blood flow.

It always looks painful to me, but I’m assured it’s not. Though how any anter-less naturalist can vouch for that I don’t know.

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My solution for high gas prices.

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I think we’re allshocked when we pull our cars up to the pump these days. And while I’m lucky enough to drive a vehicle that gets good gas mileage, I almost fainted when my husband filled his old as Methuselah new truck the other day. Dual tanks? We may have to remortgage the house.

So in the spirit of giving… because that’s just who I am… I bring you a tried and true solution to saving money at the pumps.

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Economical, low emission and environmentally friendly.

You’re welcome.

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