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A quiet birthday.

47 Comments

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I had a birthday recently.

But now that I’ve entered my 6th decade? I can’t say I celebrate like I used to.

Though my sweet husband tries.

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A lovely flower arrangement was delivered late morning.

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And he insisted on driving an hour and a half north to a restaurant we tried once and liked.

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The place had erected bubble tents for segregated seating during Covid and because they were so popular, they’re still in use.

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Cute… but when it’s 11 degrees and starting to snow?

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I prefer indoor dining.

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My spiced pear cranberry mule?

Perfect. It tasted just like Christmas.

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And though I devoured some excellent crab cakes before I thought to photograph them, I did get a shot of the husband’s

CIDER-BRAISED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Cinnamon Crème Fraîche with Crisp Kale…

Just as he ruined the decorative swirl.

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My

CAJUN SHRIMP PASTA

Roasted Sweet Corn, Sweet & Spicy Peppers, Garlic-Parmesan Cream Sauce, Pappardelle Pasta, Micro Cilantro, Lime….

Was spicy and fantastic after I requested they leave off the cilantro.

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The husband chose a

SOLSTICE HALIBUT

Lemon Quinoa, Warm Squash Confit, Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, Meyer Lemon Marmalade, Beurre Blanc, Pea Tendrils….

Though I have no idea why since he hates quinoa and didn’t eat the tendrils. That left him with a piece of fish and a half a cherry tomato… for $46.

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The sky on the drive home was photo worthy.

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And our backyard buddies greeted us upon return, so I’ll call it a good day.

Even though…

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🥴

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Not what I planned to buy for Christmas.

25 Comments

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Remember this?

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My husband’s BMW, post deer collision.

The one that had more damage than we anticipated when it was towed to the shop.

The one the insurance company totaled.

😥

My husband was not pleased, he loved that car.

And so began the Christmas nightmare.

First step? An insurance paid rental.

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They gave him a Volkswagen Atlas. I’d never heard of the model, but it was a full size SUV.

Plus side? The interior was extremely roomy with lots more space than we’re used to.

Down side? Annoying road noise from a 4 cylinder turbo that’s too small for the vehicle. The engine sounded like it was straining and you couldn’t pass a gas station because that thing had a thirst like a camel who just crossed the Sahara.

Humorous side? It had the smallest shifter I’d ever seen.

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I mean really, really small.

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It was basically a nub.

🤣

I’ll spare you the blow by blow of a week’s worth of shopping for gently used replacement cars with my husband, aka Goldilocks. He wanted another BMW X series but none of them were quite right. Wrong year, wrong color, wrong options, wrong mileage. He was never satisfied…. and after test driving an even dozen of basically the same vehicle? I’d had enough.

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I found him this snazzy one…

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But he hated the seats. No, not the color… the shape.

It was then I pointed him in another direction.

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We’ve never owned an Audi…

But after test driving a few, my oh so picky husband was satisfied.

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Finding one that had comfortable seats, acceptable options, a smooth ride and had just been given new tires, battery and brakes, we had a winner. After fierce negotiation which resulted in a $2,000 price drop, an extra 1,250 mile warranty and of all things a $100 gift card to TJ Maxx/Marshalls…

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We pick up our Q5 tomorrow.

😊

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Uncategorized

News you can’t use.

25 Comments

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You can’t use it, but you can laugh along with me reading it.

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Whaaaat?

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I will never look at a penguin the same way again.

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But…

But, they always seemed so sweet.

😳

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Proof positive it’s always the last place you look.

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I figured it would be kale and was ready to rant, but oddly enough it turns out to be watercress. Does anyone even eat that anymore?

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I’ve never understood why people use online password managers … which can be hacked…to store their passwords. My password manager can’t be hacked as it’s a little black book with entries written by hand that I keep in my desk.

Heck, my husband doesn’t even know where it is.

That’s security.

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Perhaps.

But your perspective… or hers?

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Uncategorized

Maps

16 Comments

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Disclaimer – maps are posted for entertainment purposes only. Author of this blog does not guarantee their veracity.

😉

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Maine is a gloriously wild and scenic state. We have rugged coastlines, charming villages, ski worthy mountains, pastoral farmlands, peaceful lakes and thick virgin forests.

We’re more than L.L. Beans.

Trust me on this.

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What the Hell Italy?

😳

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I live for these things.

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Is there a poisonous Finnish frog of which I’m unaware?

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Maine is definitely blueberry country.

The barrens are gorgeous in the fall.

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So nobody has to be present to get married in Montana?

How the heck does that work…

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Let It Snow seems appropriate for us.

❄️

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Uncategorized

This and that.

20 Comments

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I love the blues and whites of a winter morning.

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Or at least I did, until yesterday’s rain melted it all.

😫

I do not love the fact that the New York Times locked me out of the mini crossword and the tiles game I’d been playing for free until I updated my mobile app.

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Boo to that.

On a happier note, there was a new bird sighting at Casa River.

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Not a great picture, but he flew off too quickly for more than one.

Evening Grosbeak.

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This sounds like my perfect retirement plan.

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Sign me up!

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Oh, hell no.

I’ve never fired a gun, but that abomination might make me reach for one.

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This.

This is why I never begrudge our grey squirrels a meal.

💕

And finally, just in time for Christmas… an epic gingerbread house fail from my pickle algorithm.

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Just….

No.

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Uncategorized

Let’s play.

34 Comments

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Because there’s at least one of you who looks forward to these.

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This is the story of my life.

For 23 years we’ve lived in the country and loved it…. but we never had high speed internet. No streaming, lots of buffering, too many dropped connections. But this year? A miracle.

Fidium was hooked up and I can finally watch what everyone else does on something other than a 5 inch cell phone screen.

Yay!

So naturally now that I can stream? Maine is going to tax it.

The rat bastards.

Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Paramount Plus, HBO Max and Netflix. So my answer is 5… though the Amazon is free with my Prime shipping membership and the HBO comes with our Direct TV subscription.

Do you stream?

And if so, how much.

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Uncategorized

I feel you buddy. I really do…

21 Comments

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As I’m sure you’ve all seen, there was a rambunctious raccoon in Virginia recently.

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And I have to admit, I felt for the little guy.

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While I’ve never broken into an actual liquor store, I’ve definitely over imbibed and paid the price.

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This fellows escapades made good copy and soon after the story was everywhere….

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And while the story itself was funny, the aftermath made me laugh as well.

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I so need this shirt.

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🤣

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That seems harsh.

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Uncategorized

Bah humbug.

32 Comments

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I think I’ve mentioned my waning interest in Christmas over the past few years. After decades of being crazy for the holiday and decorating anything that stood still, I’ve reached the point where I write cards, put up a few wreaths and call it good.

The husband and I stopped buying each other gifts a few years ago as well. The love is still there but when you’ve been married as long as we have? It just becomes more unnecessary stuff.

Instead of the normal Christmas celebrations? We take a trip.

This year I had a two week getaway to the Berkshires planned and paid for. Snowy mountains, hot buttered rum, quintessential New England villages… the literal Norman Rockwell Christmas because we’d visit Stockbridge as well.

And then?

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This.

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Right before we were supposed to leave, the husband hit a deer.

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Only a half a mile from our house, at dusk.

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It came flying out of the woods and he didn’t have time to stop.

It was killed… and my husband limped home with a damaged car.

😰

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And then our vacation died as well while we dealt with insurance claims, tow trucks, mechanics and body shops as well as the first snow of the season.

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We could have cut it down to a one week trip but as bad luck would have it my husband’s previously troubled tooth picked this week to get infected, be extremely painful and now requires surgery.

Ho! Ho! Hell….

Last year we caught Covid for the first time which ruined our holiday plans, this year it’s deer and teeth.

We just can’t win.

😫

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(Photo of our tree from 2023, pre living room remodel)

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I’m dropping the tree photo because we didn’t get one this year since we planned to be elsewhere.

😫

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Uncategorized

News you can’t use.

25 Comments

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At all.

Ever.

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I don’t think the low brain activity of a Kardashian even qualifies as news.

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I didn’t think that was possible.

Though I swear I’ve come close a few times myself.

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Can’t say I’d recommend that DIY.

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Say it isn’t so Teddy.

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Toys have certainly changed since I was a child.

😳

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I call foul.

The boxes and labels? Sure. But what’s inside the bottle… no.

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The thought of being “nudified” and spread across the internet?

Terrifying.

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