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Cows, wooden hangers and funghi pizza.

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On our way out to lunch the other day my husband saw a yard sale sign and had to follow it for miles and miles… and honestly? Too many miles out of our way.

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Yes we passed cows, which is always nice. But the sale was a disappointing collection of junk no one would want …

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Except my husband who found a box of old wooden hangers.

Can you see my eyes rolling from there?

Hangers in hand, he turned around and headed back towards the restaurant but found a small flea market on the way and had to stop.

I swear… even though we made a nice amount of money at our yard sale this summer? The success of that weekend has rekindled the bargain shopping flame under my spouse that I spent years putting out.

Damn it!

Thankfully he didn’t buy anything worthless there and we did find a wonderful local woodworker who customized a nice multi grain board we’re going to give to our daughter of the heart’s southern husband for Christmas. He fell in love with Maine on his first visit and we constantly promote the idea of them moving here.

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From left to right the woods are:

Red oak, Purple Heart, Hard Maple, Sapelle (mahogany family) and Black Walnut.

After that it’s more of the same mixed and alternating.

When the husband was finally done shopping?

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I needed an apricot sangria.

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We split a big spinach salad with goat cheese, candied walnuts and a lemon poppyseed dressing..

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As well as a fabulous garlic white sauce mushroom and spinach pizza.

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The crust was amazing, and yes we ate it all.

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Exactly!

🤣

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It’s about damn time!!

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It only took 23 years…

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But Casa River finally has fiber optic high speed internet.

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When we moved to our house in the country in 2002, the only option was dial up. Anyone out there old enough to remember that screeching nightmare?

The next step came ten years later, but it was only Broadband and if a few of our neighbors were online at the same time? It was buggy and slow as molasses.

When streaming became popular, we were out of luck and I ended up watching shows on my 7 inch cell phone screen. Not great, but better than nothing.

And then Fidium came to town, laying their magical lines and hooking up all us speed deprived residents.

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To be honest, Fidium would not have been my first choice. Their website and apps are shite, full of error messages and links that go nowhere. Their customer service is awful, with wait times of an hour to speak to a human. The installers were supposed to bring a WiFi extender so we could connect the man cave /Barn Mahal tv… but they didn’t.

Is it perfect?

No. But it’s the only game in town ….

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And I can now watch AppleTV on an actual tv!

So it’s progress.

🤣

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When your cat really loves David Ortiz.

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We live in Maine, hence our home is part of Red Sox Nation. We’re loyal and devoted fans, though the team breaks our hearts more often than not. And while we tend to think of Lord Dudley Mountcatten as a full fledged member of the family, until recently we were unaware of his affection for David Ortiz.

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Case in point –

The other night my husband was watching an interview with one of the most beloved players in Boston history and as soon as Dudley heard David’s voice?

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The silly cat was mesmerized.

Up on the television stand (where he’s not allowed) for a closer look.

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He even checked around back searching for his (heretofore unknown) favorite player.

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When the show went to commercial and David disappeared?

So did Lord Dudley.

⚾️❤️⚾️

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News you can’t use.

32 Comments

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No one can use it, but here it is all the same.

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Can’t say I’d find that attractive, but who am I to judge?

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If you’ve watched The Last Of Us? You’ll know this does not bode well for the future of the human race.

😳

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Being a cat lover, I literally snorted at this.

🤣

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No!

Not the cheese…

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Never was a Guinea pig so aptly named.

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That was one busy little guy.

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Damn, I wasn’t quick enough.

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I was checking my bank account on my phone recently when something forced me to do a double take.

Yes, I’d transferred $2K to savings.

Yes, I had an Amazon order for $123.

But then…

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Holy guacamole Batman!

Where’d that large deposit come from?

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We have an investment account but not with this institution.

Private banking? Huh.

Did my husband squirrel money away under the mattress and suddenly decided to deposit it?

Were the backyard critters suddenly paying for their buffet?

Did WordPress monetize my blog and not tell me?

I had no clue, and since it was 9:00 at night there was no one to call to find out.

But alas the next morning when I woke up and checked my account… it was gone.

Disappeared like it was never there.

Data input error I’m sure, but damn… that would have made a nice little windfall if I could have withdrawn it quick enough.

😉

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Let’s play.

42 Comments

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I know you want to.

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Our pets have always been full fledged family members. And while they’re not allowed on tables, bureaus or kitchen counters… neither is my husband, so fair is fair.

They can sit or sleep on anything we can, as evidenced by the photos of Lord Dudley Mountcatten I just took this morning.

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What can I say?

The cat knows how to relax.

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Needless to say, my answer to the question is a resounding yes.

Are your pets equally as comfortable?

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This and that.

37 Comments

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How do you get your weather? The local news, NOAA, an app?

In Maine… we look to a slightly different forecaster.

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I’ve heard the woolies have wider black than rust this year.

*Gulp*.

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It’s been a while but my husband finally decided to finish the shed addition door.

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Yes, the entire wall is a door.

This is not going to end well, mark my words.

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It’s property tax time again and I’m not pleased.

Last year our taxes went up $1,000. The year before that, they went up $1,200. This year they only went up $500 so I should probably be relieved. But our town has no police force, no local ambulance service and a volunteer fire department so WTH are we paying for?

The nearly $5k is for our house on an acre and a half. The $1,437 is for the man cave/Barn Mahal on our other acre and a half. (The appraisers think the barn is unfinished and just for storage, so don’t tell them the difference please.)

We own our house, the mortgage was paid off years ago and that’s a wonderful feeling. But forking over what amounts to $532.75 a month for the privilege of being here? Not so much.

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Random photo of Lord Dudley Mountcatten, just because.

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Fryeburg Fair, part 4 – we could have come home with a pig.

20 Comments

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Last fair post, I promise.

As we were winding down our day in Fryeburg, my husband took a test drive.

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On a potato planter.

He spent a good amount of time in the antique tool shed, and as usual entered into a half hour conversation.

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Topic?

Identification of that weird contraption in the foreground. They could only get as far as a tying machine, for what is still a mystery.

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A 1940’s television? That’s seriously early technology.

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Next stop was the sugar house where they were actively boiling down sap for maple syrup.

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My husband used to do this on the farm where he grew up so naturally that was another half hour conversation with the sugarer.

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Syrup is a lot of work.

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We stopped in the 4 H building and enjoyed the displays by local kids.

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Raising livestock for market is a popular project in country schools and the students get to name their animals.

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I admit I snorted over Magic Mike.

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Our last stop was the swine barn.

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And there were lots of baby piggies.

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They’re so sweet.

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Did you know pigs are very intelligent, loving and make good pets?

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I tried talking my husband into one…

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But he wasn’t the least bit interested.

And because no trip to the fair is complete without prize winning squash…

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Here’s a 1,210 pound pumpkin.

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On our way to the exit gate we ran across a few women walking their calves. Bovine kids get bored and restless just like humans when they’re cooped up all day.

💕

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