Harvest Sangria has been my go to holiday libation for the past few years and it’s been a resounding success with our annual crowd.
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Filled with apples, ginger, oranges and cinnamon it positively screams autumn.
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Here are my tweaks…
I leave out the pomegranate.
I make a batch and a half to fill my jug…
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But double the cinnamon, orange and ginger.
This is potent stuff so taste as you go. More cider is sometimes necessary.
Serve in a wine glass with a sprig of fresh rosemary, a single star anise, a wedge of orange and a few apple chunks from the jug. It’s pretty as well as delicious.
I’m having a hard time believing it myself and I live here.
When last we spoke… I still had two new windows with large air gaps, we’d gotten into a pissing contest with the store manager, were waiting on the report from the second supposed expert and our contractor was going to fight management for a full refund.
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Fast forward a week and I’m out shopping with a girlfriend. I get a phone call from our contractor who says the store manager bumped the problem up to corporate… who slid it over to the manufacturer… who wanted to come out and inspect the windows that day, right that minute. Thankfully the husband was home teleworking so off they went.
I heard this second hand, but gather it went something like this –
The top Marvin window guy arrived with the store manager we bumped heads with in tow. Husband wasn’t pleased with that, but managed to be civil.
Our contractor was there and went through all the steps he’d taken to fix the problem. The window parts were examined, measured and proclaimed well within acceptable limits… because hey, nothing’s perfect. The Marvin window guy asked my husband what he wanted… fully functioning windows or a full refund? Since hubby has been spitting mad for over a month I thought for sure I’d come home to gaping holes in the bedroom. But we’d chosen this particular product for a reason… good insulation rating, ease of tilting for cleaning, wood interior, low U factor, etc and no other window we looked at checked all the boxes…. so he said if the windows were installed properly and operated as advertised he’d be happy.
Agreeing that the two sashes were slightly off square, Mr. Marvin said his company would replace them and we could keep the others as spares.
And then?
Then he did something that left my both my husband’s and the contractor’s mouths hanging open.
He removed the right window sash and replaced it with the left.
He removed the left window sash and replaced it with the right.
The result?
No more gaps.
No more air leaking through.
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Oh, he’s still going to order replacement sashes for us… but as of this minute? The windows seem to be fine and my mind is blown. The one on the right is a little stiff and harder to close, but it’s airtight and a little silicon spray on the sides should help it glide more easily.
What the hell!
Was that all it took? Why didn’t the other “experts” think of this! A simple switcheroo solved the problem we’ve been fighting since October 6th and I don’t know whether to scream or cry because it’s so ridiculous.
Needless to say our contractor was dumbfounded. He spent all that time trying to make things right and never thought of swapping sides.
So…
The contractor is the middle of another job for our neighbors which means we’ll have to wait a week or more till he’s free to come back over here and finish installing the rest of the windows and buttoning these up.
I’m shaking my head as I type this and still can’t believe a month and a half of frustration and inconvenience was completely unnecessary.
Growing up in New Jersey, I was raised a Yankee fan and if my father’s office didn’t have a visiting client, we had free use of the firm’s box seats. Lots of good memories for me at that old stadium.
We moved to Maine in 1978 but I stayed loyal to the Yankees for decades… which did not endear me to New Englanders believe me. But by the turn of the millennium I gave in and switched my allegiance to the Red Sox.
I was a Sox fan in 2004 through Schilling’s bloody sock in the ALCS and the long awaited curse breaking World Series win. Good times.
It took us 86 years to break the curse of the Bambino after we sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1918. And growing up with that story from both sides, I always thought the Babe started his career with the Sox.
Turns out I was wrong.
He started with Baltimore.. and his rookie card is about to go up for auction.
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I have a handful of baseball cards, nothing special … just a few players I like. And I’ve never paid more than $20 for any of them. But boy, I sure wish I’d stumbled across this one in a box at a yard sale.
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My husband swears he had a Mickey Mantle rookie card as a kid. And he could have. The time frame would be right. But … are you ready?…. he says he put it in between the spokes of his bicycle tire to hear the nifty flapping noise.
Thoroughly disgusted with everything about Hammond Lumber due to our ongoing window fiasco, we instructed our contractor never to buy anything from them for us again. This includes the back doors that poorly run excuse for a store couldn’t manage to find after 3 weeks of trying.
The mind boggles.
With those instructions… our poor, beleaguered, probably sick of us contractor went across town to another building supplier called Hancock Lumber and opened an account.
Within minutes they found the odd sized bedroom door with the decorative window we wanted in the correct size.
It’s a miracle!
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They actually laughed when told what an issue we’d been having with it.
And not only did they promptly order that door, but they had the full glass panel door with built in blind we need for the living room…the one that baffled the other place… on the display floor.
Another miracle!
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Our contractor was so thrilled he took photos and texted them to me.
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And that my friends is how it’s supposed to work.
You go to the store.
You tell them what you want.
They order it.
In a matter of minutes.
I’m not religious, but thank you Jesus!
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Oh, sure. We paid more than I expected…but the damn things will here in 10-14 days and with any luck will be installed before it snows.
On our way back from the disappointing brewery the other day I made the husband pull into The Holy Donut…. because I’ve posted about them a few times but haven’t had the chance to try them.
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The almost $24 half dozen box cradled comfortably in my lap, we made for home.
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I was excited to try these extremely popular, much talked about, potato laden famous Maine treats.
Flavor assortment from top to bottom:
Apple cider glazed, apple cinnamon, toasted coconut, maple bacon, vanilla chai and the one slot I afforded my husband… an old fashioned. Yes, the only donut he likes is plain, to which I respond – why bother.
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As I dove in to taste test, the first thing I noticed was size. These things are big.
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But sadly, like everything else…. quantity does not equal quality. While the apple cider glazed and toasted coconut were tasty enough, I have to admit I was underwhelmed. The donuts were heavy, thick and generally nothing special. I admit to trying a chunk of each one while they were fresh and can’t say they were worth the effort or price (3.75 per). People go nuts for these things in Maine and will stand on line outside the stores in order to purchase them but honestly, after trying them? I don’t understand why.
As most people owned by cats know, the world revolves solely around them. Our houses are run exclusively for their comfort and the well being of our furry overlords is our number one priority. That being said, it shouldn’t surprise me the furniture industry has gotten on board.
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While Lord Dudley Mountcatten is not a people food eater or beggar, I have a feeling he would enjoy this immensely.
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This illustration speaks for itself.
And because no cat post of mine is complete without His Lordship.
River's world..... 