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Last Royal meal of the year.

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The end of year is drawing near and that meant one last lunch at our favorite watering hole, the Royal River Grill in Yarmouth.

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This place is one of the few that truly has it all. Great atmosphere, good food and creative cocktails.

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Their clam chowder is superb… rich, creamy and packed with clams.

My first libation was the Winter Lux.

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And since I’m an equality opportunity drinker…

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Number two was the Berry and Bright margarita.

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Sadly the husband’s go to French Onion soup was not on the menu so he opted for the garlic tomato bisque and was pleased.

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Royal River has excellent fish so I chose the pan seared pinko haddock sandwich which bursted with perfectly prepared flavor.

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Husband requested his fish and chips broiled and had eaten half of it before I could grab a photo.

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Even if you’re full to bursting? You have to order dessert here because they’re always fabulous.

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Cheesecake for hubby…

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Alcohol soaked Tiramisu for me.

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So rich I didn’t even get halfway through it, but Royal River leftovers are a beautiful thing.

❤️

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How much easier do we need it?

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I saw an Amazon list the other day of helpful products that are supposed to make our life easier, and after looking at them I had to wonder….

Are we really lazy enough to need them?

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Call me crazy, but I don’t consider closing the toothpaste a hardship.

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Sorry, stepping on an empty can has always satisfied me.

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Chicken shredder… or medieval torture device?

Tough call.

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Okay, they’ve got me here. It’s both useful and adorable.

But I can’t figure why this last one will make anyone’s life easier…

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Even if it is the spitting image of Lord Dudley Mountcatten…

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I wonder if he should ask for residuals.

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Batson River … round one, Portland.

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No trip to the big city is complete without us trying a new libation destination. On this particular day it was Batson River Brewery and Distillery.

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I’d heard wonderful things about this place so it didn’t surprise me to see it was packed ten minutes after opening.

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They take their Christmas decorations seriously here and as I was looking around my husband grabbed the last two seats at the bar.

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Cocktails were holiday themed, so I started with the Where Are You Christmas.

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The only thing wrong with it?

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The small glass. I could happily have downed a pitcher’s worth.

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I read they consider the decor ‘upscale hunting lodge’ but to me it had a more upscale urban, industrial vibe with exposed pipes and metal vents.

The ceilings were high and the music loud. The menu? Brunch on Saturday… which we weren’t expecting and didn’t want.

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I opted for the Caesar salad, which was dry as a bone and utterly unremarkable, but I washed it down with a quite lovely Yule Tai that countered my disappointment.

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Husband had the smoked tomato soup which he said was tasty if not plentiful.

Their beer?

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Nice doggie glass withstanding, nothing to rave about.

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A very large Santa was on the second floor and we watched a few tipsy patrons climb up to have their picture taken with him.

Talking with our neighbor at the bar, we discovered there are actually four Batson Rivers scattered in southern Maine, each one with their own personality, menu and cocktails.

Intrigued, and with nothing planned for dinner… we decided to drive to Biddeford and check out another one.

To be continued ….

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Gardens Aglow… part three.

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With 14 acres of Botanical Gardens and over a mile of paths gloriously lit for Christmas we definitely got our steps in that night.

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They called this next section the Aurora Borealis…

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Though in actuality it’s the butterfly house during the summer.

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Whatever you call it, it was pretty cool.

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Having toured the gardens twice, we were done…

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Not to mention frozen solid.

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Ducking into the cafe to warm up before the long trek back to the car sounded like a good idea..

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As did the caroling grandpas.

It was at this point I saw a sign… and realized I’d missed a prime opportunity.

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Damn!

If only I’d known this before we started I could have been a lot warmer.

🤣

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A successful return.

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Our trip to Portland the other day had a destination other than my husband’s face on the itinerary… and that was Edgecomb Pottery. A high end artsy gallery where my thoughtful spouse likes to shop for gifts.

And as we walked around? it was obvious just how much he enjoys shopping there.

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See that bird?

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Here’s mine.

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See that lamp?

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Yup.

Have one of those too.

Our reason for shopping that day was the return of the thoughtful (but odd, and not my taste) bracelet my husband had given me for my birthday.

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I love that he tries, but he rarely scores a win when buying me jewelry so we exchange quite often.

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This was my substitution piece. Hard to tell by the photo, but it’s gold and silver intertwined.

❤️

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More from the Gardens…

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It was barely 20 degrees and with the wind gusting it felt like 5… but we persevered.

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If the trolls could take it, so could we.

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It really was a beautiful way to spend an evening.

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So many places to explore, each one prettier than the last.

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If you’re wondering why I have so many pictures of the lighted sea and lighthouse, it’s because my husband found someone to talk to and I had to wait for his conversation to finish.

No surprise there.

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To be continued…

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Funny, not funny. The bad luck continues.

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Merry Christmas to me.

Or not…

We opted for a peaceful holiday this year, no travel no party no family, just a quiet day at home with a slow roasted turkey dinner.

And that’s where it went horribly wrong.

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Because turkey’s not supposed to be green.

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But ours was when I pulled it out of the fridge to cook this morning.

It was a fresh bird I purchased on the 20th with a sell by date of the 26th… but clearly the big storm that knocked out power last week claimed this gobbler as victim.

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Good thing I made lasagna last night because it looks like it’s leftovers for us.

Ho, ho, Hell….

🥴

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Gardens Aglow

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The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay puts on a fantastic Christmas light show every year. We went years ago when they first started and having heard they’d grown bigger and better I decided we needed a return trip.

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Bigger and better? Yes.

More crowded? Hell yeah. Judging from the steady flow of traffic, I think the entire state’s population was there.

The tiny parking lot had multiplied into lettered tiers and the small entry building had morphed into a massive welcome center.

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It was well organized, fully staffed and with advanced ticketing required, had no lines or long waits to enter.

How much bigger was it than our previous visit?

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Enough to require a map bigger.

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In a word?

It was magical…

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I’m not going to write a lot of commentary as it pretty much speaks for itself.

Just walk along with us and enjoy…

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Did I mention there were giant wooden trolls?

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The show only runs Thursday thru Sunday nights in December and has segmented entry hours. You have to reserve your spot weeks in advance as they sell out quickly. This means the weather is a crap shoot. Since it’s been unseasonably warm we weren’t worried…. until we woke up that day to 14 degrees and 35 mph winds.

Yeah, it was frickin’ freezing and we were bundled up like Nanook of the North and walking around with cups of hot chocolate to withstand the cold.

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To be continued…

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Out of the mouths of babes.

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The husband and I went to Portland the other day and as we were walking along Commercial Street in the Old Port, I suggested we go see his face.

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This requires explanation, I know.

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As a Christmas surprise for my favorite hero, I purchased a spot on the wall in his honor in 2009.

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I chose his boot camp graduation photo… and as the years go by we always get a kick out of seeing his innocent baby face.

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19 years old and sent to war.

Returning safely, but forever changed.

As we stood there looking at the wall, two young women with a large group of children stopped as well. They said hello… and started telling the children what the wall was for, whose faces were engraved and why it’s important to recognize veterans and their sacrifices.

One of the women looked over at my husband, saw his Marine Corps hat and thanked him for his service. The children all glanced over, heard my husband say thank you and tell the woman that he was actually on the wall they had come to see.

As he pointed out his picture the kind woman said, “You look exactly the same!” … which tickled us both as a sweet and ridiculous statement, but it what was one of the little girls said that made both of us choke up.

She looked at the picture on the wall, looked at my husband and said,”Mom… he’s a real live hero.”

❤️

She’s right of course.

He’s my real live hero, and always will be.

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