And then there was paint.

.

My husband says he’s done with the shed extension for this year.

.

.

And as hard as I’ve lobbied to truly finish it with a third wall/door, my pleas are falling on deaf ears and I shall have to live with (though not quietly I assure you) a tarp that covers the open end all winter.

Grrr.

But that doesn’t mean I have to live with raw wood so I matched the old color as well as I could and got to work.

.

.

My husband doesn’t paint.

Or stain.

.

.

Ever.

But that’s fine, I don’t mind doing my part.

.

.

Though I do end up wearing almost as much as whatever structure I’m painting.

.

.

There.

At least it looks little better…

Though I’m still going to ride my spouse to put a trim post on the unfinished rear right edge.

.

.

Big barn, little barn.

.

.

The color match isn’t perfect, but it will do until I can put an another coat on the whole building next spring.

.

Clearly they don’t know me very well…

.

I received an email from Goodreads yesterday…. the app where I log and keep track of what I’m reading.

I participate in their annual challenge where you set a goal for yourself in January and hopefully reach it by December 31rst. I’ve been doing it for two years and have overshot my target number with room to spare both times.

So why did they send me this…

.

.

When my challenge is already showing this…

.

.

Short books?

As you can see, that’s not necessary.

😉

.

Now what?

.

Lord Dudley Mountcatten caught a mouse yesterday.

.

.

Pulled it out from under the day lily undergrowth just as proud as could be.

.

.

Not that he knew what to do with it.

We have a lot of mice here in the country, and yes… they’re sweet, but they also try to find a way in our nice warm house in the winter and that I can do without.

His Lordship’s mother would prefer he catch and quickly dispatch the rodents to Mickey Mouse heaven but Lord Dudley is a pacifist and prefers to make friends instead.

.

.

He and his new buddy hung out like this for a while … and then went their separate ways.

Sigh.

.

Miscellaneous nonsense.

.

I love finding new cocktail recipes but sometimes I wonder where the names come from.

.

.

This is one of those times.

.

.

And since I’m always posting photos of sunrises and sunsets, here’s a different spin.

.

.

Moonset.

🌜

The mosquito is often referred to as the Maine state bird since our state has ample wooded areas and lakes for it to breed. They can get pretty large up north, but I have to admit the one we saw on someone’s front lawn the other day takes the prize.

.

.

I’d hate to be bitten by that bastard.

.

The beer blahs.

.

Another beautiful fall day, another scenic drive in the never ending search for good beer.

.

.

North to Bangor.

.

.

To the Bangor Beer Company.

Hidden behind the mall, in the back of a Chinese restaurant… it was an odd little place.

.

.

With a line of old pinball machines and some quirky art.

The beer? Maybe we’re too picky… we try a lot of craft breweries and may set our standards too high… but we found this selection dishwater flat and not at all interesting.

.

.

Elderflower grapefruit martini for me.

.

.

We expected the sesame chicken appetizer to be better seeing that it came from the large Asian restaurant in front, but it was so tough and stringy we didn’t bother ordering a full meal.

.

.

The men’s room floor made my husband smile and snap a picture, but that’s not reason enough to ever visit this brewery again.

.

.

Passing through downtown Bangor…

.

.

We grabbed a quick sandwich and took the back roads home.

.

.

😊

.

Too much.

.

Life is filled with ridiculous things… and when I run across them?

I feel it’s my duty to share.

.

.

Of course they are…

Because shodding the entire human race in hideous footwear isn’t enough.

.

.

I saw this item at the paint counter at Lowe’s the other day and had to ask the clerk what the hell?

Turns out it’s a smelly powder people are adding to paint to change the odor. It purportedly lasts two months once applied and the paint guy said it’s so strong he smells like coconuts (lavender vanilla, fresh linen, roses) for days after opening it.

We already have scented candles, scented wax, air fresheners, fabric fresheners, plug in oils, diffuser oils… do we really need smelly paint?

.

.

I’m hoping this is AI generated, because if it’s not … Mark will be remodeling his bathroom and Tara will be tracking me down for revenge.

.

.

No.

Just… no.

.

Hope springs eternal.

.

Even when we’re taking a scenic drive…

.

.

Just cruising some fall foliage…

.

.

My husband has to stop.

.

.

And while I don’t mind antiquing once in a while, these overstuffed, packed to the rafters junk stores drive me crazy.

.

.

No room to move and entirely too much crap overloads my senses… but the husband loves them and always thinks he going to find buried treasure.

.

.

Photo of my husband failing to find treasure inside and checking out behind the building.

🥴

.

.

Thankfully they wanted $1,200 for this old wagon, otherwise he’d be building another extension to our shed.

.

Go for the beer, stay for the cocktails.

.

On a beautiful autumn day we went beer hopping.

.

.

Heading north to Brewer…

.

.

To visit a brewery about which we’d heard good things.

.

.

The space is large and funky…

.

.

With windows behind the bar that look directly into the brewery.

.

.

After sampling a few beers… the current tap selection was too IPA heavy for my taste… I snagged the cocktail list, and Oh. My. God!

I set to work.

.

.

A true artisan was at work here and luckily he was our bartender.

.

.

I started with the Black Seeds which was a fabulous twist on a margarita.

.

.

We could have sat outside on the patio… but it was too far away from the cocktails.

😉

.

.

The menu had a sense of humor.

.

.

And the Truffle Pig pizza was amazing.

.

.

But my second (and yes, okay… my third) drink was a masterpiece.

.

.

Lilith’s Last Kiss was a complex, multi layered flavor extravaganza that I would happily drive the hour and a half for again.

👍

.

Before and after… finally.

.

Our front porch remodel is now complete. New door, new stone siding, new ceiling, new posts, new railings, new decking, new light fixture.

Ka-Ching!

And while there were a few bumps along the way… I have to say we’re pleased with the results.

For someone who’d never worked with stone siding before, my husband did a good job.

As long as you don’t look too closely. 😉

Before and afters.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Cleaner, fresher and much more attractive.

👍

.