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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.
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Cleaner, fresher and much more attractive.
👍
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No one can use it and yet the headlines keep on coming.
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Makes you wonder what underwater chef is flinging pasta to test for doneness at those depths.
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Here’s the reason – the food is disgusting.
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Is she though…
Is she really?
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You go girl.
Or rather, grandma.
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And all these years I thought it was full of cheese.
Talk about disappointing.
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I’m going to be watching movies with a whole new eye now…
Damn it.
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Leaving Sugarloaf without having secured a late lunch, we changed direction and headed for Rangeley.
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The town is named after the lake, one of Maine’s largest, and I felt sure we could find a decent restaurant there.
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Blog title aside, we parked next to some very green grass and entered a likely looking spot.
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With a welcoming front porch and some stellar trees..
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It was a bit brisk to sit outside so we ventured in.
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There were tables with nice views…
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So my husband headed straight for the bar.
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Where the view wasn’t as nice but the autumn sangria made up for it.
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The staff wore these shirts…
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But I didn’t, so we moved on to tater kegs with chipotle aioli.
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These were great but my husband wasn’t pleased with the pub food only menu, he wanted more of a meal.
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Next stop.
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The cranberry mule was lovely.
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And though I passed on the banana bread old fashioned? I thought of you Mark.
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Sadly, even though the loon/bear totem pole was interesting … the food was not.
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My fish sandwich was so thin it was flipping itself off.
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And not finding much more in the way of full meals here than he did at the first place, my husband’s chicken tenders were flat, over breaded and clearly frozen. He sent them back and we moved on.
Giving up on a good meal, we headed for home.
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Where it started to rain and pretty much put an end to our leaf peeping.
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🥴
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I saw something online the other day and need to ask my Arizona readers if it exists…
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What say you southwestern friends….
Is the #1 place for #2 for real?
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This begs the question .. why?
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His Lordship.
I’d like to say he’s leaf peeping but he was actually bird stalking.
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Remember the old Hugh Grant movie Four Weddings and a Funeral? These words were spoken in the eulogy and always choke me up.
❤️
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I found an interesting bottle of wine at the store the other day…
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And since I prefer white to red, am thinking I might just install it in the man cave/Barn Mahal as a musical curio instead of cracking the top.
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Being a long time Dead fan it seems more appropriate.
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R.I.P. Phil.
💀
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Continuing north through the Carrabassett Valley on our leaf peeping day trip we passed Sugarloaf,
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A popular ski resort I’ve often heard of but never visited.
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First impression?
It’s huge.
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Long winding valley roads filled with spectacular autumn color.
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It took us a while to find the main lodge..
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And though we were hoping to stop in for lunch and a toddy their annoying restaurant was only serving breakfast and dinner.
Boo to that.
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So we explored instead.
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Past golf courses and condos and glorious trees.
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I love this time of year!
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😊
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🍁🍁🍁
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Heading for the mountains in Maine is never a bad idea this time of year.
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So we took a leisurely drive and did some leaf peeping.
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These were taken near Kingfield.
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Which is an area known for logging.
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Apparently by bears.
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I do love autumn.
The cool temps, the crisp air, the apples, the pumpkins.
And yes, the color.
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Mother Nature puts on a wonderful show if you take the time to look.
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Albert Camus said…
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower”
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Surrounded by this scenery, it’s easy to see what he meant.
😊
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Because wasting your time is what I do best.
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Let’s see…
I’ll arrive with Jell-O shots, jalapeño poppers and some jerky.
Not the most appetizing ensemble, but J is not the most food friendly letter.
What are you bringing?
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On our road trip to the Carrabassett Valley we saw a sign for a bridge.
But not just any bridge, no…
The Wire Suspension Bridge spanning the Carrabassett River in New Portland is a unique structure, the only survivor of four such bridges built in Maine in the 1800’s and probably the only such bridge still standing in the United States.
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Built in 1866, it’s definitely unique.
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The bridge was renovated in 1961, when the tower bases were capped with concrete, the towers were rebuilt, steel suspender rods were replaced by steel cables, and a new timber deck was installed. The tower framing timbers and main support cables are the original material. The span between towers is 198 feet.
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As you walk across it you can feel it sway .
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And when you watch a car drive across it the wood literally bends under the weight.
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Under the archway?
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Floor to ceiling graffiti.
Boo to that.
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Yay for autumn color though.
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An engineering marvel in its day….
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It’s stood the test of time and is still in use 158 years later.
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😊
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Every fall I have to make a pilgrimage.
And while I used to drive to South Berwick, Maine this year I had to drive farther … down to Dover, New Hampshire because the cider I crave has moved in to larger new digs.
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This is small batch hard cider and has a very limited distribution range. Even if I do manage to find an elusive 4 pack in a store up our way, it’s never the seasonal flavors I want.
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With that many varieties, we had to do a flight.
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Which made me add a melon crush and a ginjah baby to the three packs of squashed I brought home. .
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You’re looking at $90 worth.
The prices make me gasp every time… $18 a four pack, which is $4.50 per can.
Insane.
But then so is the apple-y goodness.
😉
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River's world..... 