Tag Archives: cocktails

Word of the day – adaptation.

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Adapt or die, you’ve all heard the phrase. And never has it been more crucial for small businesses to do just that.

Bars and restaurants have been especially hard hit by the pandemic and though take out food helps them stay afloat, it’s in the bar that establishments realize their largest profit.

Enter The Great Lost Bear.

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A veritable institution of alcohol and beer consumption in Portland, Maine for the past 40 years. With 80 rotating taps…

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And a large creative menu, it’s worth the hassle of trying to finding a parking spot on the always crowded Forest Avenue.

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(If you’re a fan of John Connelly’s books? This is the bar Charlie Parker uses as a makeshift office.)

Sadly, we haven’t visited this paragon of drunkenness for quite some time but I was pleased to see they’re adapting.

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With outdoor drinking during good weather…

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And cocktails to go when Mother Nature says no.

Brilliant!

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Some of them sound quite tasty.

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And now that we have our own bar, I might have to mix a few.

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Pie in a glass?

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Who doesn’t love that?

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We have a bar!

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An honest to goodness, sturdy and well built, fully stained and polyurethaned, ready to dance on (or fall under) bar!

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It was a long time coming but we’re pleased with the result.

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The wood grain is lovely, the top is smooth and shiny.

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And once the custom ordered chairs and shelves are ready, it will be time to get down to business.

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The business of mixing my first Barn Mahal cocktail.

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Barn (and bar!) news.

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Continuing in the if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em paradigm, I gifted the husband some nice new pool sticks.

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Canadian maple of various colors and weights.

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I also gathered some of the military patches he’s had stuck in his drawer for years.

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I’m trying to think of some way to display them… you know, a way that doesn’t involve sewing. Because my love only goes so far.

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A few man cave appropriate books were dropped on the table…. and then –

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Our bar building contractor showed up with the top of the bar.

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I have to admit I was liking the 3 different shades of wood colors….

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Until I realized that was the unfinished side. But after it was sanded down and smoothed, even the husband agreed it would need to be stained before the polyurethane.

Victory is mine!

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And that called for a drink. Or a cocktail in a pretty can as the case may be.

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Things that made me chuckle today.

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I don’t know if this is true…

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But I’m really hoping it is.

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Baby Yoda cocktails? Fabulous. Telling me about them and not posting a recipe? Cruel.

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And since we’ve all had enough of the last election horror show?

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Wilbur is pretty stinking cute. And when’s the last time you said that about a presidential candidate?

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Poop cookies.

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Admit it, you know someone who deserves a dozen or so of those.

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My husband shops in the strangest places.

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On our way home from the antique mall the other day, we stopped at a bar.

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You’re shocked, I know.

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One Paloma in…

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The husband started examining bar chairs.

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They were tall, sturdy, rustic… and swiveled.

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Two Palomas, a cup of clam chowder ….

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A Cosmo and a Cajun fried chicken sandwich later….

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The husband decided he wanted these exact chairs for his bar.

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After tracking down the restaurant’s owner we discovered they were custom made by a company an hour and a half away….

So away we went.

To be continued.

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CSA, chili and our local pub.

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Our weekly CDA is winding down for the year, but the harvest is still plentiful.

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Peppers, turnip, ginger, Korean melon, spinach, salad greens, kohlrabi, radishes, chard, celery, dill and yes. Some awful version of kale.

Our weather has started to change and we’re feeling some delightfully brisk and crisp air. When that happens?

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It’s time for a big pot of homemade chili. And a trip to our local pub.. at an off hour when no one is there. Perfect.

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On the menu? Duck wings with sweet Thai chili sauce.

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Tis the season.

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And thanks in part to my suggestion… okay my endless badgering, whatever!… the owner has agreed to run weekly cocktail specials. He even bought a lovely coffee table book of choices for me to peruse.

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Keep the customers happy.

And the really good customers like me? Keep them soused, they complain less that way.

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Pandemic humor.

 

Because laughter is the shortest distance between two people.

 

 

You knew it had to happen.

Pumpkin spice is everywhere….

 

 

Yay!

Though I’m ashamed to admit I’m old enough to remember those.

 

 

All things considered?

Not bad Jen.

 

 

At this point, falling through a giant hole in the ground would be preferable to grocery shopping.

 

 

She really is.

Momma needs a cocktail. Don’t judge.

 

 

Single guys?

Please let me know how these work.

 

 

I hope so…

But it’s not looking good.

Pandemic humor.

 

Because laughter is the only contagious thing I want to catch.

 

 

That sounds about right.

 

 

We didn’t.

We really didn’t….

 

 

I’m all for this.

As hard as lock down has been, there are some people I’ve been quite happy to avoid.

 

 

I could totally rock that look.

 

 

Yeah.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had it with the conspiracy theorists.

 

 

 

That’s so wrong.

 

 

Tight pants.

A pandemic symptom I can totally relate to.

Which brings me to the new anthem for the Covid age.

Sing it sister!

 

Chilling.

 

This is the way we’ve been spending most of our evenings during the summer of Covid-19.

 

 

Barn porch sitting with an adult beverage…. or two.

 

 

Sometimes there’s a sunset.

 

 

The deer usually wander up for a treat.

 

 

And bark at us if we’re spotted.

 

 

Which, all things considered… is pretty frickin’ rude.

 

 

We are the treat suppliers after all.

 

 

I don’t need a formal thank you note, but a little common courtesy would be nice.

 

 

Ahh….