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Momma chuck and one baby snacking on some carrots is a sweet sight.
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But when she turned around?
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All I could think of was that awful song from the 90’s… Baby Got Back.
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Even when another young chuck showed up.
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Yup.
Momma got back.
🤣
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One of the baby chucks is visiting daily now.
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And learning the correct carrot consumption stance.
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He’s a little wobbly…
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And sometimes he tips over.
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But practice makes perfect.
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❤️
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Just when I was getting worried we hadn’t seen any baby woodchucks?
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One brave little guy followed momma out of the shed.
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At first he didn’t know what to make of the carrot buffet…
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And wanted mom to feed him.
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But momma chuck isn’t exactly a hands paws on parent…
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And let him figure it out for himself.
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Before long he was happily munching alongside her.
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Let’s take a walk back in time to my childhood.
I’m a tail end boomer and remember every one of these questionable gastronomic delights. My mother didn’t allow them in our house because she was determined her only child would eat healthy food. Which is one of the reasons I enjoyed spending time at my friends, whose parents weren’t nearly as vigilant.
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A taco shaped artificially flavored banana sponge cake with overly sugared cream filling. A heavenly treat for my 7 year old self.
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Cheese in a can! This was the height of cool when I was young. The fact I’m still alive after consuming it all those years ago is a testament to its high level of preservatives.
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Required lunch box dessert when I was growing up.
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The pungent aroma hit you as you walked past Spencer’s gifts and Sam Goody’s… half a mile away. And it was guaranteed someone in your family would receive a gift box filled with inedible sausage for Christmas.
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My parents never ate a frozen dinner in their life but when they went to the city for the evening and I had a babysitter? Swanson fried chicken with that horrible little apple cobbler was my consolation for having to stay home .
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I remember eating the vanilla version of these when I was a teenager. God only knows what they were made of. We questioned nothing back then.
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And finally, the only product I might still eat today. I remember them being quite tasty.
Do any of these items bring back nostalgic food memories for you?
And if not, what were some of your favorite childhood horrors?
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Our grey squirrels are determined fellows. As evidenced by the never give up attitude of this little guy during a recent rainy morning attempt at reaching the bird feeder.
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Wet poles be slippery.
🤣
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If you like shrimp?
Give this recipe a try.
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In a large stainless steel skillet over medium heat, melt 1 Tbsp. butter. Pat shrimp dry; season all over with Old Bay.
Arrange shrimp in a single layer in skillet and cook, turning halfway through, until translucent, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a plate.
In same skillet over medium heat, melt remaining 1 Tbsp. butter. Add shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, 2 to 3 minutes .
Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add wine to deglaze skillet, scraping up any browned bits, and cook, stirring, until liquid is almost completely evaporated,
Stir in broth and bring to a boil over high heat.
Stir in orzo and return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until orzo has absorbed most of the broth and is almost cooked through,
Add cream and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened and reduced,
Return shrimp to skillet along with any accumulated juices.
Stir in lemon zest and lemon juice; season with salt. Top with parsley.
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My tweaks – I didn’t have vegetable broth but used low sodium chicken broth and it was lovely. I used salted butter, so I left off the salt at the end. And since my husband isn’t a spicy food lover, I ignored the red pepper flakes. There was plenty of flavor so I think that was overkill anyway.
Use large or jumbo shrimp. You won’t be disappointed.
Yum!
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Mother Chuck is back and her runt from last year’s litter is still here.
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Though not for lack of trying to kick him to the curb.
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There are daily squabbles over food and squealing arguments over bolt holes.
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Momma isn’t subtle, but Junior refuses to take the hint.
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There’s beauty in living in wide open spaces.
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Sunrises out your back door and sunsets like this out your front.
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❤️
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We tried a new pub recently.
Front Street Tavern and Grill in historic downtown Bath, Maine.
The building was old but lovingly restored with lots of exposed brick.
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The garlic Parmesan wings were so good we had to order two batches.
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And sometimes you just have to go for the tots with your turkey club.
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Sadly the menu was a bit too “pub food” heavy for my full meal wanting husband so I doubt it will be on our regulars list, but they made a nice raspberry margarita and I’d recommend it for lunch.
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Momma Chuck is back.
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And making up for lost winter meals.
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She’s a great salad/veggie scraps recycler.
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We don’t throw much away when she’s in town.
❤️
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Because I like to share tasty recipes.
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This one is quick, easy and delicious. Use fresh ginger and fresh lemons for juice and zest… you won’t be disappointed. I used chicken tenderloins because I didn’t have breasts and served it on a bed of jasmine rice with fresh steamed green beans. Yum!
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Being a born and bred Yankee I’d never heard of this.
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And while I don’t drink soda very often, I admit I was intrigued.
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A steep price to pay for a six pack, but curiosity got the better of me.
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As did the Amazon seller who bought a local 12 pack out west and cut it in half for the idiot New Englander who was willing to overpay.
🥴
And while I’ll probably never buy another one, I did like the flavor. Not overly sweet with a nice pineapple tang. Guilty confession? My first thought was… add some vodka for a nice summer cooler.
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I don’t know why, but I’m always searching for meatloaf variations. It’s a humble but satisfying meal if done correctly and this one sounded interesting.
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While it was tasty, if I make it again I’d ditch the crock pot and just bake it instead. Way too difficult to remove once it was cooked.
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Two things happened yesterday that should have been April Fools Day pranks but weren’t.
First… we had our taxes done. This is always cause for mutual grumbling and groaning because we never see a refund and always pay, pay, pay.
So when the preparer tallied everything up and handed us this?
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We were stunned.
Yes, it cost us $410 to find out, but … refunds! Not one, but two. We almost fell off our chairs.
It was also the first time my husband had to admit that this full time retirement thing might not be so bad.
😉
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The second thing that I was sure was a prank was this…
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Okay Oreo, ha ha. Funny joke.
But no….
They actually sold this monstrosity.
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For one day only. On April 1st.
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Blech!
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A complete abomination and one that is sure to kick my dormant pickle algorithm into high gear.
Sigh.
🥒
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After running some errands the other afternoon we ducked into one of our favorite spots for an early dinner.
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Every time we go I try and talk the husband into getting a giant free floating raffia fish for our dining area, but he always says no.
Such a killjoy.
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Round one for me…
To drink – a Cran-apple margarita with cranberry infused tequila, triple sec, apple cider, cranberry juice, sour mix & dehydrated lime.
As appetizer – some arancini. Those crispy stuffed risotto spheres with slow-braised beef, parmesan, mozzarella, tomato vodka sauce & pea tendrils were scrumptious.
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Husband started with a rich and creamy bisque…Maine lobster, cream, sherry, smoked paprika and chives.
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My second round cocktail was a winter spiced sangria with blended red & white wines, spiced brandy, pama liquer, orange infused simple, topped with lemon lime soda.
Then I went with the prosciutto tartufo brick oven pizza which was positively decadent.
Alfredo, stracciatella, truffled pecorino, prosciutto & baby arugula… it was so good I forgot to take a picture of the husband’s bolognese.
On a more down home note, I tried this copycat recipe recently.
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Putting milk in a meatloaf seemed a little odd, but it was surprisingly tasty.
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I haven’t tried this cake yet, but it sounds right up my alley.
As did this.. though I’m happily married so we’ll skip the proposal part.
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Have I made y’all hungry yet?
🍽️
P.S…. I tried this orzo dish and was disappointed. It wasn’t nearly as creamy as I’d hoped and even though I chopped the broccoli in small pieces, it didn’t steam properly. Good flavor, but it might need a little tweaking for a repeat.
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I enjoy Brussels sprouts for dinner now and then, and have had tasty shaved sprouts salads….
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But no.
To the name and the idea.
🤢
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I beg to differ.
Has anyone measured our President?
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I found this old picture of us on the back of a lobster boat in a drawer the other day. Taken a few years after we were married, maybe 1988? My hair was a mess from being on the water, but I fondly remember having two fully functional (and thin!) knees.
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I can see that.
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Am I the only one who never knew this?
🥴
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River's world..... 