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Facebook… in its infinite wisdom… has posted yet another list of ridiculous products it thinks I must buy, and this time? They’ve outdone themselves.
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Do I need to remotely drive a pile of poo?
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I most assuredly do not.
Am I ancient enough to require a ladder’s assistance to sit up in bed?
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Not quite yet.
And while a recipe book of quick cook meals does have a certain appeal…
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I doubt I need a potty mouthed granny to deliver them.
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For months we’ve had a nightly fox visitor for whom I lay out little piles of expensive dry dog food with taurine. ( It was recommended by a vet friend and is the closest I can get to the food U.K. Amazon refuses to ship to the United States) We love seeing him (her?) scoot across the lawn and settle in for a nosh. But last night?
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I was seeing double.
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Two beautiful foxes happily munching.
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Brother and sister? Husband and wife? Friends with benefits? I don’t know…
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But they’re both gorgeous!
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💕💕💕
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With menopause, bunions and a bad knee… I’m having enough trouble with 58. Screw 200.
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I’ve flown out of Boston’s Logan airport many times. Three weeks doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility.
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I’m sorry, but that just bites.
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Finally… a scientific formula for choosing vacation destinations.
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I call foul.
I am neither loud nor boisterous, and am literally risk aversive. But Rome? I’m good with that. History, pasta and Limoncello sound like my kind of trip.
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I love my state. We have a festival devoted to clams and award those who can shuck them the fastest.
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Climate change. Pollution. Drought. Shrinking natural resources. Deforestation.
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Healthy living my ass. Keep your kale and quinoa, Keith will survive nuclear winter.
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Sigh. If only I had a few million to spare.
I actually have not so fond memories of this place. Oh, it was beautiful and swank… but it also happened to be the day I realized I’d become allergic to lobster. I ate it for lunch and by the time we stopped here with friends for a drink in the evening? I ordered a margarita, took one sip and spent half an hour in the ladies room throwing up. Good times.
Not.
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Say it isn’t so!
😫
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A flight we did at a veteran owned brewery called Stars and Stripes. Appropriate, no?
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Keith.
You know he’ll be here even after the cockroaches are extinct.
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Our second trip to the Blind Pig Tavern was shorter but no less wonderful than the first. Jumping back into their amazing craft cocktail menu, I tried a strawberry rhubarb margarita.
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I dislike rhubarb. But this was made with fresh strawberry purée and the rhubarb balanced the sweetness perfectly.
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The pole of shame, reserved for those who don’t pay their bills or stiff the waitstaff.
This visit was a quickie with just drinks and appetizers, but neither disappointed.
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Yes, it looks like they were wrapped in condoms, but the cold marinated shrimp with cherry tomatoes, spring greens and avocado in rice paper with tequila lime aioli was sublime.
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As were the wings and Philly cheesesteak flatbread.
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The pear mojito? Magnificent!
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Their array of dried fruit is impressive and rotates in clever little containers like this.
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The on tap beer list?
It’s folkin’ hoppy.
🤣
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Australians are the kings and queens of chill.
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A weekend trip to Christmas Island went off the rails as soon as the family started cooking dinner.
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Coconut crabs don’t rate the nickname “robber crabs” for nothing.
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Crabs were climbing up chairs and table legs trying to steal a bite to eat… but did the Aussie family flip out and run for their boat?
No.
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They popped the tops on a few and calmly batted the crabs off their plates.
🤣
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We feed birds.
We feed grosbeaks and orioles. Finches and chickadees. Nuthatches and woodpeckers. Cardinals and mourning doves.
We feed a wide variety of birds.
This however, was a first.
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One lone seagull.
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Who dropped in to nosh on the deer grain.
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Proof positive you never know who’ll show up at Casa River.
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Like a Roman emperor, our fox has gotten so comfortable here he prefers to take his meals lying down.
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Why stand and burn all those pesky calories.
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If the humans are going to lay out a nightly buffet, I guess he figures he might as well enjoy it in comfort.
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🤣
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I love finding a new watering hole, and recently we hit the jackpot.
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The Blind Pig Tavern. So named because sympathetic policemen were known to turn a blind eye to speakeasies back in the day.
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This place has a modern rustic feel, randomly placed pigs and the most fabulous craft cocktail list I’ve seen in years.
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Ooh la la!
From the breadth of selection, I knew it was going to be a long afternoon.
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First up? The raspberry basil martini. I’m a sucker for mixing fresh herbs in alcohol and this was sheer perfection. The bartender must have known I was in it for the long haul because she brought me the bonus amount as well. Waste not, want not.
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Next up was the pineapple sage gimlet. As it was being served, the bartender told me she went easy on the sage because a few people said it tasted like tree bark. Amateurs! I took one sip and asked for the full strength version. It was sublime.
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And lest you think all I do is drink, there was food as well. Parmesan garlic brined wings to share…
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And a pulled pork Mac and cheese that was rich, creamy, delicious and enough for three meals.
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There was also a blackberry violet sour. The bartender said a few people told her this one tasted like soap…. which made me marvel at the masses of unrefined drinkers who came before. Go back to the 7-11 and pick up a pack of Bud you heathens! This cocktail was tart, sweet, fragrant and complex. A layered masterpiece.
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As we rounded toward evening, I ended on the Butterfly martini. With gin, St. Germain, violette liquor, hibiscus simple syrup and rose water it was a veritable flower garden in a glass.
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Random picture of the husband’s giant bowl of haddock chowder because yes, he was there too. Someone had to drive me home after all.
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Cute touch. I left the bartender a big tip, but no bucket for the kitchen this time around.
The Blind Pig has earned the top slot on our visited once, have to go back list. So many cocktails, so little time…
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There’s a famous restaurant in my part of the world called The Taste of Maine.
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It’s been family owned and operated for 44 years and is a staple for fresh seafood on the heavily travelled coastal Route 1. Tourists love the kitschy decor and giant outdoor lobsters.
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We find it a bit overpriced but go once in a while just because it’s fun.
The pandemic hit a lot of seasonal restaurants hard up here and many went under. Right now they’re struggling to find enough wait staff. So when I saw this on FB the other day? A customer tipping the amount of the bill….
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I was floored.
We’ve done that at small diners and sandwich shops. $20 – $30 bill, $20 -$30 tip.
But an $800 tip?
Holy macaroni. That’s beyond awesome.
❤️
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River's world..... 