Tag Archives: food

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Goodwill is good for the soul.

September 19, 2021 Rivergirl 27 Comments

A girlfriend and I hit Goodwill the other day and if nothing else, it’s a great place to pick up cheap books.

16 books for $21? A little slice of heaven right there.

Of course, even thrift store shopping isn’t immune to politics these days…

And while I didn’t buy that tee shirt, I did buy this one. Because, honestly…. I had to.

I shall wear it and point at myself the next time my husband disagrees with me. That should go over well.

My girlfriend was in the mood for Cracker Barrel so that’s where we headed for lunch. The restaurant was almost empty but the hostess told us there would still be a 20-25 minute wait to be seated due to short staffing. (I’m seriously tired of waiting for meals… have all the pre Covid waiters and waitresses been abducted by aliens and given the anal probe? If not… please go back to work. River be hungry. )

Since it was raining we chose to wander the store instead of sitting outside on the rocking chairs, and that’s where I saw this:

For which I have no logical explanation.

But perhaps the biggest surprise of the day?

Alcohol… at Cracker Barrel!

When did that happen? Granted it’s not a favorite restaurant of mine and I probably haven’t stepped foot in one since my mother passed but it seems like I would have noticed such a momentous event.

Since their beer was dishwater I opted for a mimosa, which was close to dishwater only fizzy… but yes, it was alcohol!

At Cracker Barrel!

The world really has gone mad.

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Have you ever said to hell with it and just eaten the cookie?

September 14, 2021 Rivergirl 32 Comments

I’ve been known to pepper my speech with the occasional four letter word… but by far, the worst one to ever cross my lips was diet.

I was a normal sized child, a small teenager and a slim but curvy young adult. 110 lbs when I married my husband, and though I would positively kill for that figure today? Nature got in the way.

I gained a little weight at 35, but no problem. I hardly noticed it.

I gained a little weight at 40, and okay.. maybe I went up a size (or two).

But then I had a hysterectomy at 52 and gained a whole lotta weight. Being forced into menopause wrecked me and my body was no longer my own. No matter what type of diet or exercise I tried, the weight stayed on.

Next up was Covid lockdown with my husband teleworking and me cooking 24/7, so yeah. Another 10lbs.

And if that wasn’t bad enough? I blew my knee out last October. Damaged my MCL and ended up with a deep root radial meniscal tear… the worst kind. The kind that doesn’t heal. The kind that keeps you off the treadmill and plonks you on the couch. 10 more pounds and I’ve just about lost the will to live. Yoga pants are my friend and my clothes are silently mocking me from the closet.

I’m tired.

Tired of being overweight.

Tired of Covid ruining our travel retirement plans.

Tired of killer knee pain every single day.

Tired of the ugliness in the world.

Tired of the political and cultural divide in this country.

But most of all?

I’m tired of diets.

So to Hell with it. I’m happily married and don’t need to impress anyone. My health is good despite the ##lbs I’ve put on since I hit 50.

So ya know what…?

I’m going to eat the cookie.

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Random River drivel.

September 11, 2021 Rivergirl 9 Comments

Lord Dudley Mountcatten sleeps in some odd positions.

I look, and think he must be uncomfortable… but the wee beast sleeps like that 19 hours a day so I must be mistaken.

Have you ever tried a recipe and had your hopes for decadent dessert deliciousness dashed?

That’s what happened when I found a recipe for caramel banana upside down cake. I painstakingly followed the directions… and while it looked and smelled wonderful?

It was a banana topped brick. I swear I could have used it as a doorstop… or to bash in someone’s head. The husband and I took one bite a piece and heaved it in the trash.

Tres disappointing.

But I passed this woodpile later in the day…

And had to smile.

Be sure to ask for an extra stabby grabby the next time you go out to eat…. and think of me.

😉

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When it’s a beautiful day in Maine…

September 9, 2021 Rivergirl 23 Comments

You head for lunch on the coast.

And this time we picked Sebasco Resort in Phippsburg.

There are two restaurants on site, but unfortunately the nicer one with the full menu was closed due to Covid era short staffing.

So we made do with The Ledges pub.

The outdoor patio area was filled with tourists so we had to sit inside… but the views were just as nice.

As were the cocktails. Two basil refreshers later, it was time to order.

We both started with the clam chowder which was good, but I’m a Mainer and quite picky about giving two thumbs up to chowder.

Husband had a perfectly prepared baked haddock with white wine and butter…

But my fried scallops were less than satisfactory. The batter was thick and way too crunchy… and Holy Hell, dripping in enough grease to lube two cars and a pick up truck. Blech.

If I’d been able to open the window I would have fed them to this fellow.

Thankfully the pub redeemed itself with a nice wild Maine blueberry pie a la mode.

After our meal we attempted to walk off the pounds.

To be continued….

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I love my town.

September 8, 2021 Rivergirl 19 Comments

Headline news is a little different in my small Maine town.

Record breaking pepper? Someone call CNN!

While I do have experience in caretaking bossy, moody diva cats and I seriously love me some chickens… fish? They’re just too needy.

Momma Mia! That is one huge wasp domicile.

And finally, I saved the best for last.

I’m crossing my fingers and toes this idea becomes a reality… and shall donate accordingly.

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Because I’m full of random nonsense right now.

September 5, 2021 Rivergirl 14 Comments

I bought this for the man cave bar, mainly because Amazon is evil and it’s entirely too easy to satisfy impulse shopping cravings.

It looked like a great idea, but in reality… was a royal pain in the patoot. The inner chamber would never seat properly and every time you painstakingly filled the outer, the water would leak through and pop the inner chamber up like a cork.

Solution? Weigh down the inner chamber with frozen fruit.

I refuse to be beaten.

The next time my husband refuses to listen me? That is what I’m going to show him.

Cheaters chicken and dumplings. Easy, creamy and quite tasty. What’s not to love?

In case anyone is interested.

I use a family size rotisserie chicken, low sodium broth and lite salt with half the sodium. It’s still savory.

For those of us who love our cats?

This is probably very close to the truth.

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Strange things seen whilst shopping.

September 2, 2021 Rivergirl 28 Comments

I spent a long over due retail therapy day with my girlfriend recently. Of all the things I’ve missed over the past year, that ranks pretty high on the list. One of our stops was Goodwill, where I saw this:

Here’s hoping they hire someone who knows how to spell this time.

Further down the road, I saw this oddly named store.

And something tells me they’re not talking about the corned beef variety.

At TJMaxx I found this disturbing product.

No need to wash that blouse you’ve worn 27 times. Just give it a little spritz and be on your malodorous way.

🤢

Halfway through our shopping extravaganza… it was time for lunch. This is normally not a problem since South Portland has a plethora of restaurants. But since no one wants to go back to work, every single place we tried was understaffed and had an hour long wait. With a groan of desperation, we ended up at Red Robin where I spotted a most unappetizing burger on the menu.

#1. Putting a burger between two pieces of greenery does not magically transform lettuce into a bun. Just, no.

And more importantly –

#2. Do not name your abomination of a burger ‘The Wedgie’. Creeping underwear issues do not make my mouth water.

(And if they make you salivate? Please exit my blog and don’t come back.)

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If ya can’t beat ’em….

August 30, 2021 Rivergirl 27 Comments

And it’s clear from the hundreds of dollars I’ve spent on deterrents… I can’t.

Yeah, I gave you a chance…. and they ate right through you.

You might as well join them.

Or rather feed them your fruit and salad scraps in the hopes they’ll leave your flowers alone.

Watermelon was a huge hit. They positively inhaled that.

But honestly, would it kill them to wipe off the scowl off their faces and maybe shoot me a grin now and then? I think it’s the least they could do.

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Operation dinner out.

August 25, 2021 Rivergirl 34 Comments

We took a drive out to Harpswell for a waterfront meal the other night.

To a great restaurant at one of our favorite locations.

Dolphin Marina.

It’s an out of the way place…

With wrap around coastal scenery.

Unfortunately it was Saturday night, the tourists were thick and the wait for an outdoor or water view table was over an hour. And if you’ve ever gone out to dinner with my husband, you know that means forgoing the views and eating at the bar.