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You know the drill.
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For me it’s ketchup.
I’m not a fan in general, and tend to cringe when I see people slather it on eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches and God forbid…. steak.
Burgers and fries? If you have to, though I usually pass.
I’ve seen people use it as a dip for potato chips, put it on their fried fish and top off their bowls of baked beans. For me those are a definite no.
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How about you?
What ruins your dish…
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While the red squirrels are a constant unwelcome chewing, gnawing, destructive menace… our gray visitors provide hours of entertainment.
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I know we’re in the minority here, but we don’t mind squirrels eating from our feeders.
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They’re usually content to perch in the flat ones and happily munch away, but the other day this fellow was determined to get the last few seeds out of the carriage feeder and that proved more challenging.
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Gravity be damned.
And just when he figured it out?
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Squirrel #2 arrived and kicked him off.
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Undeterred… our intrepid acrobat regrouped and moved on to the suet.
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Gray squirrels….
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Ya gotta love them.
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We bought a new car last September. A fully loaded 2025 Subaru Forester Touring. I love Pearl… and with the current trade policies am extremely glad we didn’t wait to purchase her.
As an experiment, I checked the price before Trump implemented his moronic tariffs.
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Two weeks after the tariffs took effect?
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I’ll continue to check.
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A few days ago we popped into the Foreside Tavern in Falmouth.
(Summer Dreaming cocktail. Vodka, elderflower, lemon and pineapple.)
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Which used to be a Howard Johnson’s when I was young. I still miss their chicken croquettes…
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But the tavern’s bbq chicken flatbread appetizer was tasty.
(Winter spiced margarita. Cinnamon Infused Tequila, Cranberry, Orange, Cointreau, Agave, Lime)
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As was the ribeye steak spring salad with blue cheese, apples, red onions and candied pecans.
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That’s me.
Highly flavorful.
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Canadians.
Ya gotta love them.
🤣
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Our raccoon friend is showing up early most every night now.
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Waddling across the back lawn..
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And chowing down.
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I love to watch him. (Her?)
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The deer aren’t as thrilled…
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But I think they’re getting used to him.
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A name might be in order.
Any ideas?
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Yes, hope springs eternal and I tried another Facebook recipe.
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This time it was a shrimp and corn chowder.
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Southwest style and even though it only had 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper …
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It proved too spicy for my born and bred New England husband.
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I had jumbo shrimp and chopped them to bite size.
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It’s an easy recipe, and I quite liked it.
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Though even with the dissolved gelatin, I thought it too thin to qualify as chowder.
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If I make it again, which is unlikely because of the husband’s bland and boring taste buds, I’d add another thickening agent.
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Remember the improved box cake mix recipe?
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I tried it with butter pecan.
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And while the cake didn’t seem to rise quite as high as it normally does …
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My husband raved about the texture and proceeded to eat 3/4’s of it.
Honestly? I didn’t notice much of a difference.
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I’m so sick of this AI generated nonsense.
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As if.
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This is a real cat.
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Who jumps up to sleep on the spare bed pillows….
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And is too lazy to shift when he slides down between the shams.
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I found some old military photos when I was cleaning out a drawer the other day. That’s my husband in Beirut, with the remnants of the bombed Marine barracks behind him. He removed the bodies of six Marines from the wreckage on that horrible day.
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Welcoming my guy home after a six month Med float in 1988.
Damn, we were young.
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And talk about young.
My husband, right before he went to Vietnam.
❤️
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People laugh when I talk about Maine having slightly different seasons than other states … summer, fall, winter and mud.
But it’s true.
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See?
Proof.
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This explains a lot.
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Our nightly skunks are back.
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And looking very well fed.
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Fascinating stuff.
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Photo… because sometimes you simply need pie.
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How awesome is that!
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After endless hours following my husband around the antique mall, I needed sustenance.
And a drink.
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The Black Whale on the New Bedford waterfront seemed to be the place.
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They must have been understaffed because we walked by an entirely empty room …
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And were pointed to the last two seats available in the main dining room…
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Which happened to be at the bar, so you know my husband was happy. My spring sangria was crisp and lovely… sorry I can’t remember what was in it.
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And my crab cakes with Cajun remoulade were heavenly.
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Husbands’s clam chowder was a rich creamy meal in itself so we opted to split an entree.
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Of fried scallops, garlic mashed potatoes and roasted broccolini.
Yum.
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After eating we took a little stroll along the waterfront.
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No pleasure craft here.
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Just fishing boats.
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Long haulers, draggers…
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If you wonder where your seafood comes from, it’s here.
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I spent my adolescence surrounded by fisherman and believe me when I say they are hardworking people.
Salt of the earth.
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Or the sea, in this case.
😊
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There’s a restaurant under the black awning in this corner building in downtown Augusta.
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It’s a place my husband continually thinks he likes, but really doesn’t.
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I love that their beer is tapped in an old copper still.
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And while the pomegranate margarita was killer, I admit their version of hushpuppies was not.
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We’ve been here a few times and because I enjoy barbecue, I liked my meal.
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Half a dry rubbed chicken, sweet potato fries, slaw and jalapeño cornbread.
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My husband on the other hand complained his (very tender and flavorful) ribs didn’t have enough meat, his beans weren’t New England style, his slaw was too dry and his cornbread too spicy.
He doesn’t really like barbecue, but always thinks he does… no matter how many times I tell him he won’t be pleased.
Short memory, or stubbornness? Either way it will probably be another year before he suggests going out for barbecue again.
😉
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Another day, another scenic coastal drive.
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Through Narragansett…
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And under the remnants of its once famous casino.
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Down to the end of a peninsula, an area called Galilee.
You can see Jerusalem from there.
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No, I wasn’t kidding.
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Our destination was George’s.
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A seafood restaurant with a water view.
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Lunch off season left us with the place pretty much to ourselves….
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So I settled in with a perfectly refreshing Spring Sangria…
grey goose l’orange vodka, st. germain, pineapple, white wine, club soda
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Husband started with garlicky mussels..
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And I had Rhode Island clam chowder, which is pretty much the same as New England clam chowder… rich, creamy and delicious.
Before long a few locals joined us at the bar.
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Since the gentleman closest to me was wearing a Marine Corps hat, a conversation began. These two men had been friends since they were in elementary school. They married local girls, went to war and came back home to raise families.
We bought their drinks.
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As we watched the Block Island ferry come into port.
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My crab stuffed shrimp with garlic butter roasted baby potatoes and broccolini was divine.
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As was the husband’s shrimp scampi.
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After eating, serious storytelling commenced.
😊
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I left them to it and wandered outside to enjoy the view.
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You can always tell when a fishing boat has taken on bait.
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They have a dedicated seagull following.
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🐟🐟🐟
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