Because it’s Monday, and that’s how we start the week around here.
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Proof there’s a little sunshine behind every dark cloud.
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Adult camp?
Hell no. I hated it as a kid and I was way more sociable then.
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Talk about an embarrassing 911 call.
Geesh.
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Oh my god, no.
My husband and I visited a nude beach in France years ago (both wearing bathing suits thank you very much) and believe me when I say it wasn’t pretty. We saw more naked grandmas and grandpas than anyone should ever see. A cruise ship of naked all you can eat buffet loving passengers? That’s the voyage of the damned right there.
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Can you guess who it is?
Answer in comments…
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I take it back, this was the most embarrassing 911 call ever.
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I’m gonna go out on a limb here and guess that man is single.
This is the oldest (175 years) and the biggest fair in Maine. How big, you ask?
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This big.
And after a late start due to my husband playing cribbage at breakfast with friends, we arrived two hours later than planned.
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On the way to parking the car? RV heaven.
Or hell as far as I’m concerned. Densely packed on flat dirt as far as the eye can see, I can’t imagine spending a week like that, but people come from all over New England and look forward to it every year.
To each their own.
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Many people go to the fair for the rides and carnival atmosphere … we’re not those people.
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We started with the race horses.
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Beautiful creatures who enjoy an occasional scratch.
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This poor fellow was trying to take a nap.
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While this one looked ready to munch a mum.
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Food trucks and vendors were everywhere but my husband hates eating lunch standing up and ducked into the one little restaurant they have on site instead.
Big mistake.
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It’s a bare bones place with a limited menu. They didn’t even have ice for our drinks. Warm Pepsi anyone?
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Husband had a watery bowl of stew with a biscuit you could use for a boat anchor while I had a dry turkey salad roll the waitress mistakenly charged me $1 for instead of the $11 it cost. A dollar was really all it was worth, but the cashier caught the error and we moved on.
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To the draft horses.
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Who were finishing the pulling show the husband usually likes to watch.
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These horses are gentle giants and I hate to see them straining …
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So I wasn’t disappointed we’d missed most of it.
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This beauty stood almost 19 hands.
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And the husband spent more than 19 minutes talking to this owner while I wandered around.
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Out back, these fellows were getting a bath.
Percherons, Belgians, and Haflingers. They never fail to impress.
Our night time visitors include deer, fox, opossums, skunks and raccoons. I put out a bowl of water and critter specific food but they all nibble the bird seed that spills on the ground.
All of them except this fellow.
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Who prefers his straight from the source.
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You wouldn’t think his chunky little butt could shimmy up that pole, but he climbs it with ease.
Another library book sale, another couple of stacks of mostly unfamiliar authors.
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Two dollars each.
Life is good.
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If you fold your thumb over your palm, does it extend beyond your hand?
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I always thought being limber was a good thing but in this case it’s not. Thankfully my thumb is where it should be. But then I haven’t been what you’d call limber in years.
😉
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My plant is trying to escape.
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Though where it thinks it’s going is anyone’s guess.
I love a good craft show. People can be incredibly clever and creative and I like coming home with handmade treasure.
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So when I heard there was a show at Laudholm Farms on the Wells Estuary we took a drive down the coast even though it was overcast, drizzling rain and foggy.
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It was an amazing show and all the craftspeople were under cover, be it tents or barns.
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The problem?
I was expecting to find crafts and what I found was art that usually resides in galleries. There was amazing jewelry, fabulous paintings, unique pottery, intricate woodworking and stunning metalwork. Unfortunately I didn’t plan on spending $1,800 on a pair of silver earrings or $6,000 for some stained glass.
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The artists have a very strict no photography rule so these giant outdoor pieces were the only things I could sneak a shot of.
And while the items we saw were beautiful, the cost of the things I wanted reached $15,000 before we were halfway through.
Needless to say I left empty handed.
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No, I didn’t even consider pickle body lotion.
Our next stop was for a late lunch/early dinner at a local landmark, the Bull and Claw.
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This restaurant has been in operation since 1973 and to be honest I don’t think it’s been redecorated since the 1980’s.
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Plastic tablecloths, plastic duck decoys, artificial flowers … I wasn’t holding much hope.
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But my cranberry margarita was decent and cheap and the menu was large.
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Husband attacked the soup and salad bar with good results.
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And we were pleasantly surprised to find our meals flavorful, well prepared and more than amply sized. Medium rare prime rib and stuffed shrimp with baked potato and broccoli for me, turkey dinner with mashed potato, stuffing and broccoli for the husband.
Our bill was well under a hundred dollars and though the atmosphere was dated and more than a little kitschy, I honestly wouldn’t mind going back.
If you’re a loyal Dexter fan from way back like me, you had to suffer through a few less than stellar reboots… but the current incarnation gets a four star thumbs up. He’s baaaack and so is Angel Batista. The addition of Peter Dinklage as a twisted millionaire serial killer super fan is a nice touch. You won’t be disappointed.
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Smoke is a wild ride. A psychological thriller about arsonists and arson investigators, it has interesting plot twists, is often disturbing… and extremely watchable.
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And now for the bad.
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I read Asimov’s book series years ago, it’s classic sci fi and hard to beat. So when I saw there was a well reviewed tv show that told the story? I was all in. Until I watched the first few episodes and couldn’t understand what all the hype was about. Maybe it picked up later on but I didn’t stick around to find out. I found the acting sub par and the story line disjointed and hard to follow. Disappointing, that.
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Never having been to Hawaii and only knowing its basic history I gave this show a try since it was getting good reviews. First turn off? It’s spoken entirely in Hawaiian and every word is subtitled. Sorry, but I don’t want to work that hard. Second turn off? Jason Momoa’s butt. There’s too much of it and we see it entirely too often. He’s not the rock hard Khal Drogo from GOT anymore, trust me on this. I only watched three episodes and had to quit.
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And finally, the indifferent.
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Like most young women in the 90’s, I read and fell in love with Outlander. Like most middle aged women a few decades later, I enjoyed the long awaited HBO series with its time traveling love story and stunning Scottish scenery. So when this new accompanying show about Jamie and Claire’s parents started I happily jumped on board. And while it’s not totally awful, it lacks the spark of the original and feels dishwater flat. I’ll finish it, just because. But I can’t say I recommend it.
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Where there's only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.
River's world..... 