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I love my town.
We’re small, rural and delightfully quirky. It’s all about community and neighbors helping neighbors.
Our food bank serves home cooked meals on pick up day and has coffee and pastries for patrons .
Our recycling barn has a “gift shop” where everything is free.
The farmer’s market is a great place to support local businesses, buy organic produce, bring home handmade goodies…. and now?
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Apparently you can partner with a cabbage or eggplant and cut the proverbial rug.
😉
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Meet my new car.
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A 2025 fully loaded Subaru Forester touring.
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Crystal pearl white…
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With the swanky two tone leather interior and suede inserts.
And if that’s not sweet enough? She comes with Easter eggs…
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How fun is that!
No, I’m not in actual possession of her yet. She had to be special ordered from the factory and will arrive in 6-8 weeks.
I’ve never owned a white vehicle before. And before you say, “Oh, it will show all the dirt!”, I’ve been driving black and dark charcoal grey for 22 years… trust me, they show all the dirt as well.
This purchase required intense negations, at which… let’s be honest, I suck. Thank God for my husband who hates the new car purchase game but loves to haggle.
We went into the office where our salesman gave us a final price… and my husband balked.
The assistant manager came over, lowered the price by $1,500… and my husband scowled.
The sales manager appeared, lowered the price by $2,500… and my husband started to walk out.
The top financial guy got into the mix and lowered the price by $3,500… and my husband did walk out.
We went to lunch, during which time the manager called and lowered the price by $4,000, saying that was the absolute best he could do. When we went back to the showroom… my husband said lower the price by another $500 or we’re out.
Mind you this particular car is flying off the lots. We couldn’t find a single one in the entire state. I also added a few extra options.. splash guards, moon roof air deflector etc. but when my husband has a number stuck in his head, you’re not going to change it.
The top guy was summoned. He hemmed and hawed, fiddling with the numbers trying to come up with a way to discount the price further. Turns out Subaru is running a charity drive for local schoolchildren until the end of this month. You purchase 10 school supplies for donation and they take $500 off the price.
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We went to Target and purchased 15 fun school supplies.. and bam! My husband got his $4,500 off a brand new car.
Is it any wonder I love this man?
💕
My current Forester is Ethel. Named by my late mother. My new beauty will need a name as well… any suggestions?
You have 6-8 weeks to dazzle me with ideas.
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When the thermometer is reading temperatures this high?
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You ditch yard work and take a road trip west.
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To the lakes region, over the Naples causeway.
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Through Bridgton…
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Past ski slopes that look a little strange in the summer.
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To a premier pub in Lovell, Maine.
Any similarities between my husband and the pub sign mascot are purely coincidental.
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Ebenezer’s is famous for its extensive beer menu and hand blown glass taps.
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It also has a buzzard on the bar.
It’s hard to top that.
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They’ve won multiple awards and though they’re small and off the beaten path… those in the know, know.
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Belgians.
A white for the husband, a geuze boon for moi.
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I love their vintage signs.
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And their coconut shrimp with sweet Thai chili sauce.
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Some signs are prophetic.
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Good beer, beautiful lakes.
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A perfect summer day.
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You either love them or hate them. There’s rarely any in between.
I happen to love them, even if I don’t always understand them.
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This mural is in the old downtown area of our state capitol, Augusta. It’s undergoing a rejuvenation and this certainly brightens things up.
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The Kennebec River flows through the city and the Kennebec is full of giant sturgeon, so I understand the fish.
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The prehistoric cyborg dinosaurs?
Not so much…
🤣
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Now that the decking has been laid, it was time to strip the vinyl siding.
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This isn’t as easy as it sounds when the people who put it on decades ago used nails as long as your arm.
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Sometimes finesse is required…
Sometimes brute force.
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After the siding was removed?
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The soffit had to come down.
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That was easier, but still awkward.
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It’s amazing how much dirt gets up under there.
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White on one side, brown on the other.
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Soffit.
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No soffit.
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I have no idea what this is all about.
It’s not mold, just black spray paint.
🥴
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This is Lord Dudley Mountcatten surveying his domain.
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Here’s Lord Dudley Mountcatten noticing an interloper in his domain.
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten’s reaction was priceless.
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After some closer inspection?
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And a positive baby woodchuck identification…
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten was clueless.
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And looked back at me as if to say, “What am I supposed to do with that?”
🤣
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As you know, my husband takes on a lot of projects around our house.
A lot of projects he probably shouldn’t.
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Yes, he saves us money we’d otherwise spend on contractors… but those savings come at a price.
Workmanship he would never accept from a contractor are commonplace. Like these unevenly matched boards I’m sure to stub a toe on.
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Mitered corners?
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Not his strong suit.
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Gaps?
Yeah, we’ve got those too.
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The composite decking is finished.
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And while this end looks pretty good…
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The other end was a total clusterf*ck.
I gasped when I went out there and saw how far off the edge was… thinking, surely he’s going to fix that.
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But no.
That’s the finished product.
Close on the left, but not nearly close enough on the right.
This is what you get when you don’t hire a professional.
🥴
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While driving in Portland the other day we saw some very large egrets by the shore.
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And when I say large?
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I mean large.
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Not sure who sculpted them or why.
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But it was an interesting sight.
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Day lilies are popping.
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And they’re such a great burst of color…
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I wish they were at least week lilies.
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Here today.
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Gone tomorrow.
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Good thing there are a plethora of buds.
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😊
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My father painted this large canvas when he was in Hawaii during WWII.
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I never questioned when a man at war would find time to paint because my father painted anywhere, everywhere, all the time… even if he only had ten minutes.
This painting has hung over our bed in 4 different homes and hangs there still.
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My father was mostly a water colorist so his oils are rare, I only have two. The frame is basic, handmade with whatever was nearby at the time. My mother never liked it… so it was hidden in a closet until I got married and adopted it 40 years ago.
Am I overly fond of Hawaiian palm tree scenes? No. Does the tropical island design blend with our house in rural Maine? Probably not. But historical provenance and sentimental value trump decor every time.
Point of this blog?
Since we seem to be redoing everything else in our home.. I decided it was time to update this old girl as well.
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Which wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped.
Mind you, I knew this would be pricey… isn’t everything these days? But since it’s an oil that didn’t need to be restretched, an oil that didn’t need a mat or glass … I was hoping to get away for $300-$400.
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This frame?
$825.00
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This one?
Almost $1,300.
*Gulp!*
It’s clearly been a long time since I had anything framed.
😳
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