Tag Archives: maine

And so it begins.

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Tear down of our old rotted front porch has commenced.

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This is the part I’m more than happy to have my husband do.

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It keeps him busy and there’s no finesse or fine tuning required.

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Of course once he starts… he looks around and thinks about replacing more than just the decking.

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And as with any project at our house…

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Rotted wood we never knew about is discovered.

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He was hoping he wouldn’t have to replace the frame underneath…

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But so much of it is bad he’ll have to.

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Sigh…

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Such bad timing.

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My spouse is getting ready to rip down our front porch and rebuild it. And if his contracting skills… or rather his lack of… aren’t worrying enough?

There’s this.

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My glorious rhododendrons, which due to all the rain we had this spring are bigger and fuller than they’ve ever been.

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Yes, the porch is old and rotted.

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Yes, the support posts aren’t supporting anything.

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No, the railings aren’t level.

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But… but…

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My rhodies are huge and just about to burst into full bloom.

They’re also right in the way and I know my husband is going to butcher them so he has room to work.

😱

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A new feathered visitor.

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We had a new guest at Casa River yesterday.

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Running up and down the driveway at lightning speed.

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They’re cute little fellows we rarely see on our property.

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A shorebird who often nests alongside fields..

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The killdeer emits a shrill shriek of a call and is famous for pretending to have a broken wing and luring predators away from its nest with its supposed injury.

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Cute.

And smart.

Not to mention fast.

❤️

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A barn day, beer and a squatter.

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With overcast skies and rain in the forecast my husband and I headed to the Barn Mahal for an afternoon of entertainment.

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Stepping on the porch, I realized we had a squatter.

Do you see it?

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In the upper corner to the right of the door.

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Someone has built a nest.

❤️

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After beating my husband at two games of Scrabble, we switched to pool… where my husband is guaranteed to win.

I like to play but I’m not very good. Can’t bank to save my life, but I won four out of ten so at least it wasn’t a rout.

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How long did we play?

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Long enough to require a keg change.

🤣

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City farmhouse?

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We tried a new restaurant the other day which is something I love to do. If it was up to my husband we would go the same three every time we eat out because he’s an absolute creature of habit.

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City Farmhouse Kitchen and Bar in South Portland.

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The description was urban style with farm to table food. Sounded intriguing, so away we went.

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On first glance the cocktail menu looked stellar. Fresh fruit purées, homemade bitters and local herbs.

Yes please!

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I started with the strawberry basil mojito… which was so good I ordered two.

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I could happily have emptied a pitcher with my less than palatable crab cakes. The tiny things came out of the kitchen in a flash and had that hard crunchy coating that screamed frozen.

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On the plus side my husband’s lobster bisque was divine.

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It was an attractive place, modern with a few strange “farmy” touches.

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Like the fake grassy turf above the bar televisions.

🥴

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Sadly the main portions of our meals were disappointing. The husband’s roasted squash ravioli with root vegetables and sage brown butter were hard as a rock and dry….

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While my chicken tagliatelle with spinach, mushroom and pine nuts was dull as toast. The porcini cream had no flavor and the pasta was pasty.

My third cocktail however, the Indian Summer, was lovely.

Bombay Sapphire Gin, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, Fresh-Pressed Lime, Splash of Cranberry, Muddled Pink Grapefruit, Splash of Bubbles.

Conclusion?

Go for drinks and not much else.

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The search continues…

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I made the rounds of a few more furniture stores looking for coffee tables the other day.

And because it’s me, and I’m looking for something simple… you know I didn’t find it.

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I don’t need a coffee table with baskets.

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Or one that looks like an old library card cabinet. Though that cat certainly seems to be enjoying it…

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I don’t need a coffee table that Lord Dudley would shred in a hot minute.

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Or… again, one that looks like a canoe.

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Those things are everywhere.

3 more large stores searched and I’m still empty handed.

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Though if you need a telephone booth wine bar I can point you in the right direction.

🤣

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Trench #2….

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Work continued on the second drainage pipe ditch.

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It’s hard work.

Hard on your knees… hard on your back.

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Because my husband didn’t want to damage the lawn any more than necessary the trench was dug by hand…. with a pick ax and trowels.

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And once it was laid, attached…

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And covered over, my husband decided he wanted another 10 feet of pipe.

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Which meant more work and more rocks.

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To be continued…

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The wet test run.

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One side of the drainage trench was dug.

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And the perforated pipe was attached to the catch basin and set in place.

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The hose was deployed to simulate rain…

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And water flowed.

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When installation was deemed satisfactory, backfill was added.

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From the lovely little plywood backed dirt piles .

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Hard to believe this took two men almost 8 hours….

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But when my husband is involved there will be some serious chatting along with the working.

😉

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