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Don’t get excited, I’m not talking about me. That ship has sailed.
And burst into flames and sunk.
I’m talking about woodchucks, and from the look of our resident Momma…
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I’d say baby chuck sightings are getting close.
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😊
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My town’s Facebook page is usually good for a smile or two and I check in occasionally to see what the locals are up to.
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Hmm.
That can’t be good.
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That’s definitely not good… and another reason I don’t mind looking like a weirdo walking Dudley around our property on a leash.
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It is indeed. I had to stop on the side of the road just yesterday and help a big fellow across before he was squashed.
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I’ve blogged about my husband’s battle with retirement. About his need to still feel productive and his complete inability to relax and enjoy some well deserved leisure time.
I’ve blogged about him retiring in December of 2022 only to return to work in August of 2023.
I’ve blogged about him retiring again in February of 2024 because the gov’t treated him like a new hire and forced him to retake 8 months of training even though he worked there for 22 years and could teach the classes himself.
So…
We’re barely three months into retirement part two and if you think he’s been able to sit back and relax any better this time around you’d be dead wrong.
Because this week found him here…
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On a roof that’s not ours, replacing siding and fixing window leaks.
Working with the contractor we hired to work for us.
Did I mention my husband is 77 years old?
This is not how I pictured retirement.
😖
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I saw this advertisement the other day and thought it was a marvelous way to raise money.
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“Be kind to the flamingos”.
Words to live by.
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Sometimes bad taxidermy is so bad it’s good.
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We drove by this restaurant in Portland the other day, and while I’m no prude… I dislike advertisements, bumper stickers and political signs with crude language. If you’re wondering why eight year olds are responding “f*ck yeah!” to the question would you like a cookie?… here’s your answer.
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Bluebird!
Eating at the snazzy new feeder we bought without a thought to how it would be covered in bird poo in 10 seconds flat.
🥴
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Now that’s an interesting deal. Store your junk and get free frozen custard every week. With the amount of junk my spouse could store.. we’d have a freezer full in no time.
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A few weeks ago we had two young woodchucks fighting over food
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Now?
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Momma chuck is back and the fighting is over.
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Matter of fact, since she’s arrived there’s no one to left to fight.
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The teenagers have left the building…
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And momma reigns supreme.
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Excuse the noise of my dryer tumbling in the background.
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Being of Scottish ancestry I hate to admit it, but the Irish know a thing or two about pubs.
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We recently discovered O’Reilly’s Cure in Scarborough and will definitely be going back.
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It’s upscale…
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And to Hell with the Guinness…
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Their cocktail list is da bomb.
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The Basil Ruby was divine and paired nicely with my delicious crab cake appetizer.
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And the apple cider margarita?
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Lovely, even with its sticky brown sugar rim.
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Husband’s baked haddock, garlic mashed and veggie medley was tasty…
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And my chicken pot (biscuit) pie was a scrumptious thick, creamy delight.
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And yes, they snuck that annoying ‘kitchen wellness fee’ I detest on the bill (it bothers me because I doubt the kitchen staff ever see the money) but the food and drinks were so good we’ll return despite the annoyance.
😊
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Remember my perfect carpet? The expensive Karastan I chose on day one…
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The salesperson from the store where I found it (they have exclusive rights to the brand and none of the other places we’ve tried can sell it) has been staying in touch after giving us an installation estimate. When I finally told them my husband balked at the price and was looking around for something comparable but cheaper, they wanted to help and said they would check their inventory.
I received this message a week ago.. but didn’t tell my husband until he’d had his fill of fruitless floor shopping.
I’m evil that way.
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To be honest I didn’t think carpet was something you could barter… but you live and you learn.
And save $500 apparently.
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Installation in 8 weeks.
😊
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It isn’t often we see a Pileated woodpecker at Casa River…
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But this big guy flew in the other day and had a nosh on the suet nugget cage.
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Pileateds usually stay in the woods and rarely venture into our wide open back yard.
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Good thing I had my phone camera handy.
❤️
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I love stumbling on a new place to eat.
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And while this seemed like your run of the mill sports bar, the blueberry margarita was quite tasty.
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And my husband’s go to French onion soup was anything but ordinary.
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It was served with its bread on the outside which we thought was odd, but the deep wine flavored beef broth was so full of onions and herbs and melted cheese you didn’t even miss it.
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My appetizer? Loaded tater kegs.
I’d never heard of such of a thing… and not being a tater tot fan, I almost passed. But these were delightfully crunchy on the outside and creamy, cheesy, bacon filled pillows of potato-y goodness on the inside.
Being a sports bar, all the televisions were tuned to this show. I paid less than zero attention until I happened to glance up and see this…
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Thinking it was just a typo, I grimaced and moved on.
Until this popped up on the screen a few minutes later.
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Ugh.
Not a typo.
Good thing the food made up for it.
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Baked haddock and Parmesan herbed potato rounds for the spouse.
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And a massive chicken, broccoli Alfredo (I ate for three days after) for moi.
Poor grammar aside, it might be worth a return trip.
😉
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Now that the weather is warming and the grass is turning green…
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Our resident woodchucks are showing up more often.
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There’s not much for them to eat yet and since I want them to leave my garden beds alone?
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The buffet is being laid.
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😉
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River's world..... 