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Lord Dudley Mountcatten has been spending a lot of time in our bedroom since our contractor has been working in the living room. And if he’s in there?
So is his favorite mouse.
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How much does he love this particular rodent?
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Enough to pick it up and carry it to bed with him.
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And don’t even think about removing said mouse.
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Unless you want to lose a finger.
😉
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Though my husband isn’t crazy about their food, I finally wore him down enough for another evening at one of my favorite cocktail bars, The Blind Pig.
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Located in downtown Gardiner…
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In a lovely old brick building…
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With a terraced outdoor seating section…
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We made straight for the bar… because that’s where the magic happens. The Pig’s cocktail list is epic and changes with the seasons. I started with a pear mojito because it’s my go to there and never disappoints.
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Luckily the salmon baked in parchment paper with roasted fingerlings and asparagus tickled my spouse’s tastebuds so much he agreed to rethink his previous Blind Pig ban.
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I had a yummy lamb bolognese, and because we were sitting under a pig wearing a pink cowboy hat…
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A blackberry lavender margarita as well.
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Dessert was homemade lemon blueberry cake…
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Which the husband didn’t like and I was forced to finish by myself.
Oh. The hardships I endure for love…
😉
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You tend to attract more than sparrows.
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And while I think this is a Coopers Hawk…
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I know he’s looking for a nice fat juicy dove for breakfast.
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It’s never easy to watch, but he has to eat too.
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And birds of prey are such glorious graceful creatures…
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❤️
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As I sit here typing this post, a hurricane is blowing its way past us outside. Thankfully the worst of it will be felt to our north… and though we already have tree branches down and will probably lose power later this afternoon, I’m not too worried. Maine rarely sees hurricanes so people were panicking and buying every battery and bottle of water they could find, but we lived in coastal North Carolina for 17 years. That was the time to worry.
Last evening after putting away the porch and deck furniture, bringing bird feeders and hanging flower baskets inside and tying down the grill cover … we did what one does on the eve of a hurricane.
We went for ice cream.
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Cones in hand, we enjoyed the glorious show Mother Nature was putting on in the sky.
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These are untouched photos from my phone. It really was that fabulous.
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It was one of those sunsets you hate to see end.
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Never let it he said the wild critters at Casa River are underfed.
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Talk about a chonk!
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Winter hibernation will be a breeze this year.
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😉
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Our contractor started bright and early on day two but it turns out the good news from day one wasn’t all good.
No, the beam doesn’t need to be replaced but the overall support structure needs work which required a temporary load bearing wall to be built inside the plastic cave. .
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Turns out whoever built this addition back in ‘94 didn’t do a good job with the rafters.
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It’s hard to get proper pictures of the problem but things are separating and that’s not good.
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I’m no carpenter, but the fact that those tiny nails trying to grab onto the beam have been the only things holding up part of our living room roof was a little concerning.
The repair options were these:
1. Hire a structural engineer (at considerable cost) to come in and completely rip apart the entire addition roof, replace the beam and redo all the rafters and trusses.
Or….
2. Since the existing beam is solid (and has miraculously held everything in place for the past 30 years with virtually no support) have our contractor square everything, redo the rafter and truss supports, add heavy duty hangers, and make sure everything is properly secured.
Needless to say we chose door number two.
Since our contractor isn’t a structural engineer he can’t guarantee things won’t sag in another 30 years but realistically, my husband will probably be gone and I’ll be in an old folks home… so who cares?
🤣
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Work continues, in a very small space and in the pouring rain. It would be nice if the saws and power tools could be set up on the back deck but we’re having monsoon downpours right now.
It’s always something.
🥴
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Cats are creatures of habit and do not like change.
They pick their sleeping spots in our houses and expect they will always be there when needed.
So if a section of the living room is cleared to make room for a contractor to work and a couch that used to be in front of a prime bird watching window is moved…
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten makes his displeasure known.
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Whining, crying, mewling.
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This includes the what the hell is going on here? look. We’re getting it 24/7.
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On a side note, there’s nothing like moving furniture and a rug that have been in the same spot for 20 years to make you realize new flooring is the next project on the list.
🥴
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Our house is a bit disorganized at the moment. There’s a bench in front of the office closet..
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Living room coffee tables are in the den…
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And an arm chair is blocking the front door.
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Things are where they shouldn’t be because the contractor is going to start work on the beam and ceiling from Hell this week .
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Since the roof leak has finally been fixed, it’s time to get rid of this eyesore.
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To which I say…
Yay!
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We have stinky visitors every night.
(Pardon the picture quality, I was shooting through a window in the dark)
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Thankfully they rarely spray each other and reserve their perfume for the raccoons or fox who get too close.
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But when I flip the deck light on and see four of the little striped darlings jostling each other for access to food?
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I want to holler tails down please!
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And enjoy a scent free evening.
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We were driving alongside Cobbosseecontee Lake last night on the way home from dinner.
The sun was setting and casting a fiery reflection on the water …
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But I could never manage to get a decent photo of it from the road.
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And as much as I wanted to pull into someone’s private driveway, get out of the car, climb up on their porch and take pictures… the husband wouldn’t let me.
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Eventually we crossed a little bridge and caught a clear view of the sun…
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But by then it was too far down to be truly magical.
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Oh well, I tried.
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River's world..... 