Tag Archives: man cave

Day 6… the barn, with a lobster meet and greet.

October 2, 2024 Rivergirl 16 Comments

On the last full day with our company, we honored their request. No more road trips, no more sightseeing…. just a relaxing day at home.

Or more specifically, the man cave/Barn Mahal.

T. was like most men who cross its doorstep, instantly smitten and a wee bit jealous. I believe he mentioned wanting one, but I don’t think his wife was on board.

The day was spent playing Name That Crap..

(Early vacuum cleaner)

Playing pool…

With some interesting techniques…

Shucking corn..

And introducing our southern family to fresh Maine lobster.

G. was a little leery at first.

But ended up making friends.

Never having cooked a live one before, T. was fascinated.

And after some quality time with the bugs…

Made his own friend.

And then dropped him in the pot.

Unfortunately it was at that exact moment our grill ran out of gas and things had to be moved indoors.

Finally…

We had a happy southerner.

Back in the man cave, cracking instructions were given.

And everyone enjoyed lobster.

Except me of course. I came up allergic to the succulent crustacean about 9 years ago and am unable to eat it without becoming violently ill.

Boo to that.

😫

The night ended with cocktails and a birthday cake that elicited a good bit of laughter.

T.’s late father was a career Marine who, when done talking to his children would bark, “Dismissed!”

And since it was our company’s last night in Maine..

It seemed an appropriate sentiment.

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My tootsies are tickled, even if my wallet isn’t.

July 12, 2024 Rivergirl 24 Comments

Weeee!

Bye bye flat and awful industrial grade dusty rose horror the previous owners laid….

Welcome soft, plush, hella expensive but worth it Karastan Instinctive Flair Renoir Bisque.

Seriously, until you walk on this barefoot you can’t begin to know what I’m talking about. It’s smooth and silky and sheer perfection.

The installers were here for 6 hours, working nonstop… and they did a really nice job.

So nice, my husband took them out to the man cave/Barn Mahal for a cold beer.

And then proceeded to show them all his treasures.

They were a captive audience.

🤣

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Even man caves need decorations…

December 12, 2023 Rivergirl 20 Comments

Since we’re in the middle of renovations, Christmas decorations in the house are minimal this year. I can’t wrangle a firm date from our contractor on the flooring replacement so we don’t even have a tree. I refuse to put one up only to take it down days later.

But…

The man cave/Barn Mahal is wide open.

So I had some fun out there.

Mini trees with white lights..

A pinecone reindeer.

And a few festive placemats on the bar.

Some baubles in front of the kegerator.

The occasional Santa and stars…

And a few bundled up winter birds.

Make the husband’s lair feel festive.

😊

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Rain + barn = beer. And a woodchuck.

July 16, 2023 Rivergirl 20 Comments

When it’s a wet and rainy afternoon you’re apt to find us in the man cave/Barn Mahal.

Sometimes alcohol is present.

I’m blaming the Jack Abbeys blood orange wheat for that Scrabble tile arrangement.

Red Sox game? Check.

Pizza? Check.

Sweet Thai chili wings and more beer?

Double check.

Life is good.

Looking out the window back at the garage, we saw a baby chuck perched on the woodshed’s extra room doorstep.

They’ve completely taken over this little storage area and have dug such a big tunnel the door neither opens nor shuts. Good thing there’s nothing in there we need to retrieve…

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They really don’t succ.

April 12, 2023 Rivergirl 32 Comments

I used to have various pots of succulents scattered around the Barn Mahal/man cave. Mainly because no room I inhabit can be plantless but also due to their relatively carefree nature. Sadly I’m not out there as often as I used to be and though the husband still has friends in to play pool, he never thinks to water them… so with the heat pump sucking every drop of moisture out of the air all winter? A lot of them died.

After retrieving their carcasses, I did something I thought I’d never do.

Yup.

I bought a bunch of fakes.

And I have to say, I’m rather impressed.

While it goes against my gardening grain to resort to artificial, we have to close the blinds in the summer to avoid drying out and cracking the leather chairs as well as trying to prevent the a/c from running non stop so the real ones spent most of their time in the dark.

Enter the fake succulents.

And though I really hate to admit it? Fake succulents don’t actually suck.

Who knew?

I did manage to keep my jade plant alive and healthy so thankfully it’s not all plastic fantastic in there.

And speaking of dead things? I did a little recon in the beer fridge and found some dip that expired the beginning of March and creamer that died in January.

Old junk isn’t the only thing my husband refuses to throw out.

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Because you knew it had to happen.

December 18, 2022 Rivergirl 21 Comments

I was told in no uncertain terms not to string lighted garland in the man cave or bedeck it’s sacred male space with red Christmas bows… so I didn’t.

But I wasn’t told anything about wreaths.

Or Santas and stars.

Or pinecone reindeer with shiny ornaments hanging from their antlers.

Or festive bar placemats.

Or winterberry trees with bundled up birdies.

Or glass jars of sparklies with mini glitter trees.

And speaking of trees…

I wasn’t prohibited from those either.

Silly man. He really should learn to be more specific.

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Random nonsense and something for Mark…

December 4, 2022 Rivergirl 14 Comments

Because there’s never a lack of ridiculous things to talk about.

Do I need to color rainbow animal poop? I do not, but speaking of pooping animals…

The required new Lord Dudley Mountcatten shot.

Another item has been added to the husband’s man cave display of ~~torture implements~~ old tools. A hobbler as seen on the upper left. He says it’s for cows, I’m wondering if it will fit in my purse so I can use it on him the next time we go antique shopping.

And lastly, something for Mark…who has a thing for flamingoes and likes to decorate for Halloween.

I’m always thinking of you buddy.

🤣

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Antiquing and some very heavy water.

November 29, 2022 Rivergirl 28 Comments

A recent antiquing day trip to search for a final alcoholic crate left me empty handed but did result in a few chuckles.

Yum.

Not.

I think I had one very similar to this when I was a kid.

Bloomers.. complete with reinforced crotch. Who could ask for more?

I’ve been looking for an old crank phone like this for the man cave. But this one didn’t crank and was missing parts … so for $350, I left it there.

And speaking of the man cave…

I’ve started to migrate my vinyl out there, though there isn’t enough room in any one spot to line up the crates in a row.

Guess they’ll have to be scattered here and there.

And if you’re wondering what’s going on here, it’s the husband breaking his back trying to upend a vintage glass water bottle into the cooler. He’s collected the damn things for years and wants to replace all the plastic containers it came with.

Prettier, but damn. They’re seriously heavy.

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Ending our trip with bad beer and a wind up Sasquatch.

November 27, 2022 Rivergirl 15 Comments

On our last night in the White Mountains we skipped down the road to a very popular brewery called One Love.

It was a huge place, and so busy on a Friday night we had to schlepp up the stairs to the second floor bar.

Sadly One Love brewery doesn’t take their beer very seriously and only had three of their own on tap, all of which were quite disappointing

They did however make a stellar blood orange cranberry margarita.

Which I consumed with some amazing lollipop lamb chops so the visit wasn’t a total waste.

Our trip home the next day was uneventful, consumed mostly with me bugging the husband to stop at multiple gift stores so I could purchase a thank you gift for our Lord Dudley Mountcatten cat sitting neighbor.

In case you’re wondering, this did not make the cut.

Upon returning home I happily put my newly purchased brewery crate into service.

Four down, probably two more to go. Since my idea for vinyl storage/display containers is proving more difficult to procure than I originally thought, I have culled my collection down to a more reasonable number and now have a rather large stack of never listened to albums in the closet. It was hard to be ruthless, but necessary. I need to get my crates out to the man cave before the husband bogarts all the available floor space.

😉