Tag Archives: marriage

Let’s play.

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Because games are always fun.

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To be honest, nothing.

If you’re a long time reader you know my husband and I met and married in six days. He was on leave from the Marine Corps and came home to be with his family at Christmas. It was a hard time for him as the Beirut bombing was a few months before and he was deployed to the area at the time. On that horrible day he volunteered to help with the rescue efforts after a 12 hour night shift and no sleep. He took 5 bodies out of that building… some whole, some in pieces.

I’m sure all he wanted at that point was rest and relaxation. What he got was a wife.

We met. We fell in love. We got married six days later. And to be honest we would have done it sooner but we had to wait 2 days for the license.

Everyone thought we were crazy.

Some thought I was pregnant… which was even crazier.

But 39 years later here we are.

Our wedding took place at a Justice of the Peace office during a raging N’Or East blizzard. We were staying with his mother on the Island at the time and had to take a boat to the mainland in the storm. I wore a pink cashmere sweater and dove grey slacks with high heeled boots. There was no dress, no cake, no reception, no gifts. We had 3 witnesses. My mother, his mother and his step father. There was a champagne brunch at a lovely waterfront restaurant… period. We had to leave the next day and drive to North Carolina so he could report back to base.

I was never one of those young girls who dreamt of big fancy weddings. I’ve been to many of them that cost more than our first home, and you know what? Every single one of those couples is divorced. For me, the ceremony isn’t the important part. It’s the love and commitment that mean something.

We may not have an engraved sterling silver turkey baster or a drunken video of Uncle Ted giving a toast….. but we’re still in love and still happily married almost four decades later.

I’d say that’s a fair trade.

How about you…

What would you change about your wedding?

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York Cliff Walk … part five.

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The final section of my cliff walk saga ( but not the entire stroll) contains a monument.

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Which, considering it’s in Maine…. is perfectly fitting.

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I’ve known two lobsterman who lost their lives to the ocean. One was fishing alone and had his leg caught in a skein line. It dragged him overboard and he was drowned at 20 years old. The other went out one morning to haul traps and never came back. The sea claims its own.

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Around the memorial?

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A park we never knew existed, which ironically was the actual entrance to the cliff walk we’d inadvertently found. Never let it be said we don’t do things backwards.

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Oh look.. an informational plaque the husband had to read.

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Not that it wasn’t fascinating history…

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But I prefer to wander and explore. You never know what you’ll find.

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This time it was a heartfelt memorial bench. I love these and have often thought if my husband passes before me I’m going to donate one somewhere.

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This saying would be perfect, as he truly is my rock as well.

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One more clump of wild beach roses.

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A final look back…

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And we returned to the beach where we started.

A fabulous walk through a truly scenic area. If you’re ever in York Maine don’t miss it.

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Fisherman’s Walk … part one.

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Still working my way down the There are so many wonderful places to see in Maine I fear I won’t live long enough bucket list… we headed south to York.

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Fisherman’s Walk is beautiful… but let me tell you it’s not easy to find. Punching the address in GPS brought us to someone’s private driveway. Backing up, we turned around multiple times, then turned around some more…. searching in vain for signage. How bad was it? The husband was so frustrated he stopped and asked a stranger.

Trust me, that’s bad!

The local man pointed us down a hill but said we couldn’t park there. Of course not, that would have been too easy. Turning around again, we found parking, but it was permitted for residents only. By this time my husband had lost all enthusiasm for the experience, but I do not admit defeat easily. Circling around again scored us a free spot… and vindication for me. Though we still had to hike back up a hill and down another hill to find what we’d come to see.

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A scenic coastal walking path.

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Make that a poop free scenic coastal walking path. My very favorite kind.

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Lobster boats were plentiful.

And look…

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Now that we were actually on the path?

A sign for the path.

Never let it be said the state of Maine doesn’t have a sense of humor.

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I didn’t know what to expect, so the chances of being disappointed were slim.

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But it was a gloriously cool sunny day, so off we went.

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Past private piers…

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And hilltop homes.

And then? Nothing.

It ended.

We had driven an hour and a half for a 3 minute walk and I was getting some serious stink eye from my spouse.

Refusing to believe it, I kept walking. Past a high fence. Across a road. By a marina. Across another road. Past some tennis courts. Through a parking lot. Until I found…

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A beach.

To be continued…..

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Viles Arboretum… part three.

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An hour and a half in and we were still exploring.

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Which is where we found this mini pyramid.

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It’s basically the same kind of stone my husband used to build my garden bed last year so I suggested perhaps he could build me one of these this year.

He pretended he didn’t hear me, but my memory is long and I have patience.

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Every now and then there was a bench.

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But we were always moving and didn’t dawdle.

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Dappled shade is good for ferns. Add soil too wet to walk over and it’s damn near perfect.

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I have to say I was looking forward to the rhododendron section of the trail. A forest full of rhodies?

Bring it!

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If you’re wondering why the husband looks slightly puzzled? It’s because we were right in the middle of the supposed rhododendron section but didn’t know it.

After doing a 360, you can see why we were confused.

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One bloom does not a collection make.

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Onward. To the pond…

To be continued.

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Viles Arboretum … part one.

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The weather was perfect. The tourists were nowhere to be seen. And my husband is still retired… for now. So I stuffed him in the car and we crossed something off my endless Things To Do In Maine bucket list.

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Viles Arboretum. A 224 acre non profit botanic garden run by the state which conserves wetlands, forest and fields and offers free access to anyone wanting to enjoy miles of nature trails.

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There were sculptures scattered throughout.

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Most of which were for sale. Though for $15,000, we decided to pass.

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Most of the walking was easy and the boardwalks over the wet areas were quite welcome.

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If you know my husband, you know he has to stop and read every single word of every single plaque about every single tree.

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Scrap metal bird sculpture. Lord Dudley would be terrified.

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It was a lovely way to spend the day and we leisurely strolled through meadows that turned to marsh…

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That turned to ponds.

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That turned to wetlands…

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And back to meadows.

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To be continued….

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A day of antiquing… part 3.

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Our third and final antique store of the day was the one we set out for in the first place.

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Housed in an old refurbished mill in Waterville it was a wonderful place, full of charm and character.

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Check out that door!

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It was a bright and airy space with well organized dealers.

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I’ve been searching for an old wall phone exactly like this ever since we built the man cave/ Barn Mahal. This one was dirt cheap…. but the broken mouthpiece and missing crank handle were the reason why. 🥺

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My bunions hurt just looking at these shoes.

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A little bird whimsy for your viewing pleasure.

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Here’s the husband, checking out some vintage golf clubs.

And then?

I turned the corner. Which was a big mistake.

Huge.

Because it was there I found the horrors.

Brace yourself.

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Christ.

As if creepy old dolls don’t give me the heebie jeebies when they’re complete… I have to run into the eyeless, hollow headed, zombie babies from Hell.

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And if you think this one wasn’t so bad?

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The little demon child had teeth!

Ack!

😱

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A day of antiquing… part 2.

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Store number two on the antique day trip was chock full of horrors.

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I’m going to have nightmares about that maniacally grinning clown.

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Interior design flaw aside, the use of deer body parts in lamps is never a good idea.

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As always I was looking for another alcohol related crate for my vinyl collection. This did not fit the bill.

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Anyone ever see these? It was some kind of giant video disc and player. Larger than a vinyl 33 album and much heavier.

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Gloriously easy my ass.

Our purchases? I’m glad you asked.

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A pricey vintage stereoscope 3D viewer.

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You see the handheld models now and then but this one was on a heavy base so the husband had to have it.

Does he own the cards to go with it? Yes.

Can he find them in his crap filled cellar? No.

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Why did we buy an old beer bottle?

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Because I already have the matching beer crate.

😉

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A day of antiquing … part 1.

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It was a beautiful clear, cool day and I wanted to take a drive along the coast. So of course we went antique shopping instead.

And were greeted by some very pricey little green men at our first stop.

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$950 per seemed a tad high to me. But you have to admit they’d spark more conversation than that coffee table book about the Renaissance.

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This first store was overloaded with crap. And my husband dove right in.

Disagree with my crap description? Think the store was actually filled with treasure?

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There was a stack of cardboard rose boxes for floral delivery. All empty.

Treasure me that.

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Chairs?

There were a few.

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The only thing I liked was this Grateful Dead 40 year anniversary poster but the hubs wouldn’t let me hang it in the man cave so there it stayed.

Did he leave the store empty handed?

Please.

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He bought this old wagon wheel jack (left) and placed it next to his other old wagon wheel jack (right) in the barn.

If only we had a wagon….

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Beemer me up…

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The used car shopping continues. Miles upon miles of traveling only to be disappointed by condition or mechanical problems.

Funny part of this saga? We met up with a friend of ours on the journey who happens to sell cars on the side. When the husband told him what we were doing he gave me a strange look and said, “No offense, but I know money isn’t the issue. Why don’t you just buy new?”

To which I rolled my eyes, pointed, and said “Ask him”.

That launched my husband into his usual diatribe about how new cars are an over inflated rip off that depreciate as soon as you drive them off the lot. Then he got started on the car salesman two step. You know the dance… spend half an hour dickering on price only to be told to have a seat while he talks with his manager. Husband hates the whole process.

Because really, used car salesmen are so much better.

🤣

Our last stop of the day was a dealership almost 2 hours from home.

I immediately spotted the car I wanted him to buy.

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Don’t recognize the logo?

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Yeah.

Just a snazzy little runabout in which to do the weekly grocery shopping. Did it cost more than our first house? Sure. But money’s not an issue remember.

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Someone came in right behind us and put a down payment on this thing. To which I thought… what a giant waste of hard earned dollars… but hey, whatever floats your boat.

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This was the vehicle we came to see and might seriously be a contender.

To be continued…

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And so it begins….

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Yes, after owning his current BMW sedan for barely 2 years my husband has decided he wants a new vehicle.

And by new… I mean my husband’s version of new which is usually 20 years old. He’s rough on vehicles and puts a lot of miles on them quickly so while I buy new, he doesn’t. Which is why he always wants a different one every few years. He plum wears them out.

His current car is a 2006 and since he’s on a BMW kick, the next one has to be as well. Tired of him constantly buying and selling I persuaded him to go a little newer this time. Ya know… preferably in the last decade. It was a struggle but I convinced him to draw the line at 2014. Nothing older.

I also leaned heavily on the idea of an SUV. River’s bad knee has had enough of climbing out of low slung rides.

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We found this blue one..

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And took her for a spin.

But the porridge was too hot.

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We found this brown one and took her for a spin.

But the porridge was too cold.

We drove for 7 hours that day randomly hitting car dealers and private sellers. The result? Those two.

Apparently the BMW X3’s are a rare breed in our part of the world.

The search continues…

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