Pick A Peck

That Peter was on to something. When he was sent to pick a peck of peppers it was not a hard job. Peppers are prolific.

When we left for Maine I told my friends to pick my garden to their hearts content. My favorite was my friend Carolyn’s four year old granddaughter who has been visiting my garden annually. She is an intrepid veggie eater and love peppers.

This was the quote from her granddaughter that Carolyn sent me.

When Russ and I got home our fig tree was stripped clean and not a fig on the ground. That was hundreds of figs I was happy people could enjoy.

My peppers, eggplants, tomatoes and zucchini had been well harvested. I was thrilled that the veggies did not go to waste. I just left my aging plants in the garden, ignoring the need to rip out the spent plants.

Today was the perfect day to go clear the garden as it was cool and dry. Before pulling out the plants I had to harvest what little was left. A few small green tomatoes and a couple of ripe tomatoes, one tiny eggplant and hundreds of peppers. Those pepper plants gave and gave and gave. They would probably keep producing until a frost if I were to leave them, but there is no need as I have more peppers than we will need.

One thing that was unexpected were two pepper plants I bought at the farmers market which turned out to be not at all what they were advertised to be, so I have some white and purple peppers. I won’t be pickling those.

Creature Comforts

Yesterday I wrote that fall was coming today. The cool weather did not quite make it as it was the perfect 72°today. But wildlife must have read my blog and thought it was time to take shelter.

This morning Russ went down to get the laundry from the dryer and came back empty handed.

“I hope you weren’t counting on wearing any of that right now.”

“Why, wasn’t it dry?”

“No, I am having to rerun the whole thing.”

“Why?”

“A mouse committed suicide. Not sure if it was in the washer or the dryer.”

Thank god Russ found it and not me.

Then this afternoon I called Russ to come in the dining room. The cutest bright green salamander was trying to climb the French door, hoping to find a way outside. I asked Russ to get a rag to catch him while I opened the door. That salamander saw Russ coming and high tailed it to the sun room.

Russ is so tender hearted he didn’t want to hurt the poor guy when he caught him that he did not close his hand enough and the salamander kept jumping from his hand. It took a while, but eventually Russ got him on his way to the living room and released him outside. The little guy was paralyzed with fear that this giant was standing next to him. Russ was worried he had crushed him. He was fine, but told him not to come in the house again or I might crush him.

Listen up wild creatures. You live outdoors. I don’t care if you think you might be more comfortable inside. You won’t be, not for long, especially in the washer or dryer.

Soup’s On

I hear fall is actually going to show up tomorrow when the temperatures are going to drop. Since we have been living with perpetual summer I am looking forward to some cooler weather.

In anticipation I made navy bean soup tonight. Russ was all prepared to eat the leftover Thai green curry chicken I made night before last, but when he saw the soup he went with that.

There is nothing more I like than making soup to have on hand for lunch or dinner. I know I eat a healthier dinner if it is just a bowl of soup. I do use a smoked ham hock in my navy bean soup, so the amount of meat we each end up eating is less than two tablespoons.

Now that I can’t eat gluten there will be no crusty bread or grilled cheese to accompany soup. That is where I miss gluten. The gluten free breads I have tried are not worth eating with soup since I still remember what real bread tastes like. I will just have to be satisfied with the soup alone. C’est là vie.

Mah Jongg Openings Next Week

Next week I am teaching a beginner and an advanced beginner classes at a country club in Raleigh. The club lets non members fill empty spots in the classes at the last minute. A couple of people have dropped out of their classes and I have a couple of spaces in each of them.

It is hard for me to contact every person who might want to fill these spots, so I am putting the word out here. The classes are Tuesday -Thursday, beginner 9-noon, advanced 1-4PM.

If you are interested in these spots please contact me and I will let you know if they are still available.

A friend contacted me to see if I had a website about where my classes will be. I purposely don’t because dealing with one off students is a lot of work. I normally am contacted by a person who is interested in learning and I tell them to get her 16 people to create a class or I work with clubs who offer classes to their members.

I am sorry to all the people who sit on my waiting list for the chance at a free seat in a class. They just don’t happen that much and when they do they are at the last minute and not everyone is free at the last minute.

So this is a rare opportunity to get into a class if you want.

No Problem Vaccine

Russ and I scheduled our Covid shots for this morning. I also got a flu shot. Russ had already gotten his at his check-up. We arrived at Harris Teeter early and had to wait a bit because walk ups were ahead of us.

Since I had today and tomorrow morning off I thought it would be a good day for vaccinations in case I had a reaction. I got the flu shot in my left arm and Covid in my right and had no reaction whatsoever. Not only did I feel fine, but I didn’t even have a sore arm and I was able to needlepoint without a problem today. I did take some ibuprofen right after the shots just in case.

Russ called from the office in the middle of the day to check in on me and he also had no reaction. As far as we can tell there is no reason not to get your vaccine.

The more of us who get the shots the better all people are protected, especially those who can’t get the shot due to immune issues. You have no idea how many people are under going cancer treatments, or had a transplant. Please consider getting your vaccinations. They are covered by your insurance and not only will you help prevent getting very sick yourself, but you are protecting others.

If you live near a Harris Teeter you get a $5 coupon for every shot you get. Russ gave me his and I walked away with $15 to spend at the store. Added Bonus.

No Problem Vaccine

Russ and I scheduled our Covid shots for this morning. I also got a flu shot. Russ had already gotten his at his check-up. We arrived at Harris Teeter early and had to wait a bit because walk ups were ahead of us.

Since I had today and tomorrow morning off I thought it would be a good day for vaccinations in case I had a reaction. I got the flu shot in my left arm and Covid in my right and had no reaction whatsoever. Not only did I feel fine, but I didn’t even have a sore arm and I was able to needlepoint without a problem today. I did take some ibuprofen right after the shots just in case.

Russ called from the office in the middle of the day to check in on me and he also had no reaction. As far as we can tell there is no reason not to get your vaccine.

The more of us who get the shots the better all people are protected, especially those who can’t get the shot due to immune issues. You have no idea how many people are under going cancer treatments, or had a transplant. Please consider getting your vaccinations. They are covered by your insurance and not only will you help prevent getting very sick yourself, but you are protecting others.

If you live near a Harris Teeter you get a $5 coupon for every shot you get. Russ gave me his and I walked away with $15 to spend at the store. Added Bonus.

What a Day

Well who would have thought that all the democrats and Matt Gaetz would vote for the same thing? Well Kevin McCarthy who made a deal with the devil (read Gaetz) to become speaker was also taken down by the devil.

Ego is a killer and in politics these days too much is about ego. So McCarthy was voted out and who knows what the plan is to get a new speaker. And without a speaker NOTHING gets done.

I would like to propose that as long as congress does not have a speaker, and as long as congress is not actually pretending to do something the American people actually need them to do, they should not be paid. I think we would get a speaker a lot faster is it was costing them something for everyday without one.

We have 45 days until we are right back where McCarthy had us without a passed budget. He gave the right wing nuts too much power to shut down a common sense budget. 15 outliers should not have that much control.

So what the plan congress? I’m really interested in what Matt Gaetz and all the democrats who voted McCarthy out have in common when it comes to a new speaker.

After all this voting out had happened, tonight there was a new story that said that McCarthy declared he was not going to run for the speakership again. That was rich. You just got ousted, who thought you could run again, and win, and do a better job the second time?

It took 15 votes to get the job in the first place. That was a fairly good sign things were not going to go well, and they didn’t. Who pays besides McCarthy? The American people. Our country’s credit rating was down graded earlier this year and the agency doing it cited the mess of a congress as the reason for poor confidence in the American Government’s ability to pay its bills.

So far the congress has only made it worse since then. I doubt credit rating agencies are going to see this speaker vacancy as anything but a failure. Get it together, do your jobs, stop fighting with each other and learn to make compromises.

59 Mighty Fine

Happy Birthday to the best husband in the world for me. Russ Lange is 59 today. Yes, I robbed the cradle and it was the smartest thing I ever did.

There is no one more patient, hard work or loving. He has been a fantastic father to both Carter and Shay. You know he has to be a good person because Shay loves him more than anyone else on earth.

So join me in wishing Russ a great year ahead. He deserves good things as he has worked hard for everyone else this year. I count my lucky stars to be by his side and that he sticks with me. I love you Russ Lange!

Mopping Vs. Mah Jongg

I had a big week teaching Mah Jongg. Nine classes in three days and a whole town of new Mah Jongg players. Yesterday we took my Mom out to lunch and had her back to our house where she and I played a few hands of Siamese Mah Jongg. She told me her friend Gail accused her of getting lessons from me. These were not lessons, just playing. Her Mah Jongg is improving which is good for an 85 year old.

Today we had church where I was the lector. It was two big Exodus chapters to read. One was the story of the burning bush. I warned my minister Chris I was going to be doing two different voices, Moses as a Jewish man, and you know the other, God. Chris just said be careful. I promised Moses would not sound like he was from New Jersey. Our other preacher Alex was actually preaching and he did not know of my two voice plan. When I finished he commended me on my God voice, with the compliment of, “Move over Morgan Freeman.” I always thought God was a woman.

So after all that Mah Jongg and Churching, I came home and needed to do some work around the house. I vacuumed the first floor and mopped the kitchen. I only spent a little over an hour cleaning, but I was worn out from that. So I decided to lie down on the bed and was out like a light for a good two hours.

Turns out I can teach people for nine hours and still be awake hours later, but one hour of mopping and I need a nap. The physical labor is not that different, but the captive audience really keeps me going. If only I had people to entertain while I was mopping I might have gone on to do the rest of the house and not have needed a nap.

My Mocktails Are Out of Control

While Russ and I were in Maine I bought him some fresh pressed apple cider. He used it as a base for a cocktail with bourbon. I tasted it and suggested adding lime juice and a cherry and a splash of ginger beer. It was a winner. He drank one a night for a few nights.

Getting jealous of his drinks I worked on my own concoctions. I could have had one of his. I don’t drink for any reason except that I lost my underpants in 1984 during a bad night of drinking too much and vowed not to drink again untilI found them.

As those underpants are still MIA I mostly drink iced tea, but I can’t after four in the afternoon or I won’t sleep. So when I tire of just water I make a mocktail.

Today at the farmer’s market I bought a muscadine and watermelon drink from my favorite guy in the green trailer who just sells drinks. I used that as my base, added lime juice, a cube of frozen grated ginger, a good shake of turmeric (might as well be healthy), goslings diet ginger beer, and topped it off with two cherries. Crushed ice makes this drink tops in my book.

It’s not too sweet, but is tangy in a perfect way and the turmeric gives it that cocktail feel. I used two cherries because they were the last ones in the jar and leaving one lonely cherry seemed sad.

I wish I liked to drink alcohol because I would love being a mixologist. Combining different flavors to make something new is so fast with drinks. It just takes longer to do it with food. For now I am going to have to be happy making these things for myself. BTW, Mocktail is not in my iPad dictionary and it keeps underlining it in red as if I am an idiot. Get with it, mocktails are here to stay.

Yes, I Do Care About a Government Shut Down

I am so sick of stupid politicians. Today MGT said that the government shut down by the republicans is not as bad as the shut down of the country by the democrats during the pandemic. She went on to say that Americans don’t care if the government is shut down.

First let’s differentiate a pandemic caused by a pathogen to a self made shut down due to congresspeople. Second the man in charge in America at the time of the whole world shutting down was a Republican, number 45. You can not liken this completely avoidable government shut down to the completely unavoidable pandemic shut down.

Not funding the very important needs of the federal government is inexcusable. It is the Republican controlled congress’ infighting that is the cause of this mess and the rest of us are just hostages to them.

MGT, this American does care about a government shut down. Congress should have to stay locked in the chamber with no food until you pass the funding bill. Your shutting the government down will cause the loss of food benefits to some of the most innocent, children. Not to mention all the other federal workers who work to keep our country safe, like the military, and moving, like the transportation department people, and secure, like homeland security. And the capital protected, like the capital police who protected all you congress people during the insurrection.

So please don’t act like not passing a funding bill in a timely manner is not a Big deal. It is, you all are not doing your jobs. You have had more than enough time to do it and you haven’t. Stay at work until you do. We hold you accountable for this mess.

Preachers Needed

I have so enjoyed my three days in Rocky Mount. There is one class to go tonight and then I will head home. Everyone here could not have been nicer. As I have enjoyed some meals with my students before and after classes I have learned about the city and surrounding areas. My friend Catherine, drove me around to see the city. Her husband David was the Mayor for 12 years so I got all the inside scoop on Rocky Mount.

At every meal one thing came up besides Mah Jongg; many churches here are looking for new clergy. I think I was told eight different churches, but I could have gotten that wrong. At least two Episcopal churches and one Presbyterian are doing searches.

I was given the parish profile brochure from St. Andrews Episcopal church because two people on the search committee were in my class. Apparently there are not enough clergy members for all the churches there are.

If you know of any preachers who are looking to make a move, Rocky Mount might be a place for you.(Holley and Paul Broughton, who do you know?)

Being a good minister is a hard job, but if you have that calling I think there are jobs for you. I can tell you that the parishioners I met were wonderful people who you would enjoy spending your time with.

I’ve Run Out of Steam

It’s been a very long day. We ended our last class tonight at 9:30 and thankfully the club let me leave all the games just where they were since morning class starts up at 9:00am. This all being said I am just about dead. I did not have any break today and I have got to go to sleep and do it all again tomorrow.

Rocky Mount is a most hospitable place. Everyone could not be nicer, consequently I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with people and am talking for 14 hours straight. If you know me, you know that is not hard for me to do, but even I need a moments break. So I am cutting my blog about nothing short, so you have less of nothing to read about tonight. Tomorrow will be even long so set your expectations very low for tomorrow’s blog. I don’t know why I warn you since you should have no expectations whatsoever.

It’s Tuesday, It Must Be Rocky Mount

Three Classes a day for three days can only mean Rocky Mount. In January Mark, the great General manger at Benvenue Country Club booked me for these three days. He did an exceptional job filling the classes and asked to go from two classes a day to three thanks to the enthusiasm. How could I say no?

I drove in this morning and taught all three classes, that last one of Beginners which included four men in the class. Their wives all play and want their husbands to play too. I’m not sure it was their idea to come to class, but they did well and endured all my jokes about “racks,” Mah Jongg racks of course.

Thankfully the dear Catherine Combs is hosting me. She is how I got to Rocky Mount in the first place and she does a wonderful job of taking care of me in and out of class. I am not the best guest as I pulled into her house at 9:45 and promptly have gone up to the guest room where I am writing this blog and am going to pass out. Nine hours of teaching and and hour and a half of driving is enough for one day.

I can not complain because the students are delightful, the club bends over backwards to make sure everything goes well and Catherine looks out for me. All I have to do is stand up and teach.

Falling for Fall

Yesterday was the official start of fall. I love fall. As a kid I actually liked the start of the new school year as it was a chance to start anew. Technically fall is the end of the growing season, but I still think of it as the beginning of the year.

The days getting cool enough to turn off air conditioning and open the windows makes me happy. Perhaps because I grew up without air conditioning so the idea of sleeping with the windows open under a blanket, rather than with the windows open, sweating in my sheets might be another reason I like fall.

Russ is also having a happiness for fall feeling. Last night he made an apple crisp, all by himself because he was craving it. That is a purely fall taste.

I am also on the lookout for Christmas presents, which I think is a fall activity. I don’t like to wait until December to search for the perfect gift. December is for parties and so I like to be prepared with all the presents before the parties begin.

I look forward to sweaters, although you practically have to be in full on winter in North Carolina these days to need a sweater. I am at the ready for a cold fall day with my new Maine sweat shirt.

Don’t tell the other season show much I like fall. I am not playing favorites, but I am not unhappy it’s here.

Stay Vigilant

Russ and I went to church this morning for the first time in six weeks of being away. It was a beautiful day —No humidity, just 70° and a blue sky with puffy white clouds. The service was not too long and we came home in the anticipation of seeing the puppy.

Russ pulled the car into the tan river rock driveway and opened the garage door. I got out of the car and walked toward the opening when I noticed the rocks moving. Not exactly the rocks, but a baby copper head whose coloring matched the rocks.

I let out a blood curdling scream, “COPPERHEAD.” Thankfully I did not step on the three foot snake in my gold sandals, with plenty of uncovered foot access. I backed away and Russ grabbed two buckets sitting just inside the garage door to try and keep the snake from slithering into the garage.

Too late. The menacing creature slithered under the Morris minor. I ran to the other side of the car and screamed my head off, hoping to scare the snake out of the garage. Russ stood there with a rake. Russ said the snake was definitely scared of my screaming as it sat head up four or five inches up off the floor. Eventually it made the bright decision to try and get away from me screaming and slithered out the garage, back onto the gravel.

Russ told me to shut the garage door from the safety of the far side of the garage while he stood guard with the rake. Thank goodness we got the snake out, but now I felt trapped in the house.

Be carefully outside. It is copperhead season. If you see me around, carrying a large garden implement, bashing it on the ground, screaming as I walk, you understand why.

Love It At Home

When I was in me teens and twenties I worked hard to make sure I had Saturday night plans. The thought of staying home alone on a Saturday night was the worst possible thought. My attitude was there are only 52 Saturday’s in a year and I need to make the most of them. Wasn’t all the fun happening on Saturday nights?

My parents were always out every Friday and Saturday night my entire childhood. They had standing babysitters. They might not have known which party they were going to, but they knew there was all ways going to be a party. They were my role models for what grown ups did.

Now a days there is nothing I like better than being home with Russ and Shay on a Saturday night. I don’t want to go to restaurants that are full of people who think they need to make Saturday night special. I don’t really want to go to a party and talk to people who are just not that interesting. A small dinner party is fine, as long as it starts early enough and ends early enough.

Today I had a full day of work, driving three hours to work six hours. I am so happy to come home and read my book, snuggle in bed and go to bed early.

Don’t get me wrong, for the right occasion I enjoy a Saturday night out, but it better be spectacular, otherwise staying home is so much more fun. I wish I had figured this out in my twenties. I could have avoided a lot of wasted time with wasted people.

Great Day Back

Teaching Mah Jongg is in my blood. I had a great class of Beginners at Forsyth Country Club today. The class was organized by Laura Huckabee Martin, whose mother Reba is the queen of Mah Jongg at the beach. It is hard to believe it has taken Lura this long to learn, but learn fast she did.

We had 20 wonderful women in the class. They spent the morning learning the rules and listening to the stories of Mah Jongg. We had a yummy lunch and then settled in for them to play their first game. It was very exciting as there were winners at each table. It was especially exciting for me when Laura won at her table. The apple does not fall far from the tree. Reba will be very proud.

I love teaching multiple generations of the same family Mah Jongg. It makes for fun things to do together on vacations and at holidays. I am going to Boston in October to teach Carter and Claire and their friends. Not that they need the lessons, but it will get their friends started with this obsession. Spreading love of the game everywhere.

Last Day Of My Vacation

I may be home, but I feel like I am still on vacation. I purposely scheduled nothing today as I go back to work in a big way tomorrow. I basically took off just under six weeks, but it feels like a year. I started to worry today that I might have forgotten how to work.

I packed my car with all my materials, double checking not to leave anything at home. I have to get up early to drive to Winston-Salem to teach a new group of students who have been gathered together by my friend Laura. Laura’s Mom, Reba is my ground zero Mah Jongg promoter as she is the one who got me to come to the beach to teach. Thanks to Reba I have made ten thousand new friends.

I look forward to teaching in Winston as it is the place of my birth. It will be good to get back in the saddle. I have a busy fall. Next week I will be in Rocky Mount at Benvenue Country club. The manager there told me there are a few spaces in the afternoon Advanced Beginner class and welcomes non-members. Let me know if you are interested in going that class Tuesday-Thursday.

I am off to bed early tonight. It’s like prepping for the first day of school. I’ve got my outfit laid out and I’m ready to go. No more vacation for me.

Is This The Right Job For You?

There was a blood drive at my Church today that I signed up for. I already had two back to back meetings scheduled at church so I thought I would just give blood before my meetings. I purposely scheduled with a cushion of time just in case.

I arrived and saw some friends who had just given blood. One gave me a little heads up that things were not exactly as planned as they were short staffed. No problem. She got me signed in and showed me how to scan my driver’s license which pulled me up on the system and showed I had filled out the paper work.

I got to talking with another church friend and we waited and waited a good while past our scheduled times. Eventually my name was called. I went and sat down at the little registration booth with the cardboard set up for “privacy.” The woman checking me in asked for my id. I said I had just scanned it. “Well, you didn’t scan it with me.” So I went over to get it out our my purse on another table.

“Have you given blood before?”

“Yes…”

And before I could finish my sentence, “Then you should know that I need to see your Id.”

“Well, you cut me off before I finished my sentence. The last time I gave blood was 25 years ago because I lived in London for five years and the Red Cross wouldn’t take my blood because it thought I might pass on Mad cow disease, until now, when the rules were changed. I’m sorry I don’t remember all the procedures from 25 years ago.”

“Well, I’m sure it’s the same as back then.”

I was tiring of her tone with me so I tried to change the subject and I went for the tact my father always took and changed the subject to be about her. In my most friendly voice I said, “How long have you been doing this?”

“Two years, but I think I am going back to my old job, which was so much better.”

“What was that?”

“I was a CO.”

“In a prison?”

“Yes, in Raliegh.”

“Is that a good prison?”

“Not particularly.”

At that point I gave up because I didn’t think that things for me were going to get better if she thought this job was worse than being a correctional officer in a not great prison. Thankfully she was not the person sticking me.

Can You Teach an Old Dog?

For all my life I have been a night gown wearing girl. As far as I can remember I have never worn Pajamas. When I was a toddler I probably wore zip up footy sleepers as we lived in Dayton, Ohio and it was cold, but from the time I can remember no PJ’s for me. I have a thing about sleeping in pants.

At boarding school I was an exclusive Lanz Night gown wearer. It was incredibly unoriginal. One night the fire alarm went off and my whole, poorly named for a girls school dorm, beaver brook, ended up outside in our nightwear. Every single girl had on the same Lanz nightgown in every kind of color.

The worst Lanz Night gown I ever had was a navy blue one. My algebra teacher, Mrs. Elmore, kept looking at my hands and asking me if I was feeling OK because she swore my hands were blue and turning bluer. Despite feeling fine I was sent to the health center where our nurse, Germ, short for Mrs. Germano, declared me fine. The next day Mrs. Elmore asked the whole class if my hands were bluer and they all said yes, back to the health center. This went on for a week. I was worried I was a real life Violet Beauregard. Germ tested me for many things and none came back positive.

No other part of me was blue, just the backs of my hands. I washed them over and over again, but they remained blue. So Germ had me come and sleep in the health center one night to see if she could figure out what was wrong with me. I brought my navy night gown. I went to bed early as there was nothing else to do in the health center and after just a while Germ woke me up. She had come in and seen me sleeping with my hand clasped together between my knees in a curled up fetal position. She took me in the examining room and soaked a cotten ball with rubbing alcohol and rubbed the back of my blue hand. The cotton ball turned blue and Germ was able to make a little less blue line in my hand where she scrubbed. Turns out the dye in my nightgown was coming off on the hands, but no where else because the inside of the fabric was white, not blue.

That still did not stop me from wearing nightgowns. In Maine I had a new nightgown with annoying sleeves so I ended up not sleeping in it. Then I thought, maybe I should try PJ’s. A company I like was selling their summer Pj’s for half price so I thought I didn’t have much to lose. They arrived today and I love the way they look. We shall see if I will be able to sleep in them since I am apparently a very finicky sleeper according to Russ. He can sleep with noise, light, the worst scratchy sheets and a cement block as a pillow. I have to have it dark, silent, clean smooth sheets and just the right combinations of pillows. If I am a mess tomorrow I am going to blame it on the PJ’s.

Social Life Re-entry

Being away for a month you are going to miss a few things, but catching up on things happened fast today. First I had my stitching groups monthly get together. It was Karen’s birthday which is always a big highlight as it is the first birthday after our summer break.

One of my favorite things is hearing about everyone’s travel and Nancy was the winner with her trip to Switzerland. Sadly no photos were taken and I had to leave stitching with not enough time together.

Next Jan picked me up for a dominos party at Renee’s, to celebrate Laura’s birthday and get a chance to see Holley. That was as much fun as could possibly happen at four in the afternoon. It was about the only day this could happen as Theky drove back from Ohio, Nancy drove back from the Cape, Me from Maine and Renee is leaving for a month overseas and Jan is leaving for a three week Sassy Sister’s road trip with her sister. Maybe I will see all these friends next at Garden club Christmas Auction.

From that fun party Jan and I went out to dinner to finish catching up from my month away and her her month here. It was our only chance before she leaves.

I am happy that I had this chance to see so many friends on one day before Mah Jongg classes start up again starting this Friday. At some point I need to open the mail that arrived today from being held for the month, but friends are mor important than mail.

Homemade Gluten Free Pizza, Really a Misnomer

In solidarity to me, Russ did not have any Pizza the whole month in Maine. Not that I was asking him not to. He was free to order pizza anytime he wanted. I even had a Gluten free Pizza at the Samoset, but he had Chicken Parm.

We got home from Maine and Russ unpacked the car and found the bag of Bob Red Mill gluten free Pizza Crust Mix I had purchased at Ocean State. “Please can you make pizza tonight?” I asked him if he really wanted my gluten free stuff. I was happy to make him a real pizza. He stayed with me and said, “no, let’s try the gluten free.”

So I made it tonight. The package was easy to follow. It had a packet of yeast in it. Unlike real Dough it did not need to be kneaded since gluten is what gives dough elasticity. It also did not need to rest as long as dough since we didn’t need gluten to be produced.

After a 45 minute rise I attempted to make crusts. With no elasticity you don’t stretch the dough. You just kind of spoon it into the shape of a pizza. They you Par bake it because it would never cook through with toppings on it. I did the first bake. Seemed OK.

I topped them, one a white pizza with caramelized onions and fig jam (added after cooking) the other red sauce with mushrooms. I used lots of different cheese on both. Then did the second bake which was 18 minutes, a long time in Pizza speak.

They looked good, but the crust was a little thick. They did not fall apart as a lot of gluten free stuff does. The taste was acceptable, but not really like pizza. I need to make them thinner and still make a real crust for Russ. He was a good sport, but why should we both suffer.

A Little Brown Puppy Goes to Maine and Comes Home Exhausted

I love to go on trips with Mommy and Daddy. They don’t always take me and then I stay with Mary. I have fun at Mary’s because I have no idea what I am missing on vacation.

This month long trip to Maine was lots of fun. I got to hike, see wildlife, eat good food, play with friends and sleep. Apparently I did not get to sleep enough.

The trip home was long, even though I had a cushy set up in the back. I am not a car sleeper. I have to be awake the whole time looking out the window. Last night at Icepa’s I didn’t sleep well and was up in the night.

When we got home this evening I came right to my home base bed and passed out. Even though I am sound asleep now I am able to tell you that I am glad I got to go to Maine, but boy do I like being home where I can sleep all day long. Look for me in a few days after I have recuperated.

The Long Drive Day

Going to and coming home from Maine is quite a commitment. Some years I break the trip up by visiting friends along the way. This year Russ drove both ways with me so instead of taking four days to go and come we do it in two with a stop at Russ’ father’s house. Today’s leg is the long one.

I was up early to watch one final sunrise as our view over the gulf of Maine is perfect to watch the sun coming up. We were mostly packed, but I still had to strip the bed and put all the linens in the bag, clean out the fridge and pack the car.

Russ brought everything from upstairs down for me, but I packed the car while he was on a work call. In my best Tetris skilled way I was able to put at least a third more in the car today than we had going up and I could see better out the back today. One benefit to having bought all the Christmas presents is they went on the back seat under Shay’s two beds, thus lifting her up higher on the seat. This enabled her to lie down and look out the side windows which pleased her greatly. Russ and I have decided that we are going to have to recreate this Princess and the pea seating for her from now on.

As the hurricane is coming to Maine it felt like everyone with an RV was traveling south today to get out of harm’s way. Despite the road being full of fifth wheels and sprinter vans we didn’t have any incident on the first half of the trip. We stopped in Worcester for lunch. We got Poke from a place called All In Poke run by a lovely man. It was a much better lunch than our normal road stop.

The second half of the driving was not as good as the first. There were back ups in Connecticut and New Jersey and one epic road rage incident in NJ. The traffic was more or less stopped and a guy about my age in a white Dodge Ram truck with a bunch of Maga stickers came barreling across three lanes of stop and go, with the emphasis on stop, traffic and would have hit me if I hadn’t veered off the road as he wedged his truck in front of me.

Me being me, I honked my horn at him. He, being an angry entitled D#$&, gave me the finger, and then made many lewd hand and mouth motions in his extra large rear view mirror at me. I did not react, which made him even angrier and then he opened his door and started to get out of his truck on the highway. I also did not react to this which made him really mad, but as he started to get out he saw Russ in the passenger seat and he got back in and drove.

Russ had his hand on his phone ready to dial 911. I was planning on driving around the guy on the grass if he got out of his truck any further as the traffic had moved ahead of him. I’m not sure what he thought he was going to do to me, the honker, but I was fairly certain I could get away from him if he was on foot. Thankfully he did not have a gun, or at least thought better of using it. I’m certain my non-reaction face actually read to him as, “I know you have a little D#$&, since you are acting out those motions” and his angry at the world Maga self was itching for a fight. I was not going to give it to him.

As he drove away from me I pulled into the lane on the lane on the opposite side and took the next exit so Shay could pee and we could not be near that poor pitiful man. I wonder what he would have done if Russ had not been in the car? I know that if I had not honked this probably would not have happened this way, but if I had not veered he would have hit us.

Thankfully we eventually made it to Pennsylvania without any more incidents. Now for a good nights sleep before we are back on the road with other people who think they alone own it. No honking for me.

Packing It In

It is always sad on our last full day in Maine, but we packed a lot in. We got in a good walk to the Owl’s Head lighthouse. Since it was the first sunny day in a the last few we were not alone on our trek to the light house. Owls Head has a fantastic view of the gulf of Maine and you can see about 240°of water from the light house as it is set on the eastern most point of our little community.

We could not see our house from the light house, because we are two coves over, but the shore line all looks similar in that rugged rocky Maine way.

In out best effort to clean out the fridge we ate a mishmash of leftovers for lunch. I was still not satisfied with the job we did so I made a frittata with as much as I could and we will have it for breakfast and take the rest on the road.

Cleaning up the house and starting the packing of the car was the least happy part of the day. Then we went to Warren’s house for a last hurrah. Russ had calls he took from Warren’s front porch overlooking clam cove. Warren and I researched and fixed four old typewriters he has to sell. It was amazing how much typewriter knowledge was still in the back of my head.

After we had our last goodbye with Warren, Russ and I went back to Aster and Rose for our last dinner. They have taken the spot as our favorite restaurant. The servers Mary and Sam are fantastic and the food is perfect. Tonight I was sitting next to an actor I could not place, but his face and voice were so familiar. Eventually his name will come to me.

On our drive down our lane we saw a skunk in our neighbor’s driveway. Thankfully far enough from our house. We have had a lot of wildlife sightings this summer. A red fox in our front yard eating an apple, seven white tailed deer in our back yard, a bald eagle that flew right in from of our bedroom window, another hawk who perches regularly on the top of the pine tree by the water, numerous seals, and sea birds and now a skunk. Thankfully Shay did not play with any of them.

It’s time for us to make the long drive home, just before the hurricane comes here. We hope that everyone is safe. A local lobsterman who Russ follows on instagram said he was not worried about the storm until today when all these birds they do not normally see are coming aboard his boat seeking protection. Be safe Maine. We love you.

Foggy Day

I hate that our last few days in Maine are very foggy. It makes thinking about going grey. Russ actually took a little time off in the middle of the day today and we went to Camden for lunch. The cruise ships have been in port the last two days and there have been people wandering around looking lost. Those cruisers fill up restaurants fast.

Thankfully we got a nice table overlooking the harbor, but the fog got thick fast and we could hardly see the opposite shore. There were two old men cruisers eating next to us. Every time the waitress asked us a question one of the old men would answer it.

Two old Lady cruisers who were eating on the other side of the restaurant sent the waitress over with their half eaten dessert to the old men and they ate it. It was a lot of cruise flirting going on. Russ and I decided we liked renting our little house and not having all those people around creating intrigue.

While in Camden we stoped at Main Dog and got Shay a jaunty pink and green quilted waterproof coat. She won’t need it for a while since we are going home Friday, just missing the hurricane. We leave North Carolina in August to avoid hurricanes. Thankfully we will just miss this one. Nonetheless, I am sad about leaving, fog or no fog.

The Last Waining Days

Coming to Maine for a month is a special kind of privilege. I do not discount how lucky we are to get to do this, even though Russ worked almost everyday, which is never the plan. I, on the other hand, do the opposite of work.

Today I had my annual trek to Belfast and got to be treated to lunch by the wonderful Sheppy Vann. Sheppy’s late husband Dick’s family has a wonderful place in Liberty, Maine where thankfully Sheppy still comes for the summer. It’s not too far from Belfast so we made plans to meet there. Originally we were going to go to Young’s Lobster Pound, but the weather did not cooperate so we met at Bell the Cat.

Sheppy, having been the head of the preschool at Durham Academy for many years, knows everyone in Durham, even though she has lived in Nashville for the last few years to be closer to her grandchildren. We had a lot to talk about given the state of things in the world and the worlds that we have in common. For those of you who know Sheppy, she is doing great. She may be 80, as she reported to me, but you would never know it. Sadly, like me, she is going back to Nashville as her season is over, but we both agreed that she should stay until October next year. Why leave cool Maine to return to hot and humid. Wait until fall reaches the south.

I did a little shopping for Christmas presents while I was up in Belfast and I can’t say another thing about that. But I got home late and had to change for dinner.

Warren was joining us for dinner at the Samoset. It was not a clear night so the view of the water was fogged in, but the food and the company was wonderful. There are only two more real days of Maine left for us before we make the epic trip home with the car overstuffed with Christmas presents. Russ is not sure how this is going to work, but I am certain Shay won’t mind the back seat being a little more snuggly.

A Little Brown Puppy Comes to Maine and is Never Allowed to Meet the Dog Next Door

I love coming to our little cottage in Maine. We live at the end of a private drive shared by five other cottages. As far as I know, from taking walks up and down our lane, we are the only part time people.

We have one really nice neighbor, Evelyn, on the side of us that is not connected to our lane. She likes dogs and is friendly to me. She also fills us in on the goings on about the neighborhood. There is a big white poodle who lives on the other side of us. She looks like she wants to have a play date with me when I walk by because she stands in the front door and wags her tail.

My Mommy and Daddy have called out Hello to her Parents, but they run and hide when they do. If her parent walks outside and sees us in our driveway, she runs around the other side of her garage so she doesn’t have to encounter us. We know not to bother them because they have orange cones in their driveway all the time. I am not sure if they think the orange cones makes us think we also should not speak to them when we are outside. They know we are southern from our license plate and therefore speak kindly to everyone.

Today my Daddy was walking me on the lane and the poodle came out with her Mommy and as soon as she saw me she ran into the woods, far far away from us. I wonder what she thought I, as a little brown dog, might do to her big white dog. I am beginning to think they don’t like brown dogs.

Mommy said that when she came home in the car they were walking on the lane. Mommy’s car is very silent so she got kind of close to them. When the Poodle and her mommy realized my Mommy was behind them they ran into the woods and the Mommy stood with her back to the lane, but the Poodle wanted to see who it was. Mommy rolled down her window and said, “Hello,” knowing that the woman would not respond, but just because that is how my Mommy is with people.

We wonder if they can’t hear, or maybe they are painfully shy, but that is not what the neighbors say. It is sad because even though I don’t pay much attention to other dogs myself, the big white poodle looks like she wants to have a friend. Maybe next year they will be friendlier.

The Bet

Carter offered Russ a bet this morning. I had no idea about this potential wager. It is the day that Carter left us to go home to Boston. We have had a great week together. We played games, hiked, cooked, ate, went to museums, shopped, explored, told stories, discussed business, needlepointed, looked at the ocean, saw birds and foxes, played with Shay, all while Carter and Russ also worked everyday.

It was a perfect week. You just don’t get much time with adult children who live in other cities and have jobs. It is hard on a parent to go from having them home all the time, even when they don’t want to be, to having them home on school vacations, even when they really just want to use the washer, to having them have a new home in a far off city.

Of course that is the goal you have been training them for. To be self sufficient, happy and successful. To lead full lives where they don’t need you anymore, or not as much as they did when you had to tie their shoes and wipe their face after ice cream.

We live all of one mile from the tiny Knox county airport where Carter can take the Cape Air flight back to Boston. It could not be more convenient for her to get home. We dropped her off just as the TSA was opening “the gate” to screen the eight passengers. That’s where we had to say goodbye, but since the weather was iffy in Boston Russ and I went to the picnic table outside to wait to make sure the plane went. It ran late, but did go and we got to say goodbye one last time as Carter and the other seven passengers were escorted the 25 yards from “the gate” to “the plane.” We watched the plane taxi and take off before crossing the grass to the free parking.

We walked into our little cottage and I went in the living room and Russ followed me there. I burst into tears. It caught me by surprise and Russ hugged me. “Carter bet me you would cry. I told her I was not taking that bet.”

A Little Brown Puppy goes to Maine and Finally Finds the Beach

The first half of the day was not happy for me. Mommy, Daddy and Carter tricked me and left me home alone. I thought they were going somewhere in the car and tried to go with them, but Daddy put me back in the house.

I had no idea they were going to The Hoot in Northport for brunch. Mommy’s friend Jamie highly recommended it and she was right, according to Mommy. I thought they would come right home after eating, but they didn’t.

Apparently the whole family, minus me, went to the Sail Power Steam Museum. Daddy said it was a cool place run by one old sailor. They spent way too long there which made me mad.

At last they returned home and took me to the beach right by our house. There are not a lot of sandy beaches in Maine, but one of the best is right by our house. Carter and Daddy brought me so Carter could go swimming and then they tried to fly a kite. Mommy came later and I walked with her on the beach. I am very good at walking on the rocks. My family would know this better if they did not leave me at home alone and took me everywhere, even if the places say no dogs, they don’t mean no Shay.

No New Year For Me

I hear it’s been hot south of us. Not far south, but just a state or two away it’s been their hottest weather of the year. I am grateful we are in Maine, where it may warmer than usual, but no one would call it hot.

When we decided last year to come to Maine for the last half of August and the first half of September I more or less broke the life long tradition that the new year really starts at Labor Day. New school year, new TV year, new garden club year, lots of new things start in September.

By staying on vacation three weeks past the “New Year” I am kind of skipping all that new year stuff. I am missing somethings, like the first garden club meeting, or rally day at church, in favor of prolonging summer, while also not suffering the terrible heat.

I know that staying away from “the new year” does not mean it does not come, with the exception of TV, which may never come back if the writers’ and actors’ strike is not settled. I am looking forward to just slipping into the new year already in progress.

I don’t have anyone starting school. I don’t have to go to parents’ night, or buy school supplies. I don’t have to start a new year in September. I can just extend summer as long as I like, or until it is time to come back to work. It will happen soon enough. Until then I hope things cool down for you all south of us, which is almost all of you. I would like to return home to cooler weather, but I fear that might not be in the plan.

I hope the new year has been easy so far. Don’t tell me what I missed. It doesn’t make one bit of difference. I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do. I’m still on summer vacation.

Personalize Your Mah Jongg Card

There is nothing I love more than my Mah Jongg students and friends creating creative add ones for the game. Kelsey Holding has made the most gorgeous customized Stickers that you put on the front of your Mah Jongg card.

This year for some reason the cards from the National Mah Jongg league have started peeling apart. Not good on a year when the price went up 50% and the quality goes down. Kelsey’s sticker helps solve that problem, at least for the front of the card.

It also keeps anyone else from picking up your card and claiming it as their own. As I always tell my students, write your name on your card, yours looks just like everyone else’s. Well, not now, and they are much more beautiful than a normal card.

Here is a an example of what the front of your card can look like. Kelsey has a gaggle of gorgeous designs to chose from as well as many colors. So pick your favorites and she will make you a customized sticker to put on the front of your card. This would make a fun gift for you Mah Jongg group.

Find Kelsey’s Etsy store, Bolding Design by clicking on this link.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1560384443/mah-jongg-card-sticker?etsrc=sdt&utm_source=Copy&utm_medium=ListingManager&utm_campaign=Share&utm_term=so.lmsm&share_time=1694120119904

She Beat Me

One of the bad things about being a Mah Jongg teacher is I tend to beat new players, especially children. Carter learned to play Mah Jongg when she was very little. She was a fairly good sport about playing with me, even when I beat her, but this did not endear a love of the game for her. It did teach her to be a good sport and to learn from her mistakes, which I think is a much more important lesson than winning.

Fast forward, and now she likes playing. It helps that Claire likes to play and soon Carter’s friends are going to learn. While she is visiting us in Maine we have been playing Siamese Mah Jongg. Each player plays two racks and to win you have to get Mah Jongg on both racks.

There is less luck in this game as you have to be strategic to not play against yourself. At first I won every game and Carter was an excellent sport and wanted to keep playing. Then she beat me. It was a thrilling moment to beat your expert Mah Jongg mom.

There is nothing better than enjoying your own grown child. It has been so much fun to have her come to Maine, even if she and Russ work all day. Shay and I try and stay busy. Today I even went and got the car washed while Carter and Russ were both on different zoom calls. It was a little like the pandemic all over again.

Nonetheless it is just great to spend time together, even if she beats me.

A Little Brown Puppy Goes to Maine and Declares Claws Her Favorite Restaurant

It was a hard day today. Both my Daddy and Carter had to work today. As Daddy’s official supervisor I felt like I needed to split my time between him and Carter since she was unsupervised. Mommy is not qualified to do this work since she is really on vacation.

Daddy took most of his calls out on the deck or at his desk upstairs, that meant I was going in and out of the door as well as up and down the stairs. Thankfully Carter stayed mainly on the ground floor where I could keep my eye on her.

Since it was a big work day I lobbied for dinner out at my favorite lobster shack, Claws. They are very puppy friendly, even selling claws branded dog treats, but you know I don’t eat dog treats. I eat chicken. Thankfully Daddy gets get a kids chicken dinner.

Claws has nice bench seating on one side with fluffy pillows. The benches are perfect for me because then I can eat my dinner next to Daddy. It is nice of Daddy to tear my chicken into Shay size pieces. I think I could suggest this to Claws, in case Daddy is not eating with me.

Everyone else had seafood, which I might have liked, but Mommy didn’t want to test it out tonight in case my tummy didn’t like it. No matter Claws is still my favorite place to eat, mostly because everyone there is so nice to me. After my strenuous day supervising I needed a treat.

Right Under Our Nose

We’ve been coming to this part of Maine for about fifteen years. It’s hard to remember exactly the year we first came to family camp at Medomak, but it’s what’s got us hooked on this part of the world.

It’s laid back here, but it also has a lot of interesting stuff, like a world class art museum the Farnsworth, and some really fabulous restaurants like the Aster and Rose, and ocean views, which never get tiring.

In all the many months we have spent here, and specifically, in our time in Owls Head, we have never been to the Owl’s Head Transportation Museum until I was this many days old. How we have never gone is beyond me because it was just terrific.

The museum is on the other side of the airport from us so we never drive by it. It is a bit about planes, but a lot about cars. Not just any cars, but some of the most beautiful cars. Now I love old cars, (and no, they didn’t have any Morris Minors, but they had a huge collections of MG’s).

One of the most beautiful things about these cars were the name plates. Also the pin striping. The wheels of a fire engine were so decorative I was wondering if it served a purpose, like attracting men to be fire fighters.

One aspect of the museum that Carter and I particularly liked was the free motorcycle racing video game. This machine was right my sister Janet’s alley. I can’t wait for her to come visit us next year, as I anticipate we will hang at the museum for hours monopolizing this game. Thank goodness today Carter and I were the only ones in the room riding the motorcycle game. For the record Carter beat me coming in fourth on her best race. I came in fifth on my best race.

Just another fun day in Maine at the Owl’s Head Transport Museum, right under our nose.

The Little Brown Puppy Comes to Maine and Likes it Best When Carter Joins Her

I miss my Carter when she is in Boston with her big girl life, her Claire and her Norman. Norman is no me so I am happy when Carter comes to see me. Mommy and Daddy are good when Carter comes too.

I seem to sleep better when we all are under one roof. I sleep better at night, I sleep better in the midmorning and I sleep better in the afternoon.

Today I went on a very muddy hike with Carter and Daddy. Somehow Daddy stayed cleaned, Carter got a little dirty and I was covered in mud. This required Mommy to not only wash my paws, but also all the towels it took to get the mud off.

Mommy is most happy when Carter is here because Carter does the grocery shopping, makes Mommy’s lunch and is now making everyone’s dinner. The best part is Carter is making one gluten free dinner for Mommy and a different one for her and Daddy. Go Carter.

It’s good to be a little brown puppy in Maine with all my best people together. I know I will sleep well tonight.

The Most Maine Thing

Carter came to Maine today for the week. She came the easiest way possible by flying on Cape Air from Boston to the Knox County Airport. This tiny airport is two minutes from our little house. Russ loves to track the planes that fly in and out of it.

This morning she was on the first flight of the day, arriving at 9:45 AM. Being a holiday weekend the flight did not leave Boston on time and a 12 seater plane does not have the power to make up the difference in the air. Russ, who was tracking the flight from take off said it was going to land at 10:06.

So as soon as the plane flew over our house we go out to the car to go pick up Carter. The plane had already landed when we pull up, but Carter had to wait for the one bag guy to get the luggage out of the wings.

Russ and I are parked at the front door of the airport. There is a truck parked in front of us waiting on a passenger from the flight and an old Lexus pulls up behind us. The woman in the Lexus gets out of her car and opens the back door and leaves both doors open and the car running and goes into the airport.

Russ is walking Shay and I am standing outside our car. The Lexus is the twin to our old Land Cruiser and Russ gives it the once over as he and Shay walk by. When he gets back to me I say, “She just left the car running.” Russ responds, “We could use her seats and hood as they are in better shape than ours.” I am just laughing that she left the doors open.

Carter comes out of the airport to report on what is taking so long with the luggage. Then says two people on her flight, who were not together, both independently called the one taxi and asked to be picked up to be taken to the ferry that leaves at 10:30. The taxi refuses to come for them. So the lady asks all the assembled passengers, all six of them, if anyone is going by the ferry. One man says he is and he will be happy to drop them.

Carter goes back in the building to see if the luggage guy has gotten the wings open and the Lexus Woman comes out and sees how she has left her car running with the doors open. I say, “I made sure no one stole your car.” Not telling her it might have been my husband. She laughed and said she just realized how she left it.

She got in and then a flurry of activity happened, as it was her husband who had volunteered to get these people to the ferry. They all jumped in the Lexus and he drove like a bat out of hell out of the airport. Good thing the car was already running. They had ten minutes to make the ferry. I hope they did.

A Little Brown Puppy Comes to Maine and Discovers Her Inner Explorer

My Mommy and Daddy were not very kind to me today. They went to town and grabbed lunch at an outdoor stand that would have been perfectly happy for me to join them. Their excuse was they had to go to the grocery store afterward and the store thinks I am just a dog. So I stood at the sidelight window beside the front door and rubbed my nose all over it in protest for being left home alone.

Daddy felt guilty about leaving me home so while Mom made a big pot of soup for dinner Daddy took me on an adventure. We went to a trail that had lots of wood planks for me to walk to get from dry land to dry land. I have already admitted my dislike for wet paws or anything close to swimming.

Even though I am a very thin dog some of the planks I walked on would bounce as I crossed them. It was a little scary at first, especially when I lost my footing and stepping into the water, but eventually I got the hang of it.

A nice artist and her husband, who carried two walking sticks, loved on me a bunch as they were walking too. I am happy when I can make other people happy, so I let them pet me as much as they wanted.

Daddy and I got to the end of the trail and looked at the boats in the water. It was not unlike looking at the boats in the water at our house, so I thought Mommy must be right behind us. She was not, I looked.

When I got home and found Mommy cooking dinner I got very excited and then very tired. Being mad half the day and hiking the second half had worn me out so I snuggled with my blanket. Then I told Mommy I was ready to dictate my Blog. Thank goodness she is a good typist. I have a lot to tell you about Maine, but I will save it for another day.

Unpredictable

Today was a kind of how-much-can-I-pack-in-a-day kinda days. It started with finishing my lobster for breakfast. For the record I ate lobster for four meals in a row, dinner Tuesday, Brunch and dinner Wednesday and breakfast this morning. I think that is a record for me.

After my lobster breakfast Warren arrived for our trip to Boothbay to meet up with our friend Julie. It was the most perfect sunny day. We started with a trip to the fabulous Maine Botanical Gardens. This is my third visit there and I can not believe how much it has grown. We went in the butterfly house and I had one butterfly loving on my dress who stayed on my arm a while.

We meandered amongst all the gardens. Each one more beautiful than the next. The amount of work made me exhausted just looking at them. After viewing the planted gardens we walked the woodland trails and looked at the giant trolls. Such a fun visit.

The cafe was closed for renovations so we went off to Boothbay harbor for lunch at Kelly’s cafe. Thanks to Warren for treating, but gluten free wraps are just as bad as gluten free bread.

Sadly we bid goodbye to Julie and Warren and I made the drive back to Owl’s Head. Russ’ great friend Gary and his partner Julie were back for a quick visit and dinner. We went into Rockland to try an untraditional Maine place, an African restaurant with a chef from Togo. It was a very laid back place. We let the owner/chef/server Jason pick out everything we were going to eat. We have no idea exactly what we had, but over the course of the three hours we were there we ate yummy things.

It was a day filled with the greatest variety. All of it fun and unpredictable.

Is it Really an Antique?

Yesterday I was driving behind this truck in Rockland, Maine. To me it was just a regular ‘ole truck, but to the state of Maine it is an “antique auto” according to its license plate. As neither an auto or an antique I thought they were stretching it a bit.

Turns out the law in Maine is any car over 25 years old is an antique. Seems very hoitty toitty to call this old dodge an antique, with all the cache that the word antique implies.

Of course anything just old can be an antique. An old ratty chair, or a pair of clogs from the 1960’s as long as it is 50 years old. If it’s kinda old, it’s vintage. If it’s new and crap it’s just crap, but hold on to it long enough and it’s vintage crap and if you put it in the attic and forget about it it can become antique crap.

When I went to the auction on Monday I sat next to a man who collected ephemera, that’s paper. He bid on, and lost, a lot of widow’s insurance policies. That means at least two people wanted those papers. I wonder if the window got as much in insurance as the papers got in the auction. You know that saying, “It’s not worth the paper it’s written on…”. Well that is not the case here.

We have no idea what people in the future are going to want. But if you keep it in your attic long enough you are making antiques.

I would hasten to say that dodge truck was not even close to being vintage, let alone antique, it if the state says it is, who am I to argue? But in the future the owner’s manual might be work the more than the truck.

Same Time Next Year

One of the highlights of coming to Maine every year is the chance to see Jamie Kyte Sapoh. Jamie and I went to high school and college together, although she was two years ahead of me. Jamie is without a doubt one of the kindest and most grounded people I know so getting a visit with her is a highlight of my trip. I was lucky to get to have breakfast with her at Dot’s in Lincolnville.

We caught up and she was happy to know that Dinah Bortz was in Vinalhaven, so expect a visit from Jamie sometime. I am already looking forward to next year’s visit, same time, same great friend.

I got home from breakfast and hung at home just a while before Warren called to see if I wanted to go to Liberty Maine with him. So off on another adventure driving to Liberty, home of Liberty Tool and Liberty Graphics. Liberty tool is the place you go to find some old obscure plane or wrench. It you want a jar of random screws you are in luck. The business and the building are for sale and I am not exactly sure who is interested in taking on this unique business. It also has three floors of random, books, records, and household goods it sells. For the record I did not buy any screws.

Liberty graphics has gone so upscale that the seconds T-shirts are no longer $5. The seconds tote bags are $28. Out of my price range.

There is a new little cafe where the old little cafe was. Warren thought that we should support them so we had an afternoon treat. I had a tiny little swirl of pistachio and vanilla ice cream because it was the gluten free choice. The spoon was so cute, like a dolls spoon.

Warren tortured me with the best looking chocolate chip cookie that was full of gluten. The cafe had nice tables outside and the temperature was perfect so it was a good treat to be there, gluten or not.

We meandered back to Rockport and I realized that I had missed the time to go to the seafood company and get dinner for me and Russ. Warren suggested I go to Shaw’s on the way home, which I did. I lucked into two specials, one on top of the other for lobsters, I had them steam them. I got out of the store with almost 3 pounds of lobsters for $11.95. I thought the first special that was half price was good then the fish monger gave me an additional 30% off managers special coupon.

I brought those lobster’s home and picked them and ended up with a huge bowl of meat, enough for two or three meals. For dinner I made my own homemade lobster “roll” with gluten free bread I grilled in the frying pan. It was the best lobster I have had all summer. Russ said I probably liked it better because it was also a deal. I think it was the way I dressed it with a touch of mayo and a lot of lemon and black pepper. The coleslaw made with the Beth’s cabbage was also better than anything else we have had.

It was a very fun Maine day with friends, great scenery, and fun drives, made perfect with lobster.

When In Maine, Go to the Auction

Since Russ is working too much I am doing things I normally would not do. This morning Warren came and picked me up to go to the preview for Bruce Gamage’s auction. I have bought things from Bruce at his shop, but have not gone to his auctions.

There were plenty of things I was interested in. Since Russ was working and Warren was going to work I decided rather than leaving a bid I would come back to the auction this afternoon. So I put my name on a chair as all the dealers were doing. When I got back to the Elks lodge, where the auction was taking place, the parking lot was packed and the chairs were almost full. Thank goodness everyone honored the little name tags on chairs.

Well, almost everyone. There was one woman walking around looking for her name. She swore someone had taken it off her chair. She ended up sitting in the second row one seat away from me so it was not so bad. Ken, sat next to me. He was a widower spending his children’s inheritance he told me. Thankfully we were bidding on different things.

As a charity auctioneer I like to help out and bid things up if I like them. This put me in good standing with Bruce. I did win two lots. One a blue antique cupboard and one corner cupboard that was not antique, but fabulous and goes perfectly with my dining room furniture. I got one at less than half the estimate and the other for a fifth of the estimate. Good thing since I have to ship them. In my opinion the estimates were low.

Other things I wanted went much too high, such as antique Flip glasses. I had never heard of them but they were very large antique glasses that were very thin walled and therefore easy to break, making them rare.

I did not stay for the whole auction because after three hours I was tired of sitting and everything I was interested in had gone. If I had stayed I am certain I would have bid on more things because the prices fell as people left.

Now I have to go to Bruce’s store to look at what else he has while I arrange shipment home. Thankfully there are no more auctions while I am here. My house is full.

A Little Brown Puppy Goes to Maine and Visits an Historic Town

It’s Sunday so my Mommy and Daddy wanted me to go on a walk and look at things with them. These days I determine how long a walk I am going to take, or not. Sometimes my Daddy gets me outside and I only go a quarter of a mile, some days 3 miles. No one ever knows what I am going to do.

Today I was happy to go walk in a new old town called Thomaston. It is not far from our house and we have only driven through it about a hundred times, but never walked. Being Sunday most everything was closed, except the churches. We still walked past every business and looked in all the windows.

The town has a lot of historical markers and my Mommy and Daddy wanted to stop and read all of them. Most of the 200 historical houses are white or were white originally since it is a town “of White Houses.”

The Main Street has many beautiful houses, but the traffic is constant. There was a nice section that has a little park and a statue to the soldiers and sailors that fought in the civil war. The inscription on one side, “one flag, one country” could apply to today.

The other historical street we walked down was Knox Street. It was even prettier and had some non-white houses and many with gorgeous gardens. Mommy would not let me linger near any of those gardens in case I wanted to leave a calling card. Daddy always has bags, but Mommy does not like me to change the Ph of the lawns on nice yards.

I like towns with beautiful houses because they are good places for me to walk, even if they have dogs that bark at me. I don’t pay them any attention.

A Little Brown Puppy Goes to Maine and Looks at Schooners

I may be a labradoodle, but I am not much of a swimmer. When I was a tiny puppy Carter would take me in the pool at her grandparents farm. I would shiver and clutch to her shoulders. I shivered, despite it being ninety degrees out. I was not able to keep my head above water all on my own. I never learned to doggie paddle.

When I was a little older I learned to go on my friends Lane and Jon’s boats. Their puppies seemed to like it. I would get to wear a life jacket, but still never felt very safe and would shiver in my Daddy’s lap.

So it seems quite unusual for me to be interested in schooners. Today my Mommy and Daddy took me down to the docks where the big schooners come in, but all the big boats were out at sea. There were two smaller boats docked and I thought I looked quite cute standing in front of them. That is probably all I would ever do. I don’t want to go for a trip on those boats.

I don’t want to wear a life jacket and if I were to fall overboard you know I would not be able to swim, even with a floatation device on.

So for now I’ll just look cute and nautical. Not actually be nautical. I would not mind coming back to see the bigger ships when they come in because the people who work on those boats are nice to puppies as most people in Maine are. Please don’t tell any of them that I can’t swim and don’t like to go on boats. They can just think I look cute next to boats. That is enough.

Cold and Rainy, Mainly

Apparently we brought good weather to Maine as our first seven days were gorgeous. Then our luck ran out and it was cold and rainy today, as it apparently has been all summer.

Karen and I took this weather as a sign that we should move more slowly today. So we hung at home while Russ worked and eventually got ourselves out the door and on our adventures for the day.

Karen’s husband Nick had requested that Karen bring back the same yummy jam from Beth’s farm market as she had last year. Well, not exactly the same, just the raspberry and the traffic jam. I agree that those are superior flavors. So we set out for Beth’s.

Beth’s is the most excellent farm stand in Maine. You see hand painted signs for it all over, which leads you to believe it is close by. It ain’t. The first time I went to Beth’s I kept thinking it must be just around the corner. I warned Karen that it was going to be a leisurely drive. She is such an easy going fun friend it was fine with her… until my low tire pressure light came on. Karen was worried I had driven over a nail. I was fairly certain it was just that I had driven my little car so far without putting air in the tires.

To be safe we pulled into the first gas station and drove around the whole thing until we found the air. It’s $1.50 for 3 minutes of air these days. I remember when air was free! So we looked at all the tires and took the caps off to be ready to fill them up. It was raining so this was a miserable task. It took 9 minutes worth of air to make sure the tires were OK. Thank goodness I have a husband who believes you should have a tire gauge in the glove box. Karen took a photo of me filling the tires and when she went to look at it could not stop laughing at what a horrible photo it was. I told her the more horrible the more likely I am going to post it.

Once we were back in the safe zone tire wise we toddled off to Beth’s. They never disappoint, but we were lucky to be there early as they only a few jars of raspberry. If Nancy had been with us they would be wiped out. From Beth’s we went the long way through Union to Camden.

The rain was relentless which of course made finding a parking place tough. Eventually we found one and had a nice wet walk to Petter Ott’s for a yummy lunch, of which the star was the lobster and corn chowder. Thank goodness they do not use flour to thicken their soup.

After lunch we went in an expensive store of things no one needs, like a $145 little brush to sweep crumbs out of your cup holder, or a crystal to put an essential oil on when you practice meditation, just $135. Karen and I decided to go visit Warren at 10 Mechanic his antique store.

I found the buy of the century a bread box for $18. The tag had to be a mistake, but that is what they sold it to me for.

The afternoon was spent stitching and talking and chopping up vegetables we bought at Beth’s for the dinner we made. It was a wonderfully Maine day, but we would like to bring back the sunshine, at least on the days I have to check the tire pressure.

A Maine Day 40 Years In The Making

My Walker’s friend Karen and I were in the same class together. That meant that we also would go to class reunions together every five years. But Walkers was a small school and we were friends with people from classes above and below us, but we don’t go to reunions together. Such a shame because we loved those friends just as much.

A couple of years ago I reconnected with my friend Dinah Bortz on Facebook. She was the year ahead of me at Walkers. She might not have remembered that I was in her very small Latin class my first year, along with the five other smartest people in the whole school. I was the worst Latin student in the class, (Arabella and Cathy, you can attest to that. For the record Dinah, Arabella and Cathy went to Princeton, Harvard and Yale and shit I had to take Latin with them, or more likely they probably thought, “Shit, we have to have Dana in Latin with us.) But I digress.

Dinah lives on Vinalhaven, an island just off the coast near where I stay. So we made plans to finally see each other. The perfect opportunity was when Karen was here for a mini Walkers reunion.

Russ dropped us off at the ferry terminal in Rockland, just 10 minutes from our house, for the hour and fifteen minute ride to the island. It was a glorious day for a boat ride where we watched seals and bird and passed the Rockland light house on our way out of the largest protected harbor in the country.

Once we arrived on island Karen and I walked into the tiny village and texted Dinah we had arrived. She came in a jiffy and we hugged like we had back at walkers when we arrived back at school after summer break. Nothing about Dinah had changed. She was still as warm and fun and friendly and tall!

Kar and I had discussed all the things we wanted to know about living on a small Maine Island on the Ferry and we peppered Dinah with our questions. She toured us all over the island and answered every inquiry about what it was like in the winter and how they got their electricity.

Our first big stop was at her husband Jeff’s boat yard where we got to see the lobster picnic boat he was expertly restoring. We saw the school, the pond that acts as back up water supply in case the aquifer runs dry and the two old quarries used as swimming holes.

Dinah picked up lunch from the Sand Bar, the only restaurant open today and we met Jeff back at their house on the water where we ate at the table Jeff had made that looked like the deck of a million dollar sailboat.

It was a glorious day catching up with a wonderful old friend. Dinah promised to come over to the mainland while I am still here and let me take her to lunch and continue catching up on all the stories from 40 years ago. We missed Nancy Mack who should have been here and both agreed Sarah Sneve will comment quickly on this blog.

We decided we wanted Walkers to do multi year reunions. So all you Walkers girls let’s start a campaign to get that to happen. See, once you go to boarding school with people you stay friends with them for years and years, even if you don’t see each other.

Thanks for a fabulous day Dinah. You are still the best.

A Little Brown Puppy in Maine Goes On A Walk

My third visitor in five days has come to stay at my house in Maine. I know that everyone is just coming to spend time with me as their favorite little brown puppy and I appreciate their adoration.

I am so happy that Karen, Mommy’s friend from Walkers, has come for a few days visit. That means I get lots of snuggle time with her. I wondered where their other friend, Nancy was, since they came together last year to see me. Mommy explained that Nancy had work and we all are sad that she isn’t here. I am sad too, as I know Nancy like dogs, and has one who are almost as big as she is.

The great thing about having Karen here is I got to go walk the Rockland lighthouse breakwater with her and Mommy today. I am a professional breakwater walker, having done it yesterday with Daddy and Rich. I am very agile footed on the big rocks as we walk the mile down to the lighthouse. Today we got to sit on the bench on the upper deck of the lighthouse and watch the boats go by.

There was a bowl for water for dogs, but previous dogs had drunk all the water. I met some nice dogs on my walk, but true to form I didn’t pay them much notice as I was on a mission to keep moving.

After we sat a while we headed back down the breakwater so I could get to the car where my water was. Karen filled my water bowl up. I knew I liked having her here.

I am exhausted from my big walk. I am going to have to rest tomorrow after two breakwater walks in a row. That’s OK because Mommy and Karen are going on a ferry to an Island for the day. I’ll be asleep here at home. It’s tough being a little brown puppy in Maine doing all this walking.

Keep Me Out of The Way

Russ had his business partner Rich up with us for the last two days. It has been a lovely time together, so much like the early days in their business when Rich and Russ often answered to the singular name of Ralph. Because they had a lot of work to do today I left home to spend the day with my friend Warren.

Warren is an antique dealer so we made the rounds at various haunts of his looking for things for him to sell. We went first to Damariscotta to a shop I vsisted with him last year. As he was looking at things he likes, I was looking for things I like. We all know I don’t like much. I really don’t even like looking for myself, but hunting for a bargain for Warren is fun.

I was not much help when I discovered a large textbook of Modern Art that had three blue books inside along with the questions for a midterm. The original owner, Laura Walch, took Modern Art in 1983 from Professor Greenberg, but was not a stellar student as her highest grade on her exams was a B. The other two blue books showed C’s.

I took way too much time reading her exam answers which were the most interesting thing in the giant store. I am not sure if either Laura, or a relative donated this book to the thrift store, but they never thought to check inside to see the evidence of her mediocre grasp on Modern Art History. I did notice it was a three hundred level class so perhaps more was expected of her than she anticipated.

Warren did find a good number of things he wanted so the visit was successful. That meant we were rewarded with having lunch on the river in Damariscotta. Being gluten free in Maine at lunch left me with one choice for lunch, a Caesar salad without croutons, but with lobster. I can’t complain about lobster or the view.

From there we meandered north, stopping at Morses Kraut house, the most fabulous gourmet store in the literal middle of nowhere. I bought homemade sauerkraut, pickles and sardines for Russ and some excellent smelly cheeses. Since we were out that way Warren suggested we stop by one of his favorite haunts for antiques. Some might not consider all they offer antiques but Warren did not purchase a thing from the outside offerings. He did get a beautiful bead board cabinet so the trip was worth it.

It was a gorgeous day out and about in Maine. Thanks to Warren for keeping me out of Rich and Russ’ way while they worked.

A Little Brown Puppy is the Best Vacationeer

Of the three of us I am the best at vacationing. Daddy has worked most of the day. Mommy has done errands, but I have fully been on vacation. I have spent my time going between sleeping on my outdoor bed while Daddy is on calls and sleeping on my indoor bed while Mommy is needlepointing.

I grazed a little at lunch, but then I begged Mommy and Daddy to take me on a hike. We went to Ash Point Preserve at the end of our street. I know this hike well and therefore I like to lead the way. It was much less muddy today than it was two days ago so everyone is happy, not that I mind the mud.

Once in a while I would come upon a smell I wanted to explore and Mommy would get ahead of me. That would only last a little while as I ran to catch up, keeping on her heels until I could find a way around her. We hiked to the water, but did not venture out onto the rocks. We could see down the coast to where our house is, but not see our house.

On the return another dog with his family came down the path. His Daddy told my Daddy that he was friendly, but loud. My Daddy told his Daddy that I would ignore him. So I turned my back to him as he barked his way by me. My Daddy is always right. I didn’t even know there was another dog there, nor did I care.

After the hike it was time for another nap. I knew Daddy was in his outdoor office and would not mind me taking his spot on his bed. My blue dog wanted to snuggle with me and nap too. This is what you do on vacation when you are a little brown puppy.

Tonight another visitor is coming to spend two nights at our house so I have someone new to adore me. That is why I like vacation so much. We never have people come and spend the night at home. Mommy and Daddy are obviously keeping people from me in North Carolina. This is why I love Maine.

A Little Brown Puppy Goes to Maine Part 2

As a little brown puppy I am demanding of all the attention from all my humans. I got up early with my Daddy, but later decided I wanted to go back to sleep with my Mommy, not before waking her up to let her know I was there to sleep with her. Eventually we all got up because we had our guest Gary staying with us and I needed to give him equal time to adore me.

All the adults had breakfast at the table before it was time for Gary to go back to Wisconsin. He said he would be back to visit me and bring someone else to adore me. I was happy I was getting some quality time with Daddy today. I took him on a walk around our neighborhood. I knew all the ways to go since I remembered it all from last year.

Mostly we hung out on the porch and watched the water. I saw boats and birds and some planes landing at our little airport, but mostly just water. It was fine with me because Mommy and Daddy were hanging with me. That was until Mommy started cooking dinner.

My friend Warren was coming for dinner. It seems like we are having people come to eat at our house a lot so far. Warren likes me so I like him. I also get chicken when he comes for dinner since he does not like seafood. He can come and eat chicken anytime as long as he shares. He did share his blueberry ice cream with me, so now I really like him even more.

I was exhausted from doing all my Maine things so I herded Daddy up to bed while Warren and Mommy talked about people I don’t know. That was fine, but I had started my day with one visitor and ended with another and that is enough socializing for one little brown puppy who is on vacation in Maine. I don’t have that many visitors at home. I am going to need a vacation from my vacation. Just being a cute little brown puppy is hard work.