16-0
Next, three more wins, a Lombardi Trophy, and celebrations galore.
Pic courtesy of NFL.com.
Pic courtesy of NFL.com.
Labels: best things, sports
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Friday, November 09, 2007
Right now
Calvin is playing DJ, I am downloading songs and e-books from LimeWire, we got back from good food and a few beers, having a few more and some vodka shots in the living room on the couch.
Why can't every night be Friday night?
p.s. - I suck at air guitar.
Momentary Thought: I HATE the neighbor's diesel truck. It sounds like an airplane is taking off in our neighborhood.
High: It's Friday.
Low: Calvin just got called on his on-call phone.
Obsession: Debt reduction.
Grin: I just downloaded Rocky Burnette's "Tired of Towing the Line".
Playing: Roxette: "Listen to Your Heart"
Location: Living room.
Why can't every night be Friday night?
p.s. - I suck at air guitar.
Momentary Thought: I HATE the neighbor's diesel truck. It sounds like an airplane is taking off in our neighborhood.
High: It's Friday.
Low: Calvin just got called on his on-call phone.
Obsession: Debt reduction.
Grin: I just downloaded Rocky Burnette's "Tired of Towing the Line".
Playing: Roxette: "Listen to Your Heart"
Location: Living room.
Labels: best things, Calvin, home
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Who loves you pretty baby?
So. After going to see the Jersey Boys TWICE, downloading the songs to make a "Valli vs. Jersey" CD (the Frankie Valli version, followed by the Jersey Boys version, of each song), purchasing "Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons Greatest Hits", volumes I and II, purchasing the official Jersey Boys soundtrack, AND purchasing a 1991 concert DVD of the original Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, I am left with no doubt whatsoever the reason as to why I have these songs playing in my head morning, noon, and night. While I'm sleeping. While I'm awake. While I'm watching TV. While I'm actively singing another song altogether.
Who loves you pretty baby,
Who's gonna help you through the night?
Who loves you pretty mama,
Who's always there to make it right?
Who loves you pretty baby,
Who's gonna help you through the night?
Who loves you pretty mama,
Who's always there to make it right?
Who loves you,
Who loves you pretty baby?
Who's gonna love you mama?
Who loves you,
Who loves you pretty baby?
When tears are in your eyes,
And you can't find the way.
It's hard to make believe,
You're happy when you're gray.
Baby when you're feelin' like,
You'll never see the mornin' light.
Come to me,
Baby, you'll see.
Who loves you pretty baby,
Who's gonna help you through the night?
Who loves you pretty mama,
Who's always there to make it?
Who loves you,
Who loves you pretty baby?
Who's gonna love you mama?
Who loves you,
Who loves you pretty baby?
And when you think,
The whole wide world has passed you by.
You keep on tryin',
But you really don't know why.
Baby when you need a smile,
To help the shadows drift away.
Come to me,
Baby, you'll see.
Who loves you pretty baby,
Who's gonna help you through the night?
Who loves you pretty mama,
Who's always there to make it?
Who loves you,
Who's gonna love you, love you?
Who's gonna love you?
Who loves you,
Who's gonna love you, love you?
Who's gonna love you?
Baby,
Baby,
Doot-doo-doot.
Come to me,
Baby, you'll see.
Who loves you pretty baby,
Who's gonna help you through the night?
Who loves you pretty mama,
Who's always there to make it?
Who loves you,
Who's gonna love you, love you?
Who's gonna love you?
Who loves you,
Who's gonna love you, love you?
Who's gonna love you
Who loves you pretty baby,
Who's gonna help you through the night?
Who loves you pretty mama,
Who's always there to make it right?
Who loves you pretty baby,
Who's gonna help you through the night?
Who loves you pretty mama,
Who's always there to make it right?
Who loves you,
Who loves you pretty baby?
Who's gonna love you mama?
Who loves you,
Who loves you pretty baby?
When tears are in your eyes,
And you can't find the way.
It's hard to make believe,
You're happy when you're gray.
Baby when you're feelin' like,
You'll never see the mornin' light.
Come to me,
Baby, you'll see.
Who loves you pretty baby,
Who's gonna help you through the night?
Who loves you pretty mama,
Who's always there to make it?
Who loves you,
Who loves you pretty baby?
Who's gonna love you mama?
Who loves you,
Who loves you pretty baby?
And when you think,
The whole wide world has passed you by.
You keep on tryin',
But you really don't know why.
Baby when you need a smile,
To help the shadows drift away.
Come to me,
Baby, you'll see.
Who loves you pretty baby,
Who's gonna help you through the night?
Who loves you pretty mama,
Who's always there to make it?
Who loves you,
Who's gonna love you, love you?
Who's gonna love you?
Who loves you,
Who's gonna love you, love you?
Who's gonna love you?
Baby,
Baby,
Doot-doo-doot.
Come to me,
Baby, you'll see.
Who loves you pretty baby,
Who's gonna help you through the night?
Who loves you pretty mama,
Who's always there to make it?
Who loves you,
Who's gonna love you, love you?
Who's gonna love you?
Who loves you,
Who's gonna love you, love you?
Who's gonna love you
Labels: best things, music
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Portrait of a true friend
Not only did Jen leave work (and her covered parking spot) to drive to my house and pick me up and bring me to work (the truck wouldn't start), but when I actually finally got to my desk this morning, I discovered that she had removed all of the Patrick Dempsey pictures from her Special! Double! Photo! Issue! of Entertainment Weekly and pinned them all over my walls.
I heart Jen. I gave her cookies that I baked yesterday. Cookies for Dempsey, not even a close exchange. Perhaps weekly offerings from now until the end of the year will equal Dempsey Goodness.
I heart Jen. I gave her cookies that I baked yesterday. Cookies for Dempsey, not even a close exchange. Perhaps weekly offerings from now until the end of the year will equal Dempsey Goodness.
Labels: best things, friends
Thursday, October 04, 2007
The benign and the dramatic
Once again waiting related to a fridge. This time, it's the new one that's supposed to be delivered SOMETIME today. I spent an hour throwing away a metric ton of spoiled food and cleaning behind/under the old refrigerator. Whatever the ook was that was back there is cancer-causing, I'm positive.
Right now I am putting together a grocery list of epic proportions. In keeping with my plan to create moments of happiness for myself, I have decided to kick my cooking hobby back into gear and make two new dinner recipes and one new dessert recipe per week. This week, well, I'm going overboard. Beef stroganoff is lined up for tonight, stuffed peppers on Saturday, Jamblaya on Sunday, and Enchilada Chowder next Thursday (standbys of burgers, tuna noodles, spaghetti, and the best meatloaf in the world fill out the rest of the days in the week, if you're curious). Plus I'm planning on making my grandmother's apple cake and her pumpkin bread this weekend.
My diet is taking a firm back seat to my happiness at the moment.
I don't remember if I mentioned it or not, but Calvin and I went to see Jersey Boys last Saturday at Gammage Auditorium. The show was ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. Even Calvin loved it, and he's not a musical kind of guy. If you don't know much about them, check this out (be patient through the Sopranos tribute stuff). This was their performance at the Emmy's this year, and WAY doesn't do justice to the entire production:
This was the performance that prompted Calvin to suggest that we get tickets when they were in town (quoth I, "You do realize that this is a musical? Where people randomly dance about and burst into song?"). Which they are now. We might even go again, it was THAT good. Plus, of course, we went out on Calvin's birthday and bought a couple of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons CD's. "Walk Like a Man", "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", "December 1963", "Grease", "Who Loves You", and "My Eyes Adored You" have been on constant spin around here.
Loved the show. LOVED. IT. Go see it so we can still be friends.
You know? There's a CRAPTASTIC load of drama going on around here, but now that I've gotten to this point in the entry, I am in no mood to write about it right now. So you'll have to wait in barely restrained anticipation until I work up the gumption to put all the crap into some semblance of cohesion.
Right now I am putting together a grocery list of epic proportions. In keeping with my plan to create moments of happiness for myself, I have decided to kick my cooking hobby back into gear and make two new dinner recipes and one new dessert recipe per week. This week, well, I'm going overboard. Beef stroganoff is lined up for tonight, stuffed peppers on Saturday, Jamblaya on Sunday, and Enchilada Chowder next Thursday (standbys of burgers, tuna noodles, spaghetti, and the best meatloaf in the world fill out the rest of the days in the week, if you're curious). Plus I'm planning on making my grandmother's apple cake and her pumpkin bread this weekend.
My diet is taking a firm back seat to my happiness at the moment.
I don't remember if I mentioned it or not, but Calvin and I went to see Jersey Boys last Saturday at Gammage Auditorium. The show was ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. Even Calvin loved it, and he's not a musical kind of guy. If you don't know much about them, check this out (be patient through the Sopranos tribute stuff). This was their performance at the Emmy's this year, and WAY doesn't do justice to the entire production:
This was the performance that prompted Calvin to suggest that we get tickets when they were in town (quoth I, "You do realize that this is a musical? Where people randomly dance about and burst into song?"). Which they are now. We might even go again, it was THAT good. Plus, of course, we went out on Calvin's birthday and bought a couple of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons CD's. "Walk Like a Man", "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", "December 1963", "Grease", "Who Loves You", and "My Eyes Adored You" have been on constant spin around here.
Loved the show. LOVED. IT. Go see it so we can still be friends.
You know? There's a CRAPTASTIC load of drama going on around here, but now that I've gotten to this point in the entry, I am in no mood to write about it right now. So you'll have to wait in barely restrained anticipation until I work up the gumption to put all the crap into some semblance of cohesion.
a much needed laugh
Monday, September 24, 2007
honeydew
- Work (natch).
- Fold last week's laundry.
- Wash this week's laundry.
- Spend approximately three hours cleaning the kitchen.
- Put away the twelve-foot pile of crap that is on top of my dresser, having been removed from top drawer of said dresser in our weekend search for the key to my motorcycle.
- Figure out dinner menus for the next week.
- Author a grocery shopping list of epic proportions.
- Go grocery shopping.
- Go to the pet store and purchase cat food, dog food, litter, litter box liners, new cat food dishes and a new litter box. We have a NEW ARRIVAL coming to live with us on Wednesday, at which point all you curious people will be regaled with the adoption story and pictures. It will bring tears to your eyes.
- Go to the bank.
- Work out - 40 minutes of cardio, and upper body weights.
- Line up the DVR schedule for ALL THE DAMNED TV WE WILL BE WATCHING THIS SEASON. Heroes, Grey's Anatomy, CSI, Criminal Minds, Bionic Woman, Carpoolers, Pushing Daisies, Private Practice, Two and a Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, Dirty Sexy Money, Big Shots, Moonlight, Journeyman, BSG: Razor, and fifteen others that I can't think of right this second. Thank God for Ducky Does TV.
- Tonight, specifically - Heroes, Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, and Journeyman. I think we need another DVR.
- Do all the night-time chores - cook dinner, feed the dogs, feed the lizards, get the coffee ready for tomorrow, get my lunch together for tomorrow, lay Calvin's work clothes out.
- Collapse in an exhausted heap.
Labels: best things, listy goodness, pets, TV
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Bee-yoo-tee-ful
Monday, September 17, 2007
classics
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Some kind of wonderful
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Later
Okay, this is turning out to be the best day EVAR. I enjoyed the thunderstorm this morning from the safety of my covered patio, then Calvin got up and we had some coffee and spent some quality time (ifyaknowwhatimean) (andithinkyoudo). Then we got dressed and went for a ride on the motorcycle in the 80-degree weather (!), and went to The Good Egg for pancakes. THEN when we got back we watched TV for an hour or so before crashing for a two-hour nap.
This day has just been a combination of all of my very favorite things. If the trend continues, this evening Calvin and I will cook together in the kitchen while dancing around to 80's music. Then someone will stop by with that pony I've always wanted.
This day has just been a combination of all of my very favorite things. If the trend continues, this evening Calvin and I will cook together in the kitchen while dancing around to 80's music. Then someone will stop by with that pony I've always wanted.
Labels: best things, home, journal
Sunday, July 22, 2007
It's over.
I started reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows last night at 7:30. I read the last page at 3:30 in the morning.
It's over. Rowling did a good job. She also did a lot of unexpected things. But in the end it was well done.
I'm kind of numb, though.
Any readers out there who have finished the book e-mail me so we can talk about it!
It's over. Rowling did a good job. She also did a lot of unexpected things. But in the end it was well done.
I'm kind of numb, though.
Any readers out there who have finished the book e-mail me so we can talk about it!
Labels: best things, books, crack
Saturday, July 21, 2007
33
Yesterday I slept until 11:00, read in bed until 1:30 (thanks again for the books, Jen!), received clothes shipped from Old Navy, tried on said clothes and discovered that all but one item fit perfectly, took a VERY long bubble bath, went to the grocery store with Calvin, watched Calvin bake not one, but TWO cakes (yellow with chocolate frosting, and devils food with caramel frosting), hung out with Marie and her boyfriend, consumed the steak dinner that Calvin also cooked, and had two pieces of cake.
I also received a card from Dawn, a phone call from my sister, a phone call from Ann Marie, and an e-mail from Heather.
It was a very nice birthday.
(Today I am going to pick up the veggies from the co-op, then sit patiently and await the delivery of Harry Potter from Amazon.)
I also received a card from Dawn, a phone call from my sister, a phone call from Ann Marie, and an e-mail from Heather.
It was a very nice birthday.
(Today I am going to pick up the veggies from the co-op, then sit patiently and await the delivery of Harry Potter from Amazon.)
Labels: best things, Calvin, home, journal
Saturday, July 14, 2007
GEEKED!
So I got up during the previews before Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix started (I picked Marie and her boyfriend up for the 10:15 showing this morning), to go to the bathroom. As I passed by all of the "Coming SOON!" movie posters, one in particular caught my eye. I stopped, backed up, stared with a completely retarded grin growing on my face, and got actual goosebumps.
This is what I saw. They're making a movie of "The Dark is Rising" by Susan Cooper. My absolute hands down FAVORITE series of books of all time, period. And that's a BIG statement, coming from me.
I was so geeked that as soon as the movie was over I called Jen. And shrieked with her. Thank GOD she understands how WICKED this is.
Oh, and Harry Potter was good, too.
Edited to add - here is the official movie website.
This is what I saw. They're making a movie of "The Dark is Rising" by Susan Cooper. My absolute hands down FAVORITE series of books of all time, period. And that's a BIG statement, coming from me.
I was so geeked that as soon as the movie was over I called Jen. And shrieked with her. Thank GOD she understands how WICKED this is.
Oh, and Harry Potter was good, too.
Edited to add - here is the official movie website.
Labels: best things, movies
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Beer of the Month - Month One Review
Efes Pilsener - Anadolu Efes Brewery, Istanbul, Turkey
Slightly bitter, clear, color similar to apple juice. Light beer with faint flavors of lemon and apple. Finishes clean and dry, no lingering aftertaste. Light carbonation. Would pair well with fruit, cheese, or fish.
Rating:
Calvin = 5 of 10 (has a fruity taste that he does not enjoy)
Laura = 7 of 10 (like lighter beers)
A Bitter End Pale Ale - Two Brothers Brewing Co., Chicago, IL, USA
Hoppy, bittersweet, and citrussy. Slightly cloudy, higher carbonation, coloring leaning toward light tannish orange. Slight bitter aftertaste that leaves the palate and back of throat dry. Reminiscent of Belgian ales. Would pair well with sushi or sashimi.
Rating:
Calvin = 6.5 of 10 (likes the finish)
Laura = 8 of 10 (has more flavor and character)
Peg Leg Imperial Stout - Clipper City Brewing Co., Baltimore, MD, USA
Very dark, roasted chocolate flavor, roasted coffee finish. Dark chocolate brown in color, no translucency at all. Not as thick as other stouts. Very mildly carbonated. Would pair well with red meat or roast, or anything caramelized.
Rating:
Calvin = 7.5 of 10 (the darker the better for Calvin)
Laura = 6.5 of 10 (would not drink more than one, too filling)
Adnams Broadside Original Ale - Solebay Brewery, England, UK
Pours with a decent head. Hoppy, richly bitter. Translucent brown with red tint. Light woody finish. Would pair well with strawberries and chocolate, or a smokey poultry dish.
Rating:
Calvin = 6.5 of 10 (more a stout fan than an ale fan)
Laura = 6.5 of 10 (a little too bitter)
Calvin and I actually liked all of the beers. Calvin likes a lighter end stout or dark ale, I like pilseners and light ales. We're not comparing the beers to one another, but to our personal preference for taste, texture, and finish. With that said, it is very rare that we meet a beer that we truly dislike.
Slightly bitter, clear, color similar to apple juice. Light beer with faint flavors of lemon and apple. Finishes clean and dry, no lingering aftertaste. Light carbonation. Would pair well with fruit, cheese, or fish.
Rating:
Calvin = 5 of 10 (has a fruity taste that he does not enjoy)
Laura = 7 of 10 (like lighter beers)
A Bitter End Pale Ale - Two Brothers Brewing Co., Chicago, IL, USA
Hoppy, bittersweet, and citrussy. Slightly cloudy, higher carbonation, coloring leaning toward light tannish orange. Slight bitter aftertaste that leaves the palate and back of throat dry. Reminiscent of Belgian ales. Would pair well with sushi or sashimi.
Rating:
Calvin = 6.5 of 10 (likes the finish)
Laura = 8 of 10 (has more flavor and character)
Peg Leg Imperial Stout - Clipper City Brewing Co., Baltimore, MD, USA
Very dark, roasted chocolate flavor, roasted coffee finish. Dark chocolate brown in color, no translucency at all. Not as thick as other stouts. Very mildly carbonated. Would pair well with red meat or roast, or anything caramelized.
Rating:
Calvin = 7.5 of 10 (the darker the better for Calvin)
Laura = 6.5 of 10 (would not drink more than one, too filling)
Adnams Broadside Original Ale - Solebay Brewery, England, UK
Pours with a decent head. Hoppy, richly bitter. Translucent brown with red tint. Light woody finish. Would pair well with strawberries and chocolate, or a smokey poultry dish.
Rating:
Calvin = 6.5 of 10 (more a stout fan than an ale fan)
Laura = 6.5 of 10 (a little too bitter)
Calvin and I actually liked all of the beers. Calvin likes a lighter end stout or dark ale, I like pilseners and light ales. We're not comparing the beers to one another, but to our personal preference for taste, texture, and finish. With that said, it is very rare that we meet a beer that we truly dislike.
Labels: best things, booze
Thursday, June 28, 2007
To Calvin, on the occasion of our fifth wedding anniversary.
"Lullaby"
Dixie Chicks
Forever is not nearly enough.
Dixie Chicks
They didn't have you where I come from
Never knew the best was yet to come
Life began when I saw your face
And I hear your laugh like a serenade
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up
I slip in bed when you're asleep
To hold you close and feel your breath on me
Tomorrow there'll be so much to do
So tonight I'll drift in a dream with you
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up
As you wander through this troubled world
In search of all things beautiful
You can close your eyes when you're miles away
And hear my voice like a serenade
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up
Forever is not nearly enough.
Labels: best things, Calvin
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
You guys have GOT to see this little girl.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Pimp
Friday, June 01, 2007
Pimp
Feasting in Phoenix is the best blog EVER. I'm starting to plan our weekends around the places he reviews. And now? I'm starving.
Labels: best things, blogs, food
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Vacation: Part the Last
The thing I couldn't recall about Wednesday of our vacation day is taking a stroll with Calvin along the Eastern Promenade in Portland, after doing laundry but before pub crawling.
Thursday (5/10 for those of you following along at home):
Thursday we spent the entire day driving up (and then down, natch) the coast of Maine, following Route One (murder during tourist season, but we were early by a few weeks). First we hit Waldo's ("Hey, I found him!"), a convenience store/gas station/ice cream shop/hair salon/small engine repair (I kid - but there are actually a lot of combo places of bidness like that in Maine) in Falmouth, to stock up on road-trip munchies and beverages ("All Dressed" Humpty Dumpty potato chips are THE BOMB). "Up the road a piece", we stopped at the Muddy Rudder in Yarmouth for brunch (MORE SEAFOOD, PLEASE), getting there a few minutes before they opened but not having to cool our heels long at all.
Our waiter was very, very swishy.
From there we drove north (and then south - peninsulas are weird that way) to Boothbay Harbor. Now this is definitely a town that's only awake during tourist season - nearly every place we checked was closed until the next week. We wandered into a gift shop (hello walnut sized bladder), where Calvin picked out a really pretty little starfish necklace for me. I love it when he does that. We bought a couple of little souvenirs and wandered around looking at the ketch that can only be found in these little hole in the wall places in Maine.
We discovered that McSeagull's was open, and we stopped for a couple of beers and tuna tartar.
We listened to the conversation of a trio of chimney workers just back from their morning stint over on Squirrel Island (man, you can find ANYTHING on Wikipedia). We conversed with them a little as we all enjoyed our beers out on the patio - that was one thing Calvin was exclaiming over during the trip, how friendly the people are and how often they just want to gab.
That's where I get it from.
Upon leaving McSeagull's we wandered around a little more, but not much was open. I got some ice cream (black raspberry! yes!), Calvin got a couple of cigars, and we got back on the road heading south. We detoured at around the Bath area to ooh and ahh at the destroyers in the shipyard at Bath Iron Works, where my uncle used to work. You can see the HUMONGOUS cranes stationed there from miles away; certainly a major fixture in my childhood memories.
We then went down along another one of the "fingers" protruding along the coast, to check out the town of Phippsburg and Fort Popham. I'd directed Calvin and the kids to Popham Beach back in '99 when the four of us were in Maine, but we never made it to the fort.
Our attention was immediately caught by the pod of seals just off-shore. They and the loons were having a merry old time fishing; there must have been a large school of fish in the area to keep them there as long as they were. We took picture after picture (after picture - 19 made it through Photoshop and onto Flickr, but there were many more), getting our feet and pants wet in the process as we failed to notice the incoming ("INCOMING!") tide.
We then wandered around the fort, taking another bazillion-and-three pictures (36 made the cut). I think the best one is this one, with Calvin peering into the pitch-black cell ("I am NOT going in there...") and me lighting it up with the flash behind him.
We drove back to Portland with the top down, adding to our wicked scalp sunburns. When taking a road trip in Maine, I highly recommend picking up one of these. Not only does it show every single nook and cranny of Maine's craggy coast (plus the rest of the state, of course), it has a ton of information on recreation and activities.
Upon our return to our room, we got cleaned up and then went right back out again for another meal at J's Oysters. Calvin got a double order of crab legs - MAN were we moo-ing that night.
Friday:
We slept in a bit on Friday morning, and I once again ordered us a bit of room service so I wouldn't have to stumble down to the Map Room for their complimentary coffee. We left at around noon to head back to New Gloucester to visit with my uncle, and also my old neighbors the Marshalls (Brad's parents). My uncle and his girlfriend hosted us to a "little lunch" - fresh shrimp cocktail, baked asparagus spears wrapped in filo pastry, softball-sized steaks, and baked potatoes.
Moo. Again. Seems I was stuffed to bursting for the entire vacation.
It was so nice to be home, in the house that I grew up in. Absolutely nothing has changed, other than a little paint and updated decorating ala my uncle's girlfriend. The years just peeled away from me as Calvin and I walked up the Marshall's driveway, the way I used to so often, so long ago. We sat in their kitchen and talked for about an hour. They're such good people, and I got to see Brad's sister Christine for the first time in years, too. And a bunny! And their black lab, who is a clone of Brandy.
And they still have the swing in the barn.
It is such a relief to know that nothing changes about home. I can go home whenever I have the opportunity, and other than a few new houses and a few new stores (and a few closed businesses - the Burger King I used to work at when I was first married to X(m) is closed, and good riddance), everything stays the same. Thank God for that.
We stopped back at my uncle's (it's weird to say it's his place now, rather than Grandma's) for a few more minutes, and I went through some of my old belongings to weed out what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to throw away. Calvin was cracking up at my old school papers (a two-foot tall stack of them dating from kindergarten all the way through high school), and I pointed out to him the multiple A's and 100's. I laughed at my old high school yearbook and some attempts at artwork (I was never artistically inclined), and my uncle and I discussed how best to ship my mother's sterling silver flatware.
Though maybe he should hold onto it, in case we end up moving to Maine in the near future.
We intended that night to meet my sister and her husband in the Old Port for one final pub crawl on our last night there, but she never returned my multiple voicemail messages. Nor has she returned the messages I have left since my return to Arizona. I'm kind of pissed off at my sister right now.
I was feeling kind of crappy come Friday night anyway, coming down with the cold that is still lingering as I type this, two weeks later. Calvin and I went to back to Gritty's and back to 51 Wharf, but I was wilting fast, so we called it a night at around 10:30.
Saturday:
More room service, and I packed us up fairly quickly. We took one last stroll through the Old Port to secure a couple more souvenirs - including T-shirts for Calvin, Michael, and Marie's boyfriend that feature a black dog in what I will call the "pooping pose" emblazoned on the back. It's that Maine humor.
We ate lunch at Mim's (decent, but not thrilling - here is one person's take on it), then checked our car out of valet for the last time. Back on I-295/95, we drove south and detoured over to Kennebunkport to check out the sights. We had some time to kill before we had to make our 5:30 flight out of Manchester, so we drove slowly through the back roads checking out the village and the million-dollar houses.
In Wells we stopped at the House of Pizza for some wicked good three-way (a three-item pizza, for you flatlandahs).
Another hour on the road saw us at the Manchester airport. By this time my cold had really set in and I was miserable. To make matters worse, by the time we finally meandered to our gate (after killing a couple of hours in the airport bar and gift shop), we discovered that our plane was delayed due to bad weather in Philadelphia (our connection).
Thus began the terrible saga of our journey home.
Calvin was in fine fettle, as you can imagine, by the time we finally boarded our flight to Philly, nearly two hours late. We arrived at around 9:00, a half-hour late for our connecting flight to Arizona. Mayhem ensued as we tried to find a US Airways rep to get us booked for the next flight out.
The following morning.
10 hours spent overnight in an airport terminal. Because weather delays are not the airline's fault, and no reimbursement would be given for hotel or airfare.
Did I mention I was sick?
Calvin and I got some truly mediocre pizza at the two-minutes-to-closing S'Barro's. Yeee-uck. Then we found our terminal and moved two blocks of chairs together, because they all had arms so we couldn't stretch out without combining two sets and lying down the middle. It was freezing, blazingly bright with the nearby TV at full volume, and I was miserable. I bundled into all the clothes I had - a hoodie AND a sweatshirt which Calvin described as my "baglady look". A couple of airport employees stopped by to give us scratchy airline pillows and paper-thin "blankets", and we huddled in a miserable pile from 11:00 at night until 5:00 in the morning.
GOD what a suck night that was.
Sunday (12 hours after we should have been home already):
The plane from Philly to Arizona left at 7:30, and Calvin and I had the very back, non-reclining row. Of course. We leaned, layed, and scrunched (fortunately, no one else had the third seat), and slept the best we could.
We waited for EVER for our luggage (which fortunately made it on the same flight we were on), then grabbed the first ride out of the airport that we could. We were finally home by about 11:00 in the morning.
I'll tell you what, I am NEVER flying US Air again, and I am NEVER taking a connection through Philly. The airport was in chaos, with terminals that could only be accessed between one another via shuttle bus. ONE shuttle bus, with fifteen other perfectly functional shuttle buses just sitting idle on the tarmac. US Air employees are indifferent at best, rude at worst, and remarkably disinterested in being helpful or kind or polite AT ALL. Fuckers.
So, it was a homecoming suitable to our mood, since we were huffed that vacation was over and we didn't at all miss Arizona one minute, not one little bit.
Thursday (5/10 for those of you following along at home):
Thursday we spent the entire day driving up (and then down, natch) the coast of Maine, following Route One (murder during tourist season, but we were early by a few weeks). First we hit Waldo's ("Hey, I found him!"), a convenience store/gas station/ice cream shop/hair salon/small engine repair (I kid - but there are actually a lot of combo places of bidness like that in Maine) in Falmouth, to stock up on road-trip munchies and beverages ("All Dressed" Humpty Dumpty potato chips are THE BOMB). "Up the road a piece", we stopped at the Muddy Rudder in Yarmouth for brunch (MORE SEAFOOD, PLEASE), getting there a few minutes before they opened but not having to cool our heels long at all.
Our waiter was very, very swishy.
From there we drove north (and then south - peninsulas are weird that way) to Boothbay Harbor. Now this is definitely a town that's only awake during tourist season - nearly every place we checked was closed until the next week. We wandered into a gift shop (hello walnut sized bladder), where Calvin picked out a really pretty little starfish necklace for me. I love it when he does that. We bought a couple of little souvenirs and wandered around looking at the ketch that can only be found in these little hole in the wall places in Maine.
We discovered that McSeagull's was open, and we stopped for a couple of beers and tuna tartar.
We listened to the conversation of a trio of chimney workers just back from their morning stint over on Squirrel Island (man, you can find ANYTHING on Wikipedia). We conversed with them a little as we all enjoyed our beers out on the patio - that was one thing Calvin was exclaiming over during the trip, how friendly the people are and how often they just want to gab.
That's where I get it from.
Upon leaving McSeagull's we wandered around a little more, but not much was open. I got some ice cream (black raspberry! yes!), Calvin got a couple of cigars, and we got back on the road heading south. We detoured at around the Bath area to ooh and ahh at the destroyers in the shipyard at Bath Iron Works, where my uncle used to work. You can see the HUMONGOUS cranes stationed there from miles away; certainly a major fixture in my childhood memories.
We then went down along another one of the "fingers" protruding along the coast, to check out the town of Phippsburg and Fort Popham. I'd directed Calvin and the kids to Popham Beach back in '99 when the four of us were in Maine, but we never made it to the fort.
Our attention was immediately caught by the pod of seals just off-shore. They and the loons were having a merry old time fishing; there must have been a large school of fish in the area to keep them there as long as they were. We took picture after picture (after picture - 19 made it through Photoshop and onto Flickr, but there were many more), getting our feet and pants wet in the process as we failed to notice the incoming ("INCOMING!") tide.
We then wandered around the fort, taking another bazillion-and-three pictures (36 made the cut). I think the best one is this one, with Calvin peering into the pitch-black cell ("I am NOT going in there...") and me lighting it up with the flash behind him.
We drove back to Portland with the top down, adding to our wicked scalp sunburns. When taking a road trip in Maine, I highly recommend picking up one of these. Not only does it show every single nook and cranny of Maine's craggy coast (plus the rest of the state, of course), it has a ton of information on recreation and activities.
Upon our return to our room, we got cleaned up and then went right back out again for another meal at J's Oysters. Calvin got a double order of crab legs - MAN were we moo-ing that night.
Friday:
We slept in a bit on Friday morning, and I once again ordered us a bit of room service so I wouldn't have to stumble down to the Map Room for their complimentary coffee. We left at around noon to head back to New Gloucester to visit with my uncle, and also my old neighbors the Marshalls (Brad's parents). My uncle and his girlfriend hosted us to a "little lunch" - fresh shrimp cocktail, baked asparagus spears wrapped in filo pastry, softball-sized steaks, and baked potatoes.
Moo. Again. Seems I was stuffed to bursting for the entire vacation.
It was so nice to be home, in the house that I grew up in. Absolutely nothing has changed, other than a little paint and updated decorating ala my uncle's girlfriend. The years just peeled away from me as Calvin and I walked up the Marshall's driveway, the way I used to so often, so long ago. We sat in their kitchen and talked for about an hour. They're such good people, and I got to see Brad's sister Christine for the first time in years, too. And a bunny! And their black lab, who is a clone of Brandy.
And they still have the swing in the barn.
It is such a relief to know that nothing changes about home. I can go home whenever I have the opportunity, and other than a few new houses and a few new stores (and a few closed businesses - the Burger King I used to work at when I was first married to X(m) is closed, and good riddance), everything stays the same. Thank God for that.
We stopped back at my uncle's (it's weird to say it's his place now, rather than Grandma's) for a few more minutes, and I went through some of my old belongings to weed out what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to throw away. Calvin was cracking up at my old school papers (a two-foot tall stack of them dating from kindergarten all the way through high school), and I pointed out to him the multiple A's and 100's. I laughed at my old high school yearbook and some attempts at artwork (I was never artistically inclined), and my uncle and I discussed how best to ship my mother's sterling silver flatware.
Though maybe he should hold onto it, in case we end up moving to Maine in the near future.
We intended that night to meet my sister and her husband in the Old Port for one final pub crawl on our last night there, but she never returned my multiple voicemail messages. Nor has she returned the messages I have left since my return to Arizona. I'm kind of pissed off at my sister right now.
I was feeling kind of crappy come Friday night anyway, coming down with the cold that is still lingering as I type this, two weeks later. Calvin and I went to back to Gritty's and back to 51 Wharf, but I was wilting fast, so we called it a night at around 10:30.
Saturday:
More room service, and I packed us up fairly quickly. We took one last stroll through the Old Port to secure a couple more souvenirs - including T-shirts for Calvin, Michael, and Marie's boyfriend that feature a black dog in what I will call the "pooping pose" emblazoned on the back. It's that Maine humor.
We ate lunch at Mim's (decent, but not thrilling - here is one person's take on it), then checked our car out of valet for the last time. Back on I-295/95, we drove south and detoured over to Kennebunkport to check out the sights. We had some time to kill before we had to make our 5:30 flight out of Manchester, so we drove slowly through the back roads checking out the village and the million-dollar houses.
In Wells we stopped at the House of Pizza for some wicked good three-way (a three-item pizza, for you flatlandahs).
Another hour on the road saw us at the Manchester airport. By this time my cold had really set in and I was miserable. To make matters worse, by the time we finally meandered to our gate (after killing a couple of hours in the airport bar and gift shop), we discovered that our plane was delayed due to bad weather in Philadelphia (our connection).
Thus began the terrible saga of our journey home.
Calvin was in fine fettle, as you can imagine, by the time we finally boarded our flight to Philly, nearly two hours late. We arrived at around 9:00, a half-hour late for our connecting flight to Arizona. Mayhem ensued as we tried to find a US Airways rep to get us booked for the next flight out.
The following morning.
10 hours spent overnight in an airport terminal. Because weather delays are not the airline's fault, and no reimbursement would be given for hotel or airfare.
Did I mention I was sick?
Calvin and I got some truly mediocre pizza at the two-minutes-to-closing S'Barro's. Yeee-uck. Then we found our terminal and moved two blocks of chairs together, because they all had arms so we couldn't stretch out without combining two sets and lying down the middle. It was freezing, blazingly bright with the nearby TV at full volume, and I was miserable. I bundled into all the clothes I had - a hoodie AND a sweatshirt which Calvin described as my "baglady look". A couple of airport employees stopped by to give us scratchy airline pillows and paper-thin "blankets", and we huddled in a miserable pile from 11:00 at night until 5:00 in the morning.
GOD what a suck night that was.
Sunday (12 hours after we should have been home already):
The plane from Philly to Arizona left at 7:30, and Calvin and I had the very back, non-reclining row. Of course. We leaned, layed, and scrunched (fortunately, no one else had the third seat), and slept the best we could.
We waited for EVER for our luggage (which fortunately made it on the same flight we were on), then grabbed the first ride out of the airport that we could. We were finally home by about 11:00 in the morning.
I'll tell you what, I am NEVER flying US Air again, and I am NEVER taking a connection through Philly. The airport was in chaos, with terminals that could only be accessed between one another via shuttle bus. ONE shuttle bus, with fifteen other perfectly functional shuttle buses just sitting idle on the tarmac. US Air employees are indifferent at best, rude at worst, and remarkably disinterested in being helpful or kind or polite AT ALL. Fuckers.
So, it was a homecoming suitable to our mood, since we were huffed that vacation was over and we didn't at all miss Arizona one minute, not one little bit.
Labels: best things, Calvin, food, journal, Maine, photography, vacation
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Vacation: Part the Third
Wednesday:
Let's see. Just a week since we've been home and things are already starting to get fuzzy in my memory. Wednesday morning I ordered us some fruit, pastry, and coffee from room service and spent the morning reading, photoshopping, and relaxing while Calvin did the same with the paper and the TV. Around noon we took the car to get some gas, then drove to Dimillo's (a short walk from our hotel but we didn't want to put the car in valet again) to have lunch with my uncle, his girlfriend, my cousin and her husband. We were there for over two hours, enjoying fillet (Calvin) and baked stuffed haddock (me), drinks, and conversation.
My uncle presented me with my mother's class ring, which had been lost at one point and then rediscovered and kept for me. I got caught up with my cousin, whom I hadn't seen since my Grandmother passed away. I don't know why, but it continues to startle me how well I get along with my uncle, when I was so fearful of him (out of respect and the threat of his righteous anger to get me to behave) when I was little. My sister doesn't get along with him at all - she has a different history with him than I do. But more on all of that in a different entry.
Anyway, we all parted company at a little after 3:00, and secured an invitation for lunch at my uncle's (my Grandmother's, where I grew up) on Friday.
Calvin was out of clean jeans, so we looked up the nearest laundromat and spent an hour or so futzing around with the more mundane aspects of living out of a suitcase. We may or may not have taken a nap after getting back to the hotel, I don't really recall.
What I DO recall is the BEST evening spent with my favorite person (that'd be Calvin), doing a pub crawl all over the Old Port. We went back to Bull Feeney's for a quick beer, then wandered down toward the wharf so I could show Calvin the spot that I took pictures from Sunday evening, while he was napping.
After rave recommendations from my uncle, we had dinner at J's Oyster Bar (the link is to another blogger who reviewed the place and took the pictures of the outside that I did not). The place is, like, three square feet and when I say it's an Old Port "institution", I mean that in the truest and most respectful sense. We went there more than once in our short stay. They had the best crab legs Calvin and I have ever experienced. Plus I got my much-craved steamed clams (and my yearly recommended allowance of sand). It's dim and crowded and shabby and fantastic. Real food with real people running the place, and the most unpretentious sort of clientele.
God, we loved that place.
Breathing deeply of the crisp night air, we set out with no particular destination in mind, and no plans other than to crawl our way through some pubs. We hit Gritty's and sampled some of their great house brew. I just have to say that I love the bars in the Old Port - all housed in old, old buildings with exposed brickwork and wooden beams, funny crannies and architecture that screams "converted".
Next stop was a bar on Wharf Street called "Cake" (can't find a link to it). It's newly opened and the bar tender (and part owner?) was eager to please. We sat on the whiskey bar side - the dance club side was empty in early evening awaiting clientele. We grabbed a couple of beers and ordered steak tartar and some crackers with cheese and caviar (very fancy schmancy are we on vacation!).
From Cake we crossed Wharf Street and went to 51 Wharf, a contemporary bar that was offering salsa classes that night, of all things. We declined the lessons and had a couple of Jamesons at the bar (after he tried to serve us SOCO. Yeesh.). The bartender was fantastically inattentive but we're low maintenance customers so after we got our drinks straightened around it wasn't much of a problem.
By the time we stumbled out of 51 Wharf it was quite late, and I honestly don't remember us getting back to the hotel room. Which means we had a GOOD night.
Let's see. Just a week since we've been home and things are already starting to get fuzzy in my memory. Wednesday morning I ordered us some fruit, pastry, and coffee from room service and spent the morning reading, photoshopping, and relaxing while Calvin did the same with the paper and the TV. Around noon we took the car to get some gas, then drove to Dimillo's (a short walk from our hotel but we didn't want to put the car in valet again) to have lunch with my uncle, his girlfriend, my cousin and her husband. We were there for over two hours, enjoying fillet (Calvin) and baked stuffed haddock (me), drinks, and conversation.
My uncle presented me with my mother's class ring, which had been lost at one point and then rediscovered and kept for me. I got caught up with my cousin, whom I hadn't seen since my Grandmother passed away. I don't know why, but it continues to startle me how well I get along with my uncle, when I was so fearful of him (out of respect and the threat of his righteous anger to get me to behave) when I was little. My sister doesn't get along with him at all - she has a different history with him than I do. But more on all of that in a different entry.
Anyway, we all parted company at a little after 3:00, and secured an invitation for lunch at my uncle's (my Grandmother's, where I grew up) on Friday.
Calvin was out of clean jeans, so we looked up the nearest laundromat and spent an hour or so futzing around with the more mundane aspects of living out of a suitcase. We may or may not have taken a nap after getting back to the hotel, I don't really recall.
What I DO recall is the BEST evening spent with my favorite person (that'd be Calvin), doing a pub crawl all over the Old Port. We went back to Bull Feeney's for a quick beer, then wandered down toward the wharf so I could show Calvin the spot that I took pictures from Sunday evening, while he was napping.
After rave recommendations from my uncle, we had dinner at J's Oyster Bar (the link is to another blogger who reviewed the place and took the pictures of the outside that I did not). The place is, like, three square feet and when I say it's an Old Port "institution", I mean that in the truest and most respectful sense. We went there more than once in our short stay. They had the best crab legs Calvin and I have ever experienced. Plus I got my much-craved steamed clams (and my yearly recommended allowance of sand). It's dim and crowded and shabby and fantastic. Real food with real people running the place, and the most unpretentious sort of clientele.
God, we loved that place.
Breathing deeply of the crisp night air, we set out with no particular destination in mind, and no plans other than to crawl our way through some pubs. We hit Gritty's and sampled some of their great house brew. I just have to say that I love the bars in the Old Port - all housed in old, old buildings with exposed brickwork and wooden beams, funny crannies and architecture that screams "converted".
Next stop was a bar on Wharf Street called "Cake" (can't find a link to it). It's newly opened and the bar tender (and part owner?) was eager to please. We sat on the whiskey bar side - the dance club side was empty in early evening awaiting clientele. We grabbed a couple of beers and ordered steak tartar and some crackers with cheese and caviar (very fancy schmancy are we on vacation!).
From Cake we crossed Wharf Street and went to 51 Wharf, a contemporary bar that was offering salsa classes that night, of all things. We declined the lessons and had a couple of Jamesons at the bar (after he tried to serve us SOCO. Yeesh.). The bartender was fantastically inattentive but we're low maintenance customers so after we got our drinks straightened around it wasn't much of a problem.
By the time we stumbled out of 51 Wharf it was quite late, and I honestly don't remember us getting back to the hotel room. Which means we had a GOOD night.
Labels: best things, booze, Calvin, food, journal, Maine, photography, vacation
Friday, May 18, 2007
Vacation: Part the Second
Monday:
We couldn't have asked for better weather for just about the entire week we were in Maine - a fact that the "natives" were more than happy to inform us on a number of occasions. After having the Patriot's Day Storm just a couple of weeks before our arrival, the nice weather we experienced was considered to be "freak".
Calvin and I went to Eggspectations for breakfast on Monday morning. This was the place that I took Marie and her friend a few times when we were in Maine during my Sabbatical in '03. I believe they were more enamored of the waiters than the food. Suffice to say, the food was acceptable but no more. A strange occurrence when you consider the RHAPSODIES we generally had over our meals during vacation. Ih, what can you expect from a chain restaurant. The ONLY chain establishment we ate at the entire vacation, by the way.
After breakfast we drove through Portland's West End, which is occupied by many stately manors and old Victorian and Colonial architecture. We had to stop at the State Street Church for about a thousand pictures (okay, ten that I posted, but a bunch more that didn't make the cut).
Driving on we took the Casco Bay Bridge over to Cape Elizabeth for the traditional and required visit to the Portland Head Light and Fort Williams (here is an interesting article on the Forts of Maine). We lingered for several hours at the light, exploring the tidal pools among the rocks below. I just sat and breathed for a long, long time. It felt so good to be there, and when it came time to leave I kept stopping and looking around to try to infuse my spirit and mind with the peace I felt there. The whole trip was filled with moments like this, as I tried to take away as much of Maine as I could, not knowing the next time I would be able to be there again.
We spend a couple of hours after leaving the light, exploring around Cape Elizabeth and gawking at the OH MY GOD houses there. Multi-million dollar properties perched along the rocky cliffs, owned by old money and old people who probably have rat bastard children who don't deserve to inherit the properties.
Hmm. Moving on.
Our next stop was The Lobster Shack, situated on the edge of Two Lights Park in Cape Elizabeth. Some adjectives: "cozy", "quaint", "teeny", "delicious"... and very, very typical of a Mom and Pop establishment in Maine. Complete with attack seagulls that whisk away your popcorn shrimp if you so much as glance in another direction, if you happen to be sitting outside on the picnic tables. Which we did not, but were vastly amused by a shrieking woman who did. Damn flatlandah didn't know bettah.
Leaving Cape Elizabeth, we headed back to Portland for a drive around Bayside and Back Bay/Back Cove, then north a bit to Falmouth Foreside for some more gawking at some more houses that we would never in our lifetime be able to afford. I guess any homes right on the ocean are going to be like that, no matter where they are.
We had a lot of fun with our little Audi A4 (and Calvin was devastated to learn how far outside of our financial reach its big brother the R8 is). We both got some pretty wicked sunburns on the top of our heads from buzzing around with the top down. Who remembers to put sunblock on their HEAD, for godsakes? But the weather was glorious, the roads beautiful with the trees just starting to bud their leaves, the ocean everywhere you looked, and the smell of the crisp salt air tinged with green, growing things. The best smell on the planet.
We went back to the hotel in the early evening for a shower, dinner, and then bed at a reasonable hour for us old folks.
Tuesday:
Tuesday was another early starter for us - who wants to sleep when they're on vacation? Except for the times when that is the point exactly. Anyway, we again grabbed breakfast at 20 Milk Street before driving south a little ways to Old Orchard Beach. We were early enough (in the day and in the season, come to find out), that very few shops and restaurants were open. We were okay with that, though, as we were mainly there to walk along the sandy beach. I love the fact that Maine has rocky coastlines to explore and sandy beaches to walk along. I took my shoes off to stroll barefoot in the FUCKING COLD sand dampened by the FUCKING COLD ocean. And there were actually people SWIMMING. Or, well, running in, shrieking, running out, then running back in again. Whatever, weirdos. Our stay was fairly brief (I had to GO, SO BAD, and no restrooms were around and/or open), and Calvin and I were suddenly struck with weariness, so we decided to go back to the hotel for a nap.
A couple of hours later we were awakened by the hotel front desk. Apparently there was a leak (we didn't do it, SWEAR) in the room below us, and in order to get to it they had to go in from above the leak, and would we mind terribly moving to a different room for the rest of our stay? Well, since it meant a free upgrade to a suite (we were in a standard king room), we said "Hell, yeah," and packed in record time. We left for a hour or so for lunch at Sebago Brewing Company, and when we returned they had moved all of our belongings to our new room. We ooh'ed at the flat panel TV and the skylight in the bathroom and the general increased roomyness, then unpacked and made ourselves at home again.
Departing the hotel once again (and the valet guys made a killing off us that week, I swear), we set off to see if I could remember the location of "that really old cemetery off of Stevens Avenue". I must say that Calvin gave me some rather strange looks when I told him where we were going. I believe his exact words were, "You're going to take pictures? Of graves??? That's just creepy, Laura. Why the hell would anybody think to go to a cemetery for FUN??? Oh, wait, this is YOU we're talking about..."
Huff.
I've always liked the Evergreen Cemetery - it's enormous and just seems to keep on going and going. And it's way old, with graves from the late 1600's and early 1700's, all the way up through present day. I find it very interesting to read the inscriptions and look for family associations - mother to child, sisters, brothers, husbands lauded with fancy inscriptions while their wives get just a name and "wife of...". Lots of babies dying in their first year, lots of mothers dying in childbirth, many people in general dying at an age we would consider to be young today. Evergreen also contains a lot of monuments to historic people - Samuel Wilde, Henry Goddard Thomas, and the Wadsworth Longfellow's are some of the more commonly known.
The inscription portion of the photo contest still has yet to be won, by the way.
We left the cemetery after taking fifty million pictures (34 of which made the cut) and drove north to my old stomping grounds of Gray/New Gloucester. We had some time to kill and stopped at Cole Farms to satisfy another one of my, "When I'm in Maine I have to eat HERE," cravings. My mother worked at Cole's up until she passed away, and I spent a lot of time there when I was little. Plus it was a popular employer of the local high school students, and one of the few restaurants close enough to where I lived to warrant a mid-week visit if the craving struck. Calvin got himself a burger, and I ordered fried clams with french fries and a side of their house dressing. Dipping fries in this dressing (when I was little I called it "doodle sauce") is something I used to get cravings for when I lived there. Calvin ordered dessert just because he knew I wanted a slice of their chocolate cream pie (to. die. for.) but was going to deny myself because I was, once again and perpetually during this trip, full.
We moo'ed our way back to the car and drove "out Poland way" to visit my sister and her husband and four kids. Their driveway was inaccessible without a four-wheel-drive vehicle (which we DEFINITELY weren't driving), so we agreed to meet them all at her neighbor's, who kindly opened up the use of his garage (heh, a Maine thing) for us to congregate, drink, and be merry. It's a distinctly Maine trait to fix up one's garage/barn/shop before "finishing" the actual home.
Propane tank behind the garage - left side's ladies room, right side's mens.
Calvin and I took turns taking all of my sister's kids out for rides in the convertible, and I got to have a little bonding time with my niece, who is 14 and taller than I am. My sister is fond of accusing her of being, "just like your AUNT LAURA." As if that could possibly be a bad thing. She is a lot like me, though - same sense of humor, same sarcastic mouth, same inability to NOT make little zinging comments about everything in general. I love the hell out of her.
We hung out for a few hours just gabbing, reintroducing my sister and her husband to tequila, greeting my sister's friends who have known me since I was born (she used to drag me to her parties if she was stuck babysitting me), and gawking at the stars (which are SUPREMELY visible in Maine and nonexistent in Arizona). It being a Tuesday, though, we didn't want to keep everyone up when they all had to work the next day, so we excused ourselves at around 10:30 and made plans with my sister to go partying in the Old Port on Friday night.
Okay! Next part will be up sometime this weekend. And I have a TON more I could have written about this trip so far.
We couldn't have asked for better weather for just about the entire week we were in Maine - a fact that the "natives" were more than happy to inform us on a number of occasions. After having the Patriot's Day Storm just a couple of weeks before our arrival, the nice weather we experienced was considered to be "freak".
Calvin and I went to Eggspectations for breakfast on Monday morning. This was the place that I took Marie and her friend a few times when we were in Maine during my Sabbatical in '03. I believe they were more enamored of the waiters than the food. Suffice to say, the food was acceptable but no more. A strange occurrence when you consider the RHAPSODIES we generally had over our meals during vacation. Ih, what can you expect from a chain restaurant. The ONLY chain establishment we ate at the entire vacation, by the way.
After breakfast we drove through Portland's West End, which is occupied by many stately manors and old Victorian and Colonial architecture. We had to stop at the State Street Church for about a thousand pictures (okay, ten that I posted, but a bunch more that didn't make the cut).
Driving on we took the Casco Bay Bridge over to Cape Elizabeth for the traditional and required visit to the Portland Head Light and Fort Williams (here is an interesting article on the Forts of Maine). We lingered for several hours at the light, exploring the tidal pools among the rocks below. I just sat and breathed for a long, long time. It felt so good to be there, and when it came time to leave I kept stopping and looking around to try to infuse my spirit and mind with the peace I felt there. The whole trip was filled with moments like this, as I tried to take away as much of Maine as I could, not knowing the next time I would be able to be there again.
We spend a couple of hours after leaving the light, exploring around Cape Elizabeth and gawking at the OH MY GOD houses there. Multi-million dollar properties perched along the rocky cliffs, owned by old money and old people who probably have rat bastard children who don't deserve to inherit the properties.
Hmm. Moving on.
Our next stop was The Lobster Shack, situated on the edge of Two Lights Park in Cape Elizabeth. Some adjectives: "cozy", "quaint", "teeny", "delicious"... and very, very typical of a Mom and Pop establishment in Maine. Complete with attack seagulls that whisk away your popcorn shrimp if you so much as glance in another direction, if you happen to be sitting outside on the picnic tables. Which we did not, but were vastly amused by a shrieking woman who did. Damn flatlandah didn't know bettah.
Leaving Cape Elizabeth, we headed back to Portland for a drive around Bayside and Back Bay/Back Cove, then north a bit to Falmouth Foreside for some more gawking at some more houses that we would never in our lifetime be able to afford. I guess any homes right on the ocean are going to be like that, no matter where they are.
We had a lot of fun with our little Audi A4 (and Calvin was devastated to learn how far outside of our financial reach its big brother the R8 is). We both got some pretty wicked sunburns on the top of our heads from buzzing around with the top down. Who remembers to put sunblock on their HEAD, for godsakes? But the weather was glorious, the roads beautiful with the trees just starting to bud their leaves, the ocean everywhere you looked, and the smell of the crisp salt air tinged with green, growing things. The best smell on the planet.
We went back to the hotel in the early evening for a shower, dinner, and then bed at a reasonable hour for us old folks.
Tuesday:
Tuesday was another early starter for us - who wants to sleep when they're on vacation? Except for the times when that is the point exactly. Anyway, we again grabbed breakfast at 20 Milk Street before driving south a little ways to Old Orchard Beach. We were early enough (in the day and in the season, come to find out), that very few shops and restaurants were open. We were okay with that, though, as we were mainly there to walk along the sandy beach. I love the fact that Maine has rocky coastlines to explore and sandy beaches to walk along. I took my shoes off to stroll barefoot in the FUCKING COLD sand dampened by the FUCKING COLD ocean. And there were actually people SWIMMING. Or, well, running in, shrieking, running out, then running back in again. Whatever, weirdos. Our stay was fairly brief (I had to GO, SO BAD, and no restrooms were around and/or open), and Calvin and I were suddenly struck with weariness, so we decided to go back to the hotel for a nap.
A couple of hours later we were awakened by the hotel front desk. Apparently there was a leak (we didn't do it, SWEAR) in the room below us, and in order to get to it they had to go in from above the leak, and would we mind terribly moving to a different room for the rest of our stay? Well, since it meant a free upgrade to a suite (we were in a standard king room), we said "Hell, yeah," and packed in record time. We left for a hour or so for lunch at Sebago Brewing Company, and when we returned they had moved all of our belongings to our new room. We ooh'ed at the flat panel TV and the skylight in the bathroom and the general increased roomyness, then unpacked and made ourselves at home again.
Departing the hotel once again (and the valet guys made a killing off us that week, I swear), we set off to see if I could remember the location of "that really old cemetery off of Stevens Avenue". I must say that Calvin gave me some rather strange looks when I told him where we were going. I believe his exact words were, "You're going to take pictures? Of graves??? That's just creepy, Laura. Why the hell would anybody think to go to a cemetery for FUN??? Oh, wait, this is YOU we're talking about..."
Huff.
I've always liked the Evergreen Cemetery - it's enormous and just seems to keep on going and going. And it's way old, with graves from the late 1600's and early 1700's, all the way up through present day. I find it very interesting to read the inscriptions and look for family associations - mother to child, sisters, brothers, husbands lauded with fancy inscriptions while their wives get just a name and "wife of...". Lots of babies dying in their first year, lots of mothers dying in childbirth, many people in general dying at an age we would consider to be young today. Evergreen also contains a lot of monuments to historic people - Samuel Wilde, Henry Goddard Thomas, and the Wadsworth Longfellow's are some of the more commonly known.
The inscription portion of the photo contest still has yet to be won, by the way.
We left the cemetery after taking fifty million pictures (34 of which made the cut) and drove north to my old stomping grounds of Gray/New Gloucester. We had some time to kill and stopped at Cole Farms to satisfy another one of my, "When I'm in Maine I have to eat HERE," cravings. My mother worked at Cole's up until she passed away, and I spent a lot of time there when I was little. Plus it was a popular employer of the local high school students, and one of the few restaurants close enough to where I lived to warrant a mid-week visit if the craving struck. Calvin got himself a burger, and I ordered fried clams with french fries and a side of their house dressing. Dipping fries in this dressing (when I was little I called it "doodle sauce") is something I used to get cravings for when I lived there. Calvin ordered dessert just because he knew I wanted a slice of their chocolate cream pie (to. die. for.) but was going to deny myself because I was, once again and perpetually during this trip, full.
We moo'ed our way back to the car and drove "out Poland way" to visit my sister and her husband and four kids. Their driveway was inaccessible without a four-wheel-drive vehicle (which we DEFINITELY weren't driving), so we agreed to meet them all at her neighbor's, who kindly opened up the use of his garage (heh, a Maine thing) for us to congregate, drink, and be merry. It's a distinctly Maine trait to fix up one's garage/barn/shop before "finishing" the actual home.
Propane tank behind the garage - left side's ladies room, right side's mens.
Calvin and I took turns taking all of my sister's kids out for rides in the convertible, and I got to have a little bonding time with my niece, who is 14 and taller than I am. My sister is fond of accusing her of being, "just like your AUNT LAURA." As if that could possibly be a bad thing. She is a lot like me, though - same sense of humor, same sarcastic mouth, same inability to NOT make little zinging comments about everything in general. I love the hell out of her.
We hung out for a few hours just gabbing, reintroducing my sister and her husband to tequila, greeting my sister's friends who have known me since I was born (she used to drag me to her parties if she was stuck babysitting me), and gawking at the stars (which are SUPREMELY visible in Maine and nonexistent in Arizona). It being a Tuesday, though, we didn't want to keep everyone up when they all had to work the next day, so we excused ourselves at around 10:30 and made plans with my sister to go partying in the Old Port on Friday night.
Okay! Next part will be up sometime this weekend. And I have a TON more I could have written about this trip so far.
Labels: best things, Calvin, food, journal, Maine, photography, vacation
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Our Vacation - an exercise in my summarizing skills
I didn't provide too much detail during the week Calvin and I were in Maine, because, well, I wanted to be OUT DOING instead of IN WRITING. So you got your little drabs and your BIG amounts of pictures, which I hope helped to tide you over. That is, if you needed tiding. Perhaps you were completely and entirely disinterested. Who knows what goes on it that brain of yours, anyway?
Moving on.
The problem with going home is that at least two days out of every vacation are fully occupied with travelling. We left Arizona at 7:30 in the morning Arizona time on Saturday, and got to our hotel in Maine at 7:30 in the evening Maine time. That's flights, layovers, and the drive from Manchester NH to Portland ME. Coast to coast travel is a bitch, people.
Saturday, The Remainder:
The hotel (The Portland Regency, and I doubt we'll ever stay anywhere else, the place was AWESOME) was a MUCH WELCOME sight when we finally rolled in, even though we only paused long enough to shower up and change clothes, then we were out prowling the Old Port.
We stopped in the Armory Lounge, the hotel's bar, for some alcohol soaking food (Chicken Gorgonzola for Calvin, lobster salad on a croissant for me), and then went down the street and around the corner to Bull Feeney's, an Irish Pub that was packed and happenin' (and did YOU know that lobsters love Guinness? I didn't.).
I already mentioned the oddity that is Cinco de Mayo in Maine, with the Irish drinking songs and the VERY WHITE GUYS sporting very black fake moustaches and sombreros. There was "Fred", who loved everybody, and told everybody that fact repeatedly. There were these two guys that were wasted and standing, weaving, calling catcalls and encouragements to the live entertainment, and trying with little success to sing along. Calvin and I enjoyed ourselves hugely, drank tequila (which is per our standard, but the folks in the bar thought that was Very Authentic of us), got hugged by Fred about twelve times (who, it turned out, was just back from Iraq), and finally stumbled our way back to our hotel a little after 1:00 a.m.
Sunday:
Tequila = ow.
I already described how I woke up ridiculously early and how Calvin was forced to get out of bed against his will. How he could sleep through the constant calls of the seagulls was beyond me - they woke us up pretty much every morning. If I lived there I'd probably get sick of it, but at week's end it was still novel to me. The hotel is one street up from the harbor, and with all of the fishing boats coming and going, there was a lot of seagull conversating going on.
"Mine? Mine? Mine?"
We ate breakfast at Twenty Milk Street, the restaurant in the hotel. They had a very fancy-schmancy Sunday Brunch going on, but we ordered more standard fare. Calvin had corned beef hash made with actual corned beef (not those weird little Dinty Moore cubes) and poached eggs Benedict, and I had eggs over medium with bacon and toast. Good LORD people, can I just rhapsody a moment over the bacon? I don't know what they do to the pigs in Maine, but whatever it is makes the bacon taste like meaty strips of heaven.
You do know that this entry is going to be primarily about food, don't you? Maine is very VERY big on producing and selling locally grown produce, dairy, meats, and of course seafood. Very little (if any) of the food we ate was from "away". Except for the tequila (and some guy randomly told us in Bull Feeney's that there's a tequila manufacturer in Maine. I'm not sure I believe him. A cactus would never survive the Maine winters, even indoors.).
Anyway. We took the car out (valet parking at ten bucks a day plus a fiver tip every time you take it out) and drove "out New Gloucester way", taking the drive I used to commute every day to and from work (and whoever thought I ever would have wanted to do that for fun??). From there we drove the back roads to Freeport, stopped briefly at LL Bean for the required souvenier gifts for the gang back home, then wandered back toward the Old Port. Lunchtime rolled around and, utilizing the directions we got from the bartender at The Armory the night before, we went to the Amato's on India Street for my Mecca Moment. I tell you what, we had to wait for over a half an hour for those darned sandwiches - the folks behind the counter couldn't get their acts together and misplaced our VERY SIMPLE ORDER (one large regular, one small roast beef, guess which one was mine), like, three times. But we finally made it back to the hotel room with the Italians and the Humpty Dumpty salt-n-vinegar chips (an institution, and what an awesome website MaineGoodies.com is!!!), and the Sam Adams.
I think I ate that entire foot-long sandwich in three bites. Oh, the pickles! Ohhh, the bread. Ohhhhhh, the fact that I'm three thousand miles and God knows how many months away from having another one...
Ahem.
After lunch we went looking for a sports bar with a TV that would sport the Suns game ("The who? What game are you looking for?" ("Basket. Ball.") "Uhhh... the Red Sox are playing...") We walked into one place and turned around and went back out almost immediately, having assessed their TV-less-ness. A (rather drunk) guy standing just outside the door looked at us funny and said, "What'd you do that for?" Calvin bristled, still operating on Arizona Standard Defense mode, and said, "What do you mean?" So the guy slurred, "Why would you wanna walk into a bar, then walk right out again? Oh, you have a camera. You're trying to (hic) capture something..." I just laughed and pulled Calvin away, reminding him that in Maine, any questionable circumstance would most likely turn out to be well meaning but weird, instead of violent and confrontational.
We finally settled in the Old Port Tavern. There was absolutely nobody there (it being Sunday afternoon), and the more beer I drank, the sleepier I got.
Calvin got a little annoyed that I would want to take a nap (don't worry, the irony kicks in later). After about an hour of fighting it, I finally gave in and we went back to the hotel. I crashed in the room for ONE HOUR AND TWENTY MINUTES, that's it. He hung out in The Armory to watch the game (and have two more beers, and a PORT, of all things). He came back up to the room at about 5:20, at which point I woke up and got up to get myself ready for another evening of prowling around the Old Port. As I was in the process of dressing and grooming my hot self, he FELL ASLEEP. Fully clothed. Watching the game.
So. I figured, okay. I'll let him rest. I needed a nap too, after all. I grabbed the camera and went down toward the wharf to take a bunch of pictures.
I was gone for probably an hour or so, taking my time and enjoying the evening and the weather and the light. I wandered back up to the room at about 6:30. Tried to wake Calvin up. Got a grunt and a snore. So I sat at the computer and photoshopped the pictures. Tried to wake Calvin up once every half an hour or so. Finally gave up at 8:30 and let Calvin sleep. For the rest of the night.
Ahem.
I went down to The Armory with my book (The Dreamhunter by Sherrilyn Kenyon, and I have to say I didn't particularly like the book), grabbed a burger and gabbed with the bar guys while they ROARED over The Family Guy. I don't get that show At. All. There was a random 10-minute sequence where the dad on the show battled it out 007-style with a man-sized chicken. For no apparent reason. And then just stopped. Again, for no apparent reason. Something was lost in translation for me, that's for sure.
When I was done eating I went to the Map Room (which I never actually took a picture of, but it's a lovely sitting room with leather and mahogany furniture and model ships and maps everywhere) and read for about an hour. Then I went back up to the room, didn't take too much particular care to not disturb Calvin (not that it would have made a difference because I would have needed a marching band AND an earthquake), and went to sleep.
Aaaaand obviously I can't "summarize" to save my life, so I'm going to post this stuff in chunks. More tomorrow! I'm sure your riveted.
Moving on.
The problem with going home is that at least two days out of every vacation are fully occupied with travelling. We left Arizona at 7:30 in the morning Arizona time on Saturday, and got to our hotel in Maine at 7:30 in the evening Maine time. That's flights, layovers, and the drive from Manchester NH to Portland ME. Coast to coast travel is a bitch, people.
Saturday, The Remainder:
The hotel (The Portland Regency, and I doubt we'll ever stay anywhere else, the place was AWESOME) was a MUCH WELCOME sight when we finally rolled in, even though we only paused long enough to shower up and change clothes, then we were out prowling the Old Port.
We stopped in the Armory Lounge, the hotel's bar, for some alcohol soaking food (Chicken Gorgonzola for Calvin, lobster salad on a croissant for me), and then went down the street and around the corner to Bull Feeney's, an Irish Pub that was packed and happenin' (and did YOU know that lobsters love Guinness? I didn't.).
I already mentioned the oddity that is Cinco de Mayo in Maine, with the Irish drinking songs and the VERY WHITE GUYS sporting very black fake moustaches and sombreros. There was "Fred", who loved everybody, and told everybody that fact repeatedly. There were these two guys that were wasted and standing, weaving, calling catcalls and encouragements to the live entertainment, and trying with little success to sing along. Calvin and I enjoyed ourselves hugely, drank tequila (which is per our standard, but the folks in the bar thought that was Very Authentic of us), got hugged by Fred about twelve times (who, it turned out, was just back from Iraq), and finally stumbled our way back to our hotel a little after 1:00 a.m.
Sunday:
Tequila = ow.
I already described how I woke up ridiculously early and how Calvin was forced to get out of bed against his will. How he could sleep through the constant calls of the seagulls was beyond me - they woke us up pretty much every morning. If I lived there I'd probably get sick of it, but at week's end it was still novel to me. The hotel is one street up from the harbor, and with all of the fishing boats coming and going, there was a lot of seagull conversating going on.
"Mine? Mine? Mine?"
We ate breakfast at Twenty Milk Street, the restaurant in the hotel. They had a very fancy-schmancy Sunday Brunch going on, but we ordered more standard fare. Calvin had corned beef hash made with actual corned beef (not those weird little Dinty Moore cubes) and poached eggs Benedict, and I had eggs over medium with bacon and toast. Good LORD people, can I just rhapsody a moment over the bacon? I don't know what they do to the pigs in Maine, but whatever it is makes the bacon taste like meaty strips of heaven.
You do know that this entry is going to be primarily about food, don't you? Maine is very VERY big on producing and selling locally grown produce, dairy, meats, and of course seafood. Very little (if any) of the food we ate was from "away". Except for the tequila (and some guy randomly told us in Bull Feeney's that there's a tequila manufacturer in Maine. I'm not sure I believe him. A cactus would never survive the Maine winters, even indoors.).
Anyway. We took the car out (valet parking at ten bucks a day plus a fiver tip every time you take it out) and drove "out New Gloucester way", taking the drive I used to commute every day to and from work (and whoever thought I ever would have wanted to do that for fun??). From there we drove the back roads to Freeport, stopped briefly at LL Bean for the required souvenier gifts for the gang back home, then wandered back toward the Old Port. Lunchtime rolled around and, utilizing the directions we got from the bartender at The Armory the night before, we went to the Amato's on India Street for my Mecca Moment. I tell you what, we had to wait for over a half an hour for those darned sandwiches - the folks behind the counter couldn't get their acts together and misplaced our VERY SIMPLE ORDER (one large regular, one small roast beef, guess which one was mine), like, three times. But we finally made it back to the hotel room with the Italians and the Humpty Dumpty salt-n-vinegar chips (an institution, and what an awesome website MaineGoodies.com is!!!), and the Sam Adams.
I think I ate that entire foot-long sandwich in three bites. Oh, the pickles! Ohhh, the bread. Ohhhhhh, the fact that I'm three thousand miles and God knows how many months away from having another one...
Ahem.
After lunch we went looking for a sports bar with a TV that would sport the Suns game ("The who? What game are you looking for?" ("Basket. Ball.") "Uhhh... the Red Sox are playing...") We walked into one place and turned around and went back out almost immediately, having assessed their TV-less-ness. A (rather drunk) guy standing just outside the door looked at us funny and said, "What'd you do that for?" Calvin bristled, still operating on Arizona Standard Defense mode, and said, "What do you mean?" So the guy slurred, "Why would you wanna walk into a bar, then walk right out again? Oh, you have a camera. You're trying to (hic) capture something..." I just laughed and pulled Calvin away, reminding him that in Maine, any questionable circumstance would most likely turn out to be well meaning but weird, instead of violent and confrontational.
We finally settled in the Old Port Tavern. There was absolutely nobody there (it being Sunday afternoon), and the more beer I drank, the sleepier I got.
Calvin got a little annoyed that I would want to take a nap (don't worry, the irony kicks in later). After about an hour of fighting it, I finally gave in and we went back to the hotel. I crashed in the room for ONE HOUR AND TWENTY MINUTES, that's it. He hung out in The Armory to watch the game (and have two more beers, and a PORT, of all things). He came back up to the room at about 5:20, at which point I woke up and got up to get myself ready for another evening of prowling around the Old Port. As I was in the process of dressing and grooming my hot self, he FELL ASLEEP. Fully clothed. Watching the game.
So. I figured, okay. I'll let him rest. I needed a nap too, after all. I grabbed the camera and went down toward the wharf to take a bunch of pictures.
I was gone for probably an hour or so, taking my time and enjoying the evening and the weather and the light. I wandered back up to the room at about 6:30. Tried to wake Calvin up. Got a grunt and a snore. So I sat at the computer and photoshopped the pictures. Tried to wake Calvin up once every half an hour or so. Finally gave up at 8:30 and let Calvin sleep. For the rest of the night.
Ahem.
I went down to The Armory with my book (The Dreamhunter by Sherrilyn Kenyon, and I have to say I didn't particularly like the book), grabbed a burger and gabbed with the bar guys while they ROARED over The Family Guy. I don't get that show At. All. There was a random 10-minute sequence where the dad on the show battled it out 007-style with a man-sized chicken. For no apparent reason. And then just stopped. Again, for no apparent reason. Something was lost in translation for me, that's for sure.
When I was done eating I went to the Map Room (which I never actually took a picture of, but it's a lovely sitting room with leather and mahogany furniture and model ships and maps everywhere) and read for about an hour. Then I went back up to the room, didn't take too much particular care to not disturb Calvin (not that it would have made a difference because I would have needed a marching band AND an earthquake), and went to sleep.
Aaaaand obviously I can't "summarize" to save my life, so I'm going to post this stuff in chunks. More tomorrow! I'm sure your riveted.
Labels: best things, booze, Calvin, food, journal, Maine, photography, vacation
Thursday, May 10, 2007
It's Thursday already???
More pics start here, or start at the beginning of the vacation set here.
Tuesday - an early drive to Old Orchard beach for a stroll along the ocean; a nap; poking around Evergreen Cemetary and taking pics of tombs and graves to freak Calvin out; fried clams, french fries with house dressing and chocolate cream pie at Cole Farms; then hanging out with my sister and her family.
Wednesday - a hangover; lunch at D'Millos with my Uncle, his girlfriend, my cousin, and her husband; laundry; a pub crawl of the Old Port that included Gritty's, Cake, J's Oyster Bar (with the best crab legs EVER), and 51 Wharf.
Today - a drive up the coast via Route 1; lunch at The Muddy Rudder, beers and tuna tartar at McSeagull's in Boothbay Harbor, a drive over to Fort Popham, and now we're back at our room about to head out to J's Oyster Bar again. Pics of today (with seals!) are forthcoming.
Tuesday - an early drive to Old Orchard beach for a stroll along the ocean; a nap; poking around Evergreen Cemetary and taking pics of tombs and graves to freak Calvin out; fried clams, french fries with house dressing and chocolate cream pie at Cole Farms; then hanging out with my sister and her family.
Wednesday - a hangover; lunch at D'Millos with my Uncle, his girlfriend, my cousin, and her husband; laundry; a pub crawl of the Old Port that included Gritty's, Cake, J's Oyster Bar (with the best crab legs EVER), and 51 Wharf.
Today - a drive up the coast via Route 1; lunch at The Muddy Rudder, beers and tuna tartar at McSeagull's in Boothbay Harbor, a drive over to Fort Popham, and now we're back at our room about to head out to J's Oyster Bar again. Pics of today (with seals!) are forthcoming.
Labels: best things, Maine, photography, vacation
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Down the way
Yesterday the weather was just lovely - high 60's/low 70's, sunny, breezy. We got up early-ish (early for US! 8:30 or so...) and went for breakfast at "Eggspectations" (hi, Marie!). After breakfast we decided to just drive around and enjoy the weather. We drove along the West End and enjoyed looking at all the OLD colonial architecture, and stopped to take about a hundred pictures of the State Street Church.
Then we crossed the Casco Bay Bridge into Cape Elizabeth for the required visit to Fort Williams and the Portland Head Light.
We drove all around Cape Elizabeth and came across Two Lights State Park and the local much-lauded institution, the Lobster Shack. We crammed into the tiny place and enjoyed our lobster roll (me) and shrimp plate (Calvin), then wandered around taking a few more pictures and enjoying the antics of the seagulls terrorizing a woman eating her food outdoors. After THAT we decided to head back North toward Portland, and drove around Bayside and Back Bay before heading to Falmouth Foreside, home of the OLD money and FABULOUS houses that we could never afford. Then it was back to the hotel for a shower and dinner before crashing again in our room.
More pictures start here, click the right arrow to see the rest of yesterday's pictures. Or start from the beginning of the set here.
Then we crossed the Casco Bay Bridge into Cape Elizabeth for the required visit to Fort Williams and the Portland Head Light.
We drove all around Cape Elizabeth and came across Two Lights State Park and the local much-lauded institution, the Lobster Shack. We crammed into the tiny place and enjoyed our lobster roll (me) and shrimp plate (Calvin), then wandered around taking a few more pictures and enjoying the antics of the seagulls terrorizing a woman eating her food outdoors. After THAT we decided to head back North toward Portland, and drove around Bayside and Back Bay before heading to Falmouth Foreside, home of the OLD money and FABULOUS houses that we could never afford. Then it was back to the hotel for a shower and dinner before crashing again in our room.
More pictures start here, click the right arrow to see the rest of yesterday's pictures. Or start from the beginning of the set here.
Labels: best things, Maine, photography, vacation
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Mecca Achieved
Friday, April 27, 2007
You will be bored by cat pics and vacation pics and self portraits and...
In prep for our anticipated travels of this year, Calvin and I finally bought a digital SLR camera. This one, to be specific. Not one of the snazzy Nikon D-whatevers that I am jealous of Dooce over. We really only need a mid-price mid-capability camera, since we're not exactly pro's, nor are we photo-prolific.
Though this thing is so whizzy-bang, that might change.
Another reason we chose the Canon is because we have a couple of 35mm film Canons, with a couple of different lenses. Which are compatible with our new camera. Thus saving us hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars on new lenses. We don't have a macro lens, though, which will be the next indulgence.
There will be experimenting, and there will be successes and failures, and you will be the (un)willing recipients of it all! First is to teach myself how to do this.
I'm looking for good recommendations on digital photography books and websites, because y'all know how much momma lubs her research. So comment or drop me a line, thanks!
Though this thing is so whizzy-bang, that might change.
Another reason we chose the Canon is because we have a couple of 35mm film Canons, with a couple of different lenses. Which are compatible with our new camera. Thus saving us hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars on new lenses. We don't have a macro lens, though, which will be the next indulgence.
There will be experimenting, and there will be successes and failures, and you will be the (un)willing recipients of it all! First is to teach myself how to do this.
I'm looking for good recommendations on digital photography books and websites, because y'all know how much momma lubs her research. So comment or drop me a line, thanks!
Labels: best things, goals, photography
Friday, April 13, 2007
Seriously.
Okay, so I watched Grey's Anatomy last night, the recap show of the past few seasons that rolls it all up heading into the last handful of episodes in the season. At the end they had a new Grey's-oriented music video for Brandi Carlile's new single, "The Story", from her album of the same title.
The song made me sit up. And listen. And get goosebumps, and almost cry a little, especially at the second stanza where it goes from melodious to KICK ASS at the turn of a single note. And she does it again near the end of the song.
I went to iTunes and downloaded the song, and added the album to my Amazon wishlist. I've listened to it three times this morning, and it just gets me, it gets to me. I don't know why, it's just one of those songs that makes an immediate connection in me. That hasn't happened in a long time.
The Grey's website has got the video linked on their main page. I don't know how long it's going to be there, so I highly recommend you go check it out, like, RIGHT NOW.
Updated to add: I found the non-Grey's (as in, what they'd play on MTV) video on YouTube, which is probably a more permanant location than the ABC site.
The song made me sit up. And listen. And get goosebumps, and almost cry a little, especially at the second stanza where it goes from melodious to KICK ASS at the turn of a single note. And she does it again near the end of the song.
I went to iTunes and downloaded the song, and added the album to my Amazon wishlist. I've listened to it three times this morning, and it just gets me, it gets to me. I don't know why, it's just one of those songs that makes an immediate connection in me. That hasn't happened in a long time.
The Grey's website has got the video linked on their main page. I don't know how long it's going to be there, so I highly recommend you go check it out, like, RIGHT NOW.
Updated to add: I found the non-Grey's (as in, what they'd play on MTV) video on YouTube, which is probably a more permanant location than the ABC site.
Labels: best things, music
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
It's a Maine thing, you wouldn't understand.
Last night as I was falling asleep I was struck with a craving so hard that my mouth literally watered.
A REAL Maine Italian sandwich.
Nobody outside of Maine understands what's with these things. I've forced them upon Calvin, Marie and Michael during our visits back home, and they're all, "And? So? It's a sandwich." To which I respond that I am never speaking to them again.
A REAL Maine Italian consists of a foot of soft italian bread split down the center (hot-dog style), topped with ham or salami, white american or provolone (depending on the meat), then sliced tomatoes, sliced green peppers, kalamata olives, onions, pickles, salt, pepper, and olive oil. The whole thing is wrapped up in wax paper and the only way to eat it RIGHT is to peel the paper away from one end a little at a time as you're eating it, so you don't drop all of the ingredients and get covered in oil.
The thing that makes the Maine Italian REAL is the bread and the pickles. The bread is a foot of soft chewy goodness. The pickles are TART and just spicy enough. I haven't been able to find either outside of Maine. Substitutes are tolerated NOT AT ALL.
Nearly everyone reading this entry is "from away" (that is, not from Maine). Go here for a unique, non-Mainer's perspective. Play the slide show. I go to that Amato's all the time... well, when I'm home. Which I will be in less than a month. I may cry. The tears, they are of joy.
A REAL Maine Italian sandwich.
Nobody outside of Maine understands what's with these things. I've forced them upon Calvin, Marie and Michael during our visits back home, and they're all, "And? So? It's a sandwich." To which I respond that I am never speaking to them again.
A REAL Maine Italian consists of a foot of soft italian bread split down the center (hot-dog style), topped with ham or salami, white american or provolone (depending on the meat), then sliced tomatoes, sliced green peppers, kalamata olives, onions, pickles, salt, pepper, and olive oil. The whole thing is wrapped up in wax paper and the only way to eat it RIGHT is to peel the paper away from one end a little at a time as you're eating it, so you don't drop all of the ingredients and get covered in oil.
The thing that makes the Maine Italian REAL is the bread and the pickles. The bread is a foot of soft chewy goodness. The pickles are TART and just spicy enough. I haven't been able to find either outside of Maine. Substitutes are tolerated NOT AT ALL.
Nearly everyone reading this entry is "from away" (that is, not from Maine). Go here for a unique, non-Mainer's perspective. Play the slide show. I go to that Amato's all the time... well, when I'm home. Which I will be in less than a month. I may cry. The tears, they are of joy.
Labels: best things, Maine
Monday, March 05, 2007
Best Things: March 5th '07
Best things for March 5th '07 (see previous installment).
- The Maytag Epic Washer and Dryer. We replaced the washer and dryer my Grandmother bought X(m) and me back in '94 when we first moved into this house. That was thirteen years ago (!?!), and that old washer and dryer lasted that long. Lately, though, the washer has been becoming unbalanced with every load, no matter how many times the clothes are shifted around. And the dryer started taking two and even three cycles to get the clothes dry. So, Calvin and I bought a Maytag Epic washer and dryer as replacements, and Calvin installed them last weekend. Well, first Calvin installed a new cupboard to go over the washer and dryer. In the process he drilled a hole in a pipe, mistaking it for a stud because the stud finder said so, and had to fix that first. But that was only a 45-minute detour (and how many husbands to you guys know that can fix a pipe leak behind a wall in 45 minutes??? He used a little baby blowtorch and everything. I was totally turned on.) In celebration of the new appliances, I washed the mountain of blankets that had been piling up in the garage. I was totally geeked for the entire afternoon. You can have a whispered conversation standing right next to them while they are both running, they're that quiet. A load is washed in 34 minutes flat, and dried (in ONE CYCLE) in 38 minutes. The front-loading washer has a tub that is gambolled so that it never gets off balance. And a detergent dispenser that mixes the soap with the water, instead of having to pour the soap into the tub itself. After struggling with the wash for the past several months, Marie and I were both geeked while Calvin shook his head and the weirdness.
- Randy Couture, winner of UFC 68. Now, I'm not a huge fan of ultimate fighting, but Calvin and the kids are, so we bought the PPV event for Saturday night. It was a match between Couture (6'1", 205 lbs, 43 years old) and Tim Sylvia (6'8", 263 lbs, 31 years old). Sylvia, on top of being nearly 60 pounds heavier, 7 inches taller, and 12 years younger, also had a reach that was over a FOOT longer than Couture. And yet, the older, shorter, lighter man prevailed. They went all five rounds and Couture really dominated them all. I was impressed and yelling just as loud as everyone else during the match. Ahh, testosterony goodness.
- Jameson Irish Whiskey. Okay, this is our hands-down favorite of all of the whiskeys we've tried. It's smooth and mellow, doesn't climb up your nose and burn your sinuses when you drink it, and is warm going down without making you feel like you have heartburn. We got a 12-year-old bottle for a decent price last weekend, having had it recommended to us by several bar tenders. If you ever want to know for sure what the good stuff is, ask a pro (or, us). When we go to Ireland (hopefully during my next Sabbatical), we are totally visiting their distillery.
Labels: best things
Monday, February 19, 2007
Best Things: February 19th '07
Best things for February 19th '07 (see previous installment).
- Sugar Free Rock Star Energy Drink. This stuff has so many B vitamins you won't pee right for a week. Plus other things like L-Carnitine, Taurine, Gingko Biloba, and some other fun stuff. No calories, no carbs, no sugar, and it doesn't taste half bad. And it has caffeine. Lots and lots of caffeine. So don't drink it late in the day. And never drink it warm. Never EVER. Cuz it's just nasty when it's warm.
- Crank - the movie, not the drug. Drugs = bad. The movie, though? Is TOTALLY fucked up. It doesn't stop for a second, not from the opening scene onward. And you have to watch close, because there's all this weird shit going on in the backgrounds of the scenes (like the turtles? Doing it? On the ceiling in one scene, and on the wall in another? What the hell?). We were yelling, "Holy shit!" through the entire thing. We got to see Jason Statham's bare ass, which was fun (and Amy Smart's boobies, for those (Calvin) who were interested in that sort of thing). (Just THINK of all the hits I'm going to get because of this paragraph alone.) Oh, and it's got an AWESOME ending. I was ready to go to bed after watching this movie, let me tell you what. I was plum wore out.
- Robyn of "Bitchypoo" and "OneFatBitchypoo" fame. People, follow that link and check out her progress pics. Her transformation has been amazing. I've been a reader of her journal for years (she's a fellow Mainer), and I'm just so proud of how far she's come since starting her weight loss journey. She's really a super role model with a great success story. Plus, she's got a great website.
Labels: best things
Monday, February 12, 2007
Best Things: February 12th '07
Best things for February 12th '07 (see previous installment).
- Body Worlds 3. Wow. What a truly fascinating exhibit this was. Calvin and I went to see it last week (taking the trip downtown on one of the bikes and stopping for a GREAT burger, which, given the subject matter we were about to experience, was brave of us). The bodies themselves were less gruesome than I imagined they would be... much more scientific, and even artistic in some circumstances. The technology they use - plastination - coupled with whole organs (many healthy specimens in side-by-side comparison with diseased specimens - healthy lung vs. smoker's lung vs. lung with cancer, etc... and I thought I didn't want to smoke before), millimeters-thick and transparent cutthroughs and dissections used for many of the encased displays, really gives a phenomenal view of the internal workings of the body. Many of the full body pieces were not encased at all, allowing people to get right up to the work itself, within a breath of touching it. All of the pieces were displayed in such a manner that people could walk completely around them - some had strategically placed mirrors from which the full details of the piece could be viewed from below, above, and behind. All in all, the exhibit was very informative and eye-opening. The only part that disturbed me were the fetuses, 3 weeks all the way to 36 weeks, that were subjected to plastination and displayed. These were displayed intact, with skin and limbs unaltered, unlike the rest of the subjects displayed. That was probably part of the reason that I was unnerved. The other reason... well, they were babies. I defy anyone to be untroubled by that. This particular display was completely enclosed in an entirely separate room, so it can be identified and avoided if desired. I just didn't know what to expect, so... However, for the majority of the exhibit I give an enthusiastic thumbs-up and highly recommend that anyone with an opportunity should go and see it.
- Ginger ale, and toasted Jewish rye bread. An odd subject matter for "Best Things", but life saving when one has been unable to keep any other kind of food down. Calvin and I were looking forward to a nice, fun-filled weekend. But no. I had to come down with these flu-like symptoms (see how I spare your delicate sensibilities with what I don't share with you, my loyal readers?) late Friday evening that kept me in bed all day Saturday and all day Sunday, and I'm still not right today. I look forward with anticipation to tonight's meal - the first solid food since Friday's lunchtime salad - in which I will partake of meatloaf and roasted fingerling potatoes. And it had better damn well stay down, because I don't think my diaphragm can tolerate any more hurling.
- Snakebite - made traditionally with Guinness, or the lighter "Harp Snakebite". This is one part (1/2 pint) Guinness, and one part (1/2 pint) dry hard cider (I like Strongbow). When correctly served, the cider is light and clear at the bottom of the glass, and the Guinness floats darkly on top with the requisite head and shamrock bedded on top of the foam. Rula Bula's is excellent.
Labels: best things
Monday, February 05, 2007
Best Things: February 5th '07
Best things for February 5th '07 (see previous installment).
- NPR - the radio program and the website. I listen to NPR on my way to and from work most mornings - so, like, 10 minutes per day. But in that 10 minutes I hear interesting things, funny things, thought-provoking things. I often hear a news article on NPR long before I see it on the news or read it in the newspaper. And I've picked up a couple of books after they've been reviewed on one of the various programs. Love All Things Considered and Fresh Air. The Arizona broadcast (KJZZ) is seamless with local news and traffic intermingled with national broadcasting. Morning Edition is hosted by Steve Inskeep and Renée Montagne, and they've got such comforting voices. The NPR websites are terrific - webcasts of all the programs and articles, listings of the music played and the people interviewed, human interest stories and transcripts galore. Five minute news summary webcasts every hour on the hour, 24-hour streaming programming... just about everything to keep this NPR geek occupied for a long, LONG time. Plus there's tie-ins to BBC and other international news agencies that enable listeners to hear non-American spins on the same news topics. Good stuff.
- Superbowl Ads. For a lot of viewers, they're the only reason they tune in to the game ever year. Not me - well, not anymore. I used to be like that, but now I'm calling the flag before the ref has a chance to broadcast it - "offsides!" "facemask!" "delay of game!" I'll leap up and holler at a stupid play just as quick as Calvin, and I'm right there with the hootin' and hollerin' when there's a fumble or an interception or a reversal. (I am pleased, by the way, with the outcome of Superbowl 41. Lots of action, and rainy weather that WOULD have been snow if they hadn't been in Miami, darnit. The best games are played in the snow, I think.) ANYWAY. My favorite ads this year were the Coke ads. Very imaginative, the type that you'd have to watch a few times to see everything that's going on. OH. And DID YOU SEE THE HALFTIME SHOW?!? Prince singing Purple Rain in the rain. My heart, it beateth.
- Chili's Babyback Ribs (sing it!) - specifically Kentucky Bourbon and Memphis Dry Rub. Laws, them's good eatin'. We bought two full racks of each (and fries) for our own little Superbowl Party (plus, like, seven kinds of chips, two kinds of beer, tequila, whiskey, vodka, mixed nuts, bean dip, crackers-n-cheese-n-summer sausage... urp). Leftovers for dinner tonight!
Labels: best things
Monday, January 29, 2007
Best Things: January 29th '07
Best things for January 29th '07 (see previous installment).
- Being lucky in love. It's been a while since I've had a warm-fuzzy fit, so hush you. About 95% of the time Calvin and I are in perfect accord, and that's a percentage you can take to the bank. The 5% of angst barely registers in my assessment, simply because any arguments we have are short lived. Really, they qualify as spirited discussions more than anything. We did go through a tough spot for a couple of months last year, but since then things have just seemed to keep getting better. I guess it takes some tough times to throw the good times into sharp relief, and make you appreciate what you have.
Ladies and gentlemen, my husband just wants to hang out with me. I'm his best friend, and he's mine. We do everything together. We're constantly talking about everything under the sun. I haven't gotten boring to him, and he hasn't gotten boring to me. We want to spend all of our time together. It's a race, during a workday, to see who calls whom first. We look forward to seeing each other again at the end of the day. Really, it doesn't get much better than that, marriage-wise. - Chopped Greek Veggie Salad. This is a creation of mine that I've been basically living on lately. Mix together the following in a big bowl:
- 1 whole cucumber, peeled, quartered, divested of seeds, and chopped
- 1 whole red bell pepper, divested of seeds and chopped
- 1 stalk of celery, chopped
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 3 roma tomatoes, divested of seeds and chopped
- 1 small can of sliced black olives, rinsed and drained (about 1/3 cup)
- 1 package of crumbled feta cheese (I use Athenos Reduced Fat)
- 1/4 cup reduced fat balsamic vinaigrette dressing (I use Newman's Own)
- salt and pepper to taste
I either pile this stuff on top of a bed of greens, or put it in a wrap or a piece of flatbread as a sandwich. If you use the lowfat dressing and feta, it's actually not bad for you at all. - Women's Just Lounge Pants from Old Navy. If there is anything more comfortable on this planet, I defy you to find it and bring it to my attention.
Labels: best things
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Best Things: January 23rd '07
Best things for January 23rd '07 (see previous installment):
- Heroes - Monday nights, NBC. What a GREAT show. I don't think anything like it has been tried before; at least, the premise seems refreshing to me, and I watch a LOT of TV (a LOT). Some of the characters make likely heroes, some make very UNlikely heroes (and those tend to be my favorites). My favorite character is, of course, Hiro Nakamura (he seems to be a popular favorite). He's just so... innocent, with his sense of responsibility and ideals of good vs. evil, right vs. wrong. He's so darned enthusiastic about being a super hero. Gotta save the Cheerleader, save the World? Will do, just pick a direction and go. Nothing is unattainable. We need more people like that in the world.
I also like the imagination behind some of the "super powers". Sure, you've got your standard ability to fly, invisibility (new this week's episode), and whatnot. But there's this guy that paints the future on huge, cartoon-like canvases. And a teenager that keeps throwing herself off of things to confirm that she's indestructible. And a chick that can make you do anything she wants you to do, just by thinking at you. And Hiro, who can slow and reverse time, and jump back and forth between past, present, and future. Peter Patrelli just seems to absorb the power of whichever superhero he's around at the moment. Which, if you think about it, has gotta be uncomfortable. And a couple of villains that really didn't start out that way and seem more bewildered than anything else that they're all of a sudden the arch nemeses of the show.
The character development goes further than just "leaping tall buildings" with the characters. There's angst and mystery and personal lives that are getting screwed with. All the harbingers of a good (and long-lived!) television series. - Indianapolis Colts - and more specifically, Peyton Manning. Okay, so I must hedge this "Best Thing" with the statement that I am indeed NOT happy that they beat out the Pats to go to the Superbowl. The Patriots are My Boys, and though they've had a great run of it over the past few years making it to the Big Game, I do not, in fact, share the seemingly widespread opinion that it should be "someone else's turn". The Pats should go to the Superbowl every year, and that is that.
That being said, I'm sick of hearing the "Yes he's great during the regular season, BUT..." about Manning. He's a super player and fabulous leader, and he's got some suck post-season stats. Which are NOT all his fault (I'm looking at YOU, offensive line, with those sack stats...), though some of them are ALL his fault (hello Interception City). In the end, I'm glad that Manning gets the chance to add The Big Game to his repertoire, and end the speculation that he's not a finisher. So, since the Pats are out, I'm Colts over Bears ALL THE WAY, BABY. - Ridgemont Reserve 1792 Whiskey. Yes, Calvin and I are branching out from our standard litany of beer/vodka/tequila. I don't quite remember what possessed us to buy a bottle of whiskey during our Holiday Booze Run, but we're sure glad we did. This stuff is smooth, sweet, a little bit woody, and has just the right amount of burn to warm you up on a cold night (and it's been getting down below freezing around here lately folks, so don't ever be fooled into thinking that the desert never gets FUCKING COLD.) We've tried a couple of other brands, but keep going back to this one. Next we'll be tapping into the non-US whiskeys (helllloooo, Ireland!), but I'm sure this one will continue to grace our stash.
Labels: best things
Monday, January 15, 2007
Best Things: January 15th '07
Sorry, I'm a couple of days late. (See previous installment.)
Best things for January 15th '07:
Best things for January 15th '07:
- Trader Joe's. It's the best place on Earth. Well, mostly... I exaggerate, but still! For a grocery store it's pretty great. And for impulse buyers of the culinary kind, it's mecca. I mean, dude! I totally found "Garlic Buttermilk Mashed Potato Chips". HOW can you go wrong with that, I ask you? And any place that even thinks to produce and sell such a beautiful thing is more than worthy of my patronage. Even their periodic mailing - the "Fearless Flyer" - is entertaining reading. There's a lot of sampling going on; they prepare and offer samples of their new products in the store. My weekly grocery list includes their single serving salads (Greek, Italian Chop, Tomato Mozzerella...), fresh greens/veggies/fruits, hummus, pita bread, sprouted bread, frozen tilapia fillets, frozen garlic buttered shrimp, frozen single-serving microwave oatmeal, Fiji bottled water, Two-Buck-Chuck (wine), Vanilla Cluster cereal, and whatever goodies they happen to have at the time.
- Apple iPod. I know, it's been over advertised, over hyped, and over exposed. Millions of people have one. But it's seriously such a cool little tool, and I use it every single day. How many other things like that do we use every day, that we've lost appreciation of? The neat inventions that become part of everyday life such that we lose sight of how neat they are? When was the last time you were thankful for indoor plumbing, or the garage door opener, or the microwave? Today I discovered how to sort my music by beats per minute, which makes the time go by much quicker when I can groove along on my elliptical in time to 64-68 beats per minute consistantly. Wicked.
- Self control, or willpower (Wikipedia has an article on everything). I don't have a lot of it, but I'm trying to cultivate it. It's what makes me work out, instead of sit around and read. It's what makes me complete the less-than-enjoyable tasks I regularly wrestle with at AcronymCo. It's what makes me put away the Doritos after only a handful (further cultivation of willpower will enable me to forgo the Doritos altogether).
Labels: best things
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Best Things: January 6th '07
Something new for this year, each Saturday in '07 I'll be posting a list of the top three "best things" for that week. They can be animal, vegetable, or mineral; book, music, or movie; TV star, news article, or product promotion.
Best things for January 6th '07:
Best things for January 6th '07:
- "An Incomplete Education - Third Edition" by Judy Jones and William Wilson. The tagline for the book is, "3,684 things you should have learned but probably didn't." Ever watch Dennis Miller and completely miss 2/3 of his cultural references? This is the book for you. It's got everything from which verse of Robert Frost to memorize to create the most impact when quoted as a refreshing pick-up line in a bar, to a condensed and understandable definition of chaos theory, to a five-topic breakdown of "philosophy made simplistic" (be the first Epistemologist on your block!). My favorite chapter so far, "A Night at the Opera: Manners and Morals for the MTV Generation."
The book is written very clearly and amusingly, using very casual language that can break down the most intimidating topics. I wouldn't recommend reading it from cover to cover, but it's fun to flip open at random and see what the authors have to say on a particular subject. - Discovery HD Theater. Shark ultrasounds? Got that. Pub crawls of Ireland? Got that. A show dedicated to the sunrise? Got that. Really REALLY cool cinematography and photography? WAY got that. Plus, in HD, which makes it look like you're looking out a window at Mt. St. Helens erupting in your backyard. I have a lot of respect for the Discovery Channel, their messages of conservation and cultural respect, and the entertainment value of education. We invariably turn to this channel when there's "nothing on".
- Wolfmother. This is a new band out of Australia that has gone back to the jangling roots of hard core rock-n-roll. They remind me heavily of Led Zeppelin but they manage to make the old school sound seem fresh. Their music makes a good impression and is well timed and executed while completely avoiding being technical or over-produced. Their CD kind of gives the impression that each live version of their songs would be performed slightly differently while remaining completely recognizable. Very unpretentious, you can tell these guys play just for the joy of it. My new favorite band.
Labels: best things
Contact/My Other Sites
www.flickr.com
|
Last posts
Archives
- March 2005
- April 2005
- May 2005
- June 2005
- July 2005
- August 2005
- September 2005
- October 2005
- November 2005
- December 2005
- January 2006
- February 2006
- March 2006
- April 2006
- May 2006
- June 2006
- July 2006
- August 2006
- September 2006
- October 2006
- November 2006
- December 2006
- January 2007
- February 2007
- March 2007
- April 2007
- May 2007
- June 2007
- July 2007
- August 2007
- September 2007
- October 2007
- November 2007
- December 2007
- January 2008
Links
ADVOCATE
Books Read in '08
- "The Ungrateful Governess" by Mary Balogh
- "Silver Angel" by Johanna Lindsey
- "To Kiss A Spy" by Jane Feather
- "The Bourne Identity" by Robert Ludlum
- "The Wedding" by Julie Garwood
Stuff
Started counting at 2003 days
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence.
