Boo tiful time!!

It's almost Halloween!! Wikipedia, the source of all sources, true or false, says: the traditional focus of All Hallows' Eve revolves around the theme of using "humor and ridicule to confront the power of death". 

I'll drink to that. 

So off Mr. Downeastdoingstuff and I went to find humor and ridicule each other...

Yesterday, LL Bean, up in Freeport, Maine, celebrated their annual Pumpkin Festival to 'confront the power of death'. Thousands of folks contributed an hour of their life finding a parking space and then gave donations to help fund Camp Sunshine, a camp for very ill children and their families.

A friend of ours carves massive pumpkins into ultra creepy things. By massive I mean, around 1,000 pounds. (Other than a recipe I have for pumpkins cookies that ends up making 1,000 lbs. of cookies, I don't know any food that weighs a 1,000 pounds or more.)

There were activities for all ages from noon until 8 p.m.

Pumpkins were either carved there or groups carved them off site and lugged them in.

Each and every orangey pumpkin was loving placed along perimeters everywhere. EVERY SINGLE pumpkin had a candle put in it.

AND THEN.....volunteers.....(you'd have to pay me to do this...)...went around with one of those impossible to light kitchen lighters and lit...every.....single....candle....one....at.....a......time.

(See that volunteer? If this photo had sound, there would be curse words flying out of her mouth.)

(ever use one of those things??) (I rest my case.)

Suddenly, nature called and we had to leave the spooks and stroll down the street for a glass of wine. (That's the 'nature called' part....happens often.)

Ended up at the Tuscan Bistro. Never went there. Very good!!

By now it was dark, so we knew all the pumpkins would be lit and the trauma tent would be full of the volunteers suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. 

It was a sight to see.

Another Bootiful adventure in the beautiful state of Maine!!

Cellardoor Winery for a Wino.

I like to do things, by that I mean, go places. 

Interesting places.

Maine has lots of interesting places. 

We found one a couple of weeks ago.

The Cellardoor Winery in Lincolnville, Maine

A little off the beaten track aka Route One, it is a gem.

On a hill, overlooking their vineyards. And. Free. Wine. Tasting!

Yup, I’m all over that!!

Sampled about 5 different wines. Then bought a glass of some. Then bought a bottle of Prince Valiant Red.

Very good day!

March?

It's March already? Time flies. I can't wait for winter to end, but at this point in my life, I'm making it a point not to wish my life away. Get the point? It's pointless.

Random thoughts:
I love the winter Olympics. Somehow intriguing to me, what with the snow and all. I'm NOT a winter person, but out of the 2 Olympics, I like the winter ones better. I don't even watch it that often!
BUT....what's wrong with this picture?

Somehow, it just seems a wrong venue for winter Olympics....
Sochi palms....

 View of a Sochi street....

So, let's see, we need find a place for the Winter Olympics. How about this place with all the palm trees? Yes, that's the ticket!

That must be how it went.

Me, I would have picked somewhere else. Get the point?

I am hooked on….

Any kind of green tea……
Coffee ice-cream (this empty bowl had coffee chocolate chip in in.)
Arnold Palmer ZERO icetea/lemonade…..

My two kitty cats…….

Mr. Downeastdoingstuff, of course…..

My little boy, naturally, (not so little anymore)….

Staying warm no matter what…..

Eating coffee yogurt for lunch everyday for over 25 years….

And if all else fails….

My back-up plan…..

Hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Random thoughts….

Another end to another weekend…..or as Maggie Smith on Downton Abbey asks…..

I, myself, know what a weekend is. I also know when it's over. Someday, everyday will be a weekend, but 'til then….. 
What did I do this weekend?  I continued work on a painting I started….

Saw Saving Mr. Banks, August: Osage County, the Secret Life of Walter Mitty and

Her. Liked them all.

Saw this the other day:

What could that mean?? Whatever it is, it's free.

But what is it about??

A chopper will drop something nice off?

Could be a book?

photo credit

Could be a very scary drop off?

This is Maine after all, but hunting season is over.

photo credit

Could be Nearly Headless Nick's head dropping off?

photo credit

My guess it's a joke. Yessiree. Turn the corner and see this sign up the street…that's what I think.

photo credit

ha ha ha ha ha

Hey, it's the dead of winter. We need to amuse ourselves with something, don't we?

Well, I do.

Off to work we go…….

Last couple of days….

So we got 2 snow days attached to our vacation break, making it 2 weeks off in total. Too bad we have to make those days up in June! Oh well……..

Boxed up the Christmas decorations and little by little, lugged them up into the attic. Took 2 days.

Didn't want to take all vestiges of Christmas down. Stubbornly left up the lights around the window for a while longer.

Watched a movie…..

Made bagels…..

 Made corn chowder……..

All in all, not a bad way to end a vacation. 

Corn Chowder Recipe

Ingredients

About 6 slices of bacon, chopped and cooked til crispy. Drain on paper towel, but keep fat in pan. (Remove some fat if you think it’s too much)

1/2 a large onion, diced and sauteed in the fat til soft.

1/2 salt or to taste

1/4 tsp ground black pepper or to taste.

1/4 C flour

5 C chicken stock

3 C diced or bite sized potatoes. I leave skin on.

1 can corn, drained

1 can creamed corn

1 C milk (or more if you want. OR used half and half)

1/4 pound colby cheese, shredded (or any cheese you would like)

Directions

In a large pot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon til crispy. Drain bacon on paper towel but reserve fat for the onions.  Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions to the fat and cook for about 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.

Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper and cook for about 3 minutes.( Add some olive oil or butter if it seems there’s not enough fat. )

Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes or more, until the potatoes are tender. 

Add the 2 cans of corn and milk/cream.

Then add cheese. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted.  Add bacon.

Season to taste.

Out to breakfast…..

So I'm still cuddled up with my little siamese cat in bed, trying to decide whether I should brave the cold air, when Mr. Downeastdoingstuff bounces in and announces that we should go out to breakfast.
Normally not such a big deal
Today…..well….

"What's the temperature out?", I inquire.
"Minus 17", he says.

So off we go to the Cracker Barrel.

By the time we got ready, it was much better anyway. See?

It's amazing what one gets used to. The sun was out.

Not a bad start to the day.

Day after storm…well, almost...

It's 9:10 a.m. It's up to -1 degree. And still snowing a bit. It should all be over with very soon….or so the local weather person claims.          
              Wind chills….well….see for yourself.

OK, so I lied about the -1 degree. It's actually zero now.

(Note the "feels like -21º…")  

Here are a couple of my fav birds roosting outside my kitchen window. Mourning doves. Love 'em.

They have a really hard time feeding off the bird feeders, so they ground feed under the bird feeders, but with the snow it was so hard for them. Mr. Downeastdoingstuff (aka Birdman) went out and put a tray of seeds on the ground, but the snow did quick work of it.

Window in family room. That red sliver is our garage.

Door was shut all night. This is how much snow the wind drove through the crack into our entrance hall. 

Help.