It's Bittersweet....

Bittersweet.  Ah, such is life.

But that's not the Bittersweet I am referring to.

I mean this:

I used to drive around all over creation looking for vines of this stuff  to cut and use in fall decorating. It's really lovely in flower boxes.

BUT....

BUT....

The Oriental species is an INVASIVE species and now has taken hold on my property. And I am not too happy about that.

You see, it can kill things, strangling trees and shrubs to death!

And, the entire plant is poisonous. 

And it's almost impossible to get rid of.

So what to do when life gives you lemons?

Make lemonade. 

Or a wreath.

So I cut off long vines of the stuff (which actually makes it grow more), stripped off the leaves and wound the vines into a wreath. Added a few beach rock touches and voila.... 

Speaking of the beach, I usually collect driftwood pieces and interesting shells when at the beach. Remember the fish I made?

I had some left over pieces of wood, so I constructed this wreath.

Probably would look nice if a added some Bittersweet berries to both of those wreaths.

They are not ripe yet. Have to wait.

Hate the stuff.  Love the stuff. (well, 'like' it...)

It sure is Bittersweet.

Rest in Peace.....

Rest in Peace

Steve Jobs

1955-2011

I know that you have changed MY life.

Thank you.

Last chance grilled pizza....

The weather outside is not cooperating with my vision of what the weather outside should be. My vision is 78 degrees and perfect.  

Things are changing. Some people love the fall, but in my mind, although beautiful, autumn is a harbinger of freezing my tushy off.

 

So in these dwindling days of warmth, I can still use my grill without donning a parka. At least today I can.  

Here is a recipe for a grilled pizza....

Here is what I started with...

Sprinkle corn meal on a cookie sheet.

Take the dough, divide it into two pieces and press them into  free form shapes on top of the cornmeal.

I remembered I had some baby spinach in the fridge, so I chopped it up to add to the mixture.
I had some left over canned mushrooms, too.

Heated up the grill, turned it to medium heat and laid the dough carefully onto the grill.

When it looked like this on the bottom, I took it off the grill and put it back onto a cookie sheet, grilled side up.

I didn't use pizza sauce. I used Barbeque sauce.

I put the filling on top of the sauce.

I sprinkled some spices on top.

I put a little mozzarella chesse on it AND some blue cheese sprinkles. Put it back on the grill and grill til it's done on the bottom and the cheese is melted. (be careful not to burn it!!)

Serve with a salad and a glass of red wine or a beer.

Yum!

I can't get this out of my mind....

This is a police artist sketch of what I saw a week ago today.

I was driving down Larrabee road in Westbrook, when suddenly a yellow dog ran across the street in front of my car. The yellow dog had a large jar on it's head.

It went off into the wooded area next to a side road not stopping. There were two motorcycles behind me, each with a passenger. In a panic, I pointed to the side of the road and then saw the motorcyclists looking and pointing to the dog as well. I was sooooo hoping these big motorcycle brutes would pull over and try to help the dog, but they didn't. (wimps)

A million things went through my mind. Should I have stopped and tried to help? But I'm not familiar with dogs and the dog might not have taken too kindly to me poking around in it's affairs.

Getting attacked by a dog was not on my list of things to do that Friday afternoon.

But it was creeping me out so much I couldn't stand it. I was practically in tears! I knew I had to do something.

A couple of miles down the road, in Westbrook, I knew where the police station was, so I stopped there, mentally checking the condition of my car to make sure there was nothing illegal about it first.

I talked to the receptionist and in a rather mild panic, told her what I saw. She said, "Oh dear, the animal control person just went home! You just missed him!" (4:15 pm? Really?)

"You'll have to call the dispatcher", she says.

Conveniently there was a phone on the wall right there with a very clear sign over it that said 'DISPATCHER'.

I picked it up and someone said, "Dispatcher".

I told my story again, still in a mild panic, imagining this poor dog running out of air or something. I told him I couldn't possibly go home seeing what I saw and not reporting it. I was almost sick to my stomach.

He took my info and thanked me. He told me they've been looking for this dog all day. I guess others have reported it. He was sending someone out.

Whew.

Now, I don't know the end of this story.

I've googled 'dog with jar on head in Westbrook' over several days, but found nothing. I don't know if that's good or bad. I'm hoping they helped the poor thing.

But I don't know, and I can't get it out of my mind.

Like a bad dream.

I couldn't find it....

My plan today was for a post about 9/11.

Soon after 9/11, we planted a small flag in our front yard, under our majestic maple tree.

There it stayed for a couple of weeks.

Then I took it down, took the stick off, and gently folded it up and put it into a zip lock bag with a note explaining where it was, when and why.

My plan was to put it out today, in the same spot, and photograph it for my blog.

I can't find it.

I know I have it, as over the years I have come across it in my travels. But today.....I couldn't find it.  

So, no photo.

I watched the memorial this morning.

Oh yeah, I remember every minute of that day. I think we all have a 'photo' in our minds that we can pull up.

I don't need a photo.

God Bless America.

What happens when you get old....

A couple of days ago I was attempting to clean the attic. Well, not really clean, but move things around and pretend to clean. Now and then I find something to throw out and something to give to Goodwill, but most of the time I just give all the junk a new spot.

As I was going through some old photographs, I found this one.

I couldn't remember who's house it was or why I took the photo, but there was something extremely familiar about it. I'm guessing it was taken in 1984. Mostly because it said 1984 on the back.

(Remember the old days when you had to take the film to the Drug Store to be developed?)

For the life of me I couldn't figure out why that photo rung a bell. It was haunting. I had to stop working, it was so disconcerting.

Then it dawned on me. Last summer, as we drove up to spend the day in Belfast, we stopped along Route 1 and took a picture of a weird house. Could this possibly be that house?

I checked my i photos and sure enough, there it was....

See what happens when you don't take care of yourself for 27 years?*&^%%$#@

Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes...

Picture this.

 A warm summer evening, under the stars, sipping Cosmopolitans, munching on chicken salad and french bread,relaxing and sitting back in our own chairs on the grass, watching one of our favorite bands with the best guy in the world.

What's not to like?

Every summer LL Beans does a summer concert series.

For FREE.

The concert was scheduled to start at 7:30. We got there about 5.
They were just finishing setting up the stage equipment.
Everyone brought their own chairs. (Many WERE LLBeans chairs, including ours, because that's just what you have when you live around here.) 
You are allowed to claim your territory the day of the show, so technically you can arrive there at 12:01 a.m. and plop down your chairs.
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes was the band we came to see. We've seen them many times, mostly at the Hampton Beach Casino in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. We love them. Have his CDs.

We were also lucky enough watch him do his sound check between 5 and 5:30.

And then he performed for almost 2 hours. It was wonderful under the majestic pine trees, under the starry night.

Ahhhh......

Started school mural....

Every fall I paint a huge mural to post outside of my classroom. I have a large bulletin board in the hall, covered in glass. It's 91 inches wide by 55 inches tall. Big.

I have been doing this for twenty years, including this year.

I base the theme on a current summer movie.  The movie has to be appropriate for middle schoolers to see, so 'Hung, the movie' ** would not be a wise choice.

It usually takes me a week to design and paint. This years honoree is the movie The Smurfs.

Here's a sneak peak of the beginnings.....

More to come as I proceed..... (there's a reason why they are not all blue....I'm the boss of the brush.)

**'Hung the Movie' is not really a movie, but Hung is an actual TV program. It's about an ex school teacher who is divorced with two high school kids that have, um, issues. He shares them with his ex wife (Ann Heche) and they have issues as well. Things are not going well for him in every way until he discovers how the fact that he's, um, well 'hung', is an attribute that could make him a LOT of money, especially with an 'agent'. The warped side of me loved this show. I think it was HBO, but you can find it to watch online somewhere. Just google 'watch Hung' and see what you get. It was quirky, and I like quirky.

BYW, you never really see how well hung he is, so you have to use your imagination. 

I have a very good imagination.

New painting.....

I was commissioned to do a painting of someone's house. I just finished it last week.

It's a tempera painting measuring 16"X 20".

Interesting stones built into the chimney.

Summer Shandy

Mr. Downeastdoingstuff (aka Birdman) and I like to try new things. New things... as long as they don't have potential for bodily harm or curling my hair.

We especially like to try new drinks. (I don't want any comments about how alcohol can cause bodily harm....duh.)

Martinis have been our latest diversion. Especially the kind that are not really, officially classified as martinis, ie. chocolate martinis, appletinis, tinis with any appealing flavor.

The photo above is of a drink called a Shandy. Birdman has a blog, and a lady from Perth, Australia suggested this.

It's a mixture of two liquids served in a beer glass.

Can you guess what it might be?? 

check out her comment from my husbands blog....

PerthDailyPhoto said...

You get a big glass (chilled for maximum effect), depending on how strong you like it, usually half/half, half beer of your choice, and half lemonade, also there's the classic English version of lager and lime, just add a dash of lime juice to the beer and a slice of lemon,takes away the ughy taste of the beer, sooooo refreshing and easy to drink. I'm not sure though Birdman, somehow I'm not getting a picture of you thinking much of this idea haha! See if Elenka will try it and let me know what she thinks.

Me thinks....Not bad. It's a rather odd mixture. You can taste both ingredients separately. 

Strange. Hasn't curled my hair......yet.

Today.....

This morning I was watching the Today Show while having breakfast in bed and I learned something.

Did you know that some people WANT to have a bigger butt??

Really?

Kathie Lee said, "who knew?" She claims she's been spending all her life trying to make hers smaller.

Apparently there are unmentionables you can buy to enhance, pad, lift and separate your tush.

You can even surgically have some orbs implanted forever.

I laughed a little and then forgot all about it.

Until....

I went to Shaws supermarket, and then, checking out, right there in front of me, was a young lady about 19 years old and thin, with the biggest a$$ I've ever seen packed into a pair of short shorts.

I tried not to stare and wished I had the balls to take a photo, but she was with her mom who was giving the poor cashier guy a run for his money with, I kid you not, 4,000 coupons.

After he ran every g.d. coupon thru the scanner she asked him if the coupon for the water scanned? What? Now?? So he had to look through the $291 dollars worth cashier's slip and check.

So I had plenty of time not to stare at her butt.

I stuck out so much that I KNEW it had to be fake or enhanced....or something.

So once I got home I investigated....you know...for research purposes. Not that I would ever buy anything to increase my girth, although I could use some lifting.....

Anyway...

Here are some options for you.

A Butt Bra (no padding)

Adhesive falsies.....

And cheeks that are built into the panties, for your convenience.

Isn't life grand?

I wish this was the only thing I had to worry about.

Assinine. {sic}

Lord of the flies....

We have a compost pile. Actually have several compost piles, but only one where kitchen scraps go. I keep a white porcelain pot on my counter and compost goodies go in there.

Yesterday it was pretty full, so I grabbed it to lug it up the hill when suddenly a bazillion fruit flies took flight.

I came back with an empty container, but the fruit flies, with rather perplexed looks on their faces because  their lunch was suddenly gone, were still there.

What to do?

I did what any normal 29 plus old person would do.....Google it!

One site I found said to take a cup and fill it 1/4th of the way with water, squirt in a little dish soap and splash in some vinegar. Then cover this cocktail with cling wrap and poke a few little holes in it.

Apparently the fruit flies, smart as they are, will find the itty bitty holes and because they thirst for vinegar martinis, will dive right in.

And then the fruit flies, dumb as they are, cannot find their way out again. So the next thing they know is that they are in the drink, without life jackets.

Voila.
No more fruit flies. (Where do they come from anyway?)

Thank you, once again,  Google.

Some like it hot....

In the shade.....

What is wrong with me??

I complain when it's cold.....and now I'm complaining because it's too dang HOT!

Is there anything wrong with wanting everything just to be PERFECT all the time???? Huh????

I was thinking about putting on my bathing suit to keep cool. This I can do, 'cause I'm inside my own house and do not have to gross anyone out....other than Birdman.

I feel good about saving the world from embarrassment.

These folks however, apparently don't care about that....

source

sorry this one came out so big......

source

source

source

Good grief.

hmmmm, I look pretty darn good.......well......comparatively.

Enjoy the heat!

p.s. We have NO air conditioner.

UPDATE: This is the thermometer at around 4:30 pm. (I know it's in the sun.)
The crazy thing is that the thermometer doesn't go any higher, so who knows what it really was.

I've never seen that happen on that thermometer.

Happy Birthday my Birdman.....

UPDATE: Want to wish someone else a very happy birthday, too. Happy Birthday Bruce!!! You're a very special guy, hope you have a great day out there in Or eh gone. (The correct way to say it if you're from Jersey, which, by the way, you are.) Love ya!

Yesterday was Birdman's birthday. 

Why didn't I do a post yesterday, you ask??

I was looking for a photo, specifically in his baby book....which I couldn't find.

So I waited til we went out to dinner to get some photo material.

Coming home with a full tummy, late, I didn't post.

This morning....I walked into the living room  and there on the window seat was his baby book...along with my baby book and our son's baby book. They were not on the shelf where they should be....where I looked yesterday....but there they were...in full sight.

sigh....

I'm getting old.

Anyway, my Birdman is the joy of my life. My best bud. I hope he had a great birthday....ahem....

yesterday.

So here was our dinner experience.

We went to On The Marsh in Kennebunkport, Maine.

We got there a little early, we went to the bar for a drink. We both had a Sangria.

Our table for dinner was at a window. It's called On The Marsh because they are on a marsh.

Our window view of their garden....

We each had a glass of wine and ordered their mussels. I forgot to take a photo of the mussels, so Birdman showed me some other ones.

Impressive.

Pan-Roasted Rope Cultured Mussels Oven-Roasted Tomatoes, Roasted Garlic, White Wine, Cream, Fresh Herbs $9

Hubby had steak...

Grilled Center-Cut Beef Tenderloin Prime Rib Hash, Red Carrots, Truffle Demi $34

I had lobster.....

Fresh Maine Lobster "Succotash"
Polenta Cake, Sweet Corn, English Peas, Carrots, Onion, Saffron-Fennel Pollen Cream
$37

Then for dessert I had a blueberry swirl icecream with blueberry cake.(not on the online menu...)

Birdman had...

Dutch Apple Bolen
Roasted Apple, Caramel, Cinnamon, Puff Pastry, House-Made Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
$8

Everything was wonderful and I hope Birdman had lots of fun.

I think he did.

He's always fun to do stuff with.

Love ya.