Quite the day. Over 2 feet of snow. Did a little shoveling out the driveway tonight so we could move our cars, for the plow guy to give us a huge help tonight. However today we did do a lot of cooking and baking, A whole chicken in the Instant Pot and then Chicken Soup, a bunch of baked goods like banana bread and peanut butter oats. Big cooking day here. I spent a good part of the day preparing all the ingredients and LD did most of the actual baking. 🙂
Couple of quick updates. Speaking of updates, I just updated this site to the latest version of the software and everything seems to be going without a hitch, so that’s good. Also my phone is ready for the Android 12/UI 4.0 update so I’m off to do that.
In honor of Meatloaf we obtained one of his hit singles for the jukebox and I’m in the process of making the label and placing it into the machine. It will occupy space #119/219. Try to guess what song you think it might be in the comments section, if you’d be so inclined to try.
Been starting to make some minor preparations for the snowstorm we are expected to get on Saturday. Still a bit early to see how impactful it will end up being, but it looks like we are bound to get something significant, so there’s that.
“Certain houses are so exceptional, so unique, and they affect the lives of so many people, that they are no longer merely houses—places where people live and eat and sleep—but something else altogether. They have become icons. On the idyllic Ocean Avenue that winds out of Kennebunkport’s Dock Square, there stands just such a house.
Built on a tiny neck of land jutting into the ocean, and constructed to appear as though it is growing out of the rocky shore, the summer cottage—known to many as the Stone House—has inspired hyperbole of impressive proportions over the years. Residents and tourists alike have created and perpetuated myths about the house, which many see as the archetype of a coastal Maine residence. Many make the unverifiable claim that the house is the single most photographed and painted house in the state. One popular legend would have us believe the house is the same that appears in silhouette during the opening credits of the late-1960s vampire television soap opera Dark Shadows. And, perhaps stemming from that gothic association, the home is also rumored to be haunted.
But beneath the fog of folklore and hearsay, the Stone House—or Bayberry Cove Cottage as its architect actually named it—is a real home with a real history. And it is inhabited by a real family that has owned and revered it for three generations.” – Maine Home and Design
And to think you can actually rent out this 6 bedroom stone mansion on the Atlantic Ocean in Maine for a measly 17,000 a week! I bet it would be pretty amazing though. Fun Fact: LD has a colleague who grew up in KBP and knows the family and actually has been inside. Uhmmm, can we get some access one of these days!?!?
I never knew I liked goats. Growing up as a kid I would occasionally see them at a zoo but I didn’t really have any contact with them until much later in my adult life. The first goat I can remember really interacting with was one at a petting area inside the Mendon Zoo. I believe it was a drawf goat, those little ones that never get too big. I distinctly remember it also trying to eat LD’s purse that she had at the time, which in a roundabout way got me to thinking that maybe she deserved a new purse that related her professional stature to me and the world and so I got her a Dooney and Burke, but that’s a story in and of itself for some other time.
Then there was Hector. I suppose he was the first goat that you could say I got to know. He was an old goat that lived in NJ at a place called Popcorn Park, sort of a sanctuary for animals that we’re abused or uncared for. He loved to eat popcorn so he would always greedily eat mine when I passed by to see him, which eventually led to him biting the bag that held it, and then my coat sleeve which held the bag, etc., etc.. He was always separated out from the other goats because for some reason he had something wrong with one of his testicles, I don’t remember exactly what it was now, but that was the reason. He had a really long beard too. He was rambunctious but friendly. Sadly he died years later but he’s the goat that I first connected with.
Goat yoga introduced me to the wonder of baby or young goats. Their cuteness and sheer enthusiasm really took hold of me. I’ve been lucky enough to experience it a few times. The first time was at a place in NH which sadly has recently closed it doors but we learned of it I believe through an episode of Chronicle, a local tv news magazine type show. This place might have been one of the first to offer this kind of experience if not THE first. You do yoga while the babies jump around on you and such. Truth be told I don’t do it for any yoga, who cares about that, but more just to interact with the goats. We’ve also had the pleasure of doing it at places in Georgetown, MA, Dartmouth, MA, and at someone’s personal farm in western RI. We even got to snuggle and had the honor of naming two babies in NJ a few years back. They apparently liked our submissions of LaffyTaffy and Lollipop. Laffy would later go on to grow up and have kids of her own.
The Sanctuary we visit often is where you can really get to know these animals, or at least where I did. They are such soulful and smart animals. If you hang around them enough you would definitely see that. And they have such personalities, all specific to each individual creature, and yet, so human like at times. Incredible animals, with a group mentality and social structure all their own. They know love, warmth, are whip-smart and have great memory. They even know what it is and feels like to mourn their fallen friends. I think they remind me of myself sometimes, and not just because of my facial hair, but because we have deep emotion, are intelligent, at times funny and silly, and always loyal and true to ourselves, our families and our friends. And that’s something to admire and try to emulate in all our lives.
Woke up depressed, but later in the afternoon decided to take a walk on the beach and saw this scene, this particular rock just sitting there as is. Figured it make make a good picture. Ups and downs in life. By the afternoon I was feeling much better. It’s not always sun and roses these days but I try to make the best of it and move on. We had a nice late lunch at Sung Harbor before heading back as the sun was beginning to set. Memories to cherish for sure.
And yes, now we have jumped on the Wordle bandwagon. I think the fact that I’ve done thousands of crossword puzzles makes me pretty good at this game.
I got my replacement sprout for the hydroponic garden to replace the one that didn’t take. All the other 5 varieties are growing super fast now, I’m going to have to prune them soon, maybe even eat some!
LD made a killer baked ziti last night which we’re still eating today. The interesting thing about this is the various ingredients we used. Sure, the regular like broccoli, carrots, onion and garlic, but also the ziti was made out of chickpeas (and although you can taste the difference, it isn’t much and doesn’t detract from the taste) and a bunch of sauces and cheeses.
Spent some time at the sanctuary today and had saw some special guests for a few minutes tonight!
It’s been one heck of a day. At least I got my yearly Conflict of Interest training completed and done in time.
Ain’t that the truth! Anyways, how about some minutiae time? What’s up? Let’s see. Yesterday I removed the lighted reindeer from the front lawn and stored them away for next season. Been getting caught up on a lot of shows that we’d DVR’d. I’m thinking I want to check out Peacemaker – heard that’s getting a lot of buzz. I made some killer bacon burgers last night. What else? Started rereading The Puzzler’s Dilemma: From the Lighthouse of Alexandria to Monty Hall, a Fresh Look at Classic Conundrums of Logic, Mathematics, and Life, a book I read back in 2012 but it’s been so long I forget it all and I’m looking for something to read…so there’s that. The hydroponics are really growing now. One of the sprouts doesn’t seem to be taking but I’ve done steps to try to rectify that. All of the other sprout strains are doing well.
Told you it was just boring minutiae!
“Where words are restrained, the eyes often talk a great deal.”
– Samuel Richardson.
Here’s a pretty good Mahjongg type game I’ve been playing lately. I especially like the various board layouts you can try out. My current fav is the Snake layout but it’s all good. Shanghai
Things are starting to get back to normal around here which is really good and provides me with a sigh of relief. LD is finally back and doing well. I did take a tumble down the stairs this morning but thankfully it was my left buttcheek that took the brunt. Thankfully not on my tailbone because that would have been really problematic. I’m alright, maybe just a teeny bit sore in the affected area. The stupid railing finally gave, I had a feeling it would sooner or later and I guess today was the day. Going to have to get new brackets and reinstall since that’s the part that snapped, they’ve been there since forever. None the worse for wear though so no worries. I’m a pretty tough cookie.
On a positive note, the hydroponic garden we’ve started is performing nicely. Real soon I’ll be able to remove the little domes on the sprouts and they can grow freely. I also checked on the pine tree out back that showed signs of distress this summer but I’m pleased to see that it has mostly recovered on it’s own. It even has two pinecones on it now.
I disabled comments on posts that are greater than two weeks old moving forward. Seems spammers just would add stupid comments. It’s really a waste of their time since every comment has to be registered and approved which theirs never would be but I got sick of seeing the notifications about it, so that ought to curb that.
Things I do to pass the time lately these days, playing around with various filters to entertain myself. I thought this one was kinda cool. Let me put a spell on you with my magic hands. Actually I don’t need a filter for that, but speaking of doing things with hands…
I went down to an antique dealer this afternoon and picked up a couple of drawer craft cabinets to store craft supplies for LD that she had ordered. These will go with another hand crafter cabinet that a carpenter must have built for someone a couple of weeks ago using solid wood, not any of that particle board crap. That one is so cute looking, plus you can’t beat the price and I think there is just something about some hand crafted woodworking. Carpentry was one of the things that I was interested in as a child but I never pursued it. I think having to sand down a project we had to do in shop class for what seemed like 5 billion times in high school burnt me out on it. However, my sister is actually really good at carpentry believe it or not. She can build or repair just about anything. Also, I saw you rolling your eyes regarding my hands comment.
Not looking forward to being outside at all tomorrow, but those are the breaks!
Woke up to the first snow storm of the year. We got about 13″ in this area but at least it was mostly fluffy. I’ve been going back in forth to the hospital that last couple of days and probably for next few days to visit LD (thankfully it’s not Covid related, but still the sooner she can leave the better – caring thoughts appreciated, things are looking good but I still worry!)
The plow guy came after I was pretty much done so I didn’t need his services this time (my own masculinity remains intact if my back is a little sore – lol). I’ll be on the heating pad tonight! I’m only half kidding – it really isn’t that bad. Just want to get LD home as healthy and as soon as possible.
You may notice that I’ve moved this site over to a https URL instead of the less secure http that I’ve been using. So you may need to update your bookmarks but probably not. I’m not collecting any information from visitors, not doing e-commerce or anything like that, it’s just a prudent thing to do.
I just heard my New Years Eve skating photo from a few days ago was featured on NECN. Pretty cool. For some reason they don’t seem to be notifying anymore, just showing on tv. I wouldn’t have known about it but a woman I used to work with back in my AutoCAD drafting days saw it and commented the news to me.
I just picked up and finished reading Fauci: Expect the Unexpected. Easy read. That’s my first book on 2022. Hopefully I’ll be able to do more reading this year. I was horrified to learn that according to my Goodreads I had only read 5 books in 2021. Is that right? My average is around 25-30 books a year.
Spent a part of yesterday getting things set up. For one, I finally got the AeroGarden up and running. Pretty cool how it uses hydroponics on a desktop type scale. What we didn’t realize is that the super bright light it uses to imitate sunlight will be on for 15 hours a day. I woke up early today to try to sync the lighting time with our daily schedule. We also set up LD’s professional website, the URL is up and we’re still working on the design and content style but all the admin stuff is installed and ready to go.
Spent a little bit of yesterday checking out the New Year Festivities down in the local town. I think this shot captured the night pretty well. LD helped me direct this shot btw! Ended the night with Starbucks’ hot chocolate, looking at some lights on people’s houses, watching television, eating shrimp cocktail, and just laying low. Strangely yesterday didn’t really feel like any particular special day to me, just seemed like a regular day in the end. Fell asleep on the couch but did wake up in time to see the ball drop in NYC, then right to bed. Been that kind of a year I guess, I think 2022 is going to be the year that we’re going to be back to normal going into the spring. High hopes!