Category: Food

Sunsets, Fish Shacks, Cape Porpoise Love

Posted on by Markman
Cape Porpoise Fish Shacks

We headed off to Cape Porpoise for a little mini weekend getaway. I really enjoyed this trip. The Airbnb we stayed in was really great – I would surely return to it. It was so spacious and the hosts were super great. The first night we headed to the town over called Biddeford Pool because there was a food/store place called Goldthwaites that we wanted to try. It was good and the views from their back outside area were wonderful. I noticed you could even see the Stage Island Monument in the distance. I do so love this area of Maine. We also saw deer and what appeared to be a company of black swans, but could that be true?

Next day we did a bunch of things. We hiked a part of the Carson trail, which is part of the Rachel Carson Reserve Wildlife area. It was kind of too hot to really do too much of that though plus it was a little buggy so we didn’t stay there too long. There were a ton of chipmunks around I noticed. For lunch we drove into Kennebunk and I ended up getting a burger at a place called Duffy’s. We then headed back for a little rest before hitting Goose Rock Beach for the afternoon. While there we saw piping plovers, a cool sandcastle that someone built, and a very cute Bassett Hound named Baxter that we had to greet.For dinner we got some good eats at Mabel’s Lobster Claw.

Next day we went to Sunday services at St. Ann’s Church, What’s cool is that they do the service right by the water weather permitting. It was a bit rainy when we went so the service was actually indoors but even that was pretty cool. I actually really liked everything about this location and plan to return for some other services soon. We got breakfast at a place next to Mabel’s from last night called the Pantry. I decided to try the eggs benedict with lobster and it was damn good. Another afternoon at the beach afterwards I wanted to catch a sunset at the famous fish shacks. Thanks to LD for finding the perfect location for me to shoot from!

The fish shacks. I was always curious about these buildings. After taking these shots we eventually found a place where we could get some eats (a pizza actually) which was a bit of a struggle to find food since it seems all the places around here close at 8 or 9 o’clock. I caught the tail end of the Valkyries WNBA game as they beat the Suns. It’s nice that this Airbnb had all the stations you could want, they aren’t usually like that in my experience.

Finally on Monday it started to get really hot. We checked out, hit Stonewall Kitchen for a quick bite and Yummies to get some candy fix. Our freinds up in Georgetown were kind enough to let us stop by and use their pool for a bit so we could cool off before going all the way home. So we took a dip for an hour or two and were then on our way back home.

All in all, this was a fantastic trip! I probably left out a ton of stuff but these were some of the high points!

Currently Reading: Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers

Free Donuts

Posted on by Markman

Today was National Donut Day so I made use of the opportunity this morning and got my free donut. (Is it really that free though? You did have to purchase a beverage first). Anyways, I went down to a local CVS to pick up some LD meds but they weren’t in stock yet, even though they said it would be there last night. Annoying, I’ll have to go back later tonight. Anyways, there’s a DD across the street from the pharmacy and that’s where I picked up the D. I ended up going with a maple glazed, which I had not seen at other DD establishments.

Cat Vet, Gardening and Strippers

Posted on by Markman

I haven’t updated in a while because it’s been sort of busy, but nothing to report of great import so that’s why. Let’s see if I can give a little catch up. In no particular order, took my mom’s cat to the vet (see above). Don’t be fooled, it was a bit of a production to get him there first into the carrier to go, and then out of the carrier so they could give him his annual shots and things. He did seem to like staying on the scale though, And of course, once he’s done it’s like they know and happily carts himself into the carrier to go home. Will have to get his brother there next month to do the same.

What else? Bunch of gardening things, pulled out the little Adirondack planters from last year that I had forgotten about but was reminded when I went to the Depot to get a new watering can and saw they had new ones. Still waiting for the fence guys to return to install the panels just laying about in the driveway. Went back to that food truck last Sunday and got another roll. Chicken on the Road guys are going to be there on Saturday so I may need to take a trip down and get some. I remember when they used to come to the office where I was working at the time and I liked it very much. Been so long since I’ve had one of their entrees.

I watched the Suns get absolutely shellacked last Friday by the New York Liberty. Damn, are they good. Hopefully the Suns can get a win on Friday. And then on Saturday is a national televised game with the Valkyries, LD trainer’s daughter’s team, who is a badass in her own right. I’ve been really getting into this WNBA stuff. No other good sports stuff going on around here lately. Sox blow but I can’t stand baseball anyway,

What else? Found a fun little demo of a game called Feezie and Friends on UFO Island which was cute. Pretty much finished all the Sokubird2 levels but gave up on the last couple. Guess that’s it for the moment. Looking forward to reading about Princess Cheyenne memoir by the princess herself, Hmmm, she also did other things after that career that might be even more fascinating but I wonder if this book she wrote doesn’t go into any of that now that I’ve read the blurb.

Also wouldn’t mind eating popcorn out of Galacticus’ head!

Sunday We Do Yard Work

Posted on by Markman

We were quite busy today getting a bunch of stuff done around the house. But first we saw a promotion from a local floral business that stated if you brought them 2 or more old vases you would get a free floral bouquet. So we looked around, found two old vases that we had no real attraction to keeping anymore and went down and met the folks. And got the free bouquet. Pretty good idea actually.

Then it was on the yard tasks. First before anything else, I put the AC up in the window because it’s going to start to be getting hotter. Then I went ahead and gave the outdoor grill a thorough cleaning, inside and out. I also cleaned down the patio table and LD planted more potter plants. Then we went over to the “prairie area” we have a weeded out there. Now the 100 year old lilies that we planted there a few years back will have more room to grow and prosper. I have to say they look really good and healthy so far, I guess they like the location. I then decided to go ahead and mow the lawns and edge the fences. That took a while since it’s a pretty big yard, but I like the job that I did. I left a spot in the middle of the lawn where some wild buttercups are in bloom for pollinators though. Once they’re done I’ll mow over them.

As a reward LD decided to take me to a place I saw on tv the other night that makes mochi donuts, an Asian specialty that I wanted to try. I got three different kinds but I think my favorite of the ones I got was the taro. Now it’s wind down and relax time as our bodies muscles are hurting! Escpeally mine after all that biking yesterday.

A Little Back Yard Love going On

Posted on by Markman

Yesterday was a pretty busy day! In the morning some guys we got to replace some of the falling fence panels in the back yard came by to remove the worst of the offenders. These panels are just so old and waterlogged, one even fell down. Those will be getting replaced piecemeal as time goes on. By the end of a week or two they should be done with the work. Good thing I had finally mowed the lawn a few days ago. We then had our previous massage lady come by and pick up the supplies she had left here, by now a few years ago, like her table and heater and bolster, and it was fun to reconnect. Maybe we’ll do a lunch or something in the future. We then hit the town’s garden flowers sale, something that we do every year. It wasn’t as big this year and it was a bit rainy but we got a few things. LD had a bunch of things to do while caught the Celtics game and then we planted the plants we got earlier, but then the sun had come out and it was a nice day.. We then cooked and baked some things as well, and I ordered a pizza. That’s that, a typical Saturday around here.

The Museum of Ice Cream

Posted on by Markman

Not generally a place we would normally check out, but we do like to shake things up and try something different now and again. This place surely was that. This was the kind of place you visit just once.

Currently Reading: The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty. I happened to see the author of this book doing a talk on C-Span after just flipping around the dial in a moment of boredom and it sounded interesting. I mean we all know the story but this traces the history back to the great-grandfather and all the previous fathers leading up to Alex. Come to find out, they’ve been pretty corrupt all along! When I saw how big it was I started to get a little daunted but the style is perfect and it’s easy to read. I recommend it, especially just to see how corrupt this family was from the start,

A Happy Little Cape Getaway Weekend

Posted on by Markman

We had a nice little weekend getaway down the Cape to help celebrate LD’s birthday month. Here’s some of my highlights. I will say it was an awfully windy weekend down there but it was beautiful. Some fun stuff we got to do were some Chocolate Sparrow trips, dinner at a great place we like called Island Blue Crab (where our favorite Bulgarian waitress works), hanging out in such a cute little Airbnb right next to the water, grabbing another Dedham Pottery item to the collection, checking out the sunsets and just overall chilling out. Even set up a future trip in the area for August already! More pics from the trip over on the Instagram account.

Celebrating the Ladydoc Last Night

Posted on by Markman

Last night we went out to celebrate LD’s birthday at a place called Black and Blue Steak and Crab. Since the establishment was participating in restaurant week we decided to go there, plus I like to try new places. Although the food was very good, it’s not really our vibe, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. When we got home I presented LD with some gifts that I got my little swimmer. A book by Katie Ledecky and some really cool looking smart AR goggles which have a heads up display in the eyepiece so you can see all kinds of stats as you are swimming – pretty futuristic looking, hopefully they’ll work well for her.

Finding Colorful Turkeys in Town

Posted on by Markman

Went into Brookline today to go check out some of the turkey sculptures! After finding some of them we went to Legal Seafoods and I bought LD lunch as part of this thing I’m doing for her birthday month which is everyday I do a little something, could be big, could be small, like yesterday’s corn muffin. Sort of like an Advent Calendar of the Ladydoc! Haha! We made use of the restaurant participating in Boston Restaurant Week so that was cool. After that we got some vegan ice cream and a place next door called Van Leeuwen. I ended up getting a hot chocolate while LD got some delicious vegan ice cream flavored treats.

Eighty Six Years Young and Puppies

Posted on by Markman

Saturday we got invited to participate in LD’s former landlady’s birthday. A glorious 86 years! Amazing! Yesterday we kind of hunkered down dealing with the snow (which thankfully wasn’t a big deal) and baked a bunch of things while running the Jukebox. Tasty treats like banana bread and muffins, chickpea muffins which are surprisingly good and of course, the signature lemon orzo soup! We also watched the Puppy Bowl which has become a yearly tradition. No interest in the actual Super bowl.

Currently Reading: Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross.

The Solstice Viewing That Wasn’t

Posted on by Markman

Started the day by making lemon orzo soup again! Great day for it as it’s been snowing all day. The star of tonight’s show though was attending the SOLSTICE EVENT this evening down at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. Unfortunely when it was time to go it really started snowing pretty heavy here. We gave it the old college try but took forever just to get to the highway and then that was backed up like crazy. So we decided then and there to abort the mission. It was becoming too stressful and might even be dangerous. Kind of sucks because it’s hard to get tickets but there’s always next year. We were supposed to meet up with some friends there who actually did brave the snow and got there but they were in the car for like 3 hours. So below would have been some cool pics from the event but since we couldn’t make it, there aren’t any.

Make Believe these were some cool Solstice Pictures from last night’s event

Currently Reading: Tits Up: What Sex Workers, Milk Bankers, Plastic Surgeons, Bra Designers, and Witches Tell Us about Breasts by Sarah Thornton and Oh, the Pics That You’ll Post! by Maiana Rose. That ought to finish out my year of books read. I’ll do a post of my favorites I read this year along with my usual top ten or so moments from the year. I already starting looking a little bit about what I’m going to post but that probably won’t see the light until after the new year so stay tuned for that.

Goats in My Pockets

Posted on by Markman

Spent some time yesterday afternoon visiting the sanctuary. We have to get to know these new goats better sooner or later! Plus we had some food we needed to drop off for the animals. For whatever reason, this one goat named Dansa really thought I had something in my pockets. We didn’t stay too long though, we needed to get back because we were having some guests over in the late afternoon, and that went really nice as well. We were going to do a fire pit but by the time they arrived it started to get a wee bit chilly so we hung indoors and ate pizza and calzones and chatted. I’ll try to get to the firepit this afternoon perhaps. But first we have a reflexology appointment in the late morning to luxuriate in! Oh, one other thing. While I was at the sanctuary I was pleased to learn they still had Stardust the Donkey’s 50th birthday party shirts for sale, so I got one. I wanted to attend his birthday this summer but the schedule just didn’t align. I am glad I was able to get one. In fact, I think I’ll wear it out today.

Currently Watching (or soon will be actually): The Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking the Truth . I have it all scheduled to record on the DVR on Wednesday night.

Currently Reading: The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi (review)

Little Home Remedies

Posted on by Markman

The other day I saw something on a home improvement show that I thought would be good to have so I bought it. Simply put, it’s a GCFI Outlet tester. These things are great because they tell you if your outlet was wired correctly, for example, everything is connected the right way, no reverse polarity, grounded properly, things like that. Plus it was only ten bucks. We’ve had things reversed in this house before so it’s good to check to see that it’s correct. Things will still work if it’s reversed but the problem is you’ll think appliances and such are off when they really aren’t because the current wouldn’t be off at the outlet so there’s a possibility of electrocution which would not be good.

Yesterday we made some of the famous Lemon Orzo chicken soup, mostly for LD’s old landlady who Unfortunely had to go the the hospital over the last week. She’s now in a rehab facility so we visited her yesterday evening and seemed very pleased with the soup. For some reason or another, she really likes the way we make this soup.

As for me, well, I’m hanging in there. Both my knees have been hurting, who knows why, just old age I guess. Plus there’s a lot going on here right now but trying to stay strong and to stay on the path!

Visiting Mt. Auburn in Fall Part One

Posted on by Markman

My mom invited me to brunch over at a place called the S&S in Cambridge this morning so I took her up on her offer. I hadn’t been to that place since probably before the pandemic with LD. I ended up getting a turkey club with I must say was delicious. That place has been there forever and it’s always pretty good.

After dropping her off I decided that Mt. Auburn might be a good p[lace to get some autumn shots so I drove on over there with no set goal in mind and to just see what I see. However after today I feel I’m going to need to go again because there is just so much and I only had limited time today. There’s a few more sites there I want to check out and pay my respects to. As LD always says, “Mr. History!”

I did find a couple of noteworthy people in my walking today however. Stopped by Edwin Booth‘s grave, considered by many to be the greatest actor of the 18th century but unfortunately overshadowed by his younger brother killing Abraham Lincoln and Dorothea Dix, an advocate on behalf of mental health. Her grave is very non ostentatious considering all the achievements she accomplished in life.

Hawk Visitors and Rabbit Holes

Posted on by Markman

Hawk decided to have a seat and hang out on the patio with me. These guy better leave our bunnies alone! 🐰 🐰 🐰 Got through a bunch more tasks today before the weekend. I woke up early again and got through some billing tasks, then I went to Target to pick up some things for LD. Got back and went out again to get gas, drop some food off at the food pantry, and then took another trip out to Lexington to get some more stuff for LD, including some more pumpkins. Unfortunely they no longer had this bumpy warty one that I should have got the last time I was there, but instead picked up a popcorn pumpkin and another one that was multicolored. Perhaps I’ll come across some more unique pumpkins elsewhere. Toward the end of the afternoon we roasted a 7-lb chicken in the oven.

In the early evening we just happened to be flipping around the dial and landed on the Chronicle show which was doing a piece on Devens, which brought back to my mind the time that I worked on projects related to the army base that was there. I did a bunch of the mapping for the gov’t reports that we’d do. Here was one such report, and if you scroll around to the figures you’ll see my initials “MSB” in the title blocks. God, that was so long ago. These graphics were all done by me in AutoCAD back in the day. It was probably version 12 or 13 at the time. I also think they were all originally in color. The basic idea was the army had to know where any contamination was and to remediate it before the land could be used for anything else. In watching the Chronicle episode last night you could see what became of some of it. Pretty amazing that I had a part in that, all those years ago. What’s also weird was just the other day I came across some old awards and such back at Earth-1 recalling myself back to that time as well. Nostalgia city!

Life’s Pretty Gourd Right Now!

Posted on by Markman

Three highlights from Saturday. We finally got out to Lexington to check out the annual pumpkin wall over at Wilson Farms (something that I had been wanting to check out for a while) and while there we even purchased some goods, like pumpkins and mums and various treats. Then if was off to Revere Beach where we hung out for a few hours. The beach was warm but there was a constant sea breeze which felt cool. I also had a Kelly’s lunch there. One interesting thing was watching the seagulls get these mollusks and fly up into the air with them to then drop them to let the fall help crack them open. Every now and then a different gull would grab one’s hard work. Finally came home on grilled in the early evening. Burgers and some corn that we got at the farm. Today we’re going to get some friend pool time in before checking out some kitty and goat experience. We’ll see how that all goes!

Hanging It Up

Posted on by Markman

Currently Reading: The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI Ray Kurzweil

I went into the gym this morning that has an outside pool and large hot tub so I could use the hot tub. Ahh, that felt pretty good. It was a beautiful morning too so that adds a lot to it. Then it was off to Staples to return some Amazon things. They make the returns so easy now, just pop in and they scan a QR code and it’s done. Afterwards we headed to the office to hang up one of my photographic landscapes. This particular shot is a little old before I really knew how to shoot scenes better so there’s a newer shot that I want to do and hang, at least for myself. When I get around to having that done I’ll post that here as well. Finished off the afternoon with a short nap in my gravity chair on the deck (maybe that hot tub took more out of me than I thought!) and then some light grilling of burgers and salmon. A pretty standard Labor Day weekend thing to do.

Pool Time to Enjoy the Tail End of Summer

Posted on by Markman

Drove up to Beverly in the morning to pick up some more unique and somewhat large Dedham Pottery for display. It just so happened to be on the way to our planned destination of hanging out in our friends pool up that way, that is just about complete. All the hardscape is in, new deck, incorporated grill, firepit, etc. Just need to seed the grass areas so by next season it will really shine. Actually it’s a quite beautiful setup. I was in the pool for quite some time and had a blast just floating on the “Chill Chair” as can be seen in the photos. We were afraid at one point that it might rain, but thankfully it never did and ended up being a spectacular afternoon! Lucked out again!

Later in the afternoon we grilled. We brought up some shrimp and we had prepared some veggies and local sweet corn and brought up some of our tools like these grill cages to make kabobs. Mollie, their super cute dog, is getting bigger but she is still a handful. Of course she is still just a puppy but training her has been a bit of a challenge. She’s quite sassy, but I like that about her. She also needs to be a little more chill, which for her is kind of impossible, because her leg has a joint that can get out of place and then it needs to be massaged basically to slide back into place. Poor thing! She just doesn’t seem to know her own body yet, or maybe she gets so excited that she doesn’t even think of any consequences of her actions. We ended up staying so much longer than anticipated. Time just went by so fast! We got home just as the sun went down, all in all, another perfect day.

Visiting an Old Friend in a New Place

Posted on by Markman

Finally got around to visiting LNU’s new location in Providence, RI this afternoon. It’s a more direct shot now to get to, but in a somewhat busier part of town and not as quaint, but the new digs are more spacious and the food is all still great! Also nearby was a mural with a message that said, “Most of Us Live Off Hope” which we thought was great.

Beach, Dog Snuggles, Art, Family, Nothing Better

Posted on by Markman

Family came to visit this weekend. Sort of an impromptu visit but it was a good one. Friday night I grilled and we did a firepit as everyone got settled. Saturday we went to the DeCordova Museum in the afternoon to check out some sights, get some photo ops, etc. The hearts are the best thing there in my opinion but that slanted house which is a newer installation was also pretty cool. Naturally we had to pose with it, along with some other installations. Had pizza in the afternoon at the hotel, and then headed to the beach in the late afternoon for some swim time. I think the dog had the best time of all!

Sunday was another low key day, breakfasts and then I watched the dog while everyone went to the pool to cool off and/or exercise. I will say the dog was extremely well behaved and such a pleasure to be around. Such a sweet dog. Not sure how Carson felt about everything but he got through it. Late afternoon was another grilling session, LD and one guest helped with some amazing sides, and even had the landlady down the street over to join.

All in all it was a pretty amazing time! Go figure!

.I will admit, I am a little fried at the moment. Geez, it’s tough to get older!