Thanks Boston.com for sharing my latest photograph! And another thing to celebrate today is it is our cat Carson’s Gotcha Day!
Category: Scenic Photography
Christmas Prelude in Kennebunk Weekend Fun
Back from a wonderful weekend in Maine during the Christmas Prelude festivities that the town of Kennebunkport puts on. LD got this sweet little Airbnb location right near the center of town so everything was really convenient and accessible to get to. The first night there, which was Friday, we kind of just checked in to the Airbnb and got some takeout and hung with some friends that live in the area. We got to hang with their pups, Boomer and Pippa. Boomer is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever so he’s a pretty big dog. He doesn’t really seem to know that though as his master keeps trying to train him but he has a ways to go. Still, he is a love and LD can’t get enough of him, they have a special connection, Pippa is a Jack Russel and a bit feisty but that’s her personality. I don’t think we got back to the Airbnb until after midnight. For some reason time just seems to fly anytime we are there.
The next day we got breakfast done the street at a little coffee shop and then headed over to some crafty fair thing. They did have some amazing looking gingerbread houses in one of the shops. In the evening we hit a restaurant and checked out some things, like the various lighted trees in Cape Porpoise as well as KBP and did a bit more shopping and browsing. Before that though we drove to Ogunquit to see some fireworks – perhaps that town wanted to get in on what KBP was doing. The weather was great all weekend except that it was a bit on the chilly side.
On Sunday we checked out some Dog parade they were having. Pippa was supposed to be in but bailed at the last minute because it was a bit too cold, plus she’s feisty, like I mentioned before. For lunch LD had somehow managed to reserve a fish shack at this restaurant called Batson River Brewing and Distilling. It was quite an experience. We liked it. And I have to say the food on this trip was really good. Every place that we went was great. I took a ton of pictures of which here is a sampling. Truth to tell I simply cannot remember every single thing that we did!
Driving home on Sunday night kind of sucked because we got stuck in the falling snow so getting home was slow but we made it safe and sound and that’s what’s important.
In other small news:
Gametime: Sophie the Slug. A fun little sliding game I’ve been playing with lately. I also borrowed a new book from my Libby App entitled “The Babysitter: My Summers with a Serial Killer” about the story of Tony Costa. It’s a pretty good read as I am enjoying it. I learned a fascinating tidbit while reading the early chapters of this book in that he actually lived two streets up from where I grew up. Pretty wild.
The Business Cards have Arrived!
The business cards arrived this afternoon. Now I plan to go around and post a bunch around. Have to give props to the Ladydoc for taking the lead on this!
AWD is back!
Well, when I started up the car this morning, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the AWD was back and working normally. I had googled about it yesterday and a bunch of folks said it can be caused by a bunch of things, but one thing you should try is checking the gas cap. So that’s what I did yesterday and the message still showed but this morning it was gone. I suppose it takes a little time for the sensors or whatever to “catch up.” Anyways, I’m pleased about this outcome. Let’s hope it stays this way! I also spent part of the afternoon filling up my tires using this portable USB air compressor I bought awhile ago. It works like a charm and saves me a trip to a air filling station.
I also forgot to mention that we paid a visit to Like No Udder down in Providence RI on Friday night. We hadn’t gotten anything from there since the time of LD’s big party bash. It was delicious. It’s amazing the things they can make all vegan – you would not no the difference, they are that good. So just a plus for those guys. They are going on hiatus till February now so if you can, check them out in the spring.
Watched a beautiful flock of cardinals in the back yard frolicking around this morning. Makes me want to start photographing birds again. I’d never seen so many red birds all together all at once like that before.
Not sure why I’m all over this Amy Robach/TJ Holmes story. Maybe I should get a life? For some reason though I feel drawn to the drama. Now I heard they’ve been put on “hiatus.” I never actually watched their show, I’m just interested in all the media buzz about it, Also RIP to Kirstie Alley.
New Product Alert! For the Love of Sunsets has been added to the store! This one looks really great either as a framed print or a metal print.
Pink Skies on the Pier at the Holidays
I spent some time over at Earth-1 this morning. I had to take care of a few errands, check the fuel tanks, take care of some bills, etc. etc. Also for some reason my sister’s tv wasn’t seeing the internet anymore so I tried to help her out with that. As I was driving back over to Earth-2 my ride kept saying there was a system malfunction with the AWD and that 2WD was engaged. I suppose I’ll have to get that looked at eventually. So annoying, but I suppose things could be worse.
Hey, I’m going to let you guys in on an awesome Chrome extension called YouTube Enhancer. Just Google it. It does a lot of things but the best thing is that it gets rid of all the ads. So try it out – it’s super great.
I Was a Photo Contest Award Winner
Under the Powder Point Bridge
Today was the Big Day!
We got dressed up for this! A while back we had entered some of my photos from Duxbury Beach on over to the Duxbury Beach Reservation Committee and low and behold they actually chose one of the three that we submitted! I was notified that I’d be included in their upcoming calendar why back in the late spring. Imagine my surprise when months later, I was invited by them to participate in a thank you and reception to be held at the Duxbury Bay Maritime School! We arrived and were greeted by the trustees of the Reservation and lead upstairs to the Chart Room where all the winning photographs were on display, printed out and framed around the room! Very cool! After a brief talk and meet and greet with the other folks we all got our gift bags filled with goodies from the Reservation even and got to keep our winning photo, frame and all! They really do look pretty amazing all framed out.
The photo that was selected.
After looking through the gorgeous calendar my shot appears in the month of September. Why did I pick this shot to take? I had just happened to be walking around by the bridge and I saw that most of the water had receded at that time so I wandered underneath. I think at first I was taken with the woodwork underneath the bridge road surface. I thought the texture looked pretty cool, and then the more I looked I thought the ripples in the sand and even the shadows created by the sun underneath was also pretty cool. It’s also something really related to Duxbury Beach as the bridge is a big part of it and I wanted something representative of the area. I also took “regular” beach shots but I felt those could be from any beach, with this, I felt it was something that only exists here and is instantly recognizable to the folks who frequent here.
I also took a very cool shot of a Xmas tree on a pier at sunset that I’ll be posting tomorrow!
Dedication to the Ladydoc
None of any of this would have been possible without the love and support of the Ladydoc. From getting me here to sharing ideas and looking for opportunities for me. Hell, she even bought me the “real” camera that I used to take these shots way back when! I wanted to give her the credit that she deserves and for making me better in every way. All these shots that I take really couldn’t have happened without her in my life. So thank you LD, from the bottom of my heart.
Welcome to Another December
Got a new desk and roof rake from our friends yesterday who are moving to another town soon and didn’t need or want to move those items so we took them. I think the roof rake might come in quite handy come the serious winter. I went to go pick them yesterday just before the weather really started turning bad but luckily everything came out just fine. Route 93 is terrible anytime but especially in a serious rain and nearing rush hour to boot.
Today’s picture post is a shot I took of the Nubble Light very early one morning. I thought the waves crashing up on the rocks made a pretty dramatic shot, although I’m not totally satisfied with this one but perhaps I’m being a bit harsh on myself. Also the sky had a pinkish hue to it.
All You Need Is Love and Sunsets
I figured I’d pop this post with a nice visual. In truth, for some reason, my knee has been bugging me. The thing is though is that it’s my other knee, rather than the one that was bugging me over the summer, which seems to be ok these days for the most part.
I think I’m just going to try to rest it tonight while watching Howard Stern interview Bruce Springsteen on HBO Max. It’s pretty interesting!
Shop My Work for Small Business Saturday!
Small Business Saturday is here! If you’re looking for a great gift for your home or office, why not consider checking out some of the photos that I have available?
Mark Bethoney Photography to check out some of my artwork for sale. Thank you in advance for considering! You know I don’t like to be all spammy and such but it really, really, really helps out.
P.S. You might see some of my business cards floating around local establishments soon! (Special thanks to LD for that!)
Being Grateful for What We Have
It’s that time of year again! Just a little gratitude can unlock the great fullness of love.
Wishing you all a wonderful holiday full of love and plenty.
Happy Thanksgiving!”
My First Stress Eating Experience
We had a wonderful time last night. LD had made a variety of home-cooked dishes, including meatballs, the “lacy” chicken, roasted veggies, pasta, cookies, and even brownies, in advance of our guests. We had a problem where some of the meatballs and sauce that were being refrigerated started seeping out onto various drawers and things while the cookies were baking, so we had to remove any item that got touched as well as a lot of drawers and shelves and had to wash them down and clean them. It took a little bit of time but any crises were thankfully averted as the cookies balking in the oven at the time didn’t burn.
I think I was feeling a little worried out about the whole situation since there seemed to be too much going on. I discover that I struggle under those circumstances. I suppose I prefer to have control over things and like to act in a measured, linear manner. I don’t seem to do well with a lot of spontaneous things happening all it once, it stresses me out. Even worse, I was reportedly stress eating, which is something I don’t recall ever doing. or at least not to my knowledge or ever noticed before. Go figure!
But because of how exceptional our visitors were, all the worrying and worrying-about was in vain. Although I had some concerns about our visitor’s son, let’s just say that I thought he might be a bit ‘boisterous’, he turned out to be a lot of fun and quite lovely. We even ended up playing a game of Air Hockey in the game room while his mother was playing Ms. Pacman and he was really good. Overall, it was a beautiful get-together with lots of interesting chat, especially after the son found the iPad and started making music on it to pass the time. Even Carson was intrigued and came out of hiding to watch and listen to him play as he sat on the beanbag lounge (something he’s been taking to do a lot lately), and watched and listened to him play. Oh, I almost forgot, we also fired up the jukebox and played a few tunes as well. Yeah, we can be pretty retro nostalgic here!
Needless to say we have quite a few leftovers to eat!
Today’s image is a beach shot from the other day when it was 70 degrees F outside and we decided to hit the beach for a few.
Circadian Rhythm Out Of Syncing
My circadian rhythm is all messed up now. Now waking up and 4:30 AM is pretty normal for now.
Taking advantage of the nice weather I went ahead and made a task list for myself of all the fall cleanup things I wanted to accomplish before the weather turns colder.
I disconnected the back hose and shut off the water line to it and stored the housing in the basement. I dug up a bunch of our tubers and stored them like I did last year so I can replant them in the spring. I raked and picked up a bunch of leaves, mostly ones near the utilities so that they weren’t obstructed. I still need to put some things away back under the sink but I finish that up once the dishwasher is totally installed. Did a bunch more of getting that ready today working with the plumber, it’s almost done. Speaking of new appliances, I fired up the new oven for the first time last night, just a simple bake. It worked like a charm. I may end up changing some of the defaults like the volume tone and certain other things, but generally it rocks. Once that’s in I’ll go ahead and replace the side screen door with it’s winter glass pane equivalent,
I heard about a simple pasta sauce recipe I want to try that sounds super duper easy. Marcella Hazan’s recipe is so basic that it only requires a can of whole peeled tomatoes, 5 tablespoons of butter, a dash of salt, and an onion cut in half. Throw it all in a pan and let it simmer for 45 minutes uncovered. Supposedly it’s pretty good. I need to try this real soon.
I started that new book I mentioned the other day. So far I’m digging it. I do find those people so fascinating, even though they lived over 3500 years ago.
For the latest Gametime I’ve been hooked on Stars Align, a cute little puzzle game that made me think!
I suppose one more try on the Powerball. Right? I got my numbers in again for tonight.
Contented by Chrysanthemums
A chrysanthemum by any other name would be easier to spell.”
A Little Sparkle to Brighten the Day
This afternoon we took a little ride over to the Sanctuary. We actually had not been there in quite a while. It was nice to visit with our animal friends for a while, and of course, the various goats! Other than that, it was another low key day. Afterwards I pretty just wanted to veg in front of the tv so that’s what I did. However, I plan to be much more productive tomorrow running errands, replacing the screens to glass panes in the doors because it’s starting to get colder now, and a bunch of other little things.
Oh, one cool thing that I was able to figure out yesterday morning, is streaming from the phone straight to the tv, so we were able to watch an educational medical conference that LD was interested in, right on the tv instead of looking at the little phone screen or computer screen, and we didn’t have to huddle over a little screen to watch it.
Pumpkin Spice and a Bivalent Booster
Went down to get my bivalent shot. Easy peasy lemonade squeezy. Before that I grabbed this pic of some of the pumpkins we have laying about. I have decided to call it “Pumpkin Spice.”
Watch List: Took a chance on Blonde on Netflix, a fictionalized account of Marilyn Monroe. I wanted to see what the buzz was about. My verdict? So-so. It started out pretty good but then, I don’t know, I started to lose interest. For one, it’s too long and also since a bunch of it is fictionalized you’re not sure what really happened or not. While I don’t doubt that some of that stuff happened I would have preferred a more factual representation. Just my two cents. The lead actress does do a great job though.
Sunday Rest Day
Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.”
– Emily Brontë
I booked my bivalent vaccine shot for Friday afternoon this morning. Should be pretty easy and it is time for me to get it done, so there’s that. We went to LD’s workplace in Wellesley later in the day, and while we were there, she spotted this magnificent tree, which I had to photograph. The light coming through was simply a lucky coincidence of being in the right place at the right time! This picture just screams Autumn to me. Other than that, today has been a pretty low key day, which is what we planned. Just some simple errand runs, some television watching getting caught up on some shows, sitting out in the warm sun. Like I said, low ley Sunday. I did finally get my haircut yesterday, I feel so much lighter!
Lavallette Visit Year 2
Spent a few days down in Lavallette, NJ at a Airbnb, in fact the same one we stayed in last year at this time. It’s a great location and a pretty good place to hang out. We had a some family stay overnight with us at the beach house and I do think they all had a fun time. We were able to see two sunsets (all three days had gorgeous weather), a full moon one night, and even whales breaching right off the shore. It was quite the sight to see, especially since they were so close to the shoreline. There’s a picture out there of one literally right next to a surfer, like he could touch it with his hand, it was that close. Had some good food (some takeout but we also made some stuff and gobbled that all down over the time stayed). We were able to enjoy the takeout meals while seeing the sunset at the end of a neighboring pier. The following night, we had our guests picked up by driving them to the JBJ rest stop area so that we wouldn’t have to travel all the way back to the Airbnb because we were spending an additional night. There were some amazing pictures taken there of LD belting out the hits with the guests. It was a really fun time. Maybe I’ll add some more pictures from this trip at a later time but these are some good ones for now. I’m a bit tired!
We had a late checkout in the morning, so we took our time, ate breakfast on the beach at a local coffee house we like called Lava Java, and enjoyed a little more time at the beach as the sun was feeling quite wonderful. As we were about to return to Boston, we decided to take a detour and visit our old friend Chris and his two young girls in Yonkers, New York. There was a park right next door where we could all hang for a bit outside and the kids could play in the meantime. Beautiful looking children too. Quite the weekend! Then the long ride back home last night. I had to get back because I had CPR training down at HQ this morning so I didn’t want to miss that. Needless to say I am certified once again.
Trolley Square in Autumn and Long Weekend Travels
We’ve decided to take a trip for this long weekend we have in store. In fact, it happens to be a place that we visited around this time about two years ago. Long time readers may remember but I did list it as my second favorite location in a certain state. Anyways, they’ll be updates after I get back as I’m not bringing the Chromebook on this particular trip. There could be some updates on my socials in the meantime, Speaking of meantime, enjoy this picture of autumn from the Somerville/Cambridge line along the bike path that cuts through both cities. I used to bike this route on my way to work all the time, back when I worked in that area. Happening upon this scene I knew I had to capture it. The wagon like thing in the center is basically an artwork that depicts some of the tools that the locals used to make things in that area back in the day, In the early 1900s, the corner of Massachusetts and Cameron Avenues in North Cambridge is where trolleys for the original Boston street car system were stored and repaired. A hundred years later, the site has been given new life as a development named Trolley Square. So there you go! Be well and I’ll update soon.
Getting In on the Dynamic Island Craze
Yes, I have an flagship Samsung Android phone but I wanted to see what the buzz is all about with this new iPhone 14 feature called Dynamic Island. Just my luck someone has recreated it for Android and you can get it from the Google Play store here if you want to try it out. I do kind of like it, but I know its just some gimmick. I’ll keep it for a while and see how it goes.
Gametime: Currently trying to get through Dying Dreams.
A Reverie of the Girl Crying in the Window
We’ve spent the last few days starting to return some of the tables and chairs to the people who were so kind as to let us borrow them; they were very useful, but we’ll be keeping a few just a little while longer because this weekend is a smaller, more private gathering, and this time, a goat will be involved, if you can believe that! I don’t think that it could compare to Lenny to me, but we’ll see! We’ll be using some the games that we didn’t get to and such that we used for the party for this small group of folks who couldn’t make the main event.
Lately I’ve been having thoughts of when I was little and a couple that keep coming up is with me and my sister. I can remember a friend asking me to come over his house and I was game to do it. My sister who was quite young at the time kept crying and didn’t want me to go. maybe we were playing together at the time or something, I don’t know. Anyways I can remember being sort of adamant that I was going to go. I can remember reaching the front gate to the driveway and looking back at the house and in the window I could see my sister crying. She really didn’t want me to go, and I debated staying in my head but ultimately I went anyway. I mean, he had the latest KISS record Double Platinum at the time and I wanted to listen to it! The friend I was visiting lived over by the Powerhouse so it was only a 10 minute walk. But I never forgot the crying. I always felt something changed a little but between us after that, but that can’t be. I actually mentioned this to my sister today and she laughed about it. Didn’t remember, and of course nothing changed. (Right?) I also had thoughts of us walking each other back and forth to school one year, the one year where it overlapped in such a way that we were in the same elementary school at the same time but in different grades. I think I was in 6th and see must have been in 1st.
I miss those days, looking back now.
And today’s photo is one of those lovely sunset images that everyone seems to enjoy. This one is from Rock Harbor, which is in Orleans, Massachusetts. One of our favorite places, and I’m sure you can tell why.
Scituate Light at Sunset / Party Almost Set
The new bathroom is finished and ready! The snacks are in house! The food is ordered and on the way! The props and other accoutrements are almost ready! The tables and chairs are in and ready to be set up! This is going to be great!
Party New England Style
The party plans are coming apace! Hard to believe the time is almost here. More planning yesterday and today. Tomorrow I’m due to make a big supply run with some helpers. The weather looks to be gorgeous this weekend for the event so I couldn’t be happier about that. The props should be arriving this afternoon for the selfie station. Got what I think is a pretty good assortment of different things, yes there probably will be a bunch of photos taken at this event. I won’t post many of them here but there will be lots I am sure. Might be good to grab some candid ones too. Just have to work on getting the final food stuff together and arranging the space! This will be the first time hosting almost 20 guests at one time, could be a bit daunting!
Party Preps!
Getting sooner to the big party day. I went ahead yesterday and mowed all the lawns, might go over it again next week just to make it sure it looks all pristine. Working on getting the food and decorations together for the big day. All the invites have gone out and just about everyone that was invited is due to come. Not going to lie, I do feel a little nervous, but it’s all going to be a good time. Working on getting the propane tanks full as well, for possible grilling but also the outdoor space heater just for the off chance that it might be a chilly day, but hopefully the weather will be good all around. Also been messing around with my tripod for the selfie station. It’s been forever since I missed with it so I’m a little rusty. Decided to go with the DSLR to get some real high quality photos instead of or in addition to cell phone pics. Really want to make this a time to remember for the folks who are kind enough to join us in the celebration.
LD remembered a great place for the food that we’ll be offering. Super psyched to dig into that. Making me hungry just thinking about it. Might also need to take a trip down to Providence RI to pick up some very special snacks.
Getting a little ahead of myself – today is really about nailing down the specifics and planning. So to that end we were able to accomplish the following things today: visiting a bunch of places to see if we could get things that are on our list of things needed to get, pumpkins and mums for fall decorations. To that end we visited a couple of places and even a local farm. Really need to narrow down the rest of the list today and get everything locked down and ready!
Two of the Three Sisters
Drove to drop off 2 blank CDs in Walpole to someone online who asked for them in a social media group that we belong to. Got a bunch of free stuff off of there that was useful so just sort of giving back. I’m looking for some stuff for the game room that I’m hoping will show up on there at some point.
Made an appointment to take my mom to get her drivers license renewed at the end of the month at the local AAA office, forget going to the RMV! It took a while to get one, you basically have to keep clicking online every 10 minutes or so and hope you bump someone else out of the way. In hindsight now I’m realizing it may be a little tough to be able to make it there on time but I’m going to try.
We got these special lily bulbs from LD’s garden lady friend yesterday. I’ve been soaking them overnight to be able to put them in the ground today. For some reason the lady said they should go in as soon as possible. Just need to find a spot where they’ll actually fit. We have too many things growing! I eventually decided to put split them up a bit, putting some in the main round area and then the rest out toward the back corner of the back yard. Fingers crossed they come up next year!
Here’s a pic I took of two of the three sisters lighthouses in Orleans. These gals were replaced by the Nauset Light that’s there now but they saved these ladies and set them further inland and used to adorn a park now. Thanks to Lighthouses around the World for featuring me!