World Goat Day Wednesday Morning

Posted on by Markman

Got another good lead on some dollhouse stuff. Amazing detail – like a 1940s radio with a dial that actually works, and Campbell soup cans and musical instruments, even a pool table, are you kidding me!? – the detail of these tint little things is amazing. You can tell some of it is pretty vintage. They’ll be great additions for the kids to interact with.

Spent the afternoon doing a bunch of weeding since it’s a bit on the cooler side today, but pleasant. The weather, not weeding. Weeding is not pleasant.

We watched the Connecticut Sun rip it up at the Garden last night. So cool that LD’s trainer has a daughter that plays on the team and another one that does the sportscast! Women’s Pro Basketball has really exploded in the last year or so! It was great to see so much positive energy on display. It’s a really good thing.

I heard today is world Goat Day so here’s some Goat pictures to celebrate!

How Can Be 10 Years Already?

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It’s our 1982 Ms. Pacman machine’s 10 year anniversary! In 2014 we brought her home and has been entertaining us and our guests ever since.

I need to open up the coin mech and see how much money is in there!

I can sort of remember how we obtained this. I think it was from a craigslist ad from someone down in Rhode Island, and it was a really good price so we made a trip, back when we used to do stuff like this. I just remember this guy had a ton of games and pool tables in his basement, and some motorized vehicles in the yard that all these kids wanted to keep riding on. Anyways we could see in a booth down in the basement with what we assumed to be his very pregnant wife. We got the feeling she really wanted him to part with a bunch of this stuff, and quickly. We got a really really good deal on this fully functional machine – it was our lucky day! We got the machine somehow loaded into the back of LD’s Saturn SUV and it just made it. In fact I believe the top of the machine was right between us up front. It made it all the way back and the rest is history!

I remember being a kid and my mom would take my sister and me to this arcade that used be at North Station in the old Boston Garden. I would fantasize about owning all the machine one day. I was especially fond of getting a Ms. Pacman and another game called Venture. Well, at least one of my fantasies about this came true 35 plus years later!

Bulls on Parade

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Bulls on parade. Just another photo opportunity! Acton, Mass.

We got up very early for a Sunday. 6 am to be exact. LD wanted to make a couple of dished for one of her friends who has been under the weather. So we got up and cranked out multiple containers of Lemon Orzo Soup and homemade chili. Amazingly got it mostly done within an hour. Then we had to take a ride out to Action to make another marketplace pickup. Before heading all the way back we stopped by what was one of the nicest Trader Joe’s we’ve ever been in, to pick up a few more things. Then we had to head back before the sick woman’s children who were driving back from New Hampshire to meet us back at the house, so they could pick up all the food goods that we made. Oh, also made some egg muffins as well. And all this before 12:30 pm! On fire, baby!

We saw these bulls along the road in Acton so naturally we had to pull over and take pictures with them.

Then we dropped some more soup off at the old landlady’s place and went to get some locally grown sweet corn from a farm in Westwood, which I’ll be grilling tonight with some chicken and salmon and shrimp skewers. Finally went to a local outlet furniture store just to look at some things.

So, yeah, a pretty full day!

Karson and Kennedy Ice Cream Social

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Today’s little mini adventures were that we had a nice lunch at a steakhouse that was participating in Dine-Out Boston. As today was the last day it made sense to try to take advantage of the deals they were having.

Later in the afternoon Karson and Kennedy were having an ice cream social to help support a local hockey team. To be honest, I really had no idea who these people were but apparently they are some pretty popular radio personalities around these parts so why not check and out and help support a good cause? Plus it was literally right down the street.

You can learn more about why and the “karens” etc. here.

I finally got around to planting the irises we picked up last night. Hopefully by next spring they will be blooming and brightening up another part of the yard. Lastly, planning on going to light a fire pit tonight! It’s appearing to be a great night for one.

Doing the Ziptrip Thing and Minigolfing

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Woke up early this morning to check out the final Boston Fox25 News Ziptrip of the year. It ended up being over in the next town so I figured why not check it out. I got some free swag while I was there (I had gone one time before probably ten years or so ago – I actually got on tv that time and people watching in their homes actually recognized me!). It seemed a bit smaller this time. In all honesty once you get over the novelty of actually seeing the people in person that you see on tv every morning it’s a little boring. There’s a lot of just standing around as they just film in-between the news segments. One cool thing is they had all the ducks there. Scroll back in time if you want to see them all individually when we went to check them all out.

Now on to the main event of today!

One of our couple-friends were coming over today and I had suggested we do an activity. Originally I had wanted to do a glass blowing class but that sounded too expensive and somewhat of a time commitment (might still do it some other time though!) or axe throwing but one of our guests threw out his back a few weeks ago so that was out for now (still want to that that though too!) . Eventually just settled on playing a round of Minigolf. There’s a great course over in Dedham – supposed to be one of the best which is good because a lot of the mini golf courses around here are ass.

Finished off the day with a lead on three small Dedham pottery bunnies so we picked those up and then someone in town was getting rid of a bunch of their bearded irises so we went and picked those up and I’ll try dropping them in the ground tomorrow.

Seeing the Light at the End of the Trail

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Sankaty Light, Nantucket Island

Here’s another shot I took of Sankaty Light on the island of Nantucket earlier this year when we were invited to stay for a bit by some wonderful kind and caring friends. I remember this day quite clearly, partly because it wasn’t that long ago, but also because I wanted to walk along the cliff trail which basically ends at this location. So I got to walk the entirety of the trail and finished up by hanging out at the lighthouse trying to figure out what would make a nice picture. I think I did pretty good with this one – I am satisfied with it!

That circular object in front of the light is where the lighthouse previously stood. It had to moved a bit a while ago due to erosion of the cliff side. Some of the other structures that were there originally are gone, although you can still see the foundations of one of them.

Oh, if you were still wondering what the pickup was yesterday from the marketplace, I will now divulge the deets. It was a turntable like device that we placed under the dollhouse so that it can be spun from front to back quite easily. It was great that it fit the job perfectly and fit just right and that the guy wasn’t too far from the office. We also did some minor repair work on the windowpanes.

Surfing Ahead Into the Week

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A surfer heads out with the Narraganset Towers in the background.
Don’t Worry, Be Capy!

Fri: I really enjoyed my first time trying out Reflexology (I would definitely do it again and at the place where we got it done) and then after we had a terrific lunch at a great little Turkish place called Cafe Mangal. Maybe a little pricey but the food is truly excellent. Sat: I got around to installing the new firefly in the back and they work and compliment the other ones flawlessly. We took advantage of some down time and finished up the night with my barbequing some salmon which we made into salmon burgers and then we did a little firepit and had some s’mores. Sunday: Took a ride to pick up something LD saw on the marketplace that will come in quite useful and happily we’ve tried it out and it works wonderfully! I’d mention what it is tomorrow sometime but I’ll leave it a surprise for right now. Also picked up a pasta dish of eggplant parm from Comella’s (a place we’ve been wanting to try) to prepare at home tonight.

Trolls and Elephants and Fun, Oh My!

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For my Birthday yesterday I got to check out some amazing sights in the beautiful coastal areas of Rhode Island. First up, was a drive down to the charming community of Charleston, RI, a place we had never been. We were there to see the trolls Greta and Erik. There’s a bunch of these trolls up in Maine at the Botanical gardens, which I may get to check out and some point, but these two are newer and closer. I had a little bit of a hard time finding Greta, but LD, with her mazing tracking skills, was able to locate her pretty quickly. A nice woman who works at the senior center there nearby gave us some great tips on where to go and find them! (Each picture below is clickable to see a larger version).

Greta!
Erik
If you’re a troll park here

We were going to eat at a local place in Charleston but after a while that didn’t seem like the greatest idea so we headed over to Narraganset and ate at a place called The Coast Guard House, which amazing is literally right next to the Towers in a building that used to be a Coast Guard Life Saving Station back in the 1880s until the 1940s. The views there are amazing and the food was excellent, also the prices weren’t that bad! (I did get a little tipsy again on some drinks).

tipsy!

Then it was off the beautiful town of Newport to check out the installation of the elephant migration. We ended up going to the ones at Salve Regina University, although there’s some at the Breakers and a couple of other locations. The amount of detail on the elephants is truly amazing! We spent quite a bit of time there, plus it’s right along the cliff walk which is beautiful.

We finished off the day with a giant pizza! What a great day! Today I’m off to my very first ever reflexology appointment – we’ll see how that goes!

Oh, I almost forgot! I got some great gifts too! A Dunkins gift card from our friend Em, a foot massager, some capybara socks and a capybara shirt (I love capys!) , and some more fireflies to help light up the night in the back patio!

Happy National Lighthouse Day and Pizza Cupcakes to Boot!

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Pemaquid Point

I’ve always loved lighthouses, just everything about them, their location, their various looks, their history, the people who lived in the them and tended the light, their bravery. I just think it’s pretty cool. I’m sure many people feel the same way. I’m very lucky to live in new England where there are so many. Boston was home to the very first lighthouse in America after all (and it’s still there!)

I really lucked out with this shot – just as a storm was getting ready to roll in. That’s exactly what a lighthouse was built for! (also mad props have to go to LD for taking the shot and getting me there! I love you so much!)

Got to try something of a novelty today! Finally went down to try this place called Boston Pizza Cupcakes.

I ended up trying the ones with Buffalo Chicken topping and double pepperoni! We also considered getting as s’mores topped one but maybe for another day. Definitely a novelty item but fun, in a way.

Hello, It’s My Birthday Week!

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Acorn Street

It’s my birthday week, so let’s party! 🎉🎁

Yesterday, my mom was nice enough to take me to Legal Seafoods in Burlington because I had a craving for seafood. I didn’t feel like going to Summer Shack or Kelly’s or anyplace like that, so this place was perfect. The food was delicious, and I had a really fun time.

I think we’ve got some more fun stuff lined up for the week, including a couple of things I’ve been wanting to check out for a while. Stay tuned! 🎸🍦

In the meantime, I’ve been going through some of my photos and found this one from Acorn Street around this time perhaps last year or so. Most photographed street in Boston you know!

I might go check out that national Night Out thing later this evening….

Alright I’m back. I did go and hang out for a little bit. Wolfed down a couplie of slices of free pizza!

The Duck Hunt Was On!

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The Ladydoc had heard that there were painted ducks all around the town of Walpole, so we wanted to check them out. There were only five, so they were easy to find. Plus, they’re in different parts of town so it’s a great way to see some of Walpole. These ducks were designed and painted by a group of students from Walpole High, and they’re a fun way to celebrate the town’s 300th anniversary! The ducks names are Maggie, Lewey, Wally, Morgan, and Birdy. I never expected to be checking out ducks this afternoon but spontaneity can be fun!

Hanging with Maggie at the Aggie
Birdy
Wally
Morgan
Lewey

You can learn more about the ducks as well as some Google map links which I used to find these guys at this website.

Even though it rained later in the afternoon we went ahead and grilled some chicken, shrimp, and salmon. I dodged the raindrops as best I could!

Catching Summer Beginnings of August

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Enjoy another shot from our Cape trip above. Today in the late afternoon we hit Revere Beach because it was so hot out today. I even went into the water which even though I go to Revere quite a bit lately, I actually had not gone into the water there since I was a kid, if you can believe that! The water was a little on the cold side which I wasn’t expecting, but refreshing and cooled me down as I sat on the beach chair afterwards. Finally went to check out the sand castles there. The two that caught my eye were cat-inspired ones.

I Like Big Flips and I Cannot Lie!

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Took a quick jaunt today over to Bow Market in Somerville this afternoon. Luckily I was able to get on street parking right across from the place because parking down there is brutal, assuming you can even find a spot. There was a roast beef place I wanted to try called The Hotbox, which I had read about in a magazine that I was perusing whilst waiting for LD at a doctor’s appointment a few weeks ago. It was pretty good – I ended up getting a junior three way. The sauce is a little spicy but not bad at all, perhaps that’s why they chose that name? anyway, the whole area has a bunch of little local shops and a very cute outside seating area, which I partook of. Also while there I saw they what appeared to be a small pinball parlor, so I went and played some of those classics, the machines range from from the 70s through the 90s, and I guess they swap them out with other ones every so often. Pretty cool little place.

Finally, toward the end of the afternoon I had to hit a grocery store and they had these cute little roses on sale. I couldn’t resist and picked up one that had light purple flowers.

And finally, to close out the afternoon I went to see this band play over at the local gazebo playing some pop hits from the 70s and 80s. They sounded really good!

Hanging Out at the Lobster Pot

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Lobster Pot in P-Town, we ate here once actually!

Lately I’ve kind of loved just going down rabbit holes and learning some things. Did you know Anthony Bourdain worked here at the Lobster Pot? He got his start there as a dishwasher and fell in love with cooking and so went along that path. Amazing to think that all started right here!

I’ve had a bit of a busy day flitting about town doing my rounds, so that might just be the update for today.

Creating a Vibe Though Unintentional at the Time

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Yesterday was such a good day to take it easy. I hung my gravity chair on the back deck and relaxed, maybe even dozed off for a bit. Then I hit the local market and bought fresh zucchini, chicken, and salmon to grill. I was able to finish it all just as it started to rain lightly. Otherwise, I would have had a fire pit outing, which would have been nice. It was a pretty chill Sunday.

Here’s another shot I took from my outing to Grey’s beach in Yarmouth down on the Cape. I love this span, it’s so long and the names and sayings on the boards are really nice. Anyone can have their own for a price. This shot is sort of giving me vibes of The Scream, the painting by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch!

I have a bunch of things that I’ve been wanting to check out coming up soon. Some of it historic as I’m always trying to learn new things about the places that we live at – a little bit of hidden history you might say, along with some what may be interesting food choices and the usual fun stuff.

Off to the Pools

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Yesterday we had lunch down at a place I like in South Yarmouth called The Skipper. I was jonesing for perhaps one late Chatham Clam plate for a while. Come to find out Pete Davidson was there a couple of weeks ago. Before that I hung out for a little bit by the Snowy Owl Coffee Roasters, well actually, behind them, where there is a little conservation land but filled with all kinds of places the sit and simple artwork and lovely flowerbeds called the great Cape Arboretum. Today we are off to hang out at our friend’s pool for the afternoon before we all go to see the new Deadpool movie. I plan on getting that Wolverine Popcorn thingy. I know it all marketing hype and probably overpriced crap, but I can always add it to my tchotchke collection! Maybe tonight when we get back if I have any spoons left I light up the firepit.

Update: The movie was alright, (ended up going to an AMC in Danvers – not our preferred choice but.what can you do…) but swimming in the pool and hanging out with Mollie was still the highlight. Can’t believe how big she has gotten! Got back too late for firepit but maybe tonight and some grilling later.

So Lucky to Experience the Best Sunsets!

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Really enjoyed our time down here. Some of today’s highlights .. getting massages early in the morning to start off the day and they were good. Then off to Capt. Baker’s Donuts – amazing unique concoctions! Went to Nauset Beach and did some shopping too for a few, and then jumped in the pool for a bit before they told us to get out because it was going to rain. It rained but only for like 10 minutes after which time we grilled some burgers on the charcoal. Then we noticed the skies actually clearing up as sunset approached (!) so I suggested we hit Skaket and it was a good call as it was a spectacular sunset tonight – we didn’t want to leave! Even after it went down you could still see so much cotton candy colors in the sky and clouds. Finished it up with a trip to the Sparrow again! I’ll have to flesh this entry out better later but you get the gist!

Bass River
Bass River
Bass River
Bass River
Best Donuts
Check out the descriptions!
I got the PB&J Doughnut!
Yums!
Hanging out at Nauset Beach
Found time to grill!
Spectacular sunset tonight
Such a large vista of beauty

Going Down a Rabbit Hole

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Yesterday was somewhat of a lowkey day here over at Earth-3. I ended up actually taking a nap which happened through most of the afternoon. I rarely take naps so I must have been really tired! Anyways, I ended up going down a rabbit hole reading the local history and the mystery surrounding one of the old ship captains who lived here back in the day. The basic question being, were they involved in the slave trade at all. There’s one stone in the cemetery which state’s that Mrs. Crosby’s husband, another sea caption of course, died in Africa in 1735. Now there’s no concrete evidence to say they were directly involved but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. And even if not directly involved, I’m sure they profited indirectly. Research is still being conducted but it’s going to take time.

cemetery dated 1700
Died in Africa?
A ship captain
My summer residence (yeah, right!)
stranded boat
The steel kettle band playing
Esme

After that I took a walk out over to one of my favorite boats that I always see down here that just happened to be sitting on the sand after the tide went out. And of course another visit to the Sparrow. Oh, and we watched a steel drum band play over at Rock Harbor.

The Best of Times and Tides

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It turned out to be a pretty good sunset over at the Creek after the day being mostly cloudy and overcast. We had dinner just before at a place called the Blue Island Crab and it was delicious! I think it may now be my favorite place to eat down here, the food was extraordinary! Great drinks too, one which actually got me pretty buzzed, which is not something I usually do.

Anyways, in the photo above you can see people way out in the distance. During low tide, you can walk out there for about two miles, which is crazy. When the tide does come in it can rise to a height between 9 and 11 feet in certain areas!

So, this has been a great time over at Earth-3 so far. Let’s see if I can quickly recap some things so I can remember all these times later on. So far, there’s been Rock Harbor sunset, two trips to the Chocolate Sparrow (as of yet), had a quick dinner over in Sandwich harbor, Checked out the General Store, checked out a famous crafter in Dennis, Eat Cake 4 Breakfast for some great pastries, swimming in the pool, some clams over at Mac’s in Chatham, Hole in One doughnuts a couple of times as of yet, Snowy Owl for coffee, Joe Mama’s for the best breakfast sandwich that I love, The Knack for burgers, Chatham beach a couple of times, went down to the dock to see seals, traipsed around Chatham’s downtown for the shops and the whale art, did the Eddy Trail, stopped over in Wellfleet for a bit, checked out Ptown’s Commercial Street and the library. Whew! What else? I know I’m missing stuff!

Entrance to the creek
Rocks, marsh and sun
The sun peeps out
This cocktail got me buzzed!
The sun sinks below the horizon

Not Everyday You See a Boat in a Library!

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We took a drive this morning out to Provincetown, to drop off our guest at the ferry and while there I decided to do some quick recon and grab some shots of this very flamboyant place. First thing to check out is the famous alley. The alley takes up the exterior wall of Shop Therapy, stretching nearly three shop lengths. It isn’t terribly wide, but it is big enough for a couple of people to walk down the alley at the same time. Wooden books depicting illustrations of Alice in Wonderland are found on one side, along with wire bugs and metal flowers coming out of the ground. The other side features pictures on pieces of wood. This artwork ended up a bit controversial, and probably not what you would call family-friendly. The edgy paintings range from Greek mythology to scenes from the Bible and Alice in Wonderland. Some of the artwork is a bit provocative and is made to capture your attention.

However what I really wanted to check out was this schooner that’s actually inside the public library. I had never heard of this before and just recently found out about it so I had to see it. The library itself is actually pretty cool as the building started life as a church in 1856 and the church origins are still very apparent. Go up a flight of stairs and there she is. That’s where a 55 foot replica of the schooner Rose Dorothea dominates the area. There is even a hole cut in the ceiling to accommodate the mast!

Hey sailor…
The backside of the alley
Some of the alley’s artwork
Another alley shot
The entrance to the alley
I’m Portuguese, these are my people
The old Lobster Pot
The Squealing Pig

Then it was off for an afternoon back at Harding’s beach in Chatham. It’s sort of become our favorite beach because it’s warm and quite wavy. Today was a little rough but still a great time was had.

Another Beautiful Shot of “The Flats”

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The sun may set, but the fun never truly ends on a perfect day.

I’m going to have to do a writeup of all the things we’ve been doing but I’m having too much time actually doing them right now! For example, some highlights from this morning were visiting Eat Cake 4 Breakfast, which is an amazing place and you have to get there early before the good stuff is gone for the day (we made it!), a nature hike, pool time again, and now off top spend some time in Chatham, and the beach and around town. The shot up above from from last night’s adventures – a little place called Breakwater.

At Eat Cake 4 Breakfast
Doing the Eddy Trail
This shirt describes me so well!
Hiking the Eddy Trail
Sharks!
Amazing art on Whales
More whales
Dog with a cute tie
Chatham Fish Pier
Sunset at Hardings