Week In Review~August 19~The Maine Event

This should probably be titled the Two Weeks In Review, but I’m not sure I can remember everything (although I did journal every single day while in Maine and I have it all written down) so I’ll give you what I’ve got, Kids.  I’m going for overall impression here. So let’s get to the Week in Review hostessed by the perky little sprite, Meghan from Clean Eats, Fast Feets.

Because of the fact that I always seem to have trouble figuring out how to approach WIR, I generally just start poking around at it.  I don’t think this edition will be any different.

THE FOOD~

Ok… there was lots of it! But lots of it was eaten at home because Gail and I were both trying to stick to our Weight Watchers program.  Of course there was some deviation but we both survived.  We attended our WW meetings both weeks while I was there.  As a WW member in this area, you really have to make a commitment to get to the meetings. It’s a 35 mile drive to the closest meeting!  We both did pretty well in spite of our “flexibility” with the program during my visit. Gail reached her 60 pounds lost and she’s looking terrific.  I lost about 1 pound total, but I’m not really trying to lose anymore, just maintain.

I think I’ve mentioned before that Gail is also vegetarian and she has been amazed at all of the restaurants with veggie friendly menu items.  She had been saving them all up to share with me during my visit and I was just amazed!  I think I’ve got enough for 2 What I Ate Wednesday posts!

The funny thing is that one of the best places we found on my last day there.  I was flying out of Portland and we searched on-line for a place for a late lunch before my plane left.  We found an amazing place called Silly’s.  I’m not going to talk about the food at the moment (!!!) but I want to share some of the decor.

The old tin ceiling.

Fun photos and unique, home-made lamp shades everywhere..

Even the Bathroom is unique!

And as I said the food was great, but I’ll get to that.

THE SIGHTS~

We saw a lot of things and I think my favorite is the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, just about a 10 minute ride from Gail’s cabin.  It has beautiful gardens, my favorite was the Garden of the Five Senses. I took lots of photos and will share them once I get that whole re-sizing thing worked out with my DSLR.  There are flower gardens and there is a long walk through the woods which is incredible.  I loved it all.

We visited Fort Popham, and Pemaquid Lighthouse. As I type this, I realize that we did SO much that I can’t remember everything at the moment.

THE BARGAINS~

I got so many good deals, that I had to leave quite a bit behind and it will be traveling back to NJ with another friend of ours who will be visiting the cabin next week.  There is a huge Salvation Army near where we went to WW and there are several thrift stores in Boothbay Harbor.  Here are some shots of my treasures.

Pants, fleece vests and pullovers and shirts.  There were actually more shirts and a pair of shorts I found after I took the photos.  The best deal is in this last photo.  We were at the Humane Society thrift store and Gail picked up this pair of shoes.  They are SAS shoes which usually sell for well over $100!  It just happened that they were my size and fit me perfectly.  They were marked $3.oo but there was a 50% off sale for all shoes and bags so I got them for $1.50!!  I couldn’t believe it!  I LOVE thrift store shopping!

THE RETURN~

I was originally scheduled for a flight at 8:19 pm.  I was concerned about Gail’s long ride back to Boothbay Harbor and having to drive those tricky roads in the dark so I had planned for her to drop me off early.  I got to the airport at about 5:30 pm. I walked in and told the agent I was checking in and needed my boarding pass.  She asked me if I’d like to get on an earlier flight because mine was delayed as was the one she wanted to put me on and I’d have time to get to the gate.  I said Yes and I arrived in Philadelphia at 8:00 pm on the nose!  I was happy, Ralph was happy to have me back and I was glad to see him.

THE PROJECTS~

I gave myself two days to get back in the game of just being back in NJ.  Friday I started the next intended project.  I started going through boxes that I have stored in my sister, Ele’s extra room.  What a pile!  I got rid of 3 big bags of trash and pulled out a few things that I may be able to sell.  There’s still another big container I need to go through which I think will have some things I can try to sell.  When that’s done, I need to start on the boxes which contain my books.  That’s going to be tricky.  I had weeded them out when I moved them all out of the storage unit I had.  I could probably still do some more weeding.  That will probably start later in the week.

I guess that’s about it for my review.  I’ll probably share some more Maine stories as they come back to me and all of the food will be showing up on What I Ate Wednesday.   I had an incredible time in Maine.  Thanks, Gail, I can’t wait to visit again!

Be sure to check out Clean Eats, Fast Feets and see what everyone else is sharing!

Happy Monday!

Back And On The Attack

Good Morning!!  Remember me?!  Well I remember all of you.  I truly enjoyed my trip to Maine and my break from blogging.  I’ll be telling some stories and showing some wonderful food that Gail and I found during our adventures. But I have to dip my toes back in gently.  I have to get back to living with the noise and confusion of having so many people around instead of being in the beautiful Maine woods.  I’ve got lots of photos too, if I can figure out how to re-size them so they don’t deplete all of my space on here.  But that’s all just mechanics.

I was happy to be back though.  I’ve missed Ralph a great deal and as you all may remember…I have Projects!!  We also have a very full calendar between now and the end of August, then our trip to Nashville and then the happiest place on Earth, New Mexico!  Of course in between all of that, I’m still planning to work on sorting, packing, selling a lot of our stuff.

It’s going to be busy.  I flew in last night.  I was scheduled to leave on a flight at 8:19 but due to delays and weather issues, they put me on an earlier flight.  The benefits of being early to the airport! I arrived in Philadelphia at just about 8 pm.  Good flight in spite of a few glitches…How could the overhead reading light NOT work?!  Of course on the one trip where I didn’t bring a flashlight.  I survived.

I’ve got a lot to show and tell including some incredible thrift store buys.  I’ll get to all of it.  But I wanted to share what I found on the kitchen counter when I walked in the door last night…

He never disappoints me!  Film at Eleven!!

Happy Wednesday!!

G is for…

Ok, I’ve been moving along fairly easily and keeping up with my posts for the Blogging A to Z Challenge.  I feel I’ve done a fairly good job so far.  I’ve been pleased.  Today we get to the letter G.

As I begin today, I really have no idea where I’m going with this which explains why there is an incomplete sentence as the title for this post.

Perhaps I’ll go with Green.

Sounds like an appropriate topic for a vegetarian, right?  Yes, I eat lots of green foods.  They are healthy and filling and…it’s what vegetarians do.  So for that reason it’s a good idea.

I love the green of the Spring.  This year, it seems that we’ve been waiting Forever to get to the green.  I think we might actually be getting there and I for one can’t wait.  I need the Spring to be here and the Winter to be gone.  I’m not that big a fan of Summer heat so in truth if I could combine the green of Spring with the reds and golds of Fall, I would be a happy person.  You can keep Summer and Winter for all I care.

Green also means Go.  A green light means it’s my turn to go and I usually like that.  I’m often frustrated when the light turns green and someone further up in line dawdles before moving ahead.  I’ll have to warn you, if the light turns green and you don’t move out, you’ll probably be on the business end of my horn.

Green is also for money.  I’m not always in search of money, but I’m always in search of getting the most for my money.  I love a deal.  It must be hereditary. My sister, Ele and I are always sharing when we’ve gotten an especially good deal for something.  It makes Ralph crazy.  He doesn’t really appreciate a deal as much as I do.  That’s also why I love yard sales, thrift stores and Goodwill.  I want a deal.  I’ll search through until I find just what I want.  The more I go to them, the better I get at finding things I need.  Much of my house is decorated with thrift store finds and of course, by bookshelves definitely are!

I suppose I could go on and on about Green, but I think I’ll finish right here.  I feel pretty sure that as soon as I finish with this post, I’ll find ten more things that fit my topic.  But for now, I’ll just say…go check out some of the other bloggers participating in the Blogging A to Z Challenge.  You never know what you might find!

Happy Monday!

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?~March 25

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?  Presented by Sheila at Book Journey.  Let’s get started!

Boy am I out of things with reading lately.  Went to Florida and was very busy there with little time to read.  Then while I was there, I got very sick and didn’t feel like reading.  Came back to New Jersey to find out I had bronchitis. No reading for about a week.  Finally finished a book today.

I’m liking Lisa Scottoline, but this is one of her earlier ones and I think I like later ones better.  This was the first book I read on my Nook.  It does take some time to become comfortable reading on the Nook.  It’s just a strange feeling. This may have colored my feeling about the book.  I’m sure as time goes on, I’ll become more at home with it.  In general, I’m liking my Nook.

Having not really been reading lately, I’m not even sure what my next up will be.  I have no shortage of books here to start on.  I just can’t even remember what’s in the pile at the moment.  I realize that I am terribly behind in my book average for the year so far.  My plan is to read several short books to get myself back on track and pump up the average.

When my friend, Gail comes home from Florida, she’ll be bringing my bag filled with books that I got during our wonderful days of thrifting.  One of which is Le Miserables.  I was so excited to find a really nice paperback copy of it for 50 cents.  I couldn’t believe how inexpensive books were at some of the yard sales we found.  My friends were all laughing at me, knowing the collection of books I already have at home.

When all of the books get here, I’ll let you know what they all are…I can’t even remember!

That’s It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?  Be sure to visit Book Journey and check out some of the other bookie bloggers who link up.  I always get good ideas from them.  I could use an idea right now about where to start…I guess I’ll just dive in and hope the piles don’t smother me!    😉

Happy Monday!!

PS:  I started reading The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.  last night.

Looks interesting so far!  Feel so much better now that I’m reading again!

And Saturday Went On Forever..

One of the things that Ralph and I notice when we’re in Silver City, is that the days seem to last forever.  We think that part of that is due to the fact that where our house is located (on top of a hill), we see the first of the sunrise and the last of the sunset.  Another reason is probably because we’re so relaxed here.

We were up early because we wanted to head off to the farmer’s market and because we expected company. Sadly, our company wasn’t able to visit, but they will at some time while we’re here. We were sorry to miss them.

We did get down into town early to head to the farmer’s market.  My plan was really just to look.  Since we’re heading to California on Tuesday, I didn’t want to buy a lot of things that might not last till we got back.

The farmer’s market is a very eclectic place.  I didn’t take a lot of pictures this time, but here are a few.

 

I ended up only buying some locally grown lettuce, which ended up in a delicious salad later.  We’ll miss the market next week but when we get back from California, I’ll have two more chances.

Ralph left me at the market to walk to a mailbox, and I walked up the street to meet him when I was finished.  We met up at a little sidewalk display of a lady who makes earrings.  Of course Ralph had to buy me a couple of pairs…that’s the way he is.  As I was looking at them I thought that they looked similar in design to the ones I was wearing which we had bought at a shop here a few years ago.  As we were paying the lady, she looked at my earrings and said, “I think you’re wearing my earrings.”  I told her I had thought the same thing. When I told her where I’d gotten them, she said that she had displayed her work there.  Cool!

We then headed to the little thrift store sponsored by the local ladies Garden Club. (only in Silver City!) Ralph got a briefcase sort of thing, but I couldn’t resist the fact that all clothing was on sale for 50 Cents!!  I got three pieces, which I forgot to photograph, I’ll catch up on that and post some photos!  I was so excited!

We of course needed our coffee fix for the day and headed to Java the Hut.  We met a new collection of “characters.”  Ralph made friends with a gentleman who was a retired Marine (they had lots to talk about) and I spent time talking to a lady who is a jewelry artist And a psychic.  She was so interesting.  When she moved from California to Silver City, she and all of her worldly possessions traveled by bike!  What a story.

We decided we need lunch and we picked an old favorite, Vicki’s Eatery.  Actually within walking distance but we took the car because we were heading out anyway.

This was my luscious Mediterranean Salad plate…

Lettuce, cucumbers, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, two kinds of olives, feta cheese, onions and a wonderful sun-dried tomato vinaigrette.  With hummus and pita on the side.  I saved that for last, like dessert!  To drink was wonderful unsweetened raspberry iced tea.  You dont’ find that very often.  We’ve been here before and loved it.  Last time I had one of their specials, but the lady who sat at the table next to us had this and I vowed the next time it would be mine.  Well worth the wait!!

After lunch we stopped at a pawn shop and a rummage sale.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ralph do so much walking…his doctor would be so happy!

There were several areas throughout town that were having little sidewalk sales.  I had seen something on our way in to the market that I really wanted but didn’t think I should spend the money for.  I told myself if it was still there when we came back to the car, I would buy it.

  This is a piece of Roseville pottery.  I don’t think I’ve ever talked about it on BCDC but I have a rather large collection of it.  I haven’t bought any in recent years because it’s getting expensive and most of it is packed away now in anticipation of our move.  This pattern is sunflower which is not an easy one to find.  I tried to talk the lady down on the price which was already quite good, but I had to try. 😉  I know how much it’s worth and trust me I got a Good deal!  I’m excited, now the house in New Mexico has a piece of Roseville…as it should be.

When we got home, I made dinner and we watched a movie on our little DVD player.  It was very nice.  As Ralph and I were talking, we mentioned thinking how long the day had been.  We both thought that when we were sitting at Java having our coffee that it had been about 2 in the afternoon.  It was only 11am!!  The days go on forever, and so has this post.

Happy Sunday!!

I Love A Deal and The Busy Day

I love all the comments I’ve been receiving regarding my Summer Reading List.  Everyone seems to have an opinion and I love that.  Also appreciate recommendations so keep them coming.

Monday was a very busy day. Up early, the first task on my list was crock pot beans. 

Black eyed peas that I’d gotten for $1 at Dollar General, soaked overnight then spent their time in the crock pot jacuzzi.  I’ve got some interesting ideas for these which I’ll share as I come up with them.!

I ran out to Aldi for a few things.  When I got home the beans were finished and I put them in a container to cool.  Then I got started on a batch of egg salad which went unphotographed but which will be good for lunches.  Both Ralph and I love egg salad.

Did several loads of laundry which I realized was mandatory when I looked in Ralph’s underwear drawer and all I found was a Ted Bell novel and a mateless sock.  Took care of that and felt good about it!

Now on to the deals.  I showed you Monday the book deal I’d gotten from Goodwill on Sunday.  I’m going to save the best for last and the reason I went in the first place. 

I did buy myself a treat and something a little expensive for Goodwill.

I got this great straw bag which is new and roomy enough to use on our trip- it’ll hold a book, my travel journal, cameras and other regular necessities.  Can you say $7.00!!  It’ll be perfect and it’s actually more colorful than it looks in the photo.  Love it!

The real deal is something I’ve been looking for.  Gail has one and keeps telling me how handy it is.

It’s a George Foreman Contact Roaster.  Here are the innards…

For once it was Too sunny for the photo…oh well…you get the idea.  You can roast a small chicken in here or other types of meats and fishes.  It can be tricky when you’re cooking meat for one so this will be a help.  You can make corn on the cop in the pan on the right and even make cakes!  I was able to find and down load the manual.  It looks brand new.  It was marked $5.99 but it had a white tag and white tags were 50% off so I paid $3.oo!!! I looked on-line and the price ranges from $70 up to $125 depending on where you look.  I couldn’t be happier! 

My friend Alice had seen it at a Goodwill that’s a little farther away than our usual one and she saw it there on Thursday but she didn’t know I wanted one.  When she told Gail, she called me first thing on Sunday morning to tell me.  I had thought about waiting until today, but I’m sure glad I didn’t.  I look forward to working with this.  Another gadget!

So that’s it for today.  Ralph and I have various appointments on our schedule so not sure what the day will hold beyond that.  Whatever it holds…we’ll handle it!

Happy Tuesday!!

Full of Holes

I guess just to cover my butt ( not that I’m superstitious or anything) I should thank the internet elves who seem to have corrected my WordPress problems.  It looks back to normal and yes I’m typing in a form that will become a post…couldn’t do that yesterday.  Thanks so much to my sweet friend, Kristen for her tireless efforts to keep me sane and try to help figure it out.  She knows how grateful I am.

Speaking of Kristen, she has recently gotten me into reading Young Adult fiction.  I’ve done The Hunger Games trilogy. I’ve read Uglies and will get my greedy fingers on Pretties on Saturday.  I’ve been thinking how I’m sure I’ve missed a lot of good YA fiction over the years.  Then Saturday took me to my favorite haunt…The Goodwill.  What did I find on the shelf…

Holes by Louis Sachar…and did I mention it only cost me 49 cents?! 😉

I remember hearing about this book only after a movie was made of it.  I picked this up on Saturday as I said, then I noticed that sometime between then and now the movie was on TV.  What a coincidence!  I didn’t watch it because I’d always rather read the book first.

I Started this Wednesday morning.  Not even really early Wednesday morning…I was finishing my previous book while doing my morning spin on the exercise bike.  I Started it Wednesday AM and finished it Wednesday PM.

I don’t think I’ve ever done that with a book, finished it in one day.  I LOVED THIS BOOK!!  It was a great story with clever twists (of course I didn’t realize until the end that I had missed a great big “if it was a bear it would have bit you” clue!) and very likeable characters.  I kept reading until my eyes were ready to pop because I wanted to know what happened.

I think that’s why over the past few months I’ve stopped reading various books.  I just didn’t care “what happened.”  I didn’t care enough about the characters to see if they got out of their situation or predicament or away from the evil doer.  In Holes, I cared.  Sachar gave me characters that were interesting and real enough that I wanted to know.  I need to remember that when I start writing my novel…make people care about the characters.  Yes…WHEN I write my novel.  Better start soon, I suppose! 😉

If you aren’t into Young Adult fiction that’s Ok.  But I’m not a big fan of labeling books into genres anyway.  If you’d like to read a good story, well written and intellegent…Read Holes!  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

Happy Thursday!  Go Read A Book!!  Please…

 

Rummage on My Mind

I looked up Rummage on Dicionary.com and found this…

“verb (used with object) 1. to search thoroughly or actively through (a place, receptacle, etc.), especially by moving around, turning over, or looking through contents.”

I’m always searching through things to find something special.  Sometimes it works!

Started out my Saturday with my weekly Weight Watchers meeting.  Not thrilled with the results, I had a gain  1.2 pounds.  It’s so strange the way they weigh you now…I was used to quarter and half pounds.  Now I get to be frustrated two tenths of a pound at a time.  But I expected it and considering the week I had with compulsive eating, it wasn’t too bad.  I’m back on track today.

But now to the fun stuff.  Saturday was the monthly Rummage Sale at my sister, Ele’s church.  They are trying hard to raise money for the church and I love to help.  We’ve been so lucky that so many people are contributing treasures for the sale.  We’re also lucky that the church has space available in what used to be a nursery school, to keep everything set up and not have to pack everything up after each sale.  If we could only do it more often, that would be great, but it would be against town ordinances so once a month it is.

I love helping Ele and I love helping the church.  But what I love most is getting first look at all of the goodies.  Sometimes I find great things!

Two books and a CD (Yes, I controlled myself…only 2 books!)  The CD is actually to help you sleep, but it will probably be nice to play while I’m reading.   I’ve been trying to play music rather than have the TV on when I read.  The books look interesting.

This wonderful yellow bowl was actually in one of the Free boxes!!  I put my hand in for perspective.  Otherwise it might look like a big coffee or tea mug.  It’ll be a great size for a small salad or a big bowl of soup.  I almost didn’t see it, but then found it late in the day.  Free is a good price, right?! 😉

This next find is my favorite for the day I think.

It’s a little hard to see in the packaging, but I didn’t want to unwrap it.  I thought it would be safer for moving purposes if I left it this way.  It’s a platter and three little dishes that look like cabbages.  It will probably work well for putting out chopped up veggies and dips.  The coolest thing is the cabbage component.  The first week that I went to work at the Rummage Sale, over a year ago now, I got a teapot that looks like a cabbage!  Being a vegetarian, I always think it’s cool to find veggie related dishes or kitchen gadgets.  I think this will work well.  I’ll probably pack this in my suitcase when we head to New Mexico so it can get to its new home ahead of all the other veggies!

So that was Saturday. Only thing I left out was this…

It was all Ralph’s idea and we really had not had pizza in a while.  Can you tell which half is Mine and which is Ralph’s?!  I bet you can! 😉  It was very tasty. Now I Really have to be good the rest of the week!!  Won’t be hard to be more on track than this!!

Happy Sunday!  I missed the Super Moon last night… 😦   Hopefully we’ll see some sun today!!

 

Quick! Busy! Go!

One of those day when I’m busy like crazy and I don’t want to skip posting.

First I have Weight Watchers early.  Not sure what my result will be this week after all of my issues with the Biscoff.  But the good news is…it’s gone…it can’t hurt me anymore.  I have to look at that as a positive thing! 😉

Then I’ll be spending my day at the Rummage Sale at my sister’s church.  We always have a good time at the Rummage and I usually come up with a treasure or two.

This has seemed like a disjointed week to me and I need to get myself focused again. I know you’ve all heard that before.

I’ve got to get back to my projects.  I’ve been getting little bits of things done, but nothing that’s actually Noticable.  Got to get back on track with that.

I’m additionally frustrated because I’m really getting into the book I’m reading.

This is so fascinating and well written. I just want to read all day!  Maybe tomorrow.

So that’s it for today.  I said it was quick. But I didn’t want to skip posting.

I’ll be back with a little more substance tomorrow!

Happy Saturday!

Good Deal Saturday

Ok,  so maybe it wasn’t such a good deal at Weight Watchers…:-(  Hopped happily on the scale feeling positive as always for a good result…I gained 3/4 of a pound or .8 in WW terms.  When I was still working for WW I had a hard time when we went from calculating member’s weights in fractions to .2, .4, .6, .8.  I had to use a calculator anyway to figure it all…that’s right, I am Not a Math Whiz.

It cracks me up how my friends at WW determine what’s good about their loss or gain.  Both .4 and .6 are one half pound by WW reckoning.  If my friend Debbie gains .4 it’s a low half pound, if she gains .6 it’s a high half pound.  However if she loses either of those amounts…it a half pound!!  I think that all of us who are trying to lose or maintain our weight can drive ourselves a little crazy with this stuff.

I believe I know what caused my gain.  I said I thought I had my night-time snacking under control.  I’ve been snacking on saltines Way Too Often.  I have to get out of that and I think I will see a positive result.  My fingers are crossed!

On to the deals!  I had mentioned how I was seriously enjoying the Shoprite brand Greek yogurt and that it compared well to Chobani.  When I went there Saturday both Chobani and the store brand were on sale 10 for $10.  Guess which I bought?!

Same price, Bigger savings, right?!  I was excited.  Good thing is that it seems to last in the fridge.  If I had more room in the fridge, I might have doubled it.  I’m excited.  I also got the Chobani because it has plain yogurt in the small container and I’ve been wanting to experiment with yogurt in my home-made dressing.  Yay!!

I also made a stop at Dollar General.  What did I find??

Now here’s the deal…On the shelf with the regular canned goods, these were $1 each.  I decided that I use them enough that it was worth it and picked up a couple.  I then found their Last Chance shelf where they have things reduced.  Found them there for 50 cents each!! Very exciting.  I love that store!

I must confess that after this I got sucked into going to Goodwill.  I had a few things to drop off, things I didn’t want to save for my yard sale…more on that soon…I bet no one had to sprain their brain to figure out what I bought…

 Ok, I can’t stop myself…they’re only 49 cents for the paperbacks and 99 cents for the hard back, AND I’ve already read 18 books this year, not like I’m wasting the money! AND I can sell the ones I don’t want to keep at my yard sale!  I’ve never read Neil Gaiman.  I got another of his a week or so ago at Goodwill.  They sound interesting and I think I’ve heard some other people talk about him.  Has anyone read him?  I’d be interested in your opinion since I’ve invested a whopping $1.48 in him! 😉

I found this on Book Riot and I think it accurately and painfully describes me…

Sad but true.  Not really!

So, not sure what the day will hold.  It looks like yesterday’s dreary has come to visit again today. Blah, Blah, Blah.  Guess I’ll just have to get some reading done…  😉

Happy Sunday!