Month: June 2018

Up early today. By 8am. That’s 5 am to you west coast mortals. Everything quick. Shower. Breakfast. Shut down next door. Clean up here.

We are now sitting and waiting for the dryer here and next door to be done. Last thing. Of course, one more stop at the dump and off to in laws. We get rid of the 86 Buick wagon, the Twinnie mobile, and get a ride to Portland where we catch a bus to Boston. Where our airport is. Boy, this is fun. Beyond fun. What is beyond fun?

Anyhow, I am getting ahead of myself. We are still sitting on the bed waiting on the last dryer load. Then out, as I said. Emily is trying to navigate the Air BnB site for our camp. She needs to share the bookings with our cleaning lady. By the tone of her pointed comments, it ain’t working. Their site is horrible for landlords. Awful. I do hate them. Why should I have to call them? But that appears to be the solution.

We are finally on the road to Portland. Took an act of God but we are in motion. I can’t blog much cuz I get car sick. So relax for awhile and I will be back. Hank is driving and it’s pouring outside and his driving is very scary. Fortunately he has a back seat driver, Beth. Also scary.

Trip to Portland was over long due to the rain. We arrived at the Boston bus at 128 and it turns out there is a 130 bus. So we jumped right on. And I mean right on. Nice bus. Shows movies, has WiFi and free bottles water. I like it far more than air travel.

We had a smooth uninterrupted rainy drive to the Boston airport. We grabbed our boarding passes and headed to security. We are not hurrying, we don’t leave till 9 pm. Well, security was a nightmare. It’s as if they have never done it before. Took over an hour. In a short line. Amazing.

When we finally got through we decided to get a meal. Normally, all airport food is bad. Or bland. Which is the same. Well, we ate at Stephanie’s in Logan airport. Everything was excellent. Drinks, apps, sinner. Great. Like it’s not an airport. If you go to Boston airport eat there. I am blown away.

After early dinner we found our gate and set up camp. I went to the cash exchange and purchased a cash card. No fees. They even have me 40$ on the card. Nice. In the process he had to check my id. Turns out my passport is expired. Oops. Wel, after much haranguing I am not making my flight tonight. Emily goes on alone. I have to go the the passport office, about two miles away and get an extension on expiration date. Emily was very upset and I am right there with her. I hung around the airport till she got on the plane. Then I found a cheap and close hotel to spend the night. No other choice.

Once I was at the hotel I started the calls. First to the airline. The gate agent had said they could put me in the next flight tomorrow. Wrong. The airline said I needed to pony up $8109 for a seat. NFW. They suggested I call the booking agent. They could do nothing. I had insurance on the flight and I called them. They were not open so I will call tomorrow when I figure they will nicely tell me to go to hell.

At this point, it’s fish or cut bait. I booked another flight and will be arriving one day late. And lot more up on how the travel industry makes money by screwing us. I was glad to get the seat. And I do have a travel voucher good for one year on an airline I will never fly on again.

The hotel I am staying in is a 3 out of 5 online rated. It deserves it. Mostly clean but very tired in appearance. But I picked on price. It’s 145 am and I am getting up in 4 1/2 hours. Gotta get to passport office early to avoid whatever rush Friday brings. This is crap.

Just an update for avid (rabid) fans. Asleep around 3. Up at 6 before my alarm. Getting up early means I can feel and look like shit at the same time. Yay me. Hi Ed!

Tomorrow we leave for Boston to catch the first leg of our excellent adventure.

Today, not so exciting. Up and doing housework for about four hours. Or, a quick clean, as Emily says. She has heard me say this will be quick so many times she has lost perspective. Lol.

We did clean for what seemed like all day. God I hate it. We went to the dump. Since there is no garbage service here we go to the Skowhegan Town Dump about once a week. It’s actually a transfer station since the landfill is closed but all call it the Dump. I will spare the details, it’s a dump. Then off to the bank. It was closed. Permanently. No others open. This is a depressed area of the country. So what to do? Go to Wal Mart. Wally Mart handles bank like transactions at their service center. No shit. I changed 2k in hundreds for twenties. No problem. Smaller prob better.

Not much else done. Back to home unload and keep doing laundry and dishes. Packing the camp up for our Air BnBr’s. Gotta lock down the booze cuz last summer renters got into it. Assholes. Anyway, we gotta get set.

We went to Beth and Hanks for dinner. A nice roast and roasted root veggies. No dessert so Giffords later on the way home. We also had cocktails and appetizers too. We all ate too much.

We left by 9 and headed for the camp. Quick stop at Giffords for my Black Raspberry frappe. Emily had some over sweet concoction that would put mostninto diabetic coma. A sundae they call it. Not for me. Our neighbors drive by and stopped. They had eaten at Old Mill Pub but still managed to squeeze some ice cream in top of their dinner. All these calories don’t count on vacation, I understand.

Well, day is done. Wait, no. Let’s pack. And charge all the devices. That will be a blast! Ok, not a blast, but we have to finish off the suitcases. Mine all fit perfectly with a couple small add ins from Em. Hers was tough. She has too much stuff she thought necessary. I left all necessary stuff at home. I packed for five days. Yes, I know, I will be gone 45. But, they have washers and dryers and clothing stores and drug stores where we are going. I can buy what I need if anything. So one small duffel and an even smaller satchel for electronics. And snacks. We got lots of snacks.

Managed all done by 1230. And bedtime. I read for awhile, book almost done. I will need to download a book in the airport. You never know when your next connectivity will be. We are, fortunately, not headed to a place where Starbucks is on every corner.

Managed to get up early today. Why? Who knows. We have nothing planned. Emily will find something we need to have and go to the store. Be assured.

Btw, rest assured, we are not always eating fancy. I had cold enchiladas and coffee for breakfast. Emily had toast. Boring. Sometimes we eat in.

All we did today was shop for crap to get ready for leaving and setting up the cottages as air bnb. So we drove all over. Bought crap. Got set up back at the camp and that’s it.

We went to the in laws for dinner. Clams and frites. Very good.

Home to read and sleep. God life in the fast lane is insane.

One fifth of the way thru our epic summer vacation. Sort of. It’s difficult to include 10 days in the greater Skowhegan/Madison metro area in any phrase that includes the word epic. But, still one fifth by time.

I am sitting here Tuesday morning drinking coffee out of my Lucky Charms mug and ruminating over what we did yesterday. And my picture upload is not working, so no picture of this mug or mine. Lucky you.

Yesterday was our annual trip to Freeport. Freeport is home to LL Bean, distribution center and the largest retail Bean location too. The rest of the town is all outlet stores and small places to eat. The deals are many and varied, they really are outlet stores. Usually it’s a shop fest but this year we are not going home at the end of the trip. We are headed to Europe. So if we buy here we carry it all over Europe or ship it home. I chose to buy a couple things I needed for the trip.

I am in search of a unicorn. Really. I am looking for a waterproof, light and packable, warm jacket, no hood. I searched LL Bean first. No. Then North Face. No. Then Patagonia where I found a nice clerk who told me why my goal was unicornesque but then found me a damn near perfect jacket 40% off tagged clearance price. Ya. $47.12. Nice. I bought. I own a unicorn.

So I have a Patagonia story. A year or so ago Marika told me I could take my old Patagonia jacket to their store and they would exchange it. The jacket hats ripped, paint splattered, stained, etc. I got all out of it. I guess they recycle old clothes. I paid $80 in 1982 for it. She and I went to their store in SF and I plopped it on the counter. Took the guy 15 minutes, he said I can’t find it in the book best I can do is give you $300 for it. Well, OK. I now shop Patagonia.

Emily wanted to get some better stuff sacks for her luggage and I needed one for my new jacket so back to Bean. Where we also found travel towels. We are staying in hostels, no linens provided. Those will be handy.

No trip would be done till we went to Dooney and Burke to look at handbags. Right. I hate this kind of shopping. 30 minutes of agony. I try to not interrupt Emilys flow but it’s tough. We left and a cloudburst hit so we stepped back in and bought a D & B umbrella. And I threw on my new jacket, what great timing. I was dry and warm. Emily not so much.

This is my day. We headed back to Skowhegan. Emily did not feel well. Probably because she had not eaten. And this being Maine, every exit does not have several fast food outlets and gas stations. So we drive 70 miles to Waterville and got her a McChicken. Yum. We stopped at Best Buy for a short lightning cable too. I know, life in the fast lane.

Off to the in laws. We spent the rest of the evening there. Usual drinks and dinner. Leg of lamb. Strawberry shortcake. Normal dinner. Off to our cabin. And to sleep.

Sunday calls for something special. We are not going to church. So instead we decided to eat brunch at the Lakewood Inn. We are no more than two minutes walk from the Inn as well. We have no excuse.

So we managed to get up and go. We invited our nephew Robin. I texted grandma and she said he was still in bed asleep. So I figured we would not see him or the in laws. We walked by our neighbors and invited them too. They were awake so maybe. And we then continued our walk to the Inn. Below is my Yelp review.

Well, one more summer item checked off the list. Sunday brunch at Lakewood Inn. This place is like an extension of my cottage here at Weserrunsett Lake. We need only walk 1.5 minutes and we are here. Kinda convenient.

A little background, we spend a month every summer here in Madison, Maine, for the past 25 years. As I said, a short walk from the Inn. So I am familiar with Lakewood like no other restaurant I know. I come for drinks. Dinner. And Sunday brunch.

So, when I speak of The Lakewood Inn, I speak from experience.

Today, the wife and I headed down around 10am. No reservation. We invited our neighbors, via text, on the way. They joined us as well after we got there. I also texted my nephew and in laws, in Skowhegan (20 minutes away) to join us. They showed up without notice.

I should mention throughout this double table change, the staff was cheerful and helpful and no problems. We had already ordered when the three extras showed up and our waiter delayed meals and took care to keep us coffeed up and never stressed. It is always friendly and comfortable here.

I know, you say, “what about the food?!.” Well it’s great. The menu is crazy extensive. 40 breakfast meals? Sure. The drink menu, cocktails, is eight pages long. I did not drink. Though when I do, they are great. Brunch does have bottomless Mimosas.

We all ordered different things. I had the Traditional English Breakfast. A fave. Two meats, eggs, beans, bubble & squeak. Good stuff. I do recommend it.

Bagels and lox, burger, Reuben (love it), to name a few at our table. Over the years I have eaten it all. Not lox.

Service is always attentive and I seldom want for anything. Today was no acception.

The restaurant has filled up behind us and we have been sitting here for an extra 30 mins post meal. They never seem to mind and never try hard to turn the table. Thank you.

To say I will be back is an understatement. Of course I will. Every summer. Only question is is how many times next year?

So that’s what I wrote on Yelp. I feel like we sat there forever. Long brunch, which may be what brunch is for.

We left after noon, like I said we sat there awhile. Robin went with us and the in laws, Hank and Beth, went home. Robin stayed because we were going to Bigelow Brewery, a few miles north of Skowhegan, for some kind of beer, bread and cheese festival. There are not too many things to do here so we grab the new stuff that comes along.

We were at he cottage till about one then headed out to party. I have been to Bigelow a few times. I don’t drink beer but they have craft sodas and good pizza. And everyone else I am with does drink beer. It’s usually a good time for all.

Well this time there was a $15 entrance fee which allowed you “free” samples from all the vendors. Supposedly it also got you wine pairing as well. We wander d around and tried all sorts of cheeses, bread, and some meat products as well. All quite nice. I purchased a few for later, had some ice cream, generally a nice time. We went to have our wine pairing and were told they ran out of wine. So instead they were giving out a very small taste of crappy beer and a piece of bread with cheese on it. Bite size. Ya, that’s what I paid for. These folks need to learn a few things about how they treat customers.

We lasted about an hour there. Not really worthwhile for me as a customer. I think maybe some hard work needs to be done if they expect this to be an annual event.

We drove home and got there about 3. We made dinner very slowly. Usual suspects for dinner tonight, Robin, Hank and Beth. We made our version of the Caesar Pleaser which is a dish we get at a local eatery back home. Consists of spicy beef tips, broiled in cast iron pans served with a Caesar salad. Very tasty.

Before dinner the usual, cocktails and rich food. We had some of the cheeses and bread and some olive charcuterie. Really this was a meal by itself. Appetizers really make no sense. Why eat before I eat? I understand the booze, but the food is just xtra calories though it was really good.

Dinner was a hit. Robin frequ nys the Buckhorn, which is where we stole this recipe. He thinks we have it down well. I like it better, of course, because it’s cheaper too. Win win.

We had Giffords ice cream for dessert. We did not go get it, we had a carton from the market. Just as good.

We cleaned up the dishes and relaxed. It was only 6pm. Everyone went home. Emily and I went for a long walk in the early evening prior to the expected rainstorm. The mosquitoes were out for a walk too. That part was not so good. But, the walk was nice. We came back and decided to play Yahtzee, a family favorite at camp. There has never been any TV here so games were the entertainment. And the whole family is very competitive. It’s fun. Our neighbors joined us for a game as well. We wnjoyed ourselves immensely. Games are fun. More so when you win. The game was slow since neither of them was familiar. Beginners are like that and it’s ok because they are easy to beat. Haha.

They went home about ten and we went to bed. We have an early day tomorrow. Going to Freeport.

Ahh, Saturday. We are doing not much of anything. Just like at home. Up late, later than at home. We kinda just screwed off around here most of the day. I am sorry I can’t give you the excitement of the day. Wasn’t any.

We did go the the store for many sundry items – Tequila, sweet n sour, amongst them.

Went home and made chocolate chip cookies. Not my fave. Emily loves them. We had visitors, nephew and in laws, they love them. We now have a ton. Emily, every summer, makes cookies and takes them to the local Ice Cream and mini golf place we frequent. And gives them to Wyatt in the golf shack. Which is why I haven’t paid for a round of golf in years. He doesn’t work there anymore. Sadly.

Our excitement for the day: we have been invited to dinner at Nancy Nesbits across the lake. It’s always a treat. Nancy puts on a good spread and is a very entertaining hostess. She is 80 years old. Her husband passed a few years ago. Her kids are grown and have kids so she spends her summer here mostly alone with her dog. Her grandkids visit for a week during the summer. She has possibly the nicest cottage on the Lake. Also has a guest quarters, seperate for her Air B n B. The cottage itself easily sleeps 8. And it’s in impeccable shape.

Anyhow, back to dinner. When I am invited there is always an expectation I will make cocktails. So I bring my portable bar for the occasion. Yes, as many are aware I have a tailgate bar. It has everything you need for cocktails, except ice. I lug it to all dinners on the lake. It guarantees that I will get a decent cocktail every time. Most people’s home bars are pathetic. Always missing needed ingredients. Not mine. I stock well, just like at home.

We were summoned at 545. Which is funny. Why not just say 6? So funny. We arrived exactly at 545. Nancy was her usual self. Fun and funny and never lacking for a story either current or forty years ago. As I said, she is a fine hostess. We do like to help her out in the kitchen a little which she seems to appreciate. I set up the bar. I did not make drinks yet. I like to wait for all the guests to arrive.

And eventually they did. Just to keep the menu straight, I served a round of lemon drops for the ladies and whiskey sours for the gents. The appetizers were fine. Cream cheese and pepper jelly and a second cheese spread. Served with crackers. We sat around and talked, ate our appetizers and caught up on things since last year. It’s been a year since we have all been together. We occasionally hopped up to check on the pork tenderloins. Emily fancied some salads together. We are eating inside. Even though the lake is beautiful, the weather is not. Cool and rainy which is not “let’s eat outside” weather.

One more round of drinks prior to dinner and more apps too. We eat and drink way too much at the Lake. Which is fine. And fattening.

Dinner and company were fabulous. We had brownies and ice cream for dessert. No Giffords tonight. Excellent.

We left late, full and half crocked, and I can’t even remember the drive home. It was raining.

Starting to relax. Most work is done. I still have a few hangers on. I think I can knock those out soon. I have to, we are leaving for London in a few short days.

This morning was like every morning. I get up and make coffee and breakfast for both of us. It’s a ritual. If I were at home I would be making breakfast for the dogs and cats too. I don’t miss that. This morning we both had a bowl of gruel. And the coffee. Tasty.

There are big things on deck for today. Bigger even than a 6$ lobster roll. Or not. We rn errands today. Hardware store first. The bathroom sink has a leak in the faucet. So, new faucet and hoses. Not so bad, only $35. Of course, an hour of cursing and knuckle busting will follow. Then the glow of a job well done. And I call this vacation.

One of our favorite stores here, in Waterville actually, is Modern Underground. Mid century modern American furniture and housewares. Cool stuff. The same stuff I grew up with that e folks dumped in the 70’s and replaced with new modern. Oh well. Now we buy it back. So we drove to Waterville and it was our first stop. The shop really did not have the pizzazz it usually does. The owners wife died last year and he is depressed I think. I found a set of single old fashioned glasses which match a set of beautiful Collins glasses and shaker. Truly fab find. Cheap too. I own them now.

Our ritual continued, we left there and walked across he street to he Romanian bakery. We have been here many times and gone away empty handed. All bread is sold out almost every day. Well, luck was in our sails, they had bread. We bought a loaf of French bread. Today some other sucker is gonna miss out.

Went to the next door vintage clothing shop. They usually have great finds but I found nothing. Emily found a must have 80’s Italian leather bag. 15$. Did I mention everything is cheap? It is. So much stuff.

Next we actually did something I never expected my wife would do. We went to the Lebanese place next to Modern Underground and had lunch. We both had falafel sandwiches. Very good and again, very cheap. See why I love Maine?

Since we are going overseas I decided to ship the glasses back to CA. So, where do I go? Back to the UPS store I spent half a day at yesterday. Nice to see her again. Shipping cost an arm and a leg. No br ask for that even here.

Tonight we are having dinner with the in laws. It’s not every night but is most. We decided to go to the meat market. We figured we could browse the meat case and get something good. I have never been to Joseph’s Market before. It turned out to be a nice meat market but also had a few other things as well. We looked thru everything and settled on NY steaks. BBQ at 6. I was speaking to the butcher and turns out he is from Britain and now is a meat cutter here. Crazy.

After the market we decided to head back to Skowhegan. It’s not far but takes about 30 mins to get back. A funny thing happened on our way back. Outside Skowhegan we hit traffic. And it stopped. Here, this is insane. Started moving after awhile and it was an accident. And we knew the kid. It was Ryan who did yard work for us at the camp. Rear ended by an uninsured driver. Felt sorry for him. His truck is nice but it’s a 95 and I would bet the insurance co will total it.

We went to our camp and unloaded all our junk. We have in laws coming for dinner and cocktails tonight. In addition to the steak I am BBQn Em is making creamed corn and rhubarb upside down cake. With strawberry ice cream from Giffords. And the end result is a fabulous meal, of course. We always eat well here.

They left at a reasonable hour and we went off to readbourselves unconscious. Which did work well.

Can’t believe I have been here five days. It seems like only last Sunday I arrived. Oh, yeah, it was.

This morning we did get up early. Zipped through our gruel and coffee. We had to take the car in for repairs. The car being a 32 year old Buick wagon. Luxury wagon I might add. Randy the mechanic is fixing the tailgate door so it will stay open instead of slamming on our heads. We have always used a stick to prop it open. Well not anymore.

We got there by 10am. All done by 1030. Nice. And the tailgate works!!!! It’s like a new car.

Now that our Rolls is new we headed out in style. We needed to go pick up our fire extinguishers from the recharge place. The rental needs one and so do we. There is no fire service out here. The fire dept policy is let it burn. Love them.

Since I ruined, accd’g to Emily, one of the few shirts I brought with me, we went to Reny’s in search of a replacement. Reny’s is a chain of discount stores. All over Maine. I found a replacement 3 for $10. I only bought one. And these are not crap. Nice T shirt. Of course, while here, looked around. Got some cheap beef jerky too. Can’t stay away from he deal.

We were driving back to camp when Beth called. She invited us to have lunch with them at Whit’s End. That’s a local Skowtown eatery. We like it. So off we go. They were already eating when we got there. No prob. I had a green salad with fruit and chicken. Nice. Not wonderful. But I enjoyed it. Can’t remember what Em has but it did come with homemade chips which Hank ate damn near all of. And he kept saying overs and over how great the chips were. Very annoying. Beth drank all his coffee and told him it was so delicious she had to. She laughed herself to pieces over it. Old people. Whatcha gonna do?

The folks headed home. Em and I headed to the fine jewelry dept at wal mart. Haha fooled you, they don’t sell anything nice. I need a watch. Mine is at home. Many have told me not to take my nice watch on vacay cu someone will steal it. So I left the Rolex at home. Now I have A Timex Indiglo Expedition. $40. A little less than the Rolex. But now I can stop staring at my empty wrist.

Our turn to head home. We put crap away and sat around. I had to do payroll, remotely, via the internet and I had a huge problem. My remote connection did not work properly. So that was two hours of bullshit looking for solutions. Called my IT guy and he worked on it. Pain in the ass but now limping along working. I hate computers.

We decided to go out to dinner. No in laws tonight. Crazy. So we left for the restaurant while I was still working on the remote connection. Emily wasnperturbed by that. She told me later. You know what I mean.

We decided to eat at Ken’s. We have never been there and have driven by it for over 20 years. Never stopped. And, after this meal, it will be another 20 years. Has anyone ever eaten deep fried food? Sure you have. Well, that’s all Ken’s serves. I mean it. ALL appetizers and ALL entrees are deep fried and they are bland at beat. I ordered soup, just to get off the fries thing. Not very good, bland,tasteless oysters stew. The desserts were not fried but I want s to leave. I think there was a salad on the menu. I’m thinking not fried.

After our enjoyable dinner we went home. End of day time for bed. Big day tomorrow. Party. More folks in town. Fun. Later. I think.

Daya are running together already. That’s a good thing. Not doing much different each day is working too.

Last night I was awake from 230 to 530. That’s always fun. I have no magic pills with me. So I read a book till I was finally tired enough to sleep. I should mention, I hate suffering from insomnia. I once had it so bad I did not sleep for 3 and a half nights. So when I can’t sleep I always have that in the back of my mind.

In spite of the above I got up at the regular time. Coffee, gruel for all. The usual. Big morning of tools and cursing planned. Remember the faucet? Today is install day. Just as soon as I get fed and showered.

I would tell you the faucet on Twinnie’s sink has been in place 40 years. I love nuts frozen into place. Locked into brittle pipes that break when you touch them. Ya, fun for all girls and boys. So I gathered all my tools, all new parts, went next door while praying this would be one and done. No problems. Please, god. Well, I had no real problems. Took about an hour. Halt. Need to replace washers on the supply lines. I have the washers. Problem. Design of existing supply lines does not allow for replacement of said washers. Fuck. Off to the hardware store. Spend $14 for new brides steel lines. Washers in place. Back to house. Install lines. Turn on the water. Spend 10 minutes cleaning the aerator. Works like a charm. No leaks. (has not leaked in two days now). Time for basking in the warm glow of a job well done.

Today is one of those days where you lose track of whatever it was you did. I can not remember my entire afternoon. It’s Lost.

I can tell you that we went over to the in laws for dinner. We prepared ribs. Way better than Beth’s. Emilys are awesome. I am sure all of you will be happy to hear I got my portable bar out of the attic, restocked as needed and put it into service. First night tonight. I made several different cocktails – daiquiri, whisky sour, old fashion, Moscow mule, just to get warmed up. The season is just starting.

After dinner we stopped at Giffords on our way home. I had there strawberry shortcake, fabulous!, Emily had a caramel pistachio sundae. Very good.

As busy as the day was, we had to go to bed.

Well, moving right along. It’s Tuesday and it’s still a work day. After yesterday’s epic failure with the IRS I am ready to get back on the horse and try again. And maybe my nice pony can trample a few of them and poop on the rest. I can dream.

So, today, we went to Waterville. Why? Because the big town of Waterville has a UPS store which has a working fax. And copiers and all the good office crap. I had even forgotten something at home and emailed it to myself at the UPS store. They printed and we good. Love tech when it works. And I have to do all this from my phone which I have come to prefer over iPad and laptop when on the road. Who knew?

So Emily drove and dropped me off at UPS. She went shopping, I told her waiting would be frustrating. If you don’t understand, read yesterday again. I announced myself to the gal behind the desk and told her I would be hanging out half a day on hold and then need fax services fast. And I would be getting docs emailed for her to print. It’s what they do. She apologized for lack of coffee and donuts. But she had a Cindy chair to sit in. So I jumped on hold. Hey! Lo and behold, only 65 minutes later I got someone on the line to help me. Funny part, that is not funny at all, when the call connected there was no one on the line. Someone had picked up by accident. I decided to stay on and kept saying hello over and over again. Today god loved me. The guy actually heard me or something and came on the line. No greeting, no hello just “I thought u were someone else”. What? I immediately latched on to him and he said he could help. Well 20 short minutes later, and a fax, we were done. First task over. Complete.

I asked UPS gal to print out an email for me. I had to fax it. So I got back on the phone, different number, for 2nd and final task. Get this, only 22 mins of hold! Wow. I live right. I explained to the drone what I needed, I sent him my fax docs, and he VERY slowly completed each part of my request in his idea of good order. I have learned, never tell them what to do. Never ask them to do anything your way. Just let them lead and continually act amazed at their brilliance. They like being stroked and I like getting my shit done. But they can be so slow and stupid. But, we got er done! No more work.

I paid my tab with UPS, they ran a tab. And I went outside, never to see them again. I called Em and a few minutes later we were on the road. We had several stops to make in Waterville.

First stop, lunch. Short story needed. There is a chain of restaurants in Maine called Governors. Today is lobster roll day. Once a year. So we went there for late lunch. Lobster roll today is $6.59. Regular price $16.99. So we had lobster rolls for lunch. This is such a popular event they set up stands in the parking lot to sell them. People order 50 at a time. I ate one. And we just got lucky. Being good looking and luck works for me.

After our leisurely lunch there was still stuff to do. Though we both had lost a lot of steam. Me during IRS Olympics and Emily waiting on me. So we made only one more stop at the Christmas Tree Store, not one damn xmas item on the shelves, for a few sundry items. It’s a discount store selling sundries. Name be damned.

We headed back to Skowhegan after that quick stop. Now that work is done we have more time to screw around. Emily wanted to make clam linguine for us and her folks. So we went by 201 Fish market. They actually sold the store but I don’t know the new name. We bought fresh clams and coconut shrimp. They have a huge wine selection so I grabbed an imported Cabernet. From California.

We went to the Clarks to make and enjoy dinner. We had cocktails and some hors douvres. Nothing much, smoked Gouda and our coconut shrimp. We had a hearty meal of clam linguine with our Cabernet. A nice meal to cap the day.

We left after dishes. We did not go straight home. My first stop at Giffords was a must. We were not disappointed.
Black Raspberry frappe for me and caramel sundae for Em. I would include a picture but this software is crap. Sorry

Off to home and went to bed.