Things are slowing down a little here in Central Maine. We rose late. No surprise there.
Emily was up long before me. Her prerogative, mine is to continue sleeping. It’s vacay.
Today is Saturday, a weekend day, though every vacation day is a weekend day. I switched things up a bit today. When I got up I made coffee, then breakfast. There is no newspaper out here and no TV. So after breakfast I took a shower. I got the first shower which means Emily has to clean it. That’s a win.
We are going back to the yard sale again to help out. We are taking a few things we need to dump, I mean sell. I actually dread going back. It’s hot and I gotta sit around the yard. Fun. The only good thing about it, we arrived late. And they closed up early since there is a big storm coming in. Which means we did not stay longer than two hours. Sadly, once closed up I had to help them put away all the unsold stuff, and all display tables. More joy in the afternoon. Love it! My back hurts.
After we said our goodbyes (yay) we headed back in the direction of our camp. We stopped for things. It’s what we do. I need to paint the interior casings of the 14 new windows installed on our porch last fall. We were not there or probably would have complained about the lack of paint the contractor applied -none. And top screens. There are none. This is our first trip back since the rehab. Anyway, I will be painting the casings soon. Not today soon, but in the next few days soon. So top at hardware store for required supplies.
We have been invited to dinner tonight, at the Kadunc’s, across the lake. Our task, accepted, is to provide the appetizer for tonight’s party of six. Next stop grocers. Emily is in charge, I just watch. She likes to wander the aisles looking for inspiration. Seems to have worked. The app is cut veggies and dip but artfully arranged in separate containers so it looks less pedestrian and more fancy. And a platter of cheese and crackers.
Usually I am the bartender for these parties though I was not asked tonight. Good thing, my traveling bar is locked up next door in the attic and there is a tenant till tomorrow. We rent it air bnb.
Tonight’s meal is Cuban and the two most famous Cuban origin cocktails are the Daiquiri and the Mojito. I am the Daiquiri fan. I am optimistically taking sugar and limes with me, just in case.
We arrived back at camp in early afternoon. We spent some time getting cleaned up from today’s storm. Which was fierce. The storm coming caused the garage sale to shimmy down. It was a classic northeast rain storm. About 230 the winds picked up, and just got worse. By 3 the “sky” had dropped to about fifty feet and turned black. In Iowa its called tornado weather. By just after 330 the heavens opened up and it poured heavily. Like hell. A vertical flood if you will. I was driving in it. Had to slow way down because I could not see anything. Nasty. Managed to get home sans trouble.
We took a nap, not long just a cat nap. Then got up and took an hour to make an appetizer for tonight. All I did was chop veggies which is helpful but not much. Emily did the hard work. It seemed to take forever to get it all done but I just kept my head down and chopped veg. We packed up for the trip to Ed and Helena’s. And took off. I wanted to go pick up more liquor before we went but we ran out of time.
Dinner at the Kadunc’s follows a pattern. I like patterns. Easy to follow. First we sit in the front room and enjoy appetizers and cocktails, sometimes wine. About an hour. Just after our second drinks we move to the serving table by the kitchen where Helena will have placed the entree and side dishes. We jostle for position, (not supposed to go first) serve ourselves and around the corner to the dining room. As always, food is fantastic. Always plenty to eat. Not sure what she is doing with all the leftovers. Anyhow, tonight’s theme is Cuban. We have the meat dish, Picodillo, and Matas y Blancos (forgive my attempt at bilingual spelling). And wine. The wine is South American, not sure if Cuba makes wine. There you have it. Dinner at the Kadunc’s. Everyone here looks forward to it. Probably because it’s fun and the food is fantastic and after a lifetime of traveling the world they have lots of stories to tell.
I should mention the best part of dinner. There is always a fabulous dessert. She is known for it. My nephews have gotten lessons and recipes so they can make the desserts at home. Desserts always prepared perfectly. I know too many people for whom the only thing they really want is the flan or chocolate cake (this is where I scream Fabulous!). Tonight we had flan. Too damn good. I wish my gut and waistline could handle more. Sadly, no.
And after dinner we sit and drink more wine. Tonight we also had Amaro, a digestif, as a chaser at the end of the evening. Herbal liqueur, smells like bitters, but tastes good. We sat around for awhile chatting. I eventually fall asleep, tradition, which says time to go home. Our hosts are bionic and I think they could entertain till dawn. I don’t have the stamina.
We headed home, across the lake. Nothing to report, went to bed.