Twenty 2

Storytime!

Where I occasionally go out for a good meal, it is even more rare that I treat myself to a drink.  I went out to the little bar poolside at the Shiretown Inn in Houlton.  They have the indoor pool, a little bar, and a pool table.

It is there I was introduced to Twenty 2.  Twenty 2 is distilled in Houlton, and my bartender was very proud of this fact.  I had it with cranberry juice, and was so impressed with the combo I had to have some straight on the rocks to confirm my thoughts. 

Well she should be proud of the hometown advantage.  This is a very clean vodka.  Their website speaks of their goal of a neutral vodka.  They succeed nicely.  It is like drinking water with an alcohol burn. 

The website also talks about it being a blank canvas.  I would want to pair this with concentrated flavors--to minimize dilution.  My favorite way to drink this is straight on the rocks.

With a vodka like this, you can understand why people would drink straight vodka.

So I raise a glass to Twenty 2. 

Be seeing you.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

As always when I change my banner I add the new pic here.  It is a sunny Milo day.  It really feels like summer.  April was a little crazy up here this year.  It really felt like winter was never going to end. 

But now, as we are staring into June, and the sun has come out of a wet, dreary day, you can truly feel the summer season upon us. 

Now after talking about Milo, I need to talk about the change in banner.  This is the seating/play area at Tasty Food in Van Buren.  I plan to talk more in detail about this place, so I won't spill the beans now.  Tasty Food is a roadside stand and the day I took this was just as nice as today. 

I might change this again soon if I take a better banner picture.  But this represents the sunny days we are having lately. 

It just warms the heart.

A process note: the "location" portion of my blog is the location of the photo(s) or topic.  A lot of times I am blogging about something days or weeks later, oftentimes not in the location I am blogging about.  Today is case in point.  I am blogging from my couch at home, far away from Tasty Food.

But my hubby cooks tasty food, too.  It is good to be home for a spell.

Be seeing you.

Some Pig

One of my rewards for going to Aroostook County is I can buy food from the Rib Truck.  Nothing makes me happier when I see the familiar sign above on the side of the road.  I had the pleasure my last trip to Caribou to catch them twice. 

So what about the Rib Truck makes me so happy?

The Rib Truck serves ribs, chicken breast, pulled pork, and barbeque beans.  They combine the pulled pork and beans in a container called the "pork parfait," great for eating on the go.  Otherwise, it is great food to bring home to the loved ones. 

The owners are very friendly and they park their truck out rain or shine.  I was heading home from the county on New Years Day and was able to bring home some pulled pork and beans.  There they were in Marden's parking lot in Presque Isle in the cold selling their wares.  Now that is dedication.

I always buy too much if I am on my way home.  It never goes to waste, though.  My husband and I eat some and we share some with the family.  It is too good not to share.

Above is the chicken and beans from the truck I had for dinner.  Tasty food.

But that is a topic for another blog post. 

Please like them on facebook.  Especially if you want to know where they will be.  They post their location there.

A photo

I have been quiet of late.  So here is the counter at Theresa's Cafe in Presque Isle.  It is a bright, friendly place.  I got some good soup there.

Happy Easter!

Easter morning greeted me with snow.

Then you wonder why we have until May 1st for our studded tires. 

I was glad for them yesterday.


Be seeing you.

Farmington

I was in Farmington last Sunday.  I ran into Java Joe's for coffee and to buy a sandwich for lunch. 

There are two Dunkin Donuts in town.  But how can you go to Dunkin Donuts when you can go to a place that looks like this.  Farmington is a college town.  Java Joe's reflects this. 

Speaking of college influenced, my favorite hippy-dippy shop is Liquid Sunshine.  Anytime I get a dress from there it is redolent of incense.  There is silver jewelry, hemp, beads, funky shoes and more.

The whole block looks neat.  UMF (University of Maine at Farmington) is walking distance from here, right in downtown Farmington.

Let me leave you with a restoration in progress.

Be seeing you.

Binga's Wingas

On my drive home from Connecticut, both my car and myself were getting hungry.  I tried to make it to Freeport, but I made it just shy to the town of Yarmouth.  After gassing up, I noticed this sign across the street.

I went in and found out that Binga's Wingas was a bar that sold wings.

As I was on the road, I ordered a Capt'n Eli's Root Beer.  Capt'n Eli's is made by Shipyard Brewing Company out of Portland.  It is okay, but I prefer the spicier Sea Dog Root Beer.  It is a good, solid brew though. 

There is an amazing assortment of sauces for wings or tenders.

I ordered the Spicy Redneck Tenders.  The Redneck is described as buffalo and maple.  This came off as a spicy-hot maple more than a buffalo-maple, but that wasn't a bad thing.  The maple was a good foil to the heat.  My nose was running and I was glad for my root beer.

The people were friendly and I easily felt comfortable.  This would be a good place to return to for a pint or two.

Be seeing you.

Where I Have Been

Hangs head in shame.

It has been a busy month.  Normally, I don't go further west than Pittsfield, but I have made trips to Augusta (via Skowhegan) and Farmington. 

I do my best to collect photos in my travels.  Part of my process is I download the pics to my laptop for a quick edit before I add to my blog.  I use the editing software for my camera or Picasa. 

Currently, I am in Connecticut.  I had an opportunity to meet up with high school friends, so the little tank and I drove to Southern Connecticut.  The highlight of that trip was wandering around New Haven. 

These pics are in the process of being collected, and stories will be forthcoming.

I will leave you with a picture of downtown Dover-Foxcroft.  I will be passing through here today on my way home to Milo.  I enjoyed "running away from home" but it would be good to get back.

Be seeing you.

Upstairs: Old iron Inn

Let's get a sampling of the upstairs at the Old Iron Inn.  We left the living room here. 

At the top of the stairs, there is this nice nook to read.  It is surrounded by books.  Mystery, science fiction, comic strips, histories are lined around this area and in the hallway before the Old Iron Room. 

There are old irons again.

And other interesting pieces.

There are three rooms at the inn.  This is a picture of part of the Rose Room.  This room and the Old Iron Room contain two beds.  The Amoeba Room only has one bed.  All rooms have a private bath.

Each room contains a geode.  Kevin, the proprietor, is a geology professor at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.  He and Kate sold geodes and jewelry in the early years of the inn. 

One room is a shared area.  There is wifi throughout the house, but the only tv is here.  There is a fridge and a coffee and tea bar here too. 

I'll leave you with some cool model planes in the shared room. 

Be seeing you.

Tourney Week

Last week was February vacation for the kids.

Which means it was tourney week.

Tourney week is big.  Teams travel to Bangor and Augusta to play for the High School Championships.  If you can't make it to the Auditoriums, our local public broadcasting station runs the semis and the finals.  It can be exciting.

I got my daughter, Maddie to take some pictures of the Class C Semi-Final game.

She was so wrapped up in the game, she did not take many pictures.

Our Penquis Patriots did very well in the tourney this year.  We got to the semi-finals where we lost to Lee in double overtime. 

Lee is a tough competitor.  We won one and lost one to them in regular season play.  So you might say this game was personal. 

The boys played hard and did us proud.  

Be seeing you.

Living Room: Old Iron Inn

I spent the end of my last trip at the Old Iron Inn.  I stayed at the Bed and Breakfast this time.

These mugs they had made to commemmorate twenty years as a B & B, which is this year.  I grabbed some pictures around the inn this trip. 

You see the living room area as you walk in. 

There are antiques displayed.  There is definitely an old-timey feel here.

And, of course, as the name suggests, there are old irons.  Kate and Kevin collect them.  There is an amazing number of them all around the inn. 

For me, this is a nicer option than a hotel.

Be seeing you.

Cooking With Dysarts

I bought a cookbook to add to my library.

Dysarts is a truck stop with chops.  It is well known for its breakfasts and is a stop for truckers and the post-bar crowd.  They serve hearty food at a good price.  I was happy to see their recipes on sale for a cause. 

So was my eldest.  Lover of all things pumpkin, she baked the pumpkin bread from the book.

It was moist and filled with walnuts and chocolate chips. 

It made a nice snack.

Be seeing you.

I Should Have Bought It . . .

. . . when I saw it at Marden's.

Sorry . . . I couldn't resist finishing the familiar jingle. 

Mainers love a good deal.  Canadians doubly so.  Especially now that the Canadian dollar is much stronger.

Mardens does this by buying surplus items and selling them at discounted prices.  I have seen coloring books, yarn, furniture, flooring, clothing and tchotchkies.  During bad weather (like the ice storm of '98), people would watch for generators being sold. 

It is a favorite for the locals.  Conversations would crop up on the benefits of certain locations (the stores are scattered around the state and each location develops a distinct personality).  They would share with their friends what gems they found their last trip.  If you have a open mind, you can find some great deals.

The picture above is the sign for the Presque Isle location.  The locations in Aroostook County are Houlton, Presque Isle, and Madawaska.

There are two other discounters, Renys and Millers.  But Mardens touts that it gets its merchandise surplus.

I admit, I don't take advantage like I should.  Pity, because I like a good deal, too.

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More About Buttons: Using Blogger

I made a second, nicer button.  This is the image.

But it got me to thinking.  The grab my button tutorial on Manic Mother which I will relink here, uses Photobucket to store your images.  I wanted a way to do this without using Photobucket. 

My solution: use my Blogger Pages.  I don't plan to use my pages.  Why not make a page to store my images?  This way, they are accessible, and I know exactly where they are.

There is a drawback to this.  But I do have a possible solution.

Let's get to it, shall we?

Step One: Create a page.

In the left hand column under "Posts" is "Pages."  I opened the page.  You can create a new page here.  My newer page is called "Pics."

This is where the drawback comes in.  If you show your pages, you will show this image page, too.  I put my pages as "don't show," so this is not an issue for me.  You need people to access the image.  They don't need to access the whole page. 

Step Two: Place your image.

Open a new page, and a familiar page comes up.  Place your image here.  You see my two button images on my page.

The square next to "Link" is your image placement button.  If you haven't added images to your blog, this is easy and fun.  If you have, you are well familiar with this button.

Step Three and Four:  Copy Link Location and Save.

I put these two together because they can go in either order.  Once the image is placed, you can get a link location.

But please, people, save your work.  Just a friendly reminder.

If you right click your image, a drop down box appears.

Click "Copy Link Location" and the direct URL will copy to your clipboard.  You can do this in edit mode or on the actual page.  That way you can get it when you are ready.  Just go to "Pages" page and view your page.  It is a long link, so you want to use your clipboard.

See, you are good to go.  And you did not need a Photobucket account.

So, about that drawback.  You show your pages but you really want to do this without showing your storage place.  You just need to manually link your pages. 

You could even make buttons to do this, and add the HTML to your gadgets.

But that is way past my skill level to teach.   Hope this tutorial helps.

Be seeing you.

The Center of it All

Welcome to the geographic center of the State of Maine.

Yes, the Milo Public Library is considered the geographic center of Maine.  I think they measure it by drawing a circle from this point.  Maine is such a funny shaped state, it is the only way to do it. 

I don't live far from there.  So you can say I live in the center of it all.

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Idle Hands . . .

. . . are the devil's playground. 

Okay, okay, I get it.  But where I had time this week, I wanted to make a button. 

This is the image. 

The picture is from Market Square in Houlton.  It was part of this post here.

I used the photo editing software that came with my camera to make the image. I shrunk the image (standard buttons are no bigger than 125 x 125 pixels.  Mine is 124 x 70) then added the text.  It looks much better in its intended size. 

After looking at some online HTML tutorials, I was able to make my "Grab my Button" box.  The tutorial on Manic Mother was the most helpful at setting this up once I had my image.  You can see that tutorial here.  I used Ironspider.ca to understand creating and inserting images as hyperlinks.  You can access that here.  I would rather link these sites than reinvent the wheel.  They were very helpful to me. 

So grab my button, if you like.  Or create your own.  I only have some basic HTML skills.  If I can do it, so can you.

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Blogger's little helper

I upgraded my phone . . .

. . . to the HTC Hero.  My carrier doesn't have the iPhone.  This suits me just fine.

And look.

I can blog on the go if I so choose. 

The camera is quite good.  I took the Bangor shots yesterday with it (I had left my camera at home).  I loved them so much I made a collage and updated my banner again.

I know, I just did it.  But this is so cool.

Oh . . . yeah . . . the other changes.  I kind of lost my way when I was updating (oops).  I like the new look better.  It is a template I can keep and change my banner with the seasons or my moods.

I also made my gadgets a little more accessible. 

Hope you like it.

Be seeing you.

The Obligatory Bangor Picture

Okay, let's get this over with.

This, my dear friends and followers, is Stephen King's house.

He lives in Bangor.  His house is on a road full of huge Victorian Era houses.  It is a benefit of Bangor's logging past.  For the most part, he lives a fairly normal life.  People in town just let him live.

Although, I heard him speak at the Bangor Auditorium once.  He related the story how a bus full of Canadians were flashing pictures of him taking out his dog.  He was amazed at how many pictures were being taken of his dog taking a dump. 

Here is the thing.  Love him or hate him.  Love his work or reject it.  Stephen King has been very, very good for Bangor. 

He and his wife Tabitha have put their money where their mouths are when it comes to the city.  They donated money and did fundraisers (the talk at the Auditorium was one of those) for the Bangor Public Library  He donated money to build a ballfield in town.  Both projects were successful.

He also owns a radio station in town. 

I am sure there are other endevors.  Those are just the ones I know offhand.

Let's face it, Bangor has benefitted from having Stephen King reside there.

And you gotta love the detailing on his gate.

Be seeing you.

Reminds Me of My Childhood

 

I had errands to do in Bangor, and we were hungry, so we ducked into Massimos Bakery on Hammond Street.

 

 

It is in downtown Bangor.  Downtown Bangor full of older buildings and nooks and crannies.  Most downtowns are a street or two.  But downtown Bangor encompasses streets both great and small.  Hammond is one of the greater ones. 

 

 

They also have a restaurant which is what we were looking for, but it was closed for the week.  No big, the bakery was welcoming enough.

 

 

We got our lunch and ate in the car.  My husband got a panini.  I got red pepper and onion pizza.  No cheeze on it, but it was delicious. 

 

For dessert, crostatines (little crostata).  They are jam filled pies with a cookie-like crust.  I have had plenty of bad crostata with flavorless, dry crusts.  This was sublime.  The crust was buttery with a hint of almond.

See, I have a confession to make.  I am Italian-American.  I grew up in Southern Connecticut where good Italian food is easy to find.  I don't miss the crunch and hustle of Connecticut, but I miss good Italian food.

I found the Holy Grail.

Real, bubbly, crusty Italian bread.  You bet I brought a loaf home. 

It was just like when I was growing up.

Be seeing you.