A Good Winter Break So Far, Despite the Weather

      I think its safe to say that we are having an old school Maine winter. The ice and snow has caused some problems for lots of people, but as you can see by the above picture, the scenery has been spectacular. The pic is just up the road by the dam. We've also had the chance to have lunch with friends a few times, and we went out Saturday night with Linda and Mark. We had a delicious meal at Slates - and we got to sit at the "Boob Table."

 After dinner we went to see Katie Dagget sing at the Easy Street Lounge. We had a fun time, even though I took nasty spill on the ice. Mostly we've been dealing with the snow and ice and trying to enjoy the outdoors.

Baxter loves the snow...once its packed down a little. Tomorrow I head to Jackman - look for posts from the Switzerland of Maine.
~MET

Gearing Up for Fishing & Cooking

     This will be the view from my cabin on January 1st...just picture it with ice, lots of snow, and -20 degrees. You know - paradise.  I'm sitting here planning for the trip and getting excited. I'll be heading to Jackman on New Year's Eve with friends for the annual opening of the ice-fishing season. It is supposed to be bitterly cold, but it was last year also, and we still had a good time. This time I'll wait until 9am to hit the ice as the temperature will be 26 below zero when we get up and reach a balmy -7 by noon. Jesus. It does not call for much wind (unlike last year), so with the right equipment we'll be fine. I'm really looking forward to being on the ice and then have fresh fish for dinner in the camp that night. I'll blog about it when I get back.

     I'm also planning my meals that are coming up, and this bunch has a bit of a Southern feel - must be all the cold weather:

• Slow-cooker Southern chicken with wide noodles
• I'm making a big pot of chili to bring north
• Italian sausage skillet
• Apricot kielbasa bites over sticky rice
• Portobella mushroom burgers & fries
• Baked spaghetti casserole

Good eats for sure.
~MET

A Different But Wonderful Holiday

     Its been a strange few days, what with the storm, losing power, etc - but we had a great holiday. Even losing power for a couple of days seemed to make the house pretty...and cold:

 I'm beginning to think meteorology is not really a science.

 They all sucked calling the extent of this one, and even when the sun was supposed to come out.

 We did get our power on Christmas Eve, so the gift-giving went on as planned.

 It was strange not having Chris there (with Lauren in California), and of course this was the first Christmas without my mother. Dad came out to celebrate with us wearing a vest that Ma made for him.

 We had egg bake and lasagna during the day, and Dad brought some home to share with his neighbors who are still without power.  And - of course - the dogs were absolutely spoiled:

 Edible Christmas cards:

 I think Dad enjoyed his stocking:

 It was also very fun to see Kori and Sarah getting excited about crock-pots and blenders:

 My fellow "Breaking Bad" fanatics will understand this mug I got from Sarah:

We all ate too much and had a great time. Now its time to get ready for fishing!
~MET

Holiday Plans

 Don't be afraid to click on the pictures - they're kinda pretty. The ice storm kept us in yesterday, and although it continues this morning, I have to get out of the house.

I just helped M-S get out and I'll be heading out soon. I think my plans for the rest of the holiday season are set. Its going to be a great week:

• Today I hope to finish shopping, have lunch with Joyce so she can help me with a spreadsheet that I need for negotiations, and stop in to see Dad.
• On Christmas Eve we'll finish wrapping and M-S and I will be bringing dinner to share with Dad. Melissa, a teacher at Winslow, always gives me some sort of delicious jam and this year its gingered peach marmalade. I'm going to thin it a bit with chicken stock and slow cook chicken breasts. That over rice with a veggie on the side = a wonderful Xmas Eve dinner with Tut.
• Christmas Day Tut will be coming out for both brunch and lupper, and Sarah and Kori will be joining us at some point during the day. It will be very different without Chris and Alex, and of course, Ma. 
• On St. Stephen's Day I'll be finishing our proposal for a new contract.
• On the 27th I meet with our WEA Negotiations Team.
• On the 28th I will get my fishing stuff ready and I may venture out around here on Saturday or Sunday. If the weather is nice perhaps Tut may join me.
• We will work in coffee with dad and perhaps dinner with friends somewhere.
• Next Tuesday I head to Jackman for the traditional opening day trip. There could be five of us on the ice on New Years' Day.
• I will get up early Thursday morning and drive from Jackman to WHS for work - assuming the moose are willing to allow it.
• After a two day workweek James and Jean will be in town for a visit!

Good to be me,
~MET

A Weekend with a Real Holiday Feel

     This weekend is all about the holidays...and great meals coming up. This morning I did a bunch of shopping online and then went into Augusta to do some more. The capital city was very busy, but everyone seemed to be in a great mood. I caught myself several times singing along with holiday songs that were playing in the stores. I'm pretty much done with the shopping for "under the tree" gifts, and will concentrate on stocking stuffers later in the week (my favorite).
     I also went grocery shopping and I'm very much looking forward to making these meals coming up:

• Southern red crab legs with salad and lobster bisque
• Rare tuna steaks cooked on the grill
• Slow-cooked pot roast with mashed potatoes and carrots
• Strip steaks on the grill
• Apple-bourbon BBQ pork pizza
• Cheddar jack and bacon crusted chicken

     Tomorrow morning we'll put up our tree and watch it snow. Sarah is in a production of Annie tomorrow, and hopefully Tut and I will be able to get there if its not postponed. Really starting to get into the spirit!
~MET

Tut's Birding Station

Man...the doves love us right now. Tut's feeder is really bringing in the birds. Click on the picture and you can see a small woodpecker enjoying the suet. Earlier we had a MUCH bigger Pileated Woodpecker that stopped at the feeder for just a few seconds, but then hung out in our trees for a while.  Baxter and I have really been enjoying the birding, and we have identified all kinds. My favorites are the woodpeckers, cardinals, and finches. There are, of course, lots of doves, chickadees, and bluejays, but they are fun to watch through the binoculars also. Beautiful downtown North Whitefield.
~MET

Supporting Local Business

 M-S and I joined some friends for some holiday shopping, and we started at the same place we always do - Maple Lane Farm. Robbi's pottery is the best around, and we always find something wonderful.

 We also stuck very close to home by hitting:

We had a chilly but very fun day. I've also had a couple of plates of leftovers. Pretty sure I'm seconds away from a stroke.
~MET

Thanksgiving 2013

 The end of another wonderful Thanksgiving Friday. I love getting up early and working all day to prepare the meal, and every year I think it gets a little easier and a little better. This morning while I was peeling potatoes M-S was getting ready to walk the dog and avoid the hunters:

 I have the meal timed down to the second, and the best thing I've ever done is to finish some of the veggies early and put them into crock-pots to keep them warm - I am up to 3 slow cookers now. Here are the snack foods this year:

 Chris & Lauren, Sarah, Kori, and Tut joined us this year. And of course two dogs - here is Sarah with one of them:

 This year's new items were an old favorite: green bean casserole, and a slow cooked creamed corn that was amazing. I also got a fresh turkey that brined for 24 hours. The meat was really, really, good:

 As is tradition, Baxter and Bella got a small plate:

 Young adults being kids:

 This year's desserts - cupcakes and cannolis:

 Baxter had way too much to eat, so he went out to play ball:

It was wonderful to see the kids and to enjoy their company. Tomorrow we'll head to Robbi's pottery show, do some errands, and try to get all these dishes done. Thanksgiving is the best.
~MET

Thursday is Not My Thanksgiving But...

 ...I do love this day. Thanksgiving has ALWAYS been my favorite holiday, and since we moved our meal to Friday its only become better. Today M-S, Baxter, and I went for a wonderful brisk walk, and then dad came out for a delicious brunch. We had poached eggs on really good toast, sweet potato hash, and Emery's breakfast sausage. It was all amazing. We watched some of the parade and started to get ready for tomorrow. Of course, at noon I listened to:

 ...on WBLM. They play the original vinyl, with all the 1970s scratches. I so look forward to this every year. I also was preparing this:

Thats an 18 pound turkey in a lobster pot beginning to brine. Lots of veggies, spices, salt, and so forth. I'm pretty sure this is going to be the best Thanksgiving meal of all time. I'll post tomorrow - life is good.
~MET

Colby Museum of Art

 Tut, M-S, and I made our first trip to the very expanded Colby Museum of Art. It is HUGE. In fact, we saw about 2/3 of the art. You can't take pictures of every exhibit, but I did take a few. Click on them to make them bigger. The one above was my favorite from today - its called Watching the Circus...I've already forgotten the artist. We all had a very good time drinking it all in.

 This sculpture is pretty amazing:

 There is a similar one in DC at the American Art Gallery of a woman drinking coffee. Tut is telling him where to place his next card:

If you get a chance to check it out, you should. They have a Chinese exhibit right now that is amazing, and they have a ton of American art. I think all of us are looking forward to going again, and maybe going out to eat after.
~MET