Cathar(sis) country

Our new hometown, Carcassonne, is situated in southwest France right in the heart of Cathar country. It only seems fitting, therefore, that we should have had a catharsis this morning with the emptying of our closets. It was quite freeing to let go of clothes that we purchased as recently as a few months ago to our tuxedos that we bought when we lived in Chicago nearly 30 years ago. cummerbundsAnd why did we need five cummerbunds and matching bow ties that you see here? Those tuxes used to accompany us on an annual cruise and we certainly could not show up from one year to the next with the same accessories. By skillful trading of cummerbunds, ties, studs, and cufflinks, we were able to come up with “new” outfits for quite a few cruises. Continue reading “Cathar(sis) country”

Trying to adjust

Double order
Double order

Bill is so funny…and clever. He went grocery shopping yesterday and one of the items on the list was a can of pumpkin puree which we use to make biscuits for Heather. He said that it pained him to pick up only one can but in keeping with our goal to empty the pantry before we move, we’re only buying what we need each week. At least that’s how I understood it…. Continue reading “Trying to adjust”

Do these roses make my hips look big?

When we were in Maine at the end of the summer, a prominent color in the landscape was red. Legend has it that Johnny Appleseed covered the countryside with his namesake product and it definitely shows up there. I think his middle name must have been Rose because there’s an equally abundant number of those growing wild. As with the apples the rose bushes produce … Continue reading Do these roses make my hips look big?

From surf to turf

Lobster boat in Rockland, ME
Lobster boat in Rockland, ME

Normally, if I’m going to take a photo of dinner, it’s after the meal is ready and sitting on the plate in front of me. In keeping with the “locally grown” campaign that is prominent in grocery stores across Maine, here you see the before and after photos of the delicious lobster dinner that our friends Anne and Paul prepared for us. Because it was a Sunday afternoon, there were few fishing boats in operation but Paul knew exactly which dock to go to for fresh lobster. As you can tell, this boat has just arrived and the crew members are sorting their catch. The guy in the yellow slicker is slingling that blue crate with our six lobsters inside over to the scale to weigh them. Continue reading “From surf to turf”