It isn't summer till you have your lobsta

One of the blessings of being a New Englander is feasting on fresh lobster. It just isn't summer unless you partake in this ritual. Lucky for us we have a wonderful place called Chauncey Creek Lobster Pier at Kittery Point in Me. It's a short ride from our home and we try to get there at least once a year. Although it might be hard to find it has managed to survive since 1948. One it's most endearing assets is a BYOW policy.
For those of you not familiar with this term it means bring your own whatever if we don't carry it you can bring it in. Therefore many families come in with coolers filled with beer & wine or mixed drinks .Little Johnnies favorite mac& cheese ,salads fois gras whatever they don't have on there menu. The menu consist of lobster corn 2 chowders great Malpeque oysters and cherrystone clams from Prince Edward Island and pie. Needless to say that leaves the door open for lots of bring your own. There is no ocean view as the pier sits on a very quiet part of the tidal river .The thick spruce trees block out any connection with the outside world and one can just sit back and enjoy for as long as you wish. I had my fun at Chauncey this year.A nice quiet evening with just me and the hubby and with a bit of sadness I bid them adieu till our paths cross again next year.........said the hobbit

Here I am

I guess you must be thinking that I decided to abandon all of you ,but,no it's just been crazy busy around here this month. Last April my hubby volunteered me to do the centerpieces for his 50th class reunion. I of course had plenty of time to think about what I wanted to do so I had it narrowed down to about 20 ideas when the youngest asked if I had seen Sister Diane's

latest post.It seems she had attended a class that dressed people in different attire sort of paper doll fashion.
That seemed like a fun thing to do , so out came the scissors and paper and ribbon and I proceeded to dress them as though they were going to the prom.

Eight of the students had passed away so I did the girls in white and placed wings on the back .Everything was connected with brads so the arms could be moved.They held hands around a megaphone with school letters on it. I have to say it went over pretty well. Everyone took themselves home at the end of the evening.

Of course Jiggy was the cutest of them all. As my friend Betty would say "You gotta love em".Well I must be off lots to do .Canning right now and I'm having a ball....................said the hobbit

Yup, It's me again

Can you believe I made it back so soon? Today was a day off and that's exactly what I did. I got up late, made coffee,did the must do activities[shower,dishes,get dress]and took off to spend a few hours with the youngest The sun was shining,I stopped to pick-up coffee snacks and headed to her house. My phone rang and she informed me it was raining to beat the band just 20 min away. Nay no way said I it's beautiful here. Well the closer I got the darker it got. I was about 2 miles from her home when it was raining so hard I couldn't see the on coming traffic,except for those kind enough to have their lights on. When I reached her driveway I ran all of 10 feet to her door and was dripping wet. We took our time having our apple strudel snack and hoped the rain would let up before we did some second-hand shopping.Finally we were in Portsmouth and ready to see some of the newer shops that have opened this year. We meet almost every week however shopping trips have been few and far between. She was hoping to show me a new gallery but they were setting up for an evening show so we didn't get in.The town of Portsmouth is of course a port. When we got in town something major was coming into the harbor and the bridge was up for about 30 min. or better. We chose this time to visit our friend Ellen. It takes us about 20 min just to decide what marvelous treat we want. Ellen wasn't in,she was in the kitchen creating something yummy. We decided on 4 pieces of chocolate,2 sea salt chocolate covered caramels and 2 marshmallow chocolate covered caramels. We hopped into the car ate our treats and waited for the bridge to come down. The bridge crosses over into Maine where I wanted to show her a new thrift shop that I had been hoping to stop into,but, never seemed have the time .Although we both came out with goodies I got the best deal. She came running to me to show me this cute little apron in MY favorite colors. Of course I claimed it as mine after all I am the Mama. It's just the cutest gingham check with very simple white cross-stitching and I love it. Lucky me aprons are often worn at the barn so I can show this one off. We'll I must be going Today I get to have lunch with Renoir,she just purchased a new vehicle and I have yet to see it. Sooo off to eat sushi and have fun............................. said the Hobbit

As the world turns part deux

Well here I am again slowly but surely getting back to a less frazzled state. When last we spoke Jigg's [my hubby] was getting the results on his biopsy. The news was not the best,but, not as serious as he had imagined. Yes it was positive for cancer,such a heart-stopping word,but, with such early detection it would be a problem in 10 to 12 years. At his age they suggested he take a wait and see approach with yearly check-ups. Surgery and radiation are options that he can consider but are not a priority with such a low reading. After a week of going thru many articles and meetings he has decided to wait at least a year before making any decisions. So for now we are taking it one day at a time and trying not to let it affect the positive things that are going on in our lives. Onward and upward as they say.

Last Tuesday turned out to be international night at Stitch and Bitch. Stephanie is from France and Anita from Great Britain. Stephanie[in orange]lives in our town and is here on a green card, her husband who is originally from the Andes is a citizen. She joins us on a regular basis and we love to listen to her stories of getting by in this strange world that we live in. They have 2 children Matisse who is 8 and Jeanne she just turned 2. Stephanie is currently looking for a job that would allow her time with Jeanne and is looking into pre-schools that would be interested in someone that can speak 3 yes 3 languages. She has finally gotten up the courage to make appointments and schedule interviews. We are very proud of her.

Anita was visiting a cousin who is a member of our group and was being taken on a world wind tour of New England. She was telling us about Cape Cod and her dining on lobster,always a favorite here in the summertime. We also wanted to hear about her corner of the world but, time seemed to run out before we could ask all our questions. Hopefully now that we have made her acquaintance we will have more opportunity to really talk. We obviously didn't get much stitching done but I must say it was a great visit.

I've been canning and the closet is starting to fill up. So far I've made 2 jams, strawberry fig and Blueberry both got a thumbs-up from the family. Also in the cupboard is smoky salsa and a basil tomato sauce. I'm hoping to have enough in stock to stay out of the grocery store for the month of February. The freezer is also chock full.It seems I overestimated our need for meat. I've got lots of beef, a 14lb ham 20 chickens and 2 turkeys One will be showing up in November. My 4 children will be there for me to make sure none goes to waste.

On the energy side my husband and I have purchased a pellet stove to help with the high cost of heating oil. It's currently sitting in our garage waiting to be installed. Our nephew is a mason and has set up an appointment to install by September 10.We also canceled our TV service to save on our expenses. We thought this would be traumatic but, it's been a month and we are not at a lost for things to do as of yet. Well I could go on and on but, as usual I have so many things that must be done today so bye for now .............................said the hobbit