what the heck is that?

Posted on April 17, 2016 by is there any more pie?

I was in Banjo Man’s office this morning, just having a little chat before I headed to the workroom for some time on the treadmill, when I saw what I thought was a large dog trotting down the driveway towards the house.

“What the heck is that?”  was exactly what I said to Banjo Man.  My second thought:  I’m going to have to deal with a lost big old dog before I get on the treadmill.

We stared out the window.  The black animal looked much bigger than any other fisher we’ve seen and besides, it didn’t move like a fisher.  They lope.  They’re fast.  This animal-walked like a cat and was in no hurry.

“Get the camera!” Banjo Man shrieked, so I put down my coffee mug and raced upstairs to take some pics out the living room window.

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The stump on the left is 8″ high.

If this was a house cat, it was the biggest damn house cat I’ve ever seen in my life.

If it was a fisher, it was the most relaxed fisher I’ve ever seen in my life.

If you have any idea what this is, please leave a comment!!!!  

Posted in rhode island | 4 Comments

in ten weeks…

Posted on April 16, 2016 by is there any more pie?

I’m ready for summer.  Get ready, girlfriends!

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Posted in friends, lake | 2 Comments

lost and found

Posted on April 15, 2016 by is there any more pie?

Today Banjo Man and I bought a car.  We have owned a 2004 Toyota Highlander for about 5 years now.  Or maybe four years.

I can’t remember, but Banjo Man pointed out that we have driven it across the country four times, which is hard to believe.  We love this car.

Anyway…this year we planned to fly west instead of driving.  We would buy a car in Idaho and leave it there.  I’ve been shopping long-distance (via cars.com, autotrader, cargurus and craigslist) and the ugly reality is that AWD cars are a lot more expensive in the northwest.  And less plentiful on the used car lots.

So…after much discussion and lots of online shopping, we found a 2005 Highlander here in Rhode Island Wednesday and today our mechanic pronounced it to be in excellent condition.  To Banjo Man’s joy, the shopping is now over.

Such a relief.  We’ll pick it up in a few days, after it is inspected and has a new battery, etc.

On the way home Banjo Man realized we were out of gas, so we stopped in Giant Suburbia to fill ‘er up at a monster gas station, which I picked out because I was pretending we were on a road trip (which is what I do quite often) and needed a cold drink with a straw (because when I am on a road trip I always need a cold drink with a straw).  Then Banjo Man suggested we stop at Trader Joe’s to buy “treats” to celebrate finally finding a car.

“What kind of treats?” was my question as he pulled into the Trader Joe parking lot.  “Sweet treats?  Fancy cheese?  Or weird vegetables?”

“I was thinking of a slab of salmon,” Banjo Man admitted.  In the meantime I realized Panera Bread was next door.

“I was thinking of a sandwich,” I said, “so you go get what you want and I’m going to get my own lunch.”

This is how you stay married for 45.5 years, by the way.  Do your own thing.  Live and let live.  Don’t make negative salmon comments.  Let your spouse enjoy monster gas stations.

We happily went our separate ways.

Here’s the “lost and found” part:  While crossing the parking lot to Panera Bread (and a turkey avocado sandwich) I saw a green and gold credit card shining from the pavement.  I picked it up and realized it was someone’s debit card from a local bank.  “Karen” was going to be very, very upset when she realized she’d lost it.

There was an elderly couple entering Panera ahead of me, so once inside I asked them if it belonged to them.  It didn’t.  But the woman said she’d seen a lady with a large bag heading to her car a few minutes earlier.

I debated about what to do.  I didn’t want to leave it at the restaurant, even if they had a “lost and found” section.  I felt responsible for it.

I ordered the sandwich and bought a loaf of sourdough bread while the elderly couple kept glancing my way as if I was going to rob them or use Karen’s debit card to buy out the entire pastry section.  Ease up, elderly people!  You’re watching too much news!

Two policemen were eating lunch over by the window, so I realized I could ask them for advice.  I personally thought the best thing would be to take the card to a branch of the bank.  After I picked up my sandwich I went over to the policemen, one of whom had lots of braid and gold stars on his uniform (which meant I was interrupting the Chief of Police?).  I apologized and explained what had happened and said my only thought was to drop the card off at Citizens Bank.

The policemen thought that was an excellent idea.

(As I was explaining all of this to Banjo Man ten minutes later, he was appalled that the police hadn’t taken the card from me.  Are you?  I look old and honest and was wearing my nicest coat and my  new necklace and besides, the Chief of Police has better things to do than deal with lost debit cards.)

So off we went, heading home.  There’s a Citizens Bank in our own town, so we stopped there and I gave the card to a cashier, who seemed happy to have it and gave me a big smile.

I hope she had Karen’s phone number somewhere in the bank records, because otherwise Karen is going to wonder if someone is trying to access her bank account before she can report the loss to her bank.

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It’s very exciting to leave the house, go up to the Big City, buy a car and thwart crime!!!

 

 

 

Posted in rhode island, road trip, secondhand stuff, shopping, travel | 5 Comments

sarge bought a truck

Posted on April 12, 2016 by is there any more pie?

Sarge came home last weekend.

In this.

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He is ready to move to the Northwest and start working on the cabin.   Can you tell?

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Inspected by Banjo Man.

Sarge took us for a ride Sunday morning.

We ruled the road!

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Still waiting for Spring.

Posted in family, rhode island, secondhand stuff | 4 Comments

figs & pigs & sewing up a storm

Posted on April 11, 2016 by is there any more pie?

Thursday was our (Harley Chick, Aunt Pat and me) north to Worcester, MA, to the annual Sew Expo.  This year it rained.  It rained A LOT.  We should have brought umbrellas, but truthfully?  We only had to cross two streets between the parking garage and the Convention Center.  How wet could we get?  How hard could it rain?

And besides, Aunt Pat had found a restaurant (“Figs & Pigs”) that was actually inside the Convention Center.  We were all set.

But…if you look at this picture you will see three women who discovered that to get to the restaurant, they had to leave one part of the building and walk two blocks to lunch.  In the pouring, driving, storming rain.

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Which one was smart and had a hood on her coat?

I would walk through a hurricane to eat at Figs & Pigs again.  Truly, it was that good.  I had the best sandwich of my life.

I really did.

I was too wet to even try to take a picture, but can you picture sourdough bread, buttered and grilled?  And inside are sauteed mushrooms, melted cheese and fig jam?

OMG.

I am going to make it for Banjo Man next weekend, because he is doing our taxes and is incredibly grumpy and this sandwich will cheer him up.

Back to the Expo:

The first thing we did upon arriving was pose with a dummy.

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You can order one of these in your own measurements, which I think would be worse than having to look in a full length mirror every day, but maybe that’s just me.

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Why I go to physical therapy.

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Silks of many colors.

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I collect these in whale bone.  I’ve never seen new ones for sale before!

Here’s my little dream machine, a sit-down quilting machine and table.  I’m practicing here, you see.   I can’t believe how deformed my fingers look.  Yikes!

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On sale for only $4395.00.

Poor Harley Chick ended up driving in the blinding rain for close to 4 hours total, but she remained cheerful despite the weather.  Aunt Pat and I really appreciated it!

Pat and I each bought a copy of this book.   There was a sale, but the math confused us.  We think we each saved $5.00.  Maybe.  I’m not too worried about it, because I didn’t buy this book last year and I’m really glad to have it now.

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I bought new sewing tweezers, a finger flashlight for my grandson, plus something to cut Play Doh with when Sammy (who turns 3 tomorrow) comes to visit.

(Sammy has a brand new baby sister, by the way).

Harley Chick bought fabric.  She has a new grandchild arriving next month.

Another great field trip, with friends, food and fabric.

Posted in friends, just for fun, quilting, rhode island, shopping | 2 Comments

thanks for the songs, merle

Posted on April 6, 2016 by is there any more pie?

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Sad news today.  We had the pleasure of seeing him perform in Austin with Willie Nelson and Ray Price a few years ago.

I’ve been trying to link to one of my favorite songs of his, “Sing Me Back Home”.  Suzy Bogguss recorded an entire album of Merle’s songs about three years ago and that song was on the cd.

Here’s the youtube link:

It seemed like a fitting song to listen to now.

From Taste of Country:

“Merle Haggard has died after a series of recent health struggles. The legendary singer passed away on April 6, 2016, which was also his 79th birthday.

Haggard canceled tour dates in December of 2015 after he checked into a hospital and learned he had double pneumonia. In an interview later with Willie’s Roadhouse on Sirius XM, he said he was “nearly dead” when he was hospitalized for two weeks. He canceled shows scheduled for Jan. 30 and 31 after his double pneumonia returned. At the end of March, the legend announced he was canceling all of his scheduled shows for April on doctor’s orders.

According to Country Aircheck, Haggard had been in hospice care recently. The country icon’s manager, Frank Mull, reveals that he died of pneumonia at 9:20AM on Wednesday (April 6) in Palo Cedro, California.

Haggard was born Merle Ronald Haggard in 1937 just outside of Bakersfield, Calif., a town that he would help make famous with his revolutionary sound. His family struggled financially throughout his childhood, living in an old converted boxcar after their home burned down. After Haggard’s father died when he was 9, he turned rebellious, hopping a freight train to Fresno and getting picked up by the authorities when he was just 10, according to his official biography. He was in and out of reform schools and deemed “incorrigible,” and ended up in and out of jail as a young adult, culminating in a stretch in prison when he was 20 years old.

Haggard began to take music seriously while in prison at San Quentin, where he was on hand for the Johnny Cash performance that was captured for the iconic live album At San Quentin.

He began to make a name for himself in the club scene around Bakersfield after his release, developing a hard-charging approach to country music that prominently featured twangy electric guitars. He released his first single, a cover of Wynn Stewart’s “Sing a Sad Song,” in 1964, but it was Haggard’s own compositions that launched him as one of the most important and influential country hitmakers of his generation. He released a long string of deeply personal songs including “The Bottle Let Me Down,” “Branded Man,” “Sing Me Back Home,” “Mama Tried” and many more, developing a reputation as one of the most serious, hard-hitting artists in the genre.

Haggard maintained that successful streak through the 1970s and into the 1980s, scoring more hits including “If We Make It Through December,” “Ramblin’ Fever,” “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink” and “That’s the Way Love Goes.” He stayed active in his later years, touring regularly and releasing a new album, Django & Jimmie, with Willie Nelson in 2015, debuting at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Country Albums chart.

The legend’s personal life and health were frequently less stable than his career. He was married and divorced four times before marrying his fifth wife, Theresa Ann Lane, in 1993. He underwent angioplasty in 1995 to unblock clogged arteries, and in 2008 Haggard had part of his lung removed after he was diagnosed with non-small-cell lung cancer. He returned to the stage just months after that surgery, and remained active in performing until right before the end of his life.

Haggard was honored as BMI Icon in 1996, and recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2010. He won a slew of ACM, CMA and Grammy awards, and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1977. Haggard was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1994.

 

 

 

Posted in music | 1 Comment

april surprise

Posted on April 5, 2016 by is there any more pie?

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Snowing again?  It snowed off and on for a day and a half!

I should not have unpacked my summer clothes.  Obviously.  I should not have bought two new sleeveless tops at Marshall’s.

I have lots of daisies on the kitchen island, though.

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It’s Spring somewhere, right?  I hope it’s where you are!

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pinning a party

Posted on March 28, 2016 by is there any more pie?

I may be experiencing Pinterest overload.

My brother and I are giving my mother a 90th birthday party Saturday night.  She composed the guest list and preferred having it my house instead of a restaurant.

So I immediately went into “full party planning mode”.  Those of you who know me know I can zoom into that mode in about sixty seconds.  After all, I am a woman with 98 tablecloths and four sets of china.

I love parties and I love making massive amounts of food.   I may have been Mrs. Patmore in a previous life.

Pinterest is inspiring me to make some pretty fabulous appetizer platters, something not in my skill set.  But  I bought lots of fancy cheeses and crackers today and I’m going to wow the crowd.

Here are platters my friend Pat made for our writers pajama party.  Inspirational, aren’t they!

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They look even better than some of Pinterest pins!

(Pat knows how to party, too).

 

 

 

Posted in family | 4 Comments

pretending it’s spring

Posted on March 25, 2016 by is there any more pie?

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The forsythia aren’t real, but don’t tell anyone.  I like how they look in my rock vase ( transported carefully from Idaho and created by the Heisels).

That copper bowl is a “whale blubber” bowl.  The fixtures aren’t original, but the bowl itself was used by a cook on a whaling vessel.  Some of the blubber was melted for cooking.  Years ago, when Ebay was very new and filled with antiques and bargains, I was able to buy some interesting whaling memorabilia.  I was researching my Nantucket ancestors at the time and the history–though gory and cruel– was fascinating.

My other whaling treasures are tucked inside of a safety deposit box now, but I do love looking at the blubber bowl.

And the forsythia.

Because Spring is coming!

Happy  Easter, everyone!

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dear ms saab

Posted on March 24, 2016 by is there any more pie?

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Dear Ms. Saab Touring Edition,

You almost hit me when you passed me on Route 1, heading south to Westerly.  You drifted right, into my lane.  I watched you as you drifted to the right off and on for miles.  I watched other cars avoid your erratic self.

I assumed you were texting.  Or talking on your cell phone.  Or you were drunk.

I watched you at a red light when I pulled up next to you.  You were talking on the phone.  You were no teenager, so you were old enough to know better.

I watched you run the next red light, so your conversation must have been very important.

Before you ran the red light, I just assumed you were annoying.  It happens a lot as people text and talk and drive at the same time.  It doesn’t usually continue on for twenty-plus minutes.  But the red light business tipped me over.  So I pulled into a parking lot and called the Westerly police.  I had your license plate number, not that I needed it.  Because you were driving a gray sedan with “SAAB TOURING EDITION” printed in 18″-high letters from the back to the side.  You had padded racks on the top of your car, too.  Not blending in with the crowd.

I sincerely hope you were easy to find before you made your way on to I-95 or crashed into a local school bus.

I hope that when the police stopped you (oh, how I hope they did!!) that one of those nice officers flung  your cell phone into a field where a bulldozer ground it into little pieces.

Sincerely,
More Pie

 

Posted in a more pie opinion, rhode island | 5 Comments