Mainelife...thru the eyes of someone from away

All of New England Is In a Fine Mood This Morning

Mondays don't get much better than this.  The Red Sox, not only swept the Yankees, but by most accounts, the Red Sox humiliated the Yankees this weekend. The coup de grace, the defining moment was this Jacoby Ellsbury's daring steal of home. So this morning as we enjoy spring like weather, we all walk with a bit of bounce in our steps, our hearts are a little lighter.  For now, economic worries are put aside, health concerns don't seem quite as daunting. Because the Red Sox are 10-0 in their last 10 and they've sent New York home with a big sweep. 

Never Lie To Your Mother

RG was emailed this joke today. It's so good, I had to share it with you:

Brian invited his mother over for dinner. During the course of the meal,

Brian's mother couldn't help but notice how beautiful Brian's roommate,
Jennifer, was. Brian's Mom had long been suspicious of the platonic
relationship between Brian and Jennifer, and this had only made her more 
curious.

Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, she
started to wonder if there was more between Brian and Jennifer than met
the eye.

Reading his mom's thoughts, Brian volunteered, 'I know what you must be

thinking, but I assure you Jennifer and I are just roommates.'

About a week later, Jennifer came to Brian saying, 'Ever since your
mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the beautiful silver gravy

ladle. You don't suppose she took it, do you?'

Brian said, 'Well, I doubt it, but I'll send her an e-mail just to be
sure. So he sat down and wrote:

__________________________________________________________

 

Dear Mom,

I'm not saying that you 'did' take the gravy ladle from the house, I'm not
saying that you 'did not' take the gravy ladle. But the fact remains that
one has been  missing ever since you were here for dinner.

 

Love, Brian

__________________________________________________________

Several days later, Brian received an email back
from his mother that read:

____________________________________________________

Dear Son,

I'm not saying that you 'do' sleep with Jennifer, I'm not saying that you
'do not' sleep with Jennifer. But the fact remains that if Jennifer is
sleeping in her own bed, she would have found the gravy ladle by
now.

Love, Mom

Around Maine

Recent news and neat stuff from Maine:

• Maine's Troop Greeters are a special group doing a special job.
  
• Our fair state begins begins debate on a gay marriage bill.
  Maine Lobstermen might find that less is more.
  
• Elizabeth Strout wins a Pulitzer Prize for her novel about Maine (and if you've not read the book, you should).  She's a native of Maine, who now teaches at Queens College in North Carolina (ht to Marie for that). If you've not read her book Abide With Me, you might consider that as well. 
• Frisbee's Market may have a local buyer.
• And finally, a lovely shot of the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse

Comfort Food

It's been a cold, gray spring and after a string of days like we've had I crave comfort food: beef stew, heavy starches, creamy soups--any food that can warm the bones and the soul.  But.....we're still on the weight loss program in preparation for the August wedding. Comfort food now has to be low(er) calorie.
So I found this recipe for Five Spice Chicken over at Epicurious.com and I was able to find the Chinese Five Spice Powder at our local Whole Foods.   It was delicious.  I served it with Lyonnais Potatoes, Chilled Asparagus with lemon and butter.  

Ingredients

• 4 garlic cloves, pressed
• 2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder*
• 1 cut-up chicken (8 pieces; about 3 1/2 pounds)
• 1 large onion, peeled, cut into 16 wedges

Preparation

Combine garlic, salt, olive oil, and Chinese five-spice powder in large bowl. Add chicken pieces; turn to coat. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or overnight. Preheat oven to 425°F. Arrange onion wedges in 13x9x2-inch roasting pan.

Arrange chicken, skin side up, atop onions. Roast until chicken is cooked through, basting occasionally with pan juices, about 50 minutes. Remove chicken from oven and let rest 10 minutes. Arrange chicken and onions on platter and serve.

 

The Nubble

iphone photo

The Nubble was looking especially lovely yesterday in the sunshine. I wasn't the only one to think so--the parking lot was full of cars, most from Massachusetts, but other states were taking in the view, too.

After a walk on the beach and an afternoon nap we went to Arrow's for their Classic Night: menu and prices from 1988.   The restaurant is always a fine dining experience (service, preparation, wine are impeccable), but the prices aren't in a range that's affordable to us more than once every few years.  Last night we had the Arrow's experience for about $19.00 an entree, and $6.50 a salad.  They didn't miss a beat on service or atmosphere.

Arrows will be having one more Classic Night on June 14th. If you're in the area, I highly recommend the experience.  We'll be there, too.

Sun Rise

It was a pretty good one this morning.

New Blog

So, because I don't have enough time to post here at Mainelife, I've done the logical thing and started a new blog......
Seriously, for the past five years, I've wanted to post on matters of faith, spirituality, and Christians and the Church.  I didn't do it for various reasons, but now I'm ready.  And I have a lot to say. 

Gray Day, Redux, Redux, Redux

 

It's another gray day in northern New England.  I feel as if I shouldn't complain too much because we've had two nice days in a row,  but still.  Gray seems to be the dominant color for Maine in 2009.

Oh and thanks for stopping by, you loyal readers.  There's not been much to see here lately, has there?  I remember a year or so ago when one of my favorite bloggers, who had up to that point pretty much posted daily, suddenly became an erratic, infrequent poster.  His job had gotten busy and he had no time for the blog.

I was nonplussed. Ludicrous.   How could one not find 10-15 minutes in the day to post?

Lately my work has been so hectic that now I see. It's not the 10-15 minutes required to post, it's having the energy to be creative enough to write anything that anyone would want to read.  And I've not had the energy to pick up the camera, play with my Flip or do much aside from working.

I'd like to tell you that I see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I'm not so sure of that.  It's good to be this busy in an economic climate like this and it's reassuring from a job security standpoint, but I'm about ready to end the 15 hour days and get back to my Mainelife.