Alexa, I am so envious.....no no wait, make that jealous. I love Ogunquit, just have never had enough time there. Have fun!

jude

Hey Alexa -- I hope your vacay is fabulous. I can't wait to get back to the Cape after Labor Day. I may try Maine next year.

So far, I spent the morning trimming back the pachysandra along my driveway. I wonder why it likes to grow on asphalt so much?? I don't mind the trimming part, I just don't like picking it all up and putting it in the recycling bags. My joints are getting a bit creaky for that.

I am taking Fridays off for the rest of the summer. Nice.

I think I will do some furniture shopping this afternoon with a stop at a farm market along the way.

Oh yeah -- the house. Plenty of cleaning to do there, but it is my least favorite thing to do.

I think I will try to recruit a friend to see a movie this weekend. Other than that, it's just more of theusual stuff.

I hope you all are enjoying these summer weekends.

Pam

caliloo - Wishing you a great week in Ogunquit! It was fun to read someone posting about a place in my (relative) neck of the woods. I haven't spent much time in Ogunquit, but did have an opportunity last fall to finally dine at Arrows. That was quite the experience! Hope the great summer weather we're enjoying today follows you into the week.

DH has today off from work and it's groundskeeping day at home, then here at the lake.

Tomorrow we are hosting DH's younger brother & his wife. They're coming for a sunset cruise around the lake and then dinner - it will be there first time visiting here. It happens to be my BIL's BD, so I decided to make Ann T's White Chocolate Raspberry Tart for dessert. DH will grill steak tips and fresh corn and I'm making Martha's Lobster Casserole to go with. It's not "that" Martha's, but Linda Greenlaw's mom, Martha's. Linda was the swordfish boat captain who was featured in the book/movie "A Perfect Storm." She & her mom collaborated on a cookbook a couple year's back. I took my mom to their book signing which was really enjoyable. Martha is a terrific down-to-earth cook whose manner reminds me of many of the people who post here. That recipe has become one of our special occasion favorites. Linda now lobsters off the Maine coast so, no doubt, their family enjoys this dish more often than ours as it requires the meat of 7 lobsters, which I'll be steaming and cleaning later today.

Hope you all have a fun & safe weekend!

Just reread my post after submitting....mortified re 2nd sentence..."it will be their first time visiting here."

Happy Friday, all! It's been awhile. Sunset cruises and lobster....I am sooooo jealous!

Today is my second day off since July 26. We have been preparing to join a library consortium and we found out two weeks ago we have to re-barcode and re-catalog every item in two libraries....by next Monday! I've been leaving for work at gawdawful o'clock to get as much done as possible before everyone starts on the computers and slows the system down.

Other than that summer has been filled with excavation and landscaping and fencing. My garden went in late and we're finally harvesting a few cherry tomatoes, greens, baby zucchinis and tons of rattail radishes. And lots of garlic. It's new, unamended ground, so we're glad that anything actually grew.

The end is in sight for our conversion at work, so hopefully I'll get a chance to catch up with the CF....I miss you guys! ~clink!~

katie, I've missed you too, I was blaming canning season.

Alexa and amck, I can't even tell you how much I'd like to be in Maine, or anywhere there was that much lobster. I've read that lobster is cheap this year, $2 a pound in some places. not here in Michigan, that's for sure. Enjoy your vacation, Alexa, and your weekend visit, amck.

Pam, I'd rather have a tooth pulled than go furniture shopping, my condolences, LOL. Skip the housework, it's summer, it's....um.....too hot. Yeah, that's it...

Here, Amanda/David/Ashley/The Monkey Princess/Bruvver are all leaving with me after work tonight. We'll spend the night at Elery's and go to the Toledo Zoo tomorrow to see lions and tigers and bears, oh my. Oh, and hippos and polar bears and elephants and giraffes. (grin) The kids will all ride back together on Sunday, I'll ride back with Elery. He'll be here for a couple of days, so I took Monday and Tuesday off, a long weekend!

We'll pick beans, the ducks need to be taken to the Amish to become, well, frozen ducks, LOL, that'll happen Monday. Tuesday I'm meeting a new forum member for lunch, hopefully, I'll post about that when it happens and then out to dinner Tuesday night with a co-worker of Elery's. With me here and him down there, not many of his colleagues have met me, they are accusing him of having an imaginary wife. (snicker) I'll bet he wishes that were true, some days. Anyway, this co-worker is doing some kind of long motorcycle ride for the cancer society and is going through Big Rapids, so we're having supper. Wednesday it's back to the grind.....

Annie

Amck - I eould love that recipe for Lobster Casserole! Is it the basic one with a veloute, lobster meat and crushed Ritz crackers or is there a secret ingredient or two? The entire menu sounds TDF.

Ded - good luck furniture shopping - I am with Annie there, I think I would rather have root canal.

Good luck Katie! Sounds like you have a monumental project on your hands.

Annie enjoy the family and the zoo. I'm sure you will all have a fantastic time. The ducks will be delicious when the time comes... I'm just glad you didn't make my mistake and name them. LOL!

Just to clarify for everyone - this is a special destination for me. Ogunquit is my home town and we will be driving up tomorrow on the 17th anniversary of my dear Dad passing. He was a resident of Ogunquit for over 25 years and left us much too soon, so I think there will be bittersweet moments during the next week.

Let me say again - have a fantastic weekend and treasure your families.

Alexa

Treasure your families, indeed!
I am having good good friends for dinner tonight. They will be returning from a day at the hospital with their daughter who had a double mastectomy Wednesday, and there were cells in the sentinal node, have yet to get the labs back on the axillary nodes. I've known this lady since she was tiny, she was my daughter's college room mate....and I will be serving her parents compassion along with the vodka, scotch, beef and corn. My daughter took dinner to her husband and kids yesterday.
Don't know about the rest of the weekend yet...
Linda C

We are having my sons Eagle Scout Ceremony tomorrow.Its kind of bitter sweet because my parents were supposed to fly in today,but yesterday my mom had a severe reaction to her cholesterol medicine,cauing her liver to react.So they are not able to make it.So pictures will have to do.

Enjoy your weekend everyone.

Shelley

caliloo - I'll post the lobster casserole on a new post. I was able to get 1 1/2 lb.'ers for $3.99 lb. today. That's the lowest price I remember seeing, ever, so if others find a similar bargain, now would be a good time to try the dish. There aren't any Ritz crackers in the recipe BTW.

What you added about your Dad in your second post lends a bittersweet note to your visit. So nice that you are able to go back to a place that has so much meaning for you.

Annie...I don't know where you find your energy! Your weekend sounds jam-packed, and I'll be curious to hear about your meeting with a new forum member.

LindaC, you are so good to host the family whose daughter just had surgery. Our family had a concentrated run of serious health issues a couples years ago, and there is nothing so healing and soothing to the soul, IMO, as someone preparing and sharing a home cooked meal. It's like water to a wilting plant after days & nights of hospital cafeteria food. I hope her results are good. My Mom is a double mastectomy survivor - there's good reason to have faith in a favorable outcome these days.

Clink and TGIF!

Alexa, sounds like a great week for you and the family before school starts. Send me a lobster anyway please!

Pam, Fridays off for the rest of the summer sound great to me. To heck with cleaning/dusting...I only do that for company..LOL!

Amck, sounds like a great weekend. I miss living up at the lake. I'll be looking for that recipe too.

Annie, sounds like a fun weekend and I'm glad to hear the you and Elery will have some time together. Good to hear the garden is starting to produce to with the weather and all.

Linda C, man that's a tuff one pal. Glad to know you and your DD are there for them during this challenging time. I sure hope all works out for the best.

Shelley, congrats to your DS and I hope all is okay with your DM too.

A few of us are taking a much needed break tomorrow and just hanging by the pool and chillin out. It's been a challenging year for many reasons so we decided to forget about all of the carp and just have some fun. Cold beer, munchies, and something on the grill will round out the day. Sunday will be chores and some more canning for me...that is if I don't have to big of a hangover from Saturday. LOL!

Have a great weekend everyone!

David