a quick trip, now it’s back to the mainland

I hopped on the boat yesterday, and made it over the island to see that many of the construction projects we have going on the house are in full swing. New (old) doors, new windows, and a little bit of board and plaster work are currently in process!!!

I did visit with the neighbors for a bit, and painted some trim going up the stairwell. And, now I am getting ready to hop back on the boat and take a leisurely drive down the coast hitting a few antique shops along the way–with a definite stop at the Montsweag Flea Market!

Speaking of corkscrew hunting, I missed out on the Hootch Owl that ended yesterday… I was short a couple hundred in my snipe bid. Oh well, hopefully on the next one.

Who knows, maybe there will be a similar corkscrew rarity discovered on my trip back down the coast…

heading to Maine

I am heading up to Maine for the afternoon–and will be trying to catch the boat to VH in a few hours. With any luck, I will find a corkscrew or two along the way, or on the way back!!!

Also, the wireless should be up and working !!!

No major corkscrew news to report, except that I did use one last night on a bottle of wine.

Pictures of newly discovered corkscrews (hopefully) to follow!

more photos

I was sent an email a bit ago, asking why there haven’t been any corkscrews on the blog for the last few days or so. As previously mentioned, the lovely bride kidnapped me for my b-day to Maine, and while we did hit a couple of antique stores–and saw a couple of corkscrews–this past week was really about lobster, baseball, kayaking, biking, excellent food, and having another new adventure together.

But for those worrying about the lack of corkscrews on the blog. Scroll through the pictures from our latest adventure, perhaps you will find one or two.

back from Maine

photos and stories tomorrow!!!!

lobster for dinner

The lovely called one of the neighbors, and ordered 4 lobster for dinner the other day. They were delivered shortly thereafter. Then, with a little ocean water, a flame, and 14 minutes of cooking time they were ready to eat!

I wonder how many lobster we will have to order for RL and Marie-France’s upcoming visit???

The weather was a bit cold and rainy yesterday until the afternoon, so we didn’t go kayaking. Perhaps today. The sun is out, and it should make for a great day in the basin. Hopefully we can get some pictures of the seal pups!

b-day news and more!

Well, our internet folk on the island have decided NOT to turn on our service until they find it convenient. For this reason, I am relegated to the front steps of the library for access. Not a bad place to hang out, but…

The birthday celebrations were fantastic, and we started off in Portland for a Sea Dogs (minor league) baseball game. For those who have never gone to a minor league game, it is truly what baseball is about!

From there we went to Boothbay where we stayed a nice B and B with an excellent view of the harbor; and a prime location from which to hop on our roadbikes and ride around. And, ride we did. We headed up to Damariscotta, and then started pedaling out to Pemaquid. It was a little hot, but the ride was awesome.

The lovely out did herself on the B-Day festivities. Apparently on an earlier trip up the coast she arranged to have champagne, and a huge box with bow sitting in our room when we arrived. And, what was in the box?; a new Taylormade rescue wood : ) !!!!!

After departing Boothbay, we headed to our other home on Vinalhaven. And, we went to a gallery opening last night, where we purchased a small piece by Kitty Wales, and tonight we are taking a boat over to the Nebo Lodge on North Haven for dinner.

There will be some construction chores in the mean time, but we also will be kayaking in the basin later this afternoon. Rumor has it that the seals have had pups, and they are all out on the rocks. I will bring the camera with.

More pictures to follow–

slow news days…

Not that I was trying to be remiss in my corkscrewy-blogger-to-the-world duties, but corkscrew news has been a little slow the last couple of days. No major scores, nothing arriving in the mail–maybe this is the calm before the storm! : )

Actually, I won’t be online for at least a few days. The lovely is kidnapping me (for my birthday) and we won’t be returning until the 30th or so. I don’t even know where we are headed, just that eventually we will end up in Vinalhaven for a few days.

Last night we had dinner with friends with some lovely Halter Syrah. It was so nice, we HAD to order a second bottle : )

Hopefully while we are up in Maine, we will get the wireless set up. If it works, I will be online in a couple of days, and will post pictures, and stories of our adventures.

Also, there is a Tucker listed. And, now… relisted… The auction was at 799, and ended, now it is relisted. It seems a little fishy if you ask me.

food delivery

It was a regular occasion while we lived in Chicago for Pingpong–an Asian restaurant that was up block from us (literally) to deliver food to us frequently. Okay, more than frequently. More like, a couple of nights a week. Okay, there were times when it was more than twice a week.

And, while we have lived in Newton Highlands for three years now, the desire to have food delivered (at any hour of the night) has not left us. Of course, given that it is Newton Highlands, getting sushi, potstickers, spicy chicken, and vegetable fried rice with some tofu added (steamed not fried please) at midnight isn’t a common occurrence.

But, recently we found out that a local Thai place will indeed deliver. And, they aren’t that far away. So, tonight’s dinner was provided by Jamjuli. I don’t think they will deliver at 2 in the morning, but if the mood strikes us, we may pick up the phone just to check.

As far as corkscrewing goes, nothing new really to report. Well, except we did use one to open some wine this evening to accompany the aforementioned Jamjuli dishes.

SoWa

The lovely and I took a break from construction/painting/house prep chores today to head over to the SoWa Antique market. 55 dealers (although it looked like a few didn’t show up) housed in this great old building.

There were some interesting items, a great 1913 Harley–which I didn’t buy–and a couple of interesting tools. No real corkscrews to speak of, but the lovely picked up an interesting ice-reducing tool. We will be perusing Bob Rogers book on the subject later to see what she actually found!

As I went from dealer to dealer inquiring about corkscrews, several remarked, didn’t I just see you at Brimfield. "well, yes, as a matter of fact…"

Of course, their merchandise hadn’t changed since earlier in the week.

That all said, I think the SoWa Antique market is a great event, and could net out some nice finds in the future. And, we will definitely go back.

Following the shopping excursion, we grabbed lunch at a local place. Food was nice, but the bartender/waiter was a little funky. Either he was hung over, or still drunk from the night before. He had a few moments where he seemed on his game, but largely he was non-attentive, and some what incoherent. We probably won’t be going back there…

There are a couple of Gin and Tonics poured, and we are done with chores for the evening.

in between construction chores

In between doing construction chores (and zipping back and forth to Brimfield) I have picked up a couple of things on eBay. Nothing fantabulous, but interesting nonetheless.

One is an old printer’s block with a Perille fly-nut corkscrew. The other, a 1884 Willett’s cork easer. If you have Frank Ellis’ book on English Registrations, look at page 75.