Weekending

March 18, 2019 By Carole

How about some weekend snapshots? I’ll warn you now, they are (almost) all food!

Friday Night Snacks. You know the drill. Note the St. Patrick’s Day cocktail napkins. And also the cucumber “subs” which I made by hollowing out cucumbers and filling them with ham, swiss and cream cheese.

On Saturday I went to the Blue & Gold banquet and spoke on behalf of the Board of Selectmen. It did my heart good to see our community come together to support our scouting program.

We went to a couple of breweries in the afternoon with Jo-Ann and Shawn. We drank some beer, ate some pretty great Irish grub, were entertained by Irish step dancers, and then came back to our house for Mexican Train. Oh! And Shawn taught me to play cribbage and I might be a little obsessed at this point.

On Sunday the kids came over for dinner. I roasted a chicken (easier and more well liked around here than corned beef and cabbage) but I did give a nod to St. Patrick’s Day with veggies in the colors of the Irish flag.

And cupcakes from a friend with gorgeous green frosting and sparkles. They were delicious and beautiful!

That’s my weekend in a nutshell. It was good and it went by too fast . . . in other words, it was just like most other weekends around here!

Eye Candy Friday

March 15, 2019 By Carole

Thanks to a donation from one of my co-workers who downsized, we now have a big beautiful cactus at work. And apparently it’s Irish because it’s blooming just in time for St. Patrick’s Day!

Have a great weekend, friends, whether you’re Irish or not!

Three On Thursday

March 14, 2019 By Carole

Ready for a laugh? I’ve had quite a week so I sure am! And guess what? I’ve got three for you!

I am so not a phone person. And yet, since this whole politician thing, I spend a lot of time on the phone. I’m adjusting but still . . . text me instead of calling if at all possible.

I hope Dale is laughing at this one. It definitely hits close to home because when I’m reading . . . DO NOT talk to me.

#truth

Hope you got some laughs out of these. If you wrote a post for today please include your link below and thanks for playing along!

An InLinkz Link-up

February Vacation Recap #2

March 13, 2019 By Carole

I left you all in Stockbridge at the Red Lion Inn but our adventure didn’t end there. On Thursday morning we left the inn and drove around the surrounding area. Back in the early days of our marriage we spent quite a bit of time out there every spring. Dale would turkey hunt and we would camp and we have terrific memories of those times. It was so nice to see so many of our old favorite spots.

And then we left and headed to Springfield, home of the new MGM Springfield Casino. Our check in was simple and our room was very cool. It’s all sort of industrial-modern-steampunk-ish with lots of printed word decor, which I love. Once settled in our room we walked around a bit, got a drink, ogled at the casino, and finally wound up at TAP Sports Bar. After a bit I heard from my niece Danielle (she isn’t really my niece but that’s a long story and I’m not going into it here) who let me know that her husband Jose would be down to visit with Dale and I shortly. Jose is a big shot at the casino and he gave us a VIP tour of the whole place, including introducing us to managers and wheelers and dealers! We felt very important!

After Jose left us we gambled a bit. And lost, of course. It was fun, though, as was the people watching. Seriously, we saw people dressed to the nines and others who were . . . not so dressed up. Everyone was having a good time, though, and that’s what mattered. Eventually we headed back to our room with our heads full of the sounds of the ringing bells of the slot machines.

Before we left in the morning I said we should gamble just a teeny bit more. I slid $20 into a penny slot machine and started . . . losing. I was down to $7 when I miraculously started winning! I suddenly was getting tons of free games (56 in all) and the machine sort of took on a life of it’s own. I surreptitiously took that photo at one point when my winnings were over $200 but by the time we finished (Dale took a go at the same machine when I cashed out) our winnings equaled $533!

And we walked away.

We had lunch at a brewery in Northampton and then made a brief stop at WEBS and we were back at home in time for Friday Night Snacks. It was a really fun few days away, made especially so by that cash win!

And that’s the end of the February Two Hotels & A Casino Story.

February Vacation Recap #1

March 12, 2019 By Carole

Let’s go back to February and talk about the mini vacation Dale and I took. The one we laughingly called The Two Inns & A Casino Trip because . . . well . . . we stayed at two inns and (wait for it) a casino. Duh.

We started on Tuesday at the Colonial Inn in Concord. It’s fairly close to home for us, actually, but it’s a pretty place and I’ve always wanted to stay there. We toured the Louisa May Alcott House, which I hadn’t been to since I was a kid, and we walked around downtown Concord. We walked over the Old North Bridge and we drank beer at a little pub. We shopped at a wonderful independent book store. We had dinner at the tavern downstairs and got recruited to play trivia with the locals. It was very relaxing and fun. I’m not sure I’d go back to stay over but it was a great experience.

On Wednesday we drove to Stockbridge and toured The Norman Rockwell Museum, something I highly recommend if you happen to be in Western Massachusetts. After our tour we check in to The Red Lion Inn. It’s huge and gorgeous and loaded with antiques. There are flower arrangements everywhere you look and the main dining room is stunning. There are nooks where you can sit and have a drink. The service is exceptional and the food is great. Our room was on the 4th floor and it was enormous. The bathroom was very large, with a shower and a giant bathtub for soaking. We drove around Stockbridge but then came back to the Inn for a late afternoon drink and snack. We eventually made our way downstairs where there was live music and we had sandwiches at the bar. It was truly lovely and I already can’t wait to go there again.

And I think that’s enough photos and words for today. I’ll share our casino adventure soon!