Ol’ Dan Tucker come to town, riding a billy-goat, leading a hound

[rolanni]

Up betimes and to Eric’s for breakfast, because the milk had gone sour. Yes, it’s a lame excuse, but it was our excuse. It being, for a change, an Absolutely Gorgeous Sunny Day, which it had not been on Monday, October 3, the 23rd anniversary of our arrival in Maine, we decided after breakfast to take our Anniversary Drive.

Out to Skowhegan and beyond via 201, to 43, and then across to Madison, the mountains black-toothed and sharp against the sky. Not much in the way of leaf color; I fear me we’ll have a quiet fall.

From Madison, to Anson, to Starks, past world-famous Chicken Street, and eventually to Farmington, to rest, briefly, and seek out Mr. Paperback, where we signed stock — one copy each of The Agent Gambit, Korval’s Game, Ghost Ship, and two of Saltation — purchased a copy of December’s Analog in which Mr. Sakers says very nice things about the Liaden Universe® in general, and Ghost Ship in particular in “The Reference Library”, and  a 2012 Non-Sequitur Kitchen Table calendar (you might call it a desk calendar).  We also took on a new ‘prentice — ours is the one with the pink-and-gray tail.  His genus name appears to be Yoo-Hoo, and he makes a Magic Twinkly Noise when you press his stomach.  No, I’m not kidding.

We then got back on the road, proceeding down 2-and-4, thinking we might go to Portland for lunch.  Alas, we hit road construction in Jay, and decided that the better part of valor would be to turn around in Lewiston, hit Augusta for lunch, sign stock at BN, and return home by way of the post office, drug store, and grocery.

(A head’s up, for those in the Jay/Livermore Falls corridor.  A bar somewhere in that area, right on Route 4, is advertising that it will be hosting the Maine Saracens Halloween Party.  I said to Steve, “Did I read that right?”  He said, “Yep.  At least we know where we won’t be on Halloween.”)

…We implemented the back-to-Augusta plan, though we did get tangled up in the aftermath of this, which necessitated some cutting-and-pasting of the route.  Eventually, though, we found our way to Rooster’s and a nice cup of broccoli cheese soup for both of us, with a shared BLT, and large glasses of iced tea.

At BN, we signed the two Saltation mmps they  had in stock.  The young lady on the desk allowed as how they had sold out of the Ghost Ship they had in stock and hoped that they would have another one when for us to sign when we stopped in again.

Pause.

What else?

Oh!  Staples in the Augusta Marketplace — the very first Staples I ever remember seeing — is closed.  There’s a newer store opened across town, so, all’s not lost, but…wow, what a shock.

So, then.  Back to Waterville — drugstore, post office, grocery store.  A side-trip to Giffords for milkshakes, and so to home where I have caught up on email and bookkeeping, written a blog post, and will shortly join my husband in the kitchen for lunch and a spot of reading.

What did you do today that was fun?

Originally published at Sharon Lee, Writer. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[enleve.livejournal.com]

What did you do today that was fun?

I put pretty stamps on some envelopes to mail, including ones showing the Horsehead Nebula (http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/personal/collecting/stamps/2009/2009_apr_astronomy.jsf), and rhododendrons (http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/personal/collecting/stamps/2009/2009_mar_rhodo.jsf).

I sat out in my yard enjoying my garden.

I listened to an audiobook while in the kitchen.

[cailleuch.livejournal.com]

I spent the afternoon in the yard supervising tree, shrub and rose bush pruning. It was a beautiful sunny day.

[amm-me.livejournal.com]

Ikea. Came back w $32 of pretty stuff I didn't rly need.

[attilathepbnun.livejournal.com]

Wish I HAD done something fun ....

[mary cay martin (from livejournal.com)]

Making mints for Middle Son's Handfasting tomorrow and trying to convince his Good Lady that Everything Will Get Done.
Your Friend From Sioux City--Mary

[samcallahan.livejournal.com]

I bought twenty-some pounds of hot peppers, twenty pounds of tomato seconds, and a bushel and a half of apples at some U-pick places in Chicago's farm country. I foresee some canning during the rest of the weekend...

the day

[(Anonymous)]

I sat down by the road with my beggars bowl- oops- hopeful attitude, and did embroidery while hoping for people to come by and buy squash, or pumpkins, and/or pumpkins and squash, and maybe the last tomatoes and eggplant, thereby contributing to our winter stash for paying the exorbitant bloody heating bills for the greenhouse ... in nasty wind, but not SO cold. That will be tonight. And tomorrow.
Yep. Depending on whether tomorrow is 45 or not, that may be repeated. Every day till Hallows Eve. hahhhh.
Nanette

Fun?

[claire774.livejournal.com]

Fun? Several of us in the supermarket explained to two nice young men from Quebec City in Canada why they couldn't buy some wine at 9:00 pm in the supermarket in Kanab UT. That's due to UT's very arcane and extensive liquor laws. We explained that they would have to wait til the morning when the liquor store right across the border in Fredonia AZ opened where they could go to buy quite a large selection of wines. But the most fun was watching one of the young men's faces just drop in disbelief when we explained that most of the population of UT, being members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, more commonly known as the Mormons, don't drink coffee or tea either.

Since they were going on to Las Vegas NV next, only around 3 1/2 hours to the west, I warned them that they could very possibly loose all their money there plus encounter various other diversions which could prove to be chancey....and that they should be careful. The Innocents Abroad. We didn't find out if they were then going on into the west to the great State of California, a land of wonders where one has to be careful about earthquakes but might encounter trees over 2,000 years old. Where to eat? Well in my opinion, Chinatown in San Francisco.

C.

[trolleypup.livejournal.com]

After telling a bunch of disgruntled passengers that Yes, the next outbound L's are 38 and 40 minutes away (should have been about 10 or so), yes, Muni sucks, always has, always will...I created a train out of thin air to take them home less about 10 minutes later. Heh.