For a Relaxing Time....

Have you ever searched for Bill Murray related items on Etsy? What am I saying? Of course you have! 

I myself just decided to do this today, and I was delighted (and a little frightened) by what I found.

For instance, you can buy buttons made out of photos of his movie roles and his teeth (photos of his teeth...not his actual teeth. That's a little to Angelina and Billy-Bob for me). And how about a baby onsie (I'm sure all  pregnant friend would love this...or completely stop talking to me) or a $10 temporary tattoo? And most things are organized under the appropriate heading of "Geekery."

This really proves two things that I have always known:

1. People will buy anything

2. I am not alone in my adoration of Mr. Bill Murray.

 

Though, if we're being honest here, the only thing I would buy is the coffee mug.

Second-Annual Maine-Cation

Last month, my sister, parents, and I went on the second-annual Maine-Cation. Well, it's the second annual trip for me, anyway. My parents and younger sister have been there five times now, and they still constantly talk about moving there when my dad retires. 

Besides being absolutely beautiful, the thing about Maine is that we always find something new to do. This year, we did the usual kayaking and cycling down to the general store. But this time, we rented the pontoon boat and took it out to Mt. Kineo.

Once we got there, we just parked it and swam in the water or laid in the sun.

(myself)

Some people went cliff-diving. I was not one of them, but I enjoyed watching.

(Once this girl resurfaced, she yelled, "I have a wedgie!!!")

Sister drove the boat too.

And then she tubed behind it. She likened the moving rush of water beneath the tube to an enema. 

All-in-all, I would call it a successful and extremely relaxing vacation. I really don't blame my parents for wanting to move here.

Cooking with the Big Girls

When I was a little kid, I wanted an Easy-Bake Oven like nobody's business. I begged my mom for one, but she said no. I was crushed. But now I look back and smile at her reason: she said she'd rather I learned to bake real cakes and sweets. She did teach me how to bake enough cake for everyone in the family while following a real recipe (and occasionally coming up with alternative ingredients such as pancake batter when we ran out of flour).  I'm glad she did, but she also indulged me by buying me the Easy Bake pans and mixes and letting me bake them in the real oven. 


They didn't always turn out so well. 


Now they have re-done the Easy-Bake Oven to catch up a bit with the heat of an actual oven. They had to do this since the incandescent bulb is being discontinued, and the new version sort of looks like something from an episode of The Jetsons. that or a really cool microwave that someone in my college dorm would've had.


Check the new version of the Easy-Bake Oven.

Protection from Television

My brother Jake always practices safe television watching.

Though the helmet is so big you can't see the tv if you're standing behind him.

The Secret Aim of Morton

The sign was changed the other day to reflect the secret reason why this town was founded....

Also, the word "your" is apparently now spelled with a "Q". Personally, I think we need more words that start with "Q"....would really help when you're playing Scrabble.

Presence not Presents

A friend of mine recently attended a 99th birthday party. This made me wonder, "Did you get the birthday boy a present? If so, what?"

What do you get for a birthday boy or girl who is really getting up there in age? My adopted Porter grandparents always say "Your presence not your presents are requested." And it's a good thing too because Grandpop Porter just turned 85; can you imagine how much stuff he already has? Things like giant balloons and extra sweets for the dessert table are always welcome, but no one brings anything more than a card.

(The party's here)

It is nice, though, because you can relax and be excited to go to a party where you are guaranteed to have fun. I mean it. The Porters are the most fun of all people. There is always plenty of food and drink, and sometimes you get to go out on the boat. Also, sometimes my aunts will pull out their flute and guitar and play some folk music for a while. Not kidding. It's a wonderfully hippy-like experience. One of my strongest childhood memories is my uncle (with his thick, dark brown beard) singing and playing "Sally the Camel" on the guitar to entertain us kids.

I was devastated when he shaved that beard.

Anyway, back to my point. Once you hit a certain age, isn't just seeing everyone present enough? And after 85 or 99 birthdays, aren't you tired of making the "I'm pretending I like your strange gift" face?

New Yet Erratic Series

The insurance company down the street from my apartment has the best signs. I tried to figure out when they change them, but it seems kind of erratic. For instance, they kept the "Welcome to Morton, Home of Roy Halliday" one up for the majority of baseball season, but last week they changed the sign twice (so I didn't get a photo of the one that said, "Don't be mean, Irene").


The actual first time I posted about these signs was during the week of the Royal Wedding. The one that's up there today isn't as silly, but it does reflect the goings-on of the majority of the population.

So I will share these with you whenever they pop up. Perhaps they will start to change all those stereotypes we have about insurance people....

Dressing the Goddaughter

Check out the adorable outfit I found in Maine for my goddaughter Adrienne. It makes me laugh. I hope she still fits into it when I see her next. 


I am also impressed that the people of New England have found so many different ways to fit the word "moose" into phrases and clothing and assorted other souvenirs. Some things are a tad corny, but most of them are pretty funny. Though I can totally do without something like a shot glass shaped like a moose hoof. 


That may be taking things too far.

And some socks for her new little brother Lucah (baby socks are freaking adorable):

But I also found a glow-in-the-dark shirt for Adrienne's big brother Ethan. Seriously. It glows in the dark. I almost want to keep it for myself.

Cheerio, Irene

This time last week, I was trying to recover from the massive hype and stress of Hurricane Irene. My neighbors, Gloom and Doom, had convinced me that my apartment was going to become a swimming pool (it didn't), and I was a nervous wreck. So I took Hank over to my parents' house in Jersey (which my neighbor also told me was a bad idea since "Jersey's supposed to get it worse!" (Side note: not talking to them anymore). My parents' house flooded quite a bit in the basement, but we were really lucky after all.

(getting all my stuff as far away from the floor as possible)

(Hurricane Preparation)

(Butterfly on my parents' porch. It doesn't like the wind)

Monday, after I got home, I took a drive past Swarthmore falls. My dad had driven by them mid-storm and told me that there was so much water, you couldn't even tell that there was a waterfall! The water had gone down a bit by the time I got there, but there was still so much of it. And the noise was deafening. A lot of trees had gone down too, and the whole area was surrounded by police tape. I totally would've gone past the tape to get better photos if there hadn't been some weird creeper lady sitting in her car on the side of the road. I never figured out why she was there, but she was acting like she was looking for someone. Like I said, weird.

(Swarthmore Falls)