Staycation, Part Deux

Here's a couple of shots of the harbor taken last week by my husband. There's someone enjoying an early autumn sail. Lots of boats have already been taken out for the winter. We always loved this time of year best since all the tourists have gone home and you can actually get to the launches with your boat. Plus the crisp fall weather makes everything look so pretty looking back to the shore. Leaf peeping at its best.

We hightailed it back to the Old Mill for lunch on Wednesday.

Good move. Another really wonderful lunch. The food was delicious and the scenery couldn't be beat. It was the last of the beautiful weather for the week so I'm happy we went back. We had clam chowder(New England)that was very good and different than the day before. Roger thought it was very much like mine and I'll take that compliment and run with it. We had the frito di mare and it was all so crisp and fresh you didn't taste any of the oil it was fried in. Crunchy and sweet scallops and shrimp and a big piece of flounder on a bed of super crisp skinny fries. Dessert was panna cottta for me and cheesecake for my boyfriend. I just read that the place was taken over a couple of years ago by a group of people including Greta Van Sustern of CNN. Greta wasn't there when we were-unless she's the fry cook and didn't feel presentable to meet us. Ah well, perhaps next time.

We awoke today to a real honest to goodness rain storm with wind and torrential rain. Haven't had any of that for a month. It's been very dry. This will bring down a hail of leaves from the still full trees and vines. The temperature has been nice and so cool in the evenings that it makes for good sleeping weather. Here's a last shot of the Macari Vineyards entrance.

I didn't really enjoy any staycation yesterday since I had to do laundry, grocery shopping and with the many tomatoes from out east, I made eggplant caponata. We had it over pasta last night. I didn't put salt into it but a large handful of chopped green olives added a little more flavor. This cooking without salt is a challenge. With fresh ingredients like those it did taste pretty good and I added some grated locatelli on mine.

Since the weather is not good for anything else, I will do some reading and sewing today. Picked up a copy of "The Duchess" the biography of the Duchess of Devonshire and am enjoying that-it's a good history fix but the writing is a little dry so far-can't wait to see the movie. There are some historical writers that somehow put a little more punch into the telling. Still, it's interesting and I'll stick with it.

Hope you have a good day. Talk to you tomorrow.

A Vacation at Home

Here's where we're headed today for part deux of our vacation at home. Yesterday we drove out to this restaurant called The Old Mill in Mattituck for lunch thinking it was safe since it was Tuesday and most restaurants close on Mon. Nope, not so for The Old Mill. As we were informed by an Old Salt who was working away with a bunch of power tools, "Tuesday is cleaning and fixing day". So today we are driving back out that way to go to clean and fixed Old Mill. The menu looks fun since along with the usual seaside eating type foods they have a menu with political dishes named after candidates currently running for office. I will come back with that info later. When we found this place closed we headed off to another very nice place called The Old Barge-not to be confused with "The Barge" right around the corner. Ick to The Barge and yippee skippee to the Old Barge. We had a fabulous meal from soup to nuts as it were. I had a crab & citrus dish to start we both had clam chowder and then I had a Lobster Roll and Roger had scallops on a melange of beans and corn sort of succotash. Everything was very, very, fresh and super delish. Oh, I almost forgot, Roger had a pile of steamers to start. Needless to say I didn't have to cool dinner last night and I'm aiming for another repeat this evening. Since this is our vacation and we are not in Maine spending thousands on accommodations we have decided to splurge on gasoline and food right here. We took a road that lead us past one of the vineyards and so I had to shoot some grapes for you all. They were in the process of the vendange but instead of people taking the grapes off the vines they have giant machines that travel up and down the rows plucking those sweet babies right off their vines.

The pic oft the boat and channel are from outside the Old Mill. We are getting ready to go now so I have to take off before my man James beeps the horn in the limo(har)

The rest of the week looks like really rainy weather so it will be back to stuff around here. Hope to get some sewing done then. Thanks for stopping by. Restaurant review to come.

Quiltathon???Not So Much.

Perhaps I should call it Bindathon. That's really what I accomplished most. I just can't seem to settle down when the family is around. There's always something to take my attention away and as we all know, if there is any shiny object placed in front of me I will immediately look at it and never look back. I just need to put a couple of rings for hanging on the kitty and he can go to the recipient for the little one to come. The Christmas houses need a couple of buttons here and there of a festive nature and maybe a Noel and the year embroidered on it. I finished a PIF doll quilt that will find its way to a new home soon.

This was Cow Harbor weekend. All I can say about that is that it has turned into a political and Real Estate festival. Both of those things make my stomach turn so I avoid the whole thing and Judy couldn't have picked a better idea than a Quiltathon this weekend. Normally we would have been in Maine right about now endangering lobsters statewide but since we are experiencing technical(medical) difficulties the lobsters have been given a reprieve.... for now. Roger is on vacation this week so we will try to enjoy the peace and quiet of our small world instead. Maine will have to wait till next year and Oh, how we'll will miss it till then. I'm hoping to get some sewiing done this week but the place I set up is in the kitchen and when it's time for meals I have to clear off everything and then those shiny objects appear and..... OOoooo look a shiny object......