Ogunquit - 23rd Annual Christmas by the Sea 2009

Saturday, December 12, 2009 - I was really looking forward to attending the chowder fest in Ogunquit, Maine with my husband and one of my best friends and her husband. We arrived in Ogunquit on a cold and windy day to stand in line outside the community center waiting to get into the chowder fest. Someone came out and told us we could also enter around the back of the building through the craft fair downstairs. My friend and I decided to do just that so we could look around at the crafts a bit. The husbands stayed in the line outside.

When we finally made it upstairs, we were disappointed to see so many people. Equipped with our long underwear, the place heated up quickly. We were instructed to NOT stay in line, but to just go to any table we chose to get chowder. We tried that. It didn't work. One of the husbands noticed it appeared there was a line that had formed on the right side as you came in. We decided to join that and it made a huge difference.

I think we were there for two hours for something that should have taken about 45 minutes. They let way too many people in at once considering the unorganized way it was run. I don't think I've ever seen anything more unorganized. You would think they would have figured it out after 23 years! It would have been much more pleasurable if they had directed everyone to go to their right and just keep going around the room. People would have been in and out in about 30 to 45 minutes.

I have to wonder if they knew we were from out of town and intentially mis-directed us. Apparently we were cutting in front of people and didn't even realize it. If you make it to the 24th Annual Christmas by the Sea 2010 chowder fest, go immediately to the right once you've purchased your ticket. We, for sure, won't be attending the chowder fest again!

Cranberries / Griffin House

Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom - November 14, 2009.
Griffin House opened for the Cranberries. I have to say I was very impressed and I don't say that all too often about an opening band. Well he's not really a band, but a solo act. He has some great music. The acoustics could have been a little better (although it might have been the position of one of the speakers in relation to my left ear). He talked about pulling into Hampton Beach on the tour bus and what a ghost town it was. Picture a strip along the beach with businesses all boarded up. It really made me think about it -- what November is like at the beach to anyone not from the area. I can just imagine what it must have felt like to them. A scene from a Dean Koontz book where the tour bus of a famous band is hi-jacked and brought to this deserted area. Held for ransom. They must have wondered how the place would possibly fill up that night without a soul in sight. Of course it was a sold-out show.

Dolores puts on a great show. It had been 15 years since I had seen the Cranberries. She hadn't changed a bit nor had her voice. The energy was still there. I think it had also been 15 years since my husband had attended any concert. Luckily every time I looked at him he looked like he was really enjoying the show. It was amazing how the crowd was older. Thinking about it, if someone was 25 on their last tour, they would now be forty. Yikes! Dolores would have been only 23 the last time they toured and now is 38? Yikes, again! I hope we see another reunion tour in 15 years. (Wow - 2024?)

PURCHASE MUSIC BY THE CRANBERRIES cranberries

Natural Healthy Concepts

I placed an order for vitamins last week with this company for the first time and it arrived today. I'm very impressed!!! I will definitely do business with them again.

KitchenAid Grinder

I purchased a KitchenAid food grinder attachment a couple months ago for my stand mixer. I was having a hard time finding ground sirloin, so I decided I would occasionally grind my own. With the recent outbreak of e.coli and at least one death in New Hampshire, I've decided I'm not buying any more commercially ground beef.

Back to the subject...I love the grinder. It attaches to the mixer and works like a charm. It is necessary to put the bowl onto something to raise it up, but that is not a big deal. A pair of food-service gloves, a package of on-sale sirloin and I'm in business!

Oh ya, and BTW, after washing the parts, I dip them in a sink full of water and a small amount of bleach, then I wash again (since bleach is corrosive) ... just in case.

Shark Tank

If you haven't seen the Shark Tank on ABC, you are missing something big! I think it is almost as funny as Two and a Half Men. There are two Kevins...a nice Kevin and a "not-so-nice" Kevin -- we'll call him NSN Kevin. He's someone you love to hate...someone who is eager to insult everyone! I like Barbara, Nice Kevin and Daymond, but I must say NSN Kevin and Classy Robert make the show. Robert loves to annoy NSN Kevin and is good at it! Just watch it...you'll love it!