they say it's your birthday,

ode to muriel, aka, lard makes the best crust

y'all, you've got to read this. i've included the beginnings to inspire readings:

Heaven in a Pie Pan: The Perfect Crust
By MELISSA CLARK
Published: November 15, 2006

A FEW years ago, I achieved perfection in a pie crust and it smelled like pig.

Not in a muddy, barnyard way, but with a very subtly meaty, nutty aroma.

Carefully confected with part butter and part freshly rendered lard, this pie pastry was everything baking-book authors and bloggers wax poetic about: a golden-brown-around-the-edges epiphany richly flavored and just salty enough to contrast with the sweet apple filling, the texture as flaky as a croissant but still crisp. It shattered when you bit it, then melted instantly on the tongue.

The only problem with my masterpiece, I told my guests as they licked the crumbs off their plates, was that I was never, ever going to make it again.

again with the forgetting

so, sandra and elisha had their baby, jack. to visit him on the web, go see misses d.
he is pretty good looking, and gets to wear those fancy green (see below) booties that i made! welcome, jack!

The Results are in

so, there were no huge upsets in the election. snowe, baldacci, most incumbents back in office. (surprise? nah.)
however, we did have two referendums on the ballot, TABOR and a constitutional ammendment. the results are, according to mainetoday.com:

TABOR CITIZEN'S INITIATIVE
No	270309	54.08%
Yes	229502	45.92%
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Yes	251910	54.03%
No	214296	45.97%

this is kind of interesting to me, as the anti-TABOR folks were pro-AMENDMENT. what does that mean? well, that the people of Maine didn't like that the TABOR people got their issue on the ballot through the lax-attitude of the court system, and we don't like TABOR, either. (for those who don't know, the court let them submit their signatures after the deadline because they had them all gathered and dated from before the deadline. they thought that it was in the spirit of initiative and referendum to allow them the flexibility to be on the ballot even though they missed the deadline.) and, it means that almost the same amount of people who don't like the strictness of TABOR don't like the looseness of the court. funny, but somehow logical. (we don't like that this got on our ballot through those loosey-goosey judges, and we don't want it anyway sort of thing.)
interesting, no?

ooops. i forgot the littles.

bingo little.

piggy little.

heavy with photos

cake!

isn't it pretty?

upside down trees at massmoca.

mass-moca. (from our trip to see dylan in august.)

cupcakes. yum.

booties for baby jack. twice.

the big gq and me.

sorry, i can't figure out how to rotate the pictures.

well my goodness

this person lived in maine! and, i think she might've lived on an island! at least, sometimes! plus, she is making a killer sweater for her man (aka mr. cable, or something like that) and the big gq has been after me for sweater attempt #2. i'm ready, i think.
still no pictures, sorry. i'm heading home tonight, leaving my country-club lifestyle behind me. yesterday i went swimming and into the hot tub and sauna, it really is the life. oh, and early this week i had a hot stone massage, which is pretty much the best thing in the whole world. all you doubters, schedule yourself one (ask for kristy) and be ready for the best hour of your life. for reals.

why hello there: a wee update

1. i am currently living in a country club. it's where people get married and golf and go to corporate retreats. it is where the big gq's family vacations every year, and happens to be able to relieve me of 2+ hours of ferry time every day. this means that two people who have spent their entire adult lives living on north haven, vacation 15 miles away. every year for more than 20. wowza. anyhoo, it's great for me. miss sandra is joining me for a swim tonight.
2. my first SP9 package arrived at its destination. i am so pleased that my recipient liked it. kind of relieved, too. i haven't been knitting because of this pain in my left hand, so i'm pretty much sticking to other sorts of presents. hopefully i'll get back on it soon.
3. when you don't live on the island, you get to go out for dinner. and cocktails. it is a very nice change.
   
4. i miss the littles.
   
5. i went to portland last week and got new shoes. plus, i got to hang out with a few good friends. such a very nice thing. one is in beauty school and is going to give me a bitchin hair cut for my birthday.
   
6. my secret pal told me she is mailing my first package soon. i am tres excited.
7. i hosted a stampin up party, which was a raging success. i have a new favorite activity: embossing. my goal was to make $30 for free stuff, you know, from the sales?, but i made, well, an obscene amount. like, over $200. so, i'll i can say is, i will have enough embossing powder to coat my house from roof-to-crawl-space. friends, i am going to emboss the walls. watch out! *the demonstrator, though, got stuck on island for two nights. she literally wept with happiness when she got off the ferry on the mainland. she was so awesome and such a trooper. it was a great experience overall.*
8. oh, and last weekend, we lost power for a whole bunch of time and i read by lamp-light. this is another grand thing.
9. i think i might make these for thanksgiving. gobble.
10. i finally have some pictures on my computer to upload, but i keep not using my computer. so, soon there will be a picture heavy post to show you all some recent projects and some funny stuff that's been a-happening. okie.