[gone] fishing shacks

 moments after a noreaster, destroyed the historic fishing shacks, in south portland maine.

play it again [clam]

the difference between last summer and this summer?  last summer i was discovering events, this summer i'm looking forward to events.

one of those events is the yarmouth clam festival.  we had a blast last year and couldn't wait to attend this year as well.  it's not so much about the clams as it is about just being outside and enjoying the summer and maybe enjoy some lime rickeys!  to be honest i'm not exactly sure what it is, but i do know they taste great on a hot summer day.

summer is a sacred season in maine and the yarmouth clam festival seems to be one of the more sublime celebrations to attend.

 

  

  

 

[autumn] attire

it's a fact.

i look better in fall clothing.

i love shorts...i enjoy wearing them...i enjoy being comfortable in them when it's hot.

i don't however enjoy being seen in them. (i have weird legs)

that all changes in the fall however.  put me in some jeans, boots, a nice button up, and a light jacket, and you give me a chance to hide my "fat" a little better.  also, there's a good chance the temperature is cool enough that i wont be sweating like i just thought about jogging a quarter mile.

if i have to meet someone, for the first time, i'd prefer it be in the autumn months.  the way i look and dress in the fall is a way better first impression then i could make in shorts and flip flops.  you never want to have someones first impression of you to be,

"whoa, those are some weird legs"

This is why, no matter what the temperature is, as well as general professionalism, i've always worn jeans or slacks to a job interview. i'd much rather the interviewer see me sweat and curious if i had just run a marathon before our meeting, then burn into their brain a vision of my weird legs.

i feel like inland maine and i are very similar.  since moving here, the majority of my exploring has been on the coast.  i haven't traveled "into" maine much.  last sunday is decided to change that with a quick trip around sebago lake.  the trees were at peak foliage and the reflections off the lake were amazing.  i drove completely around the lake and spent two hours in awe.  i'm not sure i would have had the same feeling if i would have seen sebago lake for the first time this summer.

i might have noticed weird "coves" or something.

[winters] extra innings

like most of the midwest, winter seemed to drag it's snow covered feet leaving this year.  it seemed most of the normal activities of april and may were put on hold due to the unseasonably cold weather. my blogging included.

thankfully the spring weather has returned, along with all the normal seasonal activities. so bring on the grilling, the vintage bike riding, the patio sitting, the ice cold beer drinking, the sun basking, the baseball watching, the blogging about pointless subjects and local activities.

play ball.

[chili] weather

i'm not sure if it's a "mid-west" thing, or if it was just my school, but when i was younger, chili and cinnamon roll day was by far the best lunch day on the calender.  hardly anyone brought their lunch and most of the trays were returned to the lunch lady completely cleaned, and it didn't stop at school.  throughout the fall, our little town would host large community chili dinners before football games. believe me, these events were where you wanted to be on a friday night, as it seemed the whole town would be there.

chili is just one of those meals.  a meal for a group. a meal to be enjoyed among friends, and really, it makes sense, you can't cook just a "little" chili.  the ingredients, preparation, and time needed to make a decent batch makes it worthy of a large group.  also, who wants to waste that wonderful room filling aroma on just a single nose.  a beautiful bouquet like that just beckons to be breathed in by a whole bevy of buddies.  in autumn, the scent of chili cooking is the perfume every home should be wearing.

secondly, chili in my mind signals the true start of fall.  a time when the temperature starts to drop, and you find yourself ditching the flip-flops and looking for a your favorite hoodie instead.  a time where the adventures of the spring and summer start to be stories told around the dinner table.

with all of these wonderful qualities chili possesses, it's no surprise wichita's downtown chili cook-off is one of my favorite days of the year.  the streets of downtown are filled with the sweet scent of chili cooking, and people venture out to enjoy one of the last weekends of perfect weather.  it has become a bit of a tradition amongst my friends to partake in this event, and this year was no different.  chili was sampled and enjoyed by all, and a few of us even entered the mr and miss chili pepper contest.  after sampling spoonful after spoonful of this september stew, it's also now a tradition to sit on our favorite patio and wash it all down with long island ice tea's.

good times, chili cook-offs.

i love [karaoke] in the fall

celebrating the birthday of a friend, karaoke-ing the night away was the perfect excuse to dust off the camera.

not only did i enjoy capturing the wonderful faces people make while singing along to bonnie tyler and ben folds, i was also reminded that night, we're entering my favorite time of year. the sun is still out, illuminating the colors autumn provides, but a jacket is needed to hide you from the increasing hint of winter. the time of year where you find yourself tempted inside by the promise of a fireplace and the warmth of a cup of coffee. scarves start their slow migration from storage spaces onto suits and smocks. dinners become gravy laden and desserts oven baked. a time perfectly fit to focus on friends and family.

i was also reminded that night, why i never got a record deal. i did discover however, i do a great rendition of "mahna-mahna".

[races] and [chili] and [fire] oh my!

i'm positive dorothy took her little trip to oz in the spring. first of all there was a tornado, an occurrence normally found during that time, and secondly there's just too much going on around the state in autumn to take a trip like that.

kansas comes alive in the fall.

several major events seem to happen in september and october, and for good reason. we all know the weather in kansas can be unpredictable. winters in kansas, not only bring bone chilling cold, but can start as early october, and last through the better part of march. springtime can bring pleasant temperatures, but it also brings the chance of thunderstorms at a moments notice. also wait too long in spring and you'll find yourself with 100 degree temperatures. these scorchers can last all summer long, up to and including the first part of september. however this is when you reach wichita's weather "sweet spot", the last half of september and the first part of october. the temperatures are in the 70's and 80's and there's usually very little chance of thunderstorms. for this reason you'll find a number of events to participate in. not only is there the state fair, but most every small town around celebrates with some sort of "fall festival". there are car shows, art shows, oktoberfests, and football games to enjoy. wichita itself has several events scheduled in this "sweet spot", the komen race for the cure, and the downtown chili cook-off, perfectly scheduled on the same day. this year, wichita's old-town district, also celebrated it's 20th birthday the same weekend.

it could be the fact every one's excited to be outside without worrying about dehydration, or maybe it's the fact they are aware winter is coming, but everyone seems to be enjoying the great outdoors. for the past few years wichita has provided it's inhabitants with a wonderful weekend full of activities to enjoy with friends and family, and this year was no different.

there really is no place like home.

[frosted]

this past weekend we received a not-so-subtle reminder that kansas doens't care what the calender says, it was still winter. having already told myself saturday morning was going to be spent photographing a park i've always passed by, but never enjoyed, i figured the snow would just have to be dealt with. walking around, however, i found it to make an excellent addition to the days subjects. enhancing the color of a group of benches, showing off the minimalism of the parks mid-century structures, and adding to the feeling of a pool closed for the season. walking around, the snow also reminded me i had not dressed nearly warm enough, as the walk only lasted an hour before needing to warm up with some coffee.

was it a coincidence that i also found my first gray hair last weekend? probably not...just another not-so-subtle reminder of passing time. i didn't however pluck it, like the snow, i considered it an enhancement. the first small step into my (hopefully) george clooney-esque looking middle age.

singing in the [mud]

last weekend i traveled to texas to attend the austin city limits festival. now i rarely schedule or commit to anything more than two weeks in advance, however, to receive a discount, i had ordered the tickets a year ago, which created twelve months of anticipation for this festival, and it was well worth it. not only was the weekend spent catching up with wonderful friends, but it was filled with great music, delicious, new cuisine, and inside jokes that make absolutely no sense now that the weekend is over. however i did want to highlight a few of the more memorable moments.

-thursday night in austin included drinking old fashioned cocktails, a discussion and impersonation of a french ex-boyfriend, and an odd chat with a holistic healer, who informed me i was an old soul
-coffee and breakfast every morning at quacks 43rd street bakery
-hearing great bands i knew of, and new ones i'm now addicted to
-volunteering to pick up and recycle bottle's and can's around the park
-rain on saturday, mud on sunday
-watching the decemberists play while it drizzled
-dancing in the mud to girltalk
-late night dinner at "the good knight"

there was however one situation that deserves a bit more than a dash and a few words. now this situation wasn't funny at the time, however looking back on it now, is slightly amusing, and slightly amusing is all i ever hope for with this blog. with it raining all day saturday, sunday found the park to be one giant mud pit. it was gross, it smelled bad, and walking was difficult. just a few feet into the festival that day, my flip flops broke. the upward force of my feet trying to break the downward force of the suction of the mud, was too much for them, and they gave out. to be honest, i'm surprised they had lasted this long. they were in fact the five dollar flip flops i had purchased my freshman year of college to avoid having my feet touch the bare tile in my dorm hall showers. as i picked up my shattered shoes, i decided they were just a small sacrifice to pay to the concert gods and i pitched them, going the rest of the day shoeless. being barefoot wasn't bad at all, as most people ended up that way eventually, what i didn't count on was the rock filled, gravel infested, broken glass scattered, two mile trek back to our car that night. it didn't take long for my mud covered feet to get bruised, cut, and sore. hobbling along, wondering how long i could take the agony, out of the corner of my eye, sitting along the sidewalk i spotted none other than a mud covered pair of shoes! as i approached the abandoned shoes, i found they were indeed big enough to fit me. my feet were screaming to put them on, however my head was filled with total disgust. i had no idea who's shoes these were and what type of foot fungus may or may not be inside waiting to attach itself to my feet! eventually my heart sided with my feet and i placed the rubber souled petri dishes on my feet. the only comfort i had was the thought of driving directly to the nearest pharmacy to pick up the largest bottle of industrial strength "fast actin' tinactin". although they were a few sizes to big, they successfully got me to the car. safely in the back seat, i promptly kicked them off and on to the sidewalk where hopefully they ended up helping some other shoeless sap make it to their car.