Dinner with Friends
We had a terrific dinner with a couple of friends. Rm made some Detroit Style Pizza. Yes, this involved purchasing the correct pan (you’ve got to have the proper tools). This was the first go with the new pan. I must say, Rm knocked it out of the park as usual. Anyway, everyone enjoyed the pizza.
We also shared some Venor’s with them. This is a magical elixir that is difficult to get in Maine. Maine has Moxie, like several other local area specialties. Venor’s is really a treat for us.
We also shared a bottle of wine from Black Star Farms Winery that was acquired on a recent trip back to Michigan. We are big fans of the wines from Black Star Farms Winery. We now have a couple more friends that are also fans (at least of the Arcturos Pinot Noir).
Clambake
We also had an opportunity to partake in the Cabbage Island Clambake. This was part of enjoying our wedding anniversary. We headed down to Booth Bay Harbor and checked in. Naturally, we were a bit early, so we got to do a little wandering around Booth Bay as well. The boat ride out includes a tour and explanation of some of the islands.
Then it’s time to dock on Cabbage Island. You can see and smell the smoke rising from the prep area. We disembarked on the island and found a table overlooking the water. There was a young married couple there as well.
A bit of conversation, a bit of enjoying the view, and it’s time for dinner. We started with clam chowder. We were lucky enough to be able to go up to collect our dinner early. Oh, what a dinner it was. Two lobsters, corn on the cob, oysters, onion, and an egg. The couple next to us had a great time working on the lobsters and such. Next up was a generous piece of blueberry cake.
We had some time left so we took a quick walk over to the other side of the island to watch the sunset.
The ferry ride back was much quicker (which I’m sure Hazel appreciated).
D1 Housework
I had the wonderful opportunity to visit D1 and help her with some work around the house. This is one of the main reasons that we moved to Maine in the first place.
For some reason, it is much easier to work on someone else’s house. The motivation seems a bit higher. I really enjoyed helping her out and getting to hang out with her for a while.
Dark Table
I’ve been working on increasing my proficiency in photography. As part of that, I’ve been working on improving my photo editing skills. Really, I should say developing (see what I did there?) my skills as I’m starting out as a total newbie.
Anyway, along those lines, I’ve started a series on Darktable through Youtube. Darktable is an open-source photo editing program. Yes, I do have access to Adobe Lightroom through work. However, photography is mostly for personal pleasure. I like to keep some of those lines clear. When the time comes and I don’t have access through work, I don’t want to lose all my photos.
So, I’m starting with the basics and learning Darktable. Darktable is a really powerful program that can really do so much. I’ll never win awards, but I am enjoying figuring out what I like and how to improve the pictures that I take.
I have learned and applied a few specific things with Darktable already. Now though, I’m looking to really build my understanding and ability to correct photos to what I want to see.
Cars and Independence
Two of the cars now have updated registrations and inspections. It is a big change moving from cars being registered to match my birthday to being registered all willy-nilly. Plus, in Maine, there is no reminder mailed to me to register my cars. I’ve got to do the adult thing and keep track of that myself. So, all set now, reminders set for the future, and one more difference noted between living in Maine versus Michigan.
Schooner Charm
Rm and I had a wonderful trip on the Schooner Charm. The day was very hot so getting out on the water and the cooling effects of doing so, was greatly appreciated. There is something very calming about being out on the ocean. Due to the hot weather, there was a bit of haze in the distance. Largely this had the effect of seeming like we were out on the water far from land.
Google Photo Embed
We all love pictures. It can be great to share pictures. However, how that happens can matter. One way to do this is to move all of your pictures into a service that hosts and serves them. Usually, this is at the “cost” of everyone staying in that service. For example, Facebook will host your pictures, but they will then keep you in their service (and all that that entails).
I use a self-hosted version of WordPress to post my material. This means that I have control over all the data, but it also means that I have to pay for storage, bandwidth, etc. Pictures can quickly use up space.
Google meanwhile, offers to host and provide photos. You can easily share pictures in Google Photo through a link. However, you can’t embed that link in a WordPress site. Unless…..
The wonderful Amit Agarwal over digital inspiration has developed a site that converts Google Photos links into links that can be embedded into WordPress. Brilliant.
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