Appetite Booster

I love to eat. Who doesn't? And with this kind of weather, eating is one of my favorite pastimes. LOL

I was craving for "atsara"... a Filipino side dish that my Dad used to make. It is made of green papaya with slices of carrots and bell peppers. It's one of my comfort foods that I miss so much.

But since green papaya is not readily available in our local store I had to dream about it instead. However, I'm good in improvising. So with the last batch of cucumbers we harvested from our garden I made my first ever cucumber atsara.

My new favorite relish. 

For the Cucumber Relish recipe... Click HERE.

I made about 7 bottles and they were all gone in 2 days. No, I didn't eat them all. I gave 4 of them to my friends. LOL.

Candy Bar

The Candy Bar is always a big hit in parties especially for those with sweet tooth. I'm not really a big fan of candies but I love setting up candy bars for parties.

The Candy Bar is always a main stay in every party that I organize.

We have a "decorative well outback" and I used it to set the candy bar. Last year when B celebrated his 11th birthday with a Dino Video War Theme party, I trimmed the roof with the personalized birthday greeting banner.

With some cute items I picked at the Dollar store, I came up with some awesome containers to hold the candies.

And I made some personalized party favor bags too.

It's indeed a sweet way to celebrate a loved one's special day.

The Charm of the Bling

As a woman, we all have our different indulgences. I love bracelets and bling-blings. And like any girl  I know, I get what I want from people I love. But I am not just a taker. I am a giver too. So most of the time I buy bling-blings too to give to the people I love.

These Pandora bracelet charms were gifts from my Sweetest. I am just lucky that what I like or love... were mostly given to me by my loved ones.

However, the Tiffany number was my gift to myself. wink*

Falling for Maine Fall... all over again!

This is the official start of Fall season. And this is my favorite season of all.

What's not to love when you see the white steeple stood tall a midst a breathtaking red and orange scenery,

 ... when the railroad is lined with orange and yellow and golden leaves,

 ... when the river banks are bursting with orange and red and yellow trees,

... when the red barn stands out against the orange backdrop,

... and the trail is an explosion of orange and gold hues!

 Fall is indeed the most beautiful season in New England.

 I will never ever get tired of fall.

 I will never ever get over its beauty to behold.

 I will never ever fail to be awed by its amazing sceneries.

And I will fall in love with fall over and over and over again.

For more Information about Maine Foliage check the following links:
1. Maine Foliage
2. Fall in Maine
3. Fall Foliage

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This is a SPECIAL POST for MAINE Attraction... a regular blog that features everything and anything about my home - Maine.

Nature Walk

Be with nature. It's the only place where you can be with yourself.

-Ruthi Orona-Gregoire

To Join Photo Friday Challenge... click HERE.

The Ultimate Gifts for the Barbeque Loving Man

Barbeques are at the top of many men's favorite things list. Usually, the passion goes along with a love for meat and various sauces. Barbeques are also a great way to get together with friends and enjoy a cookout in the hot summer months. If you are looking to get a gift for the barbeque loving man that you know, you just need to start thinking like a barbeque loving man. Images of meat might pop into your brain, and that is a great place to start.

Hubby grilling our lunch during one of our camping trips up north.

What Goes With Great Meat? Great Beer

Buying your barbeque loving man some beer will surely put a smile on his face. Often, steaks, ribs, and chops are amazing, but he will need something to wash those flavors down with. Rich beers are often matched nicely with rich-tasting food, so try getting him a European beer, because they are often more flavorful than many of the North American brands (though there are some from this continent that are also packed with flavor). A variety pack is a nice way to accompany the man's barbeque.

Get Him a Barbeque Cookbook

Barbequing can be an art for many men, and that involves making the perfect sauce. Many men are very secretive about what they put in the steak sauce, and one of the ways they get to the point of obsession is by finding a great recipe in a cookbook and making it their own. This is an opportunity to introduce him to a variety of recipes, and allow him to find just the right one. The best part is that you might be able to taste test the food that he makes.

A Meat Thermometer Could Save His Life, and Yours

Some men might think that they can just judge whether the meat is ready by looking at it. But even celebrity chefs know that a good meat thermometer is a great option to ensure that the meat is cooked without having to open it up and lose many of its juices. After all, the technique behind cooking some of the best barbeque recipes involves flipping the meat over only once, and also ensuring that all the juices are packed in to the meat so that it remains tender and does not dry out. A meat thermometer could be just the way to cook the meat to perfection. It’s also part of the "cool gifts for guys" list. Finding the right gift could also benefit you. It is great to know a barbeque loving man, and if you buy him the right gift, you will likely get him on your good side. Once you have secured that spot, you will likely be the benefactor of many delicious barbeques. After all, your barbeque loving man won't likely want to experience his new sauce, cooked to perfection thanks to the new thermometer, alone. And the perfect way to wash down that meat is drinking a great beer beside the person who encourages his passion for barbequing: you.

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My Take on Online Dating

Years ago, I happened to have so much time in my hand that having 5 or 6 active blogs of my own were not enough to satisfy my thirst to express my nagging thoughts and desire to earn extra income online. So, I did some blog moonlighting stints on the sides for a virtual friend's blog Bizarre Marriage.

These blogs are basically about Online Dating and my personal experience in Online Dating. As many of my old friends here in Blog-o-sphere know, I found my Knight-in-Shining-Armor not riding a white horse but surfing the world-wide-web... and the rest is - the publication of this blog.


Here are some of the blogs I published about Online Dating. Hope you enjoy reading them.

The Wake-Up Call
* a lifetime occupation - Posted @ My Refuge Online

Pre-Online Dating
1. The Last Train and Class Reunions
2. The Late Bloomer
3. The Modern Day Quest
4. When You Forget to Smell the Roses
5. The Thing of the Past and the Present
6. Confession of an endangered Spinster (Part 1) - Posted @ My Refuge Online
7. Confession of an endangered Spinster (Part 2) - Posted @ My Refuge Online

Online Dating 101
1. The Introduction
2. Acceptance
3. The Mission
4. The Vision
5. Getting Started
6. The Seeker
7. The Age Factor
8. The Big Plunge

Post-Online Dating
1. I thought it would be easy!

When I finally got a day job my blogging time suffered a big blow so as my 7 blogs' PR. But my passion and desire to write about my nagging thoughts did not change a bit. I only struggle on time management. So Maybe I will continue writing about Online Dating here to continue what I started. What do you think?

PYO Apple

One of my favorite seasons here in Maine is the Apple Season. It’s yummy. It’s crunchy. It’s sweet. Summer is almost over and Apple Season came early this year. It is now time to go out and take a trip or two to the orchards and PYO [pick your own apples] is the way to go. It's easy. It's fun. And it's yummy! [If you know what I mean.]

 

I took a trip to the Apple Orchards with my friends. We had breakfast of apple cider donuts with cinnamon and sugar sprinkles and hot apple cider tea at the picnic table located near the farm store and gift shop while enjoying whatever seasonal event they had scheduled for the day.

Apple Ciders and Donuts are a great match.

Apple Cider Donuts are the best donuts around this time.

There are lots of orchards around Maine. People from all over the state and tourists alike come to the orchard to buy their fruits in season. It serves as a fun family activities that Mainers look forward to every summer.

Brackett's Orchard in Limerick

Apple Acres Orchard in Cornish, Maine

Libby's and Sons Orchard in Limerick, Maine

These orchards are open to the public for apple picking. People can pick the apples directly from the tree by hand... or with a special tools... and pay them by the pound. PYO is the best way to buy your fruits when in season because you can choose the fruit straight from the tree. Sampling them is a bonus since you can't do that in the grocery store. LOL

Picking apple straight from the tree.

Apple picking using a special tool.

These special tools for picking apples from the top of the tree are very handy

for vertically challenged people like me. wink**

Apple picking is not just the reason why we go to the Orchards. Believe me you, but there are lots of fun activities and events that your family can enjoy in the orchards aside from picking apples and eating them.

I enjoy... people watching...

I enjoy listening to live music...

I am so excited with the hayrides...

I like getting stuck at the apple maze...

I love to hear the laughter of the kids at play...

and exploring the orchard...

And maybe I would like to have my picture taken in one of those painted objects that has hole in it where you stick your head out.

Well, I don’t expect to get sick this season for I eat more than one apple a day now. Wink* But surely I will keep coming to get my apples from the Orchard until the season ends.

For more interesting places and orchards to go PYO, check out the following link:
1. Brackett's Orchard
2. Libby & Son U-Picks Orchard
3. Apple Acres Orchard

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This is a SPECIAL POST for MAINE Attraction... a regular blog that features everything and anything about my home - Maine.

Renovating Mode

If you have noticed (that is if you are a regular visitor here) I made a little renovation here.Well, I'm a Carpenter's Wife so I can't help but fix something here and there.

So yeah, my little "home" had a little makeover. And I declare that I am officially a handyman... errr.... handywoman. That doesn't sound right. Anyways, just to give you an idea of the different parts I did here.

First. The Template: I have a different template now. Unlike the first one where I uploaded a totally different template I found outside blogger, this time I chose the ones from Blogger. I chose one among the "Simple" category. I just adjusted the widths of the entire blog and the right sidebar to suit my taste.

Second. The Background:  I change the default background of the template I chose by uploading my own background picture that matches the color of the template.

Third. The Header: I didn't really change the header. Well, I did. Sort of. Instead of "a Carpenter's WIFE's Tool Box" I changed the "a" to "the". So it is now called "The Carpenter's WIFE's Tool Box".

The Old Header - "a"

The NEW Header - "the"

Then, I moved the blog title to the top of the wood panel and super-sized it for impact. LOL Yup, now you can see how big it is.

Fourth: The Category Buttons: These are totally new. New to me and to this blog. I had to admit it took me 3 days to really finalize the button design. I have to redo it hundred times (yes, that's an exaggeration). I also have to refresh my knowledge on doing the button because I already forgot it. I need to relearn everything about html code so I can install them to. And here is the result.

So yeah, you can find these buttons at the top of the blog near the header and before the blog post. And they are all live and operational. If you click the button it will lead you to a new window to view all the posts under that category. It's just simple. It's not rocket science. LOL

And the last but not the least. The Pin It Button: Oh yeah... I'm on PINTEREST my dearies. I am  your "IT" girl now in terms of pinterest-ing. I was able to figure out how to put a "pin it" button on my images that appears when you hover your mouse on the image.

This one is rocket science category for me. Well, designing my personalized button was easy. But I spent days just to figure it out how to install the hover button in my image. I almost gave up until I found let it be beautiful blog. Now it is easier to find my blog through Pinterest. Isn't that cool?

And yeah... I also did my other blogs. It was indeed an busy Labor Day weekend for me. Hope you all had a good one.