might be a lot if they weren’t the nicest people in the world.   Good weather—good times. 

I am so looking forward to my eight house guests arriving this weekend.  Welcome to my two bedroom bungalow.  Lots of wine and lobster will make it fine.  This time tomorrow you’ll all be here and I have the day off.  I’ll be sitting on my porch drinking coffee and doing the crossword while you all nap to make up for driving through the night.  See you soon.  Looking forward to it. 

True Story—On Saturday night three friends from away about to graduate from Harvard Business School (tomorrow) arrived in Portland to celebrate their soon-to-be graduation.  They had a room at the Hilton Garden Inn and were drinking at RiRa, an Irish pub across the street.  At 11:20 the bar sent one of them away because he was too drunk.  For some reason his friends didn’t go with him, they may not have known he got kicked out.  Although his hotel was across the street he was obviously disoriented and did try to call his friends and meet up with them.  But he didn’t know where he was.  Yesterday they pulled his body from the harbor.  About 1 am his cell phone shut off and they theorize that’s when he fell in.  Leaves behind a pregnant wife and a bright future. 

There are so many lessons in this story.  You never know when your time is up.  Never get so drunk you don’t know what you are doing or where you are.  Etc.  Etc. 

Did you know Standard Baking was listed today as one of the 10 best places in the country to get a baguette?   And the little restaurant upstairs called Fore Street has the best mussels you’ve ever eaten.  And they are an appetizer, not a meal, so you can sit in the bar and have a drink and mussels and say you’ve been to Fore Street without the big price tag.    People come here and expect lobster (and we will have lobster, I promise) but this is such a foodie town.  Restaurants everywhere.  We also have a really nice art museum, henry wadworth longfellow’s home now the base for the Maine Historical Society, and a great ferry boat that travels among the islands of Casco Bay and is a perfect way to spend a sunny afternoon (if you don’t play golf of course).    I’m headed to Amelia Island tomorrow for a week of golf but I’ll see you all Memorial Day.  

we have this weird holiday in Maine, called Patriots Day,the third Monday of April.  Marks the Battle of Lexington and Concord and in 1775 Maine was still a part of Massachusetts so we celebrate too.  A little weird I know.  Usually I just take my winter clothes to the cleaners and dig out the spring/summer ones. This weekend its been warm enough to play golf.  So I played nine holes on Saturday, Sunday and today.  Had a massage this morning to celebrate the end of tax season.  And a lobster roll for dinner to celebrate the advent of spring, though really it feels like summer.  Feeling great about the world, four days to work this week and then a week at Amelia Island.  I am a lucky woman.  Happy Spring!

So every year for the last 25 or so I have been a member of or the organizer of an NCAA pool for March Madness.  Started out as $5 to enter and its now $10.  The only time I bet all year and I certainly get my $10 in entertainment, watching the games I might not otherwise watch. 

Then this year the bar where I was watching the SuperBowl had a pool so I paid $10 to enter that.  Then the NCAA.  This week I got an email solication from my golf club to be in a Masters Pool.  How fun is that!  Pick eight guys from eight different categories and whoever’s team of eight gets the most money wins.  $5 to enter. 

So my team is Rory, Tiger, Keegan, Hunter, Rickie, Sergio, Webb and Adam Scott.  Root for them if you’re watching. 

And I’ll let you know when I join GA. 

Early spring in Maine

Yesterday the temperature reached 80 degrees, on March 22.   After work I am out with my friends, drinking in a courtyard, in Maine in March.  Unbelievable.  Crocuses.  Forsythia.  They make mistakes, coming up too soon and getting snowed on.  But buds on the trees, grass greening up.  I’ve been in Maine since the fall of 1973 and I’ve never seen leaves before the first of May.  Everytime someone remarks about the weather, someone says “but its only March, we could still get a foot of snow,” but with each passing day it feels less and less likely and mother nature seems to be going along with program.  Even those bastions of conservative weather forecasting, the golf course managers are giving in.  I’m playing 18 tomorrow.  Anyway we never have spring here; its usually gray and rainy in March and April as the temperature slowly climbs into the 30s, the 40s, and 50s and then one day in May it is summer, or what we call summer.   This year we have spring and all I can say is what a terrific concept.  I like spring. 

Today someone dropped off their tax info along with two Hershey bars, one for my assistant and one for me.   Then someone else, for no reason, brought us two scones.  The weather is spectacular for mid March in Maine and it must just make everyone a little nicer.   So do something unexpected even if little for someone today; I’m sure they will appreciate it as much as I did.  Happy spring. 

I was in Florida last week on business.  That meant a whole weekend with no tax returns.  Now I have to choose between doing returns, watching the stuff backed up on my dvr and watching ncaa basketball.  What’s a girl to do?