The Dog Ate my Snowshoe

Am I destined to not enjoy any of the spoils of our 100 inches of snow this winter? As you can see from the photo below, alas it seems to be the case. In case you need be reminded, my last foray into the great white wilderness left me with a pair of skis peeled up at the ends like cartoon sardine cans and disintegrated metal spikes for poles. After relaying my tales of woe to my dad (read: whining profusely about my lack of outdoor recreational supplies as well as lack of funds) he very nicely gave me an old pair of snowshoes. Mind you these were not as he so bluntly put it "his good ones". Anyhow, I brought them home, noting that the rawhide bindings would need to be replaced, no bid deal, and promptly stuck them in the snow bank near the ruined skis. Immediately upon bringing them home I noted that Etta, my dog,was sniffing around them a lot but chalked that up to the fact that they came from my parents barn which contains: bats, chickens, rats, god knows what else, and probably also have come into contact with one if not all of my parents three dogs.

The next day I noted that Etta had chewed a bit of the rawhide binding but again, no big whop. Fwd to this morning. Etta was laying on the floor enjoying a nice brushing session from Maggie, who for about a week now has been declaring that everyone either "has a cold" or "doesn't feel good". Anyhow she was saying that Etta didn't feel good when Mike walks in and says "I know why she doesn't feel good, she ate your snow shoe!" To which I kind of shrugged off and replied "yeah I know she was chewing the bindings" He says 'no no, she ate the webbing part. All of it!" Great! Immediately I called my dad who informed me that the snowshoes were made with sinew which is some sort of gross cartilage, basically my snow shoes were made out of the same stuff as rawhide chew toys. The dog is fine. But now I am sans skis and snowshoes. Good thing it's starting to look like spring.

Did you read that last line and say, what? No it's not. It looks gross outside, I don't see any signs of spring! But yes! The first sign of spring has arrived in Mid-Coast Maine. Is it a robin? Budding trees? A glimpse of some small woodland creature? No Way! Sea Basket is open! Sea Basket for you uninformed is a restaurant which sells very overpriced mediocre fried sea food to tourists for most of the summer. I think they might sell regular lobster too, but generally it's consumed in the form of the lobster roll. I haven't been there in years, but at the end of each February when I see the sign "open in 1 week" my heart leaps with the same sort of hope and joy some of you get when you see that crocus pushing it's way to the sun in the melted snow under your dryer vent. It makes me almost as happy as when Bet's Fish Fry marks the beginning of Summer in Boothbay Harbor.

Do I mark all of the seasons with the opening and closing of fried sea food restaurants? Yup. Just these two really. And if you have ever eaten at Bets you will understand why. She serves two things. Fish. Chips. That's it. Don't ask her for anything else. She will yell at you. I'm not even joking. But she sells the best fish and chips ever in the world. How's this for smart - first of all she only takes cash. Second of all she owns the damn boat that catches the fish she sells. How is that for cutting out the middle man? Seriously if you come within 20 miles of Boothbay this summer you owe it to yourself to go to Bets. Oh, also, it's cheap as hell.

Ok, enough non - list related stuff. Couple of updates. Watched Nacho Libre last night. Thought it was very cute and very funny. Gets a Woot! Secondly I have finished a knitting project, that as I mentioned before is a gift, and will be giving to someone then posting pics after. I should be finishing up my book today or tomorrow, FINALLY. Also, the new website I love - Ravelry needs people to volunteer edit knitting patterns on the site. Guess who signed up? Woot for volunteering!

Oh, one last (I hope THE last) update on plowing madness. We have a new guy, er people, and we heart them. So let's hope we keep them for ever and ever.