by Karen Creamer | Feb 21, 2023 | at camp, Clarity
After much research, we bought a Vermont Castings Alpine C3 Wood Stove. It was the perfect stove for our situation (on paper, at least), but in real life, not so much. You see, most of the time, the smoke emptied out into the camp via the door, bottom of the stove, or stove pipe.
Not good.
The installers came out to look at it a couple of times. The first time, they noted that the heat blanket in the stove had melted, so they replaced that. The next time they noted that the stove was cracked. They replaced it, and it did work for a short time after that. Keep reading
by Karen Creamer | Feb 14, 2023 | (it's all about the) food, Connection, italian
We were looking for new places to try for Italian food.
After doing a search of nearby restaurants, I came up with Calzolaio Pasta Company in Wilton, Maine
Eggplant Fries
Wait. What? Eggplant fries?
In the spirit of adventure, my husband agreed to try them. I love eggplant but he does not.
These things were amazing! They were a little crispy but light and the gravy that came with them for dipping was almost as good as my own. I would have bought some if they sold jars of it.
Everything else was excellent as well. The bread. The Angry Meat Pizza. The Chicken Parmigiana. To me, the mark of a great restaurant is that there are so many things that sound so great that you want to try them all. Keep reading
by Karen Creamer | Feb 7, 2023 | (it's all about the) food
The Air Fryer!
I have a small kitchen with not much counter space, so the last thing that I am ever thinking is, “Hey, maybe I need more small appliances!”
And then one day I was chatting with my friend Annette who told me how much she loved hers.
Also, my daughter wanted one. It was right before Christmas (as I recall; there is always the chance that she might dispute this) so we decided to get her one. We got a small version, because if history predicts the future, this small appliance would be relegated to the shelves in my basement where old small appliances that are never used go to die, Keep reading
by Karen Creamer | Jan 31, 2023 | Book Reviews, books, Connection
I heard about this book from someone on a YouTube channel and requested it from the library.
Before I started reading it, I noticed that everyone was recommending this book and also it was being featured in a lot of book clubs. When I picked it up from the library, the librarian mentioned that “they” are already talking about making this book into a movie. This actually almost put me off reading it, but I decided to forge ahead.
What’s great about this book: SO MUCH! It made me laugh out loud several times, which is not an every day occurrence for me as a reader. Also, the main characters were all so very interesting, even—maybe especially—the dog, and each is quite brave in their own way. Keep reading
by Karen Creamer | Jan 24, 2023 | (it's all about the) food, Clarity, health
“I’d like a side of lead and cadmium with my dark chocolate”–
said nobody, ever.
I was paging through the February 2023 issue of Consumer Reports and discovered that these heavy metals are apparently exactly what I have been unknowingly getting. You know, in dark chocolate? The kind that is supposed to be “better for you” (p. 34)?
I think of the couple of bars of Green & Black’s that I have sitting in my desk drawer that are now going into the trash instead of my body. Before throwing them out, I looked at the Nutrition Facts label. Shockingly, lead and cadmium are missing from the list! I looked at the list of ingredients and once again, lead and cadmium are omitted. I wonder what other foods and products contain toxic ingredients that somehow never made it on the packages ingredients list. Keep reading
Karen Creamer
