Animals - especially dogs, Community, People

A Scorchah of a Week

69 Comments

According to the weather forecast, Maine is supposed to have a scorcher of a week. Or scorchah, as we Mainers pronounce it. (Mainers have a complicated relationship with the letter r. Someday, for blogging friends unfamiliar with Maine lingo, I will write a post about this.) Anyway, today there is a heat advisory, with heat values of up to 100°F. Thank goodness we bought an air conditioner last year. Hats off to Eva, who is keeping the house at a bearable temperature.

Is this Maine in June? I know I keep harking on this, but I’m old, and I remember the days when June in Maine was cool and rainy. Once upon a time, summer in Maine was oh so sweet, and I sure do long for those summers.

Fortunately, last weekend was not as hot. Instead, the weather was just right.  On Friday, my friend Claire came over for tea and chocolate chip oat bars. She brought her dear dog Hannah over, and how nice it was to have a dog visitor. Pretty nice to visit with Claire, too.

On Saturday, we went to one of my favorite places in town—van der Brew, a craft brewery and tasting room. Claire’s son Patrick (on the right in the picture below) was playing there that night, and a group of us went to hear him play a variety of rock and roll songs. Such a good singer and musician.

Before Patrick started playing, we bought pizza from Brick Oven Bakery, a food trailer that features pizza, bread sticks, and baked goods.

While waiting for our pizza to bake, we sat outside. Clif had a chat with our friend Jill, whom we hadn’t seen for a long, long time.

Next to our table was another dear dog, Beau, who gave me a high-five with his paw when I gave him a dog biscuit provided by his person.

Then came the pizza. Jiminy Cricket, that pizza was good! I could have a piece right now.

While unfortunately I can’t have a slice of that pizza right now, Brick Oven Bakery will be at van der Brew’s every weekend except one for the month of July.

This Friday night is trivia night at the Brew’s. Clif and I just might head down there for good food and plenty of folderol.

Nifty posts from blogging friends near and far:

Check out New England Garden and Thread for one the cutest little vegetable gardens I have ever seen.

From Thistles and Kiwis, food, glorious food.

From Tranature, a poignant poem about Xenia’s grandmother.

Canberra’s Green Spaces features winter pictures of one the most beautiful capitals in the world.

Ju-Lyn, of Touring my Backyard, features two snappy sculptures by the same artist. Then she asks, which is your favorite? I immediately knew which one I liked the best.

 

69 thoughts on “A Scorchah of a Week”

  1. What an enjoyable read!

    It sounds like an amazing place, with a great community.

    I live in the UK and don’t travel as much as I’d perhaps like to. Reading articles like this make me realise how big the world truly is.

    Thanks for sharing.

  4. I can’t imagine working in a pizzeria in this heat, phew! Hope you weather this latest heat wave without too much trouble. It is truly beastly out there!

  5. What a wonderful weekend Laurie and so lovely to meet sweet Hannah and Beau here 💚 Thank you so much for mentioning the poem for my grandmother too 🌺

  7. Wow, Laurie, you and Clifton are really getting out and about. It’s great there’s so much to enjoy in our smaller towns. This heat wave is weird, all right, but at least it’s not as bad as what they’re getting out on the west coast. Yikes!

  9. Those dogs are deeply appealing–but not so much as that pizza! That looks wonderful. We can’t seem to get a decent pizza around here, although ‘making do’ with barbeque isn’t the worst thing in the world. Be careful in that heat. It’s pretty standard for down here until October now, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t downright unpleasant!

  13. Hi, Laurie – SCORCHAH is an excellent word! It is currently 39C (102.2 F) on Central Vancouver Island. This is completely unheard of for our usual mild Island climate. Several restaurants and construction sites were closed today due to the extreme heat. Like most locals, our house doesn’t have airconditioning (but we do have 3 fans). We went out early this morning to get a fourth fan — nope, nadda, nothing – not a one availaable in our town, or in the ‘big city’ beside us. You were wise to put in AC! 😀

    1. So very, very sorry! In the summer, in the past, your weather was a lot like ours—mild enough so that youdidn’t need AC. But now… A couple of years ago, my hairdresser advised me to get an air conditioner. She said, “It’s only going to get worse.” We followed her advice, and I’m so glad we did.

  14. That pizza looks unbelievably good. What a nice weekend. I always think of Maine summers as warm days and sweater evenings. Not so much any more, eh? I hope this passes. It’s deadly, especially when it goes north.

  15. I can hear you pronouncing SCORCHAH! Can’t wait for the post. Sounds interesting! I hear you are having a real heatwave and I imagine there are lots of folks discussing climate change a little more now. The globe is getting hotter. Hope you can keep cool in the air con.

  16. I would also love to hear you pronouncing Scorchah! I think I could join you with a post on Aussie lingo, I would not know where to start ! Good to see you are getting out and about and how wonderful it is to be with friends again.
    Many thanks for including me in your Nifty Posts list, it is much appreciated.

  17. I am amazed at your summer temperatures! We are having a very cool and damp summer and could do with a bit of warmth.
    What a fun weekend you had! That pizza… oooh!

    1. I, too, am amazed at our summer temperatures. Never thought it would get this hot in Maine, which is known for its delightful summers. But the pizza has helped soften the blow of the extreme heat. So very good.

  18. After the long period of isolation, it is great to note that you and Clif are getting out and about. It is good to be with other people and to enjoy activities we took for granted over a year ago. As the ‘third wave’ rises here and is about to curve over from its epicentre and splash all over the country, we have been ramped up to Level 4 for two weeks at least. No socialising, a longer night time curfew, no alcohol sales (don’t ask), but we can – fortunately – still visit within family groups. Hooray for small mercies. Your account makes me feel inexplicably happy.

    1. Oh, gosh! So sorry that you are at Level 4. Wonderful that you can still visit within family groups. No alcohol sales? Sorry, but I couldn’t resist asking.

  19. Isn’t it wonderful to be able to go out and meet friends and eat pizza or whatever? But I am glad it is not so hot here – I would melt as I really don’t tolerate heat well. Stay cool and enjoy evenings out when it is not so hot.

  21. I’m glad you took a photo of that pizza because it is truly a work of art. I bet it tasted good too. 🙂 I can only imagine how much fun it was to get out and about, chat with friends and their handsome four-legged pets, and listen to music. Normal stuff we took for granted ‘before.’ If you figure out what happened to our gorgeous New England summer weather, please let me know. I remember days in the 80’s and evenings in the 60’s – not so much anymore. 🙂 Thanks for the shout out, and I’m proud as punch that my shed was made in Maine.

  22. It’s lovely to see that you and Clif are able to do some of the normal things again. The pizza looks delicious and I am glad you got a little dog-therapy. Our local rates have been pretty dire and are still at 7 per thousand, but there is talk of being ‘back to normal’ on July 19th.

  23. When I lived on Long Island, New York an acquaintance from Central New York used to say “what is it about Long Islanders who put an “r” where it doesn’t belong and drop it where it does” (think “r” at the end of “idea”) What it boils down to, is that we all speak funny. 😁
    Incidentally, I moved away from Long Island to get away from summers like this. 🥵

    1. Very similar to Maine with “r”. I have to watch myself all the time, especially when I was recording the podcast. Sounded like a real Mainah. 😉 As for the heat…holy cats! Never thought Maine would be this hot, and other blogging friends in different parts of the country are having the same experience.

  24. So sorry to hear you’re struggling with weather, too. We’ve been inundated with rain in Central Illinois. Way too much water in way too short a time frame. And it’s been sticky and hot, to boot. Not my favorite summertime weather, that’s for sure. The pizza, however, looks scrumptious!

  25. You seem to do interesting, fun things, no matter what the weather. And think of it this way: Get a long enough heat wave, and the ocean on the Maine coast will really be swimmable!

  27. I am glad things are getting normal in Maine except of course the temperature but I read some where at this month brought a record-setting heat waves across the US and other parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Take care Laurie and enjoy summer.

  29. Glad you had an opportunity for music, beer & pizza before the heat got too much!

    That pizza looks super duper! I had a peer at the menu – it’s the Tumbledown, right? And that black swirl is balsamic glaze? I just got me some raspberry balsamic glaze, and I have some pesto in the larder, leftover pizza dough in the fridge, so I am just missing fresh mozz (or maybe I will use goat cheese instead)?

    1. As for your questions… yes and yes. Go for it! I think the goat cheese would be lovely on the pizza and go beautifully with the balsamic glaze. Fun to think that a little Maine business is being noticed in Singapore.

  30. That pizza looks really good! The recent heat wave (there will be more to come) has broken, and we are having a cool, cloudy day here. We hit 107 in the shade in our area. Two hours north of here, Portland, Oregon saw 115 degrees.

  31. Mmm, yummy pizza, and cute dogs too. I love the fact that in North America you have such “big” weather. Relatively speaking our UK weather is quite benign, but it doesn’t stop us moaning about it constantly!

  32. Pingback: Our Favourite Hawker Noodle – Touring My Backyard

Comments are closed.