It's Wintah...in Maine!

As a Native Texan, winters were something I always dreaded.  I wasn't used to the 40-50 degree weather, and I prayed for a snow day at least every time the meteorologist said it was going to drop below 32.  Alas, that didn't happen very often.  Try about once every four years in Houston.  Dallas provided us with more snow/ice days - about once a year right around Valentine's Day.  Texas isn't capable of handling the snow or ice so they just ended up canceling school, and most people got the day off from work.  It's too dangerous to get out there...almost like Californians driving in the rain.

All that seems to be a distant memory these days.  The average temps around here the last few weeks have barely even pushed above freezing.  Getting out there isn't as easy as one might think.  Sure, they plow the roads and salt and sand them, but they can't keep up with a heavy snow storm.  So what is a heavy snow storm then?  Before we left for Christmas there was 4 inches of snow on the ground and that was a "dusting."  To be honest, they all seem like heavy snow storms to me, and we should all stay home from work instead of going out on the roads.  The snow looks so much prettier when you're at home and not at work.

To be fair, this season has been much worse than winters Maine has experienced in the past few years.  I'm not sure of the total inches we've had so far, but I think it's already surpassed the average for the whole season.  Everyone keeps saying, "Just wait til February" meaning that it will only get worse.  Well I'll tell you what.  You can take your February and keep it because I want no part of it!  I'm sick of snow.  I'm sick of having to bundle up when I go outside.  I'm sick of having to struggle to get up our hill of a driveway just to get in the garage.  I'm sick of having sand and snow stuck to shoes, and consequently, in the house.

BUT!!!  It sure does beat the heat.

The path from the back porch to the driveway...see the angle of the car?  I wasn't lying about the hill!

Our street

The neighborhood

The park that had tulips last spring (Blog: April Showers Have Brought May Flowers)

Check out how tall that snow bank is...and how buried the Stop sign is

The Whole Enchilarda

I've already discussed in a blog from last year how Maine isn't going to be garnering any spots on the "spiciest places to eat tour" anytime soon.  And one of the reasons is because the Mexican food up here is virtually non-existant.  Oh sure, Thai and Indian food have the corner on spice market, but there's something to be said about a really good salsa that kind of sets your mouth on fire and dares you to come back for more.

I think Spike and I have tried about three "Mexican" (and I use the term very loosely) restaurants around town, and only one of them deserves going back again and again - El Rayo.  It's in an old gas station with more outdoor seating than is available than inside.  So you can understand why this place would be packed in the summer.  We've been quite a bit since we've moved to Portland, and it hits that spot even if it's not always super spicy.  Trying something new is always in order when we go and we're not usually disappointed.  I've tried the chilequilles, the Mexico City corn on the cob (exceptionally good), tacos, quesadillas, rice and bean bowls...the list goes on.  EXCEPT!!! they have no enchiladas on the menu, which is disappointing, but I guess it's not that kind of restaurant.   

But the whole reason I'm here pouring out my thoughts is because today at work they were serving "Enchilardas" for lunch.  That's right, enchiladas with an R.  Of course, it's just the woman behind the sneeze glass who writes the day's offerings on the chalk board and doesn't know how to spell the word.  I feel that's what we're working with here in New England: Restaurants that don't serve enchiladas and people that can't spell it.


That's why I just have to accept that the best Mexican food is in El Paso and I can only have it about once a year when we see Spike's family.