Travel Tuesday

We were in St. Louis for a long weekend. It had been over a year since we've been there. Usually, we're there 3 or 4 times a year. 2022 was much too busy with travels to allow many extra trips. We've slowed down (fine by me) for 2023.

On the way, we stopped in Metropolis, Illinois where, you guessed it, they have capitalized on the Superman theme. We have only been here once before---well, except for that time I got the speeding ticket on I-57 and had to go to court there.

We did a little geo-caching in town. We had to take advantage of this photo op. 

We took this picture on our last trip--about 4 years ago.

I had to get a picture with Lois Lane.

Now that's a tiny cache---and yes, there's a log to sign inside. The reason we sought out Lois Lane.

We stopped by the grave of "The Bird Man of Alcatraz." He was a real person and was allowed to keep birds in one of the prisons he was in. He was in solitary confinement for 44 years! I cannot even imagine that. I don't know what his original crime was, but 44 years would make anyone go crazy.

After caching, we went to Cordavino's for lunch. We went here the last time. The food was so good, we knew we wanted to go back.

This time, we held back on our order---just the salad and two meatballs the size of tennis balls. The last time, without knowing how much food we were ordering, we got 3 meatballs, the salad and Stromboli. It was a massive amount of food.

When we got to St. Louis, it was a whirlwind as always---trying to see everyone. Butch spent time with his brother, Walter, while I visited my sister-in-law, Chris in the rehab center for a few hours---3 times! I had a two+ hour lunch with my favorite cousin, Chrissy, visited my sister, Jeanne who is laid up from toe surgery, and had a poker game at my brother, Matt's (where we stayed). He and my sister-in-law, Sharon are the best hosts! My sister-in-law, Janet came too.  On Saturday, we visited Aunt Marie's grave at St. Joseph's in Cottleville. We ate lots of good Italian food every day--nobody does it better than St. Louis--and I'll stand by that!!

We left very early on Sunday morning--3:30 a.m.--to beat the traffic. We were home in 5 hours with no stops. It's usually 6 hours with a stop and traffic. That gave us the whole day.

Butch started putting his new garage back together. Here it is Tuesday and he's just about finished! Considering it was an overwhelming, huge job, in hindsight, it wasn't so bad. Well at least I can say that because I didn't do one single thing! Pictures to come...

Me on Monday

I decided that I wanted to share this story with you. A year ago, the girls gave me a subscription to Storyworth. Each Monday, I get a question to answer. At the end of the year, all of my stories are compiled into a book--part of the subscription. I have loved it so much that I've recommended it to friends and got Butch a subscription too.

My question for today was: "Have you ever gotten a bad haircut?" Here's my response:

OMGosh did I have a bad haircut?! 

It was about 1973—before the days when I had a regular hairstylist. I had somewhat “longish” hair—maybe a few inches below my shoulders. It was long and scraggly—the reason I do not like long hair. I decided that I was ready for a change—and I was an adult now. I wanted something stylish and fresh. I wanted the new haircut known as the “shag.” Basically, a medium-length “do” AND scraggly! I thought that would be perfect for me. Everyone was wearing it—even rock stars like Mick Jagger and David Cassidy (okay he was only a teen pop star—but I loved him nonetheless!). All the stars were sporting it. I loved the carefree look. Instead, I got this mess:

As you can see in the only picture I have of my cut—my cousin, Chrissy had the exact look. I don’t recall, but that might have been my motivation to do it—as we always copied each other. My cut looked more like a bad mullet. It was awful. I hated it and couldn’t do a thing with it. I sobbed after it was done—too late. It was so embarrassing! To make matters worse, I was in my cousin’s wedding around this time. I ended up growing my hair out again. 

Here are a couple examples from the 70’s of what the shag was supposed to look like:

As I was doing a little research, it turns out that the shag made a comeback in 2020. I still love it, but am not about to try it again!

How cute is this? 

Honestly, the bottom line is I’ve never had good hair. My favorite hairstyle of all time is this:

This is the closest I ever came to the look I wanted—-and I was too young to know this would be the best it ever got!

Something for Sunday

I've been forgetting to unveil our new bedroom. We've been waiting because the chest had a big hole in the back when they delivered it. What made us so mad is that those delivery men had to know that when they put it up against the wall. They just didn't care. The only reason we discovered it was because Butch pulled it out to put the television on top! I could go on and on about this---hmmm, maybe I'll save it for a "Friday Frustration" post. 

Okay, let's get on with it. This is the before.

We bought this furniture when we moved into the house in 1995. I've always liked it just fine. 

When we decided to go with a king bed, I knew I wanted to get rid of a lot of furniture. It's a big room and the new bed would definitely fit, but we just didn't need all the furniture. We each have large walk-in closets---where I keep all of my clothes. Butch did use the "highboy" piece. The dresser you see is empty except I had Christmas jewelry in the top drawer. I told Butch he could have the new chest of drawers as well as the drawers under the new bed.

This room can be a little dark. The only window in the room is behind the chair which is the shady side of the house--it never gets sun. We get light from that big window in the bathroom and indirect light through the French doors to our sunroom. By getting lighter furniture and removing some of the furniture, the room looks bigger and almost a little bare. I think I need an artificial, tall plant to put next to the chest to help hide all that electrical stuff.

A few things to note: I did not want to re-paint. I still love this shade of robin's egg blue. It's all exactly the same color, just striped with glossy and flat paint to get that effect. I knew I was going to have to give up the queen comforter but then decided to keep it and fold it on the end of the bed. I did not want to replace my drapes (pictured above) and needed to keep the pillows and comforter to tie them all together. I went with a plain, puffy tone-on-tone, white king comforter.

This is the view from the bathroom. I didn't change any accessories---except to get rid of a few and a lamp. I'm going to get rid of those little pictures on the right and replace them with another awesome framed photo I've taken from somewhere around the world.

I'm also going to add a picture(s) over the bed. I think that will solve my problem with it seeming a little bare. I love the lighter feel of the room AND our king bed. We're sleeping like babies! And, yes, we can still cuddle!

Getting into the bed is tricky--a little too high for this height-challenged girl!. I didn't realize that when we bought it. I think I mentioned that the step I bought looks like a little child's thing for the bathroom. Maybe that's what it is. That's what happens when you order online and can't see something in person. Butch said, "So what? Nobody will see it but us." He's right, but I don't like things that just aren't right. I could handle it if it was on the side of the bed you don't see when you walk into the room. But since that's my side of the bed, I don't want to see how out of place it looks every time I step into the room. Instead, I have quite an intricate process for getting into bed. What I do is pull back the covers because if I don't and land on top of them, it's really hard to get them out from under me! I know you know what I'm talking about if you've ever accidentally gotten in on top of your flat sheet. You just have to get back out and start over. Anyway, after pulling back the covers, I sort of thrust myself up on it and quickly roll to my back so I don't just roll right back out! Can you picture it? Probably not a pretty sight! At least it works! For now. I don't know how many "thrusting" days I have left! Remember, I'm not as bouncy as I used to be!

Scrapbook Saturday

This weekend, we're in St. Louis. But, here are a few of the layouts I did last weekend on our scrapbook retreat. I had a very productive trip--completing 17 layouts while helping everyone with the Cricut Explore Air II. 

1. This is the round robin that Nancy did for me.

She put the journaling inside the card.

2. This is the title page for Morgan and Olly's album.

Another layout for their album.

3. This is from our Mother/daughter trip to Savannah.

4. This layout is about our trip to Quebec City for the Christmas Markets.

Karolyn designed the title. She wanted us to have the title in French. I added the translation in the lower right as I don't speak French. I don't think anyone looking at my scrapbooks will be French-speaking either!

On the left of this layout, I used a gang tag to add more pictures.

5. I completed many Christmas layouts. 

More next week!

Friday Funnies

Five Things Thursday

1. While shopping for shrimp in Colorado, I saw the biggest lobster tails that I've ever seen.

The shrimp the right are actually large! So that tells you how big the tails are---and $39.99 a lb! Wow! I think each one would serve 3!

2. The bathrooms at the house we rented in Colorado were wall-papered with maps.

Not only were they colorful, they were just cool! Some had the ski runs there in Breckenridge.

3. My cousin sent me this picture.

This is where her kitchen table used to be. She turned it into a little sunroom! It's so cute.

4. As the weather warms, we are seeing more and more damage to the landscaping from the big freeze.

The camellias are in rough shape. They are not meant to lose their leaves. They are pretty bare right now. I'm not sure they can come back.

5. Last night, I went to the theater with my friends, Connie and Nancy. We have had season tickets together for years and years. I was really excited for this one.

The girls and I saw it in New York last summer. So, this was the first time I saw SIX for the second time! If you get a chance to see it, you must!

What I Buy Wednesday

Well, it's been another week where I didn't buy anything. But, Butch can't say the same!! 

He's getting excited about his new garage! As you read this, it's time to start putting stuff back. He bought himself a new utility sink. He wasn't going to get one, but I said (just like I did when we re-did his office and he balked at new carpeting), "Why would you go to all this trouble to freshen and make everything look new again and then keep that old sink?" So, he took me up on it. 

I thought it was going to be $30. I was wrong about that!! That's fine with me. I want it all to look new!

Then he needed a "light/magnifier" for his workbench. I didn't know they made such a thing, or that he needed it. But on the other hand, sometimes I need a light magnifier for my stitching, so I guess it's justified. Now I'd like to see him actually working at his workbench!

And then there was this--out of the blue. He bought himself a brand-new "Margaritaville" bike. 

He was talking about it a couple years ago, but it was constantly out of stock. Now all of a sudden, it's available, so he ordered it. He wants to ride it at the beach. Okay, fine. We need another bike like--I mean, with the garage re-do, he gave my cruiser bike like this to the kids across the street. I guess he didn't want to be seen on a girl's bike. Okay, fine.

I told him I might need to deny his access to Amazon!! 

I guess it's a good thing I haven't bought anything for a couple weeks!

Travel Tuesday

You already know I was scrapbooking from last Wednesday until Sunday---AND that I forgot my phone!! 

Well, this was the third time that we have been to this cabin in Hickory, Kentucky---very near Paducah.

It's huge and perfect for us! They have a huge dining table for our scrapbooking. Since we had 6 this time, we brought an extra table. There was still plenty of room to spare. There is a very Long Island that we use for all of our shared tools. Then it has a wrap around the room fireplace hearth where we put up the printer and Cricuts. Truly a scrapbookers dream!

Little did we know that a big storm would come through on Thursday night to add some excitement. We awoke to flooding.

The water kept rising throughout the day. This is about at its highest.

"Easy" who is the handyman came out to see us. He told us not to worry that he could get us out with boats if necessary. I was never worried--because I am not a worrier--at--all!

The house is built on stilts. The water was under the house, but still about 10 feet below.

We moved our cars as far up as we could. The water only reached the front tires. 

I never panicked because I knew it would need to rise at least 24" deep to reach the engines. I did wonder if the gravel road would still be there or washed away. By Saturday morning, the water had receded and the gravel drive was still there. It wasn't rushing water. Butch had already said that my 4-wheel drive Jeep could handle it if it was mud.

Actually, the water just added to the fun of the weekend. We had a great time and have set the date for our next retreat in October. We've got it down to a fine science. Everyone brings certain tools and things to share. We set up a meal schedule. Then we just scrapbook for hours on end. So much fun. I can't wait for the next time.  I'll share my layouts on Saturday. 

We're leaving for St. Louis on Thursday. 

Me on Monday

So. I've been scrapbooking this past weekend. When I got home yesterday, I quickly realized that I was missing my phone. OMGosh! I left it at the cabin in Hickory, KY---right outside Paducah. I couldn't believe it. I'm not someone who does that (although, now, apparently I am). I don't lose things. In my defense, I'm always the first one up. I try not to wake the other two girls in the room by getting ready in the dark. I thought I had everything!

Now, what to do. My first thought, "I could ask the owner to mail it to me." 2nd thought, "I could pick it up on my way to St. Louis on Thursday." Those were really my only two options (in my head). Little did I know that Butch was going to suggest that we just go back and pick it up! Seriously, drive 5 hours round trip for my phone---after I just drove 2.5 hours? 

Butch suggested that instead of going back right away, we just go early this morning. I was starting to warm to that idea.

But then, I realized how dependent I am on my phone. I had a full day planned today and needed to start canceling things. That's when it dawned on me that I don't know anyone's phone numbers anymore. Luckily, I remembered that they are in my "contacts" on my computer. 

I canceled my massage appointment and lunch with a friend. About the time I finished, Butch said, "Let's just go now." I told him he didn't need to go with me--but he insisted. So, that's what we did. 

It's not at all how I saw my Sunday going. We had plans with Stephanie and Nicky that we had to cancel. Instead, we spent the entire day in the car. We got home about 4:30. 

Looking on the bright side, Butch was able to see this fabulous place we rent and all the space. It sleeps 11 people (we had 6) and is only a little over $900 for 4 days. This was our third time and we've already booked for fall. It's just about halfway between Nashville and St. Louis which makes it convenient for my sisters, Jeanne and Janet too. 

Best of all, it gave Butch and I a lot of time to "catch-up" (which really only took about 15 minutes!) When we got home, I thanked him for going with me---he missed most of the Daytona 500 and some important golf tournament. Aren't all golf tournaments important? He said, "Well, you would have done it for me!" 

He's right about that!

PS So now that I canceled everything for today, I'll spend it unpacking my scrapbook stuff, getting organized and taking pictures. 

Friday Funnies