Something for Sunday

Butch is always busy. He constantly finds things to do. This week, he decided that the plastic headlight covers on our 2011 Enclave (with well over 100,000 miles) needed cleaning. I didn't even know that was a "thing". 

He did the first one and then called me out to see it.

I guess it's something that I never really paid attention to before. I didn't realize you could see all the different stuff in there. Probably because I never paid any attention.

Then he showed me the one that wasn't clean.

Yes, I can tell it's a little cloudier. Also he had me rub my fingers over both. The clean one was a smooth as glass. This one was all rough. 

Then he showed me the products he used. He had already done this once before on Jordan's car--my old 2006 Jeep. It has over 200,000 miles and is on its last legs, but it has clean and shiny light covers!!

He has a sanding pad that he used with his drill. It did generate a lot of crud and dust. 

This is in process. He spent quite a long time on it. He's always busy. It makes him happy! He does a fabulous job keeping my car clean---actually, ALL the cars. He takes a lot of pride in them. It definitely makes me happy that he keeps mine so clean. Oh, and did I mention that he also gets my gas? Yes, I'm spoiled and I know it!

Butch needed to use my car this week. He had a board meeting in Georgia. His car is in the shop, so I "let" him take mine. I drove the Enclave--thankfully with those shiny clean headlights!

Shortly after he left, I discovered this:

It is the parking voucher from the Vanderbilt clinic where I go monthly for my Xolair treatment. I keep it tucked in to the sunglass holder of my car. I can't believe he even noticed it! My appointment was the day after he took my car. It's really not a big deal as I can get another easily. But I was just so impressed that he was so thoughtful to have noticed and then brought it in the house. 

Yeah, he takes good care of me!!

Scrapbook Saturday

With 2023 being the "year of Barbie," I just had to tell my "Barbie" story. Actually, this came as a challenge from a scrapbook group I follow. I didn't think I had a "Barbie" story. I didn't really play with Barbie's that much. But, the more that I thought about it, I remembered an old picture I had and how I did like playing the Barbie game. So, I decided since I really want my layouts to reflect the times, I would do one. My journaling is below.

2023 was the year of Barbie. The movie came out starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. There were things I liked about the movie—fun bright colors, the clothes and whimsical characters. I didn’t like the storyline/message. I know, it was all about “girl empowerment” which is what Barbie stands for. I just didn’t like how the movie empowered the girls at the expense of the boys by making them look stupid. I think you can send that message without denigrating men. 

As for my story, I didn’t think I had one. But then, the more I started to think about it, I realized I did—of sorts. First of all, pink has always been my favorite color—so there’s that. There’s a lot of pink with everything Barbie. I played Barbie with my friends even though I didn’t really like it. Dressing and undressing the doll was hard. Plus, I never really played with dolls anyway. I thought I would make her some clothes with my little Singer sewing machine, but I never could master that. I had a pink Barbie lunchbox that I really liked and can still remember to this day. It had a picture on the front of Barbie walking a dog carrying a lunchbox with the exact same picture. I kept trying to figure out how many of those little lunchboxes I could make out in the picture. At some point, I got the Barbie game. I loved that! We were a family of game players. I don’t exactly remember much about the game, but it had something to do with getting a boyfriend and going to the prom. Tom was my favorite—lucky for me since everyone else wanted Ken. But too bad for you if you got Pointdexter! Now that I think about it, I guess it wasn’t a very nice game—poor Poindexter. I cannot say that Barbie empowered me or enriched my life, but I do have some fun memories of her.

PS Apparently I also had a Barbie wallet—which I don’t remember. But there’s photographic evidence here!

5-Star Movies of 2023

I have no idea how this layout the Jeanne did wound up on my camera roll. I decided to share it anyway.

Friday Funnies

Five Things Thursday

Aren't these chocolates beautiful?

Okay, this is just downright creepy!

This is a gorgeous dessert charcuterie. I want to make one sometime.

Decorated for Easter.

So pretty. I just want to hire someone to do it for me. I didn't even decorate for Easter this year. I love it when it's done, but I don't love doing it anymore. It's just a lot of work. Plus, we're not doing anything for Easter this year. 

What's Wrong with this Picture?

Do you see it?

I have never heard of having pretzels with a sandwich! Pretzels are stand alone snacks. And for me, I can pass them by unless there's dip involved. 

I'm a potato chip girl with sandwiches. If those aren't available, I can go for Fritoes or Cheetos. But NEVER pretzels!

What about you? Where do you stand on this important issue?

Me On Monday

It sounds like such simple advice. So why is it so hard?

Something for Sunday

I've already mentioned how I am divesting myself of my teapot collection. I'm inviting the granddaughters of my friends over for tea. 

This time I invited my friend Nancy, her daughter, Leigh and granddaughter, LaRue. Except for Nancy and me, the girls were "dressed to the nines!" La Rue had on the cutest little blue dress with a matching fascinator.

When they arrived, we started in the kitchen. I like to teach the girls how to make a proper pot of tea---with loose tea---no bags for me! Also, I like to teach them how to make sure that they have the lid on properly so it doesn't fall off and break when you are pouring. 

On this day, we brewed a pot of my Jubilee tea from the Queens Platinum Jubilee in the Fortnum & Mason aqua teapot. The other is the Coronation teapot from King Charles III's Coronation. I bought that when we were in London last fall. Mindy had given me the special Coronation tea---which is what we brewed in that pot.

We moved in to the family room where I had set the tea table. LaRue immediately plopped her water bottle on the table. I said, "What's this?" Thinking she wasn't going to drink tea. I made a bid deal about it being on the tea table. She said, "But, I have to stay hydrated!" Did I mention the she's only 5? That cracked me up! 

I taught her how to pour tea using the strainer. I have to admit, since we were using my favorite teapots, I was a little nervous that she couldn't handle it. But, she did. 

Also, the china you see here is from my adopted grandma, Lorena Pierson. She was a 90 year old that didn't have any family. I befriended her to help her with paying bills, cleaning out her "not-quite-hoarder-like" house, taking her to doctor appointments and hair appointments. She loved to go shopping too. When the time came for her to go to a nursing home, I sold her house and all of her stuff for her. Some of my woman's club friends helped me with the garage sale where I tried to sell her china. I had a high price on it for a garage sale--$400 because I was just not going to let it go for less. I ended up buying it myself! I was able to make a deal for her that by donating all the money she had, she could have a private room in a Church of Christ nursing home--that was her religion--for the rest of her life. That all worked out great. As it turns out,  (my) Elizabeth has requested this china. That makes me happy! It really is pretty and has a kazillion pieces to it.

Okay, back to the tea party. We had a great time chatting, laughing and enjoying some tea foods.

I showed LaRue how you explain everything on the tea tray to your guests just like in a tearoom. Starting on the bottom, you have the savory things---here, chicken salad and pimento cheese sandwiches. The next tray are cakes and scones--I added the strawberries. Dip them in chocolate and they would go on the top with the sweets. Our top had frosted sugar cookies and chocolates (I think--I've already forgotten) on the other side. The only thing missing was the Devonshire cream. The only place in town that sold it was The Fresh Market. They are not carrying it anymore. I bought Creme Fraiche instead. It worked with the scones, but not nearly as good as the cream. I could be happy with only the scones. These were blueberry, but cranberry are my favorite.

You can see the present I had for LaRue in the first tea picture. That's how I unload a teapot!! I like to put it on the bottom shelf of the table so they have to look at it for a long time and wonder if it's for them! I believe in torturing little kids! Not really. I love little kids!

I still have two parties to go where I'll be able to pass on 4 more teapots. 

I have a whole house full of stuff. Now, if I can only figure out how to get rid of it in a fun way!

Scrapbook Saturday

My Scrapbooking Story

The year was 1996. Butch and I were getting ready to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Jack and Connie and David and Linda were also celebrating 25 years. We decided to celebrate together at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. Since it was January and the trip wasn’t until July, we girls decided to start saving our change. When the time came for the trip, we’d spend that money on jewelry. It wasn’t meant to be a competition, but it turned out to be. Linda started it by asking for all of her change in quarters! Anyway, we had a lot of fun with that. 

Over Memorial weekend, Butch and I went to St. Louis. That’s when I learned about this new “thing” called scrapbooking. I saw Bridget’s album and thought, “OMGosh! The girls would love this!” Chris, hooked me up with Mary, Bridget’s Creative Memories consultant. She invited me over to her house where she had a mini shop set up. I wanted everything and was trying to justify the purchase. That’s when it hit me! I don’t need more jewelry! So, I spent the money I’d been saving on scrapbook supplies—-$550 to be exact!!

Bridget and Marci came down later in the summer to get the girls started—teaching them how to use the tools. I joined in and played along. I was HOOKED! Truly, it was an unintentional consequence! I was too busy with my own life and hobbies. The rest is history. I moved my organization business from cleaning out closets to setting up craft rooms and teaching all sorts of classes from organizing photos to storytelling. I never looked back. It’s been 28 years now and I’ve never grown tired of it. I’m a storyteller at heart and still have many to tell!

So, I've decided to change the way I scrapbook. I'm ready for a change. I’m doing a “Month in the Life Approach.” I’ll do a double-page spread for each month and all of the activities within that month. I’ll be working with pages that have inserts.

Since I've never done pocket pages before, I needed to do a little shopping. I got a variety of configurations and will stick with my normal 12x12 format. I plan to do a double page per month to hit the highlights and therefore not feel compelled to do individual layouts for everything. Since I already edit my photos at the end of every month, decide what to print and stories to tell, I think this will be a natural progression. I'm a pretty fast scrapbooker, so I'll approach it like this: 1. Edit and print photos. 2. Decide format for journaling, consult notes and print. 3. Select materials (using one Ali Edwards kit which contains pocket cards). 4. Decide any special techniques. 5. Put layout together. 5 easy steps in 5 sessions.

Here is the title page:

January

February 

And just like that, I'm caught up. I think I'm going to love scrapbooking like this. 

Friday Funnies

Five Things Thursday

My hometown.

How cute is this.

What I Buy Wednesday!

Well, there are some things that money can't buy. Today's post is about some of those. 

Connie and I accepted an invitation on Monday night. When I got home, I said to Butch, "I have had so many extraordinary experiences in my life. Here, I just got home after having a fabulous time with the girls in NYC and seeing three shows. Then tonight I was sitting in the most beautiful mansion, listening to the most enchanting piano music. As I sat there, I kept thinking about how lucky I am. I am one lucky girl!!" It's so true! 

Butch reacted pretty much like he always does. He just rides it out when I'm in the midst of all that exuberance--you know I'm always so excited about everything!! 

It was a fabulous evening in part because of this guy:

Meet my boyfriend, Jerry. Unlike my 7th grade boyfriend who didn't know he was my boyfriend, Jerry refers to me as his girlfriend. Now lest you think it might go to my head, he actually has a harem of girlfriends! He is the nicest, friendliest, most interesting and talented guy you'll ever meet. I met him years ago through bridge. 

Sadly, on this night, he broke up with me! I'll admit, he let me down easy---even serenading me one last time.

I might have actually "teared up" when he played "My Foolish Heart" for me! Okay, I did request it--just keeping it real here! It was kind of hard for a final good-bye with a room full of people! A bunch of my bridge buddies.

So. (If you've read me for any length of time, you know I use SO a lot--a whole lot). I'm being so melodramatic because Jerry has moved to Bowling Green, KY. It's hard to believe I might never see him again. He's been a big part of my bridge life. But, it's like I've always said, "Boys come and go. But your girlfriends are forever!"

My number one! Well, except for Butch who is my true number one! And then there are our girls...and my siblings...and my friends. I guess I have a lot of number ones! Yep, I'm a lucky girl in so many ways!

As for Jerry, just one more great memory for my scrapbook of life! You just can't buy this stuff!

PS He's self-taught on the piano and plays brilliantly. He really is amazing. I'm going to miss him!

Travel Tuesday

Whew! I've been traveling a lot. A. Lot! It feels good to be home---for the next 3 weeks--anyway! 

The girls (Sandy, Stephanie, and Mindy) and I went to New York---our favorite city! We went to see the final preview of Like Water for Elephants, the opening of The Notebook and The Life and Slimes of Marc Sommers. They were ALL excellent. We just love the theater. 

The girls did all the planning on this trip. They never run out of new and fun things to do. We started with lunch at Tiffany's.

This was our first time eating there. I was embarrassed that I was wearing jeans. I didn't even think about the fact that we were having lunch here. There were many people there in jeans, but you could definitely tell the locals with their designer clothes, shoes and purses. It was fun to people watch. 

As it turns out, we were also there for the St. Patrick's Day parade. We didn't get anywhere close. Our plan was to leave at 8 am to find a good spot. But, considering the parade wasn't starting until 11 a.m. we just didn't want to stand that long. As a result, we couldn't even get close. Apparently there were 2 million people there for the parade. But, we lucked upon the next best thing. We happened to be on the street where the staging was happening. We got to see policemen in their dress uniform, bagpipers in kilts, EMT---so many groups with instruments and flags. And then, this happened:

We happened upon the Krispy Kreme truck handing out free green donuts. 

The pictures are kind of mixed up, but here goes. 

Due to the parade and then the marathon on Sunday, we had a problem getting around due to road closures. We were up and down in the subway so many times! Three of those, we found out was in nearly the same place on the wrong side of the street. Steph was in charge of navigation. When it happened for the third time, she quipped, "It's not like I'm Magellan and know which is the southeast corner of 42nd street!" I said it felt a little like "Whack a mole"--not knowing where we were going to pop up. 

As a result, we were late getting to the Museum of Broadway. It is so interesting and fun.

One of the photo ops from Hair. We had to cut our time a bit short in order to start all over with the up and down in the subway to get to Marseille for our brunch reservations. This is one of my favorite restaurants as it has tablecloths! And, unlimited mimosas & Bellinis for a price. It's not your normal tourist trap, but more in an area where people live. Love that.

Sandy found a bar for "happy hour" called "Back Pocket." They are known for their free popcorn and drinks served in gummy bear glasses---or so we thought. Sandy asked about it and the bartender said they don't do that anymore. Still, she managed to find some for us. 

One of the patrons at the bar asked the bartender why she never gave him one of those glasses since he comes in all the time--so she did. We were able to buy them to take with us. The girls acted like we shouldn't ask. I figure you have nothing to lose! Sometimes they give them to you for free. Not this time. It was a tiny, yet friendly place. We struck up a conversation with a couple guys who told us that the other guy that had just left was performing in Like Water for Elephants. Darn and we missed him! He told us that many actors stop in while waiting for their show.

Turns out it was a gay bar and we were the only females--until a couple came in a little later. They asked how we found out about the place and Sandy mentioned that it popped up in some sort of "hidden gems" search. This was my "peak" for the trip. We love finding the "out-of-the-way" places. It's on our list now.

This was the first time for the girls at Grand Central Station. We got some fancy cookies called Stoofwaffles. I had a bite of mine and never saw it again. It would up in Sandy and Mindy's room. I do hope they ate it!

Sandy found these fun glasses for us. We couldn't really wear them except for a photo as they were huge and wouldn't stay in place. 

All donning our green.

Sandy enjoying some green drink from Starbucks and her green donut. 

We really lucked out with the weather. It was mild---50's & 60's. We logged approximately 17-19 miles walking in 2 and a half days. 

Until next time New York...