Monday, September 20, 2021

Monday Mystery

I know I said that I was finished with photos from France, but I found these tucked away in my "Monday Mystery" folder. I'd forgotten about them. Here goes:
Randomly, around the corner from our hotel, was this chair, just sitting on the sidewalk. 
One morning, Butch and I went out early to browse some little town. I do not remember which city--mostly because I cannot pronounce, nor spell them. But if you look close...
...another random chair. I don't even know what that little archway is for. I guess it's meant to be a lunch spot or something. 
A couple days later, I saw this one on the grounds of the remains of a centuries old abbey. 

And then this a little closer to home:
Last week, I was visiting my sisters in Salem. I love walking around the farm. I just had to snap this shot. Again, random chairs out in the field. They do face the pond. As I look at this picture, I really like it. The contrast of color and texture added to the random chairs makes for a pretty nice composition!

Now I have no idea what is up with all of these random chairs--a mystery for sure. But I have to say, I found it interesting, even if I don't know the answers!

PS Another mystery: why is it that on Hulu, the commercials are so loud that I have to put the tv on mute until they finish? Okay, no real mystery there. They want you to be able to hear them if you are getting food or taking a bathroom break. How annoying!

Sunday, September 19, 2021

I Love Surprises!

Yes, I do love surprises! And Butch is really good at surprising me.

You might recall that I consider myself a bit of a tea snob. Recently, my supply has been running low. 

I buy tea whenever I'm in London. One of my favorite things is to have tea--just about anywhere I can find it. In England, that means everywhere! Tea is not just "tea!" It's an event! I've had tea in Bath, the Cotswolds, Nottingham, London and many other places that I've forgotten the names of. In London, I always go to Twinings on the Strand to buy tea. I look forward to it--just to visit the original location--hundreds of years old--I always buy several varieties. 

A couple years ago, when I was in London with several members of our book club, we discovered Fortnum and Mason. OMGosh! That's become my most favorite place to have tea. I stocked up while I was there and again when Butch and I went in 2019. It's always loose tea, no bags (or sachets) for me!! That's where the "snob" part comes in. I start my day with fresh brewed tea! Usually, Butch makes it for me. He knows just how I like it! Sometimes if I'm reading in bed first thing, he brings it in to me. What a way to start the day!

I am on the email list for Fortnum and Mason and enjoy their tea posts. I decided that I was going to order. Then, when I got to the check out part of the transaction, I noticed that the postage was $28.00! I get it--international and all. But, I just couldn't justify it. Especially since I do have a favorite American tea maker--Harney and Sons. They supply the tea for The Plaza Hotel in New York--another one of my favorite places to have tea (along with the Drake Hotel in Chicago).

Anyway, I didn't order the tea and really didn't give it another thought. Imagine my surprise when I came home to this:
Earl Grey Classic from Fortnum and Mason!! What?? I was a little confused. I thought, surely Butch wouldn't pay that shipping cost. Turns out, he decided to "Google" Fortnum and Mason to find out where it was sold in the US. Now why didn't I think of that? It never occurred to me that I could get it here. He said that William Sonoma has a whole display with many varieties. Of course I'll be stocking up. 

It's nice to know that I have a place to get it. I can also get Twinings, but just basic varieties. Still, I prefer to get it in London. There's just something so special about that. Besides, what better excuse to get over there asap?? My book club wants to go again too. Butch loves England as much as I do, so surely I'll get there one way or the other sometime in 2022. At least I hope so. Plus I need to stock up on my other passion---Sipsmith Lemon Gin--which I can only get in England!

I was so happy for my tea surprise! Oh, and I must mention, Butch had another surprise for me. He made the bed!! He never does that. I guess since I was gone all week, he must have missed me! 

I'm telling you, 50 years and it just keeps getting better and better!


Saturday, September 18, 2021

A Little Somethin'!

After 50 years, there's not much we haven't done together. But, on Thursday we had a first! I took Butch bra shopping with me!! 

Okay, we were out running errands and that was one of them. We stopped by the mall so I could go to Soma--the most comfortable bras I've ever found. And, they last for years! The ones I still have are good, but due to my recent weight loss, I needed some new ones. 

As I stopped at the store, he headed off by himself and decided where we would meet. I got my new supply--I buy 3 at a time--these will last for years--maybe even 10! Butch and I met up and as we were walking out of the mall, I started to think about all the fun I had taking the girls shopping when they were little. As I was telling Butch, I started to cry. He doesn't understand it. I'm an emotional gal, what can I say?

This is happening a lot lately. I miss the girls when they were little. I guess the older I get the more nostalgic I become. It doesn't take much to bring me to tears!

What about you? When was the last time you cried and what was it about? I don't mean a tv show or movie. That's a given that I'll cry during them. I even cry over commercials--if they are touching! 

I guess you could just call me a cry baby!

Friday, September 17, 2021

Friday Frustrations

Well, it's been awhile since I've shared a Friday frustration. This is not about my frustration, but for everyone struggling with things going "mobile." It seems that we are being forced more and more to use our phones for everything. That includes tickets! Print tickets are going by the way of the past. It's especially true this year for our Titans football tickets. 

On Friday night, I was having dinner with my girlfriends. We were discussing the debacle that mobile tickets are causing. Recently, Pam had gone to a game. She said that when she tried to show her mobile parking pass, one guy didn't even know what he was looking at. When they went to enter the stadium, the lines were very long to get in as people struggled to pull up their tickets on their phones.

Last fall, Mindy had gathered the family to do the Titan's 5K. Along with your entry fee, was to be a ticket for the opening game this year. Well, now it's been nearly a year and it's time to go to that game. 

Well, On Saturday, we were having our last pool party of the season. Butch was checking with everybody to see if they had their tickets for the game on Sunday. We've got it all planned--tailgating before. But---a couple family members were having trouble accessing their tickets. They were there in the app---until they weren't. It was so frustrating. Logging out, logging back in only to have the app not recognize the password. Finally, it took two phone calls to get it straightened out. 

Game day. Well, luckily, our family was all set. But, as I was waiting for Butch (he had to return to the car with my purse--I forgot you have to have a clear bag), I noticed this:

I overheard these poor guys trying to access their tickets. For about 10 minutes, they were working on it. I heard them say things like: "it's not recognizing my password; I don't see where to find my tickets; They aren't there!" 

I felt their frustration. I don't know how it turned out for them because Butch returned and we went in. They were still standing there. What a mess!

Don't get me wrong! I'm the first to think that technology is great. But, it doesn't always work smoothly. Plus, some people are just not technological. They need/want to print their stuff out or get printed tickets and confirmation. I get it. It's easier and less stressful to actually have something in your hand. That's why it took me a long time to start accessing my airline boarding pass on my phone. I've seen too many problems at the gate. I'm happy to report that I have now joined the ranks of those who use their phone. I have my tickets safely tucked in to my wallet. My Apple wallet, that is! 

Very simple. At least for now. 


Thursday, September 16, 2021

Five Things Thursday


Makes sense!


Only St. Louisans will understand this! You've never had pizza until you've had St. Louis pizza!
Words to live by!

Wednesday, September 15, 2021

What I Buy Wednesdays

"What I Buy Wednesdays" posts are going to take care of themselves for the next several weeks as I buy for the upstairs remodel. 

The first thing I ordered were pictures. Remember I decided to use my own photographs to have enlarged? Since I'm going for a French farmhouse vibe--partially determined by the fact that I am not replacing bedding and window treatments in two of the bedrooms. Those rooms have black and white toile. It was our France trip and the stunning scenery there that gave me the idea to just have my own pictures made. This way, each one has meaning. 

I ordered them from canvas discount. Honestly, I was very leery because they were so cheap. You have your choice of framed (with several frames to choose from) or printed on canvas. I got a range of sizes from 12" square, 9"x16", to 24"x30. They came out beautiful!!


I've already shared these photos here before--and to think they were taken with our iPhones!  They look even prettier blown up. Now, get this, there are nine of them. The smallest is the 12" square--they are not all shown here as I have them stacked. For nine pictures, I paid $307. Seriously! 300 bucks! That's what it would cost to have ONE thing framed. Granted, the wood frames are pretty plain and the glass is not really glass, but they really are nice. Heck, if I wanted, I could have real glass cut. But why? You can't tell it's not glass. 

Thank goodness for one bargain amidst this expensive job!!

Also, I picked out and ordered the ceiling fans for two bedrooms.
This one is for Mindy's room that will go perfectly with the black and white toile. I guess it will forever be called her room although it's really just another guest room now. Okay, she still has a lot of crap in the closet--which is going to be boxed and moved to the attic soon--like next weekend! We've enlisted the help of the girls for that.

This one will be for the other bedroom. Both fans are retractable and have a remote controller.

I went out shopping last week with my friend, Christy, who is handling the job. After a few hours, my head was spinning with all I have to do. Really, it's like moving! We have to get everything boxed up because we're getting new carpeting too. SO. MUCH. WORK! 

All I want to do is pick out and decorate. I don't really want to do all the work involved. Oh well, it'll get done and it will be worth it! The only problem, is that now I'm wondering if we should just go ahead and paint the entire upstairs including the hallway too. I'm too tired to think about it.












Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Travel Tuesday

By the time you read this, I'll be in St. Louis. I have the week planned with family. 

My favorite cousin, Chrissy is picking me up--I'm flying this time. We'll have breakfast together and a couple hours before she drops me off at Uncle Tony's. We'll visit Aunt Marie in the nursing home and have lunch together. 

After lunch, he'll either drop me off at Janet's or she will pick me up. My sister, Jeanne will meet up with us and we'll head to Salem to spend a few days with our twin sisters, Janice and Jennifer. They have a couple days in the country planned for us. We'll walk around the farm, browse the antique shops downtown Salem, eat out some, play poker, drink and just hang out--pretty typical sister's trip. Oh, and visit with all the dogs! 5 of them. Hmm, let's see if I can remember their names: Lola and Mugsy and Wilbur and ? and ?. Okay, that stands to reason, I have a personal relationship with Lola and Mugsy. I'll be interested to see if they remember me!

I'm really looking forward to it. I was in St. Louis for 2 weeks in June. That was the longest I've stayed at one time since---well, since moving away January 1st, 1977!! 

I manage to get home a few times a year. It's always a whirlwind trip as I try to see everybody important to me. Just a very few times, I've been able to work in some old friends. Usually, my main focus is on family. And now that includes the "littles." I really want to see them when I'm in town.

Even though I'm gone this week, I've pre-planned a few posts. You know me. I always have a lot to say and share!

"What I Buy Wednesday" coming up tomorrow!