September 17th

Oh...

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people.

survivors

(I do believe that's a backdrop.)

I will be on my way to Positano on September 17th. Uncle B will be with my mom and the boys, here in Tuvalu.
Do you suppose he'd guest post for us?

I'm here!

There's a pile of laundry at the foot of my bed. There's another in the dryer - I'm shooting for clean pants for Middle to wear to work. It's Friday and I'm going to have my finger looked at and then take Youngest to a doctor's appointment. (My finger is better but doesn't bend properly and I cannot get my rings on. I know if I don't go to the doctor, because it is better, that it will turn out to be some kind of very complicated fracture and never be the same. Alternatively, I know if I do go to the doctor I will merely pay the co-pay and he will tell me that it's doing fine and will take more time to heal completely. I know this.)

It feels a little like Fall outside, this morning. There are fewer crickets and it is much cooler. We are expecting a storm.
Yesterday, with friends, on our way to get lunch, we noticed that people are starting to wear their September clothes. We saw a woman in a blazer crossing the street and today K put on a dark shirt which only confirmed my Fall-is-on-the-horizon feelings.

Tonight K and I have to be at a bar in town at midnight. I don't know how I'm going to do it! If I am ever awake at midnight I am certainly reclining. Our friend W is playing there with his band. A farewell performance as our friend W has met the love of his life and she lives in Paris. He's been going back and forth for nearly a year now (exchanging saucisson for rides to the airport from us) and they are going to live together there. Part of my reluctance about tonight is the trip into town and the driving and the hour - but really it's probably got more to do with the fact that I will miss our friend W terribly and don't want him to live in France...though we are tremendously happy for him.

Besides, at the stroke of midnight K and I will celebrate our wedding anniversary. 27 years.
If I write more than that I will surely cry.
I cannot believe my good fortune.

whew, Wednesday

It's been a busy week - and it's only half done!
Yesterday I went with a bunch of people from my office to appear on camera on one of the morning shows to promote a company project, which involved being in town at 7am. Needless to say, I was wiped out at the end of the day.
Today I have to put together a business trip for my boss (many, many appointments) and do some organizing.
My point is: read me here! I've written about boots. Scroll down and see what I'd do with a hundred dollars!

Meanwhile, I'm also going to be helping Middle figure out his college schedule. It looks to me like he has classes on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays - but I'm sure he'll be very busy on the other days, right???

I want something I want*

I get about a dozen emails a day from people who want to sell me things - or offer me things to blog about. Most of them are directed to mommybloggers, a group I was never really part of as I started blogging when my youngest child was ten and I never wrote about toilet training him. But I digress. Some of the emails are from my friends at Anthropologie and J Crew and Old Navy. Most of the time I delete them before I even look at them but yesterday I actually looked at the one from J Crew.

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I don't know Jenna but I have to say: I think I like her "picks."

I like the blouse up in the top corner very much. And though I told K that I'd like to see it off the model ("I'd like to see it off the model too," he replied dryly.) I think I need to see it ON ME.
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Anyway, I like it.
Ditto this jacket -

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- which actually looks worse on the model.

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But it could be the formal shorts that are throwing me.

I like these very very much.

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Just a tiny bit of ruffle. Black or gray?! Lovely.

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OOH! Oh. Love.
I think that's twill tape. I have a weakness and a great fondness for twill tape.

I
am
done.

Maybe there will be a sale?
Maybe I should unsubscribe?

Sigh.


*When Oldest was tiny he would say this when he was hungry.

waves



Such emotion my post of the hideous shoe sparked!
I don't like them anymore and I agree with everyone. Orthopedic! Clunky! Adorable! Good with tights and long legs and a short skirt. (I have one of those things covered.)

Yesterday we decided to visit the ocean.
I say "visit" as there were stern warnings everywhere regarding staying OUT of the ocean.
A typhoon, a monsoon, a maelstrom (well, maybe not an actual maelstrom) was off shore and we were wondering how it might effect our beach.

sign

It was a muggy morning when we set out.
We had tracked the weather on our laptops.

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We were equipped with camera gear and a couple of towels and some sweatshirts.

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Our excitement built with every sign.
It built even more when we saw dozens of cars lined up along the dunes.
We were turned away, after being allowed across the channel, at our favorite beach and circled back to the surfer beach.

We got a spot in the parking lot (unusual), crossed the road, climbed over the dunes and took it all in.
The sky was gray and full of clouds. The air was steamy. The waves were wonderful.

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(It seems to me, and I've told you this before, I think, that photos of the ocean are like photos of fireworks. One never gets the full impact of the sight.)

We put down our bags and towels and beach blanket just as Middle was saying: I think the water comes up here....
And, lo, he was right. Seconds later, a rather large wave hit the shore at a distance from us and six inches of ocean rushed at us rather quickly. Middle, fully dressed and carrying the expensive equipment, yelped something like: told ya! and most of our things - K's shoes, the sweatshirts, the blanket, were swamped and sent up into the dunes - where we scrambled too.

From that vantage point we could watch the comings and goings - of both the crowd and the sea.

crowd

The lifeguards worked hard to keep people away from the shoreline but the crowd would spill down off the dunes.

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And what was the most fun to watch?
The surfers of course.

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More than a dozen of them wiping out, paddling (with great difficulty)or making long beautiful rides from one end of the beach to the other (to great applause and cheering).

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It was a great show.

surfers

On land and at sea.

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And my pictures are nice...

But Middle's are spectacular.














allrightallrightallright!

Bourbon Peaches*.

3 pounds ripe peaches
3 cups sugar
about 1/2 cup Bourbon

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Using the tip of a paring knife, make a shallow "x" in the bottom of each peach. Add the peaches to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute. Remove the peaches and plunge them into ice water and then peel off the skins. Finally, pit them and cut them into quarters.

2. In another pot, combine 3 cups of water with the sugar and bring to a boil. Add the peaches and cook until soft.

3. Scald the jars and lids that you will be using for the peaches. (Did I not mention that you need a couple of ball jars with lids? You can dip them briefly in the water you used to boil the peaches with the "x"s on them - it only takes a minute.)

4. Gently pack the cooked peaches into the jars.

5. Boil the leftover peachy syrup until it thickens slightly, then spoon it over the peaches in the jars - but DON'T fill the jars up, just cover the peaches with syrup so you can pour BOURBON over the top of the peaches until there is about 1/4" of room left. Wipe the rims of the jars and put on the lids - tighten the lids gently.

6. Put the jars on a rack in a big pot with 2 -3 inches of water in it and cover. Bring to a boil over high heat then lower to medium heat and gently boil for 20 minutes. Remove the cover and wait about 5 minutes before removing the jars.

7. Let the jars cool, untouched, for about 4 to 6 hours. Store in a cool, dark place for up to a year (AS IF). Refrigerate after opening.

*This recipe - an ancient one from The New York Times - called for brandy but we didn't have any.

There you are. It's the perfect recipe for a 100 degree day what with all that boiling!

What have we been eating?
Well, I made manicotti last night and it turned out pretty well. Of course, me with a pastry bag is a sight to behold.
K has pretty much perfected a hot sauce that Vida bought for us and we'll be slathering that on some chicken tonight.
Oldest is in love with Melona Bars, which the rest of us regard as frozen melon gum.
And, lastly, I bought and cut up a melon yesterday which I thought was a honeydew...but inside it was bright orange, darker than a cantaloupe, and very very sweet.
What WAS it?

Thunder and heatheatheat here - the beaches are closed due to an offshore storm but I'm hoping we can go over tomorrow as there's nothing I like better than seeing the sea churned by a monsoon.

Have a good Saturday - we're off, guess where? To the supermarket.

for Mary

rose

my day off, in bullets

  • Drove Middle to the station (can you hear that song Old Times in your head?).
  • Threw in a load of laundry.
  • Scoured the cooktop. (this took a very long time)
  • Emptied the door of the refrigerator and waited for the repairmen.
  • Fielded 250 anxiety ridden phone calls from Oldest who was doing courier work for a guy he works for when the muffler fell off his jalopy.
  • Made Bourbon Peaches.
  • Made Angel Food Cake to put under peaches.
  • Scoured Youngest's room.
  • Moved laundry.
  • Fetched Oldest from the mechanic's shop.
  • Folded laundry.
  • Vacuumed 1st floor.
  • Made Bacon, Peas and Ricotta with pasta for dinner.
  • Had birthday dinner with the boys.
  • Cleaned up after the birthday dinner with the boys.
  • Collapsed in bed.
Some days it's easier to work in an office.

detour

One day last week I was tempted down a different street on my way to work.

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I've walked this street before, as a teenager.

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My family would spend weekends in town and shop and visit museums and...

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my dad would bring my mom to this very street.

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My parents would browse and shop and buy and I would roll my eyes and heave and sigh and want to head uptown. Or downtown. OR to Serendipty. OR ANYWHERE but there. Plants!
Boring!

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But, last week, on my way to work, that street felt very different.

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The air felt cooler. (see my splint?!)

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The atmosphere was bustling but in a happy way.

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Look at that delivery!

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The air smelled fresh and green. (yes, air can smell green)

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Inspiration was all around me.

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It was like another world.

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By the time I had walked to the end of the street,

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I felt rejuvenated.

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And it was only 8:15.

notes from sunday night, on Tuesday (yes, I know)

I have to say: I love mimi smartypants. I've always read her - I have, and she is brilliant.

I'm sitting here eating my very favorite new thing which is: roasted and salted almonds with dried apricots and there is just NO snack like it and it is salty and sweet and perfect and DO NOT even tell me how many calories are in it because ICANNOTHEARYOU.

We drove many long hours today, to attend the rib cooking festival thing that our friend S participates in and we are tired and dirty and it was well over 90 degrees out there. Oldest had a raging sore throat and begged off but the other two came along and it was only a little fun and mostly thankless and hotter than H-E-double hockey sticks.

I finally tried that Fage yogurt stuff. I bought the cherry version and, I'll admit, I was a little slow about the whole fruit-delivery system. I could not understand HOW you get the cherry stuff into the yogurt stuff. I'm an ass. Also? I'm pronouncing it FAGE, as in: rhymes with PAGE. Okay? Okay.

(Also, the apricots CANNOT be organic as THOSE don't taste as good and are a funny color.)

Isn't the internet a nice place? A certain reader, from Mulberry Market, sent me a very nice gift and I am touched by how kind people ARE. Of course, for reasons unknown to me, I had assumed that Mulberry Market was a purveyor of produce. Once again? I'm an ass.

Over the weekend K and I watched The Man Who Came To Dinner. Aside from the fact that it was a rather predictable 1940's comedy that was obviously a stage play first, it was funny and fun. I had something else interesting to say about it but I have been distracted and forgot what it was. An ass again!

SOME of us have been walking around imitating Meryl imitating Julia: What should I dooooo? In time, I hope to hone it to perfection and add it to my repertoire. I do an EXCELLENT I had a faahrrrrm once, in Africa.

It's been well over 90 degrees here in Tuvalu, which while it is to be expected, is not a lot of fun for me. I like cold weather AND I'm getting bored with my summer duds. I'm starting to crave boots and sweaters. But FIRST I have to go to Italy with my husband. And what does my husband say I need to bring to Italy? A bathing suit, a black dress and a pair of shoes. Can I limit myself? We'll see....

It's hot, I stole this from Olive's mom


My five favorite beverages:

unsweetened brewed iced tea

iced decaf coffee

white wine of most varieties

gin and tonic (haven't had many of these this summer)

room temperature Ito En Teas Tea


My five least favorite beverages:

Dr. Pepper

Sake

Riesling

bottled, sweetened iced tea

lite beer


Beverages I can take or leave:

Scotch

milk

water

chai

herbal tea


Beverages I miss:

grape Kool-Aid

vanilla malteds

frozen strawberry daiquiris

Molson

chocolate milk



What I shun:

smoothies


Noticeably absent from this list:

mixed cocktails


Beverage preferences that baffle me:

bubble tea

anything skim

lite beer

artificially sweetened sodas

energy drinks


Recent beverage disappointment:

I can't hold my BlogHerTinis.

It's Oldest's birthday, drink a toast to him!

viewing habits

Him: anything scifi
Me: anything related to fashion

Him: movies wherein, for reasons unknown to us, breasts will be shown
Me: movies wherein, for reasons unknown to us, I will cry

Him: rockumentaries
Me: mockumentaries

Him: anything scifi
Me: House Hunters International

Him: lots of shooting and guns and the end of the world
Me: "a nice cooking show"

Him: James Bond, Star Wars, Star Trek, Philip K. Dick
Me: Jane Austen, Say Yes To The Dress, Housewives, Anthony Bourdain

Neither of us: pageants, car shows, musicals, cop shows, medical shows
Both of us: Jacques Pepin.

a tale of two catalogs

Hey! Remember when I used to post all kinds of meaningful things? no? well how about when I used to post about my mail? My catalogue mail, you silly....Wasn't that fun? Didn't that used to be fun?!
Well, just the other day, I received two catalogues (yes, I spell it that way) that simply could not be ignored.
I thought you might like to have my thoughts on them.

They are both children's catalogues which, as you can imagine, is kind of an odd thing. I haven't purchased any children's clothing in a long long time - but perhaps these companies are seeking new audiences?
Anyway, the first one was from Tea.
I think that's sort of a funny name for a kid's clothing line, but whatever.
I actually like some of their things -

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If I ever dressed little girls, in colors, and florals (I'm a little dizzy) then I might have looked at these frocks.

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The copy says: Japanese street style. I'm not so sure but I think some people might believe that.

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Of course I'd like this sweater for ME.

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And I would like this little girl as well.
Funny thing, I tend to only look at girl clothing when I browse like this.
I guess it's because I've seen plenty of this

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not that he, and his tiny tee shirt aren't adorable too.

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Cute!
The prices seem reasonable, the outfits are sweet and they aren't especially commercial looking, which I like, so barring any bad reviews, I'd buy something for someone from Tea.

Ah, you're thinking, there was a second offering in the mail that day, wasn't there?
Oh.
Yes.
I received the Wishcraft catalogue as well.
The Wishcraft catalogue is the polar opposite of the Tea catalogue as far as I can tell...

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Wishcraft sells costumes - and, by the way, just about all of them are available in adult sizes as well...you know...if you find yourself taken by any of these.

I was fortunate enough to have Middle with me while perusing this one. We know this is,
technically, a flamingo costume, but Middle and I sort of feel it leans more toward Vegas showgirl. In either case, we find it comical. (And we were pleased that it was not revealing.)

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This Ghostly Girl outfit is something, isn't it? It's even better with the cape:

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Unlike the selections from Tea, I cannot see myself dressing a child in
any of these - though I admire them as it appears to me that they are well done.

I'll bet little girls are drooling over this stuff -

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Fur trim!

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A little bit over the top, though, yes?

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Crossing the line? I think so....

Sadly, the boy's line isn't nearly as impressive:

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None of my boys would have gone for this.

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Middle deemed this pirate "too chauncey."
And this?

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Is the poorest excuse for an Indiana Jones costume I have EVER seen.

Halloween is always a good time to humiliate infants.

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Most babies look a bit like Yoda to begin with, IMO.

And - if you're dressing the infant, you may as well bring the dog.

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(I'm wondering what's in her basket.)

So, there you are.
My mail from Tuesday.

You're welcome.