Hi,
happy Friday the 13th, for those of you who loved the movie, are afraid of black cats, or don't have a calendar.
We are about to embark on our vacation. There is a bit of a 'Marshall Plan' involved in getting going but that is to be expected in our home. Starting this afternoon we sill have to:
A) pick up a rental car (we need to drop it off at the JFK airport Saturday)
B) attend an 8 o'clock theatre performance in Princeton tonight
C) drive up northern New Jersey to stay at my mother-in-law's house over night (she lives closer to JFK than we do)
D) get up at the crack of dawn Saturday and get our sleepy butts to JFK for our flight to Puerto Rico
E) dinner with an old G.E. buddy of Marshalls' in San Juan Saturday night. Marshall is all excited about eating Puerto Rican 'mufungo' again.
F) Sunday we finally get on our ship and unpack for the next two weeks..... ahhhhhhhhhhhh!
We are sailing out of San Juan at 8:30pm with my brother Eric, sister-in-law Sherry and about 3400 other assorted guests on a Royal Caribbean Cruise. We port in St. Thomas and St. Maartin before setting out, across the Atlantic to the Canary Islands, Portugal and finally Spain. I have been waiting since September for this event and I can't believe it's finally happening. Everything is packed, checked and double-checked. The house-sitter is arranged so the plants get watered and the garbage is taken out. My swimmers have all been notified that I will be AWOL for two weeks, please do not drown before I get back. The bills have all been paid, taxes have been taken care of in two countries (Canada & USA). I am officially on holiday time as of 6:00pm this evening. I will not have a dish to clean, a meal to cook, or a bed to make up and I plan to relish in every moment of domestic freedom.
All I have to do is daily Yoga, watch my food level of consumption and enjoy the ride. There will be Eric's birthday celebration in the middle of the Atlantic to rock the boat, but other than that I'm hoping for a smooth sail and favorable winds. The journey begins..... ciao
xox
m
Day Lily!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Sewing Maven
Hi,
I just wanted to brag about what a sewing maven ("expert" in Yiddish) I have finally become. Marshall arranged for me to get some silk from India. I wanted to make head scarves and asked for some 'cheap saris'. What I got were five different, very expensive, children's sized saris.... too beautiful (and heavy) to make into scarves so I have to do something else with all this silk. I finished off the last project yesterday in record time. I can now do French seams in my sleep. The handkerchief edging is a breeze and my hand beading should be on the run ways in a Paris fashion show.... am I a blow-heart or what!
Now all I need is a place to wear all this new clothing to.... Indian silk outfits are not something I can just throw on and to the gym in. I ended up with 3 tops (2 are the same pattern) a pair of shorts (what am I going to do with silk short? Boxing of course!) and a wrap around skirt. Al least I had a project to keep my busy the last couple of months and by the end of it I was actually enjoying sewing.... something I never thought I'd hear myself say.
Marshall's gift wasn't just the silk from India, it also was the re-emergence of my sewing skills. My grandfather was a tailor who taught me to use a sewing machine when I was about 6 years old. I couldn't reach the treadle peddle so I would sit in his lap running material through the needle as he worded the treadle. I heard his voice every stitch of the way through my projects..... especially when I messed something up and had to rip it out. I'm really good at ripping out, let me tell you!
Look out Christian Dior.
xox
m
I just wanted to brag about what a sewing maven ("expert" in Yiddish) I have finally become. Marshall arranged for me to get some silk from India. I wanted to make head scarves and asked for some 'cheap saris'. What I got were five different, very expensive, children's sized saris.... too beautiful (and heavy) to make into scarves so I have to do something else with all this silk. I finished off the last project yesterday in record time. I can now do French seams in my sleep. The handkerchief edging is a breeze and my hand beading should be on the run ways in a Paris fashion show.... am I a blow-heart or what!
Now all I need is a place to wear all this new clothing to.... Indian silk outfits are not something I can just throw on and to the gym in. I ended up with 3 tops (2 are the same pattern) a pair of shorts (what am I going to do with silk short? Boxing of course!) and a wrap around skirt. Al least I had a project to keep my busy the last couple of months and by the end of it I was actually enjoying sewing.... something I never thought I'd hear myself say.
Marshall's gift wasn't just the silk from India, it also was the re-emergence of my sewing skills. My grandfather was a tailor who taught me to use a sewing machine when I was about 6 years old. I couldn't reach the treadle peddle so I would sit in his lap running material through the needle as he worded the treadle. I heard his voice every stitch of the way through my projects..... especially when I messed something up and had to rip it out. I'm really good at ripping out, let me tell you!
Look out Christian Dior.
xox
m
Sunday, April 1, 2012
April Fool
Hi,
it's the jokers day of the year. Are you planning a prank? I miss the elementary school days of plotting the official "April Fool's Day" joke on the teacher.
Silly words on the blackboard: blackboards don't exist any more, they're now 'white boards' or electronic boards... or no boards at all, only individual lap tops. How do you write something in front of the whole class and get a laugh from the teacher that way?
Hide the chalk board erasers: no blackboard means no fuzzy felt erasers either to use as prank props.
Glue on the teachers pencil: Forget it. They have note pads and stylists... ruining a $400 IPad is not the same as gumming up a 98cent lead pencil.
Whoopee cushions: I found one in a dollar store recently but it had so many warning labels it was a law suit waiting to happen. Did you know that "this is not a toy" and that it should be kept out of the reach of children under 8 years old? Really? Who over the age of 8 even wants one?
Peanut butter sandwich with hot peppers: forget it. No peanut products allowed in schools, ever! Too many kids have allergies.... or neurotic parents who think their kids might be allergic.
Tying up shoe laces together under the desk: No one has shoes with laces, Velcro only. They have no idea how to tie up shoes any more. So much for watching the king bully of the class go for a face plant.
What are kids left with? Not much. Can they leave prank messages on each others phones? Not during school hours. Fire SillyBands at one another? No way, someone may loose an eye. Tie up the skipping rope to the flag pole. They have no idea what jump rope is and I haven't seen a flag pole around here, except for the baseball field and it's not open for use yet. I think the fun is gone from the April Fool's Day and I don't know how to get it back. Good thing it's falling on Sunday this year and the pressure is off to zing your friends or the teacher.... next year will have to wait.
xox
m
it's the jokers day of the year. Are you planning a prank? I miss the elementary school days of plotting the official "April Fool's Day" joke on the teacher.
Silly words on the blackboard: blackboards don't exist any more, they're now 'white boards' or electronic boards... or no boards at all, only individual lap tops. How do you write something in front of the whole class and get a laugh from the teacher that way?
Hide the chalk board erasers: no blackboard means no fuzzy felt erasers either to use as prank props.
Glue on the teachers pencil: Forget it. They have note pads and stylists... ruining a $400 IPad is not the same as gumming up a 98cent lead pencil.
Whoopee cushions: I found one in a dollar store recently but it had so many warning labels it was a law suit waiting to happen. Did you know that "this is not a toy" and that it should be kept out of the reach of children under 8 years old? Really? Who over the age of 8 even wants one?
Peanut butter sandwich with hot peppers: forget it. No peanut products allowed in schools, ever! Too many kids have allergies.... or neurotic parents who think their kids might be allergic.
Tying up shoe laces together under the desk: No one has shoes with laces, Velcro only. They have no idea how to tie up shoes any more. So much for watching the king bully of the class go for a face plant.
What are kids left with? Not much. Can they leave prank messages on each others phones? Not during school hours. Fire SillyBands at one another? No way, someone may loose an eye. Tie up the skipping rope to the flag pole. They have no idea what jump rope is and I haven't seen a flag pole around here, except for the baseball field and it's not open for use yet. I think the fun is gone from the April Fool's Day and I don't know how to get it back. Good thing it's falling on Sunday this year and the pressure is off to zing your friends or the teacher.... next year will have to wait.
xox
m
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