As I mentioned, Sherri and Jay made a spontaneous trip to Ohio on Thursday. We had a lovely, quiet Friday and Saturday, full of shopping, baking, eating, movie-watching, perfume-testing, laughing, exercising, lunching with relatives, etc.
On Sunday, I got up at my usual 6:20, and the water was out. I tried flipping the breaker, to no avail. When Sherri woke up, I sent her down to the basement, and explained what had happened, then put some empty bottles in my car and headed out to the folks' house.
Mom was out riding her bike, but I got in the back door to the garage, and started filling water bottles at the utility sink. I was almost done when Mom got home, and she invited the three of us to spend the day at her house. I wound up not going anywhere, although Jay and Sherri went to Barnes and Noble and picked up dinner at the Olive Garden. Somehow, throughout the day, the pump came back to life enough for us to be able to flush toilets, although not shower or wash dishes.
Monday morning, I took a shower at the Natatorium, then went on to work. While I was there, I talked to Dave, the well pump guy, and he said he'd meet me at the house at 12:30. It wound up being closer to 2:00, but he replaced the switch, and didn't have to dig anything up, yay! As soon as he was gone, I told Jay and Sherri to have the long showers they both wanted, and then it was time for a nap, then dinner, then a quick trip to World Market.
Tuesday morning I dropped Jay off at the Nat and went on to work, then headed for a local nursery, where I picked up six pink-flowered lavender plants. When I came home, Jay walked Little Miss and Sherri and I made pesto. We also discussed books and knitting and gardening. She's taken up knitting again, so I can count that and BPAL as my enabling successes for the visit.
While I did very much miss Imp and Rob and Dampy, it was nice to have Sherri and Jay all to myself. I wished they lived closer.
Showing posts with label Perfoom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Perfoom. Show all posts
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Washington, D.C., Thursday, May 20th, 2010
Mom slept in until almost nine, which is very unusual for her. I was up at 6:30, so I made coffee in the room, and then went downstairs and had a smoke. I had four books and my knitting, and it was nice out, warm but not hot, so I was in no hurry to make Mom get up and entertain me. One thing I had noticed was that the coffee for the room was one of those single-shot pod dealios, and we had one regular, which I made and drank, and one decaf. I didn't think it was fair that Mom wouldn't get coffee just because I woke up first, so on one of my trips down to smoke, I stopped at the front desk and asked for another regular packet.
"That will be $3.50."
*me blinking*
"Okay. I'll take it."
Desk clerk: "If you wait until tomorrow, Housekeeping will put another one in your room."
*me blinking some more*
"There are two of us, and I just drank the regular coffee."
Desk clerk: "But you get one free one every day, you don't have to buy another one."
*me giving up*
"Just sell me the coffee."
At that point, the desk clerk broke off to answer the phone, and I gathered from her discussion that I could exchange the decaf packet for regular. I confirmed that with her, and said I'd drop it off later if she'd give me the regular now. Then she went and looked and said they were out of regular, but she'd send Housekeeping up to trade.
*eyeroll*
When Mom did get up, I showed her how to work the coffeepot, she was appalled at the charge for additional coffee, and after she got ready, we went down and had another cup of coffee each at the restaurant, and I had a bagel.
Cost of the coffee in the restaurant? $3.50.
We walked to the Metro again, and after consulting our Fodor's and the wall map, bought a pair of day passes and headed for the Smithsonian. There were tons of kids on school trips and lots of amazing exhibits. In the one of Julia Child's kitchen, there was a photo of her bent over the stove in her first apartment with her husband, which really brought home to me how tall she was. In the Inaugural Gowns exhibit, Mom and I laughed about how Betty Ford's formal gown (non-inaugural, of course) was a lovely yellow and green brocade with a hidden zipper up the front. The 1970s have much to answer for! The First Ladies exhibit had my favorite piece in the entire museum. Julia Grant actually had a silver house for her perfume! There was also a fascinating exhibit with one house that existed from the Colonial Period to the 1960s and five of the families who lived in it. We had lunch in the cafeteria, which was good but overpriced, and then saw the Star-Spangled Banner exhibit before visiting the gift shop and heading back to the hotel. When we left the subway, I clocked my right knee (see? Recurring theme...) on the escalator handrail.
As we walked from the subway to the hotel, I suggested that we take the hotel shuttle to the airport and catch the Metro from the airport stop. Mom agreed, and we went upstairs and cleaned up and changed. We caught the 5:00 shuttle, then took the Metro waaaaaaaaaaay up north to U Street. When we exited the Metro, all we had to do was turn around to find the Lincoln Theater, where our show was. The Fodor's book had said that U Street had lots of shopping and restaurants, so we set off to find them. We saw lots of restaurants, but only two drugstores. Mom needed aspirin, so we stopped at CVS, and then we wandered up and down the street looking at menus. There are lots of Ethiopian restaurants on U Street, but we wound up having dinner at a little bistro where they asked if we had reservations but gave us a table even though we didn't. Mom had her second veggie burger of the day, and I had a salad and smoked gouda macaroni and cheese.
After dinner, we walked down U Street and then turned down a side street, where there were a few more shops. We amused ourselves in a place full of kitchen gadgets, awwwed over a patient from a storefront veterinary hospital being walked (a Golden Retriever with one leg in a cast!) and strolled through a plant display which included several mock orange bushes, the scent of which took us both back to Savannah. One thing I saw but didn't quite manage to figure out was several street vendors with multiple bottles of essential or perfume oils. I couldn't tell if they were custom-blending perfumes, or if it was more of a gris-gris kind of thing, but I thought of Beth at BPAL and was very intrigued.
The review Mom and I saw at the Lincoln Theater, Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies was absolutely incredible. The music was gorgeous, of course, well-performed and the dance was amazing. Maurice Hines has incredible talent and stage presentation, and there were two teenaged brothers, fifteen and seventeen, who just rocked the whole house every time they took the stage. It was a long show, so when we left the theater, it was about 10:30, and it was close to 11:00 when we arrived at the airport. After waiting a few minutes, we decided we'd missed the shuttle to the hotel (we hadn't) and took a cab. Since the fare for ten minutes was fifteen dollars, Mom was pleased we hadn't take a cab all the way from U Street!
I did take off my makeup and brush my teeth before falling into bed Thursday night, but that's about all I managed to do.
"That will be $3.50."
*me blinking*
"Okay. I'll take it."
Desk clerk: "If you wait until tomorrow, Housekeeping will put another one in your room."
*me blinking some more*
"There are two of us, and I just drank the regular coffee."
Desk clerk: "But you get one free one every day, you don't have to buy another one."
*me giving up*
"Just sell me the coffee."
At that point, the desk clerk broke off to answer the phone, and I gathered from her discussion that I could exchange the decaf packet for regular. I confirmed that with her, and said I'd drop it off later if she'd give me the regular now. Then she went and looked and said they were out of regular, but she'd send Housekeeping up to trade.
*eyeroll*
When Mom did get up, I showed her how to work the coffeepot, she was appalled at the charge for additional coffee, and after she got ready, we went down and had another cup of coffee each at the restaurant, and I had a bagel.
Cost of the coffee in the restaurant? $3.50.
We walked to the Metro again, and after consulting our Fodor's and the wall map, bought a pair of day passes and headed for the Smithsonian. There were tons of kids on school trips and lots of amazing exhibits. In the one of Julia Child's kitchen, there was a photo of her bent over the stove in her first apartment with her husband, which really brought home to me how tall she was. In the Inaugural Gowns exhibit, Mom and I laughed about how Betty Ford's formal gown (non-inaugural, of course) was a lovely yellow and green brocade with a hidden zipper up the front. The 1970s have much to answer for! The First Ladies exhibit had my favorite piece in the entire museum. Julia Grant actually had a silver house for her perfume! There was also a fascinating exhibit with one house that existed from the Colonial Period to the 1960s and five of the families who lived in it. We had lunch in the cafeteria, which was good but overpriced, and then saw the Star-Spangled Banner exhibit before visiting the gift shop and heading back to the hotel. When we left the subway, I clocked my right knee (see? Recurring theme...) on the escalator handrail.
As we walked from the subway to the hotel, I suggested that we take the hotel shuttle to the airport and catch the Metro from the airport stop. Mom agreed, and we went upstairs and cleaned up and changed. We caught the 5:00 shuttle, then took the Metro waaaaaaaaaaay up north to U Street. When we exited the Metro, all we had to do was turn around to find the Lincoln Theater, where our show was. The Fodor's book had said that U Street had lots of shopping and restaurants, so we set off to find them. We saw lots of restaurants, but only two drugstores. Mom needed aspirin, so we stopped at CVS, and then we wandered up and down the street looking at menus. There are lots of Ethiopian restaurants on U Street, but we wound up having dinner at a little bistro where they asked if we had reservations but gave us a table even though we didn't. Mom had her second veggie burger of the day, and I had a salad and smoked gouda macaroni and cheese.
After dinner, we walked down U Street and then turned down a side street, where there were a few more shops. We amused ourselves in a place full of kitchen gadgets, awwwed over a patient from a storefront veterinary hospital being walked (a Golden Retriever with one leg in a cast!) and strolled through a plant display which included several mock orange bushes, the scent of which took us both back to Savannah. One thing I saw but didn't quite manage to figure out was several street vendors with multiple bottles of essential or perfume oils. I couldn't tell if they were custom-blending perfumes, or if it was more of a gris-gris kind of thing, but I thought of Beth at BPAL and was very intrigued.
The review Mom and I saw at the Lincoln Theater, Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies was absolutely incredible. The music was gorgeous, of course, well-performed and the dance was amazing. Maurice Hines has incredible talent and stage presentation, and there were two teenaged brothers, fifteen and seventeen, who just rocked the whole house every time they took the stage. It was a long show, so when we left the theater, it was about 10:30, and it was close to 11:00 when we arrived at the airport. After waiting a few minutes, we decided we'd missed the shuttle to the hotel (we hadn't) and took a cab. Since the fare for ten minutes was fifteen dollars, Mom was pleased we hadn't take a cab all the way from U Street!
I did take off my makeup and brush my teeth before falling into bed Thursday night, but that's about all I managed to do.
Monday, April 26, 2010
When your day starts with a live slug on your foot...
don't give up, it might actually get better.
This morning when I let Littlefoot in and Little Miss out, I felt kind of a tickly sensation on one of my feet after I closed the door. I looked down and saw a slug on my foot.
A. SLUG.
ON.
MY.
FOOT!
I proceeded to have what Patrick McManus describe as a Modified Stationary Panic, which involves jumping up and down and screaming, in this case, screaming "GETITOFFME!"
That's an exceptionally silly thing to scream when you live alone except for two dogs, one of which is outside and neither of which have opposable thumbs. Eventually, I did what any sensible person would do--I scraped the slug into the wastebasket, immediately removed and triple-knotted the bag, and then threw it out into the driveway. After that, I rinsed my foot with hydrogen peroxide and vomited.
Hell of a start to my week, and it got even worse at work. Saturday's mail was waiting for me, and it included a letter from the VA regarding one of our guardianships, telling us about the new procedures the VA has decided to start. It's not enough that all accounts going forward must have every single bank statement stamped or sealed by the bank each month, it must be done retroactively for accounts turned in as of 01/01/10. Bastards. Couldn't they go find some actual veterans to, I don't know, help? Instead, they mess around nit-picking the people who are actually helping.
Fortunately, things improved. I worked half a day for Mom, then headed north to have lunch and network a bit with my former co-workers. I got hugs from everyone, reference letters from two of the attorneys, and a compliment from another one. When she hugged me, she said, "Ooooh, you smell good, like flowers and stuff." I was wearing BPAL Swank on top of Skindecent's Sultana dupe, so lots of fruit and not many flowers, but it was still a nice compliment. We had a lovely long lunch at Zoup, then I stopped at the Lush store on my way to Maresche's house. Even though she'd left lunch before me and I'd spent about 30 minutes at Lush, I beat her to the house, so I dragged the Annabelle hydrangea she and her husband had dug up to my car and stuffed it in the trunk. I also got the trunk closed! Yay me! When Maresche got home, I had just enough time to point out her birthday present (a birdbath) and hit the road before rush hour peaked.
I came home, unloaded the hydrangea, which I will plant tomorrow after work, and let the dogs out and in with no slug-related ickiness.
So even Mondays can be newts and get better.
This morning when I let Littlefoot in and Little Miss out, I felt kind of a tickly sensation on one of my feet after I closed the door. I looked down and saw a slug on my foot.
A. SLUG.
ON.
MY.
FOOT!
I proceeded to have what Patrick McManus describe as a Modified Stationary Panic, which involves jumping up and down and screaming, in this case, screaming "GETITOFFME!"
That's an exceptionally silly thing to scream when you live alone except for two dogs, one of which is outside and neither of which have opposable thumbs. Eventually, I did what any sensible person would do--I scraped the slug into the wastebasket, immediately removed and triple-knotted the bag, and then threw it out into the driveway. After that, I rinsed my foot with hydrogen peroxide and vomited.
Hell of a start to my week, and it got even worse at work. Saturday's mail was waiting for me, and it included a letter from the VA regarding one of our guardianships, telling us about the new procedures the VA has decided to start. It's not enough that all accounts going forward must have every single bank statement stamped or sealed by the bank each month, it must be done retroactively for accounts turned in as of 01/01/10. Bastards. Couldn't they go find some actual veterans to, I don't know, help? Instead, they mess around nit-picking the people who are actually helping.
Fortunately, things improved. I worked half a day for Mom, then headed north to have lunch and network a bit with my former co-workers. I got hugs from everyone, reference letters from two of the attorneys, and a compliment from another one. When she hugged me, she said, "Ooooh, you smell good, like flowers and stuff." I was wearing BPAL Swank on top of Skindecent's Sultana dupe, so lots of fruit and not many flowers, but it was still a nice compliment. We had a lovely long lunch at Zoup, then I stopped at the Lush store on my way to Maresche's house. Even though she'd left lunch before me and I'd spent about 30 minutes at Lush, I beat her to the house, so I dragged the Annabelle hydrangea she and her husband had dug up to my car and stuffed it in the trunk. I also got the trunk closed! Yay me! When Maresche got home, I had just enough time to point out her birthday present (a birdbath) and hit the road before rush hour peaked.
I came home, unloaded the hydrangea, which I will plant tomorrow after work, and let the dogs out and in with no slug-related ickiness.
So even Mondays can be newts and get better.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Something new
I finally decided to get off my butt and start a second blog for all of my "girly" stuff. I'm calling it Bubbles and Baubles, and I will be using it for all the things that make me squee in an embarrassing fashion.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Beware teh Jammies, Enabler of DOOOOOM
Yes, in addition to luring Otterboyy up the Lush garden path, I've already gotten Mallie hooked on Skindecent, and the holiday season was my excuse for hooking her husband on both Lush and BPAL. If you want to know why I call him the Scarecrow, click the label for "Cast of Characters" and read the first entry. If you'd like to know why I call myself a troll, the short version is that I'm not all that fond of humanity, I like shiny things, and I'd rather live happily here under my bridge than just about anywhere else.
So the package of junk from under the bridge arrived at Casa Clemson on Tuesday, and I got a happy phone call from Mallie and Jay. The kitties would have said thank you if they weren't all nipped out, but the hoomans were still verbal. In addition to assorted Lush goodies (really, what better way to hook a masseur than with not one but two Lush massage bars?), I got Jay a bottle of Troll, which is a gorgeous clove-and-swamp BPAL. Sherri said she can't wait to smell it on him, which is the sentence every enabler wants to hear. ;)
In all fairness, I should warn my victims that it starts off simple, with a Lush product or two. Then, when I've got you hooked on smelling good, I'll lure you in to smooth, soft skin-land with sugar scrubs and it will always end in delicious niche perfumes.
Beware!
So the package of junk from under the bridge arrived at Casa Clemson on Tuesday, and I got a happy phone call from Mallie and Jay. The kitties would have said thank you if they weren't all nipped out, but the hoomans were still verbal. In addition to assorted Lush goodies (really, what better way to hook a masseur than with not one but two Lush massage bars?), I got Jay a bottle of Troll, which is a gorgeous clove-and-swamp BPAL. Sherri said she can't wait to smell it on him, which is the sentence every enabler wants to hear. ;)
In all fairness, I should warn my victims that it starts off simple, with a Lush product or two. Then, when I've got you hooked on smelling good, I'll lure you in to smooth, soft skin-land with sugar scrubs and it will always end in delicious niche perfumes.
Beware!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Heehee! Miss Jams has a bat in her hair!
That's a direct quote from Maresche, the only co-worker to notice I wore a bat barrette today because I couldn't find a green one. It was a good antidote to the rotten start of my up-and-down day.
Not cool: discovering at 11:30 last night that I was out of coffee.
Cool: having M notice my barrette.
Not cool: having a co-worker verify the stuff I'd just done and discover a lot of mistakes.
Cool: my boss being impressed that I talked to her about it and worked out a strategy for dealing with my memory/concentration problems and our busy time of year. She actually said that she was pleased I came and spoke with her about it instead of hiding from her.
Not cool: wondering how I'm going to put gas in my car and buy dog medicine before I get paid next.
Cool: selling a bottle of BPAL for just about what I paid for it, to someone who will love it more than I ever did.
Not cool: worrying about the health and happiness of several friends.
Cool: actually winning something for once! Michelle at All Lacquered Up had a drawing to see The Wizard of Oz in HD, and I was one of the winners! Yaaaay!
Now to decide what nail polish to wear...
Not cool: discovering at 11:30 last night that I was out of coffee.
Cool: having M notice my barrette.
Not cool: having a co-worker verify the stuff I'd just done and discover a lot of mistakes.
Cool: my boss being impressed that I talked to her about it and worked out a strategy for dealing with my memory/concentration problems and our busy time of year. She actually said that she was pleased I came and spoke with her about it instead of hiding from her.
Not cool: wondering how I'm going to put gas in my car and buy dog medicine before I get paid next.
Cool: selling a bottle of BPAL for just about what I paid for it, to someone who will love it more than I ever did.
Not cool: worrying about the health and happiness of several friends.
Cool: actually winning something for once! Michelle at All Lacquered Up had a drawing to see The Wizard of Oz in HD, and I was one of the winners! Yaaaay!
Now to decide what nail polish to wear...
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Sorry for the Spam and other random ramblings
If you're my friend on Goodreads, sorry for the giant e-mail with the 168 books I added to my shelves tonight. I'm down to The Last Shelf of Books, which I plan to add and pack tomorrow night.
If you're not my friend on Goodreads, why not? :P I'm Jammies there, too.
It's been a busy week at work. I got a $15 gift card for Starbucks as a reward for taking on an extra project and doing a good job, and won one of the reserved parking spaces in a random drawing. Still, I have felt like a guinea pig on a hamster wheel--I don't fit, I don't know where I'm going, and I never seem to get there.
The water-walking is really going well. I'd have to say that this is the first time I've felt that I have an exercise plan I can stick with. This Saturday will mark the first class I will miss on one of the three days I tell myself to go every week. Of course, that's because this Saturday, Mom and I will be doing the 3-mile MS Walk, followed by working together for 4 hours. Then we'll come back here and she's planning to take the rest of the wallpaper off the study walls and I am going to take a nap!
One thing that occurred to me on my way home tonight: it's still very weird to me to see a Roadway semi cab hauling Yellow trailers. Plaid Jammies worked for Roadway most of the time we were growing up, and Yellow was the big bad rival. Roadway was a pretty good employer--there were company picnics, a kickass health plan, lots of things that made it a great company for Dad to work for back then. Of course, it may just have been the times and all companies in the '70s and '80s had that level of care for their employees, but it's pretty much gone from everywhere these days.
Right now, however, I'm only interested in huffing my wrists to smell my gorgeous dandelion BPAL and heading off to bed.
If you're not my friend on Goodreads, why not? :P I'm Jammies there, too.
It's been a busy week at work. I got a $15 gift card for Starbucks as a reward for taking on an extra project and doing a good job, and won one of the reserved parking spaces in a random drawing. Still, I have felt like a guinea pig on a hamster wheel--I don't fit, I don't know where I'm going, and I never seem to get there.
The water-walking is really going well. I'd have to say that this is the first time I've felt that I have an exercise plan I can stick with. This Saturday will mark the first class I will miss on one of the three days I tell myself to go every week. Of course, that's because this Saturday, Mom and I will be doing the 3-mile MS Walk, followed by working together for 4 hours. Then we'll come back here and she's planning to take the rest of the wallpaper off the study walls and I am going to take a nap!
One thing that occurred to me on my way home tonight: it's still very weird to me to see a Roadway semi cab hauling Yellow trailers. Plaid Jammies worked for Roadway most of the time we were growing up, and Yellow was the big bad rival. Roadway was a pretty good employer--there were company picnics, a kickass health plan, lots of things that made it a great company for Dad to work for back then. Of course, it may just have been the times and all companies in the '70s and '80s had that level of care for their employees, but it's pretty much gone from everywhere these days.
Right now, however, I'm only interested in huffing my wrists to smell my gorgeous dandelion BPAL and heading off to bed.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Late Lunch with Lioness
Very much on the spur of the moment, Fiery Lioness arranged a mini meet & sniff as she was returning to Michigan from Columbus. We met at the Rte. 18 exit from 71N, and headed for Miss Molly's Tearoom in Medina. We got lost on the square with its silly one-way streets and had to call Kogi, who got us the actual address, directions and the phone number.
We made it to the tearoom just as they were closing down the kitchen, so we quickly ordered lunch. Then we could open presents. FL got me an adorable otter and made me a very professional-looking book of otter pictures from her recent zoo visit (Imp, she reminded me of you--she went to a zoo on her honeymoon).
I got her assorted bath products and a very creepy BPAL version of Neil Gaiman's short story "Snow, Glass, Apples." As a side note, that's got to be the perviest version of Snow White I've run across, and not the good kind of pervy, either.
There was much perfoom on the table, and much sniffing was done as we talked.
I found out that Sea of Tranquility, a discontinued scent, is FL's Holy Grail and she doesn't have a bottle. Happily, I remembered that Tangoing Owls has a bottle for sale at a very reasonable price. I felt like a BPAL matchmaker, and was sorry I hadn't worn black with a head scarf. *grin*
As we were finishing our sandwiches, a group of women filed past us to line up for picture-taking in front of the fireplace. We offered to take pictures so that they could all be in them, and it was easy to see that FL has recently experienced a wedding photographer, as she herded the ladies into just the right position for me to take 2 pictures with each camera.
After that, all that remained was for us to pack up the precious and have our picture taken. As usual, I photograph like a troll, but we were having so much fun I'm thrilled to have the picture as a reminder.
We made it to the tearoom just as they were closing down the kitchen, so we quickly ordered lunch. Then we could open presents. FL got me an adorable otter and made me a very professional-looking book of otter pictures from her recent zoo visit (Imp, she reminded me of you--she went to a zoo on her honeymoon).
I got her assorted bath products and a very creepy BPAL version of Neil Gaiman's short story "Snow, Glass, Apples." As a side note, that's got to be the perviest version of Snow White I've run across, and not the good kind of pervy, either.
There was much perfoom on the table, and much sniffing was done as we talked.
I found out that Sea of Tranquility, a discontinued scent, is FL's Holy Grail and she doesn't have a bottle. Happily, I remembered that Tangoing Owls has a bottle for sale at a very reasonable price. I felt like a BPAL matchmaker, and was sorry I hadn't worn black with a head scarf. *grin*
As we were finishing our sandwiches, a group of women filed past us to line up for picture-taking in front of the fireplace. We offered to take pictures so that they could all be in them, and it was easy to see that FL has recently experienced a wedding photographer, as she herded the ladies into just the right position for me to take 2 pictures with each camera.
After that, all that remained was for us to pack up the precious and have our picture taken. As usual, I photograph like a troll, but we were having so much fun I'm thrilled to have the picture as a reminder.
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