This & That

Hello dear friends.  I hope that you all had a good weekend.  Ours was so much fun.  Friday night, we went to a great show with Anne and her Mister highlighting the fabulous tunes of Sondheim and  then enjoyed a delightful dinner.  Saturday evening, we were invited over to our darling neighbors house to enjoy 'tails and d'oeuvres.  We had so much fun, we didn't want to leave. 

Last week, Anne and I went to a fabulous home tour.  Do you remember in my last post that I ogled a house across the water while the Mister and I had lunch?  Well, guess what house was the first one on the list?  That's the good news.  The bad news is that they did not allow photos.  I took these before they told me the rules, so these don't count.  Take my word for it, this home is positively spectacular.   

We parked at the beach to see a couple of the other homes on the tour which were stunning.  Now I am longing for a house on the water. 

Anne and I worked up a huge appetite by the time we finished the tour.  What a great way to burn off calories!  If I could go on a home tour every day I would be so darn skinny.  We stopped and enjoyed the most delicious grilled cheese, bacon, and avocado sandwich.  Oops, so much for the calorie burning.  This is not a picture of it because I ate mine so fast, I didn't take the time to snap a photo. 

I dragged the Mister to see Trainwreck, and the title sums up the quality of the movie.  I had high hopes for this one because Judd Apatow directed it and I'm a big fan of Amy Schumer's.  Save your money - there were a couple of very funny moments but not enough to be worth the price of the ticket.

Amazon

Just finished this delicious novel.  The author, Beatriz Williams, was one of the speakers at last week's Literary Luncheon.  I positively adored everything about this book - the characters, story line, and time period.  I'm starting her newest release, Tiny Little Thing the minute I finish this post.

To Vicki, Laura, Janet and every one else who recommended Last Tango In Halifax, thank you.  The Mister and I watched the first episode last night and we're hooked.

This week I am off to Virginia for a Blog Conference with my buddy, Mo, of the fabulous Mocadeaux.  It is my first conference and I am a wee bit nervous.  Every time I check the Conference Facebook page I feel more intimidated by the tech knowledge that we are expected to know.  I sent an urgent email with an attachment of the prerequisites to my #1 with the words:  I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT!!  HELP!  I'LL GIVE YOU ALL MY JEWELRY AND I WILL NEVER ASK YOU FOR RIDES WHEN I'M TOO OLD AND CROTCHETY TO DRIVE!!!  As a testament to my lack of computer skills, I accidentally sent it to the people running the conference instead of to my #1.  I bet they can't wait to meet me.

I'll be back next week with, no doubt, plenty of colorful stories.

Until next time...

    

My Weekend in Pictures

Hello dear friends.  I hope that you are having a good week.  July is my "maintenance" month.  I am very busy but not having much fun.  Yesterday was my physical, today blood work and next week includes fun things like teeth cleaning, mammogram, and eye doctor. 

There are also a couple of fun things going on this week.  Sista is coming in to spend the night tonight!  She has business in Beantown tomorrow.   

So, because of Sista's royal visit, I am not participating in Hodgepodge this week because I'm not going to have the time to work on it.  Instead, I put together a little post showing the highlights of our weekend.    

Thanks to all you wonderful readers, I took your advice and picked up a thunder shirt for Little Miss Crazy Pants.  The lady at Petco told me to not only have her wear it during "stressful" times but also during the calm moments so she won't associate her new fashion accessory with hysteria.  So, we had her sleep in it for a couple of nights.  Here are some photos of Chili's introduction to her thunder shirt.  By the way... we don't call it thunder shirt in front of her, we call it her jammies.

The Mister is the only one in our family that actually reads directions.  The girls and I usually try to "wing it" and then complain to him that the "darn thing" doesn't work!!

Looks more like a cross between a bullet proof vest and a straight jacket to me.

Good luck Mister, last time I tried to put a hair bow in her hair I almost lost a finger.

Help me Mom!!

  All geared up and then there is silence.

The clock is ticking.  It seems like we've been watching her for 3 days.  Not a movement.  Not even a blink of an eye.

 Chow: Dad... are you sure you put it on right?

Me:  Mister, Is she still breathing?   

AND SHE'S UP!!!!

and giving a look reminiscent of my girls' teenage years!!

Chili:  I had more fun when I was homeless...

On Saturday, we did a little work in the yard.  The only things that actually loved the snow last winter were the hydrangeas. 

We then decided to regain our strength with some nourishment.  The Mister asked me where I wanted to go for lunch and I gave him my classic answer:  anywhere on the water.  We decided to go to one of our favorite places in Scituate. 

I ordered a delicious beet salad.  It seems like beets have become very popular on menus lately.  I've eaten so many beets my skin has developed a purple hue. 

The Mister had his beloved fried clams - his favorite thing (except for me) in the whole world.

Note to self:  make an appointment for the Mister's physical.

*****

Sunday was another beautiful day.  We went to Mass and then had lunch at another one of our favorite waterfront spots in Cohasset. 

Instead of ogling the Mister, I couldn't take my eyes off this stunning house across the water. 

As usual, I ordered a salad.  It was watermelon and feta and I've got to tell you that's the best combination since peanut butter and jelly!

You can pretty much guess what the Mister ordered.

Note to self:  call the Life Insurance agent and increase the Mister's coverage.

No, we did not purposely dress in the same color.  
Our stylists made us do it.

Enjoy your week.

Until next time...

A Lavish Literary Luncheon

Hello dear friends.  I hope you all are having a great weekend.  Ours has been a lot of fun - we enjoyed a couple of great lunches on the water and the Mister was in his element noshing on fried clams, his favorite.  The weather has been spectacular.

I want to take a minute to thank all of you who took the time to write a helpful note concerning Chili's anxiety issues.  I really appreciate it.  I will fill you in on more later this week.  

A couple of months ago, while I was in Chatham with the Mister, I visited the darling Where The Sidewalk Ends Bookstore.  It is located in a two-story antique barn with an attached Children's Annex full of educational books and imagination enriching toys for young children.  The lady who worked at the store was lovely and gave me a list of literary luncheons sponsored by the store.  Talk about making my day!  I practically skipped out of the store with that list in my hot little hands. It included some of my favorite authors.  A lot of the lunches were happening when we were going to be away, but the one I was most anxious to attend was at the perfect time.

I called upon my partner in crime, Anne, otherwise known as my new bff.  Anne and her Mister are voracious readers.  Anne was delighted to go and had just finished a couple of  Beatriz Williams' (guest author) books.   

So we hopped in the car on Thursday, which incidentally was an absolutely gorgeous day.  We arrived at Wequassett Resort and Golf Club just in the nick of time to pick up our tickets and find a table.

The Resort is positively breathtaking with its lush landscaping and a view of pure beauty. 

Every one of these books sold in a matter of minutes. 

I told you the view was beyond compare.

Can you imagine spending the day devouring a good book in one of these Adirondack chairs?  Be still my heart...

This fabulous mother/daughter dynamic duo are Joanne Doggart and Caitlin Doggart-Bernal, the owners of Where the Sidewalk Ends Bookstore and were responsible for putting together this dream of a day.  They have arranged five literary luncheons for this summer.  Some of the guest authors included Elin Hilderbrand, Nancy Thayer, Lisa Genova, and Alice Hoffman.  I wish I could have gone to every one of them!

Hotel Moscow is Talia's fourth book.  She spoke of her childhood in Tel Aviv and briefly of her research of post-communist Russia for her book.  The novel centers around a woman who is the daughter of Holocaust survivors.  The woman loses her job and she decides to travel to Russia and finds herself smack dab in the middle of a mafia conspiracy.  My palms are sweating already!  Talia was formally the publisher of Savvy Magazine and a contributor to Redbook.  

No question about it, Anjali Mitter Duva is a brilliant woman.  She grew up in Paris and completed her graduate studies in urban studies and civil engineering at MIT.  Faint Promise of Rain is Anjali's debut novel and tells the story of a family of Hinder temple dancers in the 16th Century.  She closed her talk doing a beautiful reading from her book.   

I was very excited to hear Beatriz Williams speak.  I am presently reading her last book, A Hundred Summers, which I absolutely love.  You can tell that Beatriz enjoys the art of story telling. While whetting our appetite for her newest book, her eyes lit up telling us just enough about Tiny Little Thing to make us all want to cut in line and be the first to nab a copy off the book table.  OK, maybe I'm just speaking for myself.  Tiny Little Thing is a story about a political family living in Massachusetts in the 1960's.  They have 3 daughters and one of them, Tiny, has a very big secret.  Beatriz got me so excited, I started to get heart palpitations.  Talk about right up my alley!  Need I tell you what I'm reading next?

Jane Green has written many great books and I have read a lot of them.  I have enjoyed every single one of them.  Jane's newest release, Summer Secrets revolves around a woman who abuses alcohol and harbors a secret from her past.  A lot of the book takes place on Nantucket.  I can hardly wait to open the first page of this one.  Another one right up my alley.  Jane Green is a very entertaining speaker.  Her depreciating humor and raw honesty rocked the house.  Jane shared stories about her battle with cancer,  divorce, and re-marriage.  If she lived near me, I would stalk her until she became my friend.  

As if the day was not perfect enough, we stopped at one of Anne's favorite vegetable stands on the Cape.  Doesn't it look like it could be in a Nancy Meyers movie? 

Hope you have a wonderful week.  
Have you read any good books lately?

Until next time...

Dogs on Cape Cod