Update on CT visit

My trip to CT was such fun! Thursday I drove to Liz and Mike's house to meet the new puppy, Sage. Oh my! She's such a wonderful dog! Absolutely adorable!!! Well behaved, quiet, calm and lovable!!! Thank God! I was so worried. But it's all good at that Sweeney household!!!

Then, I drove to Susan and George's house, that beautiful bungalo near the beach! It's always great to visit with them. Susan and I have over 20 years of friendship behind us, and hopefully another 20. That should be interesting. That would put me in my 80's and Susan in her 70's. I'll bet we won't be any different than we are now......except SHE probably won't be able to quilt because of the arthritis in her hands, and I won't be able to run marathons anymore. hehehehehe

Friday morning, Smooze and I drove over to Mary's mother's house and made the flower arrangements for the party. We had an absolute blast....joking around and teasing each other just like we used to when we were all florists in Fairfield, and 20 years younger!!! I told Mary "I remember you when you were in your 20's and young!!!" and she said, "Yeah, and I remember you when you were "middle aged"!!!" OUCH! hehehehehe. Brat! Anyway, we had a lot of fun, and the project went very quickly. The arrangements looked great! (I have pictures somewhere on this computer.....I just can't find them! 750 of them, mind you! How can anyone loose 750 pictures!!!!!)

Friday night was the party. What a great job Donna and Stephen did planning it! Mary got there early and set up the table decorations. Susan had bought some "body parts" candy in individual wrappers, but the catering staff said it wasn't allowed in the room that we had rented, because they end up on the floor......ets......bla, bla, bla. Anyway, the flowers looked great, and Susan had cut up some of her nice, orange Halloween fabric and put squares of that under the arrangements, which were in black containers, on black tablecloths.

Donna and Stephen met us at the door, dressed as the couple in the movie Beetlejuice. OMG, they looked insanely awesome! Stephen had the stripes on his suit, and the white and black face paint.......Donna looked down right creepy! I kept staring at her, because I was amazed at the perfection of her makeup. I can't wait for you all to see the pictures.....it was nuts!!!!

Pretty much everyone came in costume, and there were some good ones!!! (The day after the party, when I talked to Donna, she told me there were so many people in the medical profession there it was funny. Also, EMT's, Firemen, Police.....who knew!!!) Great, and here I am at the mortgage burning ceremony, under the trees......whispering......QUICK! HERE COME THE FUZZ!!! Oh Lord. There were probably cops and firemen standing right around me! Duh.............heheheheheh.

So, the band was and Irish band. They were just amazing!!! They played a few Irish songs, and the rest of the night they just rocked bad-assed......as Mary said. hehehehe....they were awesome, and I danced like a drunken wench!!!! See? And all these years Mary and I blamed our silly shennagins on the booze, when in fact it was JUST US! Mary has been sober for years also, and she's still just as crazy as ever!!!

The food was perfect. Apparently that's the same catering company that Donna and Stephen used for their wedding, which was in that same room, 15 years ago, on the exact same date! Shows you how the Universe works, huh?

We got back home, to Susan and George's house at 1a.m. You all know, I don't stay up late, so Saturday morning I slept until 10a.m.!!!!! In the afternoon, Susan took me out to a place called Yoshida. I ordered the box with fried scallops, Shumai, and Kappa Maki........OMG.....it was fantastic! I loved every bite! At first, it didn't look like a ton of food, but I actually could not finish all of it, so I brought some back to the house for George, who had to work part of the day. I'm sure it wasn't as good leftover, but wow.....I do plan on going back there when I move to CT. It might just become one of my favorite restaurants!!! It's on the post road in Milford, so not far from Suzzie's??

Let's see. I have awesome pictures from the party, and also pictures of some of Susan's quilts. She's really a master quilter, even if she won't admit it!!! I thought she had been quilting her whole life, but she's only been quilting for about four years.......so there's hope that I can become almost as good, if I focus on that goal. Upstairs, in her guest room, she has a quilt rack, to hang the extra quilts on. She must have ten spectacular quilts on there......at least. Then there are a couple on the bed, some on their bed, the big "wedding ring quilt" hanging in the dining room.......two or three hanging in the living room......some on the couch, on the chairs......it's like quilt heaven! Ah....delightful.....and oh so restful.....

Saturday, I headed to West Redding, to visit with the Francoletti clan! It was great to see them all. The kids have grown so much, I kind of have to look at them with a tilted head, thinking...."but....but.....where did all the little people go????" They boys are seven already, and Abigail is five!!! Yikes. (She' s five going on 30, by the way!!! She's so friggin' cute!!!)

Saturday afternoon, we all got dressed up and went to a Halloween Trick or Treet Street at their school. The inside of the building was dark, and different classes and teachers had set up scenes........that the kids got candy at. I tried to take pictures, but of course, the minute a flash goes off......it screws up the mood lighting, so the pictures didn't come out that great. But, I'll have them printed, and send them to the kids. I think they'll enjoy seeing them.

We watched The Three Amigos on Saturday night, with mixed reviews. Abigail watched the whole thing, but frequently said, "Mommy, this isn't funny." Joe quit really early and went downstairs to watch sports with Daddy. Nick really got into it, but when people started getting shot, he would leave the room......he didn't like that at all. He seemed very sensitive to the plight of the good guys, and he was worried about them!

Sunday morning, after breakfast, we went to a farm close to their house. It's beautiful! (However, the kids are still puzzled at why the house, barn and other buildings are painted yellow! It's a beautiful pale yellow, too, but I guess in their minds the barn should be red! Think about it.....in books...the barn is always red!!! What's up with that?????Well, actually, I do know the answer to that question, but I'll let you all figure it out. ) Anyway, the first thing I did when we got out of the car, was head right over to a couple of teen aged cows standing near the fence! They were beautiful, and it was great to be able to just pat her, and scratch her neck, which I must say, she really enjoyed!!!

The kids had fun throwing rocks in the brook, which meandered around the edge of the cut grass. Apparently some movie star owned the farm, which is on 22 acres of land. She left it to the town in her will, with the stipulation that it be set up as a non-profit educational resource for the town! And so it is! They have all sorts of events......concerts in the summer......festivals....classes......etc. Wow! I would be a member, that's for sure! Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera, as I wasn't expecting it to be THAT beautiful! Shame on me!!! I will next time, though, that's for sure! I suspect it's even stunning in winter, covered with snow!

I left the Francoletti's around 9a.m. yesterday morning, and meandered home. The trip that should take about two hours and 20 minutes, took me seven......so you can see how much exploring I did!!! Hehehe......

Now, I'm here, and it seems really, really quiet! Yikes! Too quiet!!!

Playlists

O.K. I give up! I can't figure out how to make a playlist on iTunes....or on my iPod. Ggggrrrrr.

Sewing

Well, it's 18 days until Halloween, if I could today. I'm sewing as fast as I can to make Halloween pillowcases to give to my kids and my friends. Please don't ask "why"? It's all MINA'S FAULT! You see, I started thinking about making one for her. Then, I thought, "Well, if I make one for Mina, it would be kinda fun to make one for Kate and Mark, also. Then, my next logical thought was........"in that case, I should make one for Maureen......Mike.....Liz..." Then, I thought I would make two for my friends, Donna and Stephen who are having the big Halloween party. Of course, if I make one for Mina, I really would like to make some for Nick, Joe and Abigail.......and so, you see? I'm up to a minimum of eleven! I have seven finished, so I'm getting there! They're really cute! You'll see......

Woops.

Woops.....she paid $1,870.00 Well, I'm still happy with the deal, as the piano is 41 years old.....which, now that I think of it....isn't THAT old for a piano.

Piano Man

The piano man, Paul, came to the house today to look at Nana's "baby". He rebuilds Steinways, and also takes them on consignment. We came to agreement on the price, and he will be picking up the piano tomorrow. The deal is, he will get between $1,200 to $1,500 for me within 90 days....he pays for the transport of the piano. He said it's in great shape, and needs only to be tuned, and polished up a little. If this works it will be nice, because Nana paid only $1,300 for it in 1967. I know they are much more valuable these days, but I'd be happy with that price. I must admit, it will be strange to see it go. I guess I should play it a little tonight, as this will be my last chance. He did say, if for any reason I change my mind, I can at any time, but then I have to pay to have the piano transported back here to the house. I somehow don't think THAT'S going to happen!

To the Beach!!!!

What a beautiful day it was in New England yesterday! .......warm.....sunny and filled with color! Around 9a.m. I left the house and headed to Dave's market (sorry Mike, it's the closest!) to buy treats for Nana and Grampa. (Trail mix, Tangerines, cookies and the paper). When I got to Hebert's, I found them already outside, sitting on the porch, in the sun, enjoying the weather and fresh air! We had a nice visit, and I entertained them with stories of my adventures!

Once I left there, I headed right down to Wickford. It was fun to visit all my favorite places. The Wickford Flowershop looked nice, and smelled like roses and lilies! Yum...... I didn't get to see Julie this time, as she had the day off, but the girls did show me recent pictures of Little Miss Clover! What a beauty she is! Huge blue eyes, and big dimples when she smiles! All are doing well.

From Wickford, I headed down to Moonstone beach to pick up rocks. The Piping Plovers have left for the season, so the entire beach was open. Ah, rocks! I love rocks! I must have been a Geologist in another life time! When I finished picking up the rocks that caught my eye.......I sat on the beach for a while, and just enjoyed the sound of the waves and the view. The air turned a little cool around my ears, so I had to leave before I got a case of my hives. (I do travel with Benadryl all the time now, but only use it when I absolutely have to.)

On the way home, I stopped at The Ice Cream Factory, in North Kingstown! Oh boy was that good!!!

Today, I was wishing I could drive down to CT and surprise my friend Donna at the Elephant's Trunk flea market, but it's a little too far to drive for a joke. (About 2.5 hours!) Besides, the thought dawned on me, I might not be able to find her there, and then I'd be screwed!) I suspect I will find something to do outside today, though, as the weather is just spectacular!

We here, on the East Coast, are in our "Ya-better-enjoy-it-while-ya-can" mode! Well, SOME OF US, are in the "Holy-crap-winter-is-coming" mode!!!! (Hi Joe!) Silly.

So far behind.......

I am so far behind in my blogs, I'll never catch up.......so I'll just start with today. For those of you who are sitting out there in the world, worrying about me........DON'T. You have no idea what my life is like.

FOR EXAMPLE.......I just spent the last half hour STUCK IN MY HALLOWEEN COSTUME. No, seriously stuck! Like "can't-get-it-off" stuck! When I stitched the long, sparkling cloth strips to my old black skirt, I screwed up the elastic on the waste band, so it doesn't stretch anymore. I managed to get INTO it, with a whole lot of wiggling, and pushing and pulling! But, getting it off just didn't happen. Of course, once I started laughing, it was even harder. Then I realized it wasn't funny, and I started to sweat. I considered going over to my neighbors house to have her help me pull it off.....but there were a few Comcast guys standing in the street, and that just made me laugh even harder.

The good news is, I finally got it off. Believe me, I won't put it back on until the 24th.....for the party in CT! Honestly, my life is just....too much!!!

O.K. everybody back to your projects! Carry on, troops!!!