Friday Favorites

   

It's Friday, time for a few things I'm loving right now.

I had several comments about our convertible fridge/freezers.  They are from Home Depot and although we initially bought the 7 cubic feet models, we switched to the 11 cubic feet models because they had auto defrost (the 7 cu. ft. model did not).  Each one can be set to either fridge temperature or freezer temperature.

One day our garage will look like this!

I missed the anniversary last week of the release of The Parent Trap (June 21, 1961) - it featured in Wednesday Hodgepodge and Monthly Musings for a great summer movie.  The remake in 1998 was cute too.

Did you know that actress Joanna Barnes, who played Meredith's mother Vicki Blake in the 1998 remake also appeared in the 1961 film?  In the original movie, Barnes plays Vicky Robinson, the father's snobbish girlfriend.

Has anyone ever used a capsule wardrobe plan to travel? I love this post from LVOG for French inspired basic essentials.

Monthly Musings - June 2024

 

1.  Summer Plans - No major vacations planned but perhaps a few local outings.  We have a couple of festivals in our area, and I have tickets to the Titanic Exhibition in Seattle.  Vic will be on terminal leave from the Navy but probably not starting his new job yet, so he's decided to redo our deck!

2.  I can't think of any summer traditions.

3.  What is your favorite summer destination - somewhere it still stays cool, so perhaps on the coast or in the mountains.  The Oregon coast is on our list of places to visit.  I love the sound of the waves, especially at night.

I think I'd enjoy Crater Lake National Park as the July and August temperatures just touch 70 degrees.

I'd like to say Paris or London but any city with all that concrete is way too hot.

3.  Did anyone else notice there are two number 3s?  The ocean would be my preference, but a lake is very close behind.

4.  Pool time planned - no, I'm not a pool person.

5.  Best travel or packing tips - packing cubes keep things organized and lots of planning makes any trip go smoothly.

6.  Favorite summer movie - Mamma Mia.  Grease and Dirty Dancing are top contenders as well.

7. Beverage that says summer to you - my new concoction of Pom pomegranate blueberry juice mixed with an Izze Apple sparking beverage.

8.  What songs say summer to you - I said Summer Breeze by Seals and Croft when I had this question in the Wednesday Hodgepodge but anything by the Beach Boys would be a summer hit too.

9.  What do you like on your burgers or hot dogs - I love burgers with mayo, lettuce, onion, and pickles and a friend from Chile introduced me to guacamole on hot dogs - so good!

I would leave off the tomato

10.  Charcoal or gas grill - gas.

Wednesday Hodgepodge - Volume 557

 

1. What do you think has remained the same about you your whole life? How has your perception of yourself changed over time? 

My lifelong battle with my weight.  You name it, I've been it at one stage or my life or another - chubby, chunky, plump, Rubenesque, lol.  I'd like to say I've come to terms with it, but I haven't really.  There's a thin person in there somewhere!

2. What was the first thing you learned how to cook? Do you prefer to cook or bake? 

I don't remember cooking at home at all so my first things would have to be what we made in seventh grade home economics class - tuna casserole, cranberry-orange bread, and I have a memory of fried chicken using a half flour and half dry breadcrumbs mixture as the coating.  I used to like to cook and bake but during the three+ years separation from Vic while he was overseas, then on the East Coast plus the COVID period, I completely lost my joy of cooking.  Cooking for one is SO boring.  Honestly, I think I could live on soup and sandwiches for the rest of my life.  Thank goodness Vic enjoys cooking.

3. What are some of your current priorities in this season of life? Elaborate.

Home DIY - we have long list - a new deck, a new front and side porch, a new roof, finish up the couple of rooms that still need to be detextured and painted, and redo both bathrooms.  When we're not yielding a hammer or a paintbrush, I have an equally long list of travel destinations. 

4. How much time do you spend on your hair each day or put another way, what's your hair care routine? Do you get it cut regularly or just whenever the mood strikes? Do you go to the same stylist every time? Do you tell your stylist everything? Any other beauty treatments you indulge in throughout the year? 

I wash my hair in the shower each morning, blow dry with a round brush so the ends curl under and flip back my bangs as much as my cowlick allows.  I get it cut every six weeks, same stylist.  Do I tell my stylist everything as in how I'd like my hair or life in general, lol?  I get a manicure/pedicure about every three weeks.  I haven't had a massage in years, and I use face masks I buy at Target.  

5. What is the most awe-inspiring place you've visited? 

The Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam ranks up there as well.

It looks sunny but it got down to 25 degrees at night when we were at the Grand Canyon in November 2016

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I had the craziest random thought when I was pumping gas at Costco on Monday.  You know that little lever that enables the gas to keep pumping if you step away and then disengages when the tank is full?  I have this crazy fear that the lever won't disengage, and the gas will keep pumping, overflowing the tank and going everywhere.  There has to be a name for that fear.

If this is Tuesday, it must be England #171

 

Post is going up late, so I'll be brief.  I waited for a photo from this evening's State Banquet for the Japanese royals, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako.  Absent from the banquet were the Princess of Wales and The Princess Royal who is in hospital with minor injuries and a concussion after a horse-related incident.

After the official welcome earlier today, the royals traveled by coach to Buckingham Palace.  I was surprised to see the Empress wearing a mask until I read that she is allergic to horse hair.  The Japanese royals continue their visit tomorrow and will also visit Oxford University, where they both studied, before returning to Japan.

Life Last Week - June 24, 2024

It's been a week with a little of this and a little of that.

On Monday, I called the dentist about my lost crown - they were able to schedule me for the following day which was awesome because we were getting together with friends on Wednesday.  The rest of the day was quiet, laundry and a general tidy up after the weekend.

A call from the dentist woke me up on Tuesday, they couldn't see me that day after all, my appointment was moved to Thursday.  Great, getting together with friends on Wednesday rocking the toothless hag look.  I'll have to keep my lips together as much as possible!  I consoled myself by booking our flights to Miami for our Hallmark Channel Christmas Cruise.  Vic was off so we ran to Subaru to pick up the carrier for Malone and then to Petsmart for treats, Costco for gas, and the commissary for a few groceries.  Tuesday evening was Malone's last dog training class.  He did pretty well, all four dogs walked a circuit with enough distance between them to make things chill until the last lap when Malone zoomed in on the dog in front and went into a barking episode.

On Wednesday we drove over to my former co-worker's house for a barbecue.  It was the Juneteenth holiday, so she was off as well as Vic.  She and her husband invited another couple from their old neighborhood, and we had a lovely afternoon getting to know each other and eating delicious food.

I headed off to the dentist on Thursday and Friday, just a quick let's take a look appointment on Thursday and back on Friday for a longer appointment to put in a temporary crown.  Not much else either day but I noticed that the house was warmer than it should be, so I called the HVAC people to come out to check it out.  They came Saturday and replaced two fuses, and all is well cool chez nous now.  Thank goodness because it was warm this weekend.  Vic started working on the electrical outlets in the kitchen (one side hasn't worked since the kitchen remodel, who knows what the contractor left undone because it wouldn't be the first thing we've found) while I went to lunch with the Lunch Bunch.

Vic has to cut into the drywall, run new electrical wire up through the attic, and then make everything look new again.  My prime rib dip sandwich was delicious.

That evening, after a cooking disaster, some things just don't turn out the way you expect they will, we grabbed a takeaway and continued our Grey's Anatomy marathon.

I started Duolingo's French course and it's going well.  Fifteen minutes a day and I hope to parler français comme un natif d’ici le printemps prochain (speak French like a native by next spring!).

We got up early enough to make the first service on Sunday, and picked up a pecan pie from a couple in our small group because Vic fixed their oven last week.  After church, we stopped at the Olalla Bay Market for bagels and lox and then ran to Target.

The tide was out but the view was lovely

Oops!  Selfie fail, cut off Vic's head!

Yummy lox and bagel breakfast

Such a cute little market with the deck to the side

Home for Vic to continue with the electrical work in the kitchen and I did some laundry since I'll be out of the house most of the day tomorrow.

And that was life last week!

Friday Favorites

 

Masterpiece announced the start of filming The Forsyte Saga with Millie Gibson as Irene and Joshua Orpin as Soames.  I loved the original (Nyree Dawn Porter as Irene and Eric Porter as Soames) and the 2002 series (Gina McKee as Irene and Damian Lewis as Soames) and I'm looking forward to this new version.

I love travel planning and these travelers' notebooks from Amazon are perfect for drafting an itinerary and keeping notes of places to visit and things to do.  They are 4.25" by 8.25" which is a perfect size for tucking in a travel bag for updating along the way.  Planning is half the fun!

I love this sticker from FiveStickers on Etsy for the cover page of my notebook.

I'm off to do more Paris research - have a great weekend!

Around the 'Net

July 4th is coming and here is some inspiration for yummy treats.  These are from the Facebook page of The Happy Whisk, a local small business.  She has some great decorating ideas for cake-sicles, cake pops, cakes in cones, and pretzels.

Wednesday Hodgepodge - Volume 556

 

1. It's National Splurge Day...what's something you might splurge on today? What have you splurged on recently?

We splurged on a pet carrier for Malone so we can take him with us on days out.  He's still pretty reactive to anyone and anything he sees when he's in the back of the car so this will keep him a little more contained.

2. Do you have a beach bag? What's in it? Is a trip to the beach on your summer bucket list? Do you have a summer bucket list? 

No, I don't have a beach bag because I'm not a beach person so that's a no on the beach being on a summer bucket list.  We do like to take day trips out to explore our local area, so I pack a bag for that.  This summer we're hoping to visit Mount St. Helens and the Washington/Oregon coast.

3. What's a song that makes you think of a summer past? What comes to mind when you hear it? What memories does it stir up for you? 

Summer Breeze by Seals and Croft - it just always makes me think of summers at the beach (I used to be a beach person).  It's from 1972, one of our last summers in Belgium when we would escape to our caravan on the coast, play on the beach, swim in the English Channel, eat frites from the campground frites stand, and my sister and I would never go anywhere without a bucket and spade.

4. Sushi-yay or nay? Have you actually tried it? If you love it what's your go-to order? 

Yes, love it.  My favorite is called Vader.

5. I own a ridiculous amount of CRAFT SUPPLIES. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I'm in vacation planning mode.  Current research is river cruising in Europe.

If this is Tuesday, it must be England #170

 

So wonderful to see the Princess of Wales at Saturday's event.  She looked fabulous.

I love this lookback to 2011.

Life Last Week - June 17, 2024

I haven't posted a Life Last Week for a month - it seems like there's always a link party on Monday that trumps it.  Anyway, here goes.

Monday was a finance day - I prepaid the gratuities for our cruise next spring (I know, I know, 300+ days to go but just wanted it out of the way).  Vic got an amended offer for his new job after HR reviewed his resume and ruled that he really does have a LOT of experience - yay! - and then I loaded money onto Netflix for the year ahead.  I don't do the monthly billing to my credit card as I've had two fraud issues with Netflix and decided this was the easier way to deal with it.

Tuesday began the almost week-long saga with Home Depot.  I bought two upright fridge/freezers (they can be either a fridge or a freezer) on May 14 which were delivered on May 24, both damaged, and picked up on May 29.  I've been waiting for a credit to my account since then.  Twice I've received an e-mail from Home Depot saying there's a letter regarding the dispute in my account documents but there's no letter so I don't know what resolution they determined.  A phone call got me nowhere, so I ended up going to the store to speak to customer service and it probably took them all of five minutes to process the refund.  Note to self:  Skip the phone and e-mail, go talk to a human.  Tuesday night was lesson 5 of 6 for Malone's dog training.  He's doing really well; I just wish that behavior would be the same on our neighborhood walks.  Can't remember if I shared this photo already so either here he is or here he is again.

Wednesday was a quiet day, my bi-weekly Zoom with my scrapbook pal, Jodie, was cancelled and rescheduled.

Thursday was errands day - bank, post office, DMV, Michaels, commissary, Costco for gas, and then to Safelite to get a chip repaired in my windshield.  I love that you can just file a windshield claim on the insurance company's app and schedule the appointment.

Friday was mani-pedi day - my fave polish, In Stiches by Essie, for toes but just a buff for fingers because I broke two very far down and just had my manicurist file them all down so we can start again.  Photo of how they looked in better days.  The ridge on my thumb is from jamming my finger in a cabinet, the nail has never grown back properly.

Hallmark released the Christmas in July movie line-up which I shared in my Friday Favorites.  We were going to go to the movies to see Firebrand with Jude Law, but our local theater is not carrying it, so we went out to dinner instead.  Photo fail.

Vic headed off to the men's breakfast at church on Saturday and I took a shower and got ready to head out with him to the Medieval Faire.  It was freezing and the cash line was not moving at all and when the rain came, we decided to give it a miss this year.  We ran to Costco and then home.  I lost a crown while eating a sandwich - I'll spare you the photo of my toothless hag look because it's right near the front.  Will call the dentist first thing Monday morning.

Father's Day and we had reservations for afternoon tea in Seattle.  I would have cancelled but it was too late to get a refund, so I just tried not to open my lips very far as I was so self-conscious.  We rated this tea 6/10 - there was soup (again!) and fresh fruit (no, no, no!) and the food was just average.  The Fairmont in Seattle and Victoria are still the front runners.  They KNOW how to do afternoon tea.

Happy Father's Day, darling, and the look on my face when I saw soup on the afternoon tea menu lol!

Food was just meh and for $72 each it was a disappointment.  I know I'm super critical, but we have had some amazing afternoon teas.

And that's a wrap for last week.