Confessions of a Grandma

It was slightly cool today, but such a beautiful day...and no snow in sight so I am not complaining at all. I went to a craft fair.  There are many craft fairs in Venice, usually held in the downtown area where streets are blocked off, the parking is somewhat difficult, and the crowds are overwhelming. This fair was set up in one of the parks and it was such a pleasant experience.  Pleasant for me since the crowd was small.  This was a first time event, so the word has not gotten out yet. It probably wasn't so pleasant for the vendors.  I did my best to help them out though.  I am such a nice person that way. I bought this sail boat hanging made from Florida scrap wood.  I thought it was pretty whimsical and it looks nice in the office/TV room. Showing the three dimensional aspect a little better here. Dry Dock Art has a Facebook page where more of their work is on view. I plan to hand this Welcome plaque by the door.  I bou...

I have had no further revelations from my bath towel.  Please bear with me as I travel the path of my new reality. I would like to assure you all that I will not be sharing anymore startling discoveries brought to be courtesy of inanimate objects, but of course you probably know me better than that. I was in Bed, Bath and Beyond last week and there were some really lux towels there whispering, "Buy ME!  Buy me!" but I resisted their siren song. We see what we want to see; we hear what we want to hear. I had a lovely weekend.  Mike's sister came for a visit.  We talked, ate, and drank some wine.  We went to downtown Burlington and cruised some shops, went out for lunch and took in a movie.  We saw Captain Phillips with Tom Hanks--really enjoyed it. Now it is back to the "work" week.  I have bills to pay.  I have to call the chimney company again because the caps keep getting blown off the chimneys.  I have to arrange for the garage...

I was very happy to notice these bright colors at the JCPenney store when I was there last. It seems as though it is always easy to find pastels and muted colors but not always brighter hues.  I snatched up some tee shirts and a flower patterned skirt. I am a "spring" but bright, clear colors of spring.  Have you ever had your colors done? ********* Scam alert!  We have gotten a few of these robocalls .  They say that there is no free lunch and we keep that in mind.

I met with my writing group—a small intrepid band of us who get together on a fairly regular basis at the Jericho Town Library to discuss and support each others’ writing—last night.  I attended from 1500 plus miles away through the wonders of technology via web cam. Having the ability to do this was one of the main motivations for getting my new laptop last year. So now I have no excuse for slacking off on the writing.  I was not even the farthest away as the group had a note from one of the original group members who is currently in Croatia. ***********   It looks like a good week ahead—temps above average.  Mike has gone to visit a friend today and I am going to shop for a bicycle.  I have been looking at ads for used bikes, but have decided to go to a bike shop and get a new one.  That way I will know what I am getting.  Way more expensive, but I am worth it.   Tomorrow we will make a trip to Sarasota and shop at the Costco th...

I was thinking of getting some Legos for my grand son. Remember Legos?  They used to be these brick-like stick-together blocks that could be used to construct all kinds of wonderful things.  Possibilities as limitless as a child’s imagination. They are not like that so much any more. I found some Star War kits and some City kits at the toy store in the mall.   There were not too many of either variety, but I was appalled at the kits on offer. Robber’s Hide Away is the theme of one. How about Prisoner Transport ?  Drug Sniffing Dog ?   I could not bring myself to purchase any of these. What exactly is the message here anyway? Now I know. This is what the discriminating five-year-old boy is into. Legos, shmegoes.

I confess.  I have a love-hate relationship with shopping. I love shopping when: I feel like I can afford it. I have lots of time to devote to the task and really comfortable shoes on my feet. I know what I want to get and then actually find that item. I have my lists in hand. Something perfect speaks to me either because it is just what I love OR I know someone I love will like it. I pick something out and then learn it is on sale. On the other hand, I really hate shopping when: I really need something, but I am feeling short on $$. I am tired or hungry. I am looking for something specific and it is no where to be found. I forget my list, thereby neglecting to get something crucial or buying an unnecessary duplicate. I don’t see anything that I like but I am under some kind of time pressure. I shop specifically for a sale item, but it is sold out or not as I expected. I feel the need to get a gift for Mike. There are crowds of other people in the stores. ...

Sunday morning is flea market time for Mike.  Today I took the ride with him and wandered around amongst the many vendors.  Mike wandered in a different direction since we are never likely to stop and peruse the same merchandise anyway. One lady was selling, according to her sign, "handmade" "soap" with "shea" oil and "lavender" oil and on and on.  I had to wonder is her product was not really made by hand and maybe not even really soap--hence to quotation marks.  I have to believe the scents she used were chemically enhanced since they really were overwhelmingly strong and made me "sneeze" so I kept on walking. This reminded me that I was in a downtown shop in Venice last winter that prominently displayed ladies' purses.  I had just picked on up when the saleslady (and I think the store owner) proudly announced that all the purses were designer knockoffs.  Now, excuse me, but I was under the impression that that kind of thing w...

I went shopping yesterday--on line and in the stores.  Since I also make handmade gifts throughout the year, I am in good shape for the holidays.  I have to admit that I absolutely and completely love gift giving--except for people who are really, really hard (Mike).  I love thinking of an appropriate and kind of novel gift.  I love the hunt to find it or the effort to make it.  I love the wrapping and the presentation.  If I had unlimited funds and less of an aversion to crowds, I would go out shopping for random gifts every day. Tomorrow, Kristen and Dane will open the first of their Advent gifts.  My son delivered them for me, for which i was most grateful.  These are really quite small things that I put together, but I so enjoy doing it and I think they look forward to each day's surprise.  Today I got a  thank-you card in the mail:  "Giving is just your style...and you do it so well!  Thanks for ...

We put in a few hours of deck stripping today. My usual mode of attack is to keep going and going until I can't move anymore, but Mike is all about doing a section at a time and stopping before the job seems overwhelming. This is a good thing in that there are still the other things that need to get done--meals, laundry, basic clean-ups in kitchen and bath. Everything else is going to pile up and I'll need a solid week of housework to tidy up the inside and outside. Cleaning one thing always seems to make something else dirty. We are making progress but it is slow and it is a grind. This may tu rn into a summer long project. Some of my irises bloomed out yesterday. That made me happy. I'm still nursing tomato and cucumber plants in my basement window. At least the deck project keeps me from putting them out prematurely. Mike is sitting down with a beer. I am going to relax by heading out to the garden store for a look around. "Idea" shopping.