My husband and I were watching the news the other day, some sad story about the Middle East, and he asked me a question I couldn’t answer.
(Yes, that happens occasionally… though I’m loathe to admit it.)
And as one does when searching the internet for information, the husband fell down a digital rabbit hole while trying to distinguish the difference between Sunni and Shiite Muslims… and what started out as a simple search for an answer turned into a wild journey of discovery through various world religions. Including one he’d never heard of –
Pastafarianism.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Pasta.
.
.
I could do without a stripper factory in the afterlife but I’m okay with the beer volcano.
.
.
Clearly they’ve given this a lot of thought.
.
.
Though I don’t think the headwear is very flattering.
.
.
Poland?
.
.
If the Nantucket RMV allows it, who am I to argue?
A new grocery chain opened its first store in Maine last month and the hysteria was off the charts.
.
.
I’d never shopped in an Aldi before and had no idea what to expect, but everyone was raving about how much money you could save so after waiting a few weeks for the craziness to die down…
.
.
(Actual picture of how happy people were to shop there.)
The husband and I drove to Portland to check it out.
Marketed as a discount grocery, I expected no frills and that’s exactly what I got.
This was a brand new store…but the first thing I noticed when we walked in was how dirty and disorganized it was. Apparently their cost cutting measures include a lack of brooms and dust pans and employees to operate them.
Starting with produce, which was stacked haphazardly in it’s original shipping boxes, I was hard put to find a banana, apple, pepper, tomato or cucumber that wasn’t heavily bruised, browned and looked ready to toss.
There was no deli, no bakery and no seafood counter. No frills, for sure.
There was also no rhyme or reason to product placement… cheap fake flowered wreaths were next to the mayonnaise. Plastic outdoor thermometers were next to the crackers. And did I mention you have to “rent” a shopping cart? They’re out front where you pay a quarter to unlock one and get your money back when you return it.
I was unaware that 95% of the products are their own versions and not brand name. Having been burned one too many times with tasteless substitutes I had no desire to fill a cart with mystery cereal or soup.
We walked out of there with nothing. And it’s a good thing, because there were only two registers open with no DIY kiosks and the lines to check out were insane.
I seriously doubt I’ll ever go back, so if you’re an Aldi shopper? Please tell me what I’m missing, because I don’t understand the allure.
I decided to try one of those cheap washable rugs.
.
.
It arrived folded in a square and had instructions to lay it flat with heavy books for a few hours to press out the creases, but after a few cursory stretches and smoothing gestures it was good to go.
.
.
Under the dining table, which is when I realized it was just a tad too small. Am I the only person for whom standard sizes never work?
I’ll replace it eventually, but right now I’m struggling to find the right placemats.
.
.
⬆️ are too autumnal for spring.
⬇️ are too turquoise.
.
.
⬇️ have all the right colors but aren’t quite right.
.
.
Oh well, at least the rug passed the Lord Dudley Mountcatten test.
We’ve had rain, rain and more rain. Which makes for a gloomy month, but after one warm day? Green grass as well.
.
.
And happy deer at the backyard buffet.
.
.
Are you a Wordle or Spelling Bee addict?
If so, have you tried this new game….
.
.
It’s quite addicting.
.
.
A few relevant quotes for the world in which we live at the beginning of a book I read recently.
.
.
Lord Dudley Mountcatten likes the new couch in our den. He started sleeping on the back cushion to the right so I laid a towel to catch the cat hair. Then he started sleeping on the back cushion to the left so I laid a towel to catch the cat hair.
We’ve had a lot of long, dark, dreary, wet days in Maine this spring. It’s a perfect time to binge.
.
.
We’re currently knee deep in this political drama which pulls back the curtain on foreign service. Keri Russell is an unwilling Ambassador to the Court of St. James and though I don’t really care for her as an actress, the supporting cast is strong with enough intrigue and governmental drama to make this a very watchable action packed series.
.
.
Wow. This UK based show is almost indescribable. Part comedy, part tragedy… it had me laughing and crying at the same time. The story of man who loses his beloved wife to cancer, Ricky Gervais portrays a man so overwhelmed with grief, finding a reason to continue living without her becomes a challenge. Some scenes were so poignant, I literally had to hit pause to weep. But it’s also filled with quirky British humor and so many train wreck characters you can’t help but laugh through the pain. While it’s definitely not for everyone (the language can get quite colorful) it is one hell of an emotional ride.
.
.
Don’t go in the cave! But they do, and things get weird fast.
This is a German series with bad lip syncing… really, really bad… which almost made me dump it, but if you stay the course it becomes a very complex, creepy, mind mending tale of time travel, quantum mechanics, nuclear apocalypse and the power of grief that I’m still not sure I understand.
.
.
Season three was supposed to be the end of Shrinking but this sharply written, hilarious yet touching show is so popular it’s been renewed for another year and I’m here for it. One of my utter faves.
.
.
As is The Pitt. I cringe when the medical trauma scenes are a little too realistic, but it’s the characters who drive this fast paced superbly directed show about life in a Pittsburgh emergency room. Watch one episode, you’ll be hooked.
.
.
I’m ashamed to say how much I was looking forward to this movie. The Peaky Blinders series rocked and I was all in to see how the film wrapped up the story of the fractured Shelby clan. Surprises aplenty, it lived up to the hype.
.
.
I liked Yellowstone, 1883 and 1923. So it stands to reason I would like Taylor Sheridan’s newest addition to his western saga… The Madison. And boy howdy, did I. A much different, more introspective, emotional show than the others… there isn’t a lot of action on horseback but there’s plenty of drama. This is a story of loss and grief and family heartache. Beautifully written by Sheridan and well acted by Michelle Pfeiffer. The scenery is stunning, the sorrow palpable. It’s a tear jerker, but in a good way.
I was supposed to be 4 to enter preschool but since my birthday is in December, I was 3.
Because I was an only child, my mother always signed me up for “social” experiences and in 1967 she thought half a day at preschool with other children was just the thing.
I remember we were told to bring something to lay on the floor for nap time and while other kids had blankets or towels, my mother – being my mother – went shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue and I showed up with a large, extremely plush and colorful Humpty Dumpty oblong egg rug. I remember rolling it out and all the other kids oohing and ahhing… but not in a nice way. We all laid down and the next thing I knew some ratty little bastard pushed me off Humpty and stole it. I cried and pointed at the pint sized felon but was told to hush up and go to sleep.
.
.
I don’t remember what happened later, though I’m sure my mother gave the teacher a good tongue lashing…but even after Humpty was returned the next day, preschool was never my happy place again.
As promised… I went looking for an old photo of myself sitting on the floor of my childhood home playing with a battery operated Apollo 11 capsule. I was five years old and the country was space crazy.
I wish I had that old toy now, it’s worth a fortune.
I also wish I had the picture, but apparently it disappeared… along with my youth.
But while combing through files and old photo albums? I did find the following which I thought I’d share.
Little River with her dad.
.
.
And a beagle named Hiram.
When I was growing up all our pets had names beginning with H’s, I have no idea why… but at one time our house had a Herman, a Henry, a Herbert, a Horace and a Hector.
.
.
Me, sporting some sexy red shoes.
.
.
Taking Hiram for a walk in a sailor coat and another pair of red shoes.
.
.
Rocking a pair of purple striped bell bottoms. How groovy is that?
.
.
I have a vague recollection of not wanting to have my picture taken here and only agreed to pose if I could have my alligator sitting next to me.
I was an odd little girl who hated dolls but loved dinosaurs. And apparently, reptiles.
.
.
How odd you ask?
That’s me in my nightgown, ready for bed… but prominently displaying a weird bug my father had just found in the garden.
River's world..... 