All posts by Rivergirl

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Let’s play.

26 Comments

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It’s another Christmas question, so try to get your jolly on.

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When I was a teenager my mother had a close friend she insisted I call aunt though we weren’t related . She was a career woman when women didn’t have careers and rose to a senior position with Time/Life. A wealthy widow with two grown sons, she was extremely intelligent and quite eccentric.

To be honest, she was loaded. Both financially and physically… the old gal liked her scotch.

Having New England roots she was also tight as a tick when it came to spending money. The electric bill could sour her mood for days and she wore clothes that were so threadbare the moths didn’t even bother nibbling. She constantly added milk to chowder to stretch it’s longevity and only went out to dinner if someone else was paying. She cut her own hair, never bought a new car and had drawers full of used tin foil. When she retired she had money enough to travel the world but chose to sit home and clip coupons, waiting for hamburger to go on sale.

But when it came to Christmas? That’s when she really outdid herself. Presents were wrapped in newspaper with leftover butcher’s twine for ribbon. She thought it was fun to give dozens of gifts and watch you squeal with delight when you opened them. Problem was … there was never anything worth squealing about. Quantity not quality made her happy.

Over the years I received toilet paper, toothpaste, tiny bars of soap and shampoo as well as plastic ice buckets. All of which she lifted from various hotel rooms. She traveled a lot for work and the woman never passed up a freebie. I had to say thank you for swizzle sticks, matchbooks and little paper umbrellas. Have you ever pretended to be over joyed with ketchup packets and those little square jelly containers? Trust me, it’s not easy.

So in answer to the question … the weirdest Xmas gift I’ve ever received?

A matching set of barf bags from TWA.

Festively wrapped in the New York Times and the envy of all my friends.

How about you?

What bizarre gifts have you received….

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You never know what you’ll find.

26 Comments

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I cleaned out another closet yesterday and this time the mess wasn’t my husband’s.

Our spare bedroom closet has always been the repository for luggage, extra blankets, pillows and wrapping paper.

So much wrapping paper….

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I also found a mink stole from Saks and a stuffed beaver… as one does.

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Six overnight bags, four suitcases, a travel makeup case from 1974 that yes, I still use…. and a large bear that was supposed to go to Toys for Tots last Xmas.

There was also beach glass and gift bags.

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Enough to last me into the next century…

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And a whole lotta ribbon.

If you need a present wrapped, apparently I’m your girl.

A lot of the items got stuffed back in there, though much more neatly organized this time.

Heck… I can see the floor again.

I’m calling it a win.

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Never order food that wears a skirt.

37 Comments

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I remember eating at Friendly’s as a child.

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It wasn’t haute cuisine but the sandwiches were halfway decent and every meal ended with an ice cream sundae so no one really cared.

The other day when my friend and I were out shopping, it was literally the only place around so we stopped in for lunch.

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I vaguely remembered their Big Beef being a sizable burger and decided to take a trip down memory lane.

That was a big mistake.

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What the holy hell!

At first I thought they’d fried an egg on my burger but that was cheese.

A cheese ‘skirt’ to be precise. And though you’d think it would be hard to go wrong with half a plate full of cheese… they managed, because it was awful. Greasy on top, hard as rock on the bottom.

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And the Big Beef?

The only thing Big was my disappointment because the Beef was practically non existent… not to mention well done and crunchy.

The waiter at this restaurant may have been friendly, but the food certainly wasn’t.

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Friends are so helpful.

33 Comments

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Once the new floors are in, it will be time for new furniture. I’ve done some preliminary scouting of living room sets…

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And my friends, being the helpful chums that they are, have been sending me pictures of possible replacement pieces.

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Is it a bed?

A chair?

A table or an entertainment center?

Clearly it’s all of the above and I don’t want any of them.

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Oh no, hell no.

I don’t want that either.

🤣

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There are too many choices!

25 Comments

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Floor shopping continues and the other day I decided to check out some solid hardwoods.

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As usual I brought my trusty sample piece of broken trim to color coordinate shades. This cherry had potential…

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And while this Acacia was spot on for color…

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It was way too wild in application.

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This oak looked promising…

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But turned red in a hurry.

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Cumaru?

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Never heard of it, but it looks too much like a checkerboard for my taste.

And since I don’t want to replace this floor right now…

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I’m leaning towards something with a bit of grey in the tone as it will butt up against the kitchen in two spots.

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Which is why I keep coming back to this one.

Thoughts?

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Miscellaneous missives.

13 Comments

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I drove home under some ominous skies the other afternoon.

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And woke up to our first dusting of snow.

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It was gone by mid day just in time for our contractor to drop by between jobs and seal up the new windows with some not so attractive foam.

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He’s finishing off a barn next door that’s taking longer than planned but as soon as he’s done he’ll be back over here to finish our nightmare project.

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As usual, Lord Dudley Mountcatten couldn’t care less.

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💕

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The first step to saying goodbye?

14 Comments

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As you know, my husband miraculously parted with one of his motorcycles earlier this year. We really don’t ride much anymore and while it was the right thing to do… I know it was hard for him. Admitting you’re getting older is never easy and I daresay a piece of his youth drove off with that Kawasaki.

Of course he still has the Harley. Which is why I was extremely surprised when I saw him outside last week giving her a bath in anticipation of someone coming over to look at it.

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He bought the low rider back in 2009 from a friend whose brother had died. Not riding himself and knowing how much love and money his brother put into it, the friend was glad to see it go to a good home.

And believe me, serious money was invested in a complete remodel shortly before the owner passed.

$27,000 worth of serious.

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My husband paid a fraction of that and though we’ve owned it for quite a while, I have to admit we don’t ride it very often.

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See that tiny rear seat?

It doesn’t match my (not so tiny) rear seat and made long trips something to be avoided.

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We took it for short hops, and won a few bike show trophies… but for the most part she’s lived under cover in the garage.

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Which if you know anything about motorcycles and old Harleys in particular… is not a good thing.

Yes, someone is interested in buying her but unfortunately she’s not running right now. Won’t even start as a matter of fact… and there’s no telling how much money we’ll have to sink in her to make that happen.

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Second thoughts on saying goodbye?

Oh yeah.

He’s probably having third and fourth as well.

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