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When you know you married a good man.

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Have you ever been overwhelmed with bad news? I mean a rapid fire, one after the other, series of events that simply makes you gasp for air?

That happened to us last week.

Monday – Learned an old friend had died. Unexpected heart attack, he was 52.

Wednesday – Discovered one of my husband’s breakfast buddies was diagnosed with stage four leukemia. They’ve given him 3 months.

Thursday – My girlfriend who had pneumonia this spring and couldn’t seem to get over it? Was just diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer. She’s never smoked a day in her life. And while they were doing an MRI for that… they discovered she has colon cancer as well.

My heart was ready to break, I swear I couldn’t take anymore. Then my husband came home from doing a small job for a lovely old couple in the next town. He’d been over there for a few days installing new handrails for their stairs because the husband is battling pancreatic cancer and is failing quickly. Every morning this sweet old couple goes to his doctor’s appointments and treatments holding hands, but that afternoon they went to the funeral home to make arrangements.

The next day was their 50th wedding anniversary.

My husband didn’t really know them, was just asked to do a job. But he came home, told me the situation and then went right up to our local florist and ordered a giant anniversary bouquet to be delivered to them the following day.

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They won’t see another wedding anniversary … but hopefully this unexpected gift brought them a small measure of joy.

Life is short.

Sometimes unfair.

And very often heart breaking.

Marrying a good, kind, generous man makes mine worth living and I’m thankful for him every single day.

❤️

This morning I was driving down the road on the way to the grocery store. I was thinking about my girlfriend battling two completely different forms of cancer and wondering if she’ll be able to get through it. I had just started to tear up when this truck pulled out in front of me.

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Not sure if you can see it, but on the bottom right?

It says f*ck cancer.

I couldn’t agree more.

❤️

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A last minute change of plans and a French breakfast.

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Morning balcony selfie, day 6 of the second Newport trip.

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The weather put a wrinkle in our vacation plans that Wednesday.

We were scheduled to leave Friday morning, but a wicked N’Or Easter was due to hit Wednesday night into Thursday with high winds, torrential rain, and flooding. Faced with the prospect of spending all of Thursday stuck at the resort twiddling our thumbs during the storm… just to pack up and leave the next day… we opted to scoot out early and beat Mother Nature home.

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So we said goodbye to Newport’s colorful old homes…

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Its odd statuary….

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And the ever present windmills.

But the one thing my husband couldn’t say goodbye to?

That stupid BB gun he found at the awful junk store… so back we went.

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Only to find it closed. Again.

Determined to buy it, he detoured to the Tiverton Four Corners area to kill time and try again later.

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I didn’t really mind.

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It’s a pleasant little section of gift shops and specialty stores…

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With a wonderful French cafe.

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The pastries?

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Ooh la la!

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The decor?

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Vintage bistro.

We originally picked seats in front of this mirror…

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But soon realized staring at yourself eating is not conducive to happy dining.

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This little table by the window was much better.

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Not being very hungry, we both ordered breakfast sandwiches which was oddly served with salad.

Can’t say I’ve ever had tossed salad with breakfast… but when in a French cafe in Tiverton, Rhode Island … c’est la vie.

Was I hungry enough for a pastry?

No.

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Did that stop me from ordering a cinnamon bun/cronut?

Also no.

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Even the rest rooms felt French.

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Was it wildly overpriced?

Yes.

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But a delightful little stop all the same.

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A happy surprise and a big disappointment on the cliff.

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Continuing on our cliff side stroll, there were warning signs…

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Which my husband always ignores.

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I swear the man has mountain goat DNA.

The views were lovely.

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The wild roses fragrant.

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And full of busy bumblebees.

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It’s a gorgeous walk and I highly recommend it if you’re ever in Newport.

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And though the views were stellar…

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It was what I found around the bend of this tree that made my day.

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A bunny!

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As someone who lives in Maine where bunnies are a rarity….

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This was a very pleasant surprise.

💕

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Up ahead?

The famous 40 steps…

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Which to he honest my husband and I were a bit too foot weary to explore.

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My goal was over there…the section of cliff walk that winds around the back of all the fabulous Bellevue Avenue “cottages” we’d been touring.

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First, a rest room break…

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And an oddly jagged rock wall.

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With a sadly poignant memorial.

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As we made our way to the much anticipated section, my husband stopped to talk.

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And talk, and talk, and talk.

So I quietly slithered away to explore a little further ahead.

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Only to discover the part of the cliff walk I was most looking forward to?

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Was closed for repairs and inaccessible.

A big boo to that!

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Random nonsense.

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As seen at a local ice cream shop.

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If it’s not fried?

How can it be fried…

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These days I’m not sure booze free bliss is possible, but kudos to them for trying,

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Remember I said I’d keep checking on the price increase of my new car? It started at $39,000, rose to $41,000 and now I’m seeing $43,000. So glad we bought it before the tariffs saved America.

🥴

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Sh*t just got real people.

Save the planet! For the beer if nothing else…

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I so need that duck!

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Walking the cliff.

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Still having some daylight left on our fifth day in Newport, Rhode Island we visited the number one tourist attraction in the area.

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The Cliff Walk. A local favorite and an absolute must do for visitors.

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Parking is a challenge and we had to hike a while past the beach just to reach the entrance to the famous walk.

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But finally, we were there.

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This is a 3 1/2 mile walk along the shore and takes you right past the backyards of all those fabulous Bellevue Avenue mansions we’d been touring.

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It was gorgeous.

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Wild beach roses filled the air with heady perfume…

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And randomly placed plaques were filled with information.

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The beginning of the walk is easy going, with mostly flat paths.

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At some spots, you’re right over the cliff face…

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Others have high retaining walls.

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I should have taken more videos, but I didn’t.

Just this one.

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As beautiful a spot as this is, I can’t say I’d be thrilled to have crowds walking past my backyard every day.

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Even if there are fences and gates.

To be continued…

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The blog where we view the views…

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Finished with the interior tour of Doris Duke’s Rough Point estate, we headed outside.

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Where the clouds made a dramatic backdrop.

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Doris loved it here…

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And I have to say…

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I understand why.

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The location is perfect.

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The views of the Atlantic Ocean divine.

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It’s an impressive place to be sure.

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Strolling around the side, we found a gated garden.

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With a warning sign.

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Does everyone have bunnies but me?

😫

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At the front of the estate…

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Wired topiaries of Doris’s pet camels.

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They’re filled with succulents that hadn’t quite greened up yet.

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And over there?

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The formal garden that I had to explore.

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Bit disappointing, that.

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Not formal and nothing blooming in its one small bed.

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The hedge was the best part.

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No matter, it’s still a lovely place to stroll.

And as we were pulling out of the driveway? We passed a time appropriate vehicle.

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😊

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I’m gonna need a ladder.

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9 weeks after we ordered it and were told it would be delivered in two weeks, it arrived.

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Our beautiful new, oh so expensive mattress.

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Is it wonderful?

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Boy howdy is it ever.

Firm, but luxuriously soft… I’ve never slept better.

But what it also is….

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Is heavy. Can’t say I’m looking forward to sheet change day.

It’s also tall.

So tall it swamps the headboard and makes arranging the comforter a challenge.

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If I pull it down far enough to meet the bed skirt at the foot…

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There’s a gap at the head.

I’m a short person y’all.

And even though we bought the super short accompanying box spring, the frame of our old bed raises it so high I literally half to climb in or fling myself on it from a running start at night.

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Now I know why people buy new beds when they purchase new mattresses these days. No box spring ( or ladder) required.

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That Renoir totally clashes…

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Climbing the servant’s stairs to the second floor of Rough Point…

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We were surprised to find a mini museum.

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Of furniture.

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But learned a good bit about trade and the history of Newport.

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The oldest piece on display?

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A woven chair from 1680.

And as we moved on to view Doris Duke’s (in)famous bedroom?

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The husband found someone to talk to, so I toured her (in)famous bedroom alone.

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My first reaction was… wow.

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Yellow and purple. Not the most subtle color combination.

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And I can’t say it does much for the Renoir hanging on the mirror.

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They say this room was redecorated in the 1970’s and I have no trouble believing that.

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The furniture? Mother of pearl throughout, which makes for lots of sparkles.

This was said to be her favorite room in the house.

Yikes.

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The bathroom.

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Busy, busy, busy.

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With a fish faucet.

The husband?

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Still talking…

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Doris, as a child.

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Upstairs sitting room where Doris played piano and recorded.

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Hallway bench.

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With interesting sign.

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Down the front stairs, with family crests and coats of arms in stained glass.

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Intricately carved banisters and railings…

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And our tour of the Rough Point interior was complete.

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