Father's Day at The Grand Hotel

We took the hub to the Grand Hotel (the Marriott) in Point Clear for brunch. The food was fabo, but ya know what? The place is like a fortress. We pulled up to the "guard house" (I'm serious) and told "the guard"we were going to the brunch; and he told us we had to turn around and park across the street--I suppose only hotel guests can park close. He did say that he would send a "shuttle" (golf cart) to pick us up. Well, it was hot, as it is down south in the summertime, duh; and rather than waiting, we just walked over to the main building. 

Yea, this is about how we looked by the time we got there. Ooooof. Even after we got seated, the waitress was less-than-enthusiastic about waiting on us. Ugh. I so hate that.

So, needless to say, it was the first and probably last time we'll go there. I am so unimpressed with pretentiousness.  

Regardless,  I think the hub had a very nice Father's Day. We love him so.

The Colors of Paris in Spring

Noooo, I'm not in Paris. You know I would have told you if I were going to Paris! These are photos from May of 2008 when the kid and I were visiting Raphael. As he says, "En Mai fait ce qu'il te plait" (In May, you do what you want). Which is exactly what we did. The teenager is, however, in Paris taking French courses for a month. Nothing like being immersed into the culture to learn a new language. Paris? Excusey-mwa.

Ahhhh, "shopping" in the Galleries Lafayette. When Raphael first told me we were staying very close to the Galleries, I thought he was talking about an art gallery.  I was quite pleased to find shopping galleries instead! The only shopping we did, however, was the purchase of this box of beautiful chocolates that looked more like pastels. They didn't last long.

Ahhhh, the main gallery was magnificent, to say the least. 

I pictured myself living in the corner penthouse in this building with marvelous views of the Eiffel Tower and the hustle bustle of Paris below. I think I could handle that, if I knew the language.

Ahhhh, springtime in Paris.

Vibrant colors surrounding your every turn.

And then there is Rennes in Brittany. This is where Raphael is from. It's absolutely beautiful, sigh.

And we will never forget Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy.

I can't wait for the teenager to see all of this, and more.

He even gets to stay with Raphael for a week after he is finished with his classes. This is going to be quite the experience for him!

I'm so proud. 

My Hair

--Ulysses Everett T. McGill

"Well, as soon as we get ourselves cleaned up and we get a little smellum in our hair, why, we're gonna feel 100% better about ourselves and about life in general."

Here we go again. Summer (or a special occasion) must be around the corner. I've gone and made my hair kooky, again.

My stylist (hair stylist, that is--as if I have any other type), is always "in" with the latest hair stuff. She's all of anything under 30.  For my 50th birthday, I said "I want those blond thingies you have." Btw, she's blond. So yes, I have almost-platinum-blond peekaboos strategically located throughout my doo. Today? She had feathers, yes feathers, dispersed on one side. Of course, my reaction was, "I want those."

Alright, how old am I?

Hush.

Fleurs et de Faises

My beautiful Mother's Day bouquet, double exposed on purpose. 

The roses were exquisite.

And I had picked these gorgeous strawberries up at the Nashville Farmer's Market last week. The kid and teenager ate them all!

Counting down the days until Riverside!! The teenager and his girlfriend's family are there now. Envious, to say the least. One and a half more weeks of school!!!

What are your plans for summer?

Two Infatuations

First, this little clutch I found online is driving me crazy, I am so in love with it. I haven't used a clutch in years. But this one, or at least that turquoise color, caught my eye. But it is so much more. I am loving it!  

And, then there's my copper pot. I normally pull these "nice ones" out during the Holidays, and they sit in a cabinet the rest of the year. Well, I love my non-stick cookware as much as the next guy, but I've begun to wonder about the coating. If it's dangerous to birds . . . ? Well, hello? So, anyhoo, some of my nonstick pieces are beginning to show wear (and that's supposed to be a no-no in regards to emitting whatever into the air). Sorry, my favorite Berndes pot, you're out. You're fired! (What the heck was all that Donald stuff about? Lawds.) . . . And, hello beautiful! (above) 

Turning chilly tonight. My Tennessee friends call it locust winter--which is when a cold snap comes in for a day or two after all the trees (including locust) have already bloomed from spring. Frost. Really? Ugh for my plants. Yay for me. I'm loving it. (Portland keeps calling, right. lol)

The hub is out of town. Here and there in bouts to the North. Therefore, I am getting things done. Finished finding, sorting, scanning and printing old photos and recipes for some of my cousins. I hope to get so friggin' organized before I move again, I won't know what to do. Little by little. Piece by piece, I'm gettin' it done. Of course, at the rate I'm getting all this "organizing" done, I won't be finished for another five years. Ha ha ha. 

Another Post

I've become so bad with writing posts, I can't even think of titles anymore. How pitiful is that? Pretty darn. All the royal wedding hoopla has made me miss being close to family. I finally found a box to hold my brother Jim's "candid" photos he gives me. Of all the places I looked for some type of photo-safe containers online, the only store who had anything remotely what I was looking for was Paper Source.  Go figure. Which reminds me, one is soon to open in Nashville! Yay! I found out that little tidbit while I was in Portland.

We've had beautiful weather since the storms came through earlier in the week. I've even been doing a little gardening and sprucing up the place a tad outside. I haven't done that in about two years. Maybe my mojo is returning. Let's hope.

Another beautiful weekend is upon us. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

"Come In," She Said

"I'll give you shelter from the storm."

We had a very long day of storm-after-storm hitting the mid-south yesterday. Just south of us, in Alabama, they had over 100 tornadoes touch down. I hope everyone is safe and has only minimal clean up. We were very lucky, again. My heart goes out to those who were not so fortunate.

Update: Seems the little fellers were waiting for the storms to pass because today, they were fluttering about testing out their new gear! It was precious to watch as mom and pop squawked commands (I guess). Bella got outside in the middle of the flying lessons, and I had to quickly catch her before momma pecked her to bits. Bless her little heart (momma, not Bella--Bella had evil things on her mind).

Easter 2011

 Happy Easter, y'all!

 

Hope it was blessed.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday

Another week has passed me by. I find it so difficult to write all my doings down in post form these days. Ugh. As usual, so many pictures to share, just can't seem to sit down and write around them. Well, I'm trying! We had a cool and rainy week which brought all of my lilies of the valley out in full force. Oh, I adore those tiny, white bells. They remind me of mom (Lillie) and my Aunt Mary, her sister, who had an amazing abundance of lily of the valley in her gardens. Awwww.

Saturday, April 16, was Record Store Day. I grabbed the hub and we made our way down town. We first drove by our usual record store, Grimey's; but the line getting into the parking lot (where the sale was taking place) was around the block! Um, I don't think so. So we continued on our merry little way down the street to Third Man Records. TMR was started by Jack White (of White Stripes fame). It just so happened that Jack was recording a live session for Jerry Lee Lewis this day.  I love Jerry Lee Lewis and even met him back in the 70s when my parents were always at a country music show--which meant that I had to go because I was a girl and my brothers couldn't be trusted to "watch" me. lol Probably a good move on my parent's behalf, but I hated it! Country music? Blech. But bad ass Jerry Lee Lewis? Always loved him. Shoulda been the Elvis of the time, but we all know he messed that one up! 

Of course, the JLL tickets sold out very quickly for the the small studio inside TMR. Then I find out that more tickets went on sale, with proceeds going to charity. Missed that sale too. Ha. Then, I find out the entire show was moved outdoors across the street in a parking lot!  The show wasn't supposed to begin until 5, but I knew we wouldn't be able to stay that long because, after all, it was the kid's junior prom night!

It turned out to be a very COLD day. Windy and no sun. And I don't think it was expected, because not too many of us were dressed for the wind. 

 But once we spied the Grilled Cheeserie truck, we got all warmed up inside. 

Literally, it did warm us up! I had the pimento cheese and bacon grilled cheese. Yum! 

We watched as Jack White was the first recipient of the Music City Ambassador Award presented by the Mayor. I got too excited and missed this shot and videoed it instead. Lawd, help me. Loves me some Jack.

The Killer's piano unveiled. Oooooh, aaaahhhhhh. Well, with all the waiting in line, we never did make it inside to buy any of the special stuff only on sale for the day. We had to get home as the afternoon was fading fast. The kid had his Junior Prom, and we had to get home! First things first!

 

I so loved making the kid's boutonniere with the Lily of the Valley from the front garden. He was so handsome. Sniffle. My baby.

Ok, so I wake up Sunday and read that the evening show with Jerry Lee had been postponed because of the weather messing with the instruments. The show was going on Sunday! Of course, I grabbed the hub again, and off we ran! Just in time.

Jerry Lee could still tickle those keys and his voice has held up amazingly well for his 75 years. He sang two faves, Whole Lotta Shakin' and Great Balls of Fire. The hub and I were definitely shakin' it up!

Here is Jim Keltner's drum set. Keltner has played with just about everyone--all four of the Beatles (even played along side of Ringo for the Concert for Bangladesh), Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Roy Orbison, Stones, etc. If those drums could talk, huh!

"I'm thinking about my door bell ringing. When ya gonna ring it? When ya gonna ring it?" Loved the doorbell notice.

And the Third Man Monkey Band! Yay. We finally made it into the tiny shop. Yay!

 Loved the decor in the little space.

And then we were hungry. We moseyed on over to the Farmer's Market and finally found our Waffle Man!

 Yum!

 Swing dancing going on inside one of the buildings. Too much fun to watch!

 We made it home and I listened to some of my new albums! Yaya.

 

Monday came and The Latin Wagon came to a neighborhood near me! Frankie and I ran over when we heard and got us some grub.

Tequila Lime Chicken Burrito w/fries. Oh dear, with hot sauce! It was amazing.

Now on to this weekend! Brawhahahahaha. It will be hard to beat last week! But, we're trying!