About Me

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West Virginia
When I started my retirement travels in 2009, I wanted a way to share it with family and friends as it was happening. Hence, "My Travel Journal". However I realized I wouldn't always be on a trip and wondered what to do with the blog in between times. My daughter pointed out, wisely, that travels can also include trips to the kitchen to try a new recipe, trips to visit family, trips to my neighborhood Starbucks, or a fun day trip with a friend. You're welcome to join me on any of these journeys! I've set up individual pages for each of my major trips (see tabs above).

Also, I have an Etsy shop where my current needlework resides. The last pieces I posted here were in 2013! So if you'd like to see what I have accomplished recently, go to (and I apologize for having to copy and paste):

www.etsy.com/shop/thedollhouseneedle

I recently added an "Italian Word a Day" thingie which shows up at the bottom of every page. You see the word and can click to hear it pronounced. I've been enjoying it and I think my accent is improving as time goes by.

July 07, 2011

The Last Couple Weeks

As my son pointed out to me yesterday, it's been a while since I've posted and I had been thinking the same thing myself, so this will just be bits and pieces of things I've seen and done just sort of hanging around.

Two times since my last post, I've kicked myself for not having my camera with me. Although the first time, I wouldn't have had time to get a picture anyway. I was walking back to the apartment one evening after my visit to Starbucks and I got to the intersection at my corner and started across and there went a man on a bicycle wheeling past with a gorgeous macaw (or some exotic bird) sitting big and bold on his handlebar. It was so delightful to see it was all I could do not to holler "hey, wait a minute!" But they were gone...I was telling a woman who was visiting up on the roof the night of the fireworks and she said "oh, yes - he lives up by us and takes that bird everywhere. The bird seems to love it." I just was so tickled with how he looked - just had a sort of stalwart look about him - ready for any adventure.

And the fireworks night was the other time I kicked myself for not having my camera and of course was too lazy to come downstairs and get it. Well, and in my own defense, I kept telling myself that if I did, they'd be done by the time I got back up on the roof. But, they were beautiful as always and I think this is the first time in the 4 summers(?) I've lived here that it wasn't raining. Of course, there was the minor point that it wasn't the 4th of July yet!!, but heaven forbid, we should celebrate a holiday on its date. Seems a bit much for the 4th of July, though.

At any rate, I went back up on the roof on the real 4th of July, again without my camera, cause I figured there would be some fireworks popping off here and there and there certainly were. It was kind of fun because they were everywhere - across the river, out towards Ceredo-Kenova, several spots out towards the interstate, some distant ones off in the hills - just everywhere. I had to be careful not to get dizzy turning around in circles to watch them all. :)

Let's see, what else? I had a nice visit with several of my neighbors at Starbucks one afternoon. It was especially nice since my friends I usually do things with have been doing a lot of traveling lately.

I did my rotisserie chicken thing - had it first of all with some garlic smashed potatoes and I forget what else for dinner, then made chicken curry salad for 2 or 3 sandwiches, made pasta with chicken, zuchinni, yellow squash and tomatoes. I've started adding a splash of wine to that when I make it and I think it gives it a richer flavor. Very tasty at any rate.

I got a mad whim to go through my closet and change things around a little. Finally admitted there was a pile of things I was never going to wear anymore, got them all bagged up and took them to the consignment shop only to find they're not taking any stuff until August. But my closet is neater and part of the arranging involved moving one of those shelf tower things I keep folded shirts in from my clothes closet into my "office/storage" closet, which then inspired me to dig around in there through some of my miniature supplies, which then inspired me to once again think about starting a little miniature project making a 1/2" scale kitchen using this delightful Roper stove I bought years ago. I'm hoping to get to work on that in another couple days - I think I've figured out how I want to do it which is half the battle.

All that clearing out meant I had to do a little shopping and I've just been being so inspired by everything that today I got the two pairs of pants I bought ready to hem. Oh, and the other reason I was inspired to actually hem something for a change instead of leaving it in the closet for the next 5 years was because I also got inspired to finally do something about trying to stop some of the heat from pouring in my two huge hall windows right on to my thermostat. I found some fabric that has some type of backing on it that is supposed to be energy saving and I think it will help some. Probably not quite enough to make it worth practically killing myself getting them up - and down - and back up again - and down - and finally up.

And, I seem to have spent a fair amount of time the past week or so looking at travel sites - not sure what will come of that, but I do start getting excited when I think about another trip.

That's about all my activity. It took them another 3 or 4 days to finally finish up all the 5/3 bank move. And now, the past 4 or 5 days, they've been tearing up the street a block down to lay new gas pipe. I'm glad of that because that's on my walk to Starbucks and I've often smelled gas - even reported it one time.

And, I was glad to see an item in the newspaper today that this has been the wettest spring on record in Huntington. Every time we had one of our hurricane-style storms I would think to myself "this has GOT to be unusual" and it was. Poor farmers had trouble getting any crops to take hold so the article was saying that things are behind schedule at our farmers' market.

And, I hear we're going to be getting another bakery - this one will be for cupcakes and I guess maybe cakes. The woman opening the bakery has been selling her cupcakes from the Third and Ninth Deli and they have apparently sold like the proverbial hotcakes (or in this case, cupcakes). One of Chris's favorite treats when he was living in NYC was a cupcake place (although he, strangely enough, got their banana pudding), so maybe this will mean more visits from Chris (tee hee).

Oh, and I finally, with a lot of help from a blogger expert, got some links put up on the blog to what they call static pages. I transferred my whole recipe collection to one, and will sometime get around to posting pictures of my miniatures and any needlework projects I've already finished and hopefully, some new ones occasionally.

Ta-ta!!

And I looked in my camera and my I-phone and didn't find a single picture to post!

5 comments:

Christopher said...

...yes, even though I may hear some of these stories on the phone, I enjoy reading them too, so I feel deprived after a week or two with no new posting...

"All that clearing out meant I had to do a little shopping"... :) That's the spirit!

I like the static links feature---saw those last night before your post.

Perhaps you should tell the new baker to start working on a banana pudding recipe for me...! I sure grew addicted to Magnolia's while in NYC!

Chinch said...

Was going to say that I don't see how a cupcake place will get Chris to Huntington if all he eats is banana pudding but I see he's already working on the problem! I'm looking forward to ALL your bakeries regardless of what they might be serving. because they all sound so good. And I like your new headers too -- is the expert blogger someone you know or someone Goggle supplies? Whatever, it's a nice addition and I hope you'll add the pictures soon and get stuff up on the needlework and miniatures. Can't believe it's already Friday -- gotta go to the grocery store. xoxo

Janet said...

I can't wait to see more pictures of your miniatures! The room pictures Chris has shown me over the years have been incredible!

Mary Lynne said...

I'm not sure what pictures Chris might have shown you, Janet, but if they were ones he took, I'm afraid you'll find mine aren't quite the same caliber!

jamie said...

sounds like you have been pretty busy. But then it always does! Can't wait to see the newest mini project. And - can't wait to try out the bakery some day!

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