Friday, September 28 - Massachusetts

Good evening! I have decided to make it a point to post more regularly, even if it is at times about mundane stuff. Tonight, however, I wanted to share the wonderful day I had two Sundays ago at my Niece's bridal shower :) Lots of pictures today.

My Niece has exquisite taste, and although she is keeping the wedding low-key, the details are definitely quite upscale! For her bridal shower, she chose the Tuscan Kitchen in Salem, NH, as a venue.

My wonderrful Sister (her Mom) planned the entire brunch. Quite an undertaking on my Sister's part: ordering invitations that matched the wedding invitations, coordinating the food and private room with the restaurant, the floral arrangements on each table, and countless other details that went into the day. This - on top of her full-time Accounting position.

Table Floral Arrangements

It was wonderful! Well done, Sis!! She probably left around 7:00 AM to head up to NH for the late-morning affair. I drove up but did not have to leave until much later. It was a beautiful day, on top of it all :)

The room she reserved was called the "Wine Cellar", for obvious reasons.

The Wine Cellar

The Wine Cellar

My Sister had arranged for pitchers of mimosas and sangria for each table, in addition to a table with a large tray of fruit and cheese appetizers to greet everyone.

Appetizer Table

Hot food followed on the buffet shortly. Mushroom and sausage fritata, Tuscan style brunch potatoes, ricotta filled pancakes, and something else. I cannot remember as I zeroed in on the pancakes! I ate three - they were that good!!

Food Buffet Table

My Niece opened a LOT of really great gifts that day. (I know, as I sat next to her and duly logged the giver and gift.)

Gift Table

Too soon it was over and people left in groups, taking their bridal shower favors on their way out. I feel good about that as I was able to contribute a little something to her day. The hand-painted glasses, each with a hand-written tag (my Niece & her fiancee's names on the front, washing instructions inside, & a short "hand painted by" on the back). Took a week for my hand to uncramp. My Sister bought gift bags and small bottles of Prosecco to go with.

Favor Bags

It was truly a wonderful and joyful day!


My Sister looked absolutely beautiful in her periwinkle-colored dress, and totally glowed with pride at her daughter. My Niece was stunning in a simple white flowing dress, but I think she would look great in anything.

So very, very well done, and hands down the most upscale bridal shower I ever attended. Once again, well done, Sis!! You outdid yourself on that :) You were absolutely amazing!

Stay tuned, my friends. A week from now I will be having dinner on Martha's Vineyard. Not lugging the laptop, so the adventures will have to wait until after. Getting away for a few days should help ease my somewhat frazzled state of mind. Work has gotten in the way of everything recently - not in a good way - and I intend to rectify that. Need to.

Wednesday, September 26 - Massachusetts

Tribute ~ Roger

Good evening friends and followers. It is late, but alas once again with sad news I post tonight. A good friend passed away yesterday. Finished brooding, I wanted to put a small post in his memory. Roger was a really good person who always meant well.

Truth - because it matters to me now - he and I were married for about two years eons ago. Divorced (amicably). I sped on with my life, career; left it all behind. Forgot most of it. For some - whatever - reason he never did. He stayed in touch with my family, who wisely (mostly) kept that info from me. I have no clue why he was so stuck on me, and never asked.

Got back in touch with him about 4-1/2 years ago, and we struck up a friendly relationship. I thought it was time to make amends. We went out for dinner every 5 or 6 weeks; sit and chat.

I do not know why he never let go of the time we were together. Not in a stalker way, but he just - never got over it. I guess that is the best way to put it.

Roger was diagnosed early Spring; he had chemo and radiation and all of that. It did not help. The universe and Nature are cruel.

And he passed away yesterday. I did see him before he went; a bare shadow of himself.

Roger was a very good friend, and a good person. I am glad we reconnected.

Sunday, September 23 - Massachusetts

Good afternoon intrepid followers! Yes it has been way too long, and yes it is my fault. I keep saying it will not be so long between posts but unfortunately this Summer it has been. Summer has flown by. This post will be a bit long!

Reasons (not excuses, but skew it as you wish; I make no judgement!). Despite regularly getting vacinated against it I caught pneumonia and was out of commision for awhile. This Summer beat a lot of records for heat and humidity... brutal. I stayed pretty much ensconced inside for much of the duration.

My part-time job was originally to be a few hours a day, a few (no more than 3) days a week. It morphed into much more. Too much more. I am not happy because it has burned me out. SO not what I signed on for. I will finish the season as I did commit to it.

There is no time for "me" and fit in the things I want/need to do. I have had to reschedule appointments etc. to accommodate this "part-time" job. I am supposed to be, want to be, retired. Not working for someone who keeps changing the Rules. Sorry - nope, not sorry - been there, done that. I worked for over 40 years for high level people in the Corporate world. My education and experience bear that out. I am not looking to revisit it, even at a much lower level.

Yeah, that was a whine.

Needless to say, this Summer was a bit of a wash. Several good things happened, however, that made me very happy :) I had a cookout over Labor Day and invited my awesome brother. We cooked steaks on the grill, had potato salad, and strawberry "shortcake" for dessert. I was so full! Here are some pix. It was a delightful - and delicious - day all around!

Steaks on grill!

Strawberry shortcake!

My niece's bridal shower was last weekend (more about that in another post). For the guest favors, my sister and I split duties. One of mine was hand-painting glasses for the shower favors.

And I spent quite a bit of time this summer painting glasses. About 26 total. My niece's theme is roses, and her colors are white and green. I bought 2 boxes of wine glasses, half short and half tall. Never having painted on glass before it was a very quick education for me!

I drew a template...Then painted. The green part took about 20 minutes per glass. Dry a few hours (well overnight, as I was painting in batches). Then paint the roses -about 10-13 minutes each. The humidity took its toll as well as far as drying time went. Let glasses dry at least 24 hours, then bake at 325 for an hour. Cure for another 24 hours, then wash.

My template

Glass before

It was fun, and I am glad I had the opportunity to contribute to my niece's shower!

I will write a separate post about my niece's shower, as it is worthy of its own. It was so elegant and wonderful!




Stay tuned, my friends. The week after next is my annual trip to Martha's Vineyard with my Brother! Ferry reservations are made, as are the room reservations. I cannot wait! Our trip this year will be a bit shorter. Hotel prices went up considerably this year, and the car ferry was completely booked the day we wanted to return. We shall still have a wonderful time, however. I have no doubt!

Thinking of you, Sis!