Saturday, July 20, 2013

Random Saturday Musings

Hi All,

We interrupt our travelogue to do some Saturday chatting - still lots more pics and stories to come over the next few days!

However, I have a bit on my mind today..

1) A House does not clean itself

This was our first time leaving our pretty-much-adult children home alone for a week.  While the house was generally neat, it is clear that it has not been cleaned at all in 10 days, which was when I did it last.

Ick.

As I sit here and write this whilst I drink my morning coffee, I look at the floor.  The stuff everywhere.  The empty hummingbird feeder.  We will all (well mostly Barry and I and the son, who is not working and who was in charge of the cleaning) clean and straighten today.  I can hardly stand to walk on my floors.

On a positive note, they kept Indy the wonder dog alive, my garden has been cared for and the house is actually still here...

which makes me wonder...

2) Am I the only one who returns from vacation and wants to redecorate?

I don't know if it is the shops you visit, or your friends' homes, or the hotels and inns you stay at, but every time I return home, I am ready to move furniture, straighten up, clean out.  Never fails.


I got oodles of inspiration from that little shop in Elora.  I also got some good ideas from Anne and Dani's places.  And other little shops I hit.  Oh yes, and The Mount.  And there is a duvet cover from Pottery Barn I am set to order.  I know what I am doing all weekend....After I clean.....Am I the only one who does this?

3) and I will be detoxing....

If it was on a plate, I ate it.  If it was in a glass, I drank it.  You got it - this was the vacation where I became Alice in Wonderland...


This would be a completely true image if this were a bottle of St. Germain...


After having never had a drop in my life, I tasted this magical elixir at Dani's.  Oh it was divine.  So of course when Barry and I were driving home, we genteely entered the Liquor Barn off the highway in New Hamphire and bought ourselves two fine bottles of this elderflower liquer.  And then proceeded home at which time we mixed ourselves a St. Germain cocktail, which is basically just St. Germain mixed with champagne.  We had to drink people, the house was a mess.

But that was yesterday.

Why is it when you decide you will begin to cut back that you eat and drink more immediately preceding the beginning of your healthy regime?  Well that was me.  But as of today, I am going to cleanse for a few days with veggies, fruits and no alcohol.  Only for a few days, and then I will just keep cutting back.  sigh.

 4) It's not the heat, it's the humidity

Actually, it's the heat.

Yesterday, it was 100F in the parking lot of the Maine Mall in Portland, where we stopped for 15 minutes to run into J Crew (for me - only bought one thing, which I will model in the next day or so and which Ruth will think is funny!) and Newberry Comics (for son).

The entire time we travelled the termperature was at least 85, and most days was 90-100 degrees.  It got to be quite oppressive and while we were lucky because we stayed in nice places with air conditioning, it did impact some of our choices about what we would do.  No long hikes for us on this trip.  We did take a late evening walk in Stockbridge the night before last and were accompanied by dozens of fireflies and a couple of bats, so it was quite magical.

Because of the heat, I only wore about 1/3 of the clothing I packed.  The rest would have been too warm.  sigh...

Rumour has it that the heat will break this week.  Am crossing fingers and toes.

5) Chipotle

a takeout order from Chipotle is really all that my kids wanted (though they got more!).  They are crazy about this healthy take-out place and we ended up taking a cooler with us, and buying ice packs so they could have their bean burritos, etc.


A fast-food place self-described as "food with integrity", I have never had a bad order from this place.  My daughter would move in here if she could.  I think they thought we were crazy, we ordered so much!

6) And finally, where is my baby?

I was sure we would be talking about the royal baby today!  Guess not.  Maybe by next Saturday?

And that is all - what are you all up to this fine day?  Anyone feel like dropping by for some cleaning?

Stay safe (and cool!) out there!


28 comments:

  1. WELCOME BACK WMM, I too have lots of cleaning and organising to do so will keep you company. The heat did break here somewhat yesterday. (The rain/ lightening onslaught in Ottawa and coming back on first 150 km of drive was incredible.)

    Yay, to Chipotle, Indy, JC, BARRY the driver, St. Germaine(!), a new duvet cover...Will try to pop back and check the chatter later.

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    1. Now I feel better about always saying DBP should crack the Germain. Will send you a Miller Time cocktail for your post-recovery stash. I think Lane makes a good one too. Germain and Pimms perfect for summer.

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    2. We got these great boxed sets with tall beakers for mixing the cocktails - very luxe! All good - now to the food!

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    3. Ah yes the Treeline: vodka, St.G., lime juice and fresh mint, shake with ice and enjoy.

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  2. I do this exact thing when I get home from any sort of vacation, I want to re-decorate, even if it is a small change. The first time I went to Paris I think I repainted the entire interior of my house when I returned home, and I ordered new drapes for the windows. Isn't it funny! I always think it's a fresh eye or something!
    Well I'm sorry to hear that the house is a bit of a mess. I'm sure you'll have it tidied and clean in no time.
    That's so funny about the St. Germain/Alice image! I'm very glad we drank it together as it sure was fun but boy did I suffer with it.
    We had storms all night here and plenty of rain which has broken the heat. That might be coming your way!

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    1. And oh yes the baby! We're all waiting!

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    2. well glad I am not the only person who wants to move it all around!!!

      We are now cleaning like mad! Very invigorating...

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  3. All I request from kids when hubs and I go away is feed the animals, bring up mail, and do their clothes. I know their limits. While at college, Tyler only changed his sheets once. Ick. I am still in high "nest" mode and if it wasn't so hot I'd tackle the garage. I always detox before vacay and after, because I am such a lush. We are actually getting two Chipotles, never eaten at one. Lastly, baby anyday now! Nice to be home, eh?

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    1. Well they lost my keys (!) so didn't even get the mail after the first day!! son is already vacuuming and daughter is about to learn floor washing.

      There was a bit of a hum about the place. Now that the bathrooms are clean and the kitchen, is looking up..

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  4. House standing & garden & dog still alive, that's pretty good ! I have never eaten at Chipotle and we have one nearby. I heard the boss interviewed on TV recently which also piqued my interest. I think it's time I try it. Your timing at J. Crew was unfortunate, the new rollout is next week. Or fortunate, if you did not want to spend money! Welcome home, good luck with the re-entry!

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    1. Hey Cate - the pickings were horrid! If I had wanted shorts and a tank i was in luck, nothing else! Oh well, I am waiting for a % of kikis...

      Chipotles is actually really great food. I always enjoy it!

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  5. The Maine Mall, I loved that place, I had never know a mall before, no rain or wind, easy parking, I thought American malls were the best thing ever.
    Oh I hate my house when I come back from holiday, I always think, is this is it decor wise. Of course as its now all smashed up, I'm thinking how beautiful it once was

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    1. Perspective is everything, isn't it? I am so heart sick about your mess. What a terrible thing to have happened. Puts my dirty house right and properly in perspective!!!

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  6. I read somewhere that the greatest high we get from a vacation are the days leading up to it, oh the anticipation, the planning. Everything goes downhill from there. Like you, I'm suffering from it. What I hate most is the unpacking then doing the family's laundry. I took two days off from work to do just that and what did I do? Troll the internet, catch up with posts and order from Anthropologie. Bad mama! Sorry I do not like Mexican food so I have not been to any Chipotles in our area.

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    1. well we actually had a great time, so was a real nice trip over all, but I hear you!

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  7. Welcome back Wendy!

    Here the elderflower liquer mixed with champagne is the in-thing to drink,they have it in most restaurants.
    It was so nice to see you with GF and Dani!
    My husband is coming back from the US tomorrow and then its only 2 more weeks to go:)

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    1. oh wow! time is passing so quickly! I am glad to know that i am "in" in Germany! I am going to cling to that, as I am pretty sure I am "out" everywhere else!

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  8. Glad you're back safely. Were there any unauthorized large gatherings at your place in your absence? Still too hot to hoover here so i'm waiting til tomorrow.

    Maine mall does tend to disappoint overall.

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    1. HI Lane - nope, no gatherings!

      House now all clean! Thank god the air is cranked and was very cool for the hoovering and floor washing!

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  9. Love your random musings M. Sometimes it is good to see our homes through fresh eyes. It can be very inspiring. I love New England decor. So simple and fresh. Have never tried Elderflower liqueur, or Chipotle although I live very near to one. Thanks for your travel notes. I enjoyed them.

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    1. Oh Knityarns - hang on - there will be a couple more posts on them. I wish I could do simple and fresh. I do laid and overlaid. Oh well, we all must have a place in this world, eh? The Red Lion Inn actually reminded me of my house, which is odd, as it was built in 1773 and our house was built in 1978!

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  10. Hi Wendy, glad you've got the house back to the way you like it. We haven't yet left our boys alone in the house for an extended period of time - I would dread that!

    I haven't yet tried St. Germain, it sound lovely, quite expensive though. My friend in England often gets elderflower cordial, I'm sure that would work with champagne too!

    I don't know Chipotle at all - have to look out for it next time we are in the US. Enjoy being back home!

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    1. I actually have no idea how much St Germain is in Canada - we got a 750 ml bottle for $35. They don't carry it here in NB, so we bought 2 bottles!

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    2. It's $49.95 at the LCBO, quite a bit more than Ricard or Lillet, which we like in summer. However, I'm curious about it, so we might splurge sometime.

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  11. I'm going to disagree on Chipotle, the food is so salty that I bloat for days afterwards. apparently I'm In the minority, thought, they seem to be expanding all over the place.

    Like hyou, I come home wanting to live more elegantly, more simply, more stylishly, more plainly, with great attention to details while not sweating the small stuff. And I find that travel is broadening, especially about the hips, thighs and rear view.

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  12. I always suffer from house dissatisfaction after returning from a trip.... Plus our house is almost always dirty!! After 8 weeks away in Europe last year I arrived back to find that the tenants hadn't cleaned for what looked like the whole 8 weeks. It was disgusting, even by my slatternly standards!
    I'm v excited to find out what the item is that you've bought.....!
    I think you'll feel much better after a couple of days of no booze. I only drink on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays unless there's an event. I've been doing it since my ankle surgery and it had made a huge difference to my energy levels (and budget!)
    J has started doing it too, so we are both smug together!

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  13. I always want to decorate after I come home from a trip. I read home and decorating magazines while on the chaise at the pool or beach so I think that is why. I also think it is because you slow down a bit to smell the roses and then you notice your surrounding more. Don't be hard on the kids. At least the garden didn't suffer and untimely death while you were away.

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  14. Sorry about your house, WMM, but good you are back safely from your journey!

    When you finish cleaning yours, can you come over? :)) I only have one dog, but it seems I need to vacuum every other day. I also have NO carpets anywhere as I am allergic to dust. With the heat wave we've been having, she has been shedding like mad, even after an appointment at the grooming salon.

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Kindness is a virtue...