Hi everyone, I am back safe and sound in the nest!
Many thanks for all your kind words on Friday and Saturday.
Lots to chat about...
1) Like clouds they shape themselves and go...
It was a lovely and short service. It was also a brutally hot day - probably 90 degrees, but just before the service started a lovely breeze came up over the hill and cooled us off and drove away the friendly neighbourhood mosquitoes!
I bought two dozen pink and white roses, and besides the flowers we placed in the grave with my dad, we left my mother some lovely pink roses, my grandmother and grandfather some lovely white roses and a lone pink rose for my cousin Patty, who died very tragically when she was only 24 years old.
The evening was spent drinking red wine, having a bonfire and watching my son and nephew swim in the same river where my father and grandfather had swum when they were young boys. Those are full circle moments in one's life and I was lucky that I was fully present in the moment to enjoy it and know that it WAS a full circle moment.
We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast called the Victorian Veranda. I would highly recommend it if you are travelling around New Brunswick or en route to or from PEI.
This isn't my picture - haven't got mine up yet! The most interesting thing was that my uncle told me that my grandfather was married for the second time in this house, which was something I didn't know and which was neat.
2) I am not a marketing expert, but....
Last evening when I got home I had an email from J Crew announcing their new collaboration with E. Porselli:
Why did this strike me as odd? Well their website is also currently touting their new Kiki ballet flats, which has found a lot of love among some of us with picky taste and with picky feet. I think I fall into the latter category, though I wish I was in the former...
It seems odd to me that they would release two relatively similar ballet flats and promote them so close together, but perhaps that is just me? I certainly understand the cult following of the E. Porselli's, but it seems odd, especially since J Crew is marketing the Kiki as a "foot friendly" ballet shoe. Who knows the heart and mind of the J Crew team? Certainly not me. And luckily I am not in the market for $360 ballet flats. But if I were, these would be mine...
But I am not... phew...
3) Closet Update
Thanks to you all, things are really coming along as I work on my closet. I found a little roll-in cupboard and now all of my scarves and belts are stored neatly underneath my blouses. This may remind me that I HAVE scarves...
My sister-in-law took almost all of the clothes that I was going to give away; she has recently started a full-time professional job, so this was a great thing for her and for me to know that they are going where they were needed!
The next thing is to ACTUALLY do the clothing inventory list. Really. But not this week...This week I have a lot to do because Barry and I are going on a
4) Road Trip!
Friday morning, we are off on 8 days of travelling to Ontario and then Massachusetts. Barry has a meeting in Ontario one of those days; the rest of the time we will be seeing friends and sightseeing, including seeing Miss GetFresh and Miss Dani BP!
This will be the first time we have travelled without our kids, but the daughter is working and the son is looking for work. It will be fun and a bit different for us. One of the highlights of the trip for me, besides seeing friends, will be visiting Stockbridge, Massachusetts. My father was a huge Norman Rockwell fan and I am interested in going to see the Norman Rockwell museum and the quintessential American main street which he painted so lovingly. There are other art galleries in the town and lots of good classical and jazz music nearby, so this should be fun.
In the meantime, I need to clean, organize food for those who are staying home, pay bills, organize my packing, etc. Will be a busy week!
I am actually planning to blog most days along the trip, so you may feel like you are going with me!
5) Wimbledon
With everything going on this week, I have completely missed all of Wimbledon, but plan to watch the final between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic this morning. I have a fresh pint of strawberries, will pour on the cream and perhaps pour a little rose...
I have not played tennis for 25 years. Truly, I was not very good at it, but always loved watching it. As a complete and utter Anglophile, The All England Club and the grass courts are just totally bespoke to me!
Do you think Pippa will be there? If she isn't, it could only be because Kate is in labour! Did any of you read Pippa's article on Wimbledon in the most recent issue of Vanity Fair, the magazine for which she is a new contributing editor?
Yup, she makes tennis whites look good too..
I will be rooting for Andy Murray this morning and I am sure Miss Tabitha will be rooting for him as well! Go Andy!!!!
Well folks, those are my Sunday ramblings! Hope you are having a great weekend and have a wonderful day! Stay safe out there!
Many thanks for all your kind words on Friday and Saturday.
Lots to chat about...
1) Like clouds they shape themselves and go...
It was a lovely and short service. It was also a brutally hot day - probably 90 degrees, but just before the service started a lovely breeze came up over the hill and cooled us off and drove away the friendly neighbourhood mosquitoes!
I bought two dozen pink and white roses, and besides the flowers we placed in the grave with my dad, we left my mother some lovely pink roses, my grandmother and grandfather some lovely white roses and a lone pink rose for my cousin Patty, who died very tragically when she was only 24 years old.
The evening was spent drinking red wine, having a bonfire and watching my son and nephew swim in the same river where my father and grandfather had swum when they were young boys. Those are full circle moments in one's life and I was lucky that I was fully present in the moment to enjoy it and know that it WAS a full circle moment.
We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast called the Victorian Veranda. I would highly recommend it if you are travelling around New Brunswick or en route to or from PEI.
This isn't my picture - haven't got mine up yet! The most interesting thing was that my uncle told me that my grandfather was married for the second time in this house, which was something I didn't know and which was neat.
2) I am not a marketing expert, but....
Last evening when I got home I had an email from J Crew announcing their new collaboration with E. Porselli:
Why did this strike me as odd? Well their website is also currently touting their new Kiki ballet flats, which has found a lot of love among some of us with picky taste and with picky feet. I think I fall into the latter category, though I wish I was in the former...
It seems odd to me that they would release two relatively similar ballet flats and promote them so close together, but perhaps that is just me? I certainly understand the cult following of the E. Porselli's, but it seems odd, especially since J Crew is marketing the Kiki as a "foot friendly" ballet shoe. Who knows the heart and mind of the J Crew team? Certainly not me. And luckily I am not in the market for $360 ballet flats. But if I were, these would be mine...
But I am not... phew...
3) Closet Update
Thanks to you all, things are really coming along as I work on my closet. I found a little roll-in cupboard and now all of my scarves and belts are stored neatly underneath my blouses. This may remind me that I HAVE scarves...
My sister-in-law took almost all of the clothes that I was going to give away; she has recently started a full-time professional job, so this was a great thing for her and for me to know that they are going where they were needed!
The next thing is to ACTUALLY do the clothing inventory list. Really. But not this week...This week I have a lot to do because Barry and I are going on a
4) Road Trip!
Friday morning, we are off on 8 days of travelling to Ontario and then Massachusetts. Barry has a meeting in Ontario one of those days; the rest of the time we will be seeing friends and sightseeing, including seeing Miss GetFresh and Miss Dani BP!
This will be the first time we have travelled without our kids, but the daughter is working and the son is looking for work. It will be fun and a bit different for us. One of the highlights of the trip for me, besides seeing friends, will be visiting Stockbridge, Massachusetts. My father was a huge Norman Rockwell fan and I am interested in going to see the Norman Rockwell museum and the quintessential American main street which he painted so lovingly. There are other art galleries in the town and lots of good classical and jazz music nearby, so this should be fun.
In the meantime, I need to clean, organize food for those who are staying home, pay bills, organize my packing, etc. Will be a busy week!
I am actually planning to blog most days along the trip, so you may feel like you are going with me!
5) Wimbledon
With everything going on this week, I have completely missed all of Wimbledon, but plan to watch the final between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic this morning. I have a fresh pint of strawberries, will pour on the cream and perhaps pour a little rose...
I have not played tennis for 25 years. Truly, I was not very good at it, but always loved watching it. As a complete and utter Anglophile, The All England Club and the grass courts are just totally bespoke to me!
Do you think Pippa will be there? If she isn't, it could only be because Kate is in labour! Did any of you read Pippa's article on Wimbledon in the most recent issue of Vanity Fair, the magazine for which she is a new contributing editor?
Yup, she makes tennis whites look good too..
I will be rooting for Andy Murray this morning and I am sure Miss Tabitha will be rooting for him as well! Go Andy!!!!
Well folks, those are my Sunday ramblings! Hope you are having a great weekend and have a wonderful day! Stay safe out there!
I'm so glad to hear the service was lovely, I was thinking about you a lot Wendy! Don't you just love those full-circle moments?
ReplyDeleteI do! How was the 4th in the new house? I have been thinking of you and your lovely new house!
DeleteOh my gosh what time does the tennis start? I must watch! I always wished I were better at tennis as the outfits are darling. Look at Pippa she looks amazing in that photo. I always think she wears too much make-up which really ages her, but clearly she lays off the pancake when she plays tennis.
ReplyDeleteOh we were talking about your visit yesterday! We can't wait! I'm spending the week getting house and garden in ship-shape for you and Barry. It's a wonderful motivator. :)
Still loving my kiki flats. What's this about these spensive ballets? That is odd timing. Off to have a look now!
I have got to check on the time, too, but it must be any moment!
DeleteNo extra work for us - we are low-maintenance! My house is a disaster after the company and heatwave! It is going to be cooler tomorrow - so that will be the vacuuming day!
ReplyDeleteYour Sunday ramblings make me smile. Wonderful that your clothes are going to a good home. I thought the double ballet flatintro was odd too. How did I not know there was a Rockwell museum so close to me? Off to check now. I can't wait for your road trip notes!
I am quite excited Knityarns - have never been to the Berkshires!
DeleteThis is such a beautiful paragraph
ReplyDelete'The evening was spent drinking red wine, having a bonfire and watching my son and nephew swim in the same river where my father and grandfather had swum when they were young boys. Those are full circle moments in one's life and I was lucky that I was fully present in the moment to enjoy it and know that it WAS a full circle moment.'
What a lovely send off, I love the image of them in the same river.
Oh I quite fancy Pippa's boyfriend Nico, have you checked him out?
I kind of like Nico myself....
DeleteIt really was a touching moment to see those two boys in the water swimming in the same place where their grandfather and great-grandfather and probably great-great grandfather swam before them. That made the whole evening for me...
Yes, that's lovely so touching, it's almost the answer to 'what's life all about?"
DeleteIt has rained non stop all the long weekend...I actually cleaned up my attic space I have been soooo bored. Em and I are off to Charlotte, NC to shop Monday and Tuesday. I have a relatively short list but this is about Em. We get to go to The Container Store (so excited! we get to try to fit all her shit in a tiny dorm room) Have a wonderful "love" week with the hubs, have GF make you a special cocktail, and Dani make you a cake...her salmon looks real good too.
ReplyDeleteHey BB - have a fun shopping trip with Em! You are SO up for the challenge of fitting it all in! I am being brutal about all of it, and when we return from Ontario have informed barry that we are doing the crawl space and have a yard sale. 4 scariest words in the english vocabulary for him!
DeleteI am sure GF will have a couple of cocktails up her sleeve. Am hoping for cake, but no salmon. That would kill me and then you would all talk about what a lousy hostess she was behind her back and wouldn't that be so tacky! And then poor Barry would have to take over this blog and god knows what you would get...
ANDY JUST WON!!!! Congrats to all my British friends and a special shout-out to Scotland and Miss Tabs!
ReplyDeleteI welled up reading your full-circle moments, that is lovely. Would love to stay at the Victorian Veranda if I'm out that way. No $360 ballet flats for me but they seem a bargain if you compare to the $1,500 beach blanket.
ReplyDeleteI cannot wait to go on that roadtrip with you and Barry, when do we get going?
Yay to Andy and all who rooted for him! I slept in and being already hours behind you all, missed the whole thing ...
TR - I was SCREAMING at the TV the whole last game - it was such a nailbaiter!
DeleteWe hit the road Friday morning!
The $1500 blanket - who takes cashmere to the beach? Oh wait - that is probably a dumb question - people with more money than I take cashmere to the beach...
Obviously people who have money to burn, IMO, but then I'm certain others feel I burn money in a different way. THAT is the topic of at least one or two other posts ...
DeleteI never think I want to watch tennis until I do. Still kicking myself for missing the Michael Chang - Ivan Lendl match on TV in 1989. This sounds like it was a good one, glad it was a barn burner to the end.
The superficial part of me wants to know what you're packing for the road trip!
Oh wait! Didn't realize it was on a tape delay for us in California. Must find good substitute for strawberries and cream to enjoy while catching the last set ...
DeleteIsn't it wonderful that Ivan Lendl is Andy's coach? That is another full-circle moment for me! When I started watching tennis, Chrissy Evert (what she went by then) and Jimmy Connors were the Wimbledon champions!
DeleteGlad you are back safe and sound, before rolling out on your trip. I love playing tennis but I never got into the habit of watching it or following the pros. I did read the book "Open" by Andre Agassi, did you ever read it? (I am having deja vu, did I mention this before?) It was interesting. I am not a ballet flats person but I ordered the Kikis to try. I don't like or wear ballet flats enough to pay for the higher end ones. I am on the fence about the Kikis, though. The bows make me feel old for some reason, but they are comfortable and I like them otherwise. The black pair went back right away but the red pair is waiting patiently for me to make a final decision. I love red shoes.
ReplyDeleteCate - you do seem like a red shoes kind of gal - so full of life!!! I am about 10 minutes away from wide sensible shoes like my mother wore in the 1980s, though I am fight, fight, fightin till the end!
DeleteSHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE...That's me practicing my Saturday afternoon cocktail action WMM. Although now I want cake... So thrilled a Brit/Scot has ended the interminable Wimbledon drought. I actually thought one of the Brit paper's spoofs of Pippa's VF debut was pretty funny. But she seems like sort that can handle being taken down a peg.
ReplyDeleteRe. the JC ballets, I thought it was likely deliberate, kind of the ordinary and the Collection thing they seem to do these days. I was kind of disappointed in Repettos, our crummy pavement is way too hard on my ballets to justify heritage/ designer spend. And chuffed to bits the Kikis have heels and a LEATHER sole.
Agree on the ballets - I have flat flats - I like the little heel - infinitely more comfortable! 6 more sleeps!
DeleteGlad you had a great and meaningful trip and safe return! The area sounds lovely. The sun finally came out today after 4 days of rain. I wanted to go out immediately and enjoy it but I has to wait until the tennis was over. What a mail biter! I was yelling" Just finish him Andy!" I'm sure much champers will be consumed on the isle tonight. I love tennis both to play and watch so I am always up for breakfast at Wimbledon!
ReplyDeleteOh I even took a pic of my strawberries and cream!!! I was yelling at him, too!
DeleteYay for Andy, although I was previously rooting for the Polish player that lost to him in semifinals.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice ceremony you had and how sweet are those full circle moments? And yes, I had the same thoughts about the ballet flats when I got the email.
Yes and they wouldn't look fab with your new dress!
DeleteYour "full circle moment" is a memory of a lifetime - sounds incredibly lovely. Glad to hear Andy Murray won at Wimbledon, I'm sure Tabitha is celebrating right now! The Porsellis look like the Italian answer to Repettos - well made but paper thin and not much use unless one is actually a ballet dancer. The APC store has been selling Porsellis for much longer than J. Crew. Too bad I won't have the chance to meet you on your Ontario road trip but it will be much fun to see what kind of adventures you, DaniBP and GF get up to!
ReplyDeleteLouise - we will likely be back in next few months for business and we will do a lovely visit then!!!
DeleteHI there - I'm glad that all went well. It sounds like a fitting goodbye for your dad.
ReplyDeleteI'm also interested to see what you pack for your trip - so much easier when going by car vs. plane!
HI Patricia - I am going to try to be really good on this trip and not pack too much - we will see.. Will let you know!
DeleteGlad your weekend came off well. Wonderful swimming story.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are traveling north of ME except for the Berkshires; if you head up rte 95 be sure to let me know as you're always welcome!
I sure will Lane!
Deletewow, travelling by yourselves without chaperones- sounds like a weeklong opportunity for mischief!
ReplyDeletedo give the ladies higsfor me, I haven't had an energetic summer so far but things may be looking up.
where are we going next Fred? i always feel that I am travelling vicariously with you!
DeleteWhat a lovely image of your son swimming in the lake where so many others before him have done so! When are you headed to Boston?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteOk, I'm a hot mess today and can't keep my thoughts in one place. I think you should kidnap Dani and GF and we can all have a party in MA!
DeleteNo hot mess - no boston this time - but maybe in the fall! I want to do a Lane, AB, etc trip! Are you in Boston proper? Wish I had known last summer!
DeleteWMM, I'm in LA, sometimes in San Francisco. I just happen to be going to Boston next week to visit family and friends since my husband's family is from there and I went to grad school there. We were also thinking about hitting the NR museum this time (as well as VT, Maine and CT, so ambitious!) but it may not materialize given our ambitious schedule. If you don't come to CA, we may see you up in NB, it's really among my top 5 places to visit!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to shoot you an email in a bit. I've been meaning to ask you about plants, plus I realize I had responded to an email you sent me a while back and rather than head to my sent folder, it lingered in my drafts!
Ok, total hot mess, that was meant as a reply!
DeleteHey AB - that is funny! We are in Stockbridge weds and thurs night. very excited as I have never been in that area - for some reason we always stick to the coast!
Delete