On boots and such...

Sitting here ordering shoes online (fat foot and all....). I was looking at a pair of boots which, I don't care what anyone says, they're hot (always). I asked Mom if she'd ever worn a pair of boots. She replied that Dad used to buy her boot sample all the time when they were first married - he worked in a shoe store and bought her fine sample boots - they were $6/pair! Leather! Is that a trip, or what?

When she was first married, she reports that she had 25 pairs of shoes, each $1 a pair and they were excellent shoes. Amazing...

Forgot to post this great pic...

Borrowed a wig from friend Judy the other day to test the color (need to get going on my winter hair). Got Gert into the act...

Our next project is to put makeup on her. THAT should be a fun day.

Cavalia!

John and I took Mom to see Cavalia in DC on Saturday. We took in the 2:00 matinee and had a great time, once we got there. My Honda Pilot's navigation systems is, how should I say it....sucky. Got lost once on the way down and once on the way back. But, as life is these days, the 'lost' times were very fun and triggered some interesting memories for Mom. On one of our lost excursions, we wandered into an area where Aunt Molly worked in a grocery store and, over there (somewhere) was zaidie's store. Ended up on MacArthur blvd and saw some gorgeous old homes. The ride home was sort of like sailing - the trip was about the journey, not necessarily the destination. Ah, but I've digressed...

Cavalia is a fascinating show highlighting some highly trained horses and acrobats. However, unless you're aware of some horsey facts, you might not be as amazed at the moves that these animals learn and execute flawlessly - such as switching cantering legs or doing a cross step where all 4 legs cross over sideways. I know how hard these moves are as canine freestyle (which I do with Killian) is based on these horse dressage moves. I also saw the white stallions when I was in Vienna for business one year so knew some of the fancier moves and explained them to Mom so she knew what to watch for.

Regardless, Cavalia is an amazing show although not so much for younger children. We had a 4 year old behind us who didn't want to sit still or stop chatting. Even the parents were getting frustrated! 4 year olds would have more fun at a petting zoo, up close and personal. But, older children (I'd recommend 8 and up) and adults may love this show. It's a bit pricey at $100 or so a ticket but it's a worthwhile trip if it comes to a city near you. Mom really had a great time and John and I both love getting her out with us as much as we can.

Spent yesterday down at the bay, sailing to nowhere (at a slow pace, btw!). But, the sun was warm, John even took a swim (I was not as brave as the water was 70 degrees - burr...), the bloody mary's were flowing, and we had a great time with friends Al and Michelle. We took a walk over to Chesapeake Beach where I found a man who taught me to find shark's teeth and skate plates (they grind their food between serrated plates - the thingee in the bottom of the photo to the left is from a skate (about 10 thousand years ago!).

Now, I've looked for 51 years and never found one shark's tooth - this guy reached down and found 8 in about 2 minutes. I finally found one on my own although John tried to help me along I think by 'planting' one in a group of shells in his hand for me to find - well, it counts...He got pretty good at finding them too. I'm ready next time though - I know what to look for now (well, it's a theory).

We have achieved blast-off!

Well, we've been fairly successful of late in blasting Gert out of her chair. She got a hair cut last week which is beautiful - her hair was the longest it's ever been prior! We've been to the chinese grocery a few times (hey, I take what I can get....).
John, Gert and I met up with Mark and Jeff for Jeff's 50th birthday. Headed over to Carraba's for a very good italian dinner. What made it SO good was I didn't have to cook.

One day, Gert and I spent an hour or so perusing the 'treasures' at TJ Max. That store is quite interesting - it's sort of like an 'I can't get there from here story' as, no matter what I find that I like, it's not in the right size, it's not in the right color, it's not the right style or, if I manage to satisfy all of the above, it's got a button missing.... I did manage to get some very nice bath towels and scored some Jordan almonds for Mom during our shopping tour - one of her favorite treats.

When we were coming home from TJ Max, I gave her 5 almonds to chew on during the ride. We got home, settled back into the livingroom and she asked for some more almonds. Now, we've both got a lot of experience with introducing 'new' foods to her - it's best to introduce slowly and wait for the effects to sort themselves out (I know this first person as I think I put her in the hospital a few years back by serving her some innocent looking fresh pineapple...). Anyway, I told her I didn't want to give her any more during the first seating so the little thing looks at me, stands up, sits back down, hold out her wobbly hand and says 'There. This is the next seating.' She got her almonds. And, for future reference, we're in the clear...

Mom and I have also been busy putting together a few of the new office pieces - so far, we've done 2 filing cabinets and 1 to go. She's very good at figuring out what goes where - I, however, did not receive that gene from her. My genome is filled with Dad's head-scratcing, slightly concerned gene titled 'How'd that get there or, more likely, where the heck does that go?' He and I also shared the 'extra part left over' gene...Needless to say, Mom's more handy with this stuff than I am so I leaned on her a lot with the construction. She handled all the instructions and told me what went where. Much easier this way.

Handyman extraordinaire and I put together 3 of the 4 desks in the room. He had to finish up himself as I was plumbed tuckered out. But, with dear friend Nancie's decorating touch, the room is coming together in fine fashion. Nancie is so good at decorating that she's able to do it long distance - she being in NY and me being, well, not....Nonetheless - she picked the beautiful blue paint for the room in about 30 seconds and it's exactly right.... So, the room should be totally finished, telephone line moved along with the cable line by Thursday. Cannot wait to get my dining room back!

Jumping back a few days....

John and I spent Labor Day night anchored out down in Solomon's Island. Had a very pleasant sail down, stopped twice and swam during the day. We had a great afternoon at the Tiki bar, talking to a few locals which is always fun. Evening found us in a beautiful cove across the river, surrounded by just a few other boats. We jumped in and swam for an hour or so before throwing steaks on the grill, accompanied by sauteed mushrooms and onions. Great friend David1 had given us a special bottle of wine from his family's vineyard in Peru which made the meal even more special. Had a great time and a very restful night under the stars...until....

The storm of the century hit the next morning...

Oh, man, the harbor we were in was glass-like when we awoke early - should have known something was going to happen. We got the boat together and stowed everything (we thought), rounded the corner of the Patuxent river into the Bay and BAM! 5' swells had us singing the theme to Gilligan's Island (and me without high heels or even one long formal dress...). Namaste II, being a power sailer, motored through at a steady 8 knots but there was no sailing to be done this day! She handled the swells pretty well, especially considering she's not a heavy keel boat. We bobbed, we rallied, we dodged left, we weaved right, we rose, we fell. We did it all...and again... and again... and again. Finally we got back to the harbor at Chesapeake Beach in what turned out to be pretty good time...3.5 forever hours! We both ran for the hot shower as we were soaked from the sea spray. Luckily, the water was 74.5 degrees still so it wasn't too horrible, but we were both pruny anyway. A good lunch finished the day before I hit the road while John stayed behind to put the boat back together. All in all, a grand day.

Proof that there is a 6:15 in the morning

John and I generally get up around 4:30 or 5 in the morning but I just knew Mom didn't believe that time existed as she usually rolls out of bed around 9 am. Actually, she's been getting into a pattern I'm not liking so much; she gets up early for coffee and 'just a little something', goes back to sleep and gets up at 9 for coffee and 'just a little something' - now, my read on this is that she's getting an extra breakfast serving somewhere along the line.

She got up this morning at 6. I greeted her with a cheery 'Good Morning, Sunshine.' She looks at me through bleary eyes and replies 'it's more like moonshine....' She's got it goin' on even at 6:15.

Nephew Greg, niece Nora, and Sis-in-law Linda came over for a visit yesterday afternoon - nice way to break up the week. Mom loves having visitor, especially during the day.

Sophia and Bobbi came over for dinner last night. Made some great chicken kabobs on the grill, rice and Sophia mixed up some vegetables, chinese style. Delicious. John worked late but sent him off today with breakfast AND lunch - not a bad gig, if you can get it.

Heading down to the boat Sunday night for an overnight run - our first at actually anchoring out. Got a nice steak dinner planned with a special bottle of wine. Looking SO forward to it!