Summertime

Mary writes: The latest arrangement by Eneida - rose of sharon (hibiscus) and purple cone flower. I have a couple of big white rose of sharon bushes, but she found the smaller purple one that combines so beautifully with the cone flower. These are a much deeper color than they appear - almost a magenta. They are stunning sitting alone in the center of the table

This arrangement says summer to me. There's something so lovely and old-fashioned about informal summer flowers. I always thought a pitcher of wild flowers was more beautiful than the most elegant florist-made arrangement. That puts me in the mood for sunflowers. It's almost their time, I think.

Happy Anniversary to Judy and Rob

Today is Judy and Rob's 42nd anniversary. I said earlier today that I still remember being in State College at Mary's house when we were in college the summer that Judy was getting married. Rob had a job in a grocery store, and we went to the grocery store so I could meet him. I can still see him stocking the dairy case. Really. And they have been stuck in my mind as newlyweds ever since. Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know it was a long time ago and they are grandparents several times over, but I still think of them as that young couple.

So happy 42nd (gulp) Anniversary to Judy and Rob.

Judy responds to my earlier email:

Rob is still a newlywed; however, I am not. And yes Pat, I can remember very well standing in front of the Acme and then going inside for you to meet him. I used to watch him from the parking lot and see him at the check out. My expectations were very low. He worked full-time all the way through college. Memories - what they do for us!!

Bits and Pieces

No grand adventures these past few days so here are some miscellaneous items.

I usually get groceries on Saturday and didn't this week because it was so hot. I have to say I've enjoyed eating out of the cupboards -- it's sort of game to see how many meals are there. It's silly to confess, but I sometimes wonder how many days of food I actually have -- how long I could survive. I didn't really have this as a fear until 9/11 when I had cleaned out my refrigerator and cupboards two days before, was gone that Monday on a business trip, ordered pizza when I got home, and then Tuesday it was 9/11.

I often think of college days when we had those little refrigerators in our rooms and it was either feast or famine. We'd still look inside hoping that somehow a bunch of food would have miraculously appeared and not just that half-empty lone can of Hershey's chocolate syrup

I sometimes see those "doomsday preppers" on tv who have 5 years of canned food or whatever and I'm way far from that thinking.  On cop (reality) shows, I've often seen the cops/child protective services look in the refrigerator to see if there's adequate appropriate food for the children and I thought of that today as my refrigerator emptied out. There's still milk and orange juice so I don't think I'll turn myself in to CPS yet.

If 70 is the new retirement age, I don't want to wait that long.

Today it's been 75 and I've had the windows open, a nice break from constant a/c.

Ray the handyman emerged over the weekend and worked for about 5 hours in my garden, came back for another hour on Sunday and is coming back one more time so hopefully I'll have some photos soon. Everything is growing.

Melissa's Sunset

This is sunset over Gruen (pronounced Green) Lake (I think) in Texas from Melissa.

Trip Prep

I'll be leaving for Oshkosh on July 20. In advance of that, I joined AAA since I'll be driving and a friend recommended it. I never considered joining since I don't have a car. I have never had a mechanical problem with a rental car (knock on wood), but it's nice to have that road service available. It was onlty $48 and I took advantage of one of the benefits and ordered a TripTik, which is AAA's mile by mile map, in a spiral notebook.

The package arrived today, and not only did I get a TripTik, but I got guidebooks and roadmaps for individual states: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. All for free... well, all for no additional charge.

I have ordered a few new articles of clothes. Mary sent me a book on CD, and I ordered some from eBay (used). It was a lot of 5 books, for $12.95 which is a great price since the five books were some I would actually want to read. With this lot, you had the option of making a "best offer" which I'd never done before. I didn't want to insult the buyer, so I made an offer of $10 and it was instantly accepted. Now I have a little pile of trip things started. I wish this were a vacation instead of a business trip, and an exhausting one at that, but I am trying to make the most of it.

I'm sure I'll be boring you along the way with all the little bits of info I'm reading about in my guidebooks. I've also noted that the hotel did charge my credit card with the full week's stay, but I just want to call them to confirm the dates.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz & Pie

I have long been a fan of Debbie Wasserman Schultz, now chair of the Democratic National Committee, and I follow her on Twitter. Of course, she mostly Tweets about political topics, but today she Tweeted:

Thank u Miss Loretta-Big John's Shake Shack Marion AR.

3 words: Hot Fudge Pie

Best pattymelt ever!

Ok, that got my attention like no House vote, filibuster, pending legislation could. I haven't had a Patty Melt in years -- is it a hamburger/cheeseburger on toasted rye with sauteed onions? If so, count me in. But then... hot fudge pie! I thought I was aware of all decadent desserts. I imagined it as an  ice cream pie with hot fudge sauce, but as you can see in the photo below it's like a warm oozy brownie, best served with vanilla ice cream.

So if I ever end up on death row, a patty melt and a piece of hot fudge pie (with vanilla ice cream) might just have to be my best last meal.




And here's our girl Debbie looking like a woman of the people. Wonder if this is before or after her wonderful lunch.

Additional info... this is a patty melt as I know it, but looking at all the images, there are a whole lot of variations to it:

 

RIP Andy

I felt sad this morning when I read that Andy Griffith had died. He always struck me as such a gentle person, and the show created an incredible world that probably never existed but we wanted it to.

I can't say I stop to watch for that long when I'm flipping around and come upon the show on some odd cable channel, but when I do I am always struck with how very sweet Opie is. He was a child, not some miniature, wise-cracking adult. I mean, look at that face. And the frosting on the cake is that he grew up to be such a fine director.

Today Ron Howard wrote a tribute to Andy in the LA Times and here's how it starts:

Early in the second season of "The Andy Griffith Show," I ventured a suggestion for a line change to make it sound more "like the way a kid would say it."

I was just 7 years old. But my idea was accepted and I remember standing frozen, thrilled at what this moment represented to me.


Andy asked me, "What you grinnin' at, youngin'?" I said it was the first idea of mine they'd ever said yes to. Without a pause, Andy responded for all to hear: "It was the first idea that was any damn good. Now let's do the scene."