Monday, July 31, 2017

Last Flight

Bittersweet.
I'm quite sure Prince WIlliam's last shift as a helicopter pilot was just that.

He gained so much insight into the lives of British citizens by this experience. He is so much like his mother. Compassionate and kind. She wanted to help others and so does he. He will make a great leader one day.  


https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2017/07/27/prince-william-pilots-last-flight-before-giving-up-his-day-job/504649001/

Thursday, July 27, 2017

A Good Day

I'm feeling better. So much so,  I spent the early part of my evening on these.
Its been awhile since I've trudged up and down those stair steppers. Yikes! I think my legs are going to hate me!
I was surprised to see some new flowers planted on either side of the steps. Something new to look at.
The city of Stillwater is sprucing up the place. Looks great.
Earlier in the day, the skies displayed a completely different picture. Dark, ominous clouds filled the morning skies. This was taken about 6:00 in the evening. A picture perfect moment.
I captured a boat headed down the river. It was so nice to just sit on the bench and watch the world float by. I heard everything. The chimes from the church bells, the horn on this riverboat, birds chirping in nearby trees.  Oh what a gift it is to hear. I'm ever so grateful for my ears.
If you are ever in Stillwater, MN, I highly recommend stopping in at Chilkoot. Best food EVER. I stop in every time I finish my workout on the steps. Their chai tea is a great motivator!

Check out their website.
http://www.chilkootcc.com/

Monday, July 24, 2017

Healing

Per my last post, I'm still healing from surgery.

Taking this blog off today.

Happy Monday to you all.


Thursday, July 20, 2017

No wonder kids scream

Have you ever had an earache? One that lasts for weeks and weeks and brings you to your knees because it hurts so bad?
That's been my story these days.

Yesterday I had surgery to relieve the pain.
Hubby brought me. Good thing, because wow was I nervous. My hands were fidgeting and I thought about walking out the hospital entrance just as the doors closed behind me.  Hubby pushed me forward. Shoot!

In light of the situation, I found one thing particularly humorous. ..I had to get a pregnancy test!  The nurse and I laughed as I said, "If this is positive, shoot me now!" Moments later she gave me the news. It was negative! WHEW!

My temperature was taken. Blood pressure too. Higher than its been in years. Hmmmm, I wonder why.
The nurse was in the details and handed me this souvenir.
At first I thought it was silly, but I found myself squeezing the soft bear a bit more as the IV was started.
One by one, my surgical team entered my room. The  ENT who would be performing the surgery, the anesthesiologist who would be knocking me out, and the nurse anesthetist who would be administrating the drugs to put me to sleep. All very important people! At that moment, I wouldn't have cared if a movie star walked in. Those 3 were my people!!

My doctor marked my ear. Hate to have him work on the wrong one!
 Before I knew it, the surgery was done and I was wheeled out the hospital door.
So much better to recuperate in my own bed.
I hate IV's. So happy when it was taken out!

What about you. What surgeries have you had to have?

Monday, July 17, 2017

Will she or won't she?

Today is her birthday.
Yep. The 'other woman' turns 70.
As you can probably guess, I'm not a fan! I will never understand how he picked her over the exquisite, Princess Diana.

The real question everyone is asking...Will she ever be queen?
I've often wondered what William and Harry think of it all. I'm sure they're happy their father is cheery with the outcome, but still. Diana was their mother. It all is so very complicated. Even a fiction story couldn't read like this not so fairy tale tangled romance.

I guess we all just have to stay tuned for  THE END!



Thursday, July 13, 2017

No Fair

Those two wonderful people
are here (in Spain...SIGH)
with these two lovelies.

I just know they're enjoying the pleasure of each other's company.
Maybe they just walked past these fabulous flowers...

OR
MAYBE they just ate a whole handful of these beauties and felt guilty that their very distinguished friend back home didn't get to share in the delight! (wink wink!)
This was one of my favorite memories of Spain. No bugs, cool evening, spending precious time with my friends. One of the most glorious nights ever.
I am picturing them waving to me all the way from Spain.

Hugs to you all.
I miss you.

Monday, July 10, 2017

Blown Glass

Have you ever heard of Chihuly?

"I don't want to do this. I mean, who knows whether it will be successful or not, but we did it."-Chihuly

Chihuly is an extremely gifted glass blower. We had the privilege of visiting his museum while in Seattle.

What does this have to do with my Monday England blogs? A lot, I say. A LOT!

Like most of us, mothers have an early influence on our lives. His mother was no different. She loved gardens. Flower gardens.  Chihuly loved the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England. Who wouldn't. England is the best place in the world to view flower gardens that simply take your breath away.
England is also the place where Chihuly was in a terrible car accident that ultimately took his left eye.

I took the time in the museum to view all of the video displayed.
Chihuly was quoted many times throughout.

"Art is needed in peoples' lives."
"It takes you someplace different every day if you let it."
"It will transform visitors in some way if they wanted to be."
"Start a project... None of us knows how it will look in the end."
"Making something no one has ever seen...and its got power."

What a fascinating art glass blowing is. Human breath and not many other tools.

His work can be viewed all over the world. The Bellagio ceiling in Las Vegas and The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN are a few examples in the United States.

Want to learn more?
www.chihuly.com.







Thursday, July 6, 2017

Lodge

If you travel to Olympia National Park, you must stop in at Lake Crescent Lodge.
The lodge isn't huge, but oh so quaint. A great place to come in out of the rain.
I don't know where I'd rather stay. The lodge, or these cute little cottages nestled beside it.
Notice the rocking chairs!  Cute!
View from the front porch of the lodge.
Inside the lodge.
So, this is the most notable piece in the lodge. For you young ones, this is a telephone booth! People actually stepped into a booth and dialed a phone from it!

This is the Robert Kennedy Phone Booth. (If you don't know who Robert Kennedy is, take the time to wikipedia him! Hint: he is related to JFK! I hope you know who he was!  Wink wink. )

So, legend has it Robert happened to be staying here at the Lake Crescent Lodge when he got the news Marilyn Monroe died.   He then spent  much of the afternoon in this phone booth. No cell phones during that age! Too bad for the other patrons who wanted or needed to use the phone!

The lights and fan still work in the booth. So does the phone! What would you need a fan for? Well, turns out people smoked in those booths! Imagine closing the door and inhaling those fumes! ( Cough cough! )

The gentleman at the front desk told me the phone still works and people call the number in the booth at least once a day. However, they don't realize they are calling a phone booth! I wasn't sure I believed that until...
Sure enough...the phone rang! The gentleman laughed when he saw my reaction! "Go ahead, answer it!"
So I did!
The man on the other end was calling for a chef in the kitchen! I was so excited to answer the phone, I babbled on and on to the poor guy on the other end that he was calling the Robert Kennedy phone booth!

"Huh?" the guy mumbled.

"No, really. You are calling a phone booth in the lodge!" I giggled.

The front desk gave me the number for the kitchen which I then relayed to the caller and replied, "Nice talking to you!"

I think he thought I was nuts and was glad to hang up!

The Robert Kennedy phone booth. Another reason to check out the Park.


  


Monday, July 3, 2017

Her

Did you know July 1 would have been Princess Diana's 56th birthday?

When she died all those years ago, I grabbed every newspaper and magazine I could find with her on the front page. No matter where I was, be it the grocery or bookstore, I made sure to collect them all. I still have each one.

Well, 20 years have passed and she still is the Princess of peoples' hearts. I found this edition just the other day.  I made a beeline and snagged the last copy! But...I haven't read it yet.

There it sits on my kitchen table, waiting.
I have to finish these first. Invitations. I'm hand addressing wedding invites for our daughter's upcoming nuptials. I'm just about finished writing them. Its been a labor of love.

A cup of tea and reading about Diana will be my reward soon!