A run by any other name……….

This morning I managed to ruin a brand new $9.00 pair of panti-hose before I had them pulled up over my knees.    I’ve always had a problem with panti-hose.   This reminded me of one that happened years ago while out shopping during our lunch hour for panti-hose with my friend Vicki.

Staring at the abundance of different styles, colours, texture and types of panti-hose offered by Shoppers, I asked Vicki, “What would you call control top, queen size,  for petite panti-hose?”

Without missing a beat, she replied, “Desperate”.

Porsche big adventure

The real estate agent strongly urged us not to leave Porsche at home during the open house yesterday.  But what do you do with a seventeen pound cat that owns the house?  My DH placed Porsche in her cat carrier and braved back injury by toting her across the street to Winnie’s.

Porsche, DH and Winnie sat in her garden, watching the comings and goings of the open house.  Strangely enough Porsche did not mind being caged.  Usually the cage means a trip to the vet’s, so basking in the sunshine in Winnie’s garden would have been a nice change for our big fat kitty.

After all the excitement was over and we were allowed to return home, DH exclaimed that he was ready for a nap.   Our other kitty, Abby, (bless her little cat soul) always napped with DH.  Porsche rarely lowers herself to nap with anyone other than moi.    Sunday was different.  By the time DH’s foot hit the top step, Porsche was already sprawled across the bed.   I guess it was just too much excitement for her too!

Winnie is sad about the possibility of us moving, and states she won’t bother with a garden next year.   She is still a trooper though.  Not only did she provide us with cut flowers for the open house, she insisted we use a beautiful antique vase that belonged to her mother.   Winnie knows how to be a good neighbour.

Open house

Today was the day and never has the house been as neat and tidy.

Shiitake, shiitake

A year ago this past April, my DH and I attended a “grow your own shiitake mushroom” seminar held at the beautiful An artist garden bread & Breakfast located on the Bay of Fundy coast,  20 minutes from Fundy National Park.  the Village of Alma, and the Hopewell Rocks.

We arrived the afternoon before the seminar and spent a wonderful evening walking along the shore and grazing up at the stars.    We slept in the Stargrazer room which has a widow’s walk with an incredible view  of Two Rivers Inlet on Chignecto Bay.   Although it was a cold dismal April afternoon, a vase of Parrot tulips graced the table.  The inn’s slogan is “There will be flowers in your room”.

After a breakfast of home made bread and jam, along with farm fresh eggs, we spent a fun day learning about shiitake mushrooms.   My DH and I both prepared a log with shiitake plugs.   These logs have been stored under our back deck for the past year, as we were instructed.   We were a bit skeptic until last evening when Carl checked the logs.  And sure enough, we have mushrooms.

Supper breakfast

How quickly this week went by, here we are back at Thursday.  Rather than repeat a misadventure in eating like last Thursday, I decided to make supper breakfast.   When the kids were small this was one of our favourite meals, you know it still is a favourite of mine!   So next time, you’re are tired and can’t think of what to cook, simply make breakfast.  The time of the day doesn’t matter.

This evening we had left over potatoes fried with up with onions, red peppers and sausages.  With canned beans, pancakes, over easy eggs and orange slices, supper breakfast was a feast.

Our house is a very, very, very fine house

The house is listed with the real estate and we will have an open house this Sunday.  Keep your fingers crossed.

This day in history

Sixty years ago today my husband was born.  Happy birthday Carl! I love you.

Here’s some other events that happened on your birthday through the ages:

1790 – The first copyright for a book was given to “The Philadelphia Spelling Book”.

1890 – “Oh Promise Me” was sung by Jessie Bartlett Davis in the premiere of the operetta, “Robin Hood”, which opened at the Grand Opera House in Chicago, IL.

1899 – James J. Jeffries punched Bob ‘Ruby Robert’ Fitzsimmons into the next county via an 11th-round knockout at Coney Island, NY. Jeffries became heavyweight boxing champ as a result.

1924 – “Jelly-Roll Blues” was recorded by blues great Jelly Roll Morton and his band for Gennett Records.

1934 – Walt Disney’s famous ducky made his first appearance (as a bit player) on film — in “The Wise Little Hen”. Donald Duck went on to quack his way into mischief and stardom in 127 cartoons and features before his final appearance in 1961.

1943 – The U.S. Congress authorized legislation giving the green light to a withholding tax on payrolls — the pay-it-as-you-make-it income tax.

1946 – Mel Ott of the NY Giants became the first manager to receive this dubious honor: Ott was ejected from both games of a doubleheader!

1959 – The first Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) submarine was launched at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, New Hampshire. The USS George Washington (SSBN 598) was christened this day and served proudly until January 24, 1985. In November 1960, George Washington was also the first FBM sub to deploy on an operational patrol (with Polaris missiles on board and ready to fire).

1962 – A decade after making his first hit song, “Because of You”, singer Tony Bennett debuted in concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

1965 – Frenchman Michel Jazy ran the mile in 3 minutes, 53.6 seconds to break the 1964 record set by Peter Snell.

1970 – Bob Dylan received an honorary Doctorate in Music from Princeton University. Corretta Scott King (Doctor of Humanities) and Walter Lippman (Doctor of Laws) also received honorary degrees. Dylan wrote the song “Day of the Locust” about the event (it was the year the locusts invaded).

1973 – The first Triple Crown winner in 25 years of horse racing won the Belmont Stakes in New York. The thoroughbred that clinched horse racing’s most prestigious honor was Secretariat.

1975 – Tony Orlando and Dawn received a gold record for their hit song, “He Don’t Love You (Like I Love You)”. The million-seller was number one for three weeks (May 3-17, 1975) and one of five million-sellers for the trio. (“He Don’t Love You” was originally a hit for Jerry Butler in 1960.)

1978 – Larry Holmes beat up Ken Norton to claim the heavyweight boxing title in a 15-round decision in Las Vegas.

1980 – Comedian Richard Pryor was rushed to the hospital after suffering third-degree burns over most of his upper body. Pryor was nearly killed in an explosion while he was freebasing cocaine.

1985 – The Los Angeles Lakers edged the Boston Celtics, 111-100, to win their first National Basketball Association title in nine tries over the Celtics. The Lakers had been shut out of a championship series since 1959 when they were based in Minneapolis. The MVP of the winning Lakers was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

1992 – Entertainer Ben Vereen was critically injured when he was struck by a van while walking along the Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu, California. The driver, producer/composer David Foster, was not charged. Some hours earlier, Vereen had run into a tree while driving his own car. He blames that mishap for the later accident. He said, “I had hit my head on the steering wheel but felt fine. Later that evening as I was walking in Malibu, I had [a] stroke as a result of that accident.” Vereen says he then stumbled into the roadway and was hit by the van. Talk about having a lousy day…

1996 – Linux v2.0 was released. 2.0 was a significant improvement over the earlier versions of the operating system that some experts say will become a competitor for MS Windows. Several ‘flavors’ of Linux have been developed as many in the computing world look for ways to wriggle free from the clutches of “Micro$oft” and its wealthy creator, Bill Gates.

Birthdays – June 9
1672 – Peter the Great (Piotr Alekseevich Romanov) (Peter I: Russian Czar [1682-1721], Emperor of Russia [1721-1725]; died Feb 8, 1725; note: these dates are based on the Gregorian calendar — see May 30 for Julian calendar dates)

1781 – George Stephenson (inventor: developer of steam locomotive; died Aug 12, 1848)

1791 – John Howard Payne (composer, lyricist: The Maid of Milan, Home Sweet Home; died Apr 9, 1852)

1865 – Carl Nielsen (composer: Maskarade; conductor: Danish Royal Opera [1908-1914]; director: Royal Conservatory [Copenhagen, 1915]; passed away Oct 3, 1931)

1891 – Cole (Albert) Porter (composer & lyricist: Broadway shows: Anything Goes, Kiss Me Kate, Can Can, Silk Stockings; songwriter: I’m in Love Again, Let’s Do It, You Do Something to Me, It’s De-Lovely, Night and Day, Don’t Fence Me In, What is This Thing Called Love, Love for Sale, I Get a Kick Out of You, Just One of Those Things, Begin the Beguine, I Love Paris, In the Still of the Night, True Love; passed away Oct 15, 1964)

1900 – Fred Waring (choirmaster & bandleader: group: The Pennsylvanians: The Whiffenpoof Song; invented Waring blender; died July 29, 1984)

1908 – Luis Kutner (attorney: responsible for release of unjustly-held prisoners; wrote the living will concept; died Mar 12, 1993)

1915 – Les Paul (Polfus) (Grammy Award-winning guitarist: Chester & Lester [w/Chet Atkins - 1976], Trustees Award [1982]; w/Mary Ford: Vaya Con Dios, How High the Moon, Hummingbird, Sittin’ on Top of the World; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer [1988])

1916 – Robert McNamara (U.S. Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy & Johnson administrations; president of World Bank)

1922 – George Axelrod (playwright: Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Bus Stop, The Seven Year Itch, The Manchurian Candidate; died June 21, 2003)

1926 – Mona Freeman (actress: National Velvet, Black Beauty, Dear Ruth, Battle Cry)

1926 – Roy Smalley (baseball: shortstop: Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Braves, Philadelphia Phillies)

1930 – Marvin Kalb (journalist: NBC News, Meet the Press; Executive Director: Harvard University’s Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy)

1931 – Jackie Mason (Jacob Moshe Maza) (comedian: Chicken Soup, The World According to Me, The Jerk, Caddyshack 2, History of the World: Part 1; ordained rabbi)

1931 – Joe Santos (Minieri) (actor: The Rockford Files, The Panic in Needle Park, Shamus, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Blue Thunder, The Last Boy Scout, Sinatra, Trial by Jury)

1931 – Bill (William Charles) Virdon (baseball: SL Cardinals [Rookie of the Year: 1955], Pittsburgh Pirates [World Series: 1960])

1934 – Jackie Wilson (singer: Lonely Teardrops, Night, Alone at Last, [Your Love Keeps Lifting Me] Higher and Higher, Baby Workout, For Your Precious Love, Chain Gang; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [1987]; died Jan 21, 1984)

1935 – Diana Van der Vlis (actress: X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, The Incident, The Girl in Black Stockings, Ryan’s Hope; died Oct 22, 2001)

1939 – David Hobbs (auto racer, broadcaster, actor: Stroker Ace, Emerald City, Emmerdale Farm)

1939 – Dick Vitale (sportscaster: basketball analyst: ABC, ESPN; author: Time Out, Baby!, Campus Chaos – Why the Game I Love is Breaking My Heart; columnist: USA TODAY)

1941 – Billy Hatton (musician: bass: group: The Fourmost: Hello Little Girl, I’m in Love, A Little Loving)

1941 – Jon Lord (musician: keyboards: groups: Artwoods, Flowerpot Men, Deep Purple: Black Night, Strange Kind of Woman, Fireball, Smoke on the Water)

1950 – Trevor Bolder (musician: bass: groups: Spiders from Mars, Uriah Heep: LP: Equator)

1951 – Dave (David Gene) Parker (baseball: Pittsburgh Pirates [Baseball Writer’s Award: 1978/all-star: 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981/World Series: 1979], Cincinnati Reds [all-star: 1985, 1986/World Series: 1988, 1989], Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers [all-star: 1990], California Angels, Toronto Blue Jays)

1961 – Michael J. Fox (actor: Back to the Future, The Secret of My Success, Bright Lights Big City, Doc Hollywood, Greedy, For Love or Money, Family Ties; voice of bulldog puppy in Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey)

1963 – Johnny Depp (John Christopher Depp III) (actor: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Arizona Dreams, Nick of Time, Dead Man, Ed Wood, Donnie Brasco, Don Juan DeMarco, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, Edward Scissorhands, Platoon, A Nightmare on Elm Street, 21 Jump Street, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)

1964 – Gloria Reuben (actress: ER, Timecop, Shaft [2000])

1964 – Wayman Tisdale (basketball: Olympic Gold medalist [1984], Univ of Oklahoma [all-American], Phoenix Suns; jazz musician: bass guitar: group: LPs: Power Forward, In the Zone, Decisions)

1981 – Natalie Portman (actress: Mars Attacks!, The Prince of Egypt, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace)

Ideas from other bloggers

I spend about an hour a day reading other blogs, jotting down links to recipes I want to try or ideas I want to remember.  Here’s a few worth sharing:

Beauty that moves is a lovely blog with incredible easy ideas.  Check out her snack tray idea and her beautiful way to up cycle vintage tea towels

My Tasty Treasures is a female Howard Stern of the cooking set- her recipe for Unstuffed mushrooms is on my must try list,

I’m waiting for a lazy weekend to try Picky Palate’s  chicken rolls

For incredible photos check out Vintage Chica or Calico’s blog.

Got any good blogs to share?

Women should find you handy

The house is being listed on Monday evening, so we spent the weekend doing last minute rearranging, cleaning and otherwise pushing to get things done we have had on the list for weeks.

My biggest project was sewing valances for the living room window.   Mind you I purchased the fabric  a month ago but just couldn’t find the time to complete the job.   Working with 12 yards of fabric, 60 inches wide can be a daunting task but my DH made it a lot easier.   Don’t you love a man with an extra long ruler complete with a level.

The living room floor became our cutting table and the fabric was ready to sew in no time.  I’m quite pleased with the finished valances.   My DH had such a fun time cutting the fabric for the drapes,  he helped with the bedspread as well.  All I need to do is find the time to sew it.

Pink is pretty

The cottage swap block for June arrived from Kathleen in Delaware. She decided to make rose covered cottages, as the flower for June is roses.   Each fabric has roses or flowers .  As an extra Kathleen included a post card from her home state Delaware, which I thought was a cool idea.

Supper this evening was much better than last night.   My DH barbecued hamburgers for himself and I settled for a naan chicken pizza.   Eating on the deck with the sun blaring, the wind blowing through our trees and kitty at our feet reminded me how truly blessed we are.

As we missed our walk last evening, Michelle and I walked for an hour this evening.  On a good day I would talk to a stick but Michelle is even more outgoing than me.  It was more like a walk and talk to everyone we meet.

I’ve always enjoyed walking through a neighbourhood.  You see so much more than driving by.   We went through Michelle’s back yard and picked rhubarb from her neighbour’s garden.   I love cold cooked rhubarb for breakfast with hot buttered toast, but I will probably make a rhubarb crumble or a strawberry rhubarb crisp with this batch.