He'll Be Packed!

We went to Costco over the weekend, specifically to get cheese.  Jarlsberg cheese to be even more exact.  Will likes to have cheese sandwiches for lunch.  So, he bought three "bits" of cheese. Only, the "bits" are huge chunks. This photo is about $30 worth of cheese!  At about $4.50 a pound, that is close to 6 lbs of cheese. 

As we were checking out, and I see the three hunks of Jarlsberg on the check-out belt, all I could think od was my mother saying, albeit to my dad, "he'll be packed!"

Happy Birthday, Bestie!

Happy Birthday, my dear BFF!
Hope you have a marvelous day!

Happy Birthday Annabelle!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNABELLE!!!!!

Polished to Perfection

With the three day weekend (yea President's Day!), it is the perfect time to start the spring cleaning process.  The usual weekly dusting and vacuuming is done, but then the baseboards are wiped down and the furniture pulled back for a good mopping.

This time, for good measure, I polished the wooden floors.  The yellow pine hardwood is now shining in the sunlight-- and not a snowy boot print or muddy paw print in sight!

Three rooms took most of the day and I have a whole other level of wooden floors begging for the same treatment.  Like I said, good thing it is a three day weekend....

Root Beer Float

I had a hankering for root beer float.  I don't know from where this desire came, or why it surfaced in the middle of February.  Root Beer Floats are something for summer and definitely from childhood.  Maybe it was the unseasonably warm day we had, or maybe it was because I got a new bottle of CO2 for my Soda Stream.

I made vanilla ice cream--using David Leibowitz's recipe, of course!  I made the root beer with the flavoring mix for the soda stream.  It is the perfect kind of root beer: really creamy tasting.  In goes three (!) scoops of ice cream and fill the pint glass with the drink, and instant dessert and instant gratification. 

My British spouse was appalled that I used the ice cream in such a manner (his dessert was a bowl of ice cream with raspberries); My American friends over for dinner asked for more.   All I know is that for one summery day in February, I was feeling like it was mid-July and I was 14 again... 

The Royal Wedding

Ladies and Gents, we are less than 100 days away from when Wills will marry Kate!  The date has been picked (April 29), the venue secured (Westminister Abbey-- of course!), and the attendants named (Prince Harry as Best Man and sister Pippa as Maid of Honor).    I have to say that we are pretty excited about the whole Royal Wedding, and by "we",  I really mean me.  However, for the record, I was not the one to rush out and buy a commemorative tankard for the occasion.

On offer at the Royal Collection are a variety of things you can purchase to remember the event.  Will bought the tankard-- which is misnamed, as the vessel is actually smaller than a tea cup.

It arrived wrapped in tissue paper with the couples' initials intertwined.  The cup is manufactured in Straffordshire, UK according to "traditional methods that have remained unchanged for 250 years."  It is bone china and finished by hand using 22 carat gold.

Purchasing one of these items is a charitable activity, as all the proceeds go to keeping up the Royal Collection. One of the largest collection of art in the world, the Royal Collection  has been built up over five centuries of consecutive British monarchs "collecting."  One could probably argue with how some of the pieces of priceless works of art come into the collection (I am thinking of you, Henry VIII, and your monastery dissolutioning).  Ahem.  But, according to the little pamphlet included with the cup, this is the only collection in the world that doesn't receive public funding.

It is quite a pretty piece of china but I doubt that Will will let me use it for coffee, or even tea, for that matter.  (Not at $60 a cup!)  Having it now only makes me want to go over to London for the wedding just a little bit more. 

Happy Birthday Lucas!

From across the ocean, we are sending you happy thoughts and wishes for your birthday!!