CRAZY TOWN WAITING ROOM - TESTS coming up? All Stages Welcome.
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Rainny- I loved hearing about your visit with your mom. And she cooked a lamb. Really tugged at my heartstrings. My mom loved seasonal decorating, and cooking, and we usually had a lovely "joint" on this day. She was not above sneaking me a chocolate bunny well into adulthood, and I always gave her an orchid in a pot for her patio. She had quite a collections! How I miss her today.
Here is some lovely mint I have growing for you. It is a very, shall we say, eclectic grouping, having lavender, tarragon, ferns, and even a clematis stuck in there. But mint must be potted, as it has lodged campaigns of takeover and garden coup for millennia. Haha.
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Beautiful grouping, Katy. My garden is ALL like that, just things I have acquired over the last 17 years, since I have been holding still at the same place! I love it though, all jumbled up flowers, herbs, vegetables, sprawling everywhere in my very limited space! I have taken pictures every year, and can look back on how its changed. I loved nurseries, and always found a few things to tuck into a pot, and then walking in the peculiar city that is Los Angeles, aqquired many kinds of succulents and other things easy to start from a small piece. I used to walk with a bag slung over my shoulder, garden shears, and my camera! I don't know why I don't do it anymore.
I am so glad that you have pictures posted of the get together, and I was wondering if that was you, HBCheryl!! With the brilliant light reflecting hair, like an aura around your head! Crazies, I can't believe it, I washed and serviced my car, checked tire pressure, put sun glasses in my car the day before, got clothes laid out , and even make up laid out, coffee pot ready so I could expedite getting out of the house. At around 10:00, I got a call from our Dear Mayor, because: I did not wake up. I was so pissed at my self, I cried with anger at myself. I missed all the fun: each crazy I didn't get to meet for the first time, and to just be standing near Poppy and Beppy, and Cheryl, whom I have already met and broke bread with, and laughed with. So, my heart is still a little bruised about it this morning, having also missed the fun of meeting Gabe, Octo's tote bag, and especially the Emoji masks... when I found out Slow was going to do that, I was planning on asking each woman to give me her scribblature, or autograph, because well, you guys are ALL celebrities to me...
My apologies especially to you, Bep.
When She called, I guess I really slept like a log: I woke with my kindle in one hand, and my phone in the other, on my back, and slept that way through the night, not flipping once did I move.
Welcome to you, LACROSSE MOM, and happy Easter to those of you who celebrate the movable feasts.
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Lacrossemom .welcome.. Sorry you need to be here... but glad you found this wonderful site.
Hm.. I have spent ages trying to guess who is behind each mask !!!??!!
Hope you are all having a wonderful Easter.!!
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Oh, poor Tomboy!
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Happy Easter, everyone! That SoCal gathering sounds like it was a blast! Don't feel too bad, Tomboy: I slept in like a slug yesterday (till 1pm, missed breakfast so I had to settle for an Atkins bar & espresso in my room. The hotel has Nespresso machines in the rooms and provides the capsules for free (unlike every other hotel I've stayed in that has the machines--I brought 2 sleeves of them with me, talk about "coals to Newcastle"). With what little time I had left before the group outing, I walked through Green Park to Buckingham Palace and St. James' Park & back. Very rainy & windy--typical for London in March. Sacrificed an umbrella to the gales.
That stubborn elbow scrape is not going away any time soon. Because I can't buy antibiotic ointment here, all I can do is keep it washed and use antiseptic/anesthetic gel & band-aids...which aren't cutting it. It's agony turning over in bed; and it's still oozingly infected (though not causing cellulitis). When I get to our hotel in Lausanne, I think I'll seek out an urgent care facility (or the on-call doc for an antibiotic ointment scrip if I can't buy it OTC over there). We arrive at the hotel about 2-ish, with nothing scheduled till noon on Tues. I filled a scrip for Keflex before leaving home, but I don't think the wound is bad enough to warrant it...yet. No LE flare, knock wood.
Last night the group went to Greig's Grill, where I had champagne, shrimp remoulade, steak and an Argentinean Malbec (sadly, a very meager by-the-glass list). Saw "Mrs. Henderson Presents," a musical based on an '05 Judi Dench/Bob Hoskins flick (based on a true story) about a rich widow who bought a Soho theater (the Windmill) as a hobby. She decides to put on a vaudeville revue, but loses money hand over fist until she has an epiphany after getting a huge bill for costumes: she has the chorus girls pose in nude tableaux--because they are posed artistically and are motionless, she convinces the censor board that it's no more lewd than paintings or sculpture. The show is a hit, and as WWII begins, she gives soldiers & sailors free admission, reasoning that for many of them, it may be the first and last chance they'll ever have to see female nudity. Even during the worst of the Blitz, she keeps the show going, coining the phrase "We Never Close." (The establishment now on the site of the Windmill is a "gentlemen's club"). It was a fun show, quite corny and the nudity was very tasteful (the Moulin Rouge, Lido or Crazy Horse it's not). Very well-performed, with the comedy and pathos exactly where and what you'd expect. Probably won't make it to B'way, as it's very Brit-centric.
Last night we lost an hour of sleep--apparently, N. America jumped the gun on DST, so on this side of the pond they "sprung forward" last night. Amazingly, my Fitbit figured it out. Tomorrow when we cross the Channel we lose another hour going from GMT to CET!
Today, a friend & I took the Big Bus circle tour--and due to unexpected police-dictated detours that added an hour, we arrived at the Lanesborough for afternoon tea exactly when we'd originally planned to walk there from our hotel. We had the "Prestige Tea," which included salmon/caviar and truffled egg salad sandwiches, among others, plenty of pastries, scones, and hot cross buns. Our pick of various teas (I love Earl Grey, but I can get that anywhere, so I had their special gunpowder green-Darjeeling blend. And of course, a couple of glasses of Dom Ruinart champagne! Here are a couple of shots. In the background are two of our fellow lawyers. First, the munchies halfway through our decimating them (and yup, that's Wedgwood on the walls):
Next, the teapot--they even had a "cozy" for the handle!
Check out the detail on the spout!
Here are a couple of shots of the display in the lobby (they sent us home with some little milk-chocolate-truffle eggs):
Of course, E.T. phoned home, but from her cell, not from:
Have to leave for the airport at 7am for a 9:20 flight to Geneva, so we'll miss breakfast. Hearing that, our waiter sent us on our way with scones and some pastries! Got a 5:30am alarm, so off to bed--check back in here from Lausanne!
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Hi everyone. Beautiful pics! Pinky's up luv it!
Lacrosse! A Big Hi to you!!!!! Very scary but this forum is awesome. No matter what stage or phase of it your going thru, you find peeps wheeling to share and comfort. Actually the whole Web site is a go to.
Kudos to slowdeepbreaths.
Cubbie hang tough!
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Wow, thanks for posting those, Chi! I love those sweet little bunnies in that fantastic lobby display!
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Northern Flickers celebrate spring
Tomboy- hugs and a homemade chamomile-mint salve for where it hurts. 👭 I would love to see your garden someday. You describe it as hodgepodge, but I know you are an artist. I'm sure it reflects those sensibilities.
Sandy- wonderful recap of events so far. And indeed a fabulous high tea! Crazy-worthy! All of the photos are marvelous! Enjoy the rest of your trip.
We didn't have Easter plans, but the sun came out unexpectedly. Roamed around in the garden a bit, planted out some sweet peas and noticed the wisteria is poised to bloom. We are expecting a slew of sunny days next week. So I post the following for future comparison.
At the top you can see the blue blooms starting to open.
We topped offthe day (Jack and I) by sharing a ham sangwich for our Easter supper. It was very companionable and nice.
At the very top also, if you are interested, (I can't seem to place the link down here where it belongs) is a youtube of the back garden, with northern flickers celebrating the rite of spring.
Above is a "borrowed" pic of what you hear in the video:
I have just been informed the Flicker is part of the woodpecker family. They do look a lot like a downy woodpecker done in brown instead of black.
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Katy , Wonderful tranquility! Pulse relaxer.
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Happy Easter. Tomboy, we decided we will do it again soon. I would love to meet sweet, wonderful you some day. Sandy, your high tea looks wonderful. I love the Easter decor. Here is Ayden coloring eggs yesterday. We did the egg hunt and baskets yesterday because DD is off with her BF today. That's my DH in the background.
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Katy, how beautiful and peaceful. Thanks for sharing.
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Happy Easter, Happy Spring! I made it back home in one piece after being in SoCal for eight full days....not a bit of traffic so made record time from Riverside to my daughter's this am, where I played with the grandkids for a few hours (needed a bit more of a fix though I did spend last weekend and part of Thursday with them), before making record time once again from daughter's home to my own...got home half an hour earlier than my ETA (yeah, ok, so I like to go way too fast on the freeway when traffic or lack thereof permits, I admit it...) which had hubby unprepared to meet me: he hadn't showered yet, nor had he finished the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen from my week away, or even planted all the peppers and flowers he picked up for the garden this week....then he said, 'oh I didn't expect you yet'... like he was REALLY going to do all those dishes and take a shower in half an hour? Men, what do they think, I wonder?
But that's ok, because he is smoking ribs for my dinner, and has a cole slaw and potato salad in the fridge and even bought champagne ("to celebrate that you are home again"); he claims he read that it goes with smoked ribs...we shall see!
My garden isn't fully planted yet (the tomatoes are in though, woo hoo!) but it is gorgeous here in the Great Central Valley. Everything is so much greener than I remember from the past few years. And the Annual Spring Miracle has occurred: This year I saw absolutely NO bees, despite planting lavender to attract them, but there are cherries on my cherry tree!!!! HUGE WOOHOO!!! (Cherries require cross pollination to bear fruit). Can't wait for them to ripen.
Yep, there is no place like home.
Tomboy: I was sad too, but don't let it hurt your heart. I come to SoCal at least quarterly for work, so we agreed we would do it again soon! Maybe next time I will swing by and get you....We will meet and laugh and all the rest.
Poppy: Thanks for the tip on Mario's Place in Riverside: really excellent Italian food! I'd like to go back. Although Mayor Slow did promise she'd cook italian for us next time....
Katy, I've heard told that mint will take over a garden, but whenever I try to plant it it just withers away...too hot here? I thought it liked hot climes...or maybe it is just my brown thumb. But yours is gorgeous! I have a friend who has a wisteria party every year when it blooms...and she usually roasts a leg of lamb for it!
Molly, looks like Ayden is taking the coloring process seriously!
Welcome, Lacrosse Mom! pull up a chair on the porch...
Sandy, great pics and I hope you find something to get that arm fixed up!
Ok, off to sample ribs and champagne. Love to all. Thank you for being there!
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🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙- oh I'm sure he was getting all that done in a half hour. But ribs trumps all. Or should I say ribs with 🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾 trumps all. IMHO, champagne goes with everything.
I am thinking definitely a wisteria party! That would call for champs, and limoncello! And these cupcakes
http://www.agardenforthehouse.com/2016/03/limoncel...
They have a marmalade surprise inside!
I don't know what to say about mint dying on your watch. I don't dare plant it in the ground. I gave the previously pictured bunch a severe haircut in the fall. To the soil line practically. It is thriving!
Everybody have a nice evening!
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Katy, thank you so much for the mint! Had it with a small leg of lamb for dinner, as well as roast potatoes and asparagus with butter and lemon, which as you know is magic sauce that makes everything taste good. I can't wait to see your garden unfold this spring and summer!
So-Cal ladies, one thing about your picture didn't hit me until today; you were all wearing warm-weather clothing! (As I sit here in a turtleneck and cardigan.)
Sandy, thanks for the travelogue. Hope your wound clears up soon.
Tomboy, I know you were missed. Next time!
Funthing, that is an amazing photo. Makes my mouth water--truly.
Molly, love Ayden. And the expression on your DH's face!
Octo, why on earth wouldn't ribs and champagne go together? Sound fine to me!
Mint definitely will take over a garden. Very predatory plant. I have it in window boxes on our fire escape garden in the summer, and it attracts bees! I have found that if you plant zucchini close by, the flowers will get pollinated.
G'night, all!
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Rain, I am telling you: you should send DS to UCLA so you could learn why people come here and never leave (it is the weather!)...although that doesn't explain why my son, California born and raised, left to go to graduate school back east and now swears he is never leaving New England! But then, he always did march to his own drummer....
besides, think of the fun we could have at CT get-togethers when you come out to visit your DS...
Octogirl
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Octo, don't think it hasn't occurred to me! We'll see....
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Welcome to Crazy Town, Euro-branch-office!
Set my alarm for 5:30 am, but was awakened about 3 am by rumbling--and it wasn't the HVAC system. Removed my earplugs only to hear the windows rattling and the wind howling--rain, hale, hurricane-force (75+ mph) winds. "Storm Katie" was declared a hurricane. Kept going online and calling Swissair to find out about whether our flight from London City to Geneva would be postponed, but everything online said "on-time," and our concierge confirmed. So the 14 of us caravanned in 3 large taxis from Mayfair to London City Airport, way east of town.
Got there only to find one of our traveling party (my Paris dining-and-shopping-buddy for after the course) was denied entry into Switzerland and the mainland EU countries because her passport is expiring in three weeks, and the EU & Switzerland require a passport be valid for at least 90 days after departure. (The UK is a bit more lax, which was how she got here in the first place--but you'd think that the Bar Assn., travel agent and United agent at O'Hare would have given her a heads-up, since they all knew her full itinerary). She had only two choices: stay in the UK up till her planned return to the US, or go home now. She took a cab back into the city to go to the US Embassy for an overnight passport renewal, only to find it closed for the Easter Monday bank holiday (apparently the State Dept. takes holiday Mondays off too). So rather than stay another night in London and try again tomorrow, she cabbed it to Heathrow, for a flight home this afternoon. Can't even hang out with her in the lounge, since she's on a different airline.
Meanwhile, backing up a few hrs., we went through security (had to put my asthma inhaler and LIPSTICK into a plastic baggie, and my knees set off the metal detector) and into the departure area--we were given no gate information, only "wait in lounge." Suddenly it switched to "see agent." Then came the announcement: "Swissair regrets to inform you that all flights from here to Switzerland have been cancelled. Please see ticket agent." Well, it was utter chaos. You'd think that the Swiss are efficient, even more so now that Lufthansa is Swissair's parent company. Nope. We had to go downstairs, collect our bags, go back out to the lobby and stand in line at the Swissair/Lufthansa service desk for two hours--and the line didn't move. Finally, some had had it with that and called the airline directly to rebook. Most were able to get either a 5:15 or 7:30 out of Heathrow, but by the time I reached the operator after 10 min. on hold, all they had left was 2:30 this afternoon. Our group leader dawdled so much he didn't even get on that flight--he & his wife went back into the city sightsee and try again tomorrow morning. So much for the motor coach that had been booked to take us from the Geneva airport to the hotel. Meanwhile, the airline put us all into vans which hauled @$$ to Heathrow--and there is no bypass between the two airports. We had to snake our way back through Central London till we hit the motorway to Heathrow, which is further west of Mayfair than London City was east. Fortunately, they put me in first class, so I got to use FastTrack security, which was pretty much deserted. Unfortunately, because my knees set off the Heathrow metal detectors as well I had to take off my shoes & coat.
So here I am in the Lufthansa lounge at Heathrow with a cappuccino and a prosecco, waiting for my ride to the gate (quite a schlep, and I'd rather not risk injury and missing my flight just to get more Fitbit steps). We've pretty much resigned ourselves to having to juggle suitcases (thank heaven for ultralight spinners!) through the airport to the station and on to the train to Lausanne--hopefully, the hotel has a shuttle to pick us up from the train, otherwise we'll have to cab it. Not going to wait at the Geneva airport till the 7:30 flight gets in to caravan it--one other lawyer (a judge, actually) is on my flight, so we'll split a cab. After dinner tonight (if I can even stay awake that long) it's off to dreamland. No chance to see a doctor in town about my elbow. Apparently, Bacitracin and Neosporin are now Rx-only all over Europe, so I'm stuck with an oozing elbow for yet another week, or at least till Paris on Thurs. afternoon when the hotel doctor can see it. (The Heathrow security guard made me roll up my sleeve so she could see the bulge was just a big bandage--two band-aids cushioned with a cotton pad between them. I assured her that if she wanted to see the wound, I'd oblige, but warned her she wouldn't have an appetite for lunch. She decided to believe me).
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Oh, goody: my new flight's been delayed an hour and a half (even though the storm, moving northeastward, should be hitting Norway by now). No footrests for sleeping--so many flights are delayed that all the sofas as well as club chairs are occupied. Will see how well I can sleep in one of the latter--too tired to even keep typing!
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Oh dear Sandy, that's not a fun adventure! Sorry your friend has to go home. I hope you make it soon to your destination.
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Yuck Sandy! Stories like that illustrate the real down side of travel! I hope you get some much deserved rest!
On a brighter note: I am happy to report that smoked ribs and champagne are a perfect matching!
xoxo to all
Octogirl
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I would like to wish a very, very, very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our beloved Mayor Slow!!!! Slow, do something good for yourself today, you deserve the best!
We love you! Thank you for bringing us together!
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and of course you need a cake!
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And balloons!
Happy Birthday!
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Happy Birthday Beppy! 🎉🎉🎉🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎉🎂🎂🎈🎈🎈🎈🍾🍾🍾🎈🎂🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉- I am so happy to know you and feel blessed to have you in my life
Sandy- oh nooooooooo...... I hope you are finally getting some rest and can recover from the stress!
Molly- Ayden is so adorable. It's nice to see the whole family was involved in the egg decorating. You front porch looks nice....Craftsman?
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Happy birthday Slow! I hope you have a great day!
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Happy Birthday Dear Beppy, I hope nothing but wonderful things happen today. Get out and sing to Mother Nature. Love you, Jan
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Sandy, that is definitely a Crazy Town travel story. Your description made my heart race as if I was racing through the airport with you. I hope things go smoothly once you board your flight.
Happy Birthday Beppy! I hope your day is absolutely wonderful!
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Happy birthday, Slow!
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Happy birthday, Slow! May you have a wonderful day filled with love,peace, joy and CAKE!! (if you like cake, I prefer pie)
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Katy, yes it is a craftsman. Built in 1918. Our second California bungalow.
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