Month: July 2010

My adopted hometown of Rhinebeck is all abuzz, as pretty much the whole world knows! Today Chelsea Clinton will be getting married here and people seem to be either very excited (like me!) or very annoyed because of the inconveniences. There are lots of signs all over town wishing the couple the very best. This one is at the Migliorelli farm stand by the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge.

Although I’ve been very tempted to go into the center of town and take in the three-ring circus of news crews, celebrities and dignitaries, and nosy sightseers, I’ve talked myself out of it and will be staying put today. Yesterday one of my girlfriends saw former Pres. Clinton eating a late lunch at Gigi’s, and I’ve been getting a kick out of Facebook and Twitter updates from the shopkeepers in town, who have been keeping everyone in the loop. It’s been surreal seeing the stores I walk by and shop at all the time on the national news!

They lucked out with the weather, that’s for sure. Earlier in the week it was in the 90s with oppressive humidity. Today? It’ll be in the high 70s and it’s one of the nicest days we’ve had so far this summer. I wish Chelsea and Marc all the best and I hope their life together is as beautiful as today is.

While Drew was in Quebec with the boys and his mom and aunt, I spent the week with Laura hanging out with my parents. On Wednesday we took a drive down to Narragansett, RI. My parents have gone down to the Point Judith area a few times and love it, so they thought it would be a fun outing. My mom especially wanted to take Laura to see the ocean for the first time. For as long as I can remember, my mom has always loved the beach, so sharing it was going to mean a lot. So after breakfast we packed up the beach chairs, the stroller, some drinks, and hit the road.

Traffic was a bit heavy getting down there, but we still made good time. Our first stop was Iggy’s, which I wrote about in a previous entry. I’d totally go back for the chowder and clam fritters — so good!. Then we headed over toward the Point Judith Lighthouse, which I was not able to get a great picture of, unfortunately. I took this one later on, but you get the idea.

We spent a lot of time just hanging out, watching the boats and gulls.

It’s been years since I’d been to the ocean. The last time I went to New London, CT and the beach was nice, but nothing like Rhode Island. It’s so beautiful and relaxing there.

I’m not a big beach person by any means, but I did enjoy the trip. There’s something about the salt air that feels so good. I bet that if you could bottle it, you could make a therapeutic eczema herbal treatment out of it, LOL. Well, it certainly feels good if nothing else.

Along the way to the beach there are these pretty fruit bushes. I’m not sure what they are, but my mom said she thinks they’re quince. The photo from my phone doesn’t do it justice — they were really cool!

I loved dipping my toes in the ocean. The water was cold, but not as bad as I’d expected. Laura, however, was not impressed at all. I was a mean, mean mommy for letting her feet get wet, LOL! I’m sure someday she’ll be a little waterbug.

It really was a lovely day. The cool ocean breeze felt wonderful and it was nice to just watch the waves and enjoy the peacefulness.

While I was at my parents’ house this week, I had time to do a little thrifting at a new Goodwill shop. I loooove thrift shops. In high school, college, and the first year out of college I’d say 80% of my wardrobe was thrifted and I had some great clothes. With the kids, it’s a lot more challenging to head out for an entire morning of second-hand fun. And the Goodwill nearby isn’t the greatest. The one in Palmer was great, though. Most of the clothes were really nice. You can tell some people don’t take the greatest care of their stuff, though, because some of the mediums were more like x-x-small! They were totally shrunken and if I ever wanted to fit in them I’d have to investigate quick weight loss diets. I had a couple great finds though (that fit perfectly!). First was a very cute floral and lace cotton tank. I’ve been looking for something like this for a while, and for $3, the price was right. I scored another $3 win when I found a plum-colored Eddie Bauer silk and linen cardigan. It’s light and lacy and I will wear it a lot. But best of all were the jeans! For $6 I got a pair of perfectly fitting, barely-worn jeans from White House Black Market. I love the clothes in that store, but it’s a little too pricey for me, so this was a score! It’s always such a thrill to find great stuff 🙂

Last night Drew and Jake went to the Hudson Valley Renegades game (which ended up getting rained out). They stuck it out until the final announcement was made, though, and they were rewarded with two tickets for another game in addition to their tickets last night acting as a rain check for the rained-out game. So it all worked out. Still, they got home pretty late. After Drew put Jake in bed he was telling me about a woman he saw pulled to the side of our very dark country road. Her hazards were on and he rolled down the window and asked if everything was okay. She was fine, but she had just hit a deer and needed to know the name of our road, the cross street, and the town.

Turns out she was driving a Porche SUV. Yikes! Which of course made me joke about the name — the Cayenne. I feel sorry for the lady, and this is no slight against her, but I just think it’s a dumb name for such a big vehicle. A lot of cars have kind of silly names, don’t you think? The Aviator (does the car fly, too?), the Probe (um… you can make your own joke there), the Brat… Of course, maybe they reflect the drivers’ personalities sometimes. You know what I would love to see? I think it would be hysterical for an auto manufacturer to roll out a new convertible, market it to middle-aged men in their mid-life crisis mode (because who else buys those things?) and call it (drumroll…) the Extenze. 😉

Thank you, thank you! I’m here ’till Friday and don’t forget to try the veal!

With time ticking away, I still have not received payment for one of the auctions I sold on Sunday. I require the winning bidder to pay within three days (which is pretty standard, I think). The end of today will be three days. I’ve sent two e-mails (well, one invoice and a reminder e-mail), to no avail. Its all very puzzling because the winning bidder has a high positive rating. What happened? After the fourth day I can flag her for non-payment, and I certainly plan to if she doesn’t make good on her end of the deal.

I’ve had mostly good experiences on eBay; this has never happened to me before, but I know it’s common. I mean, I wasn’t selling supplements for a pricey health or quick weight loss program. It was just a couple of baby dresses that sold for a dirt cheap price! Oh well. I guess I’ll have to leave negative feedback and re-list the item or something. It’s just so frustrating.