But not after Midnight because that would be dangerous what with all sorts of nefarious characters afoot although it would be kind of interesting because if I'm out walking after midnight the odds are good I'm sleepwalking because I'm a 10:00pm bedtime type of gal because I like my sleep. A Lot. And I got all that "Stay Up Until the Cows Come Home" stuff out of my system a decade or so ago, not that I knew any cows that came home when the sun came up because I've pretty much lived in the suburbs my entire life where there aren't any cows to come home to and where was I going with this nice run on sentence that started with the title of a song by the Late Miss Patsy Cline?
Oh yes, I remember. I'm walking. Yes indeed I'm walking. Ok, who's feeling musical today? That'd be Me.
ANYWAY.
Miss Gracie Lou requires exercise to get her tuckered out because otherwise, an unexercised (nonexercised?) Gracie Lou is a hyper, bored and possibly destructive Gracie Lou so we go on a good walk in the morning and another walk in the afternoon. During the week we do these walks at a park a couple of miles away that's on the way to and from Thing 2's school so it's not like I'm going out of my way but on the weekends, we walk from our house. We had been just walking straight up the road about a mile and then coming back but that got a bit boring so now Gracie Lou and I have decided to start walking through the various neighborhoods in the vicinity. I have lived in my house in the Prestigious Plaza area of Long Beach almost 15 years and this is after spending almost every weekend and vacation in this house while growing up so you'd assume I'd know these neighborhoods like the back of my hand but you'd be wrong there with that assumption.
This has been a very interesting experience I'm enjoying seeing more of my hometown, even if it's just within a few miles from my door. I love looking at houses and our walks give me the opportunity to look, admire AND critique and lemme tell you, people have done some interesting "remuddling" of their basic 1950's California Ranch houses. There have been more than a few that I've stood there, gaping, and I'm all What. The. Fuck? and have thanked my lucky stars that I'm not their neighbor and are forced to look at that every day.
So anyway, yesterday I was over at my seester's new house and it was time to take the dogs for a good walk. This is my seester's dog Coco. She's a Labradoodle but I think she looks like one of the Flying Monkeys. Coco is one of the best dogs and is a wonderful Role Model for Gracie Lou.
So Gracie Lou and I are taken for a walk and I am shown a place I never knew existed in my own town.
This was a beautiful Nature Preserve that goes along the Northeast end of Marine Stadium.
It's filled with native plants and flowers and the Golden Poppies, which I neglected to take pictures of, were in full bloom and there were benches to sit down on and take in the view and it just amazes me how many things there are in Long Beach that I don't know about.
So we enjoyed a lovely walk along the waterfront and through this nature preserve and then trekked back to the house through another neighborhood I had never been in and by the time we got back to the house, Gracie Lou wasn't the only one who was completely tuckered out (raises hand).
So our walks are serving two purposes: health and exercise and experiencing previously unknown parts. And you know what that tells me?
I gotta get out more often.
Ok, this is the view from my front yard circa 1954 when my grandparents bought the house:
This is the same view taken yesterday:
I had found the original photo mixed in with a bunch of old pictures and I thought it was fascinating to see what our neighborhood looked like before the 405 Freeway, aka "San Diego Freeway" cut right down the middle of the neighborhood.
I'm going to have the original photo enlarged and framed and hung in my entryway so I can be reminded of What Used to Be.
21 years ago today I was sitting in a small room here:
It was hot and stuffy and I was impatiently waiting for my cue to go and appear at the door of the chapel on the arm of my dad who would lead me up the aisle to my density destiny to become Mrs. TheManTheMyth. But the clock was ticking and I sat there waiting, waiting, waiting. Which is pretty unusual when you think about it. Aren't brides always supposed to be late? Not me. I had done my own hair and makeup at home and all I had to do when I got to the chapel was change into my dress and put on my veil and await my cue.
But no wedding can come off without a hitch (get it?) and mine was no exception. I'm sitting in that hot and stuffy room on that beautiful April day, waiting, waiting, waiting. And wondering what the heck was taking so long. Finally, the minister comes in and says, "We have a bit of a problem." Problem? We have a problem? What kind of problem do we have, I ask, wondering if TheManTheMyth had bailed on me (he didn't...but probably has wished more than once that he did).
Turns out our best man was in a bit of a fender bender in the parking lot and an ambulance had been called (not for him) and he had to give a police report so it would be about a half hour before he would be done and would I like some water or something while I waited?
No, what I wanted was to walk down the aisle and get married! What I did not want was to sit in that hot and stuffy room any longer. So, in an unusual twist, TheManTheMyth was brought in from mingling with the guests outside the chapel and he was kept hidden from me and I went to say howdy to all my guests who were hanging outside the chapel until it was time to go in and get the show on the road.
After about 45 minutes, our Best Man finally appeared and it was Show Time! My Daddy proudly walked me down the aisle to hand me off to TheManTheMyth.
I defied ANYONE to stand up and claim I had no business wearing a veil over my face. Don't you judge me.
So the minister pronounced us Husband and Wife and off we headed to our reception where we entered to great fanfare as Mr. and Mrs. TheManTheMyth:
It was time to Par-Tay!
My Gramma, in the purple dress was a dancing fool! We couldn't get her off the dance floor.
During the "pay to dance with the happy couple" portion, I was dancing with this guy and as he was unfamiliar to me, I asked him his name, which was Chuck, and asked if he was a friend of TheManTheMyth's. He wasn't. I asked if he was a friend of either family. He wasn't. I asked him if he was the date of any of our friends. He wasn't. Ok, I give up. He was a Wedding Crasher! He happened to stop by the house of one of our groomsmen the morning of the wedding and decided he had nothing better to do that day so he rounded up a group of friends and they all came and crashed our wedding. I found out later that Chuck bummed a couple of bucks from my sister so he could dance with me. We still see Chuck every so often and we always laugh about how we met when he crashed our wedding.
TheManTheMyth and I didn't get a honeymoon because I had just started a new job and was lucky to get the Friday and Monday of that weekend off. But we spent a very memorable wedding night. Memorable for the wrong reasons.
After the reception, TheManTheMyth's Uncle Bob invited everyone over to his house to wind down and relax, which we did for a couple of hours. TheManTheMyth changed out of his wedding attire and put on a pair of shorts and a Hawaiian shirt and some flip-flops. Then my new husband and I headed off to our hotel where we had dinner reservations at the fancy French restaurant at the hotel which was good because I was STARVING. We get to the hotel, check in at the desk and then can't find the building where our room is located. We drove around and around and I was getting pretty irritable as I hadn't really eaten all day and when my blood sugar drops, I get, well, bitchy.
So we finally find our room (no, I wasn't carried over the threshold) and start to get ready for dinner. TheManTheMyth opens his suitcase and I hear him say, "uh oh." He was looking into an empty suitcase. This was not good. There was no way we could go down to the fancy French restaurant with him in shorts and flip flops. We got into our first fight over what happened to his clothes that *I* had packed myself to make sure he didn't forget them. What the hell happened to his clothes? What were we supposed to do for dinner? I called room service and was told it would be well over an hour before they could deliver anything. I was so hungry and angry and hungry that I just wanted to cry. But instead, I picked up the phonebook, picked up the phone and called Dominos because they deliver. And they did, in less than 30 minutes. I pretty much blocked everything out around me and inhaled that pizza. And when I was done, I turned to look at TheManTheMyth with a smile on my face that faded when I saw that he was passed out sound asleep. Goody.
We found out the next day that while we were at Uncle Bob's after the wedding, my BIL needed a change of clothing for some reason and asked TheManTheMyth if he had any spare clothes in the car. TheManTheMyth told him there should be something in the car not realizing that his brother helped himself to the clothes in the suitcase. I think alcohol was a factor in this decision as it never occurred to BIL that there was a reason there were clothes in a suitcase in our car on our wedding day.
So that was what was happening in my life 21 years ago. And every day I tell TheManTheMyth how much he loves me and he just nods his head and says, "yes dear."
Ahhh, wedded bliss!
So yesterday I decided to make my annual trek to the Antique Swap Meet held at Long Beach's Veteran's Stadium on the 3rd Sunday of each month. I used to go about 4 times a year, quarterly I guess you'd call it but nowadays once, maybe twice a year is sufficient. One of these days I will make it to the Grandaddy (Grand Daddy?) of Antique swap meets at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. But yesterday wasn't the day.
Whenever I attend this thing, no matter what month or season it is, it's always hot. It could be raining in other parts of the city but at Vets Stadium, it's always sunny and hot. Dunno why. So I dressed accordingly in capris, a white t-shirt, a visor to keep the sun out of my eyes and I wore my well-cushioned Sketchers Shape Up shoes so that I could kill two birds with one stone: a lovely day of shopping AND get some fitness walking in.
I never have anything in particular in mind to buy when I go, mostly I go for the people watching and to see what kind of crap people are hawking as "collectibles." And I'm never disappointed. This time, there seemed to be 2 "themes" that were well represented, clowns and religious stuff. Is anyone seeing the irony and/or joke here? I know I am.
Now let me say right now that I don't like clowns. They scare the bejeezus out of me. I do not find them cute or humorous or amusing in any way, shape or form. Maybe it's because when I was a kid, there was a bit of hysteria in our neighborhood because of rumors of a child molester who dressed up as a clown to entice children or maybe it's just the makeup. Bozo the Clown and Ronald McDonald are both uber-creepy and lets not talk about the clown in Stephen King's "It."
Anyhoo, it seemed I couldn't go down a row without seeing these portraits:
Doesn't it look like someone took a Magic Marker and drew in the eyebrows? A couple of rows later I saw this:
Ewww! I didn't get close enough to see if they were by the same "artist" because I just didn't want to get any closer than I already did to take the photos because, well, ewww (shudders).
So I'm traipsing along, just glancing at the displays on either side of the aisles when THIS catches my eye:
I think it's supposed to be a "lamp" but I think it's actually some sort of freakish sex toy disguised as a lamp but I could be wrong although I really don't think so. Feel free to add your opinions.
I continue on my merry way and I see many sellers of religious artifacts. I couldn't always take a photo because the vendors would kind of give me the stink-eye when I held up my BlackBerry in an obvious manner. I saw vendors selling hundreds of rosaries which made me wonder of some of my Gramma's rosary collection was mixed in there. When my Gramma died and we were going through her things, I found dozens and dozens of rosaries, which were snatched up at the estate sale. I had no idea they were such a hot commodity! I saw this on a table. If I remember my saints, and I really don't to be honest, I think this is the Infant Child/Jesus of Prague:
Very fluffy and ruffly with a cool crown. I love crowns so that's what initially caught me eye.
Several aisles later I see a whole bunch of statues and icons and and because they were quite colorful, I had to take a look.
You have to click on the picture to really see just how BAD these are. They looked like they were made in an "Occupational Therapy" class by someone who was still detoxing. Or by the person who painted those clown portraits.
I continue my walk and on a table I see the largest pair of shoes I've ever seen:
You can't even tell just how big these shoes were/are. I should have put one next to my foot just for comparison. I wear a Ladies size 8 and these were easily twice as big. Thing 1 has a crony who wears a size 13 and these were WAY bigger and I thought to myself, "Damn."
By now I was getting pretty tired but I was bound and determined I would go up and down EVERY aisle because you just never know what's there. At one point I spotted a 1968 wall map of Disneyland with a price tag of $75 and I felt more than a bit smug because a couple of years ago while at the swap meet, I found the same map tucked into a pile of old technical manuals and I snatched it up for $18. One of these days I will have it framed and hung on the wall above my desk because it's pretty cool.
I saw a really cool Art Deco radio that members of my family who read my blog will recognize as the one that until recently had been the property of my sister and brother-in-law:
It had matched their Art Deco Storytone piano, which wasn't at the swap meet:
Heading out to the exit I saw one last thing:
This chair was easily 5 feet across and the reason it looks so shiny is that not only was it upholstered in a silver crushed velvet brocade type of fabric but also had a custom (obviously) clear plastic slipcover to protect the upholstery. It would definitely make a statement in your living room but I'm not sure what kind of statement you want to make with that chair.
I did make 2 purchases, a skirt:
that I put on as soon as I got home and a book to add to my Laura Ingalls Wilder/Little House collection:
I had no idea this book even existed! I though I had all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books and biographies out there so this was quite a find. And it was only $5!
Thus ended my annual jaunt to the Antiques Swap Meet.
I found this in a pile of old family photos. I'm not sure who the happy couple is, I think it's my Great Uncle Harry and Aunt Helene but I could be wrong. The lady on the far right in the dark coat is my Great Grandmother Marie. I never knew her. She came over from Slovakia around the turn of the century although I can't find any records of her on the Ellis Island register which makes me wonder if she slipped in under the fence somehow.
Anyway, what cracks me up about this photo is the body language of the ladies in the front row. Can they look any more pissed off? What was going through their minds?
Lady in the white blouse and dark skirt who we'll call Phyllis: "Yeah, look at your new daughter-in-law, Marie. That should have been ME but no, you said you wanted someone better for your son! All those stories about me are LIES!"
Lady next to her in the white hat (Louise): "Hello? Stop being such a Space Invader, Phyllis! God! I wish she'd quit nudging me. She's just pissed Mrs. Sedik saw through her tricks to try and get Harry to marry her. If she nudges me one more time I'm going to elbow her!"
Martha (next to Louise): "Love her dress! I heard this wedding is costing her parents a fortune! Harry scored big. And if that Amazon behind me doesn't stop dripping her tears down my neck I'm going to clock her!"
Helen: (next to Martha): "When does the reception start? Where's the bar? I need a drink."
G-Grandma Marie: My boy, my handsome boy on this, his wedding day. I'm so glad he didn't choose that tramp Phyllis. I've heard stories about her. How handsome is my boy? I'm going to cry!"
Feel free to add your own captions.
Ok, my last post was about my obsessive desire for the new iPad. Well, yeah. Since that post, I've not so much as reconsidered but I've decided to do a bit of a Wait and See.
I have concerns about Apple's choice of AT&T for their iPhone and now the iPad. I hate AT&T. I had them before and the coverage sucked big fat hairy donkey dicks and the customer service was on the same level. I hated them so much that I happily paid the early termination fee, for 3 lines! just to have them out of my life so I could then move on to a wireless carrier that actually let me make and receive calls on my cellphone which is something AT&T charged me for but didn't fulfill their end of the bargain because I never had service even though people who had other wireless carriers had full service while I had the equivalent of an expensive toy cellphone because I never had coverage!
I do know of someone who ran out and bought the 64GB iPad and then returned it a few days later because they were so underwhelmed. Which made me sigh heavily because I was SO on a high about the thought of the iPad.
I've also reconsidered the idea of getting an iPhone (see AT&T reference above) when my current cellphone contract is up in two months because IF, and that's a big IF, I do discover my money tree is in full bloom and IF I do decide to throw caution to the wind and get the iPad anyway, I won't need the iPhone after all.
Also too, I don't have the $$$ to spend on a gadget and unless I sell a kidney or a child, I probably won't have the $$$ anytime soon because I've got a kid who is heading to college in the fall and said college kind of wants their tuition money and they aren't accepting Good Looks as a form of payment which is probably smart of them because I'm not winning any beauty pageants these days because I've been spending more time sitting on my butt doing blog stuff than I have on beauty treatments (and it shows) and while Thing 1 is a fine looking young man, he's pretty scarred up from his many crashes while racing dirt bikes so his value as an Object of Beauty has been greatly diminished.
So now I have to find something else to covet and obsess over. Dang. I was all set with the iPad. Sigh.
While I have quite a few items on my Wish List, there are very few things on my "Must Have" list.
Not on either my Wish or Must Have list is the Holy Grail of Handbags, the Birkin.
Now I love me a nice handbag just as much as the next person but I just don't "get" the appeal of the Birkin. It's too much work to open and close it so many owners just keep it hanging open and that just looks all sloppy to me.
I hate it when I have to fight with my handbags. I had a Coach bag that I finally had to banish because despite being a medium size bag, it became a Black Hole when it came to finding my keys or wallet and I'd practically have to dump everything out just to find what I needed. I'll keep my nice Louis Vuitton Popincourt Haut, thankyouverymuch.
Also on my Wish List is a Luxury Sedan. I've been driving trucks and/or SUVs for decades and while I like my trucks, I'm now at the age where I want comfort and luxury. I'm not talking a Rolls or Bentley but I wouldn't turn down a Cadillac CTS.
One thing on my Must Have list is my very own Arcade Quality Skee Ball game. With prize tickets. I've wanted one of these ever since I can remember and just because I'm moving awfully close to the mid-century mark doesn't mean I've changed my mind about this. Because I haven't and I won't. Ever.
But right now, the number one thing on my Must Have list is something that I thought wasn't all that and a bag of chips and I kind of scoffed at it when it made its appearance. But then something happened. I'm still not sure what exactly happened but all I know is that I woke up the other morning and realized that I not only Want this object, I Must Have this object. I've actually had dreams about this object. I am obsessing over this object and I haven't even seen one live and in the flesh or held it in my hot little hands.
What is this object of desire that I am obsessing over? It's THIS:
Yep, the frikkin' iPad.
I want it so bad it's practically eating me up. And I am NOT one of those people who must have the latest gadget, Apple or otherwise although I think Apple products are far, far superior to anything Microsoft has produced. I don't own the iPhone because of the simple reason that I don't like AT&T although my contract with Verizon is up in 2 months and I AM considering going back to AT&T just because of the iPhone although if I acquire an iPad I won't NEED an iPhone and won't have to deal with AT&T again because I really don't want to have to deal with AT&T although I haven't had to deal with AT&T since 2004 when I willingly paid the early termination fee just to banish them from my life but maybe they've improved their coverage and customer service since then and have I mentioned that the AT&T thing is a possible deal breaker as far as me getting the iPhone?
Anyway, back to the iPad. Have I mentioned that not only do I want it but I Must Have it?
It's taking every ounce of Willpower not to go running, ok driving, to the Apple Store and checking it out and playing with it. On one hand, I'm afraid that if I do that, I will go crazy and plunk down my well-worn American Express and then suffer the consequences of the Wrath of TheManTheMyth when the bill arrives, especially since he keeps telling me to relinquish my card back into his safekeeping for just that reason alone although I've been able to put him off...for now. Especially since we just bought a new laptop a couple of weeks ago when the other one crashed and burned because Windows computers are junk. On the other hand, I'm almost afraid that after working myself up into a frenzy over the iPad, I will be disappointed and then have nothing to live for since all my hopes and dreams have been dashed. Ok, maybe that's a bit exaggerated but it does suck when you finally get what you've been wanting only to find it wanting. You know, that whole "be careful of what you ask for" thing. Been there done that barely survived the fallout (don't ask).
Yeah, I need the iPad like a hole in head but dammit! I MUST HAVE IT!
So there.
