Saturday, May 31, 2025

Back to Grounds with Lucy!

I got to spend the afternoon with Lucy and we had our first mini-road trip in Phineas, all while listening to our Taylor Swift Mixola, to celebrate TSI Day. Smart girls that we are, we hit the gift shop first! A lovely lady that overheard us talking and Lucy saying that she wanted to buy the flamingo toy for her teacher, but if she got the little narwal figurine and the steel pencil it would put her over her pre-determined fifteen dollar limit. I told her that I would cover it all because she is a kind a wonderful girl and deserves something for herself from the shop. Of course, there was a string attached - she had to come with me to see Gloria Vanderbilt's dream box and pretend to love it. (By the way, she not only didn't say her usual bit about it being creepy, but she listened to me try to explain the piece, and a bit about Gloria's background.) The woman told me what a sweet child Lucy is and I, naturally, agreed with her. It's so nice when the rest of the universe can take note of this remarkable wee lady. Cause she really is absolutely double-terrific.





Noodle Mountain 2024 by Colette Fu


Friday, May 30, 2025

Happy TS Independence Day!

Melissa messaged me at work today to let me now the news that Taylor Swift was able to finally get back her entire catalogue and now owns all of her songs, videos, album art, and concert footage. It took me a while to come around to this lady and discover how truly gifted she is as a songwriter. More impressive is the fact that she seems like a genuinely kind person. I'm truly happy for her to finally have control of her art.


(photos kidnapped from TS's Instagram account: @taylorswift)

BONUS: This stunning cake from Vegan Treats!

Thursday, May 29, 2025

May 2025 Donations

International Rescue Committee

An estimated half a million Palestinians are at risk of starvation, and IRC teams are seeing a clear rise in malnutrition among children. There is a critical risk of famine. With aid access severely limited, the IRC and its partners are responding where we can to treat malnutrition and deliver nutrition support for children and caregivers, medical supplies and other crucial humanitarian aid to displaced families.

Your gift today will help families in Gaza and conflict zones around the world survive, so please don’t wait.

The International Rescue Committee responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, including the conflict in Ukraine and the crisis in Afghanistan.

We help to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. And we are proud to fight for a world where women and girls have an equal chance to succeed.


Please join me in the Low Budget Philanthropy movement and help out your community and beyond in the simplest way - donating any amount to whatever charity or organisation that you care about!

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Sharp Night

Northern Sky - Nick Drake
Brittle Heart - Dave Hause
It's Only Love - Bryan Adams with Tina Turner
Nobody's Fault But Mine - Beth Rowley
Weekend Friend - Goth Babe
Slow Down - Wryn
When I Think of You - Janet Jackson
All Too Well - Taylor Swift
Baila Conmigo - Tony Alamillo feat WillX Boy
If You Want Me to Stay - RHCP
Doris Makes New Friends - Brian H. Kim
Can't Take My Eyes Off You - Frankie Valli
Seven Devils - Florence + the Machine
Baby - Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise
All I Ever Asked - Rachel Chinouriri
Every Little Thing About You - Raul Malo
bury a friend - Billie Eilish
The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get - Morrissey
How Bad Do U Want Me - Lady Gaga
You Wear It So Well - Lou Reed
Like a Bird - Adrian Quesada & Abraham Alexander
Haunted By You - Gene
Stay Gold - First Aid Kit
I Can't Quit You Baby - Led Zeppelin
Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash
Riders on the Storm - The Doors
Where Are You My Love - Jeffreymixed

- March 2025 Playlist

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Tuscan Afternoon

Today I spent the first day of the last year of my forties by staying in bed til 11, having pizza for breakfast/lunch as well as dinner, a nap, bingeing some Last Tango in Halifax, and then doing a new puzzle. (Next I plan to get dressed and head to the library, then drop off books, cds, and dvds to local Little Free Library boxes.) 






(artwork by Ana Hard)

Monday, May 26, 2025

Bday Giftie from Natalia!

Look what I got in the mail!



BONUS! Cards from Bishop, Anne, and Mum:





(Ha! The Queen Elizabeth card is the same one that Bish gave me last year.)

Sunday, May 25, 2025

Birthday Message from Donna

I'm so glad I have this sweet message from Donna that she left for me on May 25th, 2013.


Saturday, May 24, 2025

From China!

What a wonderful postie!! This one tells me that the sender, Jade, read my little profile and wrote me something specific, unlike my last postcard. I may keep going with Postcrossing after all. (sidebar: her handwriting is gorgeous!)



Dear Lisa,
Greetings from China! I'm a girl, working at bank. My work is so busy. So I cherish leisure time. Like you, I also like reading books, having a trip. Once I find a vegetarian restaurant and go there with my boyfriend. We all think it's an amazing experience. We want try again!
Jade 
2024. 5.4

Friday, May 23, 2025

Decisions, Decisions

I love these posts on IG, although I am fairly certain that all of the photos are CGI/AI/phony. Still, this one had me stumped as to which one I would actually choose...














(3, 8, 10, and 12 were the favourites, but in the end, I would choose the third home. It's small, seems to have a decent yard, a lovely front step, and NO shutters. I really liked eight, but the fake shutters were the deal breaker. )

Thursday, May 22, 2025

Cwood with Bish

On April 13th Bishop and I met up in Collingswood to have lunch at one of our fave spots - Healthy Garden. We rounded the corner from the parky lot out to the main drag and GASP! Healthy Garden was closed for good. Thankfully Collingswood is lousy with restaurants and we found a Mexican joint called La Catrina. (The food was super yummy, by the way.) Then I said that I wanted to pop in to a new-ish book shop that was all romance. The name? Kiss & Tale. Adorable. He rolled his eyes til he looked like Little Orphan Annie but obliged and stepped in to the pink wonderland of a shop. I wasn't planning to buy anything, and I didn't, but just wanted to check the place out. Bishop was all snarky about a store full of nothing but romance novels until he spotted the LGBTQ section. Uh-huh. My brother-from-another-mother found and purchased a book about a gay Black couple and then proceeded to gab with the (owners?) gals at the checkout. He went on about how he used to love to read his mother's copies of Jackie Collins novels. Boy, did we feel old when the two young whippersnappers asked if Jackie Collins was a local writer. Oy vey.... But they were absolutely wonderful and warm and sadly, the exact opposite of the employees at Ida's Bookshop, which is no longer in Collingswood. Farewell to you, Ida's, and hello to Kiss & Tale!






Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Strawberry Chocolate Popcorn

Last February I discovered and instantly became obsessed with this delicious Trader Joe’s snack. There was a week where I are a bag a day. It's a serious addiction. Corinna, the checkout gal who I love, said that when they came back in stock this year that she instantly thought of me.



Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Vicious

It's been years since I last watched this series starring Ian McKellan and Derek Jacobi. They play long-time partners who seem to think they are in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, as they are constantly at each other's throat. Jacobi is one of my absolute favourite actors of all time and while Vicious isn't art, it is light and fun and the barbs that these two greats trade with one another is too funny for words.