Pee Wee Daydream Take Two!

Saw this adorable cardi on Mercari and I think I'd look smashing in it. But definitely not for close to 500 bucks. (It's almost as rad as the one I found online years ago.)

Postie from Barbara!

I got this postcard from Barbara and it's given me hope! She mentions that Kevin is taking care of SLP and Airbnb bookings which leads me to believe that I might be able to renew my passport and return to Dublin in 2024!! 

Orchard House in Summer

San Fran Dump

In July of 2014, Xavier and I took a little trip to San Francisco. I turned to Airbnb for the rental and it was one of the few disappointments I've had in my stays. It was without any AC, had one standing fan, and all the windows were painted shut. Luckily SF gets cool at night but still, not ideal. Then there was the layer of dust covering nearly every appliance. It was clear that the Airbnb owners lived there and moonlighted as cleaners for the place, doing only the bare minimum. The kitchen was mega old and scuzzy, food in the fridge, a bunch of outdated pills in the drawers (because of course we snooped), and dead flies at the windows throughout. I won't go into the bathroom, but suffice it to say that I took zero showers the entire time and washed my hair in the sink. Xavier slept in the grown-up's bed and I took the kids' room. Luckily we were out galavanting most of the day and only returned to sleep. Years later I would redeem myself when Xave came to my second home in Dublin. Oh and the worst-neighbour-outside-of-Jersey award goes to Joan from the pink house. Thankfully everything outside of the house was near perfection and we had a fab time!

45 - The Sunflowers

The Sunflowers

Some sunflowers began growing in the center of town. Only a few at first but soon there were dozens and now hundreds of sunflowers grow where our busiest streets come together. They are magnificent flowers with electric green stalks and gigantic yellow faces that seem brighter each day. Crowds gather to admire them despite the warnings of the old-timers who say these strange flowers might be dangerous, that they should be cut down. "A dangerous flower?" we laugh. "Who ever heard of such a thing?" We enjoy gathering around them and discussing how quickly they are growing, how bright they are becoming, and how they seem to be watching us. One morning their neon yellow faces turned towards us and began to shimmer and glow until they unleashed a light so bright and powerful that it sent us running through the streets, yelping as if we had been burnt by the sun.

We must always be prepared to face the unexpected. Consider the experiences of those around you. The voices of all are better than the few.

Strike

I kept seeing the poster for CB Strike online and continually dismissed it. Then at our get together in May, Lauryn said how much she was enjoying The Night Agent at my recommendation. She mentioned having recently caught up on CB Strike on HBO because she and her sisters are hooked on it. So I made a note of it and at the beginning of July I decided to sign up for a month of HBO Max streaming. I looked up the series and holy crow! It stars Tom Burke! I first discovered him in an episode of Poirot back in '19 and more recently loved seeing him in Living. He is such an effortlessly real actor and I was addicted to this series. Now I'm spreading the word to everyone I know that they have to check it out.

(photo kidnapped from rottentomatoes)

Cutie Pa-tootie Papa

Here is a photo I inherited from Nana Irma of my Dad in the mid-forties. Talk about adorable!!