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Post by auntkelly on Mar 14, 2023 13:49:03 GMT
I read Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, who is the author of the Dutch House. A very elite group of politicians and businessmen have come to a party in a vice president’s home in an unnamed Central American country to hear a famous opera singer perform. The party is stormed by guérilla troops who take the party goers hostage.
As the hostage crisis drags on the hostages and their captors begin to interact. Both sides discover hidden talents and interests they were never aware they had. It’s a beautifully written book and almost had me wishing I could be a hostage for a few months.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 13, 2023 19:19:35 GMT
In early December, we sent Save the Dates to my daughter's May wedding. We felt save the dates would be nice since at least half the guests were from out of town and would need to make travel plans. The save the dates included the address of the wedding website where all the hotel information was listed.
We're sending out the invitations tomorrow. We're including an RSVP card because our wedding planner said in her experience people were better about returning RSVP cards than RSVPing online. It really wasn't a big deal to me one way or the other.
We're asking people to RSVP for the mid-May wedding by April 11th. I think that is a reasonable time for both in town and out of town guests to decide whether to accept an invitation.
My nephew is getting married next September. They are not going to send Save the Dates because they have very few out of town guests. They've already had a big engagement party and most of their friends and family know when they are getting married. They'll send out invitations about 8 weeks before the wedding, which is pretty standard around here. Their RSVPs will be online because their wedding planner, unlike our wedding planner, thinks online RSVPs are easier to manage.
I think different things work for different circumstances. I try and RSVP by the time I'm requested to do so in whatever manner the bride and groom asks me to.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 13, 2023 14:46:08 GMT
I thought the show was great.
I was personally very touched to see Gray Fredrickson included in the in memorium. Gray produced the Godfather movies, as well as The Outsiders movie.
Gray married late in life and decided to move back to his hometown of Oklahoma City when he had kids. Gray became good friends with our good friends. He was a boating enthusiast, as are my husband and me. We kept our boats at the same lake and spent a lot of time boating together when our kids were younger. I didn't see him too often after he sold his boat and lake house, but I have very fond memories of our times at the lake and it was nice to see him memorialized last night.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 13, 2023 14:31:44 GMT
I'm not a fan of patchouli.
This thread reminds me of a funny thing which happened to me last Saturday night. My husband and I decided at the last minute to attend church on Saturday night instead of Sunday morning, due to daylight savings time. I quickly changed clothes, refreshed my makeup and brushed and sprayed a little dry shampoo in my hair.
We sat in the next to the last pew. At the last minute, a couple came and sat behind us. I thought "wow, she has on some strong perfume." Then I thought, "that can't be perfume. It smells awful. It must be cheap men's cologne. Yuck. I can hardly breathe."
After church, my husband and I sat down to watch a movie. I thought, "Oh my gosh, that horrid perfume or cologne or whatever has saturated my own clothes and I can smell it."
When I got up to change clothes, I suddenly realized, the awful smell was coming from hair. I had sprayed a dry shampoo on my hair that I had never used before.
I was the one who smelled awful! That poor couple who had to sit behind me!
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 12, 2023 14:53:21 GMT
I think it looks like fun. it seems like all my friends are playing. However, when I mentioned it to a young friend who is an orthopedic resident I quickly changed my mind.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 12, 2023 14:21:27 GMT
I’m so sorry about the setback. I hope and pray he’ll get back on track. In the long run this slip up may be just what he needs to reaffirm his goals and get back on track.
I can’t imagine how anxious you must feel. Your sons are so fortunate to have such a loving and devoted mother.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 11, 2023 15:20:19 GMT
I just looked at the additional photos. It’s a gorgeous property. Will your view always be so unobstructed or is there a possibility of more development? If there is enough land to someday build a studio I wouldn’t worry about the current one bathroom situation.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 10, 2023 17:05:35 GMT
I love to visit art museums when I travel and I love coffee table books. Therefore I buy coffee table books from art museums we visit on our travels.
I wait to purchase them until I get home. That way, I don’t have to lug them around while I’m travelling and I can buy them used.
I also love to buy postcards, especially at museum gift stores. I throw them in a stérilité box and drag them out and look at them every once in a great while. My kids have been told they are free to toss them w/out guilt after I die.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 10, 2023 13:48:18 GMT
I also load up on Braum's Dairy (midwest'ish chain, mostly OK/KS) stuff as well. So planning on bringing back some dip, frozen sausage gravy and misc items (all made by Braums). If I am out there near the holidays I bring home Egg Nog as well. When we lived in Houston, we had neighbors who were also from Oklahoma. Anytime one of us visited Oklahoma, we always returned w/ a couple of gallons of Braums milk for ourselves, and a couple for the neighbors. I don’t care for egg nog in general, but I love Braums egg nog! At Christmastime, we always order frozen pizzas from Lou Malnati’s in Chicago. We get together with another family and play games and eat Lou Malnati’s pizza. We always order a few King Cakes from New Orleans for friends and family during Mardis Gras.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 10, 2023 13:26:17 GMT
Part of our spring cleaning routine in Oklahoma is sweeping out the tornado shelter.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 9, 2023 15:07:50 GMT
Great commercial! I wonder, though, if some idiot is going to call a Ford dealership and say "Hey I heard there was some new Explorer out that is just for men. When can I come test drive one?"
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 9, 2023 15:00:31 GMT
It just seems so unnecessary to announce to the public that the Royals were invited but didn’t show up. I haven't seen it personally but I heard that Buckingham Palace has released the work schedules of those invited to show how they were otherwise engaged...especially if it was short notice as seems likely. I didn't realize that Buckingham Palace had released the work schedules of those invited. This whole matter seems so silly. Anyone with half a brain knows that the Royal family can't just hop on a plane and attend an event at a private residence in a foreign country on short notice. I just don't understand why Harry and Meghan felt it was necessary to announce that Charles and Camilla and Will and Kate were invited but didn't come to the christening. If it was really important to Harry that his family be a part of the christening, why didn't Harry pick up the phone and say "Lilibet is being christened next week. Meghan and I know you probably can't make it on short notice, but how about if our people work w/ your people so that we can set up a secure line and you can watch the christening from London? We'll put Archie and Lilibet on the screen afterwards and you can have a nice chat. We'll keep it all private and Netflix won't be allowed to film the kids talking to you."
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 9, 2023 13:44:10 GMT
She’s a lovely little girl. I’m sure her christening was a joyous occasion for all who attended.
I don’t think Harry and Meghan will ever be fully reconciled with Harry’s family. Therefore, I hope that going forward Harry and Meghan can just enjoy all their children’s milestones and celebrate with the ones who are part of their children’s lives. It just seems so unnecessary to announce to the public that the Royals were invited but didn’t show up.
My mother’s only brother promised my mother he would serve as a surrogate father to my brother and I after our father and grandfather died in quick succession when we were very small. He showed up at Christmas a couple of times those first years, and then would disappear for years, supposedly because he was so busy with his career. He missed holidays, birthdays, graduations, weddings, etc. I’m sure my mom was bitter that he didn’t attend those milestone events, but she rarely said anything to my brother and me about it.
It never occurred to us to miss him at those events because he wasn’t a part of our daily lives. I’m glad my mother didn’t let my uncle’s absence overshadow our joy at those milestones.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 9, 2023 1:27:02 GMT
For me, it would be a hard no.
Our vacation house (a lake house) is quite a bit bigger than the “empty nester” house we bought seven years’ ago when we retired. For us, the fun of having a lake house is entertaining family and friends. It’s what we love to do.
Since you don’t plan on having guests stay over, one bathroom will probably work for you. You can always add on when your son has a significant other.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 8, 2023 13:38:55 GMT
I seem to be able to find junk food everywhere I go, including the health food store. I’ve recently discovered that the individually wrapped caramel candies you pass in the checkout line at Natural Grocers are melt in your mouth heavenly. I now buy one every time I check out and eat it on the way home. I figure it’s got to be healthy since they sell it at the health food store. 😂
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 8, 2023 3:17:19 GMT
He’s darling! Love the one piece w/ the peas on it. We should all get one in our own size! 🤣
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 7, 2023 23:11:44 GMT
I do not believe doxxing is ever appropriate. People are too crazy these days- doxxing could get someone assaulted or murdered. I agree 100%. Doxxing is the modern version of vigilante justice.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 6, 2023 16:40:35 GMT
I'm so sorry you and your family are going through this. I know every case is different, but my mom died of pancreatic cancer about twenty years ago. Once she decided to forego treatment, hospice came in. They kept her medicated and she experienced very little pain or discomfort.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 6, 2023 16:27:07 GMT
I'm sorry your son is struggling. Nothing is harder on parents than when their kids are unhappy.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 4, 2023 14:50:49 GMT
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 4, 2023 14:33:05 GMT
I’m glad the jury found him guilty. I certainly thought he was guilty.
I was surprised when I heard the juror who appeared on GMA say that the initial vote was 9 guilty, 2 not guilty, and one undecided. After just 45 minutes of actual deliberation they came to a unanimous decision of not guilty. How can you sit through a weeks long trial and go into a jury room thinking a man is not guilty and then change your mind in a mere 45 minutes?
I practiced law for twenty plus years and I recently sat on a jury myself, so I know how unpredictable jurors can be and how easily swayed some people are, but I’m still amazed that someone could change their vote that quickly. Of course they have every right to do so. If it were me, though, I’d want to sleep on it before I changed my vote, no matter how much pressure the other jurors exerted on me.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 4, 2023 14:08:12 GMT
I don’t like all the furnishing choices, but I could certainly live with them. My husband and I would be sitting outside enjoying the view most of the time. (We would also be worrying about how we could possibly afford the upkeep of the villa. ) The one thing I wonder about is the structure in front of the villa. It has a pretty big parking lot so I wonder if it’s a restaurant. That could potentially interfere with our enjoyment of the outdoor space.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 4, 2023 13:47:48 GMT
I’m not Catholic, but my husband is and I go to mass with him almost every Sunday.
At Sunday masses, nothing is said about who can receive communion, although the priest would never knowingly give communion to a non Catholic. At weddings and funerals there is usually something written on the program. As far as I can remember, though, the instructions are for non Catholics. I don’t recall seeing any instructions for lapsed Catholics.
It doesn’t bother me that as a non Catholic I can’t receive communion. I don’t believe in transsubstantiation so I don’t think it would be proper for me to receive communion in the Catholic Church. I was raised a Protestant in a church where the Lord’s Supper was seen as symbolic and this is what I still believe.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 2, 2023 20:16:15 GMT
I happened to come across a Family Affair rerun a few years' ago and I thought "Wow! Uncle Bill is hot!" I never noticed that back when I was watching in 1968.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 2, 2023 19:35:37 GMT
It can't be located so close to a busy street that we can hear a lot of traffic when we are sitting in our backyard.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 2, 2023 15:26:23 GMT
No advice, but I'm so sorry you are going through this.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 2, 2023 15:01:22 GMT
This will give Harry something to write about in the sequel to Spare. I'm guessing it will begin:
I thought family relations would get better after I wrote my tell all book exposing all the awful things my family has done to me, but then Pa announced Meghan and I would have to sleep on the fold out couch if we came to the coronation.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 2, 2023 14:21:20 GMT
I would take him to an orthopedic doctor who specializes in hands.
I’ve had two broken fingers. The first one was a very bad break when I was about 25. I went to a bad surgeon and it did not heal properly. (After I started practicing workers’ compensation law, I learned what a terrible reputation the doctor had). I had a couple other surgeries by a different surgeon to try and fix what the first surgeon did. The second surgeon greatly improved my range of motion, but I still have problems with that finger and it is badly scarred.
My second break on a different finger was not nearly as bad. We were at the lake when it happened and I went to a small town emergency room. The doctor X rayed it, then gave me a little splint to wear and said it would be fine in six weeks.
When I returned to the workers’ comp court on Monday, my collègues insisted I go see an orthopedic hand specialist. He put a soft cast on my hand and arm which completely immobilized my broken finger. I went back in a few days and even I could see that my broken finger wasn’t healing straight, even with the support of the cast. The doctor operated and I haven’t had any problems at all with that finger.
Hopefully, your son’s finger isn’t broken and it will heal, but if it were me, I would have it checked out.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 1, 2023 18:23:16 GMT
I think the staging is distracting. My eye doesn't know whether to go to the tiffany style lamp, the Tuscany style wall decor, or the decorative mirror. Meanwhile, the busy, oversized rug is obscuring what looks to be a nice wood floor. The couch is blocking the big windows which overlook the beautiful backyard.
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Post by auntkelly on Feb 28, 2023 16:28:30 GMT
I’m having cups sewn into my mother of the bride dress that I’m wearing to my daughter’s upcoming wedding. It’s so much easier than trying to find a bra that won’t show. I don’t think I’ll have to wear Spanx because my dress actually has some boning in the corset which helps hold everything in the proper place, and it has a full skirt which disguises my apple belly. If your dress hugs your curves I would take your dress with you and go to a store where the lingerie department employees are very well trained (such as Nordstrom) and have them help me pick out the best undergarments for the dress. Try and go on a weekday when they are not so busy. Are you willing to share your dress? I’m not feeling like my go to styles are working. My daughter gets married soon, and I’m petrified I won’t find I dress that works for me. I don’t even know my body type anymore. I’ll send you a PM.
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