Three friends

It is 30 degrees out this morning.

You can ignore this post if you are not a sewist (as Rhea would say.)

Oy, what a day. So, I get up early, drop the girls with my parents for the day (so nice having doggie daycare on site), and drive the hour-and-a-half to the big city. I have been so excited about this class with Judy Neimeyer. Sooo excited. Traffic kind of sucks and I am driving at the speed of light to get there on time and hey! I am. I haul Miss Elna, my kit, the bag of stuff I had to prepare for the class, etc. etc. in and find a place to set up by my new pal, Daphne. 

When, hold the phone . . . 

I do not have my freakin' frackin' forkin' foot pedal for Miss Elna. OMG! I can't sew! I thought I would cry. Well, Quilting by the Bay, who is putting this on, says I can borrow a machine. So, after the initial demo, I hop in my car and drive like a demon to the shop and pick up a Viking. I have never used a Viking. But I learn. Fast. 

Here I am in a bit of a daze, posing with the Viking.

And here are some of the quilts Judy brought with her. Gorgeous and even more wonderful in person. 

My assessment of Judy. Messy long blonde hair with 3 inches of dark roots, baggy jeans and shirt, sniffing like a cocaine addict, talent up the wazoo. She is amazing.

After breakfast, I drove thru the warm rain out of the Keys.  Lots of driving today and mark the difference between Key Largo and Miami (cuh-raazy!)  (Even crazier that I took these pics thru the windshield while I was driving - gulp.)

So, I met my BFF Leslie and husband, Tom (sans lovely hairy cap, darn it - see a few entries back at the Fishing Club) for lunch at Trattoria Luna in, well, I'm not sure where, but the GPS got me there - someplace in south Miami or Kendall I think (food? fab!) Anyhoo, I got there a half hour early so I went into For Eyes and looked at glasses. Do I need them? Yup. Stay tuned 'cause I'll get them in a week or two and they are really really blue and bling-y and Italian. Oh yeeaaahhhhh. Awesome. 

* * *  

OK, so you are probably asking yourself, who is this incredibly handsome guy, right? Right? Well, this is hairdresser to the stars, (he does live in Hollywood so it must be true) Len Leon. And, my new friend and confidant. He is so smart and handsome and sweet and I just can't say enough about how much I like him.

But, I digress. Look at my new "do." Len is so awesome. He gave me a Keratin treatment and I will let you know how it works out but so far, I am loving it! Ok, Ok, I know I look tired here and I was, but he still made me look gooooood!

FRIZZ: Gone!!

Oh, and I have to say that I fell in love with his fabulous little retro house (same era as  my old place in Key Largo for those who've been there) so beautifully decorated, and I hope I can take pictures next time I'm there. Yes, Len?

* * * 

Just one more . . . 

Today was my last day of school. Here is my friend, Donna. She is so cute and funny and I am going to miss seeing her every Wednesday morning in Drawing Class.

 We totally have a good time and have pretty much reverted to junior high mentality ragging on the teacher and having lots of laughs. She is awesome.

(and look: still no frizz!)

Paula and her girls

So an early morning start on Monday when I met my friend, Paula, and her daughters for breakfast at 7am at the Key Largo Cafe, a fave breakfast place for years now. Oh. My. but these girls have a lot of energy for so early in the morning. Luckily, they serve a giant cup of cafe con leche (um, for me - not them.)

Mattie is an absolute doll and quite the polite little girl while Caroline is a crazy little munchkin. I knew she might be a handful when the wait person asked Paula if she wanted a highchair and Paula said oh no, she won't stay in it.  She kept Paula running the whole time while Mattie pretty much stayed seated and entertained me with a cool plastic penguin and his fish. Three pretty girls and I love them. If anybody reading this knows Paula, could they puhleeeeze help her get online and into the 21st century??

Here is Caroline "drinking" a cup of half & half (one of many) . . .

Another wonderful day in the Fabulous Florida Keys!

And, finally finally warm! Oh the sun felt so good.  I stopped in for a visit with friends Jan and Rob who, like everyone else down here, bitched about the weather this winter and might not come back next year. So nice to see them (oh, they'll be back!) Then, off to Our Lady of Perpetual Mimosas (aka Snappers). Here is the always lovely Janine.

Today was very special because it was Lu's 64th birthday. She wears it well, doesn't she? She looked pretty in pink as usual.

And I was so happy to see Mick and Ellie right where they should be in their usual seats on a fine Sunday morning at 10am. Mick gives the best hugs...

So, after brunch I ran a few errands, hit the flea market and went to Bealls for a new swimsuit. When I got back Sue was at the hotel with Katrina. Such a nice surprise to see Katrina! They both had their swimsuits and soon, Leslie appeared, then Karen and Jan, then Gloria. I hope I'm not leaving anybody out. Oh. Chuck made a brief appearance. Yay Chuck!

That Karen is in fabulous shape, isn't she?

Anyway, what a pleasure to be back in the water. First time all winter. We just floated around in the nice warm pool, had a hot tub. Kudos to the Holiday Inn. I mean, who knew? Karen was buying so we got some nice tropical drinks and when everybody drifted off, my Glorialola and I had a late lunch and a good heart-to-heart.

Here we are  

Tomorrow: breakfast with my friend Paula (hideously early because she is the hardest working woman in show business) and then back to Podunk via Ft. Lauderdale. 

toodles

Dancin' Machine

Drive-by photo.       huh?

Only in the Keys!

Beautiful blondes

My BFF and I can't get enough of this guy!Dinner at the fishing club was fun, the hogfish, divine!

Happy Hour at Snooks

I have the best friends in the whole world.  No, seriously. This is an entirely objective statement. It is true. All of you WISH you could have friends like these. My LAS Sarah said, let your friends love on you and that is just what they did.

I was sooooooo happy to see all of these wonderful people. (Can you believe how we're dressed? Hello? we're in the Keys! brrrrrrrr) After Happy Hour, we retired inside to the warmth for dinner.  It was so great. I LOVE you guys!


A few more:

Check out Miss Eva holding forth. In vino veritas, don'tcha know! You go girl!

Up early and there was actual frost on the windshield - OMG! The GPS took me on a wild goose chase to the airport but I made it in time, hopped on a commuter to Ft. Lauderdale, rented a Camry (the gas pedal seemed a little sticky, is that normal? haha) and made the ride to Key Largo. Oh, I love the Keys. I love the icky smell, the tacky signs, all of it. I met my BFF Leslie for lunch at The Big Chill and she arrived carrying a little care package in a gift bag for me with everything I would need for my first night in a motel (including little paper cocktail umbrellas - does this girl know me or what?)  

I then stopped and saw the gloriousness that is Gloria. How do I love thee? We had a quick catch-up, she just back from California and off for coffee, and I on my way to the Holiday Inn...Well, it's central.  Um, it's um, oh! my window looks out at boats! There, so pretty good, right? Here's the view:

Next stop: Shear Paradise. And it is. Here is hairdresser extraordinaire, Buff on the right and that is her partner in crime, Lisa on the left. Above everything else, they are good and kind and generous women. 

The woman in the cape trying to stay out of the picture shall remain nameless.

I also saw my friend, Debbie having her toes done so it was a truly happy afternoon, catching up and feeling the love! Sweeeeeet!

If you're in Key Largo and need hair or nails done, Shear Paradise is the place, girls! They are fabulous!

I also have to say that when I entered my room, the first thing I saw were pretty gift bags and a card from my friend, Sue! With all the stuff going on with her right now, she found the time for this. I am speechless and so grateful. 

Oh! So, I was walking through the parking lot of the old Shopper on my way back from the drug store and sure enough the old Cuban guy with his fruit truck with all the stuff hanging off the sides was there. So I asked: Hay tamales? Si! I bought two for my dinner and they were awesome. I am home. These are my people. (Leslie, the foresight to put plastic cutlery in my care package? priceless!)

I am staying at the coolest hotel right in downtown Tallahassee. it has a big flat screen computer called "ice" on the desk with a touch screen. You can order a wake-up call, send a message to valet parking to have your car ready and order room service (all of which I have done) with a touch on the screen. It also has email, maps and directions, sightseeing, dining options, etc. Amazing. And it's not expensive - yay!

So, on the road I checked my cell phone and YES! I have service for the first time since mid-Decmeber. I had 25 messages and if anybody who left me a message is reading this, I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to you but I will start now as I'll be traveling for a few days and will have cell coverage - YES!  

So, back to the hotel. There is one HUGE drawback. They are having a meeting of republicans. So, lots of old white men in suits and women with too much make-up and product in their hair. Yuck! I went to the restaurant and was so turned off by the clientele, I came back to my room to have dinner with somebody intelligent - me!

What a treat! My Dad said heck yeah to oysters and he and I split a dozen and then we had the seared tuna and it was awesome!

(King Eider, I have to say, if any oysters rival Damariscotta oysters, they are Apalachicola oysters!)

Mom had the chowdah.

Here they are. Are they not the absolute cutest Mother and Daddy in the entire universe? I ask you!

And don't you love this sign? (The world is your oyster? Get it? Huh? Do ya?)

Welcome Izzy!

Have I told you about my niece, Anna? Here she is with my sweet nephew, Will. Anna is such a fabulous girl. She is lovely and smart and funny and the kind of person who makes you want to be a better person.

She worked so hard all year to earn the right to have her very own puppy and on Saturday, she went and picked up Izzy.






Is this the sweetest little face ever?

So, please join me in welcoming Anna's new puppy, Izzy.  

Here is Izzy with my sister, Leslie, at the skating rink.

Welcome to the family, Izzy!

Lizzie Loves George

Yes, that's right. I'm in love with George!  My rental has a George Foreman Grill and I finally looked online to figure out how to use it and now I am in love!  For obvious reasons, most of you don't know that I am a fairly decent cook and I have now cooked steaks, tuna and last night, my piece de resistance: chicken satay, all on George. I made a spicy peanut sauce to go with it and it was awesome! Mummy and Da agree.

How cool is this?  My mom and I took a drive south today, forgetting that, as we are in the South, nothing is open on Sunday. Not a thing, nada.  Anyhoo, our shopping trip turned into a Sunday drive and when we turned down a side street near the waterfront, we came upon this HUGE pile of oyster shells.  An oyster midden, if you will.  There's my cute little mom posing in front of it to give you the perspective. Cool, right?

You'll notice she is in her winter coat. It is cold here... but not colder than Michigan!

Nap Time

Well, I'm all excited because mum and daddy and Rose are coming to visit today! I woke up at 4am when the wind started to howl and the girls and I finally got up before daybreak, unable to sleep due to a ferocious thunder storm. Great lightening and booming thunder (although the girls didn't think it was so great.) Then the power went out. And was out for much of the morning. Poor mummy and daddy are driving in this mess. It continues to pour down and there are big huge rolling waves hitting the beach.

Here is a little gift I made for Rose:

It was so easy - I'll never buy another dog collar!

So, I wanted to address an issue I have taken heat for in the past. Butt cracks. Yes, you heard me. Butt cracks.  Yesterday, a local gentleman came to fix my dishwasher. Beside the fact that I could barely understand his accent, it soon became clear to me that even if I could understand him, his words would be drowned out by the dull roar in my head caused by that butt crack smiling up at me from where he lay on my kitchen floor. Surely, these men have wives or girlfriends or daughters or mothers who could enlighten them as to the usefulness of belts or suspenders and educate them as to the total ick factor involved here.  sigh

Anyhoo, moving right along, I sat down to finish my drawings from class this morning and wound up making this little pencil case instead.  I put vinyl on the inside.  Isn't it cute?

I had to get up early for college this morning so I got to see the space station fly over. Way cool!



I took the camera to the beach yesterday afternoon so here are some shots of the beach and the girls.

     First of all, I just can't take the crowds! Honestly, I need my space. oh

The shelling here is really great. I have been searching for an intact sand dollar. I've seen huge pieces of them. Check the size of this piece. After a month-and-a-half of looking, I did find my first one yesterday but it was teeny. 

Here are the girls. Man, as soon as I whip out the camera, Sophie plants herself in front of me - the girl is a total ham. Here she is sitting in my shadow.

While Sophie spends her time in the water and posing for the camera, Lucy spends her time scavenging. Here she is after getting in trouble for eating a dead crab.  Yummm

This is sand layers. Cool, right?