Rambling Again 8/21/2012

I want to tell you about a book I read recently called Three Against Hitler. It's a very good book loaned to me by a friend. It's thought provoking and will make you cry though. You can find it here on Amazon if interested.
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Hubby wanted salad the other night with tuna on top. I didn't want that much so told him to make a tuna sandwich for me instead. (Pain killers have dulled my appetite significantly, but heaven forbid I should lose any weight!) It was the most delicious tuna salad sandwich he's ever made me. I don't know why but it just tasted so dang good to me. Here's an example of a salad he made me a couple of weeks ago. It was delicious also. He does delicious salads. I crumbled up some toasted Asiago/garlic baguettes into it also. Yummmmm.

Ooooh, I also told him he's losing kitchen cooking privileges until he cleans up after himself. Seriously.
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For those of you lusting after yachts, I saw a photo of the biggest yacht just built for some mega-millionaire, probably in the middle east somewhere. It's like a cruise ship! Huge. Bigger than 2 football fields if I'm remembering correctly, which is somewhat in question as I had to get back on pain killers after 3 days without them. Anyway, just wanted to let you know that to fill their gas tanks would cost $100,000. Plus they can't dock at just any port. See, the rich do have their problems. No way would I want to spend that much on gasoline even if I was rich.
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I'm a bit frugal on some things but extravagant on other things. For instance, I won't buy any meat that isn't Angus to bring home to cook. I'm not a big meat eater and not particularly fond of meat but I do love steaks. I even like the Angus burgers at Jack-In-The-Box, which they do superior to any other chain fast food restaurant. Grilled onions just tops it off as the best. Once you taste it, you won't go back. It's the best!
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I saw a woman recently that had on a T-shirt that could have provided shelter for  a VietNam family of eight. I sincerely do take pity on her as she's as much loved by God as I am, maybe even more as I'm such a rebellious woman sometimes. Very sad for her, however. And I truly mean that.
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A quaint cottage with just some unusual features I thought you'd like to see.

Main Street, America, house.

A perfect sun room or enclosed porch to daydream.

My next lamp redo will look similar to this. Beautiful! (Update:Actually, I created this post and decided several days later to redo the lamp that looks almost like this one. You can see it here. It's in the very first photo. I redid my Page My Home recently to make it look better. I used a template to make sure all the photos were evenly spaced. I don't think Blogger has yet fixed it to where we can do it correctly without using a template.)

Here it is.

Pink eye candy.

More pinks to drool over.

Lace and roses. Can it get much better than this? ;-)

Lazy afternoon in the shade, a respite from the sun and heat.

Somewhere in the world. I wonder where. But life continues even if it is on the top of a tall, narrow building. Life will continue.

Love the curtains billowing in the breeze. Colorful pinks and serene blues and whites. Gorgeous.

Daydream living in this old French home.

Cute setting for an afternoon tête-à-tête.

Gorgeous floor lamp and table lamp.

I like what the homeowner did with this paper hanging lamp. Quite easily done and what a statement it makes.

I'd love to have a chalkboard with this rose decal on it. She has some of the most gorgeous roses paintings I've seen. Just stunning.

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Trip to Ethan Allen to Look at Sofas.

 Feeling a bit chipper a few days ago, I asked hubby to take me to our local Ethan Allen shop. He did. When I first walked in their store, the most stunningly gorgeous sofa was sitting right in front. It was the Chadwick (seen below in photos 7, 8 and 9) in a beautiful fabric. It took my breath away. I've asked the designer to take a photo of that setting so I could show it to you. 

This is my sofa now. It's 17 years old and I'm due for a new one. The pillows on it now aren't the regular pillows but since my surgery I've had them on because they're feathers and nice and soft for my head and feet to lay on. Corbett is its name but it's been discontinued years ago. This looks about like it did when new though. I take excellent care of my furnishings and have it treated with a stain repellent every five or so years. Clean and nice. Ready for my granddaughter's house when she finds one.

There are 5 sofas I'm looking at. I've narrowed it down to these sofas but I'm pretty sure it'll be the Marlowe one down a couple from here. I gave the designer my five favorites and told her to put the same fabric I looked at in the store on all five on their website where they can do it and send me the photos of each to compare. I doubt that this will be the final fabric. It actually shows darker here than when actually seen. I don't want something very dark. I'll make the final fabric selection next time we go in to the store. Here they are.
This is the Paris sofa.

Savoy sofa.
I liked this one also, but it's not going to be my final selection.

Marlowe.
This is my final selection. Longer than the old sofa, which was 92". This one is 99" and hubs wanted it bigger rather than smaller. You know men! ;-)

This is a tight back and it wasn't comfortable with my tight-muscled back. So it won't be my final selection either.
Montgomery sofa

Marlowe in another fabric. I want to see this fabric in person before I decided. Probably not what I'll select but I never know until I see the fabric in person and the colors in natural light. Very Pretty though.

This was the stunning sofa in the entry, but it was done in a fabric similar to the top three, but it was a gold/yellowish. It drew my breath away when I saw it. Stunningly gorgeous! It has nail trim and the back and arms are tufted with buttons. The back scrolls over a bit. That would make it stand out a bit far from our window behind it. But the greatest consideration is that it was stiffer than the cushioned sofas.

Chadwick sofa

Well, to my delight, the designer took this photo and emailed it to me after I'd completed this post. I didn't want to change the post so I just added these photos of it. This is the sofa in the entry of Ethan Allen the day I walked in.

I cannot tell you how beautiful it is in person. No photo ever does justice to the actual things we're photographing!

I also played around with the fabrics on the sofa I'm wanting—the Marlowe. This is pretty but I'm wanting something less floral. I'll know it when I find it.

This is a pretty paisley print on the sofa.

Also, I pulled up this one in pink stripe fabric just for fun. I'm not getting another pink stripe fabric for the living room. But I like it. I think it's darling, but not as formal as I want.

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I love this small outdoor patio with the darling birdhouse. I have no clue where it is but it's beautiful, especially with all the patio lights running along the fence.

A quaint pathway between 2 houses in a small village. Perhaps in the UK somewhere.

If only all entrances could be this welcoming with petunias, it would be a much nicer place to visit.

Lovin' these refurbished shoes!

Wishing I could have something like this in our backyard.

A beautiful bedroom for your little princess. The bed is in that Cinderella coach. I'm wondering if this is a decorator's showcase house room.

I like the way this homeowner decorated her lamp and hamper with the same beautiful roses fabric. Sweet!

The mirror reflects the actual home and what a sweet way to decorate a fence.

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Another tidbit from the blog post on U.S. Presidents I posted here.
Once while reprimanding his child for school grades, one Vice-President said, "What do you want to end up like—one of these?", while sweeping his arm to indicate the SS agents. So let's hear it for the SS agents! I think those guys are wonderful to protect a man for whom they had absolutely no respect. My brother-in-law is a retired FBI agent so I know what these people go through. They should be applauded for their heroism and non-judgmental attitude.
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Linking to WOW.

Weighty Thoughts Are on My Mind Today.

Just a few thoughts on some things I've seen, heard or read lately.

The Taliban has threatened to stop their polio vaccines until the U.S. stops its drone attacks. Oooooh, really? Now, I ask you: Who in the world is that going to help? While I sit here in my home in the U.S. and dearly love children and hate seeing them hurt, who will suffer for this? Their children! I, hubby, my kids and grandkids have all had our vaccinations. We're in no danger. Seriously, who are these nut cases? I feel for their children who may contract polio. Oooh, sigh, sigh, sigh!
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Which also brings me to China? They have a one-child policy and don't particularly like girl babies. Well, if they destroy all the girl babies, who is going to birth females, as it is they—women— who have the babies? They have it all backwards in my estimation. In the Bible, men have been asked by the Lord to take multiple wives to propagate the world. So China will end up with no one if they continue on this stance. Just boggles my mind how some people think.
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A Canadian p*rn star's trans**ual lover reveals that she could have been the killer's victim. (I obliterate things so I won't be on some list when the p*rverts google some things. And yes, I can track this! So don't doubt me. I prefer to have legitimate surfers, not the weird kind.) How sick does a person have to be to want so much publicity that she makes this statement, which could happen to be false?! She is so desperate for her 15 minutes of fame that she'll make such ridiculous statements like that. Sigh...again! Read my blog post of fame here.
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I read where the USA Olympic basketball team beat the Nigerian team by 83 points and some criticized the USA coach for going on when the other team was so far behind. What are the idiots thinking?! It's a championship and if the Nigerians can't take it, then they should never have shown up. Would they have stopped the game if they were so far ahead of the USA? I don't think so! The game is timed. That's how it's played! They couldn't stop.
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I saw a video on the internet that a university is making. It's beyond my comprehension how some people can be so absolutely and utterly stupid. This video has white/Caucasian people of various ages on it with graffiti covering their faces saying: It's unfair to be white. Now, I don't know about you, but I didn't have any say in the matter when my parents conceived me. I doubt I cared one whit what color I came out. I would still be the happy chick I am, living in Idaho with my hubby and still loving every single person in this world no matter what color or ethnicity they are. After all, some of my grandchildren are Asian and some are Hispanic and they are gorgeous, let me tell you and this statement is absolutely prejudicial: I have absolutely beautiful grandchildren! What a pathetic attempt at dividing people this is.
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I'd prefer to think about more weighty matters like life, death, cellulite and donuts.
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Hubs asked me some time ago why I have to eat so many donuts when I buy them. I told him I have to sample a dozen because I don't want to miss one single culinary experience if I don't have to.
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Recently, a friend got the VOIP on her phone to save money. I hate VOIP and will probably never, ever have it. When talking with someone on that type of phone connection (phone through the internet) every second and third word is dropped. I'm not ever giving up my land line for that simple reason. I want everyone to hear me properly and I would like the same consideration but it isn't going to happen. I choose wisely where I spend my dollars. Also, VOIP is easily broken into and someone can make a call looking like it came from your phone and not theirs. Yes, this can happen. Just remember that when you get a phone bill from some Caribbean/off shore phone company with thousands of dollars in costs on your phone. You have absolutely no recourse but to pay the bill. Your local and/or long distance company cannot help you one bit and they warn and tell you that. You are absolutely stuck with those phone bills, not the person who made them. YOU!
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More on the book about Presidential Secret Service. Just a few tidbits today.

There are a few more on the President I mentioned here. Remember, I'm doing every single one in this book, no preferential treatment whatsoever. If you're interested in all the stories, buy the book. ;-)

An usher had helped the previous First Lady learn how to use a computer. One day he got a message from her to call him back requesting his assistance on her computer. He did return her call and was fired. He had worked as an usher for the WH for many years and had 4 children. He couldn't find work for a year after that. It was the sitting President that had it done; it wasn't a rule to be able to work there. What a mean man he was!

This President also refused to let the public area be re-carpeted. It was a shambles but he micro-managed so much he wouldn't let them do it. It was replaced immediately after he left office. He even had solar panels installed on the WH roof and they didn't generate enough hot water to run the dishwasher! They had to go out and order a new hot water system just to keep it going. That blew any savings it may have generated but it was a fiasco for the WH staff.

The book calls this family the biggest liars of all. If I tell you a story, it will give it away who it was but I'll just say their private persona was totally different from their public persona. They were not missed when they left.

He wanted to be known as a big fitness buff but he collapsed into the arms of a SS agent when running once, but he had them way off track. They had to find a pay phone to call a cab, but finally called 911 to call the WH to get a vehicle out to find them. Some of these stories are hilarious!

I think that's enough for today, don't you?
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I like this relaxed look of white and splashes of red. It would make a darling family room for me. I'd thrown in a lot of pink also.

Yes, I love white slipcovers. Mine on our family room sofa is a green and white stripe and I got it for a bit of $300 about 4 years ago. I've never seen another cover like it and have many compliments on it. I would like these in there also. Just crisp and clean and washable!

Cute lanterns for guiding your sailor home.

Sweet dining area with all pinks and reds.

One of the most inviting entries I've ever seen.

Now you know what to do with that old tree you're going to chop down in your yard. :-)

Is this pup guarding the home or is he just showing you how cool he looks perched there? ;-)

Aqua and red eye candy.

Little pink cottage with an eyebrow roof line. Looks like it's been neglected though.

Coffee filters covering a lamp shade. I think nothing has contributed to decorating like coffee filters. :-)

Just going in to a fabric store perks me up with all the beautiful and bright colors.

A very well organized kitchen area. Cute how the homeowner has pretty colors and decals on all her stuff.

A beautiful pink french château in a rose-strewn garden.

Another cottage in a flower garden with rock pathway.

Isn’t this cute?! I love the bright pinks mixed with apple green and white.

My window seat in this office isn't as big but I love it for the ambiance it gives this room.

Ooooooh, yeah. Burlap-looking covers with ruffles for femininity.

Another hammock strung between trees for you to relax and dream.

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