Weekend Update - Visit with Barb
I took Friday off to play hookey and go to the movies with allgudallthetim. Since I posted a link about Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors, I decided it was the perfect thing to listen to on the drive. I dug through my CD collection and found the jewel case. Which was EMPTY! I checked the boom box, nope. Of course it wasn’t in the Walkman, Annie Lennox’s Diva is in semi-permanent residence there because it's my favorite thing to listen to when I walk. I checked my folder of CDs that travel in the car and to work. No joy. Thankfully it was in the CD player in the car, I must have been playing it on my last road trip. I listened to it twice, once on the way to NH, and again on the way home.
It was weird driving up to Barrington and then around Portsmouth with Barbara. I lived in the Seacoast area for eight years, but that was over a decade ago. So driving around everything was familiar (like Leighton Cycles, where I used to get my motorcycle tuned up back when I still had the Kawasaki), but changed. There was of course new construction, new shopping plazas etc. After the movie, on our way to Portsmouth we drove past the factory where I worked nights for five years, making car parts to pay my way through college.
I wasn’t sure where I was going, because I found two completely different addresses for the movie theater when I Googled it. But since it was in Barrington, I was pretty sure I knew which theater we were meeting up at. Yep, it was the same place, under new management and with a new name. I’d forgotten why I usually wait for kids movies to come out on DVD rather than see them in the theaters. If you don’t want a movie theater full of chatty kids, you either have to go to the LATE show or wait for the DVD. But Pixar worked their magic and I was soon oblivious to anything but what was going on up on the screen.
After the movie, Barb gave me a pair of muffatees that she’d knitted for me. They’re my favorite shade of green, and a wonderfully soft wool/silk blend. Of course, it will be months before it’s cold enough to wear them. Unless they really start cranking the A/C at the office. ;-)
We drove down the Spaulding to Newington, where I wanted to pop into the Fox Run Mall. My local (Salem) Gloria Jean’s had gone out of business, but I was hoping the one at the Fox Run was still open. And might have bottles of Ice Cap mix? And they did! I picked up two. I don’t drink coffee, but I love a little of their cappuccino mix with my skim milk. Then we had a (light) lunch at Applebees. I have to laugh, they have an under 550 menu, and a Weight Watchers menu. And if you know that a Weight Watcher’s “point” is about 70 calories, then eating off their WW menu, where many of the entries have 8 - 11 points, is NOT the better choice for your waistline.
When we were coming out of the parking garage in Portsmouth, we saw the Blue Angels do a flyover. There was an air show in the area this weekend, and they must have been practicing. I saw them once, years ago when I was still married. And they are impressive.
I took Barb to my favorite weird little store, Macro Polo. They sell all sorts of kitchy stuff. It’s hard to describe, but it’s all weird and wonderful. I bought a little padded camera case for my digital camera, and a couple of greeting cards. Then we snooped through a couple of kitchen stores. I didn’t need anything, but I always like to look. Sometimes you don’t know you need something until you see it. I stopped in one of the overpriced shoe stores ($300 a pair, eek!). They did have a really cute pair of Frye motorcycle boot mules that I think I’ll go back and try on in the fall. We oogled the estate jewelry in the window at the pawn shop (they always have the BEST stuff), tried on hats in an accessory store, and browsed through a card shop before I drove her back to her car and we said goodbye.
Saturday and Sunday were the usual weekend mix of housework, sloth, reading, and just trying to beat the heat. I ran errands and got in the grocery shopping on Sunday. I did a little shopping too. I found a really cute purse at JC Penneys, and since I’d noticed some elastic failure in the current crop, I treated myself to a whole batch of new panties at Target. Happiness is brand new underwear. =D
It was weird driving up to Barrington and then around Portsmouth with Barbara. I lived in the Seacoast area for eight years, but that was over a decade ago. So driving around everything was familiar (like Leighton Cycles, where I used to get my motorcycle tuned up back when I still had the Kawasaki), but changed. There was of course new construction, new shopping plazas etc. After the movie, on our way to Portsmouth we drove past the factory where I worked nights for five years, making car parts to pay my way through college.
I wasn’t sure where I was going, because I found two completely different addresses for the movie theater when I Googled it. But since it was in Barrington, I was pretty sure I knew which theater we were meeting up at. Yep, it was the same place, under new management and with a new name. I’d forgotten why I usually wait for kids movies to come out on DVD rather than see them in the theaters. If you don’t want a movie theater full of chatty kids, you either have to go to the LATE show or wait for the DVD. But Pixar worked their magic and I was soon oblivious to anything but what was going on up on the screen.
After the movie, Barb gave me a pair of muffatees that she’d knitted for me. They’re my favorite shade of green, and a wonderfully soft wool/silk blend. Of course, it will be months before it’s cold enough to wear them. Unless they really start cranking the A/C at the office. ;-)
We drove down the Spaulding to Newington, where I wanted to pop into the Fox Run Mall. My local (Salem) Gloria Jean’s had gone out of business, but I was hoping the one at the Fox Run was still open. And might have bottles of Ice Cap mix? And they did! I picked up two. I don’t drink coffee, but I love a little of their cappuccino mix with my skim milk. Then we had a (light) lunch at Applebees. I have to laugh, they have an under 550 menu, and a Weight Watchers menu. And if you know that a Weight Watcher’s “point” is about 70 calories, then eating off their WW menu, where many of the entries have 8 - 11 points, is NOT the better choice for your waistline.
When we were coming out of the parking garage in Portsmouth, we saw the Blue Angels do a flyover. There was an air show in the area this weekend, and they must have been practicing. I saw them once, years ago when I was still married. And they are impressive.
I took Barb to my favorite weird little store, Macro Polo. They sell all sorts of kitchy stuff. It’s hard to describe, but it’s all weird and wonderful. I bought a little padded camera case for my digital camera, and a couple of greeting cards. Then we snooped through a couple of kitchen stores. I didn’t need anything, but I always like to look. Sometimes you don’t know you need something until you see it. I stopped in one of the overpriced shoe stores ($300 a pair, eek!). They did have a really cute pair of Frye motorcycle boot mules that I think I’ll go back and try on in the fall. We oogled the estate jewelry in the window at the pawn shop (they always have the BEST stuff), tried on hats in an accessory store, and browsed through a card shop before I drove her back to her car and we said goodbye.
Saturday and Sunday were the usual weekend mix of housework, sloth, reading, and just trying to beat the heat. I ran errands and got in the grocery shopping on Sunday. I did a little shopping too. I found a really cute purse at JC Penneys, and since I’d noticed some elastic failure in the current crop, I treated myself to a whole batch of new panties at Target. Happiness is brand new underwear. =D