Kate & Valancy's Bagy Wrinkle Adventures (with Comments on the Commercial Oddities of Our Society)
This weekend I got a call from my dear old roomie Kate (the one who lives in England near the town of Snape) saying she had come to the states for a wedding and did I want to drive down to meet her at her parents' summer house in Rhode Island one day this week? Naturally, I said YES with great excitement.
Tuesday I went; it was a two-hour drive, not bad at all. Her parents live on a street called Bagy Wrinkle Cove, which is supposed to be named after the sailing term baggywrinkle but is both spelled and spaced wrong. How did that get past all the planners, builders and town officials it takes to make a housing development? Even if you did't know the term -- BAGY? It would drive me mad; I don't think I could live there.
Anyway, it was a very nice house, and we had a lovely day: drove around in Kate's parents' "mid-life crisis car", a Mazda Miata; got fried food at an outdoor restaurant, and ice cream cones; walked around two cute Rhode Island tourist towns and popped into whatever shops we felt like; encountered waaaaay too many really fabulous cards at every turn, including one Kate bought to frame.
In fact, I liked those particular cards so much I'll plug them: http://www.curlygirldesigns.com. Admire!
One thing we saw a lot of were those decorative wall plaques with sayings painted on them. You know the sort of thing I mean? What I find really bizarre about these plaques is that they are equally divided between bright, cutesy "inspirational sayings" like LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH or SISTERS ARE FOREVER, and bright, abrasive/catty statements like YES I AM THE QUEEN or IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING NICE TO SAY, PLEASE GO ON! Myself, I think I'd get a matched pair like FRIENDS ALWAYS HAVE TIME TO LISTEN and WHY ARE YOU STILL TALKING? and hang 'em opposite each other just to wig people out. If I were the plaque-hanging type.
My visit to Rhode Island wound up with a swim and a delicious dinner Kate (being a domestic goddess) whipped up for me in about three minutes, since they weren't eating till later and I had to drive back. Altogether it was the most vacationy day I've had in... maybe all year. Yay for roomies!
And last, because I just have to share this:
The other day my two-year-old niece sprayed herself with the garden hose and then gave me & her mom an unhappy look. We ask: "Oh honey, what did you do that for?"
"That get me all dry," says she.
"No that's water, honey, that will get you all wet."
Niece, in a tiny voice: "Uh oh."
Tuesday I went; it was a two-hour drive, not bad at all. Her parents live on a street called Bagy Wrinkle Cove, which is supposed to be named after the sailing term baggywrinkle but is both spelled and spaced wrong. How did that get past all the planners, builders and town officials it takes to make a housing development? Even if you did't know the term -- BAGY? It would drive me mad; I don't think I could live there.
Anyway, it was a very nice house, and we had a lovely day: drove around in Kate's parents' "mid-life crisis car", a Mazda Miata; got fried food at an outdoor restaurant, and ice cream cones; walked around two cute Rhode Island tourist towns and popped into whatever shops we felt like; encountered waaaaay too many really fabulous cards at every turn, including one Kate bought to frame.
In fact, I liked those particular cards so much I'll plug them: http://www.curlygirldesigns.com. Admire!
One thing we saw a lot of were those decorative wall plaques with sayings painted on them. You know the sort of thing I mean? What I find really bizarre about these plaques is that they are equally divided between bright, cutesy "inspirational sayings" like LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH or SISTERS ARE FOREVER, and bright, abrasive/catty statements like YES I AM THE QUEEN or IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING NICE TO SAY, PLEASE GO ON! Myself, I think I'd get a matched pair like FRIENDS ALWAYS HAVE TIME TO LISTEN and WHY ARE YOU STILL TALKING? and hang 'em opposite each other just to wig people out. If I were the plaque-hanging type.
My visit to Rhode Island wound up with a swim and a delicious dinner Kate (being a domestic goddess) whipped up for me in about three minutes, since they weren't eating till later and I had to drive back. Altogether it was the most vacationy day I've had in... maybe all year. Yay for roomies!
And last, because I just have to share this:
The other day my two-year-old niece sprayed herself with the garden hose and then gave me & her mom an unhappy look. We ask: "Oh honey, what did you do that for?"
"That get me all dry," says she.
"No that's water, honey, that will get you all wet."
Niece, in a tiny voice: "Uh oh."