Author: boomingbanter

Oh so very happy for Prince Harry and his beautiful Princess Meghan. Those of us who were on the planet in September 1997 cannot fail to remember that little twelve year old as he took that very long last walk with his beautiful Mum.

Now he has his own Princess and they have their own little baby Prince to take care of and what a special baby this is.

The first biracial baby in the British Royal family and the first eligible to one day be President of the United States should he choose.

As we heard this news we were sorting through the treasures accumulated over the past months. It was indeed laborious getting all the items sorted out. The news on the baby helped. You gotta get things in perspective!

Starting at nine and ending at seven it took a little more time than anticipated but the result was satisfying.

All we need to do now is watch and see how this baby grows up!

Blessing # 330 – New Life

 

Beautiful today and celebrations all around.

Cinco de Mayo and the first cook out of the season at our friends Bob and Nada’s. Many years have passed since the Mexicans and the French had their famous battala. Still good to toast the spicy victors and have fun with the appropriately named Coco the Labradoodle!

 

It was also the first outdoor market of the season in our little town and of course a bit of shopping had to be done. Bought a few little items for MY BUSINESS.

Feels so good to say that. Decision taken. Starting small with the glass case.

Working tomorrow on getting things cleaned and labeled and then big ribbon cutting on Tuesday. Must invite a celebrity.

Let the battle of the bijou begin.

Blessing # 329 – Small is Sweet

 

 

Maybe you can give me your thoughts on today’s dilemma.

The antique mall where I hope to sell my rescued treasures contacted me to say they have either a very large booth available or half a glass box.

Now the booth is of course much more expensive than the box. Roughly five time more.

Today I was at my friend Laura’s and she thought it may be a wise to start small and see how things go.

Of course there is no way that a chair or bench will fit unless it is dolls furniture which is what the person renting the other half of the glass box is selling.

The lady in charge of the store was very kind and understanding and reassured me that as soon as a smaller booth opens up then I could switch.

Lots of my little loves would fit well in the glass box but it might take more imagination to see how they’d look in a home if they weren’t on a table or cabinet.

So what do you think? Big Booth or Half Box or wait patiently for the standard booth?

Blessing # 328 – Multiple Choice

Another day another deluge. Thankfully once again we are escaping the worst.

Streams are becoming rivers and the rivers are rising fast.

Krishna made the comment as we were driving into town this morning that it felt like the monsoon in India.

We had to go really slowly as the windscreen wipers couldn’t cope at some points.

The one thing though about rain when it’s warm is that it is refreshing. So much better than rain with cold. Provided you have a good waterproof coat you can even enjoy it.

My trusty Barbour came in handy today. I have a fondness for this old relic that is beyond measure. Krishna bought it for me thirty three years ago just before we got married. At the time it seemed expensive but it cannot be beaten.

It’s made of waxed cotton and has a unique smell but man it can turn the rain.

It spent most of its life in Ireland. First in the back hall of my parents home and later in our own place. It was always the go too garment any time there was rain. So it got plenty of use.

In winter a nice big sweater can be worn underneath it to keep warm and in the summer it’s loose and light. Best of all it has super deep pockets so no need for a purse when you wear it.

When we sold the house last year there were very few items of clothing that were kept. My Mums wedding dress, my Dads cap, my baby clothes, school uniform and the Barbour!

Today it might be classified as vintage. A better term is timeless. In any case it has been faithful to its promise for all our married life and hopefully will stick with me for many years to come.

Blessing # 327– Reliable Old Friend

We live off a state road that is considered one of Ohio’s Byways. On one side of the road is the scenic Olentangy River. On the other side many huge trees, fields and farms are interspersed with modern housing subdivisions.

Along the entire length of this stretch of road wild flowers grow. Yesterday I got a lovely surprise a patch of bluebells. Someone must have planted these because they are not native to the USA. They reminded me of spring in Ireland where bluebells bloom in profusion.

This morning Rev Mervyn Jamison the rector of our Church in Ireland posted some beautiful photos of bluebells in bloom at the rectory wood.

These two events brought back memories of school days when I took the bus home each day. We passed by the Minnow Burn (River) where there was a wood on a steep slope that at this time of year was completely blue.

This would have been exam season when lots of revision was done and cramming to get ready for tests. Even after all these years when I saw those bluebells yesterday exams came to mind along of course with other memories of warm days and long evenings and of course that wonderful smell of spring in all its glory.

Blessing # 326 – Colors of Home

Yesterday was one of those days when a few mistakes were made. Nothing irretrievable just embarrassing.

First while doing the Banter the publish button accidentally  encountered a trigger happy finger so something half baked escaped.

It took twice as long to pull it back in as it did to write it. Don’t know why this upsets me but it does. Who cares except me?

Next up it was the anniversary of the day Aaron came home to us. Sixteen years ago on April 30, 2003 we picked up a little munchkin. He’s grown a bit since then.

So thinking it would be a good idea to recognize this auspicious occasion a pic of him looking extra handsome was selected. A little message was written on it saying Sixteen Years Ago Aaron Came Home.

It was posted on Instagram so he’d see it as he doesn’t do Facebook. Unbeknownst to me the first line of the message got cropped out and it read Aaron Came Home.

Of course I didn’t realize this! Why does Instagram do this? Anyway it gave rise to several queries and no doubt some worries as to where he had been!

Red faced without blusher, once again corrections had to be made.

Final mistake of the day since they always run in threes was to have a run in with the menfolk.

As we were watching the hockey, nature called so I slipped out of the room for a minute. No sooner was I out than I could hear shouting.

What the heck are these guys arguing about now. Seriously you cannot leave them alone even for a pee! So of course rather than ignoring it as I should I laid into them both when I got back. I have to put up with you two nutcases, it is like living with two six year olds, no other woman in the world could stand this nonsense, are you ever going to stop etc etc!!!!!

All three of us then set huffing for the rest of the game. Only good thing about the evening was that our Bluejackets won!

So this morning feeling bad about my rant I talk to Aaron about the argument and he tells me he may have been a little salty with Dad who was only asking about the rules of hockey. Oops!

Blessing #325 – Correction

We are studying a book about Saint Peter at our Tuesday Morning Group. He’s an interesting guy always willing to be the first to jump in. He’ll do things that the other disciples don’t and seems to be always the one to speak out first.

In today’s world we’d probably  classify Pete as a Type A personality. He certainly wasn’t a shrinking violet.

As a fisherman he was used to life on the water and to the occasional storm too. Today we talked of his courage to jump the boat and do the unimaginable, walk on water.

This gave rise to a lot of stories about boats and storms. I couldn’t  resist telling of an experience Krishna and I had many years ago.

We were living in Switzerland and had just bought an old house in Belfast to renovate. We decided to drive to Ireland and bring a car load full of things for the house.

Of course this meant a boat journey and since the car was so loaded we decided to minimize driving and take the long boat ride from Northern France to the South of Ireland rather than driving the whole length of the UK.

This journey normally takes about sixteen hours on the boat so we got a nice cabin and thought we’d treat it like a mini cruise.

Well this all was taking place in December and when we got to the port there was a short delay on boarding because the wind was picking up.

As soon as we got on we went to our cabin and then to the restaurant for dinner and all seemed fine. We had been up at six that morning and had driven all day so were glad to be nicely tucked into our little beds by about midnight.

It was a bit choppy but not too bad and then in the middle of the night around three or four o’clock there was a merciful crack.

Everything was flying around the cabin and we were a bit shaken but what to do except try to sleep and so that is what we did. The wine may have helped!

When we woke up the next morning it was about ten o’clock so we rushed to get breakfast. When we got to the restaurant it was almost empty. I asked the lady on the checkout what time we were docking. Oh she said we’ll be in around two o’clock. That’s great I said so we’ll  only be an hour or so late. In her broad Irish scent she replied « That would be two o’clock tomorrow dear! The storm was so bad we had to turn back and have just now left the harbor »

Blessing # 324 – Staying Afloat

In a previous life I worked on the bench doing a lot of analysis of fats, carbohydrates, fibers, proteins and amino acids.

This eventually led to a new path working with ingredients containing these components to make new food products.

All of this was fun most of the time but sometimes frustrating when you didn’t get the results you hoped for.

How life has changed. Now instead of working on the bench I’m working on a bench.

This bench happens to be about my age or maybe even older and was looking rather forlorn when I got it a few weeks ago in a yard sale. It has good bones though a fine form and solid frame.

There are so many shows on TV that make flipping old furniture look easy. It may be if you know what you’re talking about but taking out what seemed like a million nails is a labor of love.

Of course this had to be done before the fun of painting could start. First thought was to strip the bench back to the original wood but that seemed like too much hard work. So slap it on was the solution for this facelift!

First foundation coat dried well this weekend so today the build up could begin. First a little white then a little cream then a little silver. It’ll have to wait till another day to get the final touches and highlights then Krishna is going to help me do the matting for the seat. This requires too much patience for me.

By the end of the day we’ll probably have spent fifteen hours on this « makeover ». Even at minimum wage this would mean the investment made is well in excess of one hundred dollars.

There’s not a chance this side of heaven that anyone will pay that for this baby but it’s a such a joy to do something like this.

Of one thing we can be sure. No creation like it will ever exist!

Blessing # 323 – Living the Dream

Columbus is going crazy with excitement. The local ice hockey team The Bluejackets have had a phenomenal season. They won their first ever Presidents Trophy and are now in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Every game they play seems to run into double extra time. It’s too much for me but Aaron is up watching it of course.

People are getting little sleep and fingernails are getting shorter and shorter.

Columbus is no stranger to major sporting wins being home of the famous Ohio State University Buckeyes but the Bluejackets are a professional team so this takes us to a different league.

The team was only founded in 2000 so going up against the Boston Bruins and giving them a run for their money is a big deal.

Tickets are now worth much more than their weight in gold and we will all be living on our nerves till Tuesday when the next game happens.

This draws you in and even if you know nothing about ice hockey you start to learn fast. Go Blues!

Blessing #322 – Expecting the Unexpected

This morning I read a very touching thank you message that TV star Hoda Kotb had sent to an eleven year old boy from Wisconsin.

This talented young man is called Jonah Larson and he is an expert crocheter. He has become an internet sensation and had made Hoda’s new baby Hope a beautiful pair of pink booties.

Jonah started to crochet when he was just five. He says it helps him stay calm.

Like Hoda’s little baby, Jonah was adopted so that’s why he wanted to make something special for Hope.

The funds he raises from selling his work go to help the children’s home in Africa where he came from.

For sure the little Booties he made will be treasured and loved and kept forever.

They reminded me of my first shoes that my Mom had kept. When I turned thirty she had them bronzed and gave them to me as a special gift. I love them not because they are my shoes but because my Mom thought to keep them.

So following her lead I kept the first little pair of sandales that we got Aaron. They are in great shape because he outgrew them in a matter of weeks. Maybe someday he too will get them back. Not just yet though he still got some growing to do!

Blessing # 321 – Baby’s Treasures