Author: boomingbanter

Who can watch the tragedy of today and not be heart broken. It is  unimaginably  to see the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris ablaze.

Many of you will have been there and know that it is a place that merits the word magestic. Full of history and religious significance.

Our family were blessed to live in Paris for three years and to bring friends and family to see and experience this beautiful place.

It was the first place in Paris that Aaron ever visited. When I took him for his interview at the Bristish School of Paris we went there afterwards. He was just a little five year old then. One of his favorite movies was the Hunchback of Notre Dame so we went to see if we could find Quasimodo.

Whether five or ninety five no one enters the doors of this holy place without being awe struck. The scale and power are immense.

Many evenings I passed the cathedral at night on my way from the Gare de Lyon to Issy les Moulineux. It is magical and when I saw it it meant I was almost home.

All the world will feel this but I can only imagine the depth of sadness of the people of Paris and of France.

That the loss of this symbol of faith, hope and the love of Jesus comes during Holy Week makes it even more poignant.

The significance of this moment will stay with us for ever. One thing we know for sure though there will be a restoration to glory!

Blessing # 309 – In the End is Our Beginning

 

Today the call to clean came. It needs desperately to be applied to our house. Instead, all the attention is being given to a small silver plated candlestick.

This little love was picked up in a thrift store for $1.60. It has a cousin on sale on eBay for ten times as much. Except my baby was just a tad less sparkly.

Back we go to the days of O-level chemistry and out came the lemon juice and the ever faithful BAKING SODA.

The smell of the concoction was so refreshing that Dibley joined in on the act.

Taking his usual I must trip you up space beside me, he spectacularly draws attention to the fact that the grout on the floor needs the attention of acid and base much more than the candlestick!

That can wait for Monday! Now back to business.

Once that the magic paste was applied all that was needed was patience. Since I have little of that and since there was plenty of paste to go round some little brass napkin ring holders were also attacked.

They started to go green after a while but after a dib in vinegar some fizzing and polishing the napkin holders turn out shiny but streaky and far from ideal.

The little candlestick is much better, you need to trust me on that because I forgot to take the before picture, but again is not perfect.

We will take it up to the A Level one of these days and do some electrolysis!

If nothing else the sink got a good clean.

Blessing # 308 – Chemical Reaction

They keep promoting Vistaprint for business applications on TV. Maybe I was dreaming about it but  this morning, with coffee in hand, the temptation to try took over.

It was so easy to make little business cards as there were lots of templates. You could use your own images, messages and fonts and at a starting rate of ten dollars for five hundred the temptation grew greater.

Up at seven and needing to leave for a meeting at eight fifteen these little cards were never going to be super sophisticated but I’m so pleased with they way look. What do you think?

They have a nice little message on the back that Mother inspired from above. She loves to get involved!

They don’t know it yet but they are going to double up as price tags too! Even on small items they can be cut in half!

At check out the price was more than ten dollars as a full photo was included but they were still a bargain.

The final temptation was the promotion of postcards for an extra ten dollars. By now all my card details were in and I was needing to rush and get ready. So they’re on the way too.

They’ll come in handy for the opening event! Look out for one in the post pals!!!!

Blessing # 307 – Getting Going

A bit late on the banter today as I was scouting for stock. Not the chicken or beef variety!

Having accumulated all the glass and furniture for the guest house, that is now not to be, another path has opened up.

There is a lovely little antique mall in our town that rents booths to dealers.

Limited risk is associated with this as you commit only to six months rental. There is a waiting list for the booths but guess whose name is now on the list?

Nothing makes me happier than hunting for buried treasure at rummage and yard sales. Truth be told these are often little lost causes going for a song.

Yesterday we went to a big barn sale close to our home and I bought home a few items for « my shop ».  After a little research on eBay joy was abundant. A little Japanese plate that was purchase for a big 50 cents was on sale on eBay for $29.99!

So back to the barn today for more hunting. Missed a few little piece but found a few more. Best of all when I was paying for my wares I asked if they might have a sander.

Digging deep into the depths of the  barn guess what the owner found? You got it a perfect little piece of equipment to restore some treasures to their former glory.

Blessing # 306 – To Seek and Find

On Tuesday evening Aaron arrived home with a baby bunny in a cage.

He’d been at his girlfriends and along with her little sister they’d found a burrow with six little bunnies squeaking away like crazy  and no Mommy.

The one Aaron brought home had just one ear. He was worried about it and would have liked to keep it. The kids had already researched a little into what to feed it. Seems goat milk or cats mil substitute is best.

We then had a bit of a difference of opinion among the senior members of our household.

If he kept it in his room and fed it I was willing to accommodate One Ear. Dad was definitely opposed. He said the critter was better back in his burrow with his siblings. Dibley sniffed and left for another room!

So Aaron took him back and we agreed to seek advice from anyone knowledgeable on the bunny world as to what to do next.

Most people thought Dad was right and that the Mommy bunny might return.

Yesterday brought the good news that all six babes in the wood were still alive. They had even opened their eyes.

 

Aaron thinks One Ear recognizes him! Maybe he does as they had taken a car ride together.

It was so kind of these youngsters to be concerned for these little creatures. Let’s hope the bunnies progress continues. Maybe one day    One Ear will be the new Peter Rabbit!

Blessing # 305 – Kids Who Care

An explosion of color has happened all around us in just a few days. This never fails to amaze me in Ohio.

In Ireland we never loose the green of the grass in winter but here it goes dull and brown. With a little heat and rain it becomes almost fluorescent.

The daffodils and hyacinths also seem to grow at lightening speed. You need to make the most of them while you can though. Unlike in Ireland where they linger in the cool of the February spring we’ll into the beginning of April here the season is a short two weeks.

The cherry blossoms have also popped overnight and are bringing color to the city as well as the suburban gardens.

All these delightful signs of spring remind me of my first year at college when I went with friends to work the summer in Holland.

We camped for ten weeks and worked every hour we could in the bulb fields. First the lads pulled the bulbs and we girls cleaned them. It was really dirty work and we were paid by the basket. Man those baskets were big. They could easily hold two hundred bulbs. There is no way to describe the state of your hands after a day on the job except that the dirt was still  ground in them the next morning.

One if the biggest challenges with the job was a condition called Hyacinth Itch. When we got back to the camp ground at night we all knew who’d been working the hyacinths because they’d be scratching all over.

Once the bulbs were all plucked and cleaned we moved on to packing. This was much more civilized but was a job that kept you on your toes.

The bulbs were packed into boxes or bags six rows high and stacked on pallets. That’s when the fun started. Someone would stand at the end of the conveyor belt and shout out the order for each customer. It would go something like this. Four Royal Tulips, six Dutch Glories, three Mighty Warriors etc etc

We students would then run around like crazy putting the bulbs we were assigned to onto the merchandising case. It was hilarious. Talk about a work out.

The funniest thing was one of the varieties I was assigned. It was a miniature daffodil just like some growing in our garden right now and had the unforgettable name of a Little Willie.

The ribbing I got back at the camp site was classic. So Gillian my pals would ask how many Little Willies did you handle today?

Blessing #304 – Blooms Fade Memories Don’t

It’s national stress awareness month. Had no clue this existed!

A few days ago though the popular life guru Deepak Chopra was on TV talking about the subject.

Stress  affects all of us to differing degrees unless you have mastered the art of relaxing like Deepak.

He claims that we achieve peace only when there is absence of thought.

Deepak is renowned for techniques to help us deal with stress and an important part of this is achieved through breathing.

Yoga draws heavily on this. Deepak is just launching a new campaign called Breath of Life that  gives tips on simple steps to quickly  mitigate stress any time any place.

Today a few friends and I were in Panera for lunch. The chain is known for its excellent Bread one of the great joys in life.

They are a major supporter of Autism Awareness Month which is also in April selling huge cookies called Pieces of Hope for the cause.

We can only imagine how very stressful communication must be at times for people on the autism spectrum.

Makes you wonder is it more than a coincidence that stress and autism awareness fall in the same month. Is there a link or common path for treatment?

Blessing # 303 – All Who Bring Bits To Solve The Same Puzzle

According to a spot on TV yesterday morning there has been a breakthrough in the world of ballet.

Thanks to actions taken years ago, with the formation of schools such as The Dance Theatre of Harlem, and role models like Misty Copeland there are now many ballet dancers of color.

At last, because of a business demand, a company has started to make shoes of different color to match different skins.

Up until now all ballet shoes have been pink!

Ballet dancers have had to color their own shoes to match their skin tone. This was a real wake up call for me.

You would think that having been married to an Indian for 33 years and with a Chinese son this is something that should have occurred to me before now. 

It hadn’t.

What it underlined was just one more example of the things people of color have to deal with everyday that we whites never think about.

If you have other examples please share them. We need to know.

Blessing # 302 – Steps Forward

Have had to take two days to think this through before sharing. Was not convinced it was a blessing.

On Friday morning we got a message from the lovely town planner in Marion to say she had fixed for the State planner to come and meet us at the little would be B&B to assess what might be needed for our project.

Nearly fainted with excitement!

I’d talked so much about this idea that  my friend Dee Dee has even given me a book of recipes to get me ready!

Swinging into action with first things first, urgent messages  and texts were sent to the listing agent and our agent to make sure we could get into the property.

That’s when the punch in the stomach happened.

The listing agent sent a text to say the property was no longer available! After much toing and frowing we learned that an offer had been made and that a contract had been signed by the buyer. The owner had not yet agreed to the offer but this excluded further viewings at this time.

So while all is not lost it is no longer a project firmly in our grip. We had to cancel with the planning office who were very kind and understanding.

At lot of thinking of what might have been ensued including why the heck did I do so much shopping and what on earth am i going to do with all the chairs and glass and STUFF I’d bought.

Gotta get me a shop!

Blessing # 301 – Plans to Perfect

At last! Hallelujah a warm day!

Sun shining and plenty to do. Zumba followed by some tag sales and then when Aaron got home from work a little trip into the center of town to snoop around the shops.

Our little town has an abundance of three things. Antique shops, restaurants and ice cream parlors. Each one has their favorite place to shop and eat and partake of a frozen delicacy.

Ours is Rita’s renowned for frozen custard but we eat their sorbet by the bucket load. They have some funky flavors that Aaron loves little cotton candy and Swedish fish. Being an oldie I stick to Mango magic..

Blessing # 300 – Summer Soon!