Mystic, CT - Day One

So, back from vacation, with over 200 photos from our trip, you can probably understand how overwhelmed I feel trying to blog about it. But then I thought of just writing about one day at a time, and only using the best photos... pictures that people who didn't take the trip with us might possibly appreciate. That means no shots of the interesting crack in the sidewalk. Try to hide your disappointment.



The ferry ride itself was a bit of an adventure, starting with the lovely prelude of driving all the way out to the North Fork on the east end of Long Island, past all the wineries and lavender farms, past the farm stands resplendent with mums and punkins, finally ending up at Orient Point. Then we drove up into the belly of the ferry beast, climbed the big metal stairs, and spent a sunlit, breezy hour on the outside deck, enjoying the ocean views until we reached New London, CT.



This is always one of the most delicious parts of a vacation... the beginning. When you have all your time off in front of you, everything to look forward to, and that wonderful feeling of letting go and really relaxing. We were FREE!!!! Well, maybe not free, but reasonable. (If you're too young you won't get that joke. Serves you right.)




Driving into Mystic, I immediately fell in love with the wee drawbridge just at the mouth of town. We must have driven across it five times at least while we were there, and each time I had the urge to pick it up and put it in my pocket and take it home with me.

If you click that picture to see the larger view, you'll see an ice cream shop just past the bridge there. The fact that I did not eat ice cream at that shop is not due to my iron will and moral strength, nor my intestinal fortitude. It's because on the sunny days, there was sidewalk construction blocking it, and on the rainy days, it was too cold for ice cream. I have definite designs on that little shop for next time we visit!



Our first stop (of course) was Mystic Pizza. I was in movie geek heaven, with posters and photos from the movie everywhere, and flat screen TVs on every wall playing the movie (sound muted, sadly). The pizza itself was (of course) not as good as Long Island pizza... however, it was tasty and cheesy and just the ticket after a breezy hour spent in the October ocean air.



Julia Roberts grinned at us from every wall, and I grinned right back. Mystic Pizza is one of my favorite movies of all time, and it was a genuine thrill to be at "the real deal". Bear bought me one of the tee shirts (same as they wore in the movie), and of course I chose the red one... the color Julia wore! It was as close as I ever get to saying "Squeee!" I'm not really a "squee" kind of gal, you know.

The rest of the afternoon was spent driving around, seeing the neighborhood, and so I had Bear stopping the car every five seconds so I could jump out and take pictures. If you don't love old houses the way I do, you might as well stop reading here and go get yourself stuffed a cup of tea.

Those of you who do love old houses... I urge you to click on these to see the bigger version, because the trim, the trappings, the details, are all exquisite... and nearly invisible in the smaller version.

The Samuel Donnelly house, 1881


You may notice...


... that I especially...


... loved this house!


Oh, the stone walls!!!


This little cottage called to me
in a BIG way...


John Cheath house, 1862
He was a carpenter/builder.


William Wheeler house, 1853


A little "haunted house on the hill" thrill
for October!


A privately owned ship in Mystic harbor
(do click this one, it's FAB)


Daniel Edgcomb house,1835
He was a cutter shipwright.


Another click-to-appreciate view
of the harbor.


Waterfront property, anyone?
Yes, please!


I can't say I had no egrets...


Last but not least, a wonderful retro-turquoise
house sprawled out with a view to the lake.

And so, dear blogfriends, here end my ramblings about our first day. Of course... we did go to our lovely B&B and get "settled inn" (I slay me)... but that place deserves a post of its own. So, next time - to Stonecroft!

Yes, but now I have to get ready for work....

See, I had all these great intentions of spending the morning posting about our vacation, but then I spent two hours working on the photos in my online gallery, adding captions, and etc.... only to find out that the captions didn't save! ARGH.

Now, it's time for me to get ready for work, my first day back after vacation, and I just want to lie on the floor and kick my feet and scream NOOOOOOOOOO!

But of course the cats won't be impressed, so it's off to the shower with me, I suppose.

Teaser... oh yeah, and... BOO!

Yes, we're back from vacation. Am currently vacillating between getting over a nasty head cold, watching oodles of horror flicks with Bear, and prepping all my vacation pictures for publication.

Patience is a virtue! As Hamlet says, "Assume a virtue if you have it not."

Ha!

soooooooo excited!!!!

.... heading off to Mystic tomorrow morning! When I get back I'll share photos and tell you all about it!

Bear's a grandpa.... AGAIN!

Little Lily Anne was born to Bear's son and his wife just a few days ago, but I was unable to brag properly as we were not informed of her name until this morning. Apparently, the "Anne" portion is still under some discussion. Bear and I were tossing around "Marie", "Belle", and "Rae" as possible substitutes. Not that anyone asked our opinion.

And until we receive a photo of the little imp, you get to look at a sheep.

It's just the way life is sometimes.

KEEKS!

Just for "keeks"

I watched this movie last night at around 3AM... it's aptly called "That Uncertain Feeling". It stars Merle Oberon and Melvyn Douglas, and I have been giggling all day (and night) about "keeks". I should be in bed right now, only I started thinking about it again and laughed so hard tears were running into my ears and I was afraid I'd wake Bear up.

Don't know what "keeks" is? Then watch this and howl.




If you have a little more time on your hands and at least half a bottle of wine handy, watch the whole flick!

Late October offering

Lady, child, and spider.

I see the moon, and the moon sees me

The moon has long been a source of fascinations and facts... of magic, mystery, and research. It is most interesting when lore and science collide, and even agree.



It was well-storied that the full moon was the catalyst that turned men into werewolves, and current hospital records and police blotters show that on full moon nights, the number of violent occurrences indeed does rise. From "luna" (moon), comes the word "lunacy".



The moon's pull on the tides was also found to have an effect on the water in human bodies, and especially women's bodies. When unencumbered by chemical influences such as birth control pills, most women's bodies will follow the moon's lead, aligning the reproductive cycle with the waxing and waning of that beautiful, luminous orb.



A few months ago, when we were making reservations and planning our upcoming vacation to Mystic, Connecticut, I realized with some annoyance that my own cycle was most likely going to fall right smack dab in the middle of it.

Aside from the obvious romantic obstacle that represents (I had such plans for that king sized bed, dammit!), it also throws a complete monkey wrench into our planned days of visiting aquariums and historic sites - having to run looking for a bathroom every two hours, carrying around a bunch of "supplies".... seriously?

I called my physician's office, hoping to be prescribed something temporary that might put things off a week, and was told that if that was my plan, I should have called three months earlier. Basically, they said they could prescribe pills but there was no guarantee at all that they would work. I said thank you, no... and set about drinking comfrey tea, which, according to Culpeper's Complete Herbal, "stays the courses".



Then, just before the full moon on the 11th of this month, I stopped drinking the comfrey tea. Happily, the full moon was my obliging ally. This is the first time in ages that I am actually thrilled to be walking around with cramps in my lower belly and seeking out the ladies' convenience every two hours. I am happy to be miserable this week, because it means that our vacation will be ever so much more enjoyable two weeks from now!

Thank you, Mystic moon!

If you do nothing else today.....

... watch this short video

More retro dreaming...

Had an odd day at work yesterday. They started me out with four hours of recurrent training videos, and then I basically sat around the rest of the time giving breaks... but it was such a slow night on the radio that no one really wanted breaks. So I spent a lot of time researching retro kitchen hardware and stuff... and lookie what I found!

Come One Come All to the Willow Manor Ball!

My dear friend Tess over at Willow Manor is hosting her yearly ball today. Please feel free to drop in and say hello - her guest list is amazing, to say the least... I mean, darlings - who wouldn't want to rub shoulders with William Powell!

Here's what I'll be wearing:



And here's my date!

He does look scrumptious in a tuxedo, does he not?

Does tend to get a bit silly when he's squiffy,
but don't we all?

Also tends to exaggerate his masculinity a bit,
but a man's a man, for a' that.

I always was a sucker for a man in uniform...

Memories and dreams

Sentimental mush that I am, I have dried and saved petals from every rose that Bear has ever given me. I put them in a huge mason jar with patchouli and sandalwood essential oils, making a personal potpourri that grows larger with each passing year. These three lovelies were in the arrangement he gave me last month for our ninth wedding anniversary. I hung them in the wrought iron of our kitchen lamp to dry, and thought they looked rather poignant in the mid-afternoon sun.

I'm in the midst of dreaming about furthering the beautification of our cottage, mainly in the kitchen. These two shots express my dreams for the future... this is the fun part, before any commitment is made, before any money is spent, and before the actual WORK commences!

In praise of my mother, and thrift stores

Above, our living room, circa Yultetide 2006 (see the tree stand?). Same rug I'd had since the 1990's when I lived in Nashville, and it was still in use until yesterday. A quite servicable rug, but the green always had a bit too much blue in it for my taste. The perfect shade of red bits in it were the saving grace.



Thanks to my mother's keen eye while browsing at the Salvation Army (and her $50.... yes, $50 peeps!) this is what my living room looks like now! The lighter places on the carpet are from sun coming in the windows... the carpet is in perfect condition. And soft? There was never a better reason not to wear shoes.

Kudos also goes to Bear, who helped me remove the old carpet and install the new one yesterday in a record-breaking ten minutes! As you can see, I am loath to put back the coffee table and huge green foof chair, because I just want to sit and stare at my new rug.

Love!

My flutterby garden

A friend gave me this lovely 18-bottle bud vase,
and I filled it with my zinnias and mums!

Click on the picture above and see
how many flutters there may be!

Click this picture... major WOW factor!

At sixes and sevens

To be "at sixes and sevens" is an English phrase and idiom, common in the United Kingdom. It is used to describe a state of confusion or disarray. The similar phrase "to set the world on six and seven", used by Geoffrey Chaucer in his Troilus and Criseyde, dated about the mid 1380's, seems, from its context, to mean "to hazard the world" or "to risk one's life".^[1] In Act 2, scene 1 of Shakespeare's "The Tragedy of Julius Caesar", Portia, in confronting Brutus about his state of anxiety says: "Why you are heavy, and what men tonight / Have had resort to you; for here have been / Some six or seven who did hide their faces / Even from darkness."
- (Excerpt from Wikipedia.)


*******

Here it is, my "Sunday". A gorgeous, brisk, sunny autumn day. I have a wonderful book I'm smack dab in the middle of, but I don't want to read. I would mow the lawns, but it rained like the dickens last night. I should color my hair and get some shopping done, but I don't feel like it. It's nearly noon and all I've done is watch an old movie and play with my cell phone. The more I feel I shouldn't waste this day, the faster it slips by.

Perhaps it's the fact that my grandmother went back into the hospital with a heart attack day before yesterday. She's better, may be going home today, but all the harouche going on so far away where I can't help anyone has me jittery. Perhaps it's the fact that I've just come off of a more than ten day spree of intestinal illness, and I have grown used to lethargy. Perhaps I'm just a kook.

Drum roll, please....

Campylobacter

Yeah, well... got a call from my doctor today. Turns out all those sick days from work were not just a good excuse to watch a lot of Turner Classic Movies. I had a real life, honest to goodness bacterial infection! I don't care if they are cute and squiggly and someone has painted them glow in the dark pink... I am horrified! I'm not going to go into the details of how you get it, what it can do to you, and the rest... you can google it if you're curious.

Suffice it to say that I will most likely not be eating chicken again any time soon. Just until I forget everything I read about this bacteria today. Maybe a bit longer.

Pork. It's the other white meat. Perhaps the only white meat for me for a while...

And now, a much-needed diversion from reality

It was everything we hoped it would be... MAGICAL!
(Do click on the pix - the larger versions are best.)

I wish this photo was a video - so you
could see the eyeballs bobbing,
floating, swiveling around
and watching everything happening
on the stage.

I confess to actually screaming and pulling my feet off the floor during the Wheel of Death act. It was that good.

This lady created incredible works of art with just sand and light.
Truly amazing!

What this girl did with balls!
Heh heh heh...

No net, no wire.

The best thing about this show, oddly, was the "realness" of it, even though the surreality is the initial attraction. It was real, actual people, doing real, actual feats that most people can't do - it was like going back in time. Yes, they used technology to spice up the backgrounds, but the meat of the show was so touchable, so up-close. It's hard to explain, but easy to feel. Each character had a very distinct personality, and they brought the energy and the effort and the excitement right up to you and put it in your lap.

It was a day that goes in the books under "best dates ever".