Month: August 2012

Gotta love glass!

Happy Thursday! I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I’m so looking forward to the long weekend. Hooray for holidays! In case you haven’t heard yet, last Saturday the TWSS ladies and I went to a fantastic glass studio in Boyertown. I was instantly smitten! I love glass art, and if you do too, then this is the place for you. So many beautiful pieces and all very different! Although we didn’t get to do any actual glass blowing, we got to learn all about the process and how the different pieces are made. It was mind blowing! I have to admit, though, it was a little terrifying to walk through the store. I was so afraid of bumping into something and breaking it! Everything is so pretty, so fragile… and SO EXPENSIVE!!! Ha! Well worth it though, because Will Dexter is truly an amazing and talented artist. You won’t find glass art like this anywhere! I seriously can’t say enough about this place. It’s magical! And the best part?? We filmed everything, so our lucky viewers will get to see the entire excursion on our next show! I desperately want to go back for glass blowing classes or even just to visit and see all the gorgeous work again. I think Jane and I will be making a visit there in the near future, perhaps when she recovers from her swine flu (poor Jane!). Stay tuned!

I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday weekend! See you next Thursday! 🙂

Summer’s End

As the summer winds to a close once more (the school-centered summer, not the calendar one) it’s funny to think about how the year is such a state-of-mind, depending on your career and your leisure activities.  For instance, I won’t be taking my vacation for another month yet, heading into October, because that was the cheapest time to fly and also because it’s difficult to close the store at ANY time of year, so I just bit the bullet and picked one.

I had a one-day vacay a week back, a full day in Beach Haven at the Jersey shore.  Lovely, slightly overcast, and with plenty of breeze.  I even did something I haven’t done since I was a kid and wave-jumped!  Usually I just bundle myself up in a chair and read for hours —  but actually taking advantage of the ocean was just as much fun as I remember from childhood.  And I’ve got the sunburn to show for it.

There are fewer faces at the store these days, what with folks heading back to jobs and kids heading back to school.  It’s just been me and the Shop Cat, He-Who-Is-Not-Yet-Named (although he will be Sept. 4th!), holding down the fort and dusting off the books (me with a duster, he with his tail).  We’ve got some really great events coming up in September here on the Avenue, though, so that should bring the crowds back:

  • September 8th: Penn Avenue Sidewalk Sale, 11am-5pm
  • September 15th: West Reading’s 6th Annual Fall Festival on the Avenue, 12pm-9pm
  • Wise Owl Local Author Open Mic Night, with special guest author James Rahn, 6pm-8pm (with live celtic harp music from 5pm-6pm!)

So it’s a great start off to a new season as I say goodbye to the unbearable heat and sunny days of summer.

I’m back!!

Happy Thursday everyone! It’s been a while! I’m so glad to be back after some password difficulties. Hopefully no one has forgotten about me by now!

It’s been such a frustrating month thus far. I know we’re only a little over two weeks into August, but time is dragging for me. My drivers license is suspended for the entire month of August. Slightly inconvenient, to say the least, but it has been nice to be chauffeured everywhere. Just call me Miss Daisy! Hey September… please hurry up and get here. I have so many places to go!

I’m ÃœBER excited about next Saturday. The TWSS ladies get to do something that I’ve always wanted to do and what’s even more exciting is that YOU will get to watch it on our next show because we’re filming it! Woot! I’m so psyched!

Time for me to get back to work. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! See you next week! 🙂

Looking back on the last two weeks…

Haven’t posted for a while…partly because my typing wasn’t going smoothly due to having carpal tunnel surgery on my right hand. Two weeks later I can say that it was not the ordeal I had been warned of. The pain meds were the worst part; they made me woozie and dopey, so I chose to drink wine instead and avail myself of the healing benefits of the grape. There was little discomfort to get through. Therefore here I am, two weeks later, obeying the doctor’s order of taking it easy (no vacuuming, working in the garden, etc.) and feeling just grand (until I look at all of the cleaning and weeding awaiting me).
I’ve lived a long time and had never had a surgery. My only hospital stays were for baby deliveries. So I had no idea what to expect from this procedure. It’s funny what goes through your mind during that anticipatory stage: How does one opem a toothpaste tube or pill bottle one handed? How will I shave my left armpit while using only my left hand? When we go out for our anniversary dinner, do I just order soft foods or ask my husband of 44 years to cut my meat? Do I write and address all cards to be sent in early August ahead of time so that they are legible? Well, none of these really become issues. Even with a splint much right hand movement was possible. So if progress continues, I hope to be playing my violin again in another week or so…IF there is time for that while trying to tame the garden once more and get our house in order!

Ellen

Honestly, I CAN Write a Short Blog – Well, at Least “Shorter.”

In five hours the limo will arrive to take us to PHL to board our nonstop Virgin America flight to San Francisco. I’m not sure I’ve ever been more eager to (a) hug our kids, and (b) leave Berks County. The heat and humidity will definitely not be the weather we’ll be getting into along the north central coast of California. Hooray!! I’m tired of the drone of fans and air conditioners. Tired of opening windows to catch the early morning breezes, then closing them before noon to turn on the A/C.
All of our time will be spent in sight of the blue Pacific!
I’m packed and ready. The pupsters are happily boarded at the Bernville Pet Spa. The mail and papers have been cancelled. Best of all,. I”m using a smaller than usual suitcase. Hoping I’ve chosen wisely the closthes I’m planning to wear. We’re ready! Hooray!
I probably won’t be blogging next Wednesday, but in two weeks I’ll tell you about our trip.

A Lab Report

Really, two Labs are a hoot! Watching Bessie and Chooch become friends, playmates, and part of the family is lots of fun. Barry and I never lack for entertainment – even when all we want is a quiet evening to read! It seems as though Chooch has been with us for years! His transition from “stray” to much-loved-pet and Bessie’s-best-bud has been, as they way, “seamless.”
Labs just want to have fun! They play constantly, and it’s apparent that Bessie makes the rules. Chooch is not any taller, but much more massive than Bessie, but she’s faster and more wirey. When they have their mock battles, he barks and growls and does lots of macho stuff, and she flies around, runs under him, jumps over him – and makes not one sound! Dogs do smile and laugh! And the expressions on these pupsters’ faces while they’re playing are all smiles! Then, as quickly as the battle begins, it ends -time to get a drink of water! Or take nap! The only sign that there was a loud conflict is that there are now toys all over the living room floor – some of the toys have had their stuffing “surgically removed” by Drs. Chooch and Bessie, so the living room looks like a January snowstorm! Since she was a puppy, when Bessie gets really excited and is having lots and lots of fun, she dances in her water dish! Hasn’t done it for years, but since she has this great new playmate, our kitchen is occasionally flooded! Amazing what we put up with because we simply enjoy the company of Labs! This morning they had a huge battle on the front porch where we were eating breakfast. At one point, they simply got too rowdy, and Barry gave them a “time out.” Truly! They both lay down and gazed up at him with “Aren’t we just the best pups ever?” looks. Lasted abount five minutes until they realized Barry was back to reading the paper.
Now they’re both napping in one of their favorite spots. The next battle will occur around 2 PM, with the evening skirmish at 7. (I’ve become completely convinced after having many Labs that they can tell time!)
If you’ve never known a Lab, find one to befriend. They make life more fun and interesting – and the bending to pick up their toys and toy stuffing, and the mopping up of water when they dance in their water dishes is really good for the waistline!