That’s a lotta stuff I’m gonna cover. And I still owe a listing of French movies and TV shows and gotta get back on track with our weight gloss!
But allow me to interrupt my regular blogging to tell you about last week.
I traveled. By air. For the first time since last February. That’s nine months.
I must admit–I did enjoy the flight and kudos to American Airlines for being so pandemic saftety-friendly!
Now in the final trimester. There’s a lotta heartburn going on! The apple doesn’t fall far from the family tree!
The reason for the travel was to see my daughter, Oona and her husband, Sam. It’s an exciting time in their lives. They moved into their new home three weeks ago and her baby belly is gaining momentum. She has entered into the third trimester of her pregnancy and she looks so cute and………………………. pregnant!!
It was weird to get into the travel mode once again. And naturally, I traveled light.
Everything from Friday through Sunday fit into this Longchamp bag–along with gifts for my grandson!!
Two pairs of black Pixie pants from J. Crew. A pair of black leggings. Two black turtlenecks and a black long-sleeved shirt. Black ballet flats and pajamas. Along with baby clothes for my soon-to-arrive grandson! I’m thinking that perhaps I should have brought along a more colorful set of ensembles but the fact is, I just wanted to travel light. And black is slimming. It also brings into question that people will think you are wearing the same thing for three days.
Basically, I wore the same uniform. I think Oona found it disturbing but personally, I found it to be pragmatic!
Anyway, I flew last Thursday evening (geez—it’s been a week already) out of Philadelphia International Airport. In all honesty, it was an absolute pleasure. The airport was practically empty. Looking back, most of the human life was in the form of airport workers as opposed to travelers.
Sorry not sorry but I find an empty airport conducive to my pandemic ideology!
Security was excellent and getting through the TSA was a breeze. Less than five minutes!
It was actually nice to see the airport workers have a break for once! Trust me, the airport was not this empty when I arrived home!
The plane was empty. I think if there were twenty people on board, it was a lot. Nobody next to me. It was a very safe environment! The only disappointment was that no snacks or beverages were handed out. But in the long run, it’s a safety precaution.
My kind of flight. Nobody beside me. Nobody in the aisle across . Nobody behid me!
Things were a bit different upon the return from Cincinnati. Since it was Sunday, more people were traveling and the plane was pretty crowded. I consider myself fortunate that I was, once, again, sitting in a row alone with nobody next to me.
And as quiet as Philly airport was Thursday evening, it was pretty crowded on Sunday. Regardless, I felt safe and will definitely travel again. Although I don’t think the weekend would be my preference.
So, how was Cincinnati? It was great! Oona and Sam’s home is spectacular! In the months of seeing photographs of the progress, being in the home gave a better perspective. It’s a lot larger than I thought. My coffee mug runneth over with happiness and pride for my daughter. She’s worked so hard to achieve her goals and their home is just incredible.
Here’s some photos. And I must say, she’s got great taste!
The new home! It’s just so lovely..
The front door is so lux and heavy and very homey..
Here’s the little mudroom. Notice–MY cubby has the coat thrown down rather than hung on a hook. Some things never change. But I love the shoes strewn on the rug. There’s something very comforting about this..
The kitchen is gorgeous. And so stinking clean!
Oona has great taste. Traditional but with a twist. This is the living space on the ground floor!
They were smart to have the basement finished. Here’s Sam’s well-stocked bar area—perfect for entertaining!
Outdoor space on the back porch. They installed a TV so during warmer times entertaining and watching games can be outside!
The view coming from upstairs. The wooden floors are spectacular!
Does my daughter know how to entertain or what? Most of that cheese is in my belly. Gracie was watching over it hoping something would fall on the floor!
I did some cooking and naturally made a mess, which didn’t really go over too well with Oona but when she has a toddler around in a year or so, she’ll thank me for breaking the kitchen in!
By the way, their pantry is huge and all small appliances are kept in there! The builder installed outlets so that they can be used in the pantry rather than make a mess or add clutter to the kitchen. Genius!
The weather was crazy good. Like summer! We headed to Findlay Market and enjoyed the warm Fall weather on Saturday.
Enjoying some shopping at Findlay Market. Cincinnatians are very mask-friendly!
A healthy lunch..
Served with a guilty pleasure!
The anticipation and drama occurred in the form of the election! When I arrived in Cincinnati, we were still unsure of the results and by Saturday, we happily had a new president elect! It really was fun to be with Oona and Sam to enjoy the results—but I couldn’t celebrate with childhood friends on Facebook because I was banned for seven days!
Yes! Banned! Facebook Jail. And the 7-day ban arrived in time for me to get off of a three-day ban!
I’ve done them all! In fact, Facebook has a jail cell with my name on it!
My crime? Using the phrase “Ugly American”. Apparently, the word “ugly” goes against the Facebook Community. My three-day jail sentence was for using the word “hate”. My comment was “I hate most men with the exception of my sons and my husband”. It was in answer to how obnoxious the extreme-right thinking men are.
Hmmmm. Would Facebook Ban Marlon?
I’ve seen the “eff” word used and worse. But I was banned for two words. Ugly American.
Facebook is the double-edged sword of the internet. On one hand, I enjoy it because it allows me to “see” childhood and high school friends that I haven’t seen in years. Some of my blogger friends from this blog and others are also within my FB circle of friends. On the other hand, I can’t stand the constant policing and censorship. The wrong individuals are being censored.
I’ll leave it at that!
I’ve also received a ton of hate from a photo I posted on Instagram. It’s of our new President-Elect, his highly-educated wife and their rescue dog! And Joe isn’t wearing socks! Now mind you, I posted nothing offensive when I posted this photo and, instead, had to block and report.
And my exact verbiage to this photo I posted on Instagram was “And he’s sockless. And he loves dogs. And our new First Lady has brains and a classic style. And he knows how to hold the Bible. And he’s a Catholic. A REAL follower of Christ.
Now. I realize that I didn’t name names of other politicians but the evangelicals came after me with such vintictive hatred. My guess is they despise practicing Catholics!
But the worst was the aftermath of a photo I posted of Leslie Stahl…
No mention of ANY politician she interviewed. And the random hatred was more epic than Leslie herself!
Check this out!
This charming response was because I responded to a comment she made about another follower being ugly . I told her to look in a mirror and this is what I received. It got even better with a remark her daughter made. I blocked. THIS from supporters of a man who can’t even face reality!
So yeah, I think it’s odd that people of another party will seek out posts to randomly start trouble. I keep away from supporters I don’t agree with. I don’t seek them out. I have no need to and I really don’t care. I’ll stick with my ideology.
On another note—I’ve procrastinated this blog post for a few days now. And in my procrastination, the Christmas decorating has commenced!
Keeping it low-key this year. Notice how bored Chippy was!
Alas, it isn’t decorating time until I don my John Mayer Christmas Hat!
One more bannister and I’m done. Oh. And I need to buy poinsettias. Oh. And I’m trying to talk Bonaparte into getting an artificial tree!
My five-minute wreath. No hot glue gun needed. Wrapped ribbon around fake wreath. Shoved berries in. Hung on door. Happy Lazy Holiday!
On to the French movie and TV recommendations!! Hey. It’s never too early to start the Holiday décor! But Wait!!! While at the office on Thursday, a buck. A freaking buck was in the parking lot and was making a saunter toward my car. Luckily he passed by!
Never a dull moment at the office. The parking lot is empty but he HAD to spot my whip!
Bye bye from me and Gracie. Chippy will be jealous!
Shut The Front Door – I did not know you are going to be a Grandmother!!!! That is one blog post I missed. So happy for you & Oona💞
Arabella! YES! I’m going to be a grandma! And she’s having a son! And his name is in tune with our Irish Roots! I promised I wouldn’t reveal his name. YET! XOXOXOXO
Cathe…Wow, Oona’s house is beautiful and that kitchen…. I’m happy that your travels went well. I haven flown since last March and am just not ready to do that especially given the increasing Covid numbers in the last week.
I so relate to the postings you have gotten from the current president’s minions. I’ve gotten my share of nasty comments as well and it only goes to show you the kind of people they are. I’m so done with all of them including family members and some longtime friends who just blow my mind with their ignorance in continuing to support this guy. At the end of the day, I will not allow them to affect my happiness.
Love seeing your home being decorated for Christmas and I can’t wait to do mine next week Decorating for Christmas always lifts my spirits and just brings joy and warmth into the home.
Toni! Thanks so much! I’m glad that you are enjoying both the house AND kitchen. But honestly, those trump supporters are the scum of the earth. WTF goes out ot their way to look for posts to voice their vitriol to? Only a sick and demented mindset would do that and trust me, I’ve had it with past friends and family as well. He’s filth. His staunch supporters are filth and the Republican congress is the filth that feeds him. We need happier times now and I do believe our wonderful country will heal! xoxOxoxoxo
OMG I so agree with you!! Filth is the perfect word.
Oona and Sam are looking great and their house is divine, her taste is very similar to yours – very classic with a bit of pep – beautiful. It will be a great place to bring up little ones. I’m glad travel is OK for you and quite frankly I did wonder how safe things are what with the reporting of the nutters out and about re election…. I do think give it time re the big orange one – people will eventually be embarrassed by how they were conned and deceived by him but right now it is too close a bit like post Hitler Germany maybe – some people need a bit more distance and perspective to see how horrific he is. Biden looks a great guy and Jill looks wonderful – very relatable unlike little Miss Melty-Face
Looking forward to getting on with weight loss – with one thing and another these last couple of weeks I have been stress eating for Britain (I’m not even British and your election is not even MY election and we have just put our house on the market and….breathe), yep let’s get back to normal and ignore the big orange blob, ignoring narcistic psychopaths is the one thing they can’t stand and he is yesterdays news….
Oh God. Juliet. I’m so effing fat right now. It’s out of control. But..I’m trying which is a good thing. Next week I should be back on track with the blog posts. Traveling really can through you off. Especially when you’re having a great time.
Ugh. Don’t even mention that orange POS. He’s truly vile and vulgar. I’m so happy we’ll have an actual empathetic perso in the white house! XOXOXOXOXO
Wow what a beautiful home Oona and Sam have and how well Oona looks. Glad you had a good time and look forward to your French TV listings. Hope they’re on Netflix as I don’t have Amazon or any of your other platforms.
Good luck with the rest of your xmas decorating.
Susan D
Hi Susan! And thank you! Yeah. Oona looks great! I’m so happy for them the home really is gorgeous! XOXOXOXO
Vous avez du panache et du ressort, Catherine! Votre blog en témoigne! Bravo!
Merci Agnes! XOXOXO
Fun post. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Chantel! XXOXOXOXO
So glad your trip was so much fun and so safe! Such a nice gift from your Frenchman! Oona & Sam’s new home is so nice! Love the kitchen, and the ingenious pantry, and the outdoor space, and that finished basement – wow! Everything so well thought out, brand spanking new, and lovely! Perfect to welcome their new arrival! (I’m going for the world record – most exclamation points in a single post!) One more thing; I noticed the pretty flowers on Oona’s counter – she takes after her mom, I see!❤
Iona looks fantastic and their home is amazing…where did the girl get the energy to move AND decorate at this stage of her pregnancy? I was beat after my 2nd trimester! Holy moly look at those troll-ies ….what’s up with those comments on your Instagram account? I can’t believe you had to ban people but glad you did..and speaking of being banned in Boston, look at you, public enemy #1 at FB!!! How can trolls get away with saying horrible things to you on Instagram and you use two innocuous words on FB and BAMB you’re almost in a P4W à la Martha Stewart?
Anyway your house looks too cute for the holidays and a baby boy arriving in the New Year ( hmm, Liam, Patrick, or my favourite [and MY baby brother’s name] Brendan) which looks Über Irish when your last name starts with an O’! So much to look forward to my friend so don’t let the b***ards get you down!! Looks like you got a nice man for a President and an amazing woman as VP!! Hopefully happy days are here again!!!
Thanks Mae! Ohhhhhhhhh the name. I asked if they were going to go with a Gaelic spelling of the name and she said no because the one guy she knows with the gaelic spelling supports Trump. I love my daughter!!!! Yeah. Can you believe the shit I have to put up with. Meanwhile, Twitter really needs to ban him completely for the lies he spreads. It’s unreal! XOXOXOXO
God god – these UGLY AMERICANS. You got that right, for sure! UGH, these people are so sickening.
Oona and Sam’s house looks great. Glad you were able to visit. We aren’t traveling at all out here in Oregon and starting Wednesday there is a tightening of the rules. Take out only from restaurants and bars. Gyms will be closed. Of course, we know people who plan to travel for Thanksgiving against the State guidelines, but I guess they are willing to risk it. Covid cases are steeply increasing….
hang in there!!
Hi Vava! They are rather sickening–aren’t they? Yeah, the house is gorgeous! Roman called me last night and he’s unsure of whether or not to come for Thanksgiving. He doesn’t want to take the chance traveling by train. This holiday season is starting out to be a most uncertain one for sure but first and foremost we need to stay safe! XOXOXOXO
So wonderful to hear that you were able to travel to see your beautiful family in Cincinnati…an exciting time in their lives with a lovely new home and a baby on the way. Travel is not something I am planning to do for a while yet due to the pandemic despite wishing to see family on the west coast. So thrilled that the United States will have a new intelligent and empathetic president and first lady. It is incredible just how many people support the vile orange drumpf currently leading your country…we shake our heads in amazement. He cares for noone but himself and lies consistently…how the Republican party and general populace can support him is shameful!
May Christmas and movies bring joy and happiness to your heart!
Hi Alayne. I have to say, I was thankful to travel when I did because I have a horrible feeling we may be in for another lockdown. I’m unsure if we will be able to travel to Cincinnati for Christmas but at this point, I want my daughter safe so we’ll see. Yeah. I’m thrilled Biden is president-elect. I just read that Shitler took a ton of campaign funds and added to his personal accounts. Why am I not surprised! XXOXOXO
Oona and Sam’s house is beautiful! I love how your wreath came out. So simply. I do take a offense to your response to Toni’s comment. It’s not nice to say “ALL Trump supporters are Scum of the Earth”. This country is made up of different individuals and we all have our own opinions. But we certainly don’t all act the same. I’m a Trump supporter and not ashamed of it. You support Biden So what! But to generalize everyone in a “scum of the earth” category really isn’t nice. I enjoy your writing and your stories and you always make me laugh with your blogs. Biden’s a practicing Catholic that supports killing babies. OK so you support that. That’s your business. Trump is a bit crazy but he loves babies and doesn’t want them killed! I’ll go with the lesser of 2 evils. Trump!! Anyway, if you don’t ban me I’ll continue to read your blogs. You are fun to read!!
Hi Denise. Thank you so much. Yeah, Oona’s house is gorgeous and every year I make a “lazy-girl” wreath which honestly takes no longer than five minutes.
Secondly. I never said that “ALL Trump supporters are the Scum of the earth. I said and I quote “….staunch supporters are filth”. Trump is an evil and vile man and he is NO Christian. In fact, I can bet he’s paid for a few abortions in his day. He’s admitted that he would date his daughter. Sorry, call me old-fashioned but only a filthy man would utter those words along with being on public record as saying about women “grab em by the pu$$y”.
I don’t know what your religious ideology is but as a practicing Catholic, Biden as well as I AND POPE FRANCIS are NOT in favor of abortion. Please. Do your research. Nobody is in favor of killing babies. Trump doesn’t even seem to love his youngest son. However, we realize that not everyone has been born into the Christian faiths and don’t share the same beliefs as to when life begins–and those ideologies should be respected.
No. I’m not going to ban you. It’s simply that this is my blog and I’ll say what I want and you are welcome to voice your opinions! XXOXOXO
Your daughter looks so darling in the photos, what a proud mom you must be. She and her husband have put together a beautiful nest for their new little chick. Wishing them and you and your fellas a lovely holiday season.
Sorry, I just checked your blog and saw this late. I am glad you had a nice visit with Oona and Sam and baby to be. They have a cozy, beautiful home.
Oona and Sam’s new home is delightful, reckon I could fit my entire house in their garage! 😄
Don’t get me started about cancel culture and trolls…it’s all so tedious. I just don’t get why people have to be so offended all the time nowadays, why can’t we agree to disagree like we used to? Freedom of speech will soon be a thing of the past.
Can’t believe you got banned from fb for something so trivial….what a joke. Personally I really find it astounding that anybody would support an inarticulate orange buffoon, but that’s their choice. I was delighted for you and the rest of the world that Joe Biden was elected. We were certainly due some good news!