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!
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!
