Sunday, March 27, 2005

Winding Up The Week

I forgot to mention that last weekend was our 'entertaining at home' weekend... Our friends Robert & Liz came over Saturday night. Joe made homemade pizzas! But Robert & Liz got stuck in a terrible traffic jam and arrived an hour late. Unfortunately the pizzas weren't as good because they were baked, then came up to room temperature while we waited for Robert & Liz to arrive, then got warmed up again. But we had a great time visiting with them. We ate in the kitchen.

On Sunday our friends Ron & James came over. We had pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, peas, corn casserole, and biscuits. Unknown to us, pork tenderloin is one of their favorite meals, so it was a big hit. James brought a delicious apple pie, which we had a la mode. We ate in the kitchen and had a wonderful time catching up with these friends we don't see as often as we'd like. We also talked about plans for a trip to the shore with them and our friends Mike & Clark in late April or early May. (We've done this before and have always had a blast.)

My American Idol prediction was correct, and with hesitation we said "Buh-bye" to Mikalah. (Am I the only one who thinks she looks like Fran Drescher from 'The Nanny'?) I'm looking forward to this week's competition. I think all of the remaining singers are good, so it is going to be more difficult to predict each week's parting contestant.

We went to the shore this weekend. My company gave me (Good) Friday off, and Joe had some comp time, so we left at 11:30 Friday morning. After a late lunch at our favorite lunch spot Cafe Sole, we went to the grocery store and the video store, then headed back to the house.

We put up curtains in two of the bedrooms, Joe took a nap while I watched a little TV, and then we decided to drive down to Ocean City to have dinner at 'The Wharf', an all-you-can-eat buffet. The food is pretty good and the price is pretty reasonable. The place is decorated with all kinds of nautical stuff, from compasses to fishing nets, to oars, to barometers, to laterns - you name it. It's kind of kitchy, which of course appeals to us. Then we headed back to the house and watched one of our movies "The Motorcycle Diaries". Two pals from Argentina set off on a 5,000 mile tour of their continent on an old motorcycle. Rather than just being a scenic trip, it becomes a life-altering experience for both of them. I thought it was pretty good. Joe loved it. I thought it was too long. It seemed like it could have ended a few times. But perhaps I felt that way because the movie is in Spanish and we had to read the English subtitles.

Saturday we had an appointment to show the Li'l Retro Getaway (trailer) so I experimented with a product called Liqui-Sew to hem the curtains we needed to hang again after washing. It worked like a charm and before you knew it, we were over at the LRG, curtains hung, just waiting for the potential buyer to arrive. The sun had finally come out (even if only for half an hour) and it almost felt balmy, so we sat on the deck until they arrived. They loved the retro feel of the place, and one of them is a teacher who has lots of time off in the summer, so it seemed like a good fit. Tonight they called and said they are interested in buying, and will call us tomorrow to make an offer!

After showing the LRG we made a stop at a store where we picked up some inexpensive fabric and some beading. Revved up by my Liqui-Sew experience earlier in the day, I decided to make a pair of curtains. I couldn't believe how fast and easy it was! In the time it took for Joe to have a nap, I measured, cut, and Liqui-Sewed a pair of curtains AND began attaching the beading onto an old lamp shade. I put up the new curtains and a pair of store bought panels, for a total of 4 pairs of curtains in the house and 1 pair at the trailer. Mission: Accomplished!

After dinner at home we watched another movie "Connie & Carla", written by and starring Nia Vardalos from 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'. This was really cute! It's about these 2 girls who do a cabaret-style show in an airport lounge who accidentally witness a murder. In order to not be caught by the murderer, they decided to leave town and go somewhere unexpected... somewhere there is no cabaret-style shows where the killer would find them... like LA. They pretend to be drag queens at a West Hollywood bar and eventually talk the owner into making it a dinner theatre where they perform regularly. There were some really funny moments, and a LOT of Broadway musical renditions. Then we watched "Boat Trip" starring Cuba Gooding Jr. I had never even HEARD of this movie before, but Joe said he'd seen a trailer for it. It turned out to be cute too, but a bit sillier than "Connie & Carla". Cuba Gooding Jr and his buddy get 'accidentally' booked on a gay cruise instead of a straight singles cruise. You can imagine the characters they encounter and the antics that ensue.

This morning we had breakfast, cleaned up the house, and headed back home. We both showered and shaved, and got ready for Easter with the family. Joe's brother Louis and his wife Karen host Easter at their house every year. (Joe & I have Thanksgiving, and his sister Mary has Christmas.) We had a delicious honey baked ham, potato salad, macaroni salad, beans, sweet potato shuffle, green bean casserole, rolls, and deviled eggs. And candy. What would Easter be without candy? We all had a ball. It was really fun to have the family together, catch up on the kids' activities, and enjoy the afternoon.

So ends my week.

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