Compared to the tumult of last weekend, a jog in the park. We were back to the routine Saturday morning, and what a lovely morning it was! A cold front had come through and as we walked through the stalls, the sky was bright blue, it was in the low 60s and there was a lovely breeze. We bought more sweet corn, a cucumber and some tomatoes, chicken salad and jalapeno cheese for James (and boiled peanuts), some chocolate cookies for a dessert, apple turnovers for breakfast, and more biscuits for Willow. We walked by a stand where they had fresh peaches and pecans that had just been picked and the sweet, heady aroma of peaches struck us. We couldn't resist and bought a bag (nine of them, one which I ate on the way home—absolutely luscious!), then went directly to Kroger and did the grocery shopping, since James is working tomorrow. We went to our old Kroger, since it was on the way home, and I was much more satisfied with their bread. The Smyrna Kroger needs better bakers! We did get bread, those damn bananas, marked down pork and beef, and a few other things we needed.

Oh, when we got home, there was a bunny in our front yard! Our neighbor's back yard is clotted with trees and brush, and it's a perfect living place for rabbits; this one certainly thinks so!

Once those purchases were put away, we went to Lowe's to get James a few "Blue Ice" inserts for his lunch box, as his old ones were leaking. We also bought some Reveal light bulbs for the upstairs rooms.

From Lowe's we went to Panera Bread to have lunch. We decided to have a big lunch and just nosh for supper, so I had the usual chicken soup with a half sandwich (the Italian sandwich with just meat and bread). James had a cup of chicken tortilla with a whole Cuban sandwich. We bought a chocolate duet cookie for dessert and I also saved the baguette that I would have dunked in the soup to have for supper.

Then it was off to the hobby shop for a while. I was reading a book I got for free on Kindle, Trapped on the Titanic, about a Virginia teenager who discovers that she had an ancestor who died on the ship. But is the ghost of the child trying to contact her? This has the bones of a good story, but the narrative is very stiff and sometimes the vocabulary is not something a teenager would use, even a nice kid like Callie. Also, an event happens about two thirds through the book that is very unlikely to have happened as smoothly as it did. But there are definitely pluses to the story: a very warm relationship between Callie and her grandmother, the historical background of the mystery, the fact that it's a Titanic story that doesn't rely on someone going back in time in a dream or a fantasy to tell the story, and a unique setting (Virginia). I'd recommend it, even with the shortcomings.

We had a Bed, Bath and Beyond coupon, so we drove there next to pick up a bottle of the diet ginger ale mixings for James' Soda Stream. He is really enjoying it, and the drinks do not have as many calories or sugar as the commercial stuff. We also stopped at Michaels. I was disappointed because they did not have any of the new DMC "Color Combinations" threads. There is a whole new 24-thread set, including one that looks like coffee and one that is in autumn colors. I did get some foam to use as padding.

And finally we stopped at Publix to get something for James, and here we were on a Saturday night, done at 5 p.m.! Since Borders closed we have no standby places to go! (We went to Barnes & Noble at the Avenue at West Cobb on Friday night, just to do something different. And the ride there, through West Sandtown Road, is nice, too.) We did nosh for supper (I had the oatmeal and yogurt I didn't have for breakfast, and that baguette) and watched the Flying Wild Alaska marathon they were running...yay! season  premiere next Friday!

Eventually James went downstairs to work in "the Man Cave" (he has some egg planes to finish; his club is sending a collection of them to the IPMS Nationals in July) and I returned to work on a cross-stitch. Yes, I finally pulled one out after all this time; it was this that I started over a year ago! I'm doing mine a bit differently; instead of straight red thread I have used red varigated, so the color shades from dark cherry red to garnet and back again. I also put the umlaut over the "e" because I'm just anal that way. LOL.

No one showed up on chat, so I went to bed with James. It's not like I can't use the sleep.

Of course I didn't get it. I had stomach cramps sometime after one a.m. Thank God for the Nook where I can read without putting the light on.

And Willow started barking just after James left for work (about seven). He'd taken her out, so it couldn't be that. Hush, puppy!

So I got up later than I wanted and then was mesmerized by the Thames River Pageant, which is a celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. There are all sorts of boats, from the Queen's royal barge to personal motorboats and narrowboats and sculling teams in their shells down to a guy in a kayak, and some military ships, including HMS Belfast. Some of the sailors were veterans of the second World War. It was so beautiful and colorful: the boats flying pennants and British flags and banners, going past all those historical buildings: the houses of Parliament and even the place where Charles Dickens worked in the blacking factory when he was a boy, down to Tower Bridge, which they opened to let the Queen's barge through. It was nice starting out, but the usual English summer betrayed them and by the time the Queen disembarked from the barge the clouds were lowering and it was raining. It was also only 52 degrees (although that sounds like heaven here in 80s land) with a wind coming off the North Sea; a bit nippy for parade watching, even for me!

At noon I packed Willow into the car and took her to the vet for her bloodwork pre-surgery. She was good as gold, didn't even whine. It was quite cloudy and only 75 when I got there, so I left the windows cracked just enough and ran into the Kroger behind the vet's office to get a Sunday paper. I found it right upon entering and there was a free cashier, so I don't think she was even alone in the car for five minutes.

She was in and out of the vet and I got the estimate and only gulped once or twice (she's having her teeth cleaned while she's under anesthesia, so it's not just getting the cyst removed). :-) We drove home via Mount Vernon Highway and Abernathy Road and did just fine until I crossed South Cobb Drive. I had heard an ambulance coming and didn't see it until I crossed the road. Sure enough, it followed me through all the streets on my way home, and when it started to catch up to me I stopped and let it pass.

I was the next car through the stop sign and as I passed through, a man who had been jogging ran out on the road. He said he believed that the ambulance was heading to his house and could I give him a ride to it? He seemed really upset, and the window was wide open; he could have yanked open the door if he was really after me...but I still said no and drove on. I felt like a heel...maybe it was his mother...but how do you know??? You hear such terrible stories... Felt blue most of the afternoon.

 I did finish the cross stitch just after James got home, and now I'm soaking it in the sink. We had the pork chops we found at Kroger with a side of some flavored rice and an ear of corn. Yummy. Later James peeled and pitted a couple of the peaches in the Magic Bullet and mixed it with the carbonated water. It was good, but it's still never going to make me a soda fan.

Hey, did you know BBC Radio did a Dixon of Dock Green radio series just recently that co-starred David Tennant? This was a long-running series about a "beat cop" in a a small community. The new radio version is  still going right now on BBC4X.

Labels: books, cross-stitch, dogs, events, food, history, pets, radio drama, shopping, television

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 10:04:00 PM

Comments:

Peaches, yum! The peaches haven't debuted here yet. You're so lucky! ;)

And I was on chat on Saturday night, around midnight. No one was there, so I left. I guess I missed you. :(

# posted by  Emma : 11:44:00 AM

 

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