REDECORATING IN THE LATE THIRTIES
Even though money was tight in the thirties, when it came to doing any interior painting the families that I knew hired a painter. I guess it was before the "do it yourself era."

When it came time to put on a fresh coat of paint my parents engaged a "paintner." That's correct, my parents called the man "paintner."

He came, looked the place over and quoted a price for his labor and the paint. Once that was agreed upon the next big thing was to chose the color of the paint. I was included in that decision making.


Yellow Kitchen Dec 07 by lindabutterfly, on Flickr CC BY-NC-SA

The kitchen was going to be yellow with green accents. The bathroom was to be painted green.

The day the "paintner" came I went off to school and when I returned he was gone, the job was done. The kitchen was yellow with green accents. The bathroom was a hideous PINK!! (I still remember that awful color)

Ma, "What happened?" - The "paintner ran out of GREEN paint." And that's how it remained until the next paint job.

The same "paintner" had a job in the upstairs apartment. The job was the same as what we had done - the kitchen and the bathroom. There was one exception.

In those days you could not replace a toilet seat with a new one. As I'm typing this it just occurred to me that maybe you could, but the people could not afford to buy a new one so "the paintner" would put a fresh coat of paint on the seat!


"The Squishy-Seated Toilet (Pink) by Vicious Bits, on Flickr CC BY-NC-SA

Well, the girl who lived in that apartment went to work that day, came home in the evening and not knowing exactly what was done, went to the bathroom and sat down on that freshly painted toilet seat!!!

That "paintner" surprised us with "Pink" and turned her face "Red."

posted by millie garfield @ 5:19 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 12 comments

 
THIS and THAT - FEBRUARY
THE WEATHER

It's been a cool, sunny and dry month. I'm not the pool person that I was years ago so having temperatures in the high 60's and low 70's is just fine with me.



The only time I have gone to the pool this month is on a Monday when I play Mah-Jongg. It's pleasant to sit by the pool, relax and try to win some money. We play for $5.00, that's all you can lose. One day I was the big winner, $3.50!

MY HEALTH

It's advisable to have a doctor down here just in case you need help. When I came down this winter I found that my doctor had retired. I asked around and a few friends referred me to someone nearby that they were happy with. I called to make an appointment and was told to come in one half hour before the appointed time so I could fill out a seven page form.

Sure enough it took me a half hour to fill out this detailed form. Before I saw the doctor a nurse came into the examing room and went over the questionnaire with me. When she asked me, "do you drink" - I couldn't resist and said, "not often enough."

I was told by my friends that the doctor "LISTENS" and sure enough he does. It's a good thing because I would hate like heck having to start all over again with another doctor.

Speaking of health I was talking to a friend of mine recently, she told me about something that could help people with arthritis -


"Golden raisins by pbev, on Flickr CC BY-NC-ND

Take one package of golden raisins and put them in a pint of vodka, place in the refigerator and let stand for a week - then take a drink every so often!! She was serious!! Have you ever heard of this?

See:Do Gin-Soaked Raisins Really Help Arthritis Pain?

BOOKS

Last month I wrote about how much I enjoyed reading "Sea Glass" by Anita Shreve. Holly Nappo Collins left a comment recommending "Fortune's Rock" by the same author. I read it in short order! At one point it had me close to tears! What a surprise ending!!




MOVIES

I haven't been to the movies as much as I would have liked this month.



The one movie I saw was "Last Chance Harvey." The reviews were so-so. The people that I spoke to that saw the movie thought it was pleasant, I thought it was great!!

Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson were terrific in their roles. I don't think it's a movie that young people would appreciate - but surely people of a certain age could relate to some of the goings on in this movie.

TONIGHT'S ENTERTAINMENT


Photo courtesy Academy Awards

The academy awards!! I hope they are over before midnight!!

posted by millie garfield @ 5:30 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 9 comments

 
CHOCOLATE, CLEARANCE and CONNECTION
CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL

My friend Harriet is a great one for finding interesting things to do at little or no cost.


Chocolate Fountain by jgarber, on Flickr CC BY-NC-SA

This past Thursday I joined her for a Chocolate Festival that was held at Stratford Court in Boca Raton. I was more interested in seeing this senior living community then indulging in the chocolate refreshments. Most people I know love chocolate, I can take it or leave it!

Upon arrival we were greeted with live music and lots of Valentine decorations. Once I was there, I thought, "it seems to me that one of my friends from up north might have relocated to this community."

I searched the crowd and sure enough SHE is a resident!! She gave us a mini tour and filled us in on her new life style. From what she told us there are many activities she enjoys, the meals are very good but unfortunately she has gained weight!

When it came time to participate in the chocolate festival, there were two fountains, one had dark chocolate and one had white.

I must admit I had fun dipping the various fruits, cookies, cakes and pretzels in the chocolate!

CLEARANCE at SEARS

When you go with Harriet you just don't go to one event, there is always something else on the agenda - She asked if I won't mind going to Sears, big sale going on. - Sure -



We poked around and I found a zippered sweater with a hood, originally priced at $48.00 - now reduced to $9.00, less 30% which made the cost of the sweater $7.00!! What a deal!!

Since it was such a small amount I decided to pay cash for the sweater. The salesclerk asked if I had a charge at Sears, "No, I don't." Well, she said if I open an account I would get the sweater at no charge!!!

I opened an account and then she informed me that when you open an account you get a credit on your acccount of $15.00.

Not only did I get the sweater at no charge, I now have a credit on my account of $8.00. Looks like I'll be going back to Sears!


CONNECTION

The next day I attended a show at my clubhouse, "Let's Hang On." The theme of the show was, "A Tribute to Frankie Valli."

Four young men took center stage and started singing some memorable songs from the 60's.



As soon as they appeared on stage I was taken with their clean-cut looks, no beards, no mustaches, hair cuts from the 60's and suits and skinny ties from that era. Immediatly I thought of my husband who dressed like that when he went to work, had that kind of haircut and would never stop wearing those skinny ties.

I was tapping my toes and smiling all over the place.

The show also had two lovely young ladies who sang, at one point they left the stage and invited two men to dance with them.

My thought was, "I hope that lead young man does that too - I want to dance with him." I have been to many shows at my complex but never had such a clear thought!

Well, what do you know - he did leave the stage and came right over to me and said, "I saw your great smile and want to dance with you!!"

I can't tell you the name of the song, whatever it was, it was wonderful!! (I sound like a teen-ager)

When they did their final number they came down from the stage and what do you know, he came over to me and thanked ME for the dance!

I'm still flying high!!

Visit William Clare to see a video of Let's Hang On.

posted by millie garfield @ 4:56 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 12 comments

 
The Subject is "BIRTHDAYS"
This weekend I had the pleasure of sharing in the celebration of my friend Nanci's birthday. We had dinner at the well known Kee Grille in Boca Raton. I finally had the opportunity to have Chilean Sea Bass which is not featured at most of the restaurants that I go to. Delicious!!

Great atmosphere, good service, fine food and most of all good company!

Since we were there to celebrate a birthday the conversation turned to "Birthdays."


Sweet 16 Cupcakes by clevercupcakes, on Flickr CC BY-NC-ND

Some of the girls shared their special birthday memories. The "girls" talked about their sweet sixteen parties. One girl had her party at a country club, another at a hotel and still another had her party at home where her mother took all the furniture out of the living room so there was room for dancing!

Me, I didn't have a party. I was a depression baby, times were tough - just getting food on the table and paying the rent was top priority. My friends and I were in the same boat so we didn't feel deprived.

The only thing I remember about my birthdays as a child was a special time when my family went on a day trip and my aunt brought a birthday cake for me.


A Strawberry Shortcake For You! by Smaku, on Flickr CC BY-NC-ND

Other times I remember my mother making my favorite strawberry shortcake for my birthday. It's still my favorite cake!!

Today when my birthday rolls around Steve and Carol take me on a mystery ride, I never know where I'm going, could be near-by or it could be out-of-state. Half the fun is speculating about where the finally destination is.

Once in a blue moon I figure out where we are heading!

What special memories do you have about past birthdays? For my "girl" readers, did you have a "Sweet Sixteen" party?"

Now speaking of birthdays, it just so happens that it's Steve's birthday, so I want to wish him "A Very Happy Birthday."

posted by millie garfield @ 5:16 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 18 comments

 
ONLY IN FLORIDA - PART THREE
Last week I got yelled at!

I can't remember a time that I ever got yelled at - I was a good little girl so my parents never yelled at me, I was a well behaved student so the teachers never had cause to yell at me, I was a good worker so my employers never yelled at me BUT here in Florida it's a different story.

Here's what happened:

There is a very popular privately owned deli in a near-by small shopping mall, the lot is small so getting a parking space is a challenge. They sell all kinds of goodies that makes life easy when you don't feel like cooking. From the business that they do, LOTS of people that live in this area don't like to cook!


102_2346 by jcarwil, on Flickr CC BY-NC-SA

Well, one day I decided to get myself over there and buy some of "that good stuff." As usual the parking lot was pretty full so I had to drive around a few times until I spied a couple going to their car - aha - I found a spot - put my blinker on and waited for them to pull out.

It looked to me like the couple was in their mid-80's, she had a walker and he was the strong one putting the groceries in the car.

People are very impatient down here and the person in the car behind me started to honk his horn, he wanted me to move on but I wasn't going to budge, he was just going to have to wait!! He was so angry that he finally got out of his car and started to yell at me!

I stood my ground and eventually the man and his wife pulled out of that parking spot and it was MINE!!

I got yelled at two more times last week but I think you get the picture.

This is life in sunny Florida

posted by millie garfield @ 4:54 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 11 comments