A FUN SUNDAY WITH GIRLS IN THE POOL, FRANK SINATRA AND DON DRAPER
The sun was shining, the birds were singing and it was a beautiful day - time to spend an afternoon at the pool, visit with friends and take a dip. The conversation was flowing and the pool was delightful.

When I get into the pool my intention is to do some exercises but what usually happens is I do a little something and then join the ladies who are just standing in the pool talking. There are only a handful of women who swim or do any kind of exercise in the water. Funny, but the same thing happens in Florida - I guess the women would rather kibitz than exercise!

After a refreshing dip in the pool the conversation usually goes like this, "would you like to go out to eat tonight." Someone is always interested - next question - "where would you like to go?" Okay, place, time and driver are decided. Most of us do not drive at night so it's usually "Jan" who drives.

Last night, by the time we got home, it was 8:30 p.m.

Mad Men was not on until 10:00 p.m. so I had one hour to fill before Don Draper and his gang were on. I checked the TV page and found out that there was a PBS special featuring "Sinatra at Carnegie Hall." Frank Sinatra performed that concert in June 1980. What a wonderful show that was!!

Before I knew it, it was 10.00 p.m. and a new season of Man Men started.


Don Draper Photo courtesy AMC

I could make a whole other post about the show but all I'll say is - the characters are changing, times are changing and life is not the same for Don Draper.


Mad Men Recap: Ep. 401, "Public Relations"

All in all I enjoyed every part of my Sunday!

posted by millie garfield @ 4:29 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 11 comments

 
OUT AND ABOUT
Now that I am able to drive again I've been doing the everyday things that need to be taken care of, going to the bank, getting a sticker for the car, going to the library, getting my hair done, going to the cleaners, doing the weekly food shopping and the best part - stopping for my 3:00 p.m. cup of coffee! (Usually I'll have it with a jelly donut!)

The Mundane
All those errands are the mundane things that people have to take care of but at this point in time - I take nothing for granted and am very thankful that I can do them!!

The Food
Would you believe I still have frozen dinners in my freezer so I still do not have to make anything from scratch. Once in a blue moon I've baked a piece of fish, cooked some pasta or made a salad. Usually it's out to eat once or twice a week and chances are I take home a doggie bag, so living is easy.

The Movies
It has been very hot for days now, really too hot to go to the pool - yesterday it was in the 90's so off to the movies I went.

The film was, "I Am Love" starring Tlda Swinton.


Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.



The opening scene took place in Milan, Italy where it had just started snowing. The snow was light and was starting to accumulate on the trees and the roads were getting slushy. I loved those scenes since I don't get to see snow in the winter and it was so hot outside that it felt very good to see it and at the same time not have to deal with it.

This is the type of film that after you see it, there is a lot to talk about - I'm still thinking about it and remembering certain powerful scenes!!

I don't think this two hour film is everyone's cup of tea but for me, seeing where this wealth family lived, their life style, the architecture of Milan, Swinton's acting and the background music made it all worthwhile.

If you see 'I Am Love', let me know what your impression was.

Did you get the significance of ALL those doors closing?

posted by millie garfield @ 6:49 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 13 comments

 
TOO DARN HOT
I can't stop thinking about the song Cole Porter wrote for his musical - Kiss Me Kate. The song says it all, "Too Darn Hot."



It's been just too darn hot for the past few weeks. Some days it's been hotter here in Massachusetts than what it was in Florida. As a matter of fact, it was never this hot all of last winter down South.

I've been running the air conditioner night and day - it helps a lot but it's working very hard to keep the place comfortable. And what an electric bill I just got!! Looks like next month's bill will be even bigger.

We've had a number of days where the temperature has been in the high 90's. On hot days like that I choose to stay home.

It's even too hot to think of anything funny, sad or entertaining to blog about.

Right now I'm going to go into the kitchen and get myself an ice cold popsicle!

posted by millie garfield @ 10:10 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 12 comments

 
I REMEMBER WHEN...
It happened to me again - I didn't know what I was going to write about until this morning when I read a column in the Boston Globe by Sam Allis, Well, that was fun . . . wasn’t it?:

Hubby is overwhelmed by the volume and variety of orders from the assembled multitudes: burgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, chicken, salmon. Each consumer has his own demands as to how the fare should be cooked. Think burnt to blue. How can you possibly remember it all?

Worse, people start changing their minds: I don’t want the cheese anymore. I’m not eating it if you don’t get rid of the cheese. And: I know I told you well-done, but I want it medium-rare. Well, get another one. Then this news flash: The bun supply has been exhausted.

I always enjoy whatever he writes but this morning I found his piece exceptionally funny. It's a must read.

While I was reading his piece about what can go wrong at a barbecue it reminded me of something that happened many years ago at a barbecue in my backyard.

At the time I was an ambitious cook and made most everything from scratch, even the cole slaw. At the time my kid was still in diapers, I had a washing machine in the basement, and had no dryer, so the clothes had to be hung on an outside line, and wasn't it wonderful, the way the clothes smelled when you took them off the line!

Even though I was having loads of company, I still had to do the laundry.

First things first!


Downy Detergent TV Commercial - 1960

While I was in the kitchen cutting up the cabbage, the wash was getting done. Since I was busy I asked my helpful hubby to go down to the basement, take out the laundry and hang it on the line outside. Great, he did that and as I looked out of the kitchen window I saw a strange sight - As he hung the diapers on the line it looked like it was snowing outside!!! What was going on??? It wasn't snow, it was shredded cabbage!!

I finally figured out what had happened - The kitchen disposal (somehow) was connected to the pipe that was connected to the washing machine. The disposal couldn't handle all that shredded cabbage so it wound up stuck to the diapers!!

After that experience I never made cole slaw from scratch.

How about you, What funny or unusual experience did you have at a cookout or a supposed "fun event?"

posted by millie garfield @ 8:31 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 8 comments