Normandie Dot to Dot

I often am surprised how experiences in life prove to be a series of fortuitous - though sometimes bizarre - connection of dots.  This has proved to be so with the Normandie, the famous French Art Deco ocean liner of the 1930s.

First, a long time ago, I was given a Normandie luggage tag from some one who had actually sailed on her.

Along with the luggage tag was this news clipping from 1942 (?) - there is no date - of the Normandie tipped over in New York harbor.

Then years after that, I went to the library to pick up some books that I had ordered.  This book was among them - though I had not ordered it up!  It was was a library error of happenstance that proved to be wonderful.



A riveting story

After that I ordered up this book.

A great read.
Check it out here.

Then, I was once at the Met to see another exhibit and stumbled upon the Normandie panels.  A delightful and beautiful surprise. 



History of Navigation Panels
at the Met in NYC

Also on view are chairs from the grand dining room, silver, and other exquisite items to which one can pay homage.

Most recently, we were at a hotel on the coast of Rhode Island.  After we had checked in, I asked the gentleman at the front desk to direct me to a specific place in the hotel.  Ironically, this gentleman was French, and very kindly thought to escort me.  As we approached a set of stairs, the walls were covered with ocean liner related art - among them the Normandie at the very top of the stairs.

"That is the Normandie!  That ship was beautiful." I exclaimed as I went over for closer examination.

"Mais, oui!" he responded, and I flatter myself that he was delighted that I thought to comment.  "There was no finer vessel," he added with obvious French pride.

Here are the two works that I saw.

Now recently - and this could be termed the bizarre dot - at Thanksgiving Mom invited some folks over from the senior center to share in our dual turkey celebration.  Amongst them was a gentleman who was a bit of an ocean liner buff.  He told me that there were films of the Normandie on YouTube.  I had never thought to look.

Here is one of them to start.

Be sure to also watch Part 2 of the above and the dining room one.  See how folks used to dress.  On my last cruise ... well let's just say it was quite different.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plenty to Be Thankful For

On Thanksgiving eve, this tune says it all.

 

Thanksgiving and the Waybury Inn Relish

For several years we would travel up to Vermont to celebrate Thanksgiving at my uncle's.  It was always wonderful with family, great food, and tramps after the big meal up a mountain trail. 
 
This being said - my aunt always made THE Waybury Inn Kidney Bean Relish. It was devoured. 

A few years ago, my aunt mailed me this postcard with the recipe - it is now mostly illegible due to use but I still make the relish every year for Thanksgiving and there is never any left.

Here is the legible recipe:

Waybury Kidney Bean Relish

1 small onion
1 or 2 hard boiled eggs
2 cups kidney beans, drained
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
3 stalks celery
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 teaspoons dill relish
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Chop onion, celery, and eggs together.  Then add beans and mix in mayonnaise, relish and other seasonings.  Serve cool and keep under refrigeration. Makes six portions

Please do enjoy and thank you for reading.

A very happy Thanksgiving to all.

Favorite Cape Cod Haunts

We have a long family history with Cape Cod and I try to visit as often as possible.  This weekend I took a  mini break with a few family members and we visited some of our favorite haunts. 

The Cape in November?  Yes, most definitely.   Hardly anyone is about and it is just lovely.

Lunch on Friday

 

Wimpy's painting

  

 

A stop here...

 

Found this foulard scarf to wear with any thing.

  

 

Our room had this view

 

 

A blustery, early morning walk to the sea

on the Sandwich Boardwalk

 

Yours truly

 

Then to Beth's

 

What to choose?

  

Beth was making a gingerbread
Fancy Nancy house

  

 

 

The sparkly window at 2 Jarves Street

 

This gentleman from 2 Jarves
is now in my house

 

Crow Farm is almost 100 years old and
still owned by the same family.
This weekend we bought cranberries for
Thanksgiving

 

 

Old Mother West Wind's Christmas Fair

at the Jam Kitchen

 

  

 

 

 

Jam making supplies

 

For sale in the gift shop

 

 

 

Susie's clam chowder was served for lunch

 

Jam Club products

  

Wreaths and center pieces were
made to order

  

On Route 6A in Sandwich

  

Beautiful browsing... 

 

 

Peter Peltz's bird barn
We always stopped there. 
Now it is a gift shop selling a book
by Peter's son

 

One of Peter Peltz's birds. 
My parents would buy one every summer.

 

 

The Christmas Shop
We always bought advent calenders here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Tale of the Stove and Thanksgiving Plans

Since Mom hosted all the holidays for years and years, now my brother and  I assign and alternate holidays. 

I was all set to have Thanksgiving and was just settling down the other day to make my shopping list when, Hold the Horses!, Slam the Brakes!, and Stop Everything!

My mother's stove died!

So, off we went to purchase her a new stove.  She was exacting in what she wanted in terms of brand, burners, and the font size on the dials. 

An appliance sales gentleman approached us and informed us that he was known as Big Eddie.  Big Eddie had a pony tail and a tattoo of a naked woman on his forearm.  Mom ignored the latter while in the store but remarked on the way home, "That tattoo should be clothed."   Still, Big Eddie was quite nice and most willing to grant Mom's every wish so that she could have her dream stove.

It gets better.  Along with the stove, Big Eddie handed over a coupon for a free turkey and a generous gift card to the local supermarket.  Given this, Mom subsequently announced that she would be hosting Thanksgiving - but that we were expected to cook.  We are all happy to do this.

The other stipulation from Mom was that we were to submit the ingredients for the dishes that we planned to prepare post haste and that she would do the shopping with her gift card.  We were all happy about this as well.

Meanwhile, Mom indicated to Big Eddie a specific delivery date.  Since Mom retired, she is busier than ever and today was designated as Stove Delivery Day.

This afternoon I was sitting in a meeting without a care in the world.  Suddenly, a colleague knocked on the door and announced to all that I was being paged repeatedly. Could I come immediately?  Thus, it was with great concern that I ran to my office and closed the door.  I picked up the phone and it was Mom.  I heard panic in her voice and assumed that something dreadful had happened.  Instead:

"The stove is the wrong color!"

OK.  Fine.  Deep breath. 

An immediate call was made to Big Eddie, who apologized profusely and said that Mom could use the "vile colored stove" for Thanksgiving until the correct one could be delivered.  A little while later, he appeared at Mom's bearing a second turkey coupon and supermarket gift card.

Tonight Mom is busy inviting a few folks from the senior center to our dual turkey celebration.

What is that saying?  Blessings in disguise.

Then, tonight I  heard my first Christmas song of the pre-season.

 

 

Homogenous Travel and Home

After leaving my house at five in the morning last Monday to fly out for the week, I was incredibly overjoyed to be home - albeit at 2:00 a.m. on Saturday.  I think that this is my last week long trip for the year - unless I hear otherwise tomorrow...

A few thoughts on travel for work.  It occurred to me this week that no matter how many miles I travel I seem to go to the same places - that is aesthetically speaking.  First, all the airports look the same.  Essentially, they are all steel and glass caverns that process people.   As an aside - when I first started traveling, I never thought that I would be removing articles of clothing in a line with strangers to go through security.  It is now a necessary indignity. 

Then, no matter where I go, I see Home Depots, Pizza Huts, an Applebee's, T.J. Maxx, etc. - you get the drift.  We have all of these here.  The fact that nothing regional is readily obvious is just so sad.  The fact that I have no time to seek such things out during work related travel seems to be the unfortunate norm.

Last week I was in Indianapolis.  When I first arrived, I felt sure that I would find the time to visit the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  Alas, there was no time and I only salivated over the description of the collection in the hotel "Where" magazine.

May I just say that perhaps in future there might be a blog entry on bad hotel art...

But enough about the rigours of travel.  Mr. Weston had also been out of town last week and thought to buy me the longed for Eddie Bauer trousers that I had seen in Chicago. 



Eddie Bauer

They were waiting for me when I got in.  I could not resist trying them on immediately then going out for a tramp in the frosty, wet field and woods with Puppy Weston a few hours later.

The rest of weekend was spent in a purposeful and ferocious antithesis to work travel - meaning spending time on the things that really matter.


Going to more holiday fairs with family

Peach Chutney
to be served at
Thanksgiving

Had this today.
Fabulous!
Made by church ladies.

Have never tried these.
Again, for Thanksgiving

 

 

Walking out with my sister-in-law to gather greens and mums to fill turkey vases. 

 

Though this particular bulbous turkey has
a rather crazy look in his eye...

 

 

I live in the most wonderful neighborhood and we all chipped in this morning to help each other with the seemingly never ending removal of leaves.  We assembled at L. and C.'s where they  treated us to warm cinnamon buns from a local bakery.  At each subsequent house, there was a little, deligthtful and caloric something to fortify us for dragging huge tarps filled with leaves back in to the woods.

 

Life is good...

 

 

 

 

 

A Few Bits

A weekend full of annual events.

My favorite holiday fair

Just a little shopping there ...

Lavender sachets

How adorable.

Potent catnip - immediately taken and used.

Fruitcake!!!
I only bought 4 loaves.

Then, an annual fund raising dinner where local personalities
dance with professionals. Great fun.
 

Just a little attention paid to the rivers of leaves.

My new camellia blossomed.

Ready to fly out again for the week for work.  Would really like to stay put  - but the nice thing this time?  I've already voted.