A Cute Shop

It's funny how you can live in a place nearly 60 years, hear about something again and again...and never go there. Such is the case with "The St. James General Store." I've always wanted to go there, and we've passed by the street it is on a thousand times. Mike wanted to go for a little ride yesterday, so I decided it was high time I paid this 150-year-old General Store a visit!
I wasn't disappointed. It looks exactly as it might have looked long ago, from the wooden floors to the old wooden bins. Even the front door was original, or at least very, very old. Mike says it was 'not up to code,' which means the door swung in, not out. (In the case of a fire, you'd want a door that you could push!)
The prices were reasonable for Long Island. Mike picked up a wind-up crab and a wooden pop gun. I bought some doodads and some candy (including something called "Gibralters" which was the first candy manufactured here in America), but my nicest thing is a nut-shaped dish with a cute squirrel sitting on the edge.
I definitely want to go back with Christmas shopping in mind!

An Evening on the Beach

Mike and I took a stroll along the water at Sunken Meadow. It was a lovely evening, not too hot. I overloaded my pockets with interesting rocks. There are more rocks than shells here, as it is the Long Island Sound, not the ocean. But I hope to hit the South Shore (and the Atlantic) before the summer is over--in the evening, when most of the crowds are gone and it isn't hot!

Mike was a lot easier to photograph than the gulls. At least he'll stand still!

Shopping...not

I went to Macy's today with the idea of trying on some dresses. And there weren't any! At least, not what I'd wear to a wedding. I'm surprised. I thought they had a dressy-dress section. Maybe another Macy's would be a better try.
It wouldn't surprise me if, since I have the style of dress I want in mind, I'll never actually find it.
I hate shopping. Especially shopping that is a waste of my time!

Two Visitors

My friend Virginia came for a visit yesterday. We went to a store and I tried on six or seven dresses in search of something to wear to a wedding. It was just a 'try on for looks' day. The wedding is in September. I don't want to spend a lot because I won't wear it too many times, and it won't be the dress I wear to Katherine's wedding next year.
We did decide a v-neck with some kind of waistband looks best on me.  The color I like best was turquoise or something in that range.
After that we went to the mall and walked around, which was a good thing since we at Chinese for lunch and we were stuffed!

Then, in the nighttime, we had some surprise visitors. A mommy raccoon and her baby. (Baby was about half mom's size, but I could not get a good picture of him. I do have a video, though!)

Yes, I know they are dangerous. This is through a glass door. Mommy kept looking at me, but did not perceive me as a threat so she didn't run away. She liked the peanuts I threw out for her! I hope they visit again, but will make sure the cats are inside for the night. Melody was actually in the 'gazebo', just yards away, but they didn't get in a tussle with each other. Melody just came in nicely.

New Gate!

Mike and the boys worked for several hours between yesterday and today putting a gate in on the side of the house. I helped for about an hour and brought out cold drinks, too. It looks great!

Happy and Not So Happy

Happy: lunch with my good friend Sue yesterday! I had a chicken and bacon panini. We always meet at a Greek restaurant, but to tell the truth I'm not a big fan of Greek food. We always have such a good time and usually hit Michael's craft store afterwards.

Not So: Mike called me. He was in a 'fender bender' at the end of our block. Some idiot ran a red light. A red light at a school crossing--you'd think people would know better. Thank God Mike is okay and the car is drivable. We spoke very briefly on the phone but he had to cut off 'cause the cop arrived. It's also lucky it's a company car, so everything is covered. I'm sure he'll fill me in later.

We had trouble getting in touch because I was on the Wii (doing freestep) and by the time I'd get to the phone it was already at the answering machine. And we kept missing each other on our cells. But at least he got through to me. I'm going to carry the phone everywhere today in case he needs a ride. He doesn't think they'll fix the car right away so he might just bring it home again. We'll see. What a fricking hassle. (Of course, I'll take hassle over hurt any day!)

My Nephew is 7

John Joseph gets ready to blow out the candles on his birthday cake! He also had cupcakes...with "Angry Birds" rings on top! We gave him a check for his college fund, plus three books about animals. He loves all animals and even has his playroom set up with 'pens' and 'corrals.' 


I taught him how to play Yahtzee today. Michael played with him, too. He picked it up very readily, and it's the grownup version! (He even got a Yahtzee, although I 'helped' a little bit with that.)