Saturday Movies & Skipper's

Our friends K and B drove in from downtown this afternoon. They had two foreign films that they wanted to watch with us, both on Bhutan and India, their travel destination this coming December. Both K and B are seasoned travelers, and they always prepare for the their trips by studying books and films about the countries they'll be visiting.

They hadn't seen the films before-- they searched all over for movies about Bhutan, and finally found them on Amazon.com. We watched one film late this afternoon (complete with popcorn that K brought with her) then went out for dinner at Skipper's... the Greek restaurant in League City.

K and B hadn't been to Skipper's before....... we usually meet them at a downtown Greek restaurant, so we thought Skipper's would be a good choice for today. After a warm and sunny morning, the day turned cloudy and we had some thunder and rainshowers. (Perfect movie-day.) We all enjoyed the Greek dinner, and left the restaurant with to-go boxes of food.... spinach pie, calamari, pastichio, stuffed grape leaves. The portions are always so big there. The dinners are served on platters, rather than plates.

When we came back from Skipper's, we watched the second film. Beautiful scenery in both pictures.... lots of mountains filled with prayer flags, and temples with beautifully ornate prayer wheels. K and B have invited us to travel with them on their trip this coming December. I've already given my answer--- thank you, but no. I know my limits, and their tours are arranged by a company called "Adventure Travel" -- and they're just a little too adventurous for me. (What do you mean there's no place to plug in my blow-dryer?!)

I told my husband to go with them if he wanted to... he's more daring than I am, for that kind of travel. K and B will be gone for most of December, and won't return till after the new year. When my husband hesitated because of the holidays, I told him to not even think about the holidays. A trip like this comes once in a lifetime, and who better to travel with than K and B to such places? We tell K and B that they're this city's answer to Lewis and Clark.

I don't think he'll go, though. Now that we have seen the two movies, he's gotten a better idea of the topography there, and the roads, and he's not as anxious to see that part of the world as he thought he would be. So once again, K and B will be on the other side of the world come December.


It's after 9:30 as I'm typing this.... and it's been a very long day. I was up before dawn this morning, and out to the yard sales before seven o'clock. By myself this time, since my husband had to get some work done before K and B got here this afternoon. C and her parents were also out yard-saling, and I ran into them twice along the way, and C called me three times on her cell phone when she found things for Mayberry Cottage and for her cabin as well.

One of the great finds today was a brand new toaster, in the box, and never used. Another great treasure was a vintage rattaan chair. It was very sad looking, its white wood very dirty, and its pink seat-cushion just plain worn out. And there it sat, for just one dollar. Of course I rescued it. When I got home, I cleaned up all the wood and now it's bright white. I unscrewed the cushion and recovered it in a floral fabric remnant.... the chair looks quite happy, and very cottage-y. Perfect for Mayberry, which is where it will find its new home.

I also found some Pyrex bakeware at the yard sales this morning, along with a teapot shaped like a cat... couldn't leave that there, for goodness sake. Another great find was a tablecloth with a palm tree design..... I plan to use that in the living room of Mayberry, to cover a round wood table that I'm moving from here to there. Nothing wrong with the table, except the wood is darker than what I want to use up there. My husband cringed when I suggested I paint the table white (a la Shabby Chic style), so this tablecloth will be perfect for it. I've already got palm tree-shaped candle holders (another yard sale), so I'm getting a theme going up there.

I love to do all of this... and even though it's been so much work wrapping and boxing and making lists and keeping things extra-organized, I know it will worth every second of the work that's going into Mayberry. I also have a feeling that we'll love that lake house even more, if possible, than our home here.