Away From Civilization

In Clarinda, my only connection to the outside world is this 1930s am radio that my father in law restored for me, you have to turn it on and wait for it to warm up, just like the old days. No tv except for I Love Lucy tapes, real pioneer living! I took some pictures around the house, my radio with my Huntsman fruit crate label and Caffe Greco canister, a souvenir from Rome, a long long ago trip. The thing I love about Rome is how things are there forever. I read Goethe's Italian Journey before I went and he hung out at the Caffe Greco, as later did Buffalo Bill. Can't beat a clientele like that. The brass plaque hangs on my back door, it's history is it is from a shop on the Via Margutta, which is where Gregory Peck was supposed to have his apartment in "Roman Holiday". From Goethe to Buffalo Bill to Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, that's the kind of history I like.

I love my kitchen, lots of light and room to move even though I don't have a work triangle, more like a work maze, but good cooking gets done there nonetheless. We had a heck of a week there, lovely to have the girls, but everything else just went wrong wrong wrong. Front porch post was rotted, took it out to replace and find the staircase is all rotted behind it, must be torn out and replaced. Lumber yard cut steps wrong, had to return and my husband backed into his car with my car while trying to do so. Lots of damage to both cars, say goodbye to savings...Lawn mower crapped out, new weed sprayer broke, paint peeling on the house, plans for horseback riding cancelled, go to my sister's to swim, she's sick (on her birthday no less, trooper that she is, she had the girls in anyway to swim), other friends have other plans. Good day was my other sister came to visit and we had a really nice time. Always a spare sister at my house!