Monthly Archives: July 2025

…………………Sometimes it’s the “simple things” that bring you happiness!……On Weds., literally at the crack of dawn, the light from the rising sun was already streaming through my bedroom windows, and the seagulls were making a riotous amount of noise…I knew there was no way I was going back to sleep….so I got up….I went downstairs to the kitchen and thought I’d make myself a PROTIEN DRINK….The sunlight had already filtered through the kitchen so I didn’t turn the lights on…I made my way over to the refrigerator to get some ice…As I stood in front of the refrigerator my bare feet became soaking WET!!!…I thought what the —- is THIS! I turned the light on, and the entire floor from the frig to beyond the sink was a pool of water! I put an enormous amount of paper towels down to dry it…Then I opened the refrigerator door to get some ice…I had been having on and off trouble with this appliance, but kept biting the bullet and holding off on getting a new one….The ice container inside the door was EMPTY…It had been full the night before. Now it had all melted and melted ice was all over the floor. I had to wait to call John, my repairman because it was very early….so I thought I would turn the air conditioner on so it would be cool upon his arrival….but….it wouldn’t go on!!!…What the HECK was wrong now!…Then I realized the entire refrigerator was warm, so I thought I would go down stairs into the basement and check the circuit breakers….but the lights to the basement wouldn’t go on!!! Then it finally dawned on me I had lost power overnight and everything was off….My phone rang and it was the power company with a voice recording notifying me trees were down and lines were broken. Crews were out repairing them and the power would be on shortly….and it was……That explained a lot….BUT….WHY DIDN’T MY HUGE GENERATOR KICK IN???? Finally John came over and told me the refrigerator was done after 12 to 15 years. I wasn’t sure how old it was. He said they make them these days to last only that long! I told him I had a refrigerator/freezer in my basement that was my MOTHERS, and it was still working fine!!!…I couldn’t even guess how old it was…I only knew it was VERY OLD!…”Well, they don’t make them like they used to”, was his reply….so off I went to my appliance store where I have bought all of my appliances….John recommended a Kitchen Aid or a Frigidaire…..The KitchenAid was highly recommended by the salesman, and it was the exact size as my previous frig, so I knew it would fit perfectly…Even though the outside measurements were the same as my LG refrigerator…somehow the inside of the new refrigerator is much roomier???….I had to wait until Thursday for a delivery…I could live with one day…In the mean time I called my generator service people and told them my generator didn’t go on….They too came on Thursday, but since the power to the house was working I wasn’t in a rush…..On Thursday Teresa came to clean the house, and the two of us emptied the refrigerator….keeping what we could and throwing out the rest….I still had a large piece of my Lemon Cheesecake, but sadly that got tossed!….I even through out the newly bought eggs, even though in Europe they never refrigerate eggs….I thought better safe than sorry!….First, the generator guy came and checked it all out…and it WORKED!….I said , “well it didn’t work when my power went out, and I’m sure of that because I was here!”…..He said it was an “ANOMALY”….I had to tell Teresa what that meant…..basically a MYSTERY that couldn’t be explained….There was nothing for him to do because now it worked?……..Finally, these two HUGE Russian guys came to take away my old frig, and install the new one. Teresa couldn’t believe how big they were, and frankly neither could I….They were very nice, and very careful, and in no time at all I had a KNEW REFRIGERATOR…..and it was working beautifully…He also installed a new copper water line, because he said my line was VERY OLD, and that I knew to be true….Since they were already here, I said to go ahead and install the new line….If I had to call a plumber…it would have cost me even more money than he was about to charge me, and who knew when a plumber would come over!?……I gave them both a very nice tip……….Sometimes……it’s the simple things that can make us HAPPY!….and my NEW REFRIGERATOR MADE ME VERY HAPPY………at least it will take another 12 to 15 years to need to replace this one!!!

…………………For many years Jac and I rented a beach front house on Fire Island…..For those of you who are unfamiliar with Fire Island it is an island that runs parallel to Long Island. It is considered a “barrier beach”, and protects the coast of Long Island from more damage than it already gets during storms and hurricanes….Fire Island is extremely long….32 miles, and at some points quite narrow. There are many different communities along the island that are separated by dunes and even natural forests, where people have homes. The beaches are some of the BEST IN THE WORLD….beautiful fine sand and the Atlantic Ocean…….Jac and I were sun worshipers!…..Our favorite vacations were lying on a beach in the Caribbean….Jac usually under an umbrella!…jac was always protective of her skin and wore tons of sun block, but I was the teenage who mixed iodine with baby oil and slathered it on…..I guess her delicate Belgium skin was a lot different than my Italian hide!……..Those were the days!…………The marvelous DAYS OF SUMMER!!!

………………It’s….JULY…..my BIRTHDAY MONTH!…..which I celebrate the entire month, just not on the 23rd…….It was time for a new table setting….I was inspired by my garden, which is in FULL BLOOM!……..COLOR, COLOR, COLOR everywhere…..I chose a royal blue table cloth with a smaller white table cloth on top…..The placemats are a fine natural straw in a square shape, and on top of each placemat….a SILVER CHARGER…….My ceramic dishes are all different colors, and each setting a different combination of colors….My forks, knives and spoons are all different colors too, and were made in France…..The oblong napkins are multi color woven stripes….each held with silver “bird nest wire” napkin rings…..Each wine glass is a combination of three colors…the base, the stem and the bowl of the glasses are all different colors….The bubble glass water glasses are all different colors too….The center piece is a square glass vase FILLED with multicolor flowers…The four oblong glass vases are different ombre colors, each one a different color combination, and each holds a variety of wild flowers….The salt and pepper shakers are striped with three different colors and each shaker has different colors adding to the colorful effect….The multi color SWIRL candles are all in clear glass candle sticks…My white STAR wire LED lights are scattered on the table for additional evening fantasy……There are four miniature Chinese vases in yellow and red….just to add a bit more color…..I wanted the entire table to have a light, airy and colorful effect emulating my garden…………..Now to invite my next dinner guests and plan a cool summer menu!

……………It’s ALWAY in the DETAILS creating a new table scape……..My garden was my inspiration……I wanted lots of COLOR, but I still wanted it to be light and airy…….Flowers are always key, and I used multi color flowers to emulate my garden, photo upper left…..I always take the theme of the dining table and extend it to the rest of the room….which was simply done by adding colorful flowers in colorful vases scattered about………..Now just to invite my guests and and plan a summer menu!

…………………”CRUSHED ICE”…………….that’s what I called the short sleeved dress to the left, and the slip dress and kimono coat to the right……..All three pieces were COVERED with thousands of tiny clear crystal beads sewn by hand onto silk……They were all magnificent pieces!…..Back in 1991 the suggested price for the dress to the right was…….$3395.00……the price for the slip dress…..$3735.00….and the kimono coat…..$5595.00……..I can’t imagine what they would cost today THIRTY FOUR years later…….I recently gave the short sleeve dress away which Jac loved wearing, and it looked glorious on her….I was still in perfect condition!….I hope my friend, that I gave it to……gets many many years of enjoyment…..All of the clear resin jewelry was created for this collection.