HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Today is the big day. Two years from now I will be eligible for Medicare. Whoopee.

Two of my friends and I celebrate our birthdays together. We have a tiara that we share and we go out to dinner at a nice restaurant and bring our own cake and give the birthday girl presents. I always look forward to these events - good food, girl talk and lots of laughing. The group at one time had five people, but it is now just us three old bags. Ha, ha. We are all the same age which is part of the fun. Here is a picture of the three of us - I am the one with her eyes closed and wearing the tiara.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK!

On Wednesday I took a Realtors' bus trip to New York City to see "Gypsy." I do this almost every year when they offer it. It is a long day (leaving at 6:30 a.m. and arriving home around 10 p.m.).

Unfortunately, the back half of our bus had no heat so that we shivered most of the way up and back. The city was VERY cold - even the theater was cold. But, the show was good. I had seen the movie starring Natalie Wood. I had a chance to run into St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue for a few minutes, stop into Saks and ogle at the prices ($250 for a little winter hat) and then to have lunch at a very good Italian restaurant (mmm, risotta). The tree was up in Rockefeller Center, but not yet decorated.

They showed movies on the bus ride home and I saw "Mama Mia" and "The Devil Wears Prada" which I had never seen. I saw the play "Mama Mia" in New York a few years ago. I love that show.

While I was watching the play I was thinking of how the actors must feel up there with people sitting out there in the dark watching. And to hear the applause and laughter! No wonder movie actors all want to try the stage. I guess if you do a show on Broadway you are REALLY an actor.

Since I now live in a small, laid back town I was interested in watching the people in the city. I guess I am now a country bumpkin!

How was your weekend? Quiet here and raining part of the time. Today was beautiful, though.

On Saturday I attended a tea given by a local women's club. It was called St. Nicholas' Tea. The club members wore aprons and served us three courses: scones with lemon curd, then tea sandwiches (my very favorite), followed by sweet little desserts. We had two pots of tea on our table and poured ourselves. Around the perimeter of the small room were things for sale, many with a Christmas theme for gifts. There were also two women playing harps. It was really quite lovely. I already plan to go next year.

I just remembered a memory that I will share with you: I was a little girl, eating lunch in John Wanamaker's Department Store's Crystal Tea Room in Philadelphia and eating, of course, tea sandwiches. I also remember in one of the large department stores there was a large ladies lounge. Times certainly have changed. Along with the regular bathroom facilities, there was a separate very large room containing lovely sofas and chairs and writing desks (complete with pens and writing paper). This was where the ladies could relax during a shopping break. I remember this in the 1950's and 60's.

John Wanamaker was a wonderful department store. They even had a ladies hatmaker back in the day. Wanamakers was well known for the Christmas Light Show which was accompanied by organ music from a large pipe organ that came from the St. Louis Exposition in 1904. People stopped in their shopping to watch the show, or people made a special visit to the store to see the show with their children. It is still a Philadelphia tradition. Today you can still go there to see it even though John Wanamakers Department Store is out of business and is now Macy's. Thank goodness Macy's has continued the tradition.

TODAY ON BEECH DRIVE

I got home from Massachusetts on Sunday. It was a nice trip and a good visit. Those little boys are really growing fast. They both went out on Halloween. I thought the twelve year old would say he was too old, but he did go out and they brought home tons of candy. I took some pictures on my daughter's camera and I am waiting for her to download them and e-mail them to me (hint).

My daughter and I went to our favorite junk/antique shop. Here is a picture of the sign. I came away with a few more things to add to my ever-growing collection of "stuff." I may need to open a store of my own soon.

By the way, here is a picture of my little hutch that I showed you before. I decided to leave it "au natural" and I filled it with more "stuff."

I am happy that the election is over and even though Barack Obama was not my man, I am sure he will do as good a job as he can, considering the mess that he is stepping into. President Bush will probably be glad to get back to his ranch.

I live in Sussex County, one of only three counties in Delaware. We have a history here of celebrating "Returns Day." This dates back over a hundred years and is essentially when they used to get together to count the ballots or returns from the voting. It is a big deal here. Parades, food vendors, music, local officials riding in horse-drawn carriages. They even literally "bury the hatchet." This year Senator Joe Biden (from Delaware) was there. I heard it was a madhouse with Secret Service and extra security. It also rained all day. Violetlady did not attend! Another tidbit: Senator Biden's wife Jill graduated from my (and Lynne's) high school in Pennsylvania.

So that is about it for tonight. Oh - one more thing. If you notice the upper left corner of my blog there is a place where you can click and show that you follow my blog. Blogger has added this feature which is kind of cute.