April tattling.......

Talk about late!  It is now 24th May and I am trying to remember/write about April.  Honestly the time just flies when we get back to the UK.  Between friends, family, gardening, lotty, mini stuff and short breaks here and there there is very little time to just sit and ruminate.  No complaints though;  I love being back.

It wouldn't be right if we got home and there wasn't something that needed fixing.  The last three years have all been very expensive fixes, this year all we could find was the phone line which had given up the ghost - one way only - incoming calls were fine we just couldn't make any out.  Should be simple you would think.  When it begins with BT leaving us a message on the 5th to say we haven't fixed it but we will keep you posted............  let's not follow that story through.

The first of the month and my daughter and her partner had stayed overnight in Bury the previous night on their way from Wales, so we were off to meet them for an unburned lunch at the Red Hall.  (need to read the end of last month's epistle to get that reference!) 

More good company and good food a couple of days later when we managed to catch up with our chums Phil and Sue.  Guess what - the following day Ken and I drove out to a very nice Restaurant - The Three Fishes at Mitton in the Ribble Valley - for another meal with three other friends.  Good food and a very pretty setting.  My up-North husband and friends all know the Ribble Valley (of course) but I think it was pretty 'new' to me - it looked lovely on first acquaintance and I hope we get back there a couple of times this summer.  Apparently there is a trio of good eateries around the Fishes.  Trees, vistas and food all seem to be intrinsically bound together for me......

For the best part of the following week we restrained ourselves and pretty much stuck to our computers catching up on heaps of 'paperwork'.

On the 10th I was off to share a freebie with my little Lowry volunteer friend.  We were seeing The Taming of the Shrew.  It was performed by Propeller an all male Shakespeare Company which, of course, is how it should be.  It was a complex emotional viewing - hard to watch with a twenty-first century eye and was decidedly hard to do in any detached academic way which is surely the sign of a great production.  If you are at all theatre interested read this crit for a very brief pointer to Propeller and definitely go see them if you get a chance.  This was an evening in the theatre to remember.

Need I say that it was prefaced with food.  Ken, D and I did a quick flit to Pizza Express.  Ken is my chauffeur on these occasions and is nice enough to take me to Salford Quays and then pick me up as I am really not driving any more now.  Lost my bottle basically!

It has been a gradual thing since retiring. Initially I suppose it begins with the fact I have never liked driving - it was just a necessary evil.  At some point in all our peripatetic meanderings I got rid of my car and with a 'shared' vehicle it was always easier just to let Ken drive.  Mostly we were out together, so, bit by bit, I drove less and less and it eventually became one of my 'dreads'.  I have given up or given in and accept I am just not going to be doing it any more. I try now and then to just go round the corner to the shops or even down the road to B & Q but even that is the limit of my comfort zone now.

The weekend of the 12th we were planning on an Edinburgh trip to catch up with my daughter and to take in a Doll's House Show.  At the eleventh hour it was cancelled because Sally realised it was the weekend of the Edinburgh marathon.  We had visited once before on that weekend and it was chaotic, so best avoided also she and Stuart had a load of various chores/commitments so their time with us would have been somewhat limited.  We agreed there would be better times to go.

I may have been thwarted on the family visit but I didn't have to give up on a DH show - off to the Pudsey Show on Saturday.  I think this was the first show I ever went to three years ago and have been back each year since.   If you want to hear all about this you will need to visit my Chocolat blog (and the other two!).  It is particularly lovely to do a show and know I have extra 'spends' because I am 'covering' it for the magazine.  I also get to meet a load of really nice people. So it was with this one. 

I finally got to the lotty in earnest in the middle of the month and got the spuds in and other stuff sorted; again another blog covers the lotty stuff - Bury Gardeners.

If I were to write about one of my chores this month (and, as it turns out, next month too) that would be all I would write about.  Why, in this day and age, is it more difficult to change banks than it was in the 'olden days' - we have all the technology in the world to make it bing, bang, bosh and what do we get clang, clink, grrrrrrr!  I remember when you drove to your bank, went in, had a bit of a natter, signed a bit of paper and a couple of weeks later - all sorted.  No, this is not rose-tinted specs, this was my real experience of banks.  As I said I am writing this on 24th May and so far I have had an on-line current account for three weeks which I can't yet access on line!!!

A couple of days before the end of the month we were trotting around Bury M & S buying cheese, pork scratchings, knitted dolls, scorpions and books - all for our forthcoming trip to Canada on 3rd May.

The upside of typing a piece late is that you can do a trailer for the next one because you know what's going to happen........ stay with me for a tour of the Rockies and for petty larceny!

March prattling

As I settle to write this, we have been home one week - here's a list of things I have 'experienced' just this week that immediately come to mind which make me so happy to be home.....

Family, friends, my (detached!) house, my garden, smell of laundry which dried outside, shops to walk to just round the corner....... a nice drive to the Ribble Valley to an old (16th century) inn/restaurant for lunch.  Also eaten (and loved) this week .....  chip shop fish and chips, English bacon (not smoked!!), shredless marmalade, new potatoes.  The food list is endless.  Then there is my dolls house stuff, spring flowers, my oven, deciduous trees, my washing machine, bread (not loaded with sugar), Tesco Finest everything, my grocery delivered, booking a Shakespeare play.....in just one week!  Those have just poured through my fingers without pause for thought and I know there is a million more.  This is the minutiae that make up my inner landscape ... is it any wonder that Ken (and others) don't understand my need to be home and be me. 

So all that and more will be in my April account; now I need to get back to March and Naples.

First of the month and we gave our chums a lift to Orlando airport then hit my clothes shop

Minnie's waiting

(Coldwater Creek) one more time on the way back to the apartment and settled down to our last night in Orlando.  Next day we sped off back to Naples and a couple of days getting ready for our next visitors.  My son, his partner and my grand-daughter, Lucy, aged two and a half (which she is pleased to announce if asked) would be staying for ten days .

Tuesday evening came quickly and we collected them from the airport and, on the way home, we started the visit the way we meant it to go on with a trip to Ci-Ci's for fast cheap pizza.  We then got them settled in for the night at home and ready to begin their visit with us.

Day one didn't begin well in that I was stuck in waiting for the dishwasher repair man.  This saga has been running some weeks at this point and will continue to do so.  At this point we no longer have a working dishwasher and three visitors to feed.  Repair man, came and went, still no working machine. Meanwhile Ken, Chris and Gayle went to Cambier park and for a walk up Fifth, stopping for the obligatory ice cream at Regina's.

In the evening Chris and Gayle went to the movies and we baby-sat Lucy.  Such a treat.

Nina and Pinta

Next day we went to see the two pilgrim (replica) ships, The Nina and the Pinta. They were in Naples for the first two weeks of March.  Ken and I had been lucky enough to see them in New England when we went there.  Sadly they were pretty crowded and we decided not to bother to go aboard.

Instead we did the full-on tourist thing of Tin City and a trip on the Double Sunshine.  Boy was it cold! A quick stop in Target on the way home completed a day in Naples!


On Friday we had a lovely totally American breakfast in Skillets and then Ken dropped us all off at home and went on to do his stint as a volunteer for the Conservancy.  C, G and L went to the pool and then Chris and Gayle went to the shops on the bikes while I had Lucy   It was really lovely,  she is such fun; but I had forgotten just how extra long everything takes when you have a toddler for company.  Dinner was a little late!

Saturday and we were continuing the theme of 'while you are here you must...'  this time it was see the gators and go to Everglades City and go on an air-boat ride.  All accomplished.  The fast food Subway at Everglades City was a hoot as it took ten minutes plus just to get someone to find the man to do it.  Mel's Diner made up for that later that evening.

Sunday and we succumbed to the regular cast-in-stone routine of Cambier Park and the fairly frequent Sunday chicken at Cracker Barrel.  This was actually English Mothers day - a bit confusing now I have a son who does Canadian Mothers day and a daughter who does the English one.  Chris bought me some flowers and Sally bought me a subscription to Good Housekeeping.  A few months before I had an attack of stingy and had stopped my subscription in favour of having more spends on dolls house stuff but it is a magazine I miss.  [for American readers this is a different magazine to the American one].  My biggest treat for Mothering Sunday though was to have some of my family with me, especially Lucy.

Monday was Gayle's BIG shop day so Ken took her up to Miromar and then came back for us; lunch at Panera and off to buy a notebook - the electric kind - for Christopher.  How we don't have our own special assistant at Best Buy I don't know the amount of business they get from us and our visitors.  Then to Sugden Park with Lucy and off to pick up Gayle from Miromar and back for a relaxing dinner at home.

Tuesday, and we were due for another visit from Mr Dishwasher Repair so Chris and Gayle had the car and took Lucy out to the park and some shopping on 5th while Ken and I stayed home.  Chris, Ken and I then took Lucy out for a while to our little local park and the slides while Gayle had a Skype interview for a job in Newfoundland.  This was the day that Ken and I decided our guests might like an evening to themselves - eat what they like and watch TV, whatever, so we took off for a movie at the library.  Actually it was one I wasn't fussed about as it was a biog of  Carol Channing who has never particularly appealed to me.  Nice to be taken out of your comfort zone - I came out full of admiration for the woman.  We then went on to try a restaurant we have been passing for ages and saying, "Must give it a try".  It is a very clever conversion of a garage (as in Petrol station) so gets ten points for that BUT that's about as far as it goes.  Called a A Taste of Chicago and was dire.  Poor old Chicago deserves better.

spot the gopher

Back to having a less cut up day on Wednesday.  We went to Barefoot Beach in hopes of pleasing Lucy by being knee deep in Gopher tortoises.  Needless to say, like the rest of the population of Naples they had decided it was too cold to appear.  We glimpsed a couple but that was it and not an armadillo in sight.  At least, being a bit nippy, we actually managed to 'get in' this time unlike last year when we joined a queue of cars which were being sent away because the beach was full!

We had a Panera Bread lunch on our way home .... on our second attempt.  The first time we stopped at a place where Panera used to be - courtesy of our GPS.  

snuggle and story

Chris and Gayle went out early for a meal on the beach at The Ritz to watch the sunset   Now that's the way to spend a vacation.  This was lovely for me as we got to have Lucy all evening.  We had dinner with her and an evenings entertainment and tucked her up in bed, following the obligatory three stories, all easy peasy.  Other than she is getting canny now and chooses War and Peace as one of her three books - well the toddler equivalent.

go see the birds and fishes

Our last day so we all stopped by Publix for a sub lunch and then went on to the Conservancy with Ken for the official tour and boat ride. We let the other three do the boat trip as it is old hat for us and there were just three seats left.

Chris and Gayle took us out to dinner at a very quirky place - Buca di Beppo.  this translates roughly as Joe's Hole (basement).  it looks like a one-off and I was surprised to learn it is a chain of 92 in the USA and UK.  It is crammed with photos and nicknacks.  It

also features a table in the kitchen you which you can book.  Everyone gets to walk in through the kitchen any way, so you already feel you are in a Godfather movie.  Even more bizarrely there is a Pope table.  Kind of what it says it is - a round table with a bust of the pontiff in the middle.  Funnily enough a new pope had been appointed the previous day so they were awaiting the new stuff.

The food is served 'family style' so is meant to be ordered as a single dish serving four. Slight problem if four can't agree.  They do offer two's but that's it.  I had what Ken wanted being a noble and humble wife.

Lucy's meatball was the size of her head.

Sadly Friday 15th came around and we were all up early(ish) for the trip to Fort Myers airport.  It was a very poor and speedy farewell as I just couldn't manage it.  I howled most of the way home.

The next day (16th) was our 17th wedding anniversary which couldn't have been odder if it had tried.  Firstly I was pretty whacked out from a long run of visitors and the sadness of seeing a chunk of my family disappear back to Canada.  So far it gets the prize for the least celebrated anniversary. Ken did a half day at the Conservancy. I cleaned the house. This is always a pretty massive job after folk have been as we have to put furniture back in place - our 'office' moves from the guest room to our bedroom, which in turn has a knock on effect on chairs and side tables etc etc etc, so that all has to go back. This is followed by a BIG clean because that doesn't get done properly (if at all) when we have folk staying. So that's the fridge and cooker as well as the normal room cleaning. Then the laundry is huge as I wash all the bedding including the quilt and shams and mattress and pillow case protectors. By the time I came out from under I was truly cream-crackered. Most of that had also been accomplished only ten days before in the couple of days we had between visitors.  

We were also waiting for someone to come and collect the dolls house I was selling and their times were a bit vague as they were travelling a goodish distance from Bradenton. It had actually sold four times but no-one managed to complete on it. The arrangement was she would be with us well before six and ring us when they were half an hour away. We thought we might go out for a meal after they had been. By 7 pm and no phone call I had had enough and decided to get something to eat at home. As I went into the kitchen I spotted a likely candidate in front of our building and went out to see if she was looking for us. She had brought the address but not the apartment number and was about to ring bells until she found us. There was no mention of why they were an hour later than their latest estimate and no phone call? Ah well, just glad it is done and dusted even if I lost half of what I spent on it.  

So no meal out and not even a glass raised to seventeen years - incredible - where do they go????

Our last ten days don't stand out in any particular way just the usual wind down ready to leave the place for six months - food to eat up, stuff to sort out as to what to bring home this time and what to leave for another time, general tidying away of things, always with the notion you are on a countdown. I managed to fill one and a half 28" (50lb) suitcases with dolls house stuff. I had brought a load over at Christmas to work on Hillside which I then abandoned (the one that I sold) so all that had to go back and then there was the stuff I had bought on EBay and from two shows while we were in Florida. Much of the stuff from the California trip had already gone home at Christmas.


The evening before we left (26th) we went to pick up our hire car and were given a lift there by our best of neighbours C & T. We decided we might as well have a meal with them. We never seem to get round to it any other time. We went to Olive Garden as I remembered it was somewhere they liked. Good to spend a sit-down time with them before we decamped.


Our flight home the next day from Orlando courtesy of Virgin was as near to delightful as flying can be. This was the return part of our Premium Economy upgrade flight. I was even more grateful for it as it is an overnighter. At least the seats are comfortable and there are endless (47) movies to choose from. I watched Hitchcock and Life of Pi both of which I wanted to see and never got round to. Food was good and service terrific. I did my usual wide awake all night and arrived in Manchester with eyes like burning coals and an overwhelming desire for bed.


Crikey Moses, how did it know I was on the way - talk about cold. Coldest April since??? Kind of did me a favour though in the next week as it was too cold to get out in the garden in any real way and crack on with the huge amount of work that needs doing.


Day one, quick nap, Tesco delivers the grocery, unpacked and we are good to go.


A couple of days later and we were into the swing of things to come - always pretty much centered around food. P and S picked us up for lunch at the Ainsworth Arms - a newlyish refurbed local pub. Place is great and food is good enough for a £4.95 carvery and it is on the doorstep.


About twenty minutes before we are due there I got a phone call from my daughter to say she and her chap are on their way from Edinburgh as my Easter surprise. Wonderful - beats any egg that's for sure. Though Ken and I got one of those too. Eventually we all ended up having lunch before Sally and Stuart carried on with their journey to Wales to visit friends. It was absolutely lovely to be able to give my daughter a hug after months away from home.


Sunday 31st. Easter Day and my little friend was coming to visit and have a spot of lunch with us. It wasn't an Easter Day special just our usual roast chicken dinner. Very relaxed about it - maybe too relaxed - I managed to actually burn it. In all honesty I can't remember ever actually burning a dinner. Stuff has gone wrong in fifty years of cooking dinners but actually burning a pan of roast spuds and parsnips and dehydrating a chicken to the point of 'just about still edible' is not something I remember doing. My explanation being I hadn't transferred mentally from my American (rubbish) oven to my English (over-efficient) one. Luckily Denise is a good chum and saw the funny side and we all sat down to mash and dried chicken an hour later than planned.

Still on my favourite topic of food here's another whole new experience for me this month.... bought in Publix just before we left......

Dinosaur Egg Pluot - looks like a nectarine - cross between plum and apricot, hence silly name!  I was delicious but plum-like. I am not a huge fan of plums because they always have that bitter, sharp tasting skin however good the plum is. This was a big improvement on that. 

February yacking

Here comes that not unusual apology for being disgracefully late with this post.  This time I really do have a good excuse - no the dog didn't eat my first draft - we have just had an eight week block of visitors staying with us.  My personal 'playtime' gets severely curtailed.  

There is a belief that oldies revert to a second childhood - we sort of do.... now I no longer have to go to school or work each day, which we get stuck with from age five, I am at last free to do what I like.  I choose playing over chores any time.  My playing over here in Naples consists mainly of writing and researching stuff I am interested in.  I live on the computer.  Clearly this isn't conducive to being sociable.

Well, here I am at last, quietly returned to my machine for a few days before we fly home to the UK and I have a couple of hours before lunch to crack on with recording my life in February.

Smack bang on the 1st our good friends P & S arrived from a week in Orlando and a week in Fort Lauderdale (also taking in Key West).  It seemed odd having them as distant neighbours in Florida before arriving at our place.  

Sunday concert in Cambier

We soon settled down into the normal living routines of four snow birds in Naples.  I am ashamed to say none of us even suggested a trip to the beach during their whole stay.  They, like us, now regard Naples as a winter home, not a holiday place.

Most of our time was filled with the normal stuff of shops, movies, concerts, library events, meals out.  Nothing especially remarkable or noteworthy.

The biggest saga which ran throughout their stay was the recurring visit of the dishwasher repair man who solved nothing.  We were eventually left with a machine that didn't work at all for the whole of our next set of visitors stay.  Washing up is an anathema to us after all these years, never mind washing up for five people!

In the middle of their stay Ken and I went off up to Orlando for the weekend to visit the Orlando Miniatures Festival.  This is the second Molly Cromwell show we get to do while we are here.  Go read about it in Bentleys if you want to know how that weekend went. 

As always we managed to stop at Smokin' Joes for the ritual ice cream.  This time we decided to have a go at the food as well.  Not the best decision we ever made.  Each of our meals would have served four and would probably be loved by the folk it is aimed at - an English palette was certainly struggling with hunks of (undercooked???) pork, tinned (!) potatoes and 'slaw, all served in a huge polystyrene box accompanied by plastic cutlery.  Mmmmmm!

Monday arrived and we were back into the usual swing of things.  This was our third week and we decided to go for the meal and movie treat at Silverspot.  It is a really good deal - lovely leather-seated movie house and a 'fine dining' meal experience all for $36 each.  The movies themselves cost (old folk rate!) $12.50.  You get to save more if you are young!

Sebring Diner on our way up to Orlando

On the 23rd we went up to Orlando for the week, courtesy of P & S.  We stayed in a terrific resort - Hilton Grand Vacation at Sea World.

First thing I did was my last Coldwater Creek clothes shopping.  It covers me for most of the year on both sides of the pond.  I don't like clothes shopping any more so it is nice to get it done and dusted in one place a couple of times a year.  Obviously you get stuck now and then for something but that is less of a chore than endlessly trawling for stuff if clothes trawling isn't something you enjoy.  Between M & S and Coldwater Creek I manage most things.

Our third movie of the month, which we saw while we were in Orlando, was a stand-out one for me - a rom-com but with an edge - 'Silver Lining Playlist'.  Check it out if you haven't seen it.  I think our others for the month were Argo (interesting) Quartet (predictable) and Skyfall (made for the real James Bond geeks)

Our meals out got to be quite funny as we ended up going back to the same place every day.  P & S had found a place called the Wood Grill Buffet.  The name is totally misleading - nothing to do with a wood grill as far as I could see, but 'buffet' most certainly!  It had just about every meal you could think of... far, far too many for me to list.  My favourites were sweet and sour chicken, swiss steak and the very best was a slow cooked beef with carrots and potatoes and onions all in the jus - no messing around with it - just basic meat and veg.  The chocolate (with nice chocolate!!) dipped strawberries and pineapple and marshmallows weren't too shabby either.

On our way back from the shops in Naples

So the month came to an end in Orlando , in the sunshine,  with us all stuffed to the gills daily and shopped out.  Not a bad life really!

As a post script I have to share this month's best signs.  Firstly, we have an incredible amount of churches in Naples.  I was told that there are forty-one of them on just one road that we use each day - Davis Blvd.  You can imagine that they must struggle to come up with original names - clearly 'St Mary's' times twenty is not going to hack it.

So, here's a sample.....


The Hispanic Church of God -  church of who else? and can you only go if you are Hispanic?
Peaceful Believers Church - so I should hope on both those counts.  I am now looking out for the Vengeful Atheist Church (probably more to my liking?)

Whilst on the topic of notices - I loved this one in a parking lot of a strip mall.  Imagine a shop with a wide pavement (side-walk for US  readers - pavement for them means road) and a (parking) road outside it - enough to park a row of vehicles with a huge backing out gap in between them and the side-walk.  When you get in your car ready to reverse, in front of your windscreen, is a sign which reads:

Caution when backing up building behind you

You would have to put the car in reverse and give it everything you'd got to hit the building.  Maybe it was a warning that the building might get you.  There is much to be feared in the New World!

January chaffering

First day of the new year and we were off on our travels again.  This time we had upgraded to  premium economy so we had the joy of a 'luxury' flight.  We were flying to Orlando on Virgin rather than our usual Fort Myers with Delta.  What a difference. Big seats, endless choices of films (videos, music, radio etc etc) on our personal players, great cabin staff service, good menu choices, linen glasses etc.  Just no comparison to our usual travel arrangements.  

Sadly on arrival we had to report a damaged suitcase.  We had to wait half an hour just for someone to turn up to the office to deal with it.  That said it was the usual form filling bing bang bosh job and we have $70 towards its replacement.  So something else we have to search for on our travels before we go home - a new case at the right price.

Day two and we were in Orlando, having booked a motel for an overnight stay. We started with an early (for us) full breakfast and then we were off for a tote around  the one and only American clothes shop that I favour.  Unbelievably we arrived before they opened - now there's a real first for us!  The shop is Coldwater Creek.... Outlet (!) it is my equivalent of M & S over here.  The Orlando one in particular is a brilliant shop and, even better, it had a 50% off all its (already reduced) stock, so I left with three bargains - all destined for the UK.

We then stopped by Ron's, the mini shop, for another hour's browsing and I bought my five 'Little Women' for my new project.

We then did a gentle pootle on down to Naples, stopping off at Ken's favourite ice cream place - Smokin' Joe's.  This is a Hicksville BBQ place with a huge smoker in a shed and the old fashioned smaller smoker by the roadside to attract attention.  Both are used seemingly non-stop.  It looks like something out of Redemption but they have great ice cream - probably made from pig fat or lost tourists.  We are yet to sample the BBQ which is strange considering the amount of times we have been there.

Day three and we were back in Naples with me waking up with the headache from hell which morphed into a full blown migraine complete with up-chucking and a day in bed - great start!

The following day I was fighting fit again and starting to sort myself out for the Sarasota show - what had I got? what did I want? etc.  During this, it slowly it dawned on me that the notion of doing a doll house project (Hillside) in Naples was just plain crackpot.  I had this huge eight room house which was going to cost a fortune to remodel and fill - more than any of my English projects and, even assuming we stay here enough years to complete it, what then?  It won't be viable to ship it - hugely expensive specialist crating etc and even if I did - where would it go in the UK house?  The more likely scenario is that it would be an unfinished project with thousands poured into it, sold for peanuts, when we leave.  I know it would be 'something to do' but I would lose heart knowing all this.  I decided not to throw good money after bad and try and sell it.  The things I had already bought for 'Little Women' would, hopefully   go into future UK projects and the women themselves would be returned to Ron at the Sarasota show.

The pain in the proverbial backside of this is that I then went on to completely fill a large suitcase, one out of our allowance of four, with doll's house buys and materials and tools that I won't be needing here now..... and there is still more to go!  There should be a lot of fun discussion and decision making when we are packing for our return in March.

Off to the dreaded Coastland Centre.... giant indoor shopping cathedrals are not my idea of fun.  We went to get my much loved glasses repaired.  They have had three lots of lens changes and are about ten years old (!!) As we had bought them from the opticians  we went to (on our say-so only) the repair was free.  American customer service is just the best!  I then talked myself up into spending $200 on a new pair.  They were well overdue but I hate parting with money for specs.

My other (some say better) half has enlisted for another organisation - The Conservancy.  He underwent the required brainwashing aka training to be told that he would be on standby - as he wasn't full-time resident (in other words American).  The (snow bird) chap chosen to be given a shift has only managed to do the one so far and Ken has subbed for him and others every week!  He who laughs last, laughs longest!  Volunteering for bucketeering for an Orchestra cost him a red top and pair of white trousers, the Conservancy are a lot cannier they actually sell you their expensive polo shirt to wear with your own Khaki shorts!  Double whammy there, I think.  You will have perceived by now my volunteering bone seems to be missing.  No chocolate testers required anywhere in Naples.

January 9th and our first dishwasher repair of the winter was under way.  This seems to be a regular feature which goes something like this... dishwasher stops when full of mucky water and dishes, man arrives three days later - yes, we have washed the dishes, but were unable to empty the water from the machine.  He is then puzzled by the problem and decides to change the timer - which he needs to order   Comes back the following week and fits timer.  The last one had done about eight weeks service.  One week after this next replacement ... the dishwasher stops when full of ..... think you've got the idea.  At the point of writing this we are now a month further on with a dishwasher that has had three timers fitted and it washes when it feels like it and doesn't when it doesn't.

Ken is there somewhere

 The 9th was the breakdown day.  I was just thinking about my nine o'clock cuppa and the power went out in our building and the one next to us. Ken rang FPL and got a recorded message saying that there was a power outage affecting 18 homes and the engineer would be there at  11pm!!!   So not an emergency then?  It gave our phone number and went on to say that it would ring us to keep us updated as things changed.  They will not call after 10 pm.  So no joined up logic there then.  There is no human there to discuss it with.  All this seemed to do was cause more frustration not less. 

Brownie solution

I immediately swung into post-holocaust mode and broke out the candles and the propane cooker top - when I discovered it had to be used outside only I went right off it.  Necessity being the mother of invention  I then proceeded to dismantle the cooker and insert a fat candle and an upturned trivet and put on my pan of water to make my cuppa - hardy souls us bombed out British.  I can now tell you for sure a single candle will not a cup of tea make.  I thought of rubbing two sticks together but decided it was easier to go to bed.  Ken and I happened to be awake as the light came back on - 3.15am.  Don't suppose we will ever know why.

10th - haircut, lunch out and a stint at the library with a presentation on Lucretia Garfield.  Now James A. Garfield is an interesting president for reasons other than being assassinated.

The following day the inspector arrived from Rooms to Go to look at the sofa - he did this in about half a minute (total!) from about fifteen feet saying he knew what the problem was from my phone call but has to come out and look and submit a report.  A couple of days later we had a call from the store to say as there wasn't anything actually wrong with the sofas (we just didn't like the fabric) we could go in and 'reselect'.

Most of our days are just filled with the usual Sunday concerts for Ken (I don't go any more) and his Conservancy cover etc etc etc etc.  Really not worth the ink recording....

.......  other than a naked woman!  Ken's first day's work at the conservancy and he arrived to find he had missed all the 'fun'.  Apparently one of the boats went out in the morning and discovered a naked woman on the edge of the mangroves waving for help.  It transpired she had been in a boat the previous day, got drunk, went skinny dipping around midnight and the boat left without her and she was marooned overnight.  She was duly rescued.

I think the best movie we saw this month was the freebie at the library - Moonrise Kingdom.  This was followed by ribs at Mel's which was a nice way to spend an evening for a few dollars.

Around the middle of the month my son and his partner sold their house in Calgary ready for their move to Newfoundland at the end of the Summer.  They will have G's family there so Lucy will grow up with an extended family around her which is as it should be.   I suspect this will be a stressful year for them and hope it all goes well.

Our next movie jaunt was a retro movie back in the Towne Center flea pit where we saw White Christmas, this time it was E.T.  I was surprised how fresh it was for me.  I had forgotten all the detail of it so it was a real pleasure to revisit a well-made piece of feel good factor.

On the 19th we took a trip to Sarasota for a doll's house show.  We stopped in at another Coldwater Creek Outlet on the way up which isn't as good as the Orlando one, but I managed to find three things, again for the UK.

view from our 'patio'

Our room was a ground floor room where we could sit outside overlooking the Marina.  This was in the hotel where the show is held which made it so much easier for Ken to be comfortable while I was doing my thing.  I used the whole 5 - 8 pm on Saturday evening talking to vendors for my show review article and buying things for my projects.  I also traded my four of my five little women for things from Ron's.  We went out for pizza after the show rather than do the free pizza social which is on offer for Preview ticket holders.

The second day of the show is open to the general Public from 10 am - 4 pm.  Preview ticket people get to go in at 9.30 am.  So, after breakfast I went back in for about an hour before we wended our way back to Naples at a leisurely pace.

Lovely empty beaches

We did a bit of a detour and stopped off on Longboat Key for a while.  It really is a very pretty place.... then  on to our real destination... Venice.

Pretty town in the mold of Naples but still a good deal smaller and all the better for it.  There is one main street of various interesting shops and we always seem to manage to park there however busy it is.  This time we were right outside the ice cream shop.

Ciao Gelato

Venice is another 'worth a diversion' Ice Cream spot for Ken and for once I agree.  This is an Italian made ice cream and is delicious.  That day's special was peanut butter which I sampled - Ciao Gelato is just about the only ice cream I eat.

We had lunch at the restaurant to the right of the ice cream shop which was excellent.  What a great journey back for two smiley people.

I was still in holiday mode after a weekend away and we were out for dinner on Monday too.  Ken's reason was the dishwasher was kaput again!

Having given up the idea of 'Little Women' and Hillside I supplanted it with another dream - I am thinking about buying a flat pack American farm house when we leave here to do in the UK and I quite fancy the notion of doing Anne of Green Gables.  To this end I borrowed the DVD from the library.  Ken and I settled in for a couple of episodes and ended up watching two hours of it!  Such a great TV series, superb cast, flawless...... and tons of inspiration for a Victorian American farmhouse.  If the plan comes to fruition I shall certainly buy the DVD for screenshotting.

Our major movie this month was Lincoln at the lovely Silverspot Cinema, courtesy of my son for my birthday.  I had gift vouchers for dinner and a movie for two.  It was a lovely evening, the food was excellent and service a delight.  It came with a glass of wine and a $5 bucket of popcorn which we declined.  A treat to repeat we decided.  The movie itself was excellent but a bit dry.

On the way home we decided to buy a new dishwasher!!

The next day our old one spontaneously started working again!  Cancel the purchase - ring the repair man.... the saga continues.

cream with fine brown stripe and perfect cushions

By the 26th the Rooms to Go issues were all done and dusted and our new replacement sofas arrived and the others were removed - all without any arguing with the store or any cost to us, other than the difference in price between the sofas which could have gone either way.  How's that for service!  Love the new ones.






Our last library presentation for the month was a couple who 'do' the Kennedys.  As always it was a very good piece of work.

The last two days of the month were used getting ready for our friends February visit.  The two cleaners went through the place in a couple of hours so that was pretty painless.  We shuffled the furniture around and waited for P & S to arrive on the 1st February.

December's chitchatting

I forgot to mention in November when we were toing and froing to the post office with Ebay stuff to post that, over here, you can get free packing boxes and envelopes from the post offices. You pack in these and the weight doesn't matter. They have a fixed price for mailing so, sometimes, it is much better value than boxing and mailing stuff the usual way.Sadly for teeny tiny stuff with low value like doll house stuff they aren't much use.

December for us seemed crazy busy as I suspect it does for most other folk.The first of the month and still in Naples we were doing the usual running around finding gifts and ordering on line and loads of trips to join the ever-extending post office queues. We were also squeezing in pick-ups from the library as I had ordered a stack of books for researching the new dolls house project. I have a lot to learn about American history. Fortunately the North v. South fracas is well documented. Domestic life at that time also got recorded almost by default but proved useful to me as there was a lot of primary evidence such as photos and diaries from that era.

Part of our library pick ups was the three versions of the Little Women movies - the 1949 one always being my favourite, I think. I did weaken and bought the 1994 version for the iPad as I thought it looked a bit more accurate in terms of house and clothes etc and actually had some scenes in the kitchen which the others seemed to lack. With an iPad it is easy to watch the movie and take screen shots as it goes along so I collected a lot of visual references for the project.

On the 6th we visited what purported to be a refurbished cinema. This was our old local when we lived in Queens Park and it was always fondly known by us as the flea pit and that was twelve years ago! We have been there off and on many times since so we were excited at the prospect of seeing its new face. The bits we saw hadn't changed an iota. I guess they have added in larger and 3D screens but not in the theatre we were in - same old slightly smelly arena. It was fine though and the movie - White Christmas - was a joy. When I saw it advertised I realised that I have seen this movie for countless Christmases here and in the UK, but I had never seen it in a cinema. So here it was in all its 1954 glory. We ended up nattering to the a very nice couple in front of us in the theatre and came out to discover we were parked next to each other, so more nattering ensued.

I have come to the end of my series for Wentworth for the DH&MS magazine but I submitted another piece on our California trip that Lucie says she will be using. She has also offered me a lot of future work which is very pleasing in all sorts of ways. I love dollhousing and love writing about it and certainly love getting paid for it.

The permanent saga of my hair and how I hate it continues. On the 10th I had it permed, having sworn three years ago (the last perm I had) never again. I do think the result is a cross between my mother and the queen but even when I don't like it, I do like it better than not liking my straight hair! No-one has commented about it, not even my daughter, so either it is too hellish to be able to say anything about it, or it just looks the same to them or, perhaps perish the thought, they just aren't interested in what my hair looks like.

I started our UK packing to go home by completely filling a 50 lb, 28'' suitcase with Christmas decorations. It is unlikely we will ever be in Naples for Christmas as we now have to flit back and forth every 90 days to comply with visa restrictions. All the indoor stuff we have accumulated here duly crossed the Atlantic to join the three trees and all the stuff we already have in the UK. We live in a tiny house and I like subtle, not OTT so when I came to do the decorating it was like going round a store the size of Lewis's and trying to select the few bits and pieces I wanted. Hard to stop yourself....

We have been talking about getting new sofas here in Naples for three years now and we saw an advert for what looked like the right one at the right price. Off we trotted to Rooms to Go and bought two sofas. Our old ones were picked up by our neighbour's nephew which was great - hopefully it was good for them and it saved us scrabbling around trying to get some charity to do it PDQ. The new ones arrived a couple of days later and I don't like them. I have always found buying furniture a nightmare - what you see in the store is never what arrives in your home. The size is perfect; we measured every inch of the old ones and knew what we wanted - that's why it has taken three years to find something to do the job. The colour just isn't right and the fabric surface flattens when you sit on it and doesn't recover. Hopefully RTG will be taking it back - not a lot of hope, but we'll see.

I hope the same two guys pick them up.  It was the best free entertainment we've had in ages.  There was one huge guy and one really skinny guy.  Skinny did nothing but mess with his electronic gizmo.  Big chap hauled each wrapped sofa, complete with cushions, in turn off the back of the truck and up-ended it over his head and carted it from the car park and up the stairs into the apartment.  This photo looks as though two of them are working on it but I assure you this was just a bit of a wriggle to get it round the bend of the stairs.  Big chap is the pale blue blob UNDER the sofa.

Mid-month and the next of our regular Christmas markers fell into place, we were off to the excellent (free) Orchestra and Chorus Christmas concert at the high school. As it says we get an orchestra, a huge chorus and some remarkable hand bells thrown in for good measure. It is always a good evening and lifts the spirits and implants more festive thoughts.

A couple of days later and we were winging our way home. We had a bit of an interesting trip in that there was a medical emergency on the first plane and a peanut allergy warning on the second. We did wonder if it was the same lady. She was just across the aisle from me. It began with her buzzing a cabin steward and saying something about not having her oxygen with her (?!) She did look a tad blue - they gave her an oxygen cylinder, did the movie thing over the tannoy about is there a medical person on board? She seemed fine. We then speeded up and went straight into Atlanta, no flying round in circles waiting to land for us. We were asked to stay in our seats so that paramedics could get on board to assist the lady. Three of the hugest men you ever saw were there as soon as the doors opened, kitted out like something from ghost busters. If it is any comfort to nervy fliers all I can say is I have never seen so many staff move so fast up and down the aisles - not actually doing much, but fussing a lot.

Our second leg of the journey was uneventful, just crucially boring. Believe me on overnighters I crave a medical emergency - preferably mine. We got into Manchester at half eight in the morning as usual. This for me means no sleep for a day and some. I went straight to bed and slept from ten until three but then I got up fighting fit. Besides the chores that cried out for doing, such as opening three month's mail (!), finishing the Tesco food order, unpacking etc. I also managed to put up all the Christmas decorations.

The next morning was an early rise which was lucky as our cleaner and our Tesco grocery order both arrived early ... and together. This was fine for us and we were soon in fine fettle for being home again. I was so happy. I can't tell you how nice it feels to be back with all your proper 'stuff', looking out of your kitchen window at your wintery garden. Delicious.

We did a quick flit round the shops the next day to complete our Christmas prep - four red candles - you would not believe how hard they were to find - could have smelly ones, tea lights, pillar candles up to my armpits - four red candlestick candles....not so much. Well done the ever wonderful and ever cheap, Wilko! Sometimes I get the feeling I am straight out of Dickens.

We met our secret seven plus one for lunch the next day at The Lounge, Ramsbottom. I had made eight crackers with M and M's in them along with a dollar shop gift, plus banger, motto and hat. I took these with me to make the table festive. I needn't have bothered as they were a bit upstaged by the real McCoy already being provided. It was one of our nice busy days with chums; my friend came over pre-lunch, someone Ken helps with his computer dropped by for a session and Phil and Sue came back to ours for a while after the meal.

Next day was a two minute walk across the road to the Community allotment - known to me from now on as the lotty - to choose my plots and pick up my key. That was really pleasing and I can't wait to get stuck in next year. We celebrated with another meal out, this time at Summerseat so I could also spend my one pound voucher. We are pensioners, you know! The truth is that cheese pie was calling Ken - loud and clear.

Yet another meal out the following day at Smiths; one of my favourite eateries. Ken and I had been to see White Christmas at the Lowry that my little friend had arranged for us. She also then gave us a lift to the theatre from her flat to save us the trouble of parking and then collected us after the show to go to Smith's. All this in the pouring rain - she is a trouper and a great mate. Almost forgot to mention the for-the-interval bag of choccies tied up with ribbon that she gave us.

We decided in our infinite wisdom to food shop early on the 23rd; my theory being most folk are too idle to get up early on a Sunday and it would be frantic on the 24th. How wrong can anyone be? Tesco was just heaving. I had seriously had enough in under ten minutes and was furiously ringing Ken (no chance of actually finding him in the melee) to say enough is enough. Not picking up??? By the time I found him he had done a chunk of his list, so we were committed to finish the chore. I know I bone on about wanting to be back home but at times like that and then in the ensuing traffic chaos, it makes me understand Ken's point of view. We have NEVER been grocery shopping in Naples in a rugby scrum, not even on Christmas Eve, and a two minute traffic delay there is considered untenable.

Then it was Christmas Eve and all was calm. We popped over to Phil and Sue's for tea and home-made mince pies and picked up some cardboard!

Christmas morning and our first job of the day after breakfast was to take the cardboard to the lotty to lay it on the beds. Merry Christmas lotty. Back home, unwrap gifts and a choice of stuff for lunch. No Christmas dinner in our house - first time ever in my life! We opted for chilli - first time ever in my life! which I promptly burned - first time ever in my life! I always cook for four so there was enough to salvage a meal and we both found it funny and were happy with our lot. We had a delightful totally stress free day - first time in my life! How can you have a better Christmas?

Boxing Day was equally relaxed and, like a return to childhood in my case, it was a play day. I spent all day messing around with doll's house stuff.

The next day made up for the quiet. We met Ken's daughter and his son and wife at noon at The Eagle and Child for a very pleasant lunch. Richard and Charlotte came back to our house for a while and quite literally as soon as they left Phil and Sue stopped by. Then, amazingly we said goodbye to them only to see Stuart and Sally arriving.

Ken and I were up for a second meal (big surprise) and we four had a terrific curry for dinner.

The next day the 'kids' went off to the Trafford Centre leaving us oldies to our peace and quiet. I suppose it is quite a building and worth seeing - truly a cathedral to retail - cherubs and all.

We had a zillion plans for the following day and we all agreed to ditch them all in favour of a wander (drive not walk!) over the moors and see what we could see. We ended up lunching in the newly refurbished Fleece Inn at Ripponden. Absolutely great - nice place, good food.

The next day my daughter's visit was, as always, too soon over - it is even worse when we are about to decamp back here for three months at a time. We had a good brunch at home and off they went. I filled the rest of the day with distractions like putting away Christmas. There is a ritual to this which must be obeyed. A couple of days before putting it all away I swear I will do it carefully and properly so I don't have to untangle lights and garlands next year. The other part of the taking an oath ceremony is that I will make absolutely sure I don't discover the bit I forgot just after all the boxes have gone back in the loft. Do I need to type any more? I shoved everything into any box they would go in any old how but I did very carefully check every room for a sign of a malingering decoration as I do every year. I gave Ken the all-clear and the minute the loft door closed I discovered the very dainty little garland I had hung from a dresser handle. I married a superstar - back he went....

The carpets were hoovered and we looked all spic-and-span for the new year.

The decoration suitcase got filled (literally) with stuff for working on Hillside in Naples - no way am I doubling up on tools and kit I already have even if it means lugging one case full of stuff back and forth each trip. Ah, the joys of our peripatetic lifestyle.

New Year's Eve was as social and party-filled as our Christmas Day which was more than OK with us. We did have lunch with our good chums P and S back at the Eagle and Child. We had set off for our regular stomping ground - Park Farm - but it was closed. Ken and I returned to the last of the packing and getting ready for an early start back to Naples the next day. We saw the New Year in on the telly like old folks do.

Can't believe nineteen something has disappeared let alone manage to have reached the thirteen of the the twenty. Do you remember how odd twenty sounded at the millennium, now nineteen something sounds like 'history'.

I truly hope anyone reading this has a wonderful 2013 and it becomes a year to remember for all the right reasons.

November confabulating

Warning:  pretty much a health warning... this will be a very long post - you may not want to start what you don't want to finish.........

I had such a wretched start to my November ramblings...

When we went to Caifornia for my birthday trip, I kept a diary on my iPad.  I emailed this to myself and wiped the notes from the iPad.  Eventually I transferred the contents of the email to a draft post here ready to type up properly later. Of course, being tidy and (over) efficient I then deleted the email.

Meanwhile I forgot all this and a few minutes ago I started to type a new November Post - I then remembered the saved notes.  In my attempt to sort it out I deleted the wrong November Draft.  Did I say efficient?  This was the moment I discovered there is no bin/trash/recycle in Google Blogger from which you can retrieve your scrumpled up piece of cyber paper.  Those software writers are sooooooo lucky they live in cyber land and not in my kitchen.

Phew!  whilst rambling through all this I remembered there is a Google Mail bin.  Yeah, Saved!! the moral of that story is: There is such a thing as too tidy!

Firstly let's get through anything else that's November related before we set off for California with flowers in our hair.  Incidentally there are loads of California songs and I seem to know them, which Ken discovered much to his chagrin.

On the 1st of the month, we began our first day in Naples in the usual Naples way, i.e. breakfast at First Watch followed by  grocery shopping and returning the hire car.  The latter being a total nightmare.  I reckon I hadn't driven a yard in either country since I last followed Ken to return a hire car in Naples last year.  Add to this the statistic that I probably haven't driven a car more than a dozen times in six years and you can see I was already fretting.  Off we tootle. Three lane roads (not overloaded with traffic though) and I am trying to stick to Ken as I don't have a clue where we are going.  This got worse as I realised he didn't either!  He had set out for the usual Budget or Dollar or whatever at the airport.  In the car park there he remembered he'd got this particular car from somewhere else.  Off we go for my second torture of the day.  This time he overshot his mark and that took us all the way down to a main junction at the bottom of Fifth Ave -  I think it is called Five Corners!!! where he proceeds to do a u-turn.... moments before that I was very close to pulling in to the nearest hotel, parking and ringing him to say get a cab back to me.  Seriously, I am that scared.  I did a bit of loin girding thinking it must soon be over, only to suffer the u-turn performance moments later. The daftest thing of all this is that I am probably a better driver than sixty percent of the total idiots on the road.

Day two and it is off to the Driving Licence office to renew our licences - yes, mine does have to be renewed.  The logic is - we can drive legally on our UK licence but it does make for problems if there is a crump and it costs more on our insurance and basically most companies don't have the mechanism for insuring someone on foreign licenses.  All our visitors are covered if they drive our car on their own foreign licences so you would think that if I HAD to drive I would be covered too..... no ... because I live in the same house, it is assumed I am in the car hurling it up and down the highway daily and so I am not covered.  Add to this the indignity of paying a fine because we let our licences expire! and we have to do this every time we come back into the USA - so for us that's twice a year rather than once every ten years!!

I rewarded myself with a trip to Bealls, where I bought two pairs of shoes and then crabs legs at Grand Buffet.  English shoppers will love the Bealls deal.  We had coupons for $10 off and then we got another 30% off already reduced stock (one day deal) and then they gave us another $10 coupon at the till.  Crabs legs paid for then!

Our first Sunday arrived along with the first concert.  I actually went to this one (none since).  Ken got his first Regina's ice cream, but we had dinner at home, having eaten out three days in a row.

By day six we were packed and long-hauling it to San Francisco.

We got back mid-month and it started with a couple of Merry Maids (no, really) cleaning our apartment.  It cost an arm and a leg but two hours of cleaning by two people (so that's four hours of cleaning) really puts a shine on the place.  Can't say we clean the blinds and the tops of doors and fan blades ourselves all that often!  

The other two things of note are the same as every November - we went out for a Thanksgiving meal and a couple of days later we went to The Nutcracker.

I am not fond of Butterball turkey, ploppy potato and ploppy sweet potato and ploppy stuffing and squeaky beans in mushroom soup.  Followed by very, very sweet pumpkin pie loaded with cinnamon (the only spice I hate).  Ken and millions of Americans love it so I am decidedly the odd one out.  Nothing new there then.  No problem - we decided on Mel's diner and I would have their ribs - which I do like.  Mmmm... Thanksgiving Day so their usual menu is not on offer - I can have the turkey with aforementioned accompaniments or ham with the same or pork loin with the same or fish with fries.   I opted for the fish.  Obviously all the focus that day was on getting the turkey out - they actually managed to give me ploppy fish!

The Nutcracker however was its usual wonderful self.  Because I am feeling fed up with being here (again!) I had said to Ken not to bother booking but he said too late we already have the tickets.  So a very quiet me (I am trying not to appear to be a total a misery) went through the motions of going to the ballet.  Almost as soon as it started I knew why we were there.  I just love it and it is so intrinsically bound up with Christmas and a million memories for me that it is just a joy.  It is the best ballet music for sure and the pas de deux is a singular gem. I have just been watching the Royal Ballet version and I am telling you the Miami City Ballet knocks it into a cocked hat.

On the 30th I bought a new mini project - Hillside House and that's a whole other tale.

So lets do a quick flick back to the 6th and our California trip.  I can't do any better than the notes I wrote when we were there so here they are.  I apologise for the constant shift in tenses but it depended on when it was being written,

Tuesday 6th. November

Journey went without a hitch other than our seemingly endless messing around with time zones. This time we just added in Minneapolis time en route and then on to San Francisco which is three hours earlier than Naples.

We stayed at the Beresford Hotel slap bang centre of SF. I did my usual hotel inspector critique Such a shame - a little more effort and it would be a terrific boutique hotel. Instead of building on its lovely Edwardian bones... They had hidden most of them with things such as our 'award-winning White Horse Tavern, an authentic replica of an Old English Pub'. Well, no actually it wasn't. That said it was a nice hotel and good to get my first eight hours unbroken sleep in a long time.

Wednesday 7th November

San Francisco - I'm going where the weather suits my clothes.......

After a Continental breakfast in the bar we were off to see the city. This proved a tad difficult as Fog city was living up to its name. It was also very cold which was a bit of a bind. The preceding three days they broke heat records for the time of year; the day we arrived they began a three day record breaking cold for this time of year. This is to be taken literally. It was a set of three and three record breaking numbers.

We had chosen this coastal drive as somewhere we could go in winter from Naples where we would have suitable attire. We were frozen, even Ken was in a fleece! Being British we stiffened our upper lips (or rather the wind did) and climbed aboard an open top bus for two hours.

What a fantastic city. Talk about eclectic.  It would be a student architect's dream. Lovely, lovely buildings everywhere you look. We got back to Union Square and (over)stayed on the bus for a repeat stop to China Town for lunch and a mooch around the shops where I got suckered into buying a new camera. I never had any intention of buying one but decided I would have a look at one in a likely looking shop. I did the absolute tourist thing of leaving your brains at home. I have no idea what came over me ... Slick salesman, but I am not usually a sucker for that. He did the three stage knock down price thing, including... Have to ask the boss routine. At one point I began to say I have no idea what I should be paying for this or whether it is what I want - I will go and do some research on-line and come back tomorrow if its what I want. Never quite finished that speech before I had handed over my plastic for a camera and SD card for, as it turns out, twice what it would have cost me on Amazon. Thank heavens it is at least a camera I actually want and like. That didn't stop the occasional beating myself with twigs though. Ken bought himself a new man bag and purse. Talk about gender reversal!

Back to the hotel and I'm in the bed (clothed) to warm up! Ken has put on a sweater!!!!!!!

I was too cold to go out for a meal so Ken braved the elements to cross the road and pick up a good pizza which we ate in the bar.


Thursday 8th November


Up and at it around seven again for a car pick up at nine. We did a slight detour on our route to Golden Gate Bridge as Ken had to drive the crookedest street in the world ... Lombard Street.

Then off over Golden Gate Bridge to CA 1 and the drive to Napa. We stopped for a look at the view at Muir Beach overlook. Apparently you might have to wait around if you want to see the whales.... You'd think they would come to order.

It was one of the best drives ever. We were climbing up and down and winding round and round. No, really, it is a lovely drive. It seemed every time we hit about 400 feet we ran into rain. Even that was lovely as it brought out the glorious smell of the rainbow Eucalyptus that often stood either side of our road like vegetative leviathans.


We are now in Napa having done the Sonoma Valley and visited a vineyard up close and personal. The whole valley is a beautiful area with all the vineyards and impressive houses. It was like driving through an advert for California wines. Viticulture for as far as the eye could see. We also saw a couple of seaside towns en route (Stinson and Olema and others) that I wouldn't mind seeing again. When we give up on Naples I have plans for all sorts of extended holidays such as a whole month, maybe May or September, visiting this coast, doing a few days in each place. This is certainly one of the American coastlines worth doing at a more leisurely pace.



We are in a motel now for our overnight in Napa ... Big room with all the usual stuff ... So it is comfy enough. Trouble with me is that when I get in after a day out I don't want to go out again to eat. We sussed out several eateries in Napa and in a lovely little nearby town called Yountville, BUT they are very chi chi and pricey. We had decided on Celadon in Napa but now have reneged because at best it will be a hundred bucks plus. This town looks like it's where all the 'chattering classes' take their vacations! We did weaken our resolve and have a cake and coffee from a French bakery in Yountville called Bouchon Bakery. So, so nice in all kinds of ways. Later we settled on a sub from Subway and bought our breakfast ready for tomorrow from the supermarket. We know how to live.

Friday 9th November
and a shopping day in and around Sacramento.

Our first stop was Vacaville and a Coldwater Creek Outlet. I managed to get a pair of trousers and a top to get me through another day's holiday in the slightly chilly weather. Oddly the pair of earrings I also bought were the dearest item! It had better get warmer as we go south or I shall be the only woman in white cut-offs and goose pimples. Time for lunch and Ken and I seem to have become the over sixties homing pigeons for suitable old fogey food. He googled eateries nearby and came up with The Black Oak. Built in 1960 (historical by american standards) and barely a refurb since, it was the most amusing cross between Cracker Barrel and Perkins. It was crammed with purchasable nick-knacks inside the foyer to fleece you while you wait - always assuming your house needs soft toys or china ornaments. This was a low-key Cracker Barrel style but rubbish nick knacks. The restaurant (a loose term) was an almost identical Perkins layout and menu.... Ken was for the Liver and Onions plus salad and egg custard and me for chicken pot pie, soup and ice cream ... Three courses for under ten bucks.

Staggering under the weight of a huge mom & pop lunch, we then drove on to Sacramento proper and a doll's house shop called The Elegant Dolls House. It was interesting in its own way. I only managed to spend twelve bucks and some change. [any dolls house stuff is mentioned in my Bentleys Blog] Then on to Livermore and on our way to the beginning of our drive down the coast. Lovely sunny day today but still a nip in the air enough to wear a jacket and long trousers.

Each hotel has got cheaper as we have gone on and they have also got better each time. The Quality Inn we are now in at Livermore is excellent all round.


Saturday 10th

Great start to the day... Breakfast included at QI consisted of a choice of various teas, coffees chocolate, and cereals muffins, bagels, toast, jam, peanut butter, honey, cream cheese, yoghurt, cartons of milk, waffles, syrup, two fruit juices, bacon, eggs, potatoes, apples, bananas........ Almost had it all but I managed to get a grip. We didn't head to the coast drive straight away as Ken had found a dolls house shop in Pacific Grove... Off we tootled and I amused myself, as I often do, with the names of the places we drove through. Initially we were in cherry and garlic growing country. There was no doubt about it as my nose was telling me we were driving through an Italian restaurant.  Then through Castroville ..... who said Americans don't do irony! Apparently this is 'the artichoke capital of the world'... or so it proclaimed on its roadside billboard. It seems artichokes en masse smell like school cabbage. This town is closely followed by a sign to Pruneville.... no comment on its aroma. We then hit the coast and travelled past towns such as Seaside, Marina, Sand City... distinct lack of imagination not to mention confusing. It would be no use saying, "Do you want to go to the seaside?'' as you would only have a choice of one place, as for asking where the marina was, well it is in Marina......


Ultimately we found the really charming Pacific Grove filled with lovely little artisan type shops.... Ours... Number 213 was what seemed like the only closed store on the street!! We are pretty resigned to looking up dolls shops on the web only to discover they don't exist any more so it wasn't a huge surprise. We wandered off down to the sea and there were all sorts of interesting things to see. There was a couple having wedding photos taken, but there was only them and a photographer with not a sign of a guest. I wondered if maybe they are photos after the event not on the day itself, I hope so otherwise these were a well-suited pair of orphans without friends. It seems an odd thing to do? Believe me we weren't watching a modelling photo shoot! Then there was a clutch of cheerleaders. Is clutch the collective noun for cheerleaders? They were balanced on a bunch of rocks on the edge of the sea each one of them having their photo (professionally) taken. Clearly Lovers Point is THE place to be immortalised. Most of all I loved the truly wonderful restaurant ...the Beach House....which was being refurbed.... I got to talk to the painter and he said he'd grown up around there and he and all the kids he knew had swum in the small pool at the back of the restaurant many, many times and it was a meaningful place for Lovers Point inhabitants, so they were doing a beautiful job.

It was also a diving and surfing place. We watched a family of two lads and their parents arrive and unload their car....out came their inflatable dinghy, oars, diving gear, tanks and harpoon guns, knives (!), large coolers (plural) all from the back of an ordinary Honda CRV. That's an advertising opportunity missed.

As we left the town there was the incongruous sight of a deer complete with antlers grazing someone's front garden right on the edge of the sea.




We got to the main event of the day Smallsea Museum but managed to dangle the satisfaction a little longer by having lunch first  at the attached Bahama Grill. This was another tired, but reasonable, restaurant with OK food... the upside was eating something I'd not had before... it was a coconut shrimp but served with a bowl of rice with a mango salad and coleslaw and broccoli. We shared some ribs as a starter that were pretty good but again rather odd as they tasted very herby... sage?? This was followed by some excellent chocolates from a shop making them. Again, in America, that doesn't always bode well as they are (quite rightly) made for an American palate, but they were excellent. Ken returned here after the museum for some ice cream! All this was in a great shopping centre called The Barnyard in Carmel. It was full of nice shops in a pretty layout in groups of different Barn style buildings. Not a generic store in sight. Smallsea itself was just such a joy and more and must surely be the highlight of this trip. I will be astounded if anything tops it.




After the museum, we were off to look at the beach and check out Carmel proper before moving on to our next stop-over. Carmel is a very, very pretty town in a gooey sort of way; think Cornwall meets Disney.... A place to add to my check it out if we are in that area list for sure. Our overnighter was on the outskirts of Carmel ready to head off down the coast road tomorrow.


Sunday 11th

Last night was the poorest of our hotels. The Knights Inn. It did the job but we have been spoiled by the others. Breakfast was a bit makeshift in something resembling a large cupboard, so we took it back to our room. There wasn't a coffee maker in the room. That's a first for us in the States. I even checked with the desk in case it had gone walkabout. The previous evening we had to grab a coffee from the breakfast area before 9 pm after which it was locked up.

We set off on our longest driving day of the trip.. two hours to Hearst Castle at San Simeon and then three hours after that to Ventura.



We couldn't have chosen a more perfect day, high seventies, blue skies and views to the edge of the planet. This is a coast which is famed for its fogs coming in from the sea and many people aren't lucky enough to get the perfect day. As the famous CA 1 drive along the coast and the views from Hearst Castle were the main ingredient in this dish, we would have missed a lot.

Very soon into our trip there was a road sign saying hills and bends for the next 63 miles . Ken was as happy as... Well.... Ken. He truly loves driving and the more challenges the better. I just got out my white knuckles and wore them for the duration. Through the fear I did register that there is mile after mile of beaches and rocks and sparkling sea, exactly like when you see this road in the movies. We only stopped twice en route for a photo op otherwise if we had stopped at everything worth snapping we would still be there. For example, we passed a beach full of elephant seals ... And I mean full.. Tremendous sight. Being seasoned travellers (!) and blasé about such things (!) we drove on by.



As for Hearst castle - it was truly remarkable. I really felt as though we had gone from the sublime to the utterly ridiculous. On one level it is an astonishing feat but beyond that it is undeniably tasteless. An absolute paean to ostentation. I did my very best not to do the snotty English view of it all but failed miserably and by the time the Minstrel Gallery in the dining room was described as a 'music box' I just gave in to all my prejudices and snobbery and thanked God ( who after all we all know is English) for my having been born on the other side of the pond. In all seriousness it is a fantastic place to visit and unique. For once this word is being used accurately. Sadly for us, you would need a very long day or better still three days and very deep pockets to tour the whole castle. Again the viewing method was a bit of an anathema to us, being used to NT and such like.


There are three guided tours. You can't just wander around the place. The tours are - The grand rooms - the cottages and kitchen and the upstairs rooms. Each tour costs twenty five dollars and takes forty minutes. We didn't have a choice as there was only a couple space left that day. They were on the grand rooms tour at 1.20 pm. Clearly if you were coming in season you would have to take up their offer of allowing you to book eight weeks ahead; indeed I suspect you might be lucky even then to get what you want. You are car parked and started off from the visitors centre which is five miles from the house. You are then bussed up to the house with a guide and are very strictly made to stay on the grey carpet (in our case by a very seriously threatening cowboy) and to always to remain with the group.



We were shown four rooms and then allowed outside to walk round the grounds and then get any bus back down the hill. The bus trip is logical as the narrow track clings to the hillside and is almost literally just the width of the bus... There is a road up and a road down... Mr Hearst thought of everything! Most bizarrely of all he collected statues from all over the world and these are assiduously cleaned all the time as you would a kitchen work surface. They get sprayed with some bacteriological cleaner and wiped until good enough to eat off. They look dreadful, pure white, in your face, marble and alabaster. It was hard not to think that they had just been shipped in from Home Depot. You are probably looking at something from the sixteenth century here.

Our tour was followed by a pleasant three hour trip to our hotel in Ventura. La Quinta - again a great hotel for our overnighter ready for my birthday to tomorrow.

Monday 12th November.

Bit of a panic moment this morning when we realised Monday was part of the Veterans Day weekend which is a holiday for a lot of people. We wondered if the two shops Ken had planned for today would actually be open. Always assuming they were still there. Luckily the gods were smiling on me on my birthday.

Our first port of call on a blue sun-shiny day was Larianne's in Ventura. This was such an incredible dolls house shop. (again talked about in Bentleys).

By sheer serendipity the ladies who worked in the shop were discussing an eatery a couple of doors away called Allinsons. This turned out to be a real find. I suppose it is a sort of American diner type food all of which looked fabulous as it whizzed past us to all the diners. Obviously a favourite local eatery as it was pretty full. Nevertheless the service was terrific as was the incredibly good food.

Ken had a bowl of salad before his Monte Cristo which would have fed a family of four and tasted fresh out of the garden.... I helped him a little. The dusting of icing sugar on the Monte Cristo was the step too far for me. My Philly chicken was delicious, fresh and clean tasting and grease free .. A real gem.

Back in the car and on to My Dolls House shop in Torrance. Another fascinatingly different dolls house shop.

Satiated by two dolls houses we set off on our long drive to San Diego. Pretty much from now on it was a motorway trip in the dark, often in City rush hour traffic. Ken, as always, remained totally unfazed by five lane highways and a zillion cars buzzing around. It seemed like Los Angeles has spread north and south for miles and miles. As soon as you leave one small town and its spread, you enter another. We didn't get into San Diego until late and so we never managed to see any of it. This was our last hotel overnighter, at a Super 8, before flying out the next day to Naples.


Tuesday 13th November


We thought we might be able to do a bus tour of San Diego before flying out but I thought it was cutting it a bit fine for the airport, so we decided on a bit of a harbor drive instead. Admittedly that didn't give us much of anything except miles and miles of the naval base. By the time we got to anything scenic it was pretty much time to head on out to the airport. So, sadly, San Diego awaits a future trip. We returned the car to the airport which turned out to be a surprise shuttle bus ride away... See, Ken, you should never cut arrival at the airport time to the bone as you never know what might turn up. Added to this we were then set down at terminal one only to discover we needed terminal two which was a pretty good hike through the two buildings. By the time we had a bit of a fiddle with our computers and grabbed something to eat our plane was pretty much boarding. There are no meals on internal flights for cattle class; you can buy snacks if they have any left! Even the movie and headphones have to be purchased. I think Ryan air got their inspiration from American internal flights. We had an uneventful trip back except for the baby whale who sat in the seat in front of me. She immediately set her seat as far back as it would go and then flailed around in my lap. Luckily there was an empty seat so I moved!


That's certainly a birthday to remember. Thanks Ken.


[there are photos for most of the things mentioned here - just click on the photo album link]