June 30, 2012

My thoughts are with Sandy as she spends
the weekend in Florida, moving her dad
to assisted living. Stay tough, my friend.

Here comes the rain. I woke this morning to gray skies and thunder, yet you never know in Houston if that really means rain. But today, Eudora (the Greek goddess of rain) delivered. Now, my hope is that Victor (the RCA icon for television) delivers good movies to nap through.

I do have work to complete today, but today doesn't end until 11:59 p.m. Right?

Today I'm creating two consumer fliers.

June 29, 2012

Last night Mr. B and I met friends Mitzi and Mike plus Dr. Mc and #1 son-in-law Nick for BINGO. Fortunately it wasn't as crowded last night as it was last week, so we were able to get better seats. Of course, the rude woman was still at the front door fussing at everyone about something. My scolding last night concerned the number of bags I was carrying. I had one bag with food and beverages, another with BINGO items, and my purse. What a grouch! 

I had to keep reminding Mr. B last night that he
was with me and not the young cutie to his left.

I think Mr. B had the most fun of anyone last night. He was sitting next to a really cute young woman who flirted with him all night. When someone asked how old she was and she responded 24, I commented that I had socks older than her and reminded Mr. B that he has a stepdaughter who is about to turn 24. Of course, that didn't stop her from flirting with him, or him from laughing at every word out of her month.

Today I'm creating a portfolio of my work to show to a new client this afternoon. Then I'm going to an estate sale of Mission-era furniture and pottery. Great way to start a weekend.

June 28, 2012

Refreshing mojitos from last night. Cool!

The Pettits solved the world problems last night while savoring mojitos. We didn't overdo it, but did enjoy them. Serving tip: although most of the recipes suggested not to strain out the mint, the Pettits did. Otherwise there was just too much wilty stuff in the glass that made it onto our teeth and lips.

On a more serious note, I'm not sure how I feel about Obamacare being upheld by the Supreme Court. I'm excited about many of the provisions that I understand, including the fact that there will be an array of quality insurance plans, but I don't understand some of the the law. What does it mean that Obamacare is unconstitutional under commerce laws, but constitutional under tax laws? I hope it doesn't mean higher taxes! Is there a nonpartisan person who can explain the policy without involving their personal political choices? If so, I'd like to hear from you because I don't think the media will be the least bit nonpartisan in their reporting.

Today I'm creating a monthly newsletter before I gather items for a family outing of BINGO tonight. I've convinced Dr. Mc and #1 son-in-law Nick to attend BINGO. They can be so easily swayed with the promise of food and beverages.

June 27, 2012

I finally had to discard this beautiful peony
from my birthday celebrations. The bloom
had left the flower ... metaphorically speaking.

There was an interesting program on television last night. A Cliff-notes version of what was presented is that the man who died outside Garrett's barn wasn't John Wilkes Booth because he left before the military got here. The real Booth lived either in South America under the name of John B. Wilkes or in Enid, Okla. under the name of David E. George. Further, the U.S. Government knew the man who died wasn't Booth, so they created a cover-up to hide their mistake. Ah ha!

The program was intriguing, but didn't put the matter to rest (pun intended). The investigators left it that there are remains of the man who died outside Garrett's barn somewhere in government vaults and that the true way to end the stories of Booth's escape and survival is to exhume the body of his brother Edwin, take DNA samples, and compare the two. But, alas, since this hasn't happened we'll have to file the investigators' report of conspiracy next to those stating that also living to a happy old age were Anastasia Romanov (Grand Duchess of Russia), Amelia Earhart, the Lindbergh baby, D. B. Cooper, Abbie Hoffman, Jimmy Hoffa, Butch Cassidy, and others.

Today I'm creating a conspiracy theory that the cup of the covenant wasn't a drinking vessel, but really the womb of Mary Magdalene, which contained the unborn child of Jesus Christ. Oh wait, that one is taken. OK ... how about the cup of the covenant was actually found during WWII and placed in government vaults. Maybe the cup is lost next to the bones of the man who died outside Garrett's barn. I like it!

June 26, 2012

Lorna sent me this photo from last week's BINGO game
with the caption that she sat next to Michael McDonald
while playing. Actually, it was just Mr. B

Here's why I love reality shows. The television is on and I'm half listening to one of the Real Housewife shows. A woman makes the comment: "You talk about money like it's no big deal, like you can s@*t it out your a$$." To me, this is just further acknowledgement that there's NOTHING real about any of the reality shows. Not the hair, nails, noses, lips, cheeks, boobs, friendships, and certainly not the conversations. Who makes a statement like that?

I had a fun lunch today with some of the other Board members from Women of Wine. We were invited to the Bonhams showroom to have lunch and sample some fine and rare wines. Goodness, I could get used to this. I sampled four white wines (skipped the Pinot Noir) and heard about auctions where cases of wine sold for more than $400K. There were also horror stories about wine collectors who hadn't stored their wines properly and the priceless bottles turned out to be worthless. It's a different reality for some people!

Today I'm creating a newsletter for my Tuesday client. When I left the office around 3:45 p.m., my car thermostat registered 112 degrees. I drove immediately to get a soft drink at McDonalds. By the time I got home, it was only 111 degrees. Crazy it's only June and it's already so hot in Houston.

June 25, 2012

I told the couple staying at Pettita Casita about
the "chocolate daisies" in the garden (when
touched, the plant emits a smell like chocolate).
I got word this morning that while enjoying coffee
on the portal, they found the plant.

Your eyes didn't deceive you. I didn't write a blog yesterday. Good for me taking a day off!

I had a great lunch meeting today at Mandola's with Kelly (the Executive Director of Bayou City Art Festival) and our sponsorship contractor. At first I thought maybe I was being more disruptive than I was contributing. But then I remembered my #1 rule regarding concepting or brainstorming: There are no bad ideas, just ideas. With this thought in mind I kept asking questions and chiming in with my ideas. Productive meeting!

Today I'm creating a clean AT&T mail account. When Mr. B and I switched to U-Verse (two years ago?), I was told I had to set up a new email account. But AT&T has never cancelled my old account, which got hacked a couple of weeks ago. I hope the problem was finally resolved today. And I did it all by myself because AT&T did nothing but give us the run around. Keep your fingers crossed that what I did worked.

June 23, 2012

I see a mojito in my future!

It's a VERY quiet day in the Pettit household. Even Mr. B is napping, which means it was a long week for him. A nap for me? An everyday occurrence? Yes, please.

There are things I could be doing instead of playing on the computer and watching television reruns, such as straightening my closet and drawers. I could blame my perpetual need to clean out my closet and dresser drawers on the lack of storage space, but the truth is that I just don't hang up my clothes. At this point my mother – the neat freak – would be rolling over in her grave, if she hadn't been cremated. (Please excuse my tasteless joke.) Still, I can feel "Her Homemaker"-ness' displeasure with me as I look around the room and see clothes I wore this week hanging on the outside of the closet, not to mention clean, unfolded clothes sitting in the chair, and right shoes only littering the floor. I would be in such trouble if I was a child living at home. Hum ... maybe not living at home with my very neat parents is another good reason to celebrate being 60! I can be messy when I want ... and drink mojitos on a Saturday night. My parents would not have approved of either.

Today I'm creating mojitos, maybe. I'm still thinking about Thursday lunch with Paula when we drank a refreshing mojito. More, please.