Auction (073/365)

 
“People always say congratulations. When you’re a successful bidder it means you’re willing to spend more money than anyone else. I’m not sure if that’s congratulations or condolences.”

Eli Broad (American philanthropist and art collector, b1933)

TIME:  1:56 PM
PLACE:  Auction house
SUBJECT:  Sign

I met a friend of HandsomeHusband’s and mine at an auction house this morning.  I love going to auctions and rummaging through the boxes on the flatbed trailers, you never know what you are going to find.  Even if I don’t buy anything (unlikely!), I like to watch and see what people are buying and what the stuff is going for.  Sometimes I wonder if my life is going to be reduced to being spread out on several flatbeds with people bidding on boxes of my crap – if that’s the case, I hope I have good crap for them to bid on.  I ended up buying a few things, including a tripod and an old Bell-Howard 8mm movie camera.  But my favorite lot, that I only paid $5.00 for, is a set of Oneida Twin Star flatware from 1959.  It included 11 forks, 12 spoons, 12 knives, 12 soup spoons, 4 casserole spoons, a pierced serving spoon and a pierced pie and cake server. Looking at the prices on Replacements.com, I think I did pretty good.  I ran them through the dishwasher and they are now in the silverware drawer, ready to be used.

The Climb (072/365)

 
“There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb”

Cyrus, Miley. “Hannah Montana: The Movie.” The Climb. Walt Disney, 2008.

TIME:  8:34 PM
PLACE:  Downtown YMCA
SUBJECT:  DramaQueen

Our school had a family night at our downtown YMCA this evening from 6-9pm.  For a dollar a head ($5 max per family) we were able to utilize the facilities.  StellaDella swam most of the evening with HandsomeHusband, but also bounced in a bounce house and tried climbing the wall.  MonkeyBoy swam, ran the track and climbed the rock wall.  DQ joined me in the exercise room and walked on the treadmill while I used the elliptical machine.  Then she swam and tried the rock wall, though she wasn’t too sure about it.  She made it about one third of the way up – which I thought was pretty good.  They should all sleep quite well tonight.

Blue Ridge Bottling Co. (071/365)

 
“I'd rather have a bottle in front of me, than a frontal lobotomy.”

Dorothy Parker (American short-story Writer and Poet, 1893-1967)

TIME:  12:47 PM
PLACE:  S. Kingshighway, St. Louis, MO
SUBJECT:  Blue Ridge Bottling Co. building

This building is just north of Shaw Ave, near the Hill in St. Louis.  It no longer houses the Italian oriented bottling firm that was originally established in 1914, but the sign remains.

I stepped out of work early today (I went in from 8:30-11:00am) when I found out that HandsomeHusband took a 1/2 day off and we went to lunch together.  Sort of a date!  We went to the Lafayette Fire Company No. 1, in Lafayette Square in St. Louis.  We had a nice lunch and then headed to the Hill to check out Bertarelli Cutlery and Di Gregorio’s Market for a bit.  Before we left, I ran into Viviano’s for some bread and mortadella (Italian salami).  After delivering one of the loaves of bread to a friend, we stopped for some ice cream and indulged ourselves - a malt for HH and concrete for me - and then headed home.  Apparently, it’s all about the food with us.  I enjoyed the time with HH, just the two of us…I wish we could do this more often.

Me And My Shadow (070/365)

 
“In order to be somebody you have to hold even your shadow in high regard.”
 
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), German philosopher, classical scholar, critic of culture. Friedrich Nietzsche, Sämtliche Werke: Kritische Studienausgabe, vol. 2, p. 409, eds. Giorgio Colli and Mazzino Montinari, Berlin, de Gruyter (1980). Mixed Opinions and Maxims, aphorism 81, "Philosophy of the Parvenu," (1879).

TIME:  5:00 PM
PLACE:  The study
SUBJECT:  Me & StellaDella

Our front door was opened to let in the sunlight this afternoon.  While I was printing photos out for DramaQueen to take to her Cadette meeting, I noticed that I was casting a full length shadow on the wall.  SD joined in while I took the photo.

View From The Driver’s Seat (069/365)

“Look at life through the windshield, not the rear-view mirror”

Byrd Baggett (American, Motivational speaker)

TIME:  3:15 PM
PLACE:  Highway 13
SUBJECT:  Miata windshield

It hit 74 degrees here today.  The Jeep was at the mechanic’s getting it’s oil changed so I took the Miata to work.  When I left at 2:15pm it was perfect weather for top down driving – the first time this year.  I took this on my way to pick up MonkeyBoy from band practice at the Junior High School.  Love the sunbeams.

Rainbow Roll-Up (068/365)

 
Dale Denton: Let's get outta here! Wait, wait, stop, stop, stop, stop! Get weed! Get the weed!
Saul: Okay.
Dale Denton: Anything we might need: snacks, food, fruit roll-ups! Let's get the f**k outta here!

Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg (screenplay). Seth Rogen, James Franco. Pineapple Express (2008).

TIME:  8:03 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Wildberry punch mini Fruit Roll-Up

StellaDella loves Fruit Roll-Ups, Fruit By The Foot, and Fruit Snacks.  Although the first listed ingredient on the box is pear concentrate, they are basically corn syrup, sugar & hydrogenated oil.  No nutritional value at all.  So if I pack one in her lunch, I try to counteract it out with some vanilla yogurt and a piece of real fruit.  She asked for one this evening, “Just for a little snack Mom.”  She brought it to me to open and I liked how the it was back lit from the kitchen light, almost like stained glass.  It makes a pretty picture.  So I guess they are good for something.

Watch Your Step (067/365)

 
“A habit cannot be tossed out the window; it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time.”

Mark Twain (American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer. 1835-1910)

TIME:  4:54 PM
PLACE:  Back porch
SUBJECT:  Stairs

HandsomeHusband completely tore down and rebuilt our back porch back in 2003.  He had stained the wood for the risers and treads as well as the decking.  Alas, the stain wore away, and we were left with weathered wood.  Also the treads are starting to split where he screwed them down.  The second step from the bottom finally split completely and he decided to use a composite material to replace the tread.  It wasn’t cheap - $19 for the one board, but we will not have to stain or paint it and it should last longer than the treated wood.  We have 5 more steps to replace…at $19 a pop that’s an additional $95.  I’m thinking we will be spreading it out and purchasing a board each pay period.  That way it will get done and we won’t be going into debt to do it.  At least that’s the plan, which is always subject to change.