The Lounge

[cklaurence]

Bags, Em? Everyone retired for the weekend?

[Baglady]

Hi there CK - finally Friday.... have something that's come up that I didn't anticipate so just here for a few minutes. Will try to stop by later.

[cklaurence]

I'm hanging in Ms Bags. I hope nothing's wrong, and that whatever came up is a good thing for you.

[Emeritus]

I'll be in and out, but I'll keep checking in myself.

[cklaurence]

Smail, Em.

[Baglady]

Happy Hour anyone???

[cklaurence]

I'm bellied up to the bar, Ms B. I'm ready for my Greygoose martini, straight up, veddy, veddy dry. What will you be drinking this Monday after football night?

[Baglady]

Evening CK, hmm Monday night - think white wine - chardonnay (sp?) would be great.
I'll provide some snacks here in a minute

[cklaurence]

Snacks, Bags? Yummy. Give me a sec to throw down some of my tini, so as to get my buzz on before I start filling my tummy. Have I told you lately how happy football season makes me?

[Baglady]

Think we can all agree on it being the best time of yr for us football fans.... we're all undefeated!

Just sorry that mr and I have to go out of town and miss the Colts 1st preseason game

Thought maybe TT and BH were around and could join us. Here's some snacks - for everyone - lol!

[cklaurence]

Ha, ha, ha! Oh, and could I have thought for one second that Ms Bags didn't have something Colts up her sleeve when she was so forthcoming with snacks today. Mind you, she is one of the most generous people I know, but she is also the ultimate Colts fan, and if she can get her Colts into the mix--they will be there!

[Baglady]

Ck, I sure didn't want to disappoint you - lol! No doubt we'll see lots of interesting snacks over the course of the season.
Hate to drink and dash but my computer is running really slowly and it's dinnetime here so..... cheers~
Looking forward to being back when I have more time... enjoy your evening!

[Emeritus]

The sun is just over the yardarm, so I'll have a drink.

[cklaurence]

Sorry to have left you to drink alone last night, Em. I was peeling mangoes for hours--trying to save some of the batch from this year, as it's down to the last few days. That way we can freeze them and at least use them in baking! All the kids were away this summer...save for Zach. With Zach, Peter and I eating every mango we could, then giving away bags and bags of them to everyone we knew (and the gardeners helping themselves to all on the ground and anything they could steal from the tree)--we still had to throw away or let many rot on the ground. It wasn't even a bumper crop this year! They are the best mangoes I've ever eaten, though--like pure sugar.

I think maybe I'll go make some mango bread right now... See you in awhile.

[Emeritus]

Sounds like the only time that I grew tomatoes. I planted too many and everybody that I knew had a bumper crop. You couldn't give them away. I'd go to get my morning newspaper and there would be bags of them on the porch. As I said, that was the only time.

[cklaurence]

Right after I decided to make mango bread, I got a phone call. I completely forgot about it afterwards! Hy housekeeper was hanging of the balcony on the terrace off my bedroom, trying to get the mangoes that were perfect, but hadn't fallen. If they fall green, they have a chance to mature well; but if they drop off the tree ripe, the bruising is sometimes bad...

[Emeritus]

You're lucky to have a housekeeper who will do that. Mine makes lists of things that she won't do. I have a handyman and she's always trying to push work off on him. When I was a kid, the domestics worked that sort of thing out between them and it never reached us.

[Emeritus]

What kind of drink do you have for a Friday the 13th? There ought to be a drink named a Blue Witch or some such for the occasion.

[cklaurence]

GOOD MORNING SWITZERLAND! The season has surely begun now. Some interesting games last night for sure; however, I have to keep reminding myself that it is just pre-season--which in the course of things, means very little. (Save for those injuries--OMG, killer! I don't wish them on ANY team...)

As for me, Em. We had NO staff of servants when I was growing up, just someone who came 2 days a week: 1 day for cleaning and 1 day for ironing. I DID, however, have a great deal of help when my kids were growing up. Our home is quite large, and having had 4 children in 5 years AND being a working mom, I clearly needed help. Fortunately, I had my own businesses most of the time (save for when I worked campaigns), so I was able to have my children with me "on the job." We had our production company and "Claudia's Kitchen" in the same building (10,000 square feet). Claudia's Kitchen took off so quickly and went so big, that I left the business of casting for movies and commercials, as well as working on the sets as a production assistant, and converted the entire building for the business of sweets. I had a section of the building set up as a day nursery for my little ones, and employed two of my aunts to help me with the kids while I worked.

It was a wonderful set-up and some great years to remember. I had Joy, my present housekeeper (more of a dear friend at this point) to take care of the house (and as a treat for my kids, if they were good, they got to spend a day or two with Joy, who they adored almost as much as I did/do). Joy has been with me on and off for about 28 years. She can't be cloned because there's no chance of making another Joy--they definitely broke the mold).

Joy was amazing with the children! I used to tease her that my daughter Emily was going to grow onto her hip, where she carried her every minute they were together. Joy moves refrigerators and other appliances; does windows; cooks; cleans tirelessly, with never a complaint AND she's a certified nurses aide. She gets me up every morning around 6:30 and takes me walking for one to two hours every day but Sunday, and then after I've showered and done some of my chores, she gives me a massage! She always does way more than asked (yesterday she had nothing to do, so she did the gardening in the back yard...picked up all the mangoes, trimmed back trees, took up all of the dead stuff (after which the gardeners came, and got full pay for doing next-to-nothing). She is truly one of the finest human beings I've ever known and I love her as I would love a sister, if I had one. My family and I were truly blessed when she walked through our door all those years ago.

She has already told me, though, that when my daughter Emily has a baby, she is gone from me. She's waited all these years to take care of Emily's family. She and Emily love each other and our good fortune will be transferred to Em's family in the not-too-distant future (I HOPE). As much as I will hate losing Joy, I'll get to see her when I go up there to NJ to visit my grandbabies.

[Emeritus]

Sigh, we had people like that when I was a kid. I was mostly raised by "Auntie Anna." She was the housekeeper and she ran the house and the quarters, too. She had really strict standards and anything that didn't meet them had to be done over. She did stay out of the kitchen though, because Cook was the absolute master there. I'm afraid that it would be impossible to find people like that today.

[cklaurence]

We seem to have our own private site here today, Em. I see all the "new posts" by Emeritus, respond to them, and then you see they are all tagged with my name, and answer them, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera

[cklaurence]

Looks like I'm drinking alone tonight. Oh well. Whatddya think it is, Em, with all these "members" who sign up, but never post the first line? I can't figure out why they join if they aren't going to post. Ah, just another of life's mysteries, I suppose.

[Emeritus]

Hey, ck. I don't know - maybe they don't have anything to say? I'm sure that sooner or later we'll hit something that they want to talk about and then they will participate.

[cklaurence]

Well maybe WE won't want to talk to them, when they are ready! We'll just see how we feel when the time comes, huh Em...

[Emeritus]

I try to avoid resentments, ck. I finally figured out that the only person that they make uncomfortable is me. I'm content that you are here to talk with.

[dredwak]

woohoo...i like being watched...

[TryThinking]

I'm not looking....

[Emeritus]

At last! I finally get to watch the Texans tonight. We are playing the Cardinals, so the game will feature two pretty good wide receivers, Andre Johnson and Fitzgerald.

[cklaurence]

I try to avoid resentments, ck. I finally figured out that the only person that they make uncomfortable is me. I'm content that you are here to talk with.

[b]Understood, Em. I can't afford the stress anymore either. Oh, and speaking of stress--maybe I ought not to be watching this game, lol. Thank goodness--this is the last year of that damned dirt being on our field. Marlins are supposed to leave after this year and good riddance. More injuries in that area, I have to hope that there are no setbacks with their new stadium building!

Whoa! First great play of the game for the Phins--of all players, Thigpen throws a beautiful pass and has us right down there around the ten yard line (TB's). Bless his heart. I think the rain rain has gone away now. Thank goodness.[/b]

[cklaurence]

Ooops. Guess I spoke too soon. We fumbled the ball just as we were knocking on the door of the end zone. This half is nearly over and we have looked dismal. TB 7 - Dolphins ZIP