SISTERS GETAWAY -- WHAT I BOUGHT

Hello, friends.  Here we are at the last day of July.  July has seemed like a long month to me.  Independence Day seems as if it was a long time ago.  I like that.  I don't like when time flies by and I don't get to enjoy each day to the full.  I hope August stays just as long.  I love September and Autumn but we all know what comes after Autumn.

Yesterday I was feeling sort of blue and didn't get much done at all.  I must get back on track with my cleaning.  It needs to get finished.  I am still working on my kitchen.  When that gets done, I will show you the finished product.  I am hoping by the end of August it will be done.  Then on to the dining room which is a real mess!

But I wanted to show you the few things I bought in Lancaster on Tuesday.  I realized I did not take pictures of everything, but the few things I did not photo are gifts.  So that is OK because I do not want the people they are bought for reading this blog and seeing what I got them.

First I will show you Lenox.  Besides some gifts, I bought these kitchen towels for me.  The first set is Fourth of July firecrackers and another that is striped red, white, and blue.  Elaine said she likes it because it looks like pillow ticking.

And even though I don't need another fall item, I couldn't resist these pumpkin towels.  They are so pretty!  I have orange ones, and bright brown ones, but this gray one and the tan one are unique.  I love the embroidered pumpkins and leaves on them.

Next let me show you what I got at Christmas Tree Hill.  I am thrilled with the lantern and the timed candle.  I got the bow to put on one of my wreathes.

Here is what the lantern looks like with the lighted candle inside.  The flame of the candle flickers, so it looks real.

I have it in the front window on top of the air conditioner and have been enjoying it every night.

Finally, let me show you what I got at Hershey Farm.  As you can see, it's mostly things to eat.

I got iced apple bread and two sticky buns.  Elaine bought us an apple caramel quickbread.

I also bought a mask with a cross for Joe and some mask filters.  When Joe saw the mask he said it was more girly because the cross was made out of rhinestones.  I hadn't even noticed that.  So now the mask is mine.

I also got a bag of low salt potato chips.  They didn't last long.  I ate some so I could take my evening medicine.  I was still so full that I didn't want dinner.  They were so good that I kept eating.  The bag was big, but only about 1/4 of the bag was actual food.

At Bird-in-Hand restaurant I got Joe a frozen dinner of macaroni and cheese with stewed tomatoes.  I also got two car coasters for the cup holders in the car.  I didn't take a picture of them, but they have a beach scene on each of them.

I did OK and did not spend a lot of money.  Just about $70 for the entire day.  And I got some Christmas gifts.  Joe and I are planning a trip out there sometime soon to get some more gifts while the prices are still good.  And we can actually eat in a restaurant.  Can't do that in Philly yet.

Our heat wave is over for awhile.  It will finally be cool enough for me to work in the yard.  It has been way too hot to go out there.  That is if I can stay awake.  I had iced tea for dinner.  Wrong move.  I have been up all night.  I'm just starting to get tired, so maybe I can get a few hours of sleep and then take a nap during the day.  I hope.

Hope you all have a great day.

Until later....

Kathy

SISTERS GETAWAY -- DAY TWO

Yesterday was part two of the Sisters Getaway.  How it has changed from the days when we would have an 8 day getaway.  Now it is down to 2 days.  But what a wonderful time we had.  

Before I begin, I want to share a picture that Elaine took on Sunday at her house.  It's such a good picture of Joe and me.

Yesterday Elaine came over to my house and we headed out to Lancaster County.  She drove so I was able to get a bunch of pictures from the car.  Lancaster is so different from the "big city" of Philly.  I have found the fastest and easiest way to get there is to drive through center city, so that is what we did.

Here is City Hall with the statue of William Penn on top of it.  The building next to it is Liberty Place Two.  I was wondering what Elaine had on her windshield until I realized that is a billboard on the highway in the middle of the picture.  Ha, ha!  But doesn't it look like the back of a cell phone?

We saw a helicopter flying quite low over where we were.  I figured it was a traffic helicopter.

You know you aren't in Philadelphia anymore when you see corn fields.

And cows.

And horses.

And rolling fields.

We got out there around noon and went right to Lenox to see what they had.  Lenox is closing so everything in the store was 40% off.  But even so, their things were pricy.  You know I always take pictures to show you some of the things they have. 

I almost bought this sign on the left.  It says, "She's always running fashionably late."  That is so me.

Elaine loved this hot air balloon with little bunnies in the basket.  It was a music box.  But it had no price on it and it was the only one there.  We couldn't find anyone to ask how much it was, so it stayed in the store.

I loved these little spring houses.  But I am getting things out of my house, not bringing things in.  They were awfully cute though.

I really liked this swan figure and the two ginger jars.  But I don't know what I would do with them.

This little dish was so cute and I was very tempted to get it, but I didn't.  It has pictures of different kinds of cookies on it and a description of them.  Adorable.

I have seen these Christmas mugs there before.  One set says "Mr. & Mrs." with snowmen and the other "Naughty and Nice" with pictures of ornaments.

There were beautiful glass Christmas trees in various colors.  Pink, red, green, blue, yellow, and purple.  Very pretty and very expensive.

The next place we went to was Christmas Tree Hill.  I was looking for a timed battery operated candle to put in my front window.  I not only got the candle, I also got a beautiful lantern to put it in.  I didn't take any pictures there, though, although I should have because it is such a great store.

Then we headed to Hershey Farm.  We wanted to look through the stores.  We ended up with lots of really good baked goods.  Usually they have great produce there, but none this year.

When we finished we took some pictures in the parking lot.  They always have beautiful gardens.

And here's Famous Amos.  Everyone wants their picture taken with this huge Amish farmer.

Here's the birthday girl!

And the two of us.  Yes, I am letting my hair go gray.  I just got tired of dying it.  But I think it looks kind of good.

Elaine wanted to stop into Strasburg Antique Village so that's where we went next.  I have been having trouble with my legs and feet and it is painful to walk, so I just stayed in the car while she looked around.  She said there were a couple of things she was interested in, but were too big to put into her car.

By this time it was almost 3:00 so we went to Bird-in-Hand Restaurant to get dinner.  This is Elaine's favorite place to eat in Lancaster County and you should always eat where you want on your birthday.

It looks like they have outdoor seating, but there was no one there.  I don't blame anyone that wanted to eat inside.  It was hot!

They had the menu on a board outside.  I already knew what I wanted.  I had looked the menu up on my phone before I got there.

We got seated right away.  It was the emptiest I have ever seen Bird-in-Hand Restaurant.  Usually it is packed so tightly that you can hardly move.  There were about eight tables occupied and all were spread out.  I hate to say it, but I enjoyed it more.  It was much nicer.

Elaine was so thrilled that the Smorgasbord was open and she headed for that.  She had to wear her mask and was given clean gloves each time she went up so there was no contamination.

She got a salad with hot bacon dressing (her favorite) to start.

I ordered the chicken pie.  I had been looking forward to it for days!  And it was wonderful.  Every bite of it.  When I was finished, I handed the waitress a perfectly clean plate and told her it was a shame I didn't like the pie.  She started laughing.

It came with two sides, so I got zucchini casserole and homemade applesauce.  They were excellent, but I was so full I couldn't eat them all.

Elaine was so happy to be eating in a restaurant again.  What a treat for her birthday.

I was happy about it too!

Elaine got mashed potatoes, chicken, ham balls, shrimp and fish for her main course.

For dessert there was shoofly pie and a pumpkin whoopie pie.

We decided to head home so it was still light for Elaine to drop me off and then drive over to her girlfriend's house where she was staying.  I took a few more pictures of Lancaster on the drive.

The town of Intercourse.

Some fields.

And a silo to say goodbye.

Tomorrow I will show you what I bought out there.  But it is late and I am heading to bed now.

Until later...

Kathy

SISTER'S GETAWAY == DAY ONE

Hello, friends, and welcome to the 2020 version of the Sisters Getaway.  Like everything else, this year is very different.  Instead of being able to take Elaine to a nice restaurant for her birthday, Joe and I headed to her house for a cookout.  Our friends Marion, Rich and Frank were also there.

We were the last ones to arrive since we attended church first, and then left right away afterwards.  I did have to stop at Rite Aid first because I did not have a gift bag large enough for her gift.  While I was there I was looking for a hat to save me from getting too much sun.  It was another HOT day and since her new neighbors cut down their trees, there is no shade in Elaine's yard.  I found a cute hat that was half price and then with my card 20% off.  Here's a picture of it.

It is straw and I love the black band around it and the way it ties in a bow with the streamers down the back.  It was the only one on the shelf and I think it was there because although it says "Hello Sunshine" the H in Hello was missing.  You could see where it was, but the black sequins were missing.  I didn't care.  I have ordered black sequins which should be here tomorrow and I will glue them onto the hat where they once were.  It will be fine.  And it did the job.  Such a cute hat.  I wore it almost all day along with my sunglasses.  Another cute purchase from Target awhile back.  I love the black frames with the white polka dots.

Since we were so late getting there, they had already eaten.  But there was plenty of food left and we did not go hungry.  Rich made Joe a hamburger and I had some chicken wings.  They were good.  We also had some cauliflower straws which I really liked.  I will have to look for them.  A nice alternative to potato chips.

Joe really enjoyed himself talking to Rich.

Then Frank joined them.

Ace saw that it was a "guy" thing and decided he needed to be a part of it.

Here's the birthday girl, Elaine.  Everyone was taking pictures.

It was really hot and Ace took shelter in the shade of the table.

We finally moved inside and got out the birthday cake.  I had bought it at Oteri's Italian Bakery where Joe and I had gotten our wedding cake.  Their cakes are so good.

Marion had brought some cookies and I put them on a plate for her.  I didn't even realize Ace was at my feet looking for a handout while this picture was taken.

Here's Marion and Rich.

There were no candles on the cake, but we all sang "Happy Birthday" to her.

Elaine made a wish and said we were all to assume that she had blown out all the candles and her wish would come true.  Ha, ha!

Then she cut the cake.  Don't you love her new kitchen chairs?  They are woven gray and white and so pretty.

Here's Joe with his piece of cake.

After we ate we went into the living room where she opened her birthday gifts.


This one is from Joe and me.

We got her a solar powered garden gnome holding a watering can that has fairy lights in it.  At night it looks like fireflies in the can.

Marion and Rich got her a cute t-shirt.

And a little figure of a bear sitting in an Adirondack chair reading a book.

Marion's birthday was in May and since Elaine hadn't seen her, she gave her her gift.  Marion is a realtor so this Wanna buy a house? t-shirt was perfect for her.

We were having such a good time that we left an hour later than we wanted to.  That made me drive the last 45 minutes in the dark.  Something that I don't like to do.  But it was OK and we got home safely.

Since Elaine got the new chairs for her kitchen, she gave us her old chairs.  Our kitchen chairs are falling to pieces.  Literally.  So we got rid of these...

And replaced them with these.

They are not a perfect match with the table, but they are close and in much better shape than what we had.

Monday was another scorching hot day.  I worked a lot in the kitchen cleaning up.  It's amazing how much junk we all accumulate.  I am getting rid of my junk.  And I moved the old chairs out and the new chairs in.  I also made some corn muffins for breakfast tomorrow.  But I think I overdid it because I have been feeling sick all afternoon and evening.  Joe even made dinner for me because I wasn't up to it.  I hope I am OK for today because Elaine and I are headed to Lancaster.  I'll let you know how that goes.  Today is Elaine's actual birthday so I don't want to miss it.

Thanks for coming along with me and stay tuned for more.

Kathy