Bejeweled Barbie

"Everywhere I go, I get slandered, libeled I hear words I never heard in the Bible And I'm one step ahead of the shoe shine Two steps away from the county line I'm just trying to keep my customer satisfied, satisfied"  Listen to Simon and Garfunkel sing it here. I was just thinking about an email exchange I had last night with a customer. In case you didn't know, we have a jewelry show every Tuesday at 7 pm est.  A customer had written me that an omega necklace did not fit but that the bracelets did. Since I had measured and stated that everyone could wear it, I promptly refunded her, although she did NOT ask. I emailed her back to tell her, and she was very upset. "Oh, no, can you undo it? I wasn't expecting that!"  The Question is why not? That is our policy with everyone. We don't ask questions, and we refund immediately. Whatever the reason, my husband and I want our customers happy.  Isn't that how businesses operate? Apparently, not so ...

  You may be puzzling over the weird title of today's post; this is what is on my mind tonight.  Perhaps there is some connection between the seemingly random topics that you will eventually see....who knows? Let's start with Putin Last night I happened to recall  Russian President Putin visiting President George W. Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. I pulled up a few articles about it to confirm my memory was correct. Yes, there was much ado in 2001 about the "good old boy" relationship between the odd couple.  You can read about that here. You can even read here about Putin visiting local schools in Crawford!  In my research, I pulled up articles about Putin's 2-day visit in 2007 with the Bush family at their Kennebunkport conclave. ( HERE ) I found this even more weird. Now, like a mad man, this Bush chum is aggressively attacking the people in the Ukraine! Does this fit the narrative? Many pundits (read here ) are speculating that Putin is indeed mad, m...

After a trip to Dollar Tree Monday, I have been pretty much depressed about it .  I knew the $1.25 price point was coming, but I wasn't aware it was going to be every item in the store.  I wasn't happy about it, although I understood it. How could they offer all that value for only a dollar anyway? However, the thing that set me off on a rant was something else totally unexpected. The first thing we picked up was $5!  Many other items we looked at were $3, and it literally flabbergasted us. All that store shelf real estate used to be full of all kinds of goodies that you knew were only $1.  This is a good point to mention that ever since Dollar Tree has been in existence, my husband has never missed the opportunity to ask me multiple times per shopping trip, "How much is this?" He has always found it hysterically funny! When we went in this time he immediately commented, "Now I can REALLY ask you, 'How much is this?'"  There have been so many changes...

 " Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone" Joni Mitchell, from "Big Yellow Taxi" Things have been weird for over 2 years now. Sometimes I feel like Rip Van Winkle waking up from a long sleep, unaware of all the changes that have taken place while we were cocooned at home, avoiding Covid.  It has lately become apparent that these life-altering sea changes are probably not temporary like we originally thought they were.  After two years, the very fiber of our world has indeed been transformed...and not in a good way.  If you scroll back in this blog, you can read a blog entry I made during the early days of this Covid nightmare. I speculated about how our lives might change, but at that time, I had no earthly idea how much. Let's look at a few areas that have been impacted. Death All of the traditional practices that go along with grieving a loved one have changed. This observation is actually what prompted the w...

  Everyone who has had this Pea Salad wants the recipe.  Even people who do NOT like peas like this crunchy salad. It is simple and quick to assemble. If you buy already cooked eggs, you don't even need to boil an egg. Ingredients: 1 package of frozen peas thawed a little, not cooked 3 boiled eggs, chopped 1 onion chopped 1/2 cup mayo (more or less to taste) 1/2 cup sour cream Squirt of pickle relish Salt, pepper and Paprika Instructions: Combine lightly frozen peas with chopped onion, eggs and pickle relish Add Mayo and Sour Cream. If needed, add a touch more mayo. Season with salt, pepper and paprika....top with a sprinkle of paprika for color. I usually sit on counter a minute then serve,  You can make it ahead and chill in fridge if desired,

Once upon a time there was a little gray and brown squirrel .   Nobody knows his name, so we will just call him squirrel for now .   Later in the story, you may hear him referred to as "That stupid squirrel," but he was  actually very  clever indeed.   Squirrel lived in a very cozy  home, inside  the downstairs  hearth  of the 2-story house by the creek. You see, the two little boys who lived there apparently had prepared an exquisite little apartment inside the wood stove insert for squirrel, complete with a cardboard box Bed with nice, soft bed linens.     The  entryway  was a bit steep and precarious, requiring squirrel to climb up on the highest part of the roof to the chimney and slide down two stories.  But,  squirrel was  sure-footed  and he felt very safe when he reached his warm  abode .    He could peak through the grates of the stove and see the  boys  throw...