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Thursday’s Top 10 Reasons To Own A Metropolitan

Posted in Ha-P 2 B in OG, Thursday's Top Ten, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 8, 2014| 3 Comments »

I’ve been experiencing a lot of issues lately uploading photos, previewing posts and actually being able to access my admin bar. I’ve been in touch with the Support staff at WordPress.com and am trying a few things.  I need to see if a photo I upload will show in my preview screen before I publish it.  That’s why today you are seeing our oh so cute 1958 Metropolitan.

In 2010 I posted a photo on Facebook and a couple of days ago my cousin who must have been scrolling thru my photos came across it and hit LIKE.  Well, you know that brings the picture to the forefront again and in the last few day 45 people have LIKED it and we’ve received several comments.  OMG! The photo is not reaching “friends of friends” and has gone far and beyond.

A Perfect Match

A Perfect Match

This isn’t the same photo BUT it is of our adorable little Metropolitan with it’s SOCUTE license plate and here are 10 reasons why we love it.

1. It’s a people-stopper! Parked in front of the cottage, people stop constantly to look and take a picture.

2. When my husband drives it, it’s a chick-magnet.

3. When I drive it, men follow me to where I park it and ask me all kinds of questions and admire it.

4. It’s small enough to fit in most parking spaces

5. We get to belong to a national car club MOCNA-Metropolitan Owners Club of North America

6. We actually get to drive it – it’s not so classic that it only sits in a garage.

7. It gets great mileage and always gets a big smile at the gas station

8. When we drive it, people in other cars or on the sidewalks hoot, holler, toot and give us a thumbs-up sign.

9. Peter sits on the front porch with his martini and greets all the pretty young girls who stop and squeal over how cute the car it is.

10. We get to go to Vintage Car Shows and are the only Metropolitan included!

So Cute at a Vintage Car Show

So Cute at a Vintage Car Show

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Christopher Walken – Gotta Dance!

Posted in Amuse-bouche du jour, BY THE WAY, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 20, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Although this video has been making the rounds on Facebook, I love Christopher Walken and I love to dance and watch great dancers.  Walken is wonderful to watch! I’m sorry I missed so many of his movies and never saw most of these clips.  The video originated on Huffington Post‘s Movie Mash-Ups.  Enjoy!!

 

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Peterlori’s Great Adventures – A Trip To Florida

Posted in Amuse-bouche du jour, BY THE WAY, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 23, 2013| 3 Comments »

Wi-Fi Signal logo

Wi-Fi Signal logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

SUNDAY

Well, I’m off on another adventure to Florida!  Usually the “fun” begins when I’m there and I amuse my readers to no end with accounts of the daily craziness.  NOT SO this time!  Let the games begin! 

Today is Sunday and after racing around to finish up packing, getting a pedicure, trying on 3 different things that did NOT fit and not being able to locate one of the cats (we finally did) we finally left our apartment.   Since we were leaving late (apparently my fault) (NOT), tempers were already running high.  Add the 71 degree weather in the no-longer-air-conditioned apartment AND picture this – I have my rolling suitcase with a heavy tote bag on top of it, carrying my computer over my shoulder and one large canvas bag of Christmas presents; I’m wearing flip-flops because I don’t want to squish my new pedicure and all black because that’s what fit that would be ok to sleep in.  Peter is carrying a suitcase that must weigh 25lb on his shoulder that pulls his sport jacket down and he’s carrying another canvas bag with Christmas presents and a bag that has some last minute snack food I scavenged from the refrigerator and cupboards.  Actually the snacks are leftovers from Wednesday night’s gathering!

Hailing a cab turned out to be fairly easy but of course we got a driver who was indecisive about the fastest way to Penn Station.  First he started west on 86th St and then thought the FDR drive would be better so he U-turned.  The Drive was ok but when he exited at 34th St and headed west on 35th St, we virtually crawled across town.  I was already overheated, cranky and watching the meter climb was making me crazy.  $22 later we arrive at Penn Station a.k.a. Penn’s People Zoo.  It was MOBBED and it was hot.  

We were supposed to leave by 1:30pm but by the time we walked out the door it was almost 2pm.  Our intention was to get to the station an hour early so we could check to see if there were any cancellations for a roomette.  There were none, the train is sold out!  Oh, didn’t I mention that by the time we booked the trip they were no more roomettes left? And why did we book so late?  Look to my right…. therefore we are in for a 26 hour train ride in Coach seats, no beds.  I knew right away it was Christmas since there “was no room at the inn”. 

Getting onto the train was like being part of a herd of cattle.  There’s a cop at the top of the stairs next to the ticket agent and he’s shouting “Keep the families together, keep the families together” which means there are straggling kids with wheeling suitcases trying to push through the 5 lines of passengers trying to reach the top of the escalator!  

I boarded the train and turned right like the conductor said only to come to an immediate HALT.  There was a family of four trying to get out of the car against the tide of us trying to get in the car.  This necessitated a strange dance backwards of several people and their luggage with no place for them to back up.  Finally they got off and I lunged forward hoping to find two vacant seats together, lol lol.  Of course there were no seats.  I was ahead of Peter so I dropped one bag down on one seat and across the aisle and one row forward, I dropped another bag.  Then I tried to negotiate with the woman in the second pair of seats.  “ Excuse me ma’am would you mind switching your window seat here for the one over there so I could sit with my husband”?  She looks at me as if I asked her to move to rest room.  I try again and she leans over to look at the seat I’m pointing at and says, “No, I think I’d d rather be here”.   At this point Peter comes up the aisle and sees that I’m not standing in a pair of seats and I’m already putting the bags of Christmas presents up on the rack.  He loudly says, “What, aren’t there 2 seats together?” And then adds, “Well can’t you ask someone if they will move?”  I tell him I did but no one wants to.  I guess that did it because the lady announced she would move.  I said, “Bless you, thank you, you are so kind and you have no idea how he’s been, I’m never traveling with him on a train again! 

Once underway, the train cooled down a bit and we settled in.  As soon as one of the conductors came by, I inquired about Wi-Fi and was informed there was no Wi-Fi on the train and here I thought I would be writing my blog, playing scrabble online, cruising through ebay and checking in on Facebook, Not Happening! 

Shortly thereafter, a man came through asking is anyone wanted to make reservations for the Dining Car.  We looked at each other and thought a change of scenery would do us good later on so I told Peter to make it for 8:00pm. Well that wasn’t happening either because the only reservation he had was for 5:00pm and it was already 4:30pm!  And I wanted to buy a large sub for us to split on the train since everyone told us how expensive the food was and Peter said not to AND I listened to him, so really who’s the schmuck? 

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SOUPER BOWL Weekend

Posted in Everyday Food, Friends, New York Speaks, tagged , , , , , , , on November 16, 2013| Leave a Comment »

It could be the slight nip in the air or just that time of the year, whatever it is, soup is on my mind and a few others as well.  I’m planning on making a chicken noodle soup tomorrow night with dumplings.  It will be the perfect Sunday night supper. Today I read on Facebook that a friend of mine made a delicious onion soup yesterday and the recipe came from the New York Times.  It reminded me that I need to check the Times’ Wednesday edition, which has the Dining Section.  I have gotten some really great recipes from there, especially around the holidays.  Anyway, Linda made the soup and gave it rave reviews-that’s good enough for me!

Here’s the recipe from the Florence Fabricant column in the New York Times.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 6 large red onions, about 3 pounds, peeled, quartered and sliced thin
  • 3 large cloves garlic, sliced
  • Salt
  • 2 tart apples, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 2 cups dry hard cider
  • 6 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 4 cups vegetable stock
  • Ground black pepper
  • 4 1/2 ounces Cheddar, slivered
  • 6 or 8 thick slices country bread about 4 inches in diameter, toasted

PREPARATION

1.
Melt butter in a 5- to 6-quart saucepan on very low heat. Add onions and garlic, dust with salt, stir in apples, cover and cook until onions are very soft, about 30 minutes. Stir in sugar, increase heat to high and cook, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes, until onions start to brown. Stir in cider vinegar, scraping bottom of pan.
2.
Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in cider, soy sauce and stock, bring to a simmer, cover and cook gently about 20 minutes. Season with pepper and, if needed, more salt. Meanwhile, pile the cheese on the toast slices, covering the bread completely.
3.
Heat broiler. Divide soup among 6 to 8 ovenproof ramekins, deep bowls or big mugs with about 12-ounce capacity. Place a slice of toast and cheese on each, place ramekins on a baking sheet and broil just until cheese melts and starts to bubble. Serve at once.
YIELD
6 to 8 servings
Onion Soup with Gratinee with Cider

Onion Soup with Gratinee with Cider

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The Meaning of “MEH”

Posted in Amuse-bouche du jour, BY THE WAY, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 29, 2013| 7 Comments »

Photo by Jason Leonti

Photo by Jason Leonti

Sometimes I am so out of the loop on any new “thing” whether it be the latest fad fashion, TV show, gossip about some celebrity under the age of 30 (can they really be celebrities?) , who is hanging in there on AGT, The X Factor, who’s still in the Big Brother House and who is sent to Redemption Island?  I mean wow there is SO MUCH non-informative information out there and really who cares?  

Well that previous question can pretty much sum up the meaning of MEH!  Currently,  this is a popular term used to describe something  or someone or someplace that you don’t really give a damn about.  The official meaning as given in an online dictionary (really whoever uses the big book anymore), is as follows:  

exclamation:
expressing a lack of interest or enthusiasm.
“Meh. I’m not impressed so far”
adjective:
uninspiring; unexceptional.
“a lot of his movies are … meh”

This morning I logged onto Facebook and saw that one of my friends, Grace Gotham, has posted her own personal “Meh” list and I thought what a great idea for a blog post.  Of course I was ashamed to read in her post that the NYT Times magazine has one each week.  As my husband will tell you, I don’t read the Times anymore because I’m too busy playing on my computer!  

Anyway, I thought I would post a blog about my own personal MEH list and ask you dear readers to send in some of your own. Let’s do it.

1.  The World Series (if the Yankees are not playing who cares)

2.  e-cigarettes

3. The Meatball Shop

4. hashtags

5. Donald Trump

6. Justin Beiber

7. Mylie Cyrus (omg, don’t go there)

8. cro-nuts

9. Starbucks Chocolate Chai Latte

10. Naomi Campbell

YOUR TURN !!

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Time Waits For No Man or Woman (for that matter)

Posted in BY THE WAY, Friends, Only in New York, tagged , , , , , , , on August 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »

If two weeks ago when I last wrote a blog, I thought it would be two weeks before I sat down at the keyboard again, I would have said, “Oh no, not me, I’m committed to blogging”.  Well so what happened?  I’d say one part life happened, one part physic overload and one part computer game junkieness.   I just made up that last word.

Work has been feeling like 24/7 and I have to get a handle on that.  I’m letting a client/customer run my life and she/he has me jumping through hoops.  Of course I’ve had enough therapy to know that can only happen with my permission.  Oh those intelligent sounding, pragmatic answers are just so…..what?  I don’t know, just so true? hard to do? Yup all of that and more.

And then the worst thing is this new word game that I started to play on Facebook.  If Steven Covey could only see me now, spending hours in Quadrant 4 – time wasting and my numbing!  My Scrabble addicition was bad enough, Lexolous was getting intense and now this – Word Wonder or something like that.   All I can say is it’s a good thing I can’t seem to go any further without paying, something I refuse to do.  Hey even us junkies have our limits!

Lots of things have been going wrong too lately – time-consuming and annoying.  We’re not talking life or death here, just annoyances that seem to piggyback on one another.  Here’s how Monday went:  My intention was to pack up the cottage as quickly as possible and get back to NYC because I knew I wouldn’t be around on Tuesday all day.  That’s a perfect example of my neurotic guilt and sense of obligation.  Gee do you really have to be at someone’s beck and call every day, all day?  OK, well I hustled around and got food packed, windows closed and locked while Peter filled the bird feeders and gave the squirrels fresh corn.  Now for the record, I did strongly suggest we put the car into the garage on Sunday night as well as drop off some stuff with Jane at the hotel.  Didn’t happen – now it’s Monday morning and I’m short-tempered and curt barking orders as to what needs to be done to get this show on the road!   BAD KARMA!  The Metropolitan would not start…. Are you frigging kidding me? We drove it Saturday night to Spring Lake and back. Now it’s raining and it won’t start.  Of course I didn’t know it wouldn’t start because I had already left for the garage to pick up a picnic basket I was lending to a friend in Manhattan and to put away the booster seat we had to purchase when Finley was with us for 3 days!

I realized that the basket would not fit in the car the way it was packed now and you know I didn’t pack it that way!  So I unloaded the whole car and re-arranged everything and put in the picnic basket.  Still raining and where is he anyway?  I called his cell phone and he informs me the car won’t start!  Ay yii yi!  I lock up the garage and zoom back.  He’ll have to call our auto mechanic who just installed a new starter last week.  That’s right, last week.  We’re leaving it out in front of the house and the mechanic will see to it – we leave.  I realize that I’m wearing soaking wet shoes.  Why am I not wearing my usual flip-flops?  Well because I was thinking ahead and wanted these espadrilles to be in NYC so I could wear them on the bus tomorrow to West Hampton.  Do all espadrilles have roped soles?

BAD TRAVEL KARMA is an all day thing I guess, because by Monday evening when I have to get myself to East 50th Street to meet my Mah Jongg group, things are still going badly.  I left the apartment in plenty of time with the intention of taking the cross town bus to 2nd Ave and then switching to the 2nd Ave local to go south.  But as I walked out of my building, I saw the cross town bus heading up the block – I had just missed it.  I waited a while and no bus came.  So I walked to 2nd Ave and one block south to the bus stop and waited and waited and waited.  Not one but two Select (express) buses went by but no local. I kept looking at the time and said to myself “take a cab”.  I hailed the cab down and just as I was about to open the door I realized that I did not bring my handbag with me and had only my Mah Jongg money and no credit cards.  “Sorry” I say to the driver, “I made a mistake”.  This being New York, he’s probably used to a lot of crazy people.  Still no bus.  The Select bus stops two blocks north so I take a long look up the avenue and don’t see any buses coming and decide to walk north to that bus stop.  Walking as fast as I can in my flip-flops I scurry northward.  As I am approaching the block, I see that a local bus has stopped there and if you can picture a woman of a certain age and somewhat overweight trying to run in flip flops down the busy block then you are probably laughing your you know what off right now!  The bus pulls away.  Buses wait for no man or woman either by the way!  The express and local stops are both located on this block.  I’m sure another bus of either type will appear on the horizon soon.  WRONG! Almost 10 minutes later, an express bus pulls up, I get on and thank God for the air-conditioning because I had clearly worked myself up into a physical and mental frenzy.  

Yes I made it there, late of course and missed the first round, oh well no big deal.  However,  bad luck follows you around stuck to your shoe like a piece of toilet paper.  I sit down and start to play.  My hand looks pretty good.  I’m not going to go into the strategies of Mah Jongg here but you must always be careful not to throw someone else’s winning tile.  Because if you do you have to pay double.  Well you know where this is going…I threw the tile.  Now I had to pay her double her hand.  Oh but she was also East and therefore she gets doubled again, and Oh she threw doubles so she gets doubled again!  And Oh the bettor bet on her so she also gets the same amount of money.  When I tell you I lost $8 in one round, you can believe I was ready to pack it in for the night!  I actually had to owe the bettor $2 and pay it off as I won other hands!  

I sure hope tomorrow is much less uneventful!

English: blue espadrille from Los Espadrilles.com

Espadrilles ARE NOT water proof

May the craks and bams be with you!

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December 17, 1971 I Got An Early Christmas Present!

Posted in Friends, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 18, 2012| 3 Comments »

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday to You!

Could it really be forty-one years ago that I drove myself from my home in Avon CT to Hartford for a doctor’s appointment and then to St. Francis Hospital?  Apparently yes, because today is my son Joel’s birthday!  When my parents and grandparents would tell me how quickly the years go by  and at this point they’re flying, I, like every other young person ,didn’t really get it.  Well I get it now.  Joel is 41 and Chiara is 35 and now I’m a grandmother myself.

Last year I wrote what I thought was akin to a mother-son love letter so I’m not going to repeat it again. All of it is true and I hope he reads it again because it is full of love and appreciation for who he is.  Posted last December 17th, Happy Birthday Dear Son!

3000 miles and 3 hours earlier often gets in the way of communication although as any mother knows, if there’s a will, there’s a way.  This Christmas, like last year,  my daughter and her family are headed west to spend the holidays with Joel and we will be here on the East Coast. I think it would be wonderful if we could all be together, however, my feeling is that the kids like it the way it is.  I have a Norman Rockwell Christmas in mind and they are thinking along the lines of what I heard referred to as Westivus.  Apparently, some friends from Boston are also flying out to celebrate with them.

I hope today has been joyful for Joel.  I wrote a Happy Birthday greeting on his Facebook wall – aren’t I just the 21st Century Mom and called him this evening.  I hope to see him in the near future to give him the real hug I sent virtually.

So Happy happy birthday Joel, I love you very much and wish I could spend more time with you.

Love,

Mom

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ONLY in New York? Well maybe…

Posted in Amuse-bouche du jour, New York Speaks, Only in New York, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 31, 2012| Leave a Comment »

If you live in New York City, you have seen this!  A ginormous blow up rat squatting in the middle of the sidewalk or on the street (taking up a parking space!).

I saw this photo and comments from my friend, Greg Moore on Facebook.  I asked for permission to reprint it because first of all, I wish I had thought of posting a blog about it myself and secondly, it seemed so perfect a contribution to my ONLY IN NEW YORK category.  Now here’s my question, does this only happen in New York City?  Please comment and let us know if the RAT has relatives in other cities.

union rat, Greg Moore, New York city, contractors

I’m the City Mouse!

This thing is about as “New York” as the Statue of Liberty…or the Empire State Building! I have a feeling this is one of those “only-in-New-York” kinda things! It’s the giant, inflatable “strike rat”! Whenever there’s a labor dispute or a strike where they feel that a business is hiring workers unfairly, they (I guess) call “Rent-a-Rat”, this huge, hideously ugly, inflatable rat, which they park on the sidewalk in front of the offending business. This guy has been outside my office building all week. I’m DYING to interview this guy who sits next to the rat all day long. I have so many QUESTIONS for him: What is your job title? What do you tell your family you do? What do you put on your resume? What is the rat’s name? What would differentiate a “good” day from a “bad” one? I saw him pack it in, right at 5PM. He deflated his rat, shoved it in a bag along with his folding chair and headed toward the subway. (this one, by the way is the SMALLER one! They also have one that’s about 3-stories high! I know that, because the apartment building next to mine apparently hired non-union doormen and they hauled out the HUGE rat…and its head appeared right outside my third-story window for about a week! Rather alarming…but very New York!).

Thanks to Greg Moore for his astute observation and comments.

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The Drought and the Domino Theory-Amuse Bouche du Jour

Posted in Amuse-bouche du jour, tagged , , , , , , , on August 10, 2012| Leave a Comment »

English: A display of six ears of field corn w...

As I walked into Costco today and if you have been in one, you know they have a big board posted with the gas price of the day.  Actually in case you hadn’t figured it out yet, this only applies to those stores with gas pumps.  Today the gas price per gallon was $3.47 for regular.  WTF?  Last week I posted on Facebook that it was $3.35 which was already a BIG jump from the week before when it was $3.15 per gallon!

So this got me to thinking of some weird domino effect or as to what Wall-Streeters refer to as global economy.   Well maybe…. for days, no actually weeks, I have been hearing news about how horrible our corn crop is going to be.  No rain – small corn, shriveled up corn, maybe no corn.  And that means the cost of feed for cows and steers is going to go up in price due to the shortage.  Also, anyone even vaguely familiar with our basically unhealthy diet in America which seems to be based in high fructose corn syrup knows that if there is a shortage of corn, then all the products that have corn in them, will also rise in price.  It’s been estimated that upwards of 70% of our processed foods contain some corn product.  Wow, I guess EVERYTHING is going to go up in price.  Oh dear….too bad we don’t have corn in our salaries, paychecks, or commissions.

Last I knew and I admit I don’t know much, corn or corn byproducts were not in gasoline. So how does the drought in the Midwest which is destroying the corn crop, cause the weekly rise in gas prices?  That’s one hell of a domino theory!

Or are we paying more at the pump because Syria is in the midst of a civil war?  Or because Spain’s economy is slipping away although I doubt we import much gasoline from Spain.  Maybe it’s because Greece is still not out of the economic woods or because Brazil is enjoying a robust economy.   

Food for thought in the form of Amuse Bouche du Jour!  I’m assuming many people know more about this than me – See articles below.

Related articles

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Wowie Zowie, Look At Me!

Posted in BY THE WAY, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged , , , , , , , on July 26, 2012| 1 Comment »

Oh my that’s quite an arrogant headline, now isn’t it?  Well I just felt the desire to shout from the cyber rooftop that I just received an award!  The Liebster Award actually…

I’ve been nominated!

Of course it certainly helps to have wonderful friends in the blogosphere – and YES I do have a friend in the cyber world, Lora, who is an expat living in Germany with her husband.  Lora nominated my blog along with a few others.  I love and follow her blog as she explores her new home, her new life and how she is adapting day by day.  I’ve learned a lot about German customs, something I am keenly interested in as I am half-German.  But that’s only part of what Lora has done with her blog, http://liferealities.wordpress.com/ ; She loves to cook and create wonderful meals and with that love and talent, she started a group called “What sha Cooking“.  It is a group of men and women who love to cook and each month there’s a theme for your creation.  Photos are posted on the Facebook page and we all vote.

This award is along the lines of Pass it forward!  Now that I’ve received the honor, I will pass it along to some bloggers who I follow and who I think deserve some recognition for their efforts.

1. Spinny Liberal http://spinnyliberal.com/  Spinny was writing daily about local, regional and especially national politics.  She has a sharp wit, and sometimes a sharper tongue when she explores issues that light fire in the hearts of many liberals and conservatives also.  Last I knew Spinny was taken a hiatus from blogging due to some medical reasons.  However, check the website often, she is brilliant.

2. Photo Nature Blog http://photonatureblog.com/ I don’t remember how I came across this blog, probably through Freshly Pressed.  His photographs are just amazing.  He  takes photos of birds, flowers, clouds, bugs and his style reminds me of pbenjay’s own photographer, Murray Head.  Everything becomes the thing of beauty it is through his camera lens.

3. Devastating The Obvious http://josiahblacksblog.wordpress.com/ So Josiah Black a/k/a Captain Obvious is one very bright young man.  He is clever, sardonic and  I am continually amazed at his subject matter.  Actually I’m a bit in awe of his talent, not to mention envious!

4. Texana’s Kitchen  http://texanaskitchen.com/ What’s not to like here?  I’m going to quote her heading here because  it truly says it all;  Yummy recipes, Pretty pictures, Pithy commentary.  There are hundreds, nay thousands of food-related blogs.  Some are full of extraordinary time-consuming recipes and some are devoted to making thrifting with food an art form and neither of them are for me.  Probably what really endeared Texana to me was her blog on ice cream, need I say more?

5. A Detailed House http://adetailedhouse.com/ I do love design, I have been in real estate for over 40 years, I love the color pink, I have built 2 houses, decorated 4, am a certified Home Stager ergo – I love this site!  Amazingly, they’re doing it themselves for the most part.  The home is magnificent.  Go to and take a visual tour.

Well there you have it, I have passed it forward.  Congratulations to one and all, you have been nominated for a Liebster Blog Award.

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