Wednesday, May 24, 2017

The Judgement of Plaster of Paris

Sorry, had to. 
You can't take me anywhere. 
I'm confident I'm not the first person to take advantage of a photo-op in the statue area of Mulhall's garden centre. Now give me my golden apple and I'll just be on my way.
What is it about statues that encourage silliness?  
Memorial Day is the official point (in the US) where it is considered acceptable to wear white. I don't give a toss about that rule (or most others for that matter) but it has been far too cold for a gauze/cheesecloth. We finally had a nice day with sun and temperatures in the 60's, so I broke out the white and headed to Mulhall's. Mulhall's is my "Happy Place."  I never leave there in a bad mood. I never leave there with any money, but still-you can't put a price on happiness. They have a rewards membership programme, but that just encourages more spending. I came home with a few more pepper and tomato plants, as well as yet another bay laurel. I keep killing them. This one is already Christened, Apollo III. I also purchased a jelly-feeder for orioles. Less than 24 hours after hanging it, the orioles started coming to our balcony. I didn't think we had orioles, but I guess I was wrong! 

I bagged up sorrel and set it out by the sidewalk with a note to help yourself-no one took any! I have pounds and pounds of sorrel and there's only so much schav I can eat. I might need to start leaving it at people's doors. Our cool weather resulted in the bumper crop from hell. We're about to be overwhelmed with peas as well, but
I can freeze those. Ah well, I guess you can have worse problems. Sorrel makes a nice sauce for fish, so I can always do that.
This is my first wear of this beautiful Judith Leiber belt. I was so happy to find it at New Life Thrift. If I ever find a Judith Leiber handbag I'll probably fall into a coma from the shock. I'm happy with the belt. White accessories can look naff, but not this belt! It is heavy, and well made but not adjustable. It is a bit large, but I don't care. 
Outfit Particulars:
Gauze blouse-K Mart
Gauze skirt-Hand-Me-Ups
Vintage Air Step handbag-Can't remember
Judith Leiber belt-New Life Thrift
Gold shoes-Goodwill
Shell earrings-Sears
Whiting and Davis vintage panel bracelet-Goodwill
Damascene bracelet-Goodwill
Gold bangles-various places
Fragrance-Vintage formulation Diorissimo
 My skin is finally healing with the multiple salves I'm using now. I'm happy it wasn't my wrists as that would impair my ability to wear bracelets and that would be like running around stark naked (or as we say, "Starkers.").  What do you call it when you walk down the stairs naked? Starkness descending."

 Want to know how much the ointment cost? With insurance, it was $2.00. That's the price our insurance company negotiates for it. Without insurance a tube of generic ointment would have cost $869.00. I often wonder if the people screaming about being forced to buy insurance have ever had a serious case of allergic eczema? The second salve cost $35.00. I have no idea what that would have cost without insurance and a coupon from the drugmaker. This isn't some rare disease people are unlikely to contract-everyone gets a rash at some point in their life. I don't know about you, but I don't have eight hundred bucks sitting around to pay out of pocket for a rash ointment. Yes, our premiums are high, and yes there are co-pays, but if rash ointment costs this much I shudder to think what it would cost if I broke a leg. Young, healthy people have accidents too.
*Steps down off soapbox*

On a happier note, I baked my first cherry pie of the season. These are sweet Bing Cherries from California. I used instant tapioca as a thickener.
 I also made vanilla ice cream because you can't have cherry pie without ice cream-not at my house anyway.
I didn't wear white to bake the pie!

I'm finishing up the syllabus writing this week and next. The paperwork for next year needs to be in by 15 July, but I feel better having it done by June. We homeschool year-round, but I build in breaks during the summer. Half-days in July gets our work out of the way by the time the pool opens. The teacher needs a holiday too.
I wonder if a fish and sorrel pie would be good? If you live in Omaha and need some sorrel, drop me an email!





14 comments:

Perdita Tinsel said...

That belt's amazing! We've just got our hot weather here, too. Time to switch to summer clothes finally!

Beth Waltz said...

Sorrel soup? Does it freeze well? This tale of over-abundance reminds me of our neighborhood's mad zucchini zapper, who was new to gardening and put 12 zukes in an old chicken yard. When the inevitable occurred, he sneaked about distributing his bounty. People found them in drainspouts, flower boxes, dog houses (dog couldn't get inside). He got me at the post office, when I left my car window down a few inches...

There is absolutely nothing naff about that gorgeous white dress! The load of luxury bangles and the belt gives it an Egyptian flare.

Well, of course, one has vanilla ice cream with cherry pie. We always preferred the Bings, but some folks favor the Sweet Annes. And the upper crust MUST be latticed.

Propagatrix said...

I have tons of sorrel too (TWO plants, which started life in 4" pots and have expanded alarmingly) and now I want to make schav.

Vronni's Style Meanderings said...

Oh, the pie had me salivating...

I love your outfit and the belt is pretty wonderful. I bought some shell earrings at the Red Cross on Monday and dropped one at the counter whilst waiting to pay - it smashed and that's the end of it. Damn!

Please tell me what a jelly feeder is. I know what orioles are - apparently in some parts of the UK they get Golden Orioles - lucky buggers.

As for the cost of your ointments without your insurance; I am horrified. We don't know how lucky we are with our NHS where I would not have to pay a penny as prescriptions are free for the over 60s.

So glad your weather is improving - ours has been lovely and warm.

Radostin said...

Your white outfit is glorious, though I must admit I'm glad you let us know you didn't make cherry pie in it! The belt is indeed surprisingly elegant, though I've never heard of a non-adjustable belt before; what a silly idea!
I remember the insane so-called "prices" of any & everything medical from when we lived in Princeton; luckily I was eligible for insurance v my husband's status as student. I still have a scar from a 50cent glass that broke during washing up; the stitches would have cost some $400 or so. Not to mention the charge for birthing two babies (in hospital but with no intervention), I believe it was in the tens of thousands... Anyway, the important thing is that your rash is clearing up, which I am glad to hear. I do tend to have reactions to bracelets if I'm not careful, though I can quite often get away with a couple of hours.

Miss Magpie said...

Mmmmm cherry pie. I always think people are brave to wear white I would step out of the house and instantly turn into Pigpen!

ThriftyParka said...

That BELT!! I would have a coma if I were to ever ind something that nice!!

Happy thrifting;)

Melanie Folly Bird said...

Looking glorious in white! The thing about white in the U.S always fascinates me, what is that all about?

That ointment price is just criminal! Thank goodness for our NHS is all I can say.

Polyester Princess said...

You're looking fabulous in that white dress, and I seriously love that belt. That said, I don't think I own any all-white pieces of clothing at all. I'm sure if I wore all-white, it would get dirty within seconds. I couldn't believe the price of that ointment, which I'm sure with the Belgian system (comparable to the NHS in the UK, but not quite the same) it would only be a couple of Euros ... xxx

Goody said...

@Perdita
I hope the weather stays nice.

@Beth
I only lattice a crust when I'm short on fruit ;)

@Propagatrix
A cold glass of schav right from the fridge is one of life's true pleasures-unless you're my husband who thought I was trying to poison him!

@Veronica
A jelly feeder is a cup set in a bright yellow holder that oriels are attracted to. You fill it with jelly as the name suggests (sort of like the sugar water feeders for hummingbirds). I'm sorry about the sells-they are surprisingly delicate.

@Radostin
It is absolute madness where our healthcare is at!

@Miss Magpie
That's what bleach is for ;)

@Thrifty Parka
You must be pretty sturdy as you find some pretty magnificent things!

@Melanie

I suspect it was a way to convince women they needed more clothes.
Yes, thank goodness for your NHS. I hope you can convince the politicians to keep their filthy hands off it before you end up like us.

@Ann
Wash-n-wear fabrics ;)



Vix said...

Oh, I do love a bit of Greek mythology slotted into a blog post!
That Labor Day white rule is as strange as our "Cast not a clout till May is out" which nobody is quite sure means the May blossom or the month but leads to quite a few older ladies refusing to go out without a coat or tights even when the mercury's nudging 30!
You look wonderful in white,I'm not usually a fan of white accessories but I'll make an exception for that belt.
God, the cost of eczema cream! Thank fuck for our NHS. I suffered terribly from it until I was 40. xxx

Mim said...

Oh, so gorgeous and cool! I feel cooler just looking at you. I knew Americans had times when it wasn't acceptable to wear white shoes, but I hadn't realised there was a time for clothes too. We don't have much like that - no green at weddings (though possibly only I'm old-fashioned enough for that anyway) is the only one I can think of.

Goody said...

@Vix
Clearly your mind is on Greece now-lucky you!
I wear my tan tights in August. They'll peel them from my cold, dead legs before I give them up.

@Mim
I wasn't familiar with the green at weddings rule. Obviously, you don't wear white to upstage the bride, but green I'm curious about. Off to google...

Mim said...

It's supposed to be unlucky - the original belief was that it attracted the attention of the fairies.