Freaky Friday Rants and Raves 8-12
 

Rant: The house painter hasn't showed up in a week. :-((

Rave: He isn't painting in damp weather. [-o<

Rant: Too many young men are getting killed in Iraq. Its time for change. :'(

Rave: I've been offered $150,000 for a portion of my property. O-)

Rant: I don't want to give it up but I need the money. I turned down the offer. :-(

Rave: I am the first poster on jorr's FFR&R's although I am cheating as it is only 9:49pm Thursday here on the west coast. Oh well!

Rave: Hmmm, just that the month of August has been so serene compared to June and July.

Rave: I am meeting a Fodorite for dinner Saturday evening and truly looking forward to it as we seem to have so much in common.

Rave: Scarlett and her two "fellows" made if safe and sound to Portland, OR.

Rant: My dear friend from the time we were 14 years old is back in the hospital with her cancer problem and I am afraid that this will be the end. I am heartbroken over it as her life as not been an easy one but she is always like a ray of sunshine.

Rant: jorr's story with the painter. Having gone through the same problem last year (interior painting) I can really relate. Good luck jorr, I know how frustrated you must be.

Happy weekend everyone, hope all of you spend it the way you wish.

Rave: - unlike jorr, i'm painting my own house, at least you can guarantee the standard of work :-)

Rant: weather here in MA has been so hot and humid - not good painting weather.

Rave: Melons are growing so fast and I missed a zucchini that is now the size of a smalll marrow.

Rave: have spent so much time in the pool this week.

Rant: booked a trip for myself, DH and DS and then realised that my son's passport had expired, you'd really think I'd know better :-(

Rave: DS banned me from the using the Dishwasher, he says I don't know how to load it! Cool, well that ruse worked then :-D

Rave - LoveItaly is going to have a wonderful dinner on Saturday with another Fodorite! Next time I'm in CA LoveItaly book me in :-)

I'm so sorry about your friend!

Hi Alya, when you come to CA I would love to "book you in". Hope the new Italian restaurant is as great as it is suppose to be. Owned by two partners,the womans family is from Sardegna (where I have been) and the man's family is from Italy via North Beach in SF. It sound goods, I say with fingers crossed. Will let you know.

Thanks LoveItaly - how far from SF and Cupertino are you.

I spent 2 fun days in SF and 4 wonderfully relaxing days in Cupertino last August - DH was working, I wish I'd 'known' you then we could have met up :-(

Next time though!

Hi alya, I am in the most southern end of the Sacramento Valley in the City of Vacaville. I-80 goes from SF and all the way up northeast and through the US. There is a ferry that goes from SF to Vallejo. It is a 55 minute ferry ride. When I go to SF I drive to Vallejo and take the ferry to SF which lands at the Ferry Bldg in SF which is at the eastern end of Market St. Let me know the next time you will be here.

And jorr, sorry for highjacking your wonderful thread. BTW, still looking for a painter to do the exterior of a house I own. You are not making me feel any better about painters, LOL. Wishes to you that your painter arrives early Monday morning!!

LoveItaly,

You want an exterior painter - ME, ME, ME! :-D

Our house was the grottiest grey color, peeling, with paint 'blobs' under all of the shingles and black shutters.

It's taken time but now almost all of the house is a wonderful yellow with green shutters.

Our neighbors love it and I tell DH that since my favorite gift in the last few years was Staging, I'm obviously not too 'high maintenance' :-)

A few years ago I wallpapered my neighbors bedroom and she made me a chocolate cake - a fair swap I think!


BTW, I can also plaster, tile and sew!

Rant: I have a problem employee who's talking trash about me and at me! He's soooo fired.

Rave: Going to Miami and Las Vegas in October! Woo hoo!

MelissaH, Ick, what a problem! I am so sorry. Isn't life fun? Hope is works out. A Rant for sure.

And alya, you get out here to the west coast right now, LOL, we need you! But perhaps you should drop by jorr's house and finish up his house first as his painter is driving him crazy!

BTW, I forgot to mention, you cannot believe the fantastic food shops at the Ferry Bldg. in SF! That is a Rave!

LoveItaly, I <b>did</b> check out the Ferry Building last month and I loved it! I want my mall to be like that. sigh.

Melissa, LoveItaly,

Damn, I missed the Ferry Building last August but I fairness I hadn't discovered Fodors either :-)

We just did the usual tourist stuff - LI, you remember my post about DH and the Bushman - wow, it all seem so long ago!

RAVE: My sweet, charming 7-year old granddaughter is arriving today for three weeks! :-)

RAVE: My sweet, charming 7-year old granddaughter is arriving today for three weeks! :D

RAVE: My sweet, charming 7-year old granddaughter is arriving today for three weeks! :-d

Sorry, she is SO on my mind, but I am also thinking of You, my fellow Fodorites, and hoping you will all have a wonderful weekend! (And LoveItaly, have a great *Fodorite* dinner Saturday! :-) )

Rant: Mom is back in the hospital with what appears to be an upper respiratory condition.

Rave: They seemed to have ruled out pneumonia this time and she should only be in the hospital for a few days.

Rant: Seems we'll never be able to just relax when it comes to her health and I worry about the cumulative toll this is taking on an 87 year old body...

Rant: Tragic news of the suicide of a woman I knew from high school who has been a lifelong friend of my best friend. She left behind a husband and 3 kids. I can't stop thinking about this, as I always remember her as a vibrant, smiling presence.

Rant: Sorry about the &quot;downer&quot; of my &quot;contribution&quot; to this week's FFR&amp;R

Rave: Beginning to get excited about the upcoming trip to southern France, and am studying up on my Frence with the Pimsleur tapes I had used in the past!

Rave: The close-knit support of the Fodorite community ((l))

Rave: the really good tomatoes are now ripe so I can finally get my fill of fresh tomatoes and buffalo moazzarella!

Rant: A Krispy Kreme just opened up at our commuter rail station (Paddington, London) and boy are they tempting. Must resist junk calories, no matter how sweet and sticky...all right, I can have ONE. No, two. At least nobody around here sells Cheez-its--then we would be doomed!

Rave: great weather
Rave: abundant tomatoes ripening in our garden

Rave: I love the caring and sharing of FFR&amp;R!

Rave: 7-mo old Max cat was officially adopted on Tuesday
Rant: yesterday my husband closed our closet door, not realizing Max was inside.. Found him about 12:40 -- ready for freedom. Nothing was damaged, but wish there was a video of how things happened in there. Have told husband he has to take inventory of the two cats before he leaves for work.

TGIF!

Rant: We had to drop the idea of visiting Boston while on our Cape Cod trip. Oh well, now we have an excuse for a future getaway!

Rave: My almost 14 year old is flying to Chicago on Sunday with his favorite aunt (and others). They're going to take in the sights for two days and see a baseball game. I'm so excited for him (although I'VE never been to Chicago).

Rant: Summer is going waaaayyyyy to fast. I haven't been to the beach nearly enough.

Rave: Two weeks until Cape Cod!

Have a GRRRRRRREAT weekend everyone!

Rave: The oldest son is *all* (using the term loosely here, lol) moved in to his apartment. With 5 trips through the Lincoln Tunnel, I was too tired to actually cry. :X

Rant: Management company failed to hold up their end of the lease - major oversights on their part. Three guys starting their careers have no time to deal with this nonsense. The DH is handling it and he's mad. X(

Rave: Lucky guy, that son is -- being able to lie in bed and look at the Empire State Building :D Hopefully he'll be able to take some time to enjoy the view :-B

Rant: Ikea: 8 hours to buy it; 8 hours to build it! #-o

Rave: Julie at Ikea - best customer service manager in the world :D

Rave: My DH and I are heading into the Manhattan next week to take a cooking class together -- we are both very excited ((l))

Rave: We went to the beach yesterday -- the undertow was very strong and the waves were mean b(

Rant: While at the beach, the cell phone rings...It's the youngest son calling to report that he's had an *accident* in the <i>DRIVEWAY!</i> Seems he backed his car into my DH's parked car. C:) =-o

Rave: <b>No damage.</b> <i>Lucky kid.</i> <b>Learned lesson.</b> <i> It's genetic.</i> <b>Don't ask. </b> ;)

Rave: Angels!

Rant: LoveItaly &amp; Margot's sadness -- keeping you in my thoughts.

Rave: Bonnie...have a WONDERFUL time with your little gem ((l))

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Rave: Life is good.

Rants: None.

Happy weekend, Fodorites. Y'all RSVP (and come) to the Atlanta GTG! OWJ and iceeu2 have worked hard on this!

syd, hold that baby until after Maggiano's! :-)

Good morning from Central New Jersey. It promises to be another hot stinker. Well, it IS the dog days of summer.

Rave: Leaving for San Diego on Tuesday. Just DH and myself. Big Whoo Hoo.

Rave: Dad sailed through his surgery this week. He has a eight inch scar on his back (triple laminectomy) and is healing like a kid. He feels his right foot again and has minimal pain. I am amazed.

Rave: Two birthdays this past week. DS #2 (20 years old) and DD#2 (18 years old). Wow...time flies.

Rave: The family is going rafting on the Delaware tomorrow. There will be ten of us and promises to be hot with lots of fun predicted.

Rant (mini): DD#2 off to college this week. She goes early for soccer. I'm happy for her and sad for me.

Margot-I feel for you. I took care of my Mom until she passed last year and now have my Dad living with us. As they say, growing older is not for the faint of heart. The time spent with an elderly parent is just a blessing at the end of it all.

Jorr- I also went through the same hell, not only with internal painting but also with the landscaper. I needed one to do some heavy moving and build me a planter by my deck. It took six months to get it done and its a half assed job at best. I am refusing to pay for any of it except the cost of materials.

Have a great weekend and be safe.

Rant--Summer is going by far too quickly.

Rave--Fitting in another quick trip to NYC with my daughter.

Rant--She will be heading to HIGH SCHOOL in a couple of weeks.

Rave-- She's still a pretty good kid (although much smarter than her Mom ;)).

Rant--Smoking and it's evil consequences. Watching my stepdad lugging around his oxygen and struggling to keep going on. He was over for dinner and this was the most fragile I have seen him. Not good, not good.

Hey Bonnie--Have fun with the granddaughter.