I returned my stepsister's car yesterday, having put quite a few miles on it. She's so great about loaning me transportation while I'm in Florida -- I save so much money by not having to rent a car. I always feel a huge sense of relief when I hand it back to her unscathed.
Before I returned it I took it up to the corner gas station to fill up the tank. This car (above) was parked next to me at the pump. The artwork is a bit intimidating, but I asked the guy behind the wheel if I could take a picture and of course he turned out to be perfectly nice and said it was fine.
It's just as well that I'm done with the car. I think I hit my max on the '60s radio when I heard "Georgy Girl" for the third time in as many days -- and I like that song, even though it's way too peppy for a movie that's essentially pretty sad. Or "Hello Hello" by Sopwith Camel, and its inane preoccupation with citrus:
Hello hello
I like your smile,
Hello hello
Shall we talk awhile?
Would you like some of my tangerine?
I know I'll never treat you mean.
Good grief.
I promised to show you the great shirt I got at the thrift store in Tallahassee -- and here it is. Lots of different colors and fabrics, but yes, that's all one shirt! In all seriousness, it was probably quite expensive when it was new. I have a few other Robert Graham shirts and they're not cheap. And this one was just $3.99!
Yesterday afternoon, while my stepmother was upstairs taking a nap and I was working on my computer on the couch, I began hearing distant rumbles of thunder. This isn't unusual -- it's Florida in the summer! It rains practically every day, but only for about ten minutes. Anyway, the thunder freaked out Pinky and Manny, my stepmother's chihuahuas, and suddenly I was their best friend:
Remember how awful those dogs used to be to me? Now that they've gotten to know me I'm suddenly their great protector.
(By the way, in the video above, I'm wearing my other thrift store purchase -- the shirt with the fish on it. I've decided I like it after all.)
Last night, I went to a trivia quiz at a local bar with my stepsister, her husband, my nephew and my stepmother. The last time we went, we won, but this time we didn't do so well -- we came in fourth. Here are some of the questions that knocked us down:
-- Testing the pH of something measures its acidity. What does pH stand for?
-- What element is combined with silver to produce sterling silver?
-- The moons of Uranus are named after characters from Shakespeare and what poet?
You'll find the answers in the comments section!
-- pH stands for "potential Hydrogen."
ReplyDelete-- Copper (who knew?!)
-- Alexander Pope. And apparently, even though I learned in school that Uranus has five moons, astronomers have since found many more, items known as "irregular" moons and "inner" moons -- for a grand total of 27!
Those pub quizzes sound like such fun...Your shirts are always colorful and interesting. I like the Robert Graham but the fish shirt is so far my favorite. Thanks for coming by yesterday and have a safe trip back to London!
ReplyDeleteOlga could eat those two weedy chihuahuas for breakfast! And yes, what a very kind thing for your stepsister to do - lending you her car. That's really generous.
ReplyDeleteThose poor little babies! Their fear is so evident and I'm glad they had you. Smart dogs. They know that the giant human will protect them from the thunder demons.
ReplyDeleteI like the fish shirt too.
I'm a jeweler and I didn't know that copper was in sterling silver. 75 parts copper to 925 parts silver. Huh.
Yep. You scored on the shirts. That Robert Graham shirt is a thing of wonder and beauty. Good eye, Steve!
ReplyDeletePoor little pups. So shivery.
I did not know any of those facts either. And now, thanks to Vivian, I know why sterling silver is stamped 925.
That's crazy!
Your mention of "Hello, Hello" made me chuckle. Euphemisms used to be different back then.
ReplyDelete"Would you like some of my tangerine?
I know I'll never treat you mean."
;-)
Have a great week.
That shirt is something! In the best way. You and Mrs. Moon thrift store shopping, now that is harmonic convergence for sure.
ReplyDeleteSome people have a knack for thrift store purchases. You are definitely one of them.
ReplyDeleteI love the striped shirt! It kinda reminds me of the Jerry Garcia ties. Have you ever seen those? There are a couple other brands that are similar too. They have kinda wild designs & bright colors. I know they did sell them at Kohl's Department Stores (not sure if they still do).
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a great vacation visiting family!
-Mary
Your new Robert shirt is a work of art! Great find, good eyes! Saving on car rental is fabulous, I spent $800.00 on the car rental on such a quick trip , but it was essential, glad to be able to rent one, not glad it costs so much.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard that terrible song until now, Hello hello-
Poor Pinky and Manny, they really do look freaked out. I love that striped shirt! I love things with fabric patterns mixed and matched. The fish shirt is nice too. I wouldn't have gotten those trivia questions either. Georgie Girl, I haven't heard that in ages and ages.
ReplyDeleteYou do find some very cool shirts. Those pups are so shaky, it's good thing you were there to protect them. I could not answer a single one of the questions. Yikes.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting how chihuahuas tremble like that. After looking at them several times I've decided that I like both shirts.
ReplyDeleteI love both of those shirts! Little dogs seem to be so high maintenance to me. I guess they have a lot to worry about!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great shirt. I am glad you are done with the 60s music while driving. I hope my brain will stop humming Georgy Girl before bedtime.
ReplyDeleteThat was definitely nice, to be loaned a car for your use. Great shirts! But I still think that plastic shell on a stick is the best thing ever, lol
ReplyDeletePoor little pups. I hope after you stopped the video you cuddled them close. Or would they bite? Hope not! I've seen dogs tremble like that at the vet, and I always feel sorry for them. I shake before some medical and dental appointments. It must be that much worse for our furry buddies.
just like my little dog when it thunders. and weird that the shirt had all those different fabrics on the inside where no one will ever see them.
ReplyDeleteYour stepsister is indeed generous.
ReplyDeleteAnd the striped shirt? Shirts designed with semi-hidden colour contrasts are great. You will see the colours when you put the shirt on and take it off and now and then someone will catch a glimpse of them and be wondering whether they imagined it. A bit of colour, fun and mystery. What's not to like about that?
Alphie
Our chihuahua (are those two deerheads, too? they seem to have a longer nose, like our dog's, than the appleheads do) was shaking and panting the other night during a thunderstorm and even sitting on us wasn't calming him, so I cut the foot off one of Scott's wool socks and slipped the tube over Duckie Doodle's head and forelegs. He's 11 pounds so it fit good and tight. Voila! a magical homemade "thunderjacket" that settled him right down!
ReplyDeleteHe also shakes sometimes, not from fear, but from excitement.
We once had a large, geriatric dog that had a heart attack and died from her fear of thunder, when a storm happened while we weren't home.
Kate
I just love the pups. I can't spell Chihuahua's so thankfully there is spell check. We have one like those. Her name is Foxy and she is spoiled silly. Thunder scares her really bad. We just hold her close and cover her up and she will finally stop shaking.
ReplyDeleteI love your shirts. I think that you had a great find and really the cost is awesome. $3.99 is a huge bargain. I love thrift stores. I never know what I will find.
Have a safe trip back to London. Beth Reed