MAKING A STATEMENT................and taking a break.

Today I made a statement.......against credit card high interest rates.....

It really doesn't effect me because I only have one active card with a rate of 3.99%....I love my LL Bean credit card.....I get points that I can use to buy more Maine finery...I get free shipping coming and going and I have this cheap interest rate....Thank you Barclay's bank......

But in the mail yesterday I got a notice from Washington Mutual that they are now Chase Bank.

I have a small checking account with W.M. just a "Girls Fun Account".... when I opened it they even chipped in $100.00.

I'm not a fan of Chase......I have a Chase credit card but it has no balance.....hearing lately how they are gouging people with ridiculous interest rates.....taking people's accounts from 9% to over 30%....

I thought this is not where I want to have my money....not even a little bit.

Plus I have been seeing local branches folding up like cheap beach chairs and that is never a good sign...

So bright and early this morning I went over to the local branch and handed the nice lady my check all filled out with the total amount in the account and said.....

"I would like to close out this account".....

She looked shocked and asked why I would be doing such a thing.....like it was a crime taking my own money.

I told her it was because Washington Mutual was now Chase and I didn't like Chase because of their business practices.....This warranted a whistle calling over the Branch Manager.....

He too looked shocked that I was about to take the money and run....

I told him the same thing....smiling the whole time as not to seem hostile.... he assured me that they are still the same "Nice" people that they have always been and he was sorry but there was nothing they could do about the interest rates.....

at which point I said to him....

"I understand but there is something I can do about it....and that would be not to have my money in your bank."

I have to admit although my tone was friendly I did say this a bit on the loud side so the other customers could hear me....

I went on to say that I did not care for the way they do business and I felt their business practice concerning raising interest rates was not something I wanted to be associated with....

I have to say that they both couldn't argue the point so they handed me my money and thanked me and I drove straight away to Wachovia where my "fun money" now sits besides all my other accounts.....

I know this little act of rebellion won't do a thing but I can bet that those two bank employees will be talking about this the rest of the day....

and on the blogging front...a bit of a break is badly needed to get some work done around the house and read some of those books I have stacked next to my bed....

I look forward to reading a much recommended book by the folks over at Borders....

"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society"

that's a mouthful.

Also on the lineup in Naturally Thin by our favorite New York non-housewife

Bethenny Frankel

and

"Eat This......Not That"....

in a quest to lose half my body weight.......not really that much...... this was also recommended and looks very interesting...

See you all soon with lots of reviews!!

SUE'S AMERICAN IDOL......................

What would you rather have......

Somebody to sing to you or somebody who can build you a deck.....

Mr. Bob Vila.........Thank You Very Much.

SCANPAN.....A Cook's Review

I have been cooking for over 45 years and I can't tell you all the non stick fry pans I have gone through........

no matter what you spend they always get crappy after a year or so......the finish starts to peel...handles have melted....they are a mess and I hate them.......but if you cook alot you know that you have to have atleast one non-stick pan......I make frittata's atleast once a week and I can't imagine trying to flip that thing using a regular pan.....

A few years ago while shopping at the Viking store in downtown Atlanta we spied something called a "Scanpan"........always being on the lookout for a good quality pan we became interested when the salesperson told us that they come with a lifetime warranty.....Knowing how many non sticks I have gone through over the years......all the money wasted........ I decided to try one.......maybe two!! I bought two sizes of the fry pan....How could I go wrong they are guaranteed for life! This cookware has been made in Denmark since 1956 although this was the first I had ever heard of it.....

I took them home and started using them almost everyday.......I was told you could even use metal utensils with them.....which I was surprised.....but I used metal utensils......I fell in love with them......but after about a year they started to lose their non stick finish...the finish wasn't coming off ......the food was just starting to stick...This wasn't suppose to happen.....I dragged them back down to the Viking Store and they happily replaced both pans...no questions asked....I was pleased.......The next two did the same thing.........not being so happy this time....But really enjoying the pans when they were stick-free.....I was offered my money back but was told that they had gotten a bad batch of the pans in and I probably had the pans from the defective batch.....I thought I would give them another try after all I had invested a fair amount of money in the two pans.......I am so glad I did.....First...I no longer use metal utensils even though they say you can.....I use only wooden spoons or a Teflon spatula.....like the kind you use to get cake batter out of a bowl.....Second I follow very carefully the instructions to immerse it in water as soon as your done cooking......yes...even when it's hot....this will not change the shape or harm it in any way.......I use them for everything from frying up French Fries.....the large size is a great size for this.........to Chicken Cutlets.....you can fry about 6 large ones at one time....to the perfect omelet in the smaller size......And how nice to know that they honor their "Lifetime Warranty".......

The two new pans are fabulous...and I do use them everyday...They clean up like a charm and I like that they are oven proof to 500 degrees......and I am not getting paid to say this!.........No connection on this blog with the Scanpan folks.....I just like to pass along a good product when I see one......Go take a look at their website they are currently having free shipping on orders over $45.00.......I recommend these highly...... http://www.scanpancookware.com/

TWO ITALIANS WALK INTO A PIZZA PARLOR......

Yesterday I met Joyce from www.flourpowerjoyce.blogspot.com

where else would two nice Italian girls meet for lunch but at a pizza parlor....

Not just any pizza joint....a New York pizza place....

I met up with Joyce at her beautiful fancy schmancy Condo down in Atlanta and then jumped in the bug and drove over to Vinings....

The pizza was very very good for Atlanta standards.....a good pizza is hard to find down here.

Joyce warned me that it was a little noisy as the building sits right next to the local train line...

But she didn't tell me it was THIS close......

See that CSX sign through the 3rd. window....

That's no sign....that would be the freight train that went past about every ten minutes!!
It didn't stop us from talking and laughing for over 3 hours....

We discovered that our two wacky husbands both have a thing for

Nat Nast silk shirts....

What are those you ask?

Those are those big blousey bowling shirts that Tony Soprano always wore....

Yea....that's right ladies....we are married to two real "style setters"....

Eat your heart out!

And here is Joyce.....not a staged photo....she really didn't want her picture taken....

I had the best time and Joyce is a real hoot....

I told her she is very Diane Keaton-esque.....minus the wacky wardrobe.....

Ofcourse being real Italians we swapped baked goods.....

She got a loaf of my Rosemary-lemon Artisan bread...I was luckier to receive a wonderful strawberry jelly roll and an adorable dish towel that proclaimed

"Eat dessert first"...

Thanks Joyce and lets do it again real soon.....

SHOPPING WITH THE "BOSS".................with a litle cooking thrown in.

I have mentioned in the past that I happen to have a husband that actually loves to go shopping....Any kind of shopping.....he just loves to shop.

So when I mentioned that I had a $10.00 certificate to Sur la Table burning a hole in my purse he was game to make a day out of it.....He loves a good cooking shop....not that the man can cook....he can't....but he does love a good gadget or two....

So off we went on a very rainy day to the Perimeter Mall here in Atlanta......I have said bad things about Atlanta in the past but I must admit we have great shopping....Everything you could possibly want....there's a store for it.....

Sur la Table is nice enough to send $10. coupons out every so often.....what's nice about them is you don't have to spend any amount of money to use the ten dollars.....It's just a free ten dollars...Nice, Yes?

I went to buy a pastry bag and tip for Miss B's upcoming birthday party....the free coupon covered the cost of those items....The Boss bought me the Boos Block.....I love Boos Blocks and this one came with feet!!

If you haven't bought the new Food Network magazine it's worth buying.....I just wish it would come out more often.....there's no rhyme or reason when the next issue will be available...I didn't get the magazine at Sur la Table but I am going to tell you about a recipe I found in it that we used today....


The Boss collects these wacky Chinese teapots......he has quite the collection and ofcourse I couldn't keep him out of "Teavana".....I usually hate going into this store...the salespeople are obnoxious with their pitch about the "story behind the teapot".....We already know the story....We don't want to hear it again for the 50th. time.....
But the girl was nice today and we walked out with two teapots and these cute little matching cups....the Boss was very Happy......

While I was looking through Nordstroms he further inspected his purchase and noticed a small chip on the lid of one of the pots....He went back to Teavana while I stayed wandering in Nordstroms....on the way back in true husband form he forgot where he left me....
Wondering what was taking him so long about 20 minutes later I see him coming.....He went to Bloomingdale's......found the Ralph Lauren department and thought I was probably in the dressing room.....Sitting down to wait...he finally realized he was in the wrong store.....I guess he noticed there was no grand piano near where he left me........
After the mall we made a pit stop at Michael's.....Yes, I can even get him into Michael's and Jo Ann Fabrics....again he loves the little doo-dads....art supplies....paints...crafty stuff for his soldiers....

After getting home and being very good about not eating fast food out......You know we are on a diet before the big birthday at the end of the month.....Miss "B" does not need
"Grandparents and a Half"...
We started cooking.....The husband made the salad while I grilled the chicken....this diet seems to work...he has lost 14 pounds since May 1st.....I have lost 7 pounds....
Anyhoo, he isn't a big fan of bottled salad dressing so I tried the Copy-Cat recipe for the Olive Garden salad dressing in this months issue of The Food Network magazine....
I was surprised it was really good although I was a bit taken back that one of the ingredients was
Miracle Whip!!
It screamed Paul Dean.....
here's the recipe.....If you like the Olive Gardens salad this is pretty darn close to what it tastes like....
ALMOST-FAMOUS GARDEN SALAD DRESSING

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons of Miracle Whip
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon of garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon of dried Italian seasoning
Combine the dressing ingredients and 1 tablespoon of water in a blender or food processor...puree until smooth...

I hope you all had a good weekend too!!

WEEKENDS IN PARIS.........Not exactly The Ritz....

Welcome back to our last "Weekend in Paris".....we hope you have enjoyed our little tour of the beautiful sites of Paris......and now finally the not so beautiful sites.....Yes, we have finally reached the end of the trip and I thought before we head back to Georgia we would show you our luxurious accommodations........ Here is the street where we lived for the summer.....

The Rue de la Clef.....

Hey, that would be the name of daughter's blog!!

In the 5th. Arronsdisment it was in a lovely part of town with great shopping and the subway stop was right across the street....We were so excited the day we got there and with the daughter's expert map reading abilities.....did I tell you she can read a foreign map upside down and get you where you gotta go.....I find this to be an enormous talent...

we found our little one lane quaint Paris rue.......

I wish we could say the same about the building we were about to enter....

three flights up.....can you see how old these stairs are......Try carrying way to much luggage up those winding steps....I almost had a coronary on day one........

daughter on the other hand is small but strong as a bull....

Ofcourse....she even looked a little stunned when we reached our home away from home.....
I wish we had more pictures to show you.....I don't know why we didn't take more of the apartment.....and I use the term loosely......after all we did take 42 rolls of film....
I will try to take you on a verbal tour....
After you caught your breath at the top of the 3rd. landing you opened a very old door..... as you walked through the door to your right was a toilet in what appeared to be a closet....just a toilet...no sink or tub...
two more feet and you were standing in the kitchen.....
This is why the French are so thin.....If all French kitchens are this size you couldn't possibly weigh over 110 pounds.....

and what a kitchen it was.....first thing I noticed.....no oven....see that toaster oven on the cluttered counter.....I learned to cook a mean roasted chicken in that baby....

One more croissant and daughter would have needed Vaseline to extract me from between the counters.....But I made the most of things.....We ate all our dinners at home the entire time we were there....we would grab a bite out during the day time but I cooked every night....

walking straight ahead past the kitchen you walked into a small long room....Window to your left......futon along the long wall....closet across from futon....t.v. and a narrow table next to closet....Closet smelled of moth balls....to the right side of the futon was a door leading into the rest of the bathroom.....

a strange room....there was a hot water tank...a bidet...a weird tub...no shower curtain...and a sink...after a week or so demolition began on the apartment up above and every morning at 7:00 the jack hammering would begin.....one morning while getting into the tub I noticed a huge hole in the ceiling above my head.....Yes, the two Portuguese workmen had broken a hole in our ceiling exposing the bathroom to the world...They were two lovely men and they became our friends as the weeks went by....

The student that sub-let us the apartment claimed he had no knowledge that a total re-model of the above apartment would be taking place.......Oh, sure.

Now...every single street in Paris is scenic....window boxes with colorful geraniums.....lace curtains blowing in the open windows.....little patio's to sit out on....even tiny ones....what I'm basically saying is if you look out any window in the city of Paris you will see a pretty view.....

Except this window.....
Yes...this was my view of the City of Lights.....

scary......yes?

I put that plant there so I would have *something* green to look at....it was horrible considering what was all around us...

I usually would stay at home in the mornings while daughter was in class and when she would get home about 1:00 we would go out for the day.....

So all morning I would watch French game shows....that ofcourse I didn't understand....

and look out this window....

One day this is what I saw........

Some sort of French tour group peering inside these huge wood double doors that led into some sort of courtyard.....Something good must have been inside because the tour lady with the thumb...spoke for some time before spotting me above looking down at them.....

She saw me watching and asked me something in French to which I just replied....

"I have no idea what your saying".....

With disgust she just walked away taking her ladies group in tow....

we never found out was lurking behind those doors.....

Here I am saying.....

"What kind of crappy street is this?"

Where's the scenery....the French ambience?

did we have to pay extra for that?

They did keep the place clean....I have to say that much.....twice daily these green trucks would come around and hose down the streets......No "pick up after your dog" laws so I guess this has to be done... The daily food markets also leave a mess in their wake when they close down around noon and that gets hosed as well......It depends what time of day you are out and about....

You either think the French are slobs or you think they are extremely clean....

As I said in a previous post.....my name was plastered all over Paris....

this has nothing to do with the apartment I just had some left over pictures.....

I even had a whole bus line named after me.....

Well that's it.....our trip is over....We hope you enjoyed all our weeks showing you all over the city....it was a wonderful time and I would do it again in a minute....

Maybe when Miss Sophie goes to college she'll drag grandma-lady along on her summer abroad....

and see that final picture above.....

You know it must say...

Yankee go home...

LUNCH WITH THE QUEEN OF TABLESCAPES!

Does everyone recognize this person's porch??

It's none other then the Diva of Table Design and the Queen of the Place Setting.....

Susan from http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ Five of us had the pleasure of attending an intimate lunch hosted by the lovely Miss Susan...

Yes......the Porch is as beautiful in person as it is on your computer screen....

No.....it's Better!!

As one of the ladies commented...it was like stepping into your computer....

the table was set in pastel colors and ofcourse Susan's beautiful dishes...

and her Bee glasses!!

The table in the kitchen was set with appetizers when we first arrived....
I forgot to tell her how wonderful the little cucumber sandwiches were....
I heard the spread on the pumpernickel bread was cream cheese mixed with ranch dressing...
they were delicious.....I lost count on how many I ate...
Don't you love the vase filled with lemons...

the porch is filled with white wicker....
this wood topped table was my favorite

billowy white sheers.....beautiful floral quilted pillows on the swing and daisies...
All so perfect....

Ofcourse there was lots of food....We all brought a dish and I can tell you it was better then any restaurant .........We had beef and chicken kabobs cooked on the grill...all kinds of salad...great looking fruit.....roasted asparagus....a meal fit for a "Blogger".....

Here is Nola and Karyn from
The http://www.thebloomgirls.com/
Nola is from Nashville and Karin lives here in the Atlanta area.....
and they write a blog together....

Ready to eat after spending alot of time touring Susan's beautiful home.....laughing alot.....taking lots of pictures........and blog talking......Lunch didn't stop us from continuing our conversation on everything and anything....
My story about Jeff Smith "The Frugal Gourmet" didn't even slow things down even though the ladies weren't familiar with the perverted cooking show host of the 80's......
left to right....
CC Catherine.....Susan.....Nola.....Karyn.....and Rose from the Santamakers Journey...

a closer look at this great table....Susan has lovely china pieces all over the house

Mr. Max.....sound asleep and oblivious to all the partying...

Susan made this outrageous Peach Bourbon Trifle.....proving that not only can she decorate...she can cook too!!

A nice neighbor came over to take a group shot so we could all be in it...

Nola....Karyn...Catherine....Susan.....Me...

Rose had already left for home......

Okay you can all be jealous now.....it was a wonderful afternoon...

As you can see by CC Catherine.....

I love this picture....she reminds me of Charlotte from

Sex and the City....

and she was really enjoying her time....

Between a Nap on the Porch.....

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES....A BIG THUMBS DOWN....Whole Foods.... Thumbs Up!!!

In the big world of consumer customer service I always seem to run

into the good and the bad.......

And I always like to pass on the information to my friends in Blogland.......

Do you want to hear the good or the bad first....Let's hear the bad first and that would be our friends over at Continental Airlines.......Not exactly people you would want to be friends with....As you know daughter and family just traveled to Italy for their yearly vacation and Continental was their airline of choice.....They won't be able to say that again! Daughter hates to fly and will only take the plunge if there is a good destination at the end of the flight.....Hence only traveling to Europe.....and they only fly First Class....it makes that 9 hour trip more bearable...The past two years our Miss B went along and she's becoming a seasoned traveler.......Daughter contacted Continental well in advance and requested a child's meal for the flights coming and going....For what they would be paying in First Class and the fact that Continental charged $400.00 for Miss B to travel on daughters lap this is the least you would expect......Continental didn't see it that way.....Daughter was told meals would be provided for "B" but when she called the airline the day before to confirm they changed their tune.....When a child is riding on a parents lap.....this being a child under the age of 2.......no food or drink is provided for said child.....Do I need to repeat that outrageous statement.....a 9 hour flight and no food or drink will be provided for a child under 2......even though Continental is getting and extra $400.00 for that child to be on board....

Cutting to the chase......Our Miss B received NOTHING.....on the flight to Italy or from Italy.....NOTHING.....not even a glass of water....daughter said the flight attendant up in First Class totally ignored the fact that "B" was on the flight.....Now baby is a great flyer...she doesn't cry...scream...fuss...or leaves her seat....she's old enough now to eat real food.......so there was no need to be rude to this beautiful child....

Continental Airlines....You should be ashamed of yourself!!

Daughter and Son-in-Law had to keep asking for extra stuff for themselves just to keep the poor child hydrated....

In a world when companies are going out of business left and right this airlines does not need to be in business......To ignore the needs of a child for the sake of.......well I don't know what.....is a real disgrace.....So if your planning a vacation with a child or you know someone who is........ tell them to pick another airlines.....one that actually likes children...

Now for the nice company and that would be Whole Foods in Princeton on Rt.1.......

Me and the Boss love our pizza and Whole Foods makes the best pizza....it's a huge rectangle and feeds an army........So one night we drove over and tried to order one for take out.....with two men behind the counter I stood for a good 5 minutes before anyone noticed me....Finally a guy comes over and he was in some sort of stupor.....he kept repeating the wrong order and for some reason was insisting that we wanted a "wheat crust" .........he was also very dirty and unkempt looking....Not someone you would want making your food.....He tells us 40 minutes....Now no pizza takes that long....Boss said it's a ploy to get you to say forget it and walk away....

We say okay...then we walk away.....the Boss goes to customer service to voice his complaint about the employee..... they are very nice and say they will have a word with him on being more responsive....

40 minutes go by.... we pick up the pizza...... take it to the customer service counter to check out and tell them that the guy working at the pizza counter now was very nice...this was just incase they thought we hated everyone...... and what do we see.....

Wheat Crust.....

the Boss goes a bit crazy and since we had already told the folks that this guy was somewhere off in space they fell right into "Super Customer Service" mold....

The manager on duty came up and asked if we had time to wait for the pizza to be recooked....We did....Then he gave us a $25.00 gift card....Very Nice....we like gift cards....

We wait about 15 minutes...... the correct time to cook a pizza........pick up our new pie....regular crust....we go to pay....and the manager waves us away and tells us to enjoy our night.....

Now that is great customer service.....Bravo to Whole Foods....

Did you hear that Continental??

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Happy Mother's Day!......the best day of my life was the day I became a mother...the second best day was when I became of grandmother......

here are my beautiful girls and I wish the daughter a Happy Mother's Day and thank her for giving us Miss Sophie.... And this is what I got in my e-mail this morning all the way from Italy.....

My friend Eli sent it......she's a wonderful artist and you if haven't read her blog you need to stop by and say hello.....She's a working mom of little Andrea and she still finds the time in between all her painting to write in both Italian and English.....

www.raccoltodautunno.blogspot.com

Happy Mother's Day Eli.....and thank you for the beautiful card....

And to all you other ladies out there.....Have a wonderful day on Sunday!!

WEEKENDS IN PARIS.......A Scenic Road Trip

Two more installments to go and we'll be flying home after a whirlwind summer.....

Welcome to the second to last Weekends in Paris...

A Scenic Road Trip!!

We love France but one of our all time favorite vacation destinations is

Germany

So it was in the cards to convince the daughter to take a road trip for some stunning scenery and great shopping....

Oh....and let's not forget eating....Our trip took us up the Rhine and talk about a photo op.....

Alot of our driving was on the autobahn and we did manage to make that all important stop at the German Ikea where I scored a wooden Lazy Susan for my table and 3 rolls of yellow striped wallpaper.....because nothing says a German Souvenir like wallpaper.......

Don't even ask about us going through customs on the way home....

Looking through this window into a whole different world......Where France has it's fancy statues and Frilly French stuff.....and Italy has it's ancient ruins and pasta....Germany has castles....

not to mention great shopping and wonderful food...

Almost 40 years ago me and the Boss and our friend Eddie took off for the grand tour of Holland and Germany....Eddie was from Munich and worked at the airlines with the Boss. He offered to be our tour guide and we took him up on it....
Big Mistake as we wanted to soak up the local scenery and Eddie just wanted to see how fast we could get to Munich....
Driving along the Rhine we noticed a huge castle perched up on the top of a mountain and sheepishly asked if we could drive up to see it.....
Eddie reluctantly agreed and that was our first time visiting
Marksburg Castle....
Back then it was barely open to the public and had only tours in German....it also had a tiny gift shop...
we love our gift shops......so Eddie came in handy and translated for us as just the three of us were shown the castle top to bottom....
So...ofcourse I had to take the daughter back for her to see it....Oh...how times had changed....
It was now a major tourist attraction with admission charged and a really big gift shop...
The picture above is me trying to climb the staircase to the top....



Almost in my reach......Along with that big gift shop....an elevator would have been a good idea. Almost there......isn't it cool...

It was just as I remembered only with alot more people....

a French couple even brought their poodle along for the tour....

Inside looking out.....spectacular...

Back down the Rhine we stayed overnight in Heidelberg.....

The Heidelberg castle was impressive but not as interesting as Marksburg

But the town of Heidelberg is very colorful.....and did I mention the good food....

We ate at a little tavern where there was communal seating....They gave you food that could choke a pig....Schnitzel...potatoes....saurkraut....fabulous!!

back down the Rhine....lots of little towns with all kinds of good shopping....

Did I mention that along with eating we love to shop...

The Boss was jealous that he couldn't be with us....He loves Germany...eats Schnitzel for every meal and loves those damn German Yodeler hats.....ofcourse he does.

cobblestone streets....

it's like Disneyland....

We drove through the Black Forest which was the highlight of the trip....

We even stopped by the town that we had visited 40 years earlier......There was a beautiful huge hand carved cuckoo clock I wanted to buy but Eddie told us we could get it cheaper in Munich so I passed on buying it....It was beautiful....It had a deers head and carved pine cones.....

No such luck in Munich just your standard clocks that you can find back home at the local

Ace Hardware....

I was hoping to maybe find it all these years later but no such luck.....so I had to be content with my wallpaper.

It was an enjoyable end to a wonderful stay abroad....on the way back into France we stopped in Strasbourg then back to Paris......

When we got back into town and unloaded our luggage this is what we found smuggled in our trunk....

The Boss always finds a way to join in on the fun.....

See you next week for our final......"HOORAY".....

post...when we show you in a city with the most spectacular views out every window....we found the only apartment that would have been better if the windows were boarded up....

Have a great weekend!!