Mrs. Teabody Greets the Day

If you are reading this Gentle Reader, you have, doubtless, survived the "wild and whirling" weather of yesterday and are looking forward to this last little week of August. Only five days remain. Had Mrs. Teabody's niece not spoken of the upcoming Labor Day weekend, Mrs. Teabody may have allowed the traditional farewell to summer to come and go without so much as a passing mention of a wienie roast or corn boil. Information is power. Plan accordingly. The Teabodys made their semi-annual buying trip to NYC last week and chose to accommodate themselves for two nights in the moderately rarified air of Lexington Avenue at the InterContinental Barclay  on the block adjacent to the Waldorf-Astoria. Within the general area one can also find The Benjamin and an enigmatic Marriott so the location is not altogether as remote as it may initially seem when one is out scavenging for a decent cuppa before seven ayem. An extremely professional young man named Norman was happy to answ...

Time flies when you're having a good time. ~ English proverb Good Morning, Gentle Reader. The clock but new struck five and in just a very little while, the Teabodys will climb inside their ancient motor car and hurtle toward the train station where they will board a trusty Amtrak tube which will deliver them to New York City's Penn Station to begin their three-day sojourn inspecting the wares of the world's cleverest artisans! In spite of a nagging discomfort from an "itis" from which Mrs. Teabody hopes to recover, the Teabodys will do their best to bring home a host of treasures to line the walls of Tickle Your Fancy. Just for you. On Thursday, Mrs. Teabody wished to commemorate the first day of SECOND year she would not be attending "inservice" day prior to the first day of school. What could be more fitting than to spend time with another teacher who was just as delighted not to be  sitting inside some dreary central meeting room listening...

"If you're blue and you don't know where to go to, Why don't you go where fashion sits?  Puttin' on the Ritz." ~ Irving Berlin Good Morning from Meadow Grounds Mountain where the cool ambient air reminds everyone that August is the month during which Summer scampers into acceleration  mode. Best catch it before it's gone, Gentle Reader! Mrs. Teabody  returned yesterday from a week's odyssey with two of her siblings, the Duchess Tilly and Lady Anne, and she is prepared to regale you with stories from the road, as it were, and the odyssey begins in Cleveland. Whilst the dauntless, imperious voice of the Global Positioning Device droned along, Lady Anne chanted contradictory advice from MapQuest, and yours truly silently gazed upon an actual Atlas map - -do any of you remember maps? - -  the driver, Duchess Tilly, simply aimed the motor car in the direction of the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Cleveland, and in less time than it takes to butter a...

If you don't like where you are, change your geography. ~ Tom Stull, circa 1968 Good Morning  Gentle Readers across cyberspace as Time gives everyone its first Sunday in August. Besides being the eighth month of the year, August is the final month of summer in the United States, and the word itself has meaning including the following from  Mrs. Miriam Webster:  August - adj. Inspiring awe or admiration; majestic: the august presence of the monarch.  Venerable for reasons of age or high rank. For many, the new school year fast approaches; for others August means annual vacation. The flipping of the calendar to August puts everyone on notice: summer is fading fast; time to turn thoughts into action. Such thoughts spurred Lord and Lady D. into action in hosting a fete of largish proportions and Mr. and Mrs. Teabody were happy to venture forth as Lord and Lady D's estate contains masses of rolling green farmland tucked away behind trees and features the mo...