Mary's Last Day

John was sick during Mary's entire visit. How sick was he? He was so sick he WENT TO SEE THE DOCTOR on Monday. Turns out, he had very bad cold. He did NOT test positive for the flu..

But he hadn't eaten for days, and because he's an insulin-dependent diabetic, you can imagine how screwed up his sugar was.

Sick husband for two weeks.  Enough said...

Saturday and Sunday had not gone as planned...By Monday, there was a long list of places we-hadn't-been-to-yet. So Mary's last day was gonna be jam-packed...

We started off at some charity thrift stores in Davenport -- then went to John's doctor's office....the good news is he doesn't have the flu -- the bad news is he's still sick.

By then, it was time for LUNCH...

ON TO THE FABULOUS CURRENT HOTEL in downtown Davenport.

The lobby is spectacular.

They have art everywhere...and it was all decked out for Valentine's Day

Such a beautiful place to relax and sit for a visit.

We ate lunch at VIVA! The Mexican restaurant in the lobby.

I loved the 3D ropes in this large weaving.

Trouble is, I've eaten here twice -- the food was terrific -- but both times, we were the only table in the place.

After lunch, we got back to the serious business of Thrift-Store-Shopping. As it happens -- Monday is VIP day at the Salvation Army. And, this month, VIP's get four pieces of clothing FOR $1. (OF COURSE, I'M A VIP)...Oh, yeah, this is a MAJOR TREASURE HUNT.

By 5:00, Mary and I were IN THE POOL at the YMCA.  We joined in with a class.  Afterwards, we went to eat at the Hy-Vee salad bar.

IT WAS A JAM PACKED DAY...and the question now is whether or not Mary can get her treasure all packed into two suitcases... 

Mary's 2018 Cultural Event

Every year, when Mary comes to visit, I plan one special event. It's fun for me to check out the various theater schedules, museum exhibits, etc.to see what's happening. I try to find some kick-ass cultural event that shows off our sophisticated life here in Iowa...

Years ago, we went to a Musical at the local Music Guild...ahh...for the good old days, when Lilly believed, "A girl can never go wrong with pink."  (she also didn't smile much)...

Then, one year -- there was a wonderful exhibit at the Figge Art Museum...

Last year, my cousin Kim and my sister Deena joined us for dinner theater at Circa 21.

Hey -- last year, the Phantom of the Opera was TERRIFIC....really -- a hard act to follow!!
But, never fear!! My community is LOADED WITH CULTURE OF ALL KINDS.

And I found something really unique this year...as a matter of fact, I'm proud to tell you that Mary has NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT...

A SHOW CHOIR COMPETITION..!!

Yep, that's right. On Saturday night, Mary and I met my sister Deena at North High School in Davenport, Iowa. We were attending the FINALS of the Show Choir Invitational called "The Big Dance."

There were 16 Show Choirs from all over the Midwest, performing and competing.

The outfits are AMAZING...you really cannot imagine the amount of GLITTER AND SPARKLE...!!

Did I mention that a part of the competition is that they CHANGE OUTFITS??

Holy Cow. I kept thinking we were in the middle of an episode of GLEE..!! THESE KIDS ARE AMAZING...

Mary kept saying, "I don't think we have this in Minnesota."

Deena was also stunned...she had NO IDEA this kind of thing was going on.  Apparently -- it's been around for decades.  Yikes.  Who knew??

A couple of years ago, Lilly and I stumbled into one of these competitions at the Adler Theater in downtown Davenport, Iowa.  But I had no idea there was a season...and shows happening in cities and town all over America...almost every weekend...

As it turns out -- that Davenport competition is AN ANNUAL EVENT!!  And it's coming up....

Sponsored by Davenport Central High School, it's called the Great River Show Choir Invitational Honestly -- if you're within a 100 mile radius of Davenport, Iowa  -- YOU SHOULD ATTEND.

I'll be at the big Finale -- on Saturday night, February 17.  WANNA DO DINNER??

Mary's 2018 Visit: Day Two

There's an old Yiddish Proverb that says --

We plan, God laughs.

And, of course, that's what happened during Mary's visit. The key to her WONDERFUL, VERY SUCCESSFUL 2018 visit was that we were VERY, VERY FLEXIBLE...lol...

John was sick. And this flu is killing people. We couldn't be married to a schedule because we never knew when we might have to rush to the ER...ugh..or make arrangements at the funeral home...

On Saturday, Mary started off by cutting some apples for our healthy OATMEAL breakfast.

That was pretty much the END of things going-as-planned.

After breakfast, we went to pick up the kids and brought them back to the house.

Instead of an exciting day of thrift store shopping, Mary got to experience my typical Saturday.  Lilly and Mary played Bananagrams while I made cheese omelets. Warren took a nap...John was in bed.  Coughing.  Being Sick.  And Refusing to go TO THE DOCTOR. (that was becoming his full time job).

Later in the day, we went swimming with the kids. They LOVED THAT...

Then, on to our favorite place for after-the-swim-eats-- Wendy's.  Lilly sang a Hamilton song for Mary.  I keep thinking this will be the last time she will sing Hamilton...

We took the kids home, and Mary got a tour of Elliott and Emily's new house and business.

Lilly showed us her new Karaoke machine.

Both Warren and Lilly LOVE Mary!! They didn't want her to go home!!.

But we had to get going...because, on this day, I had a VERY SPECIAL EVENING EVENT planned for Mary...do you remember what it was??

Mary's 2018 Visit: Evening of Day One

When we got home from the TMBC day, the E team called to see what time dinner was going to be.

YIKES. I FORGOT THEY WERE COMING FOR DINNER.

Thankfully, I had a bag of homemade meatballs in the freezer (Thanks, John)...so I said "give me an hour".

I put on a pot of water to boil and Mary started to chop stuff for a salad.

After supper,  Lilly decided to play dress-up and create costumes for herself and her brother...

Each costume had a story.

Warren was being some kind of Ewok?

This was some kind of aquatic creature.

Golden Girls? 

That's Warren's fish face...

Then, they decided to dress up the adults.

We decided that, the next morning, we'd pick up the kids to go swimming...

But John was going downhill...and by the next morning, it was clear we needed to stay close to home...

Mary Mulari's 2018 Visit: Day One

Mary arrived at the Moline Airport at 4:30 Thursday afternoon. Unfortunately, she had to wait for TWO HOURS before I was able to pick her up.

Of course, waiting in airports is one of Mary's  favorite things to do...and you can imagine I just LOVED not being able to pick up my friend who had COME ALL THIS WAY... (yes, sarcasm).

It was a rocky start.  But -- at the end of the day, I tried to remember the wisdom of the shower curtain -- IT IS WHAT IT IS....

The challenge for me was to get over it as quickly as possible....and enjoy our time.  There was no way I was going to let a crappy beginning ruin Mary's annual visit to Iowa.

After I was finally able to get to the airport, we had a nice relaxing dinner at Miss Mamie's....and I got to live out the FROZEN motto.... let it go...(that would also be a good shower curtain motto)


Mary's first full day in Iowa was TMBC DAY -- and we picked Clinton, Iowa as our day-trip destination.

Breakfast was a new joint -- Bubba and Mamma's Diner.

They have a great menu -- with -- get this -- $4 Senior Omelets!!

A cinnamon roll pancake is INCLUDED...!! (I took mine home for the kiddos)

After breakfast, we spent the rest of the morning visiting some of our favorite thrift-store haunts. There's the fabulous Deja Vous consignment store, and Audrey and Tom's antique mall, and Bargain Bonanza. SO MANY WONDERFUL SHOPS...so much treasure!!

I bought some new Eggnog Christmas mugs -- and some soup bowls to match my favorite winter soup bowls.  It's  different scene on the inside -- but the shape is the same.  GREAT IDEA, EH?

Then, it was time to cross the Mississippi River and head to the Illinois side.  One of our favorite restaurants -- Krumpet's -- for lunch.

Mary delivered gifts from our friend Nancy Harp.  SCRUBBIES..!!

And she did a little show-and-tell...

We all got a new Pashmina wrap!!

Best Home Dec idea of the day!!  Wallpaper a room with old road maps...

I seriously love this idea...

Happy Birthday, Marion

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARION...(I know it was actually yesterday, but there are three good reasons I'm running this post today...and I don't want to waste your time explaining.  Just accept the belated Birthday Wishes...)

When we talked the other day, I was delighted to hear you are well and enjoying the beautiful weather in sunny Florida.  I am looking forward to our 2018 Road Trip...no matter where we go, it will be SPECTACULAR..!!

We've been to Chicago, New York City, Hershey, Lancaster, Pa., Florida, Savannah, Georgia, Aurora Minnesota, Iowa, Oregon, Sedona, Arizona, Toronto, Princeton, Iowa and Kingston, Canada.  WOW.  We are the lucky ones!!  Where to this year?  How will we decide??

Here are some random pictures.  When we met in Chicago, you were recovering from chemo...you booked us into a fabulous luxury hotel in downtown Chicago...where you did a little shopping therapy...

We had a wonderful time taking the Frank Lloyd Wright architectural tour...

And we LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the boat tour of Chicago...I'd recommend this to anybody visiting the Windy City!!

Of course -- you MUST go to the Art Institute....

This is one of my favorite pics -- a mirror shot in the hotel room.


For me, the living memento of that great Chicago trip -- when we stayed at the JAMES HOTEL -- was popovers!! I will always remember that fabulous dinner -- when they delivered a hot, crisp popover, in it's own little metal pan -- it was SO DELICIOUS....and as I went on and on about it...you were amazed, and said, "I can't believe you've never had a popover."

You have brought a lot of joy into my life, Marion -- and we've had so many wonderful trips together. Remember that little breakfast joint with five tables and the homemade bread?? Our writing workshop adventures in Iowa City...where we learned,

"why would anybody write fiction when the truth is so bizarre, it will NEVER let you down!"

Because we met when we were both in the fabric business -- there were sewing machine conventions -- you visiting my store, me visiting your stores. Your visits to Iowa -- sitting on the porch -- my trips to Kingston, Ontario -- learning how to Kayak (okay -- that never happened)..

OH MY GOD -- what was your favorite trip? NYC?? Upstate New York....visiting FDR's home -- and eating lunch at the CIA...??

Okay -- a random shot of Mary and her sister Sarah.  Pretty cute, eh?

OMG -- I was so fat!!  And you were so thin.  But, hey, Mary -- don't wear that top again.  It makes you look pregnant...

Thanks for all of it, Marion -- and HAPPY BIRTHDAY.  I made popovers yesterday -- IN YOUR HONOR. (I'm trying NOT to eat Chocolate Cake).   I think of them as a gift you gave me. (even though, in ALL THE TIMES I VISITED YOU -- you never ONCE made me a popover!!)