Saturday Meanderings

Mother Nature is a bit of a tease. Last week, we had beautiful cooler temperatures and a taste of Fall. This week, we are experiencing high heat warnings and are back into the triple digits. Mother Nature is always in control. In spite of the sweltering heat, it is officially the fall season so sometime soon, I hope, we’ll be able to turn off the air conditioning and don a sweater. Thank you so much for joining me for Saturday Meanderings, where we chat about all good things this week.

Dame Maggie Smith

The passing of Dame Maggie Smith on Friday leaves a profound sense of loss in our hearts. Her extraordinary talent, wit, and grace on stage and screen have enchanted generations. Whether in her iconic role as the sharp-tongued Dowager Countess or as the steadfast Professor McGonagall, Dame Maggie’s performances were unforgettable, filled with depth, humor, and elegance.

Her legacy extends beyond the characters she brought to life—her career was a masterclass in acting, and her presence will be sorely missed by all. While we mourn her passing, we also celebrate the indelible mark she left on the world of film and theater. Rest in peace, Dame Maggie. You will forever be remembered. Here are a few of her notable performances and I hope to watch some of them over the weekend.

• Hook
• Sister Act
• First Wives Club
• Tea with Mussolini
• Gosford Park
• Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
• The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
• Harry Potter series
• Downton Abbey

Cutest Dog Bone Basket and Toys

This darling dog bone shaped woven basket, filled with goodies, is an irresistible gift for our puppy, Finn. Inside are 6 different holiday woodland chew toys. I find this at our local Costco store for $39.99. It doesn’t appear to be on the Costco website (yet?) so you may only be able to obtain these in-store.

Look at these sweet chew toys inside~I especially love the moose with the plaid pants! A fabulous holiday gift for your dog or dog parent. My husband thinks Finn will prefer to chew on the basket….

It’s Winter Grass Time

Having grown up in Connecticut, I still find it a bit odd that we have summer and winter grass here. The summer grass comes up on its own, but the winter grass requires planting in the fall. Watering takes place several times a day. Generally, in two weeks, new grass is growing and all is well. My husband just planted the winter grass.

Finn is 8 1/2 months old and the size of a small pony. Here is how I found him yesterday afternoon. Not only is he covered in mud and dirt, but look at the condition of the new baby grass. My husband will not be happy when he sees this. But at least Finn looks like he had a bit of fun.

I find it interesting that Finn enjoys tearing up just about everything except his stuffed bunny. When we picked up Finn in Virginia in March, we bought a large stuffed bunny to put in his crate to be his companion. They were close to the same size back then.

Bunny still sleeps with Finn every night and lately, he’s been taking her for a walkabout around the yard. He is so gentle with her. Often we find him asleep with his arm around her. Such sweet buddies!

It’s Been an Expensive Week

We are expecting a house guest today for 7 weeks and am tidying up the guest cottage. On Thursday, we get a heat alert from our smart thermostat and find out it is 90 degrees in the cottage. What???

A visit yesterday from our HVAC person indicates we have a slow freon leak in the coil which cannot be fixed. But the unit should hang on for the duration of our guest’s stay, we hope. I don’t even want to think about how much a new air conditioning unit costs these days.

Both our Dyson cordless portable vacuum and our Dyson tower fan died this week. The fan stopped working because no one changed the filter in 7 years. I didn’t even know it had a filter. My husband bought it and I thought it was just a fan. The repair person laughed when I asked if it was still under warranty. Ai-yi-yi.

Arizona-shaped Serving and Cutting Board

Last Sunday we hosted a political event and I use this Arizona state-shaped serving board for the charcuterie tray. It’s bamboo and would be a great housewarming gift, a goodbye gift to someone moving, for birthdays and anniversaries, or anyone who enjoys entertaining. Fun laser artwork indicates top towns and attractions. While the food disappears, there is something interesting to see underneath.

If you are looking for a state other than Arizona, you can see availability here.We recently sent one to our son to remind him of his Arizona roots while he lives in Chicago. Price is $29.99 on Amazon.

Blue Light Filtering Glasses

Do you wear blue light filtering glasses when working on your computer or phone? I find my eyes get so tired when writing the blog or doing research on my Mac. Though there are differing opinions on whether blue-light filtering glasses help reduce eye fatigue, I believe they do for me.

Unfortunately, between driving back and forth between the mountains and Phoenix this summer, I misplaced the blue light glasses from my optician. In the meantime, I find these cute ones from the Vintage Leopard ($41.50) and have gotten a few compliments. Of course, I don’t look nearly as adorable as the gal in the picture above, but these large square tortoise shell frames are in style now. Finn liked them so much he chewed the end of the ear piece on the very first day I got them. Sigh.

From the Internet

I could live in a white tee shirt and black pants. Classic, and comfortable. Remember those fabulous t-shirts I found a few months ago on the Banana Republic Factory for a steal? Well, I wore mine all summer and I still love them. Their long sleeve crew and v-neck t-shirts are on sale at $15.00 each. I highly recommend this Timeless tee, just make sure you take them out of the dryer immediately because they do get rather wrinkled if left in there for hours.

Leanne, from Classy Yet Trendy, takes these two wardrobe staples and shows you how to make 10 different outfits. I am tempted to print this off and hang it in my closet, when I can’t figure out what to wear and my eyes glaze over.

Leanne also has wardrobe capsules…something I definitely want to explore because I feel like I never have anything to wear. Check her out!

When you need a slice of calm, please visit my friend CoCo, at the Crowned Goat. I just love to look at her photographs and color palette as they instantly lower any stress you may have. There is always a great and timely quote, home and garden ideas, delicious food, health and wellness tips and gorgeous seasonal inspiration.

Check her out. You will love what she has to say~The Crowned Goat.

I hope you have a peaceful and/or productive (or both) weekend. My daughter is in the frantic process of moving to Austin, Texas so lots of sorting, organizing and packing going on all over the house. It appears I may be driving there with her next week so not sure how much blogging I will get done. In the meantime, stay safe out there!