Activities in RI

Here’s some of the things that I’ve been doing while here in RI:

• been shopping.  As I mentioned previously I was at LNT to look for curtains.  I figure that if they had the ones I wanted at home, they’d probably have them here.  Well, here’s the whole story:  I want new curtains for my living room and I found the perfect ones at LNT.  And I had found them ages ago when I first started looking for curtains.  So just last week, I decided to go and get them (actually I wanted to have them installed by the time Greg got back from India, what a surprise that would have been!) but as luck would have it, they were completely sold out!  Seriously, every time I’ve been in to LNT to drool over these curtains, they’d always have many and the one time that I finally get in there to make the purchase, they’re all gone!  So after a bit of weeping that I’ll never find the ones that I want anywhere I did some surfing and found the exact same panels on sale at JC Penney.  And wouldn’t you know that I’d be in the States for a week!  I found a location in Newport not even 5 minutes from the hotel with the plan to go and buy them as soon as I settled in here.  Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans?  It ends up that the JC Penney here is only a catalogue merchant and not actually the whole department store.  Argh!  And this is why I ended up at LNT just down the road from the hotel, hoping that I would find them there without having to drive all the way out to Providence to get them.  At any rate, the LNT didn’t have them either so off to Providence I will go.


• More shopping.  Browsed through Michael’s and realized that I haven’t much time to send out Christmas cards, especially if I wait to start them when I get home.  Saw a lovely design that I’m going to attempt to duplicate and bought all the materials.


• And yet more shopping.  Barnes&Noble is sin itself.  My plan was just to pick out a few cheap books for the kids to browse through while we snacked and I had a coffee in the adjoining coffee shop but it ended up being a couple of hours of browsing and buying yet more Christmas presents and getting ideas for even more Christmas presents.  And I’m not talking about prezzies for people I haven’t already bought for!  These are all ideas for people I’ve already bought tons of gifts for!  I think however I will go back again to pick up a few more things.

• While in the States I always have this strange yearning to go to the local IHOP.  There isn’t anything special about the place really.  It’s like a Denny’s.  But there’s just something about a place called the International House of Pancakes, it just pulls me to it like some sort of magnet, or like a spirit singing me towards my pancake doom.  And what’s even more odd is that the last time I was at an IHOP it was an unpleasant experience, hardly living up to my high expectations.  Yet despite that, I found myself piling the kids into the car, in highly inclement weather to boot, to drive to the IHOP for a bit of breakfast (brunch as it was after 10am by the time I got my butt in gear).  And my faith in the IHOP has been restored!  No wait, no lines and the food was yum yum yummy (though I think anyone would be hard pressed not to impress me with custard stuffed French toast anywhere else).  The girl was equally impressed (and I’m like the best mommy in the world letting her eat sweet, custardy, strawberry drenched bread with sausages and chocolate milk for breakfast!) and the IHOP did well by the boy with their side serving of bacon and totally excellent fun kids menu.

• Watched The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.  Opening day, 3:45pm.  Greg got out of work just after noon and after a short snooze we were out the door to watch the flick.  I got a little lost getting to the cinema (which incidently is right across the street from our hotel but I took the long way around, a somewhat fortunate incident in that we saw 2 huge airplane carriers because I did a U-turn at a naval base and we were able to look out over the ocean and the carriers were just sitting in dock – totally cool!), and then had a spot of trouble paying for movie snacks (interac didn’t work for me), which made me miss the first few scenes of the movie.  Once I was settled in though I enjoyed the movie oh so immensely.  It’s an excellent adaptation of the book and the actors played the characters to a tee.  There was only one part that strayed a tiny little bit from the book, which I thought a little unnecessary but it was a very small part and nothing at all to complain over.  It all followed the book very accurately.  My favourite part was the battle with all the different animals and creatures.  Peter did absolutely excellent as did Edmund and I was always reminded of Olivia’s chubby cheeks whenever I watched Lucy.  She was so cute.  And I was suitably impressed by the centaurs.  I do believe it’s a see-again!

• also watched Superman 3 on tv with the winks while we ate dinner.  That is a great movie!  When I was a kid I was in love with Superman.  I wished I was Lois Lane.  *sigh*  really takes me back…