36 hours with Mrs. HB. It was short and sweet and pretty much perfect in every way. I picked her up at the airport and we got back to my place around 9. Lucy totally freaked out, and after about 2 minutes of getting some love from Mrs. HB, Lucy ran out to the car in search of Mrs. HB’s dog…. It was sad and sweet at the same time. Poor Lucy, where was her furry friend? And why didn’t he come along with Mrs. HB?
Lucy missed Mrs. HB so much that on Friday night, she didn’t even hesitate for a moment and jumped right up on Mrs. HB’s bed and slept with her the entire night. 😉 That Lucy, she is the queen of snuggles.
Back when we lived in Western Washington, Mrs. HB would save all her packing paper for my Etsy orders…. So of course she brought some along to give to me.
On Saturday morning I asked her if she wanted to see the big city, or to go to a lobster shack, or do anything special while she was here, but all she really wanted to do was hang out and relax… and so that’s what we did.
We took a walk down our street and then headed for town. All along the way she pointed things out like poison ivy, wild turkeys and a pair of turtles in the pond we walked past. Country life she said, suits her.
About a mile into our walk we found a yard sale, and I bought a spreader for the HH for $10. And then wheeled it all over town.
Even into the country store where we stopped to grab a sandwich.
After we dropped the spreader off at the house, we headed to the recycle center where Mrs. HB found 2 free books for the flight home.
And then we stopped for ice cream and checked out the one “gift store” in town where she picked up a few treasures to bring back home.
And then stopped by my favorite farm stand for a peach.
But let’s all take a moment to admire Mrs. HB’s lack of facial hair. Because what do you know, yet again, she started the conversation about me needing to SHAVE the peach fuzz off my face. And of course I was like, seriously? Who does that? Who saves their face? I would never do that.
Whatever. At this point it was around 3 pm and after stopping at a second yard sale, a nursery and a second farm stand, we decided to go back to the house for a little siesta.
And then for dinner, I took her to our favorite pizza place for the best chicken Caesar salad on the planet. Then we came back, chatted a bit more and all went to bed about 9pm.
Sunday morning though, we were up at 6 and outside picking vegetables for the little vegetable stand at the end our our driveway.
Mrs. HB had an 11:30 flight so after we set up the stand we headed to Boston for breakfast and a little walking around before I had to drop her off.
On the way to Boston we bickered back and forth about her choice of clothing for the 6 hour flight home. I pointed out that stretchy toddler pants and flip flops were not the best choice in case there was an emergency landing.
What if she had to climb over a seat, {she’d lose the flip flops!} what if she had to run through fire, {the flip flops would melt, her feet would be burned and her pants would incinerate leaving her running for her life in the buff before she could stop, drop and roll!}. I won’t even go into the whole what would happen if she had to go down an inflatable slide, stand on a wing or try and assist someone.
What constitutes an appropriate outfit to wear on an airplane is yet another issue Mrs. HB and I will never agree on. Also, the age limit for stretch pants? I think it should be 5 years of age. But what do I know.
Food though, we both love food and so I took her to Tatte Bakery for breakfast and a snack for the airplane ride home. And then, since we still had an hour before I needed to drop her off at the airport…. We set off on foot to the North End. According to my phone, Mike’s Pastry was only like 1.1 miles away so I suggested we walk.
I mean really, 15 minutes to walk there, 15 minutes to look around and buy a treat, and 15 minutes to walk back, plus 15 minutes extra. What could possibly go wrong, right? 😉
So I punched the walking directions into my phone and Mr. Google Maps said the estimated walking time to the bakery {that was 1.1 miles away} was 26 minutes. What? That can’t be right. So I totally ignored it, because HELLO…. a 26 minute mile?
I guess I kind of forgot about the area around the tree streets being so hilly and that Mrs. HB was wearing flip flops. And all the twists and turns we’d have to make to navigate around the Massachusetts State House. Oops. 😉 It all worked out fine though and we arrived at the pastry shop right on time. The goal was to be back at the car by 9:45 am so we’d have plenty of time to get to the airport and we were right on schedule.
We bought a pound of fig cookies, and a slice of ricotta pie. And then I was like…. OH MY GOSH, we have to go to the salami shop, it’s right over there and Mr. HB would totally love it if you brought a few home. So we stopped in to buy some, and as we were leaving Mrs. HB started to get a little worried that we were going to be late for the airport.
And I was like… we are totally fine on time! We will be back to the car by 9:45, it’s only a mile away and this time it will be {pretty much} all downhill.
But she wasn’t going for it…. And wanted to call Uber to take us the 1.1 miles back to the car.
Yada yada yada…. She hadn’t ever used Uber before, and so when her phone said that the car was just 3 minutes away, and then about a minute later it said 7 minutes away, she texted the driver to tell him he was going the wrong way. He didn’t respond.
And then she got a little panicked and texted him again saying we were two women standing on the side of the road. And again he didn’t respond. And then she texted him a third time {I have no idea what because she wouldn’t let me see her phone and I kept telling her to LEAVE THE DRIVER ALONE and that he knows what he’s doing} and before you know it the phone said that the driver was at the pick up location.
But we didn’t see the car. And so then either the driver cancelled the transaction or Mrs. HB accidentally hit cancel and we were standing there outside the salami shop 10 minutes later with no ride.
That was fun. Luckily though, we spotted a cab and jumped in and the driver took us back to the car. We got back to the car at 9:48 am {3 minutes later than our ETA if we had walked!} and headed to the airport.
At one point we ended up driving down a one way street going in the opposite direction. Good times people, good times. Truly, there is nothing like a little adrenaline rush on your way to the airport to catch a flight if you ask me. It adds a little excitement to the whole trip, don’t you think? Really, who wants to get to the airport 3 hours early just to stare at a wall and pay $20 for a candy bar? Not me.
I don’t think we could have had a better 36 hours together. It was the perfect amount of totally unplanned, let’s just go with the flow kind of craziness we both enjoy.
Life, it’s meant to be lived…. and not having an agenda sometimes, makes for the best memories.
Ahh, Mrs. HB. I had a blast and I miss you already.
XOXOXO
~Mavis
Susan says
Mavis- your sweating in New England area, here in PNW we are looking at temps right around 70 starting Thursday. Summer is over out here! Probably going to play havoc on the gardens. Your weekend with Mrs. Hillbilly sounds just perfect. If only eight different lip balms had fallen out of her suitcase…
Mavis Butterfield says
I didn’t even see her pull out ONE while she was here!
Mama Cook says
Am I the only one laughing and feeling misty eyed all at the same time! Good Times Indeed!!!
Richelle says
Me, too!
Heather says
So happy you had such memorable fun times together.
Laura T. says
Sounds like a fun visit! When I saw the picture of her back, I thought she cut all of her hair off! But I guess she just had it pulled up. They probably checked her luggage because it smelled like salami! :0)
Those little fig cookies look yummy!
Like you, I always think about what I wear on a plane. I would never wear a dress or skirt. I dress in comfortable clothes & sensible shoes. It’s funny but I think about the what ifs too, like an emergency! You don’t want to be wearing a dress & high heels! Although, you could use spiked heels against a hijacker or to poke people out of you way to get to the emergency slide faster! :0)
Emily E says
Totally agree with Mrs. HB’s choice of flight clothing, minus the flip flops but loving her French pedicure. I also love how she appears in your post like an episode of HOme Improvement with the neighbor Wilson whose face you never really get to see. LOL The suspense is killing me!!!
Carolina Coooper says
I certainly vicariously enjoyed your time with Mrs. HB. I couldn’t help but notice 2 of your outfits with long sleeves and Bermuda shorts—such a New England look!!! There are many guys around here who wear that look ALL WINTER LONG—and only put away the sandals when there is SNOW on the ground!!!
LynnDinKY says
I spy Joy Ice cream cake cones! Those are made in Hermitage PA, which is where I just spent 3 days at to visit my dh’s family. I buy them when I can. On our way home to KY we stopped at Ceasar Lake Flea Market. I’ve always wanted to stop but there was always one too many children in the car. LOL I found a Le Creuset Caribbean blue small teapot for 50 CENTS! Hello! It has a new loving home in KY.
Teri says
Heartwarming that you got to see each other in your new digs! Do you have any plans to come back to Washington for a visit?
Mrs. Hillbilly says
Awwww…. I had such a wonderful time! reading your post made me tear up. But I know it wont be too long since we see each other again… I hope. Miss you Mavis!
Nat says
Dear Mrs. Hillbilly,
Please go visit Mavis again SOON! Please, please, please!!!!
Mrs.HB says
I would love to!
Em says
Thanks for posting this Mrs HB update! I’m glad Lucy got to see her friend, as well. 🙂
I’m with you, though, Mavis, and while I love Mrs HB’s pedicure, I would pack my sandals and wear other shoes on the plane.
I am still admiring your vegetable stand.
Mrs. M says
lol- I think y’all are combining two different sayings… ” bleeding like a stuck pig” and “sweating like a pig.” “Bleeding like a stuck pig” is pretty self-explanatory…. bleeding a lot. “Sweating like a pig” is more confusing because, you’re husband is right, pigs don’t sweat much. But, the phrase isn’t about animals, it’s about ‘pig iron.’ Here’s an explanation i found online…
“John Farrier • Monday, August 29, 2011
Pigs don’t sweat much, so they wallow in the mud to cool off their bodies. So how did the English language expression “sweating like a pig” develop? It’s actually a reference to pig iron, which is form of iron smelting:
When pig iron is originally created from iron ore, the smelter needs to heat the ore to extreme temperatures, and then move the liquid metal into the mold. Until the liquid cools, it can’t be safely moved, as the extremely hot metal is liable to spill, burning whatever it comes in contact with.
How does the smelter know when the metal is cool enough to transport? When the “pigs” “sweat.” As the metal cools, the air around it reaches the dew point, causing droplets to form on the metal’s surface.”
I actually use both phrases, but one at a time. Unless I’m cut and it’s 99’F like it is today. Then I’d be “bleeding like and stuck pig and sweating like a pig, too!”
Loved reading about the Mrs H.B. visit!
Crystal says
bwahahaha I say sweating like a stuck pig too! My husband says… no, pigs don’t sweat. lol glad you had a great time!
Jeanie says
I watched a man with obvious foot issues walk through the security line barefoot after removing his flip flops. Never again! I usually wear flats but take along socks to slide on before walking through the scanner. Then I turn them inside out when I take them off and slip them in a baggie for in my bag.
Marcia says
ah ha ha ha!
I loved the Time traveler’s wife – got it from our little free library.
There is no age limit for stretchy pants. Stretchy pants with pockets, if you can find them, are the single best thing on a plane.
If you have comfy slip on shoes (with socks), those are better than flip flops. I wear running shoes. A pain to take off and back on, but good to sprint in if necessary.
We came super close to missing our flight on our honeymoon. Fun times. And I was hungover as hell.
Kerri Adams says
Love Tatte Bakery!
Sue says
Makita saw Santa? Is that like Chainsaw Freddy? 😀
Kipper says
That confused me too.
Mavis Butterfield says
Me three.
Vicki in Birmingham says
Well, hearing about your visit truly made my heart happy! 36 hours isn’t much, but it is enough to appreciate seeing each. Hopefully in a few months, you guys will be able to visit again. I am sooo glad that you two enjoyed each other and that Lucy was tickled about the visit too!
Mel says
I couldn’t wear flip-flops on a flight because my feet would get too cold, but I’m all about stretchy pants in pretty much any situation. I don’t do true leggings except to run, but high quality jeggings (usually sized up to avoid being too snug, in ponte or twill fabric instead of denim, and still with a long-ish top) are essential for my job. I have to sit at a desk all day, and I sometimes work 12-hour days. In those situations, even the most comfortable dress pants are just torture by the end of the day. I made the change, and I will never go back. I just invested in stretchy, pull-on pencil skirts instead of zippered ones, and they are similarly life-changing.
Marcia says
I have never heard of twill or ponte jeggings, so I googled. And I’m now obsessed. I must get a pair.
Renee says
I keep hearing “Let me tell you about my best friend song” in my head as I was reading your post. How exciting for the two of you! I have missed your adventures, so thank you for sharing!
Tracie@SomewhatAwry.com says
One of my favorite posts! Thanks for sharing!
Joely says
Mrs. HB you are my hero. I love the Adventures of Mavis and Mrs. HB. Please keep them coming! You two are fantastic!!
Leslie says
This was a fun read. Thanks for sharing!