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A solid envelope charm in antiqued gold carries a secret love note inside! A small "I Love You" charm is the perfect surprise for a loved one! It hangs on a sturdy antiqued gold chain.
A posted note left by my fiancee on my window before she left for her parent's home 3500 miles away.
Playing the piano has long been an act,
of great grandeur.
From the greatest composers of all time,
including Ludwig van Beethoven and all the rest.
Playing the piano well is an and will be,
an eternally respectable practice,
not to mention a signal of intelligence as well.
Promote your brand with this handy promotional Flags & Custom Sticky Notes. Your recipients will find this gift a worthy addition to their homes and offices. These Custom Sticky Notes allow them to quickly jot their personal thoughts or important notes from a meeting.
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From Evernote:
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Clipped from: marie-anne-sew-vintage.blogspot.com/2010/01/blouse-named-...
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The Sewing Time Machine: A blouse named 'Secretary001'
The Sewing Time MachineWednesday, January 27, 2010A blouse named 'Secretary001'Here is my next project, or the inspiration for my next project. I'm no expert on the matter but this reminds me of a 40's pencil pushing office blouse, which is why I named it Secretary001.It looks to me like all the control has been shifted into side darts which were then gathered into the side seams. The sleeve looks like a very short kimono or dolman. Anyways, I got to work on the PatternMaster and this is my first muslin.
I'm not happy because I look like a bag lady!
So I learned that when zero waist darts are selected, the slack is not picked up anywhere else - not in the side seam and not in other darts. I'll have to manually shift all the control into the side dart. And that will be my second muslin....Posted by Marie-Anne at 6:28 PMLabels: blouse, fitting, PatternMaster Boutique0 comments:Post a CommentNewer Post Older Post HomeSubscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)PagesHomeAbout MeMarie-AnneWhen I'm not cleaning, cooking, or working, I'm going back in time....with my sewing machine!View my complete profileThis WeekChris' jacket is lined and it looks great. He has a motorcycle ride this coming weekend and he is so excited to show it off.
The surprise will be revealed next week. We'll see....I'm super busy with work. But not for long....
Now I've got to finish fitting my jeans so I can make sexy pants!Labelsantiques (1) Barrence Whitfield (1) blouse (4) Canada (1) Candace Sutherland (1) cooking (2) Crazy Joe (1) crotch length (6) curlers (1) Deke Dickerson (1) diet (1) dress (3) exercise (1) fitting (18) fundraiser (1) garage sale (1) giveaway (6) hair (2) half moon manicure (1) homemaking (2) Hourcast (1) Howlin' Hound Dogs (1) jacket lining (1) jeans (5) Jordan Officer (1) Kingston (1) lapped zipper (1) lining (1) Little Rachel (1) meal planning (2) motorcycle jacket (1) organization (1) outfit (1) pants (3) pants fitting (5) Pattern Master Boutique (1) PatternMaster Boutique (15) Red Hot and Blue Rockabilly Weekend (1) shirring (1) shoulder pad (1) Singer 217 (1) Singer Spartan (1) skirt (3) Sound Academy (1) straight skirt (4) Tennessee Voodoo Coupe (1) The Broken Toys (1) The Damned Things (1) The Royal Crowns (1) tutorial (1) Valentine (3) vintage (7) vintage knitting (1) vintage patterns (1) Volbeat (1) wet set (1) wing bust bodice (2)Search This Blogpowered byShare itTunesMusic Playlist at MixPod.comBlog Archive► 2011 (17)▼ 2010 (47)► December (2)► November (7)► October (3)► September (11)► July (2)► June (5)► May (3)► April (2)► March (5)► February (3)▼ January (4)Shrinky Inky's Fine Adventures GiveawaySecretary001, the second muslin...A blouse named 'Secretary001'The finished skirt!► 2009 (5)Listen to sewingtimemachines Playlist Simple template. Template images by Ollustrator. Powered by Blogger.
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Aeronautica Militare Boeing KC-767, departing RAF Waddington during Exercise Cobra Warrior 2022. Note the dust kicked up by the departing plane, indicating the dry conditions after a summer with little rain.
Notes: Blue Mountains Woolfiesta was part of a promotional campaign by the Australian Wool Bureau, later the Wool Board, which sponsored communities to organise wool themed activities and competitions.
Little Bo-Peep, Miss Laraine Morris, centre,
The Parent & Pupil Wool Shed Hop was held in the Katoomba Primary School Hall, sponsored by the Ladies Auxiliary.
Format: B&W photo
Date Range: April 9, 1963
Licensing: Attribution, share alike, creative commons.
Repository: Blue Mountains Library library.bmcc.nsw.gov.au
Part of: Local Studies Collection - LS images: Woolfiesta
Provenance: Donation
NOTE: Flickr makes a .jpg of uploaded files. The Jpeg process reduces actuance. The original scan has more detail than the .jpg file and in turn the original scan has less detail than is on the film. The film probably has 4 to 9 times (2 squared to 3 squared) the detail as you can see if made with a cracker jack lens and top rated film.
1. The bus was about 185 meters away from the camera.
2. The film does not have the reddish/maroon look that you see here. Scanning with the Kodachrome film type selection instead of the proper Color Positive selection miscolored the scan, my fault
Photos taken in this set were to test various stock lenses on some of my cameras. I started out with old 120/620 folders then added some modern 120 filmed examples. There will also be a few 35mm and 127 tests. You will need to open these up to their original size to see how good or bad the lens is. Also please see the type of scanner that was used because not all the scanners were able to scan at the same resolution.
Unless specifically noted, over time I used several films for these lens tests. Various Kodak and Fuji 100 speed reversal films and Fuji Velvia 50 speed were used. The difference in sharpness of the film was far less than the difference in the lenses.
Please take into consideration that when Flickr jpegs the uploaded tiff file some of the detail is lost so the original is sharper than what you can see.
Gentlepersons:
The Pictures...
These recently uploaded pictures have no artistic value. They were just uploaded to be representative of color picture recording during about 85+ years that I was able to take color pictures, mostly slides at first. Unlike in today’s digital world it took time, money and effort to make a color slide. We took fewer pictures back then, trying to stretch resources, but some sere still frivolous.
I'm 97 (2016). I'm about at the end of my ability to continue posting. The ratio of today’s digital pictures that are kept for any length of time and/or printed is much less than the film photos taken in days past. History will be lost. Meanwhile you get to be bored by some old Kodachromes, Anscochromes, a Dufaycolor and perhaps an old black & white or so.
These recently uploaded pictures have no artistic value. They were just uploaded to be representative of color picture recording during about 85+ years that I was able to take pictures, mostly slides at first. Unlike in today’s digital world it took time, money and effort to make a color slide. We took fewer pictures back then, trying to stretch resources, but some sere still frivolous. The first picture I remember taking was in the mid-1920s when my mother's sailor boyfriend brought an overseas camera to San Pedro.
The Camera: Rolleicord V, ca. 1954
I used a used but good condition Rolleicord V ca 1954. It has a single coated Schneider Kreuznach 75mm F:3.5 Xenar four element lens. I bought a second one so I could make medium format 3D (Stereo) slides. The two like cameras are less than 100 serial numbers apart but the second lens is not up to the quality of this one. Using the USAF1951 chart this lens gives over 60 lp/mm at F: 11.
The film: Fuji Provia 100 or Kodak E100:
This was shot on Provia 100 or Kodak E100 in 120 size. To scan with a 35mm dedicated film scanner I first used a Mamiya Super Slide punch. The film center was then mounted in 127 sized slide mounts which have the same external dimensions as 35mm slides. The surrounding mount has thinner sides than 35mm. This does give a 35mm scanner a chance to scan all film instead of having some mount blocking and reducing the amount of picture taken.
The Scanner, Minolta 5400 II:
The Minolta 5400 was advertised at 5400 PPI and actually gave out not only a scan of that size but also of that resolution. Testing was done using a 1951USAF glass microscope resolution bought from Edmond Scientific. When scanning a chart at maximum resolution one has to be concerned with registration between the lines on the chart and the pixel placement of the sensor. Exact registration is a hit and miss, re-trial exercise. With film the scanned bits of silver and dye clumps are randomly scattered without the need to have perfect alignment.
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A bunch of quirkyness for this Friday. A Post-it Note found on the car next to mine at the Starbucks in Stafford, VA.
Gail Carriiger author head shot, photo by Vanessa Applegate
Wearing vintage sweater with lace collar, conducting research and drinking tea.
the plane, a 737 was spotless inside. Not a mark, on surfaces or fabric (compared to somewhat shabby marks and wear and tear on US airline interiors). Not one dead trapped insect stuck in a windowed coffin between the inside and outside window of your seat (look next time, and how DO they get there to begin with).
Soon after takeoff we bank to the right to head south across the coast of sydney and the state of new south wales (NSW), over canberra (the national capitol area) into melbourne in the state of Victoria (VIC).
"Afternoon refreshments" in economy class said the announcement once in the air. Wow. Complementary wine and beer (mixed drinks A$6). Ignoring the fact the beer includes Fosters things were good. The "snacks" provided were good too. A joint packet of cashews and apricot. Large portions. Good quality. As the ingredients list, contents 100% cashews. Yum.
Cabin staff, in economy, smiles, friendly, want to help clearly.
Also walked around offering apples as snacks. Good apples. In a huge basket that must have had about 30 apples in it. I wanted to take a picture but I was laughing at the sight.
I LOVE the orange tablemat thing they give out too. It's a perforated nice-feel absorbant material. Its a tablemat. It's also a bag for trash afterwards so as they walk through doing pickup it takes seconds. It's also a napkin. It's a great tablematnapkinbag idea.
It also contains inside a wetwipe and stirrer for drinks that's twice the size/length of the US ones.
Sunsets. I've noticed the sunrises and sunsets occur very quickly here. Like within 15 mins and it's suddenly light, or dark. Must be the hemisphere and season (last week of winter). It's chilly enough at night i had to go buy a coat. My fault for thinking australia, sunny, its august, it will be hot.
Flight time 90 mins. Sydney to Melbourne. Quantas CityFlyer. $
Airport. Terminal 3 sydney. Bigger than National (DCA). Quieter but I realised its the people who go about their airporty stuff with less of a presence or noise. Folks just a few seats away on a cellphone have what appears to be a habit of covering their mouth with their other hand so their calls are not public (and hence quieter). A full flight doesn't have a gate boarding seat area where there are no free seats. Even the gate agent counter area is turned 90 degrees from the US standard so folks queueing are lining up in the area not out into the corridor. Terminal 3 is dedicated to quantas domestic flights. From arriving to boarding was never asked for any photo id. Why does showing some form of unverifable photo id help us with flights in the US?
New Zealand Maori queen laid to rest today. Queen Te Atairangikaahu (Dame Te Ata) reigned for 40 years, lacking any constitutional powers but beloved of the NZ nation. Before europeans arrived the Maori were ruled by many chiefs, their monarchy only came about after contact with the British. New Zealand - originally Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud - was not colonised by the British in the way Australia was.
The natives, descendants of the Polynesians, often reacted violently to foreign visitors, begining with Abel Tasman in 1642. Captain Cook took possession of the islands for Britain in 1769 - without consulting the natives. The presence of the fierce Maori menat the British preferred and went off to colonise Australia instead.
But foreigners were drawn to New Zealand. British, French and American ships began making regular visits. Mostly whalers, seal hunters and traders. The Maori became part of their trading network and acquired tastes for european and american goods and a knowledge of Pakeha - non-Maori culture.
By 1830's foreign settlers were buying large amounts of land and the numbers of Pakeha had increased to such a point that the British goverment decided to annex New Zealand. Naval officer Hobson negotiated and they agreed to cede sovereignty to the British in exchange for a guarantee of ownership of their lands. Formalized by the Treaty of Waitangi of 1840. Initially NZ was part of the colony of New South Wales but in 1841 because autonomous (with Hobson as Governor).
By 1845 open warfare ensued from chiefs. By 1847 and the First Maori War they realised better to have a consolidated approach. They sought to emulate the unity and disciple of the british and so started the Maori King Movement.
For the first time in 1966 a princess was chosen to ascend the throne and Queen Te Ata became a symbol not only of her people but for NZ women. Long may she rest.
Available from The Sweet Unfolding on Etsy.
Blogged: www.allthingspaper.net/2013/11/personalized-stationery-gi...
Various Artists
Wednesday 6 November, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
George Orwell
168 Perth Road
Dundee, DD1 4JS
Join us for a curated evening of Artist short films from around the globe. Based on this year’s festival theme REACT; NEoN has selected a series of films covering topics such as gender, environment and immigration.
Featuring work by BOM Fellow Emily Mulenga and other artists Georgie Roxby Smith, Jenny odell, Elaine Hoey, Chloé Galibert-Laîné, Shelley Lake, John Butler, Kevin B Lee, shawné michaelain holloway, Jennifer Chan, Shelly Lake and Greg Bath.
Full screening notes:
Max Almy, Perfect leader, (1983), 4 mins. 15 secs.
A satire of the political television spot, Perfect Leader shows that ideology is the product and power is the payoff. The process of political image making and the marketing of a candidate is revealed, as an omnipotent computer manufactures the perfect candidate, offering up three political types: Mr. Nice Guy, an evangelist, and an Orwellian Big Brother. Behind the candidates, symbols of political promises quickly degenerate into icons of oppression and nuclear war.
Greg Barth, Epic Fail, (2017), 5 mins. 32 secs.
Epic Fail is an avant-garde essay that questions what happens when political discourse fails to connect with voters, and truth is impacted by fake news. Based on the political events that shook 2016, the film imagines a reality that is both forged and blurred depending on how we perceive it; using existential currents inspired by Jean Paul Sartre’s Nausea.
The result is a surreal political satire that revolves around a vote for world peace that has dramatic consequences.
John Butler, Xerox’s Paradox, (2018), 2 mins.
A new workwear collection for the age of intelligent supertasking. Xerox’s fear of a paperless office led to the GUI, which, in turn, led to an explosion in the amount of printed matter. Xerox’s Paradox is about technology’s broken promises. The more we automate, the harder we must work.
Jennifer Chan, *A Total Jizzfest*, (2012), 3 mins. 22 secs.
A sample of the richest, sexiest men in computer and internet history.
Chloé Galibert-Laîné, My Crush was a Superstar, (2017), 12 mins. 30 secs.
This desktop documentary follows an ISIS fighter through a trail of messages, videos and postings to uncover his existence in both social media and reality. Part of Bottled Songs, a series of video letters investigating desire, power and terrorism in online and social media. The videos, recorded from the researchers’ desktops, depict and interrogate their subjects’ compulsive engagement in the production of everyday myths and fictions about themselves and others.
Elaine Hoey, Animated Positions, (2019), 9 mins. 47 secs.
This work draws reference from 19th century European nationalist paintings and explores the role of art in the portrayal of jingoistic patriotic ideals that have become culturally symbolic in the formation of the nation state. This piece re-animates the war like stances and positions of bodies found within these paintings, using character animation taken from the video game Call of Duty. The work challenges notions of nostalgia for the nation state, creating a contemporary critique of the underlying violence that underpins much of todays nationalistic ideologies.
Shawné Michaelain Holloway, GEAR-REVIEW(1)__BEGINNERS-VEST.MP4, (2016), 1 min. 55 secs.
GEAR-REVIEW(1)__BEGINNERS-VEST.MP4 is a response to internet’s “Gear Review” video genre. Using a video sourced from Youtube’s preparedness community alongside a video of the artist performing live for her leather community, this work asks questions about the ways we get to know, use, and care for our objects. Whether them for war, for sex, or both, we’re obsessed with function and feature, forcing fetish into the realm of the domestic and accessible.
Shelley Lake, Polly Gone, (1988), 3 min. 9 secs.
A day in the life of a robot.
Kevin B. Lee, The Spokesman, (2018), 12 mins. 30 secs.
The Spokesman investigates the online traces of John Cantlie, a British news reporter who was kidnapped in 2012 and later appeared in several Islamic State propaganda videos. Responding to Cantlie’s videos, Kevin analyzes Cantlie’s British accent and professional composure, constructed over many years of media appearances. Part of Bottled Songs, a series of video letters investigating desire, power and terrorism in online and social media. The videos, recorded from the researchers’ desktops, depict and interrogate their subjects’ compulsive engagement in the production of everyday myths and fictions about themselves and others.
Emily Mulenga, Now that we know the world is ending soon…what are you gonna wear?, (2019), 4 mins. 5 secs
Religious imagery and symbols of capitalist excess intertwine under the ever-watchful eye of CCTV cameras. Loneliness occurs even in the most crowded, noisy and colourful of rooms. Fractured identities span the online and offline worlds. Late-stage capitalism has left us with a disconnect from others and from a spiritual centre, and consumerism purports to fill the void; but never truly satisfies. There’s a condition of perpetual information overload in an oversaturated, neon, dystopian cityscape. There’s also a rabbit.
Jenny Odell, Polly Returns, (2017), 3 mins. 2 secs.
Polly Returns is based on Shelley Lake’s 1988 computer animation, Polly Gone, which features an isolated female robot doing everyday tasks inside a futuristic dome house. In my version, the robot has returned in 2017. The soundtrack is inspired by the original from Polly Gone, which itself was based on the soundtrack from The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Georgie Roxby Smith, Lara Croft Domestic Goddess I & II, (2013), 2 mins. 14 secs.
Georgie Roxby Smith’s hacked Lara Croft Tomb Raider video game shows the familiar icon for violent femme fatale bad-assery in the throes of orgasmic housekeeping, a scene that could be read as neo-Friedan, with her “domestic goddess” subject trapped between the banally physical and the extraordinarily virtual. The value judgments are unclear, the equation destabilized, as Croft joyfully irons shirts with a bow and arrow slung over her back, letting out cries that are undiscernibly battle grunts or orgiastic moans.
Photography Kathryn Rattray
November 20 prompt: Hobby other than dolls or needlework. I picked journaling even though it's really an on and off thing for me. I love it when I'm journaling, but then I go months without picking it up.
TomoeRiver.Notes - Notizhefteinlagen mit Dot Grid für diverse Notizbücher (X17, X47, Roterfaden) aus leichtem, japanischen Schreibpapier. Uneingeschränkt geeignet für Füllhalter.
Handmade in Germany - bei Interesse schreibt mich an.
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From Evernote:
arenabehind25.jpg (JPEG Image, 413x550 pixels) - Scaled (90%)
Clipped from: marie-anne-sew-vintage.blogspot.com/2010/01/blouse-named-...
lavenderbehind.jpg (JPEG Image, 452x425 pixels)
picnicscreen.jpg (JPEG Image, 700x452 pixels)
retreatbehind.jpg (JPEG Image, 783x451 pixels)
familyconcept.jpg (JPEG Image, 400x570 pixels) - Scaled (87%)
HBR10
HBR10
Screenshot
concept5.jpg (JPEG Image, 503x800 pixels) - Scaled (62%)
The Sewing Time Machine: A blouse named 'Secretary001'
The Sewing Time MachineWednesday, January 27, 2010A blouse named 'Secretary001'Here is my next project, or the inspiration for my next project. I'm no expert on the matter but this reminds me of a 40's pencil pushing office blouse, which is why I named it Secretary001.It looks to me like all the control has been shifted into side darts which were then gathered into the side seams. The sleeve looks like a very short kimono or dolman. Anyways, I got to work on the PatternMaster and this is my first muslin.
I'm not happy because I look like a bag lady!
So I learned that when zero waist darts are selected, the slack is not picked up anywhere else - not in the side seam and not in other darts. I'll have to manually shift all the control into the side dart. And that will be my second muslin....Posted by Marie-Anne at 6:28 PMLabels: blouse, fitting, PatternMaster Boutique0 comments:Post a CommentNewer Post Older Post HomeSubscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)PagesHomeAbout MeMarie-AnneWhen I'm not cleaning, cooking, or working, I'm going back in time....with my sewing machine!View my complete profileThis WeekChris' jacket is lined and it looks great. He has a motorcycle ride this coming weekend and he is so excited to show it off.
The surprise will be revealed next week. We'll see....I'm super busy with work. But not for long....
Now I've got to finish fitting my jeans so I can make sexy pants!Labelsantiques (1) Barrence Whitfield (1) blouse (4) Canada (1) Candace Sutherland (1) cooking (2) Crazy Joe (1) crotch length (6) curlers (1) Deke Dickerson (1) diet (1) dress (3) exercise (1) fitting (18) fundraiser (1) garage sale (1) giveaway (6) hair (2) half moon manicure (1) homemaking (2) Hourcast (1) Howlin' Hound Dogs (1) jacket lining (1) jeans (5) Jordan Officer (1) Kingston (1) lapped zipper (1) lining (1) Little Rachel (1) meal planning (2) motorcycle jacket (1) organization (1) outfit (1) pants (3) pants fitting (5) Pattern Master Boutique (1) PatternMaster Boutique (15) Red Hot and Blue Rockabilly Weekend (1) shirring (1) shoulder pad (1) Singer 217 (1) Singer Spartan (1) skirt (3) Sound Academy (1) straight skirt (4) Tennessee Voodoo Coupe (1) The Broken Toys (1) The Damned Things (1) The Royal Crowns (1) tutorial (1) Valentine (3) vintage (7) vintage knitting (1) vintage patterns (1) Volbeat (1) wet set (1) wing bust bodice (2)Search This Blogpowered byShare itTunesMusic Playlist at MixPod.comBlog Archive► 2011 (17)▼ 2010 (47)► December (2)► November (7)► October (3)► September (11)► July (2)► June (5)► May (3)► April (2)► March (5)► February (3)▼ January (4)Shrinky Inky's Fine Adventures GiveawaySecretary001, the second muslin...A blouse named 'Secretary001'The finished skirt!► 2009 (5)Listen to sewingtimemachines Playlist Simple template. Template images by Ollustrator. Powered by Blogger.
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We started taking notes at how bad everything was because it was so much, it was hard to remember everything.
BACKSTORY: We had a gift card for Macaroni Grill (we usually have one every year, and have gone for over a decade). This year was the most god-awful experience of our lives! No wonder Macaroni Grill is going out of business. But we have to wonder if it was transgender & LGBT discrimination, because not only were we never treated like that at that same Macaroni Grill, but we saw the waiter treat others better.
I'm not that picky. I get a taco or two at Taco Bell almost every day I go out, and am very pleased with that experience. When I go out, I often go to buffets, because I don't mind what food I eat, as long as it's not completely messed up.
But taking my wife to Macaroni Grill on Valentine's Day was the absolute worst "romantic" restaurant trip of my entire life. I am frankly surprised at how much text I need to write just to explain everything that happened.
Note that the restaurant was NOT packed. We go there almost every Valentine's Day, for 10+ years. Last year it was a 45 minute wait and totally packed. This year it was a 5 minute wait, and there were empty tables in the restaurant. It was literally the least packed we've ever seen it on Valentine's Day. There are no "busy" excuses for this treatment
1) We didn't notice at the time, but going back: The first way we were treated differently was that the waiter didn't write his name on our placemat. Did he intend to give us bad service because we are visibly LGBT? Because he wrote it for the people next to us, on both sides. Just not for us. It seemed like he was so unwilling to even get near us, that he wouldn't approach us, write his name on the placemat, or visit our table -- ***even when visiting the one next to us repeatedly***, or give us good service.
2) Immediately he puts the olive oil and pepper on the saucer for the bread. This is a fun Macaroni Grill theatric that makes the customer feel good... Unless the saucer full of olive oil is merely pointing out how you have no bread for 20 minutes. Again, never in our life. Other people have bread. We don't.
Later, I explicitly ask for bread, because it's absolutely clear that it's NOT going to come, because this guy will serve the tables on both sides of us, but not us. It still doesn't come. Bread only finally arrives with our appetizer. Again: Never in our lives.
3) And then, guess what? The bread was too salty to eat! First time in 40 years that I have ever disliked restaurant bread. Later, when the waiter stopped coming to our table, we managed to ask *the cook* for more bread. It, too, was too salty to not eat. No amount of dipping it or mixing it with other ingredients made it edible. The bread I get from the dollar store is better. Why is Macaroni Grill so awful to us today?
4) The second thing the waiter actually does is ask us for a drink. Immediately. We don't know our drink order yet, but later, when we order everything at once, we do order ONE drink. But it doesn't come with the bread. It doesn't come with the appetizers. It doesn't even come with the entree! Later, while we are eating, the drink finally shows up. We had forgotten about it by that time. Who the hell serves drinks, appetizers, and an entree at the same time?
5) But at least we had water, right? Well, sort of. We asked for water with lemon. It took awhile -- an annoying amount of time if you have dysphagia -- but the finally water came. Most restaurants give you water without asking, or allow you access to a tap. We were left thirsty. So thirst. And when it finally came, NO LEMONS!
We asked for lemons. It took awhile, but finally he came back and said, "We're out of lemons, so I had to give you limes". I am unsure what to do, so I squeeze some of the lime juice in my water to try it out. It's awful. I can't drink it.
Meanwhile, I see lemons come out with water orders just 2 tables away. My drink (a mule) that comes later has a lemon in it--because the drink comes like that automatically. It is clearly our server who won't ask for stuff for us -- even while giving the same stuff to adjoining tables! My salmon that came with lemon on it! Why is this bigoted server telling us the restaurant doesn't have lemons? Macaroni Grill is most definitely NOT out of lemons. Why would he lie to us? There's a bar. Bars have lemon wedges for drinks. The restaurant is NOT out of lemon wedges.
But for the majority of the time I was there, I couldn't even sip my water, because it turns out lime water is awful. Who drinks that? Not me. I didn't know. I tried, and that was a mistake. And since our alcohol drink never came until the entree, I literally had nothing to drink that didn't taste awful. And getting water refill was nigh impossible. And of course no bread. Nothing enjoyable whatsoever - but the people 2 tables away got their water with lemon. EVERYONE who wasn't LGBT did.
6) Eventually, when the waiter disappeared, we actually had to go and ask THE COOK for lemons, and he brought them out and apologized. This was after the entree came. It's like the waiter was unwilling to do his job. Why is the cook bringing us our food and serving us? Where is our server? We were ALSO out of water at that point, and needed any kind of liquid to drink. I am prone to choking because I have dysphagia. Last time I had a choking episode, I had to grab the drink of a stranger off their table in an emergency. This is the kind of thing that happens when human beings are denied water, and have no way to get it.
7) We ordered the calamari appetizer. The menu says it comes with 2 sauces. A pepper sauce and a citrus aoli. We got the pepper sauce, but the other stuff? It was a red, thick mixture that was very obviously mostly spicy Sri Racha sauce. My girlfriend doesn't like spicy stuff as much as me. That's why we didn't order something spicy. That's why we use the menu to decide what to order. But what good is the menu, if the items on it aren't what it says they are? We needed at least one non-spicy dipping sauce.
8) By this point, the waiter had disappeared. He did not come around. Most restaurants check up on you to see if you are okay. They often do it TOO much. This guy? Despite the fact that we very obviously were not getting what we wanted, and had to ask for very basic things like bread and water -- he still wouldn't show up. Twice in a row, after minutes of being gone, he came and SERVED THE TABLE NEXT TO US, BUT KEPT HIS BACK TO US, THEN DISAPPEARED to the back again without even giving us an opportunity for service. Every time this happened, we needed something, and couldn't get it.
9) The salmon finally came. It was not even brought by our server (named Labrim), it was brought by the cook! (Who we had to ask for water, lemons, and more bread. Most of the food brought to our table WAS NOT BROUGHT by our actual server!)
It was the absolute worst salmon I've ever eaten in my life. It was so burned that each and every bite was a chore to get down. I woke up at 4AM nauseated, which is an unusual thing for me. We even tried cutting up the salmon and putting it inside our shrimp alfredo noodles, to mask the burning taste. It was impossible to mask. We have now messed up: water, bread, lemons, calamari dipping sauce, and salmon. Incredible.
10) At this point, we're done with our food, and we just want the dessert cake & ice cream, and a check. But he's nowhere to be found. For a good 5 minutes, we're just sitting there, unhappy with the experience, wanting to at least have a good piece of cake and ice cream, and leave. But the pause here is one of the longest service pauses during this entire visit.
During this time, 2 tables down, another couple was extremely angry at Labrim's service, and got up to leave. So atleast it wasn't JUST us having a bad time, even if they actually got lemons & drinks. Someone, either Labrim or a manager, intervened and convinced them to sit back down and have their meal.
The couple 1 table down? They ALSO were extremely unhappy with Labrim, and were complaining about the service a lot of the time. For example, they got the merchant receipt for their credit card, so there was no place for them to sign it, and they had to ask for the correct receipt. That's never happened in my life, but again, now at least THREE tables were having a bad time, so at least there was some incompetence mixed in with the malevolence. We just seemed to be getting the worst of it, and it felt like discrimination to be treated so differently the first year we were visibly LGBT.
11) It's finally time for dessert. Does he bring it? No! He brings us to go containers, and says, "You wanted the cheesecake, right?"
Literally, when we ordered the food, we gave him the complete order. I wrote it down on my placemat. I pointed at the words as I ordered them to him. He acted as if he was writing down the words I was saying and pointing at. His job is to take the order. He couldn't even do that! I never said cheesecake! WTF?! Not only was our dessert not here, but he didn't even know what we ordered! Just what was Labrim doing?!?!?!
12) So we tell him we wanted the chocolate cake & ice cream. It seems to take awhile, but it finally comes. HE THEN TAKES ALL OUR SILVERWARE! We manage to snag one fork, but how are we supposed to share this item between the two of us? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, LABRIM?
He comes back in a couple minutes to help the table next to us, but in typical fashion, keeps his back to us and doesn't offer any help. As he walks away, we have to raise our voice and ask for another fork. I don't think it ever came.
13) And the "cake" and "ice cream"? It's not a cake, it's some Costco store bought chocolate muffin, with a cup of chocolate drizzle next to it. And the "ice cream"? Literally one fork full of ice cream. Granted, it tasted good - but this is your "$45 Valentine's Day Special For Couples", so you are literally advertising and serving a valentine's day ice cream dessert to couples with ONE FORK that has ONE FORKFUL of ice cream. So yes. You found a way to make ice cream and cake disappointing, Macaroni Grill.
14) Labrim then asked us if the food was good, and we said, "No, it wasn't", and told him we didn't like the bread, water, salmon, or cake. He said he would get the manager to do something about it. Minutes later, a check came. No manager. No manager ever came. Just another lie.
15) Finally, it came time to pay. We don't trust him to ring up our money right, so we decide to use our $50 gift card, and pay the $5.14 balance in cash. I went off to change my $10 into two $5s, and my wife went off to change her $5 into five $1s. I approached the bartender, waited for eye contact, and asked, "Can I get two 5s for a 10?" He said, "Wait a minute", then "How are you?" {I'm sorry, do I need to have a conversation to ask for change? It seemed like he was chiding me for being short with him and not having a conversation. I'm not here to talk with you, guy. I'm here to pay you for your bad food}. The bartender then turned his back to me. He messed around with the register for an unacceptably long time, completely ignoring me. Obviously he decided NOT to make the change I needed made -- or even to tell me. This, too, is a treatment I've never experienced in my life. As I slowly moved away -- because I'm not going to sit there like an idiot holding a $10 bill out for minutes at a time -- I went to the hostess. She checks HER OWN POCKETS and somehow has two $5 bills, and makes change for me.
My wife fared no better. She asked someone for five $1s for her $5. Multiple people told herthey couldn't do it. She was finally told "only the bartender" can do this. She goes to the bar. Nobody is there. She looks around. Nobody to be found. This restaurant is full of aholes who won't do their job.
Finally, someone goes into the bar and starts doing stuff. She asks them if they can make change. "I'm not the bartender", the person tending the bar said, refusing to make her change. WHAT IS THIS PLACE?
We almost left the restaurant with a $5 shortchanging -- but then Carolyn ran into a random employee, who, also, had to get the money out of his personal money from his own pocket.
IN SUMMARY: You messed up in about 15 different ways, messing up: water, lemon, salmon, dipping sauce, cake, ice cream, properly keeping our order, making change... even the unhappiness of the people around us was a bring-down. This restaurant is not being managed properly, and Labrim is the 2nd worst server I've had in my entire lifetime.
I wish I'd had change, because the 85 cent tip Labrim got was an *incredible* overtip. It should have been a single penny. Frankly, I should be filing a credit card dispute for the cost of this meal... but we paid with a pre-paid gift card bought 2 years ago, so we take solace in knowing that no 2018 income went to Macaroni Grill for this awful 2018 visit.
Our annual almost-20-year tradition [based on our parents giving us gift cards every Christmas] is now over. We will not be returning to Macaroni Grill. Not on Valentine's Day. Not ever. The gift cards are apparently valid at several other restaurants... so we'll be going to one of those, from now on.
And I can't help but think some of this is because I am visibly transgender, because of the way he would repeatedly approach the table next to us (a straight couple), but not us. I was not visibly transgender a year ago, and was not treated like this during previous visits to Macaroni Grill. It just seems like that was a component, because we definitely got it the worst of everyone there.
notes, placemat.
Macaroni Grill, restaurant, Springfield, Virginia.
February 14, 2018.
... Read my blog at clintjcl at wordpress dot com
So yesterday when it was time to go to school, Jessie was busy doing something and I told her to stop or we would be late. In a nutshell, I upset her.
This morning while having breakfast, she handed me this note and said she was sorry. She then proceeded to bury her face in her hands, ran to her room and cried her eyes out. From what I gather from reading her note, she went to school yesterday and thought to herself that I was stupid (that's the s word) and that she hated me. I guess the guilt overwhelmed her. Jane said she came home from school last night and told her about it while she cried her eyes out to her. She really has a guilty conscience.
So I went up stairs and spent the next 10 minutes trying to calm her down. I asked why she was crying. She said because she didn't want me to be sad. I told her I wasn't sad, but I just wanted to understand why she felt this way about me. She said she didn't want to tell me. I'm pretty sure it had to do with me not letting her do whatever it was she was doing before we left for school.
Man, I'm in serious trouble. I dunno how I am going to handle the teenage years. :D lmao.
Note the broken windows.
Photos, sketches, tables and plans of Sheffield, England. Taken from the JR James Slide Collection.
NOTE - autograph could have been applied with a handstamp - this would never pass certification...
1992 Quebec Pee Wee P1 Guy Lafleur promotion PROMO RARE Juniors minors.
1992 Quebec Pee-Wee Tournament - This set features the best 12 and 13-year-old teams in the world that participated in the annual Quebec Pee-Wee Tournament. There are 1,903 cards in the set. LINK to checklist - www.tcdb.com/Checklist.cfm/sid/116343/1992-Quebec-Interna...
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Guy Damien Lafleur OC CQ (September 20, 1951 – April 22, 2022), nicknamed "the Flower" and "Le Démon Blond", was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was the first player in National Hockey League history to score 50 goals in six consecutive seasons as well as 50 goals and 100 points in six consecutive seasons. Between 1971 and 1991, Lafleur played right wing for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Quebec Nordiques in an NHL career spanning 17 seasons, and five Stanley Cup championships in 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979 (all with the Canadiens). Lafleur was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988, named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history in 2017, and was named to the Order of Hockey in Canada in 2022.