Monday, July 28, 2008

Boom De Ah Dah

I promised myself that I would not let my blog fall victim to the latest viral media craze. Unfortunately, I just cannot help myself with this one. These are all the shows I spend my summers watching. It is too much fun not to pass on.



And, now, LIVE!!!



Title by: The Discovery Channel

Monday, July 21, 2008

Blessed Relief

The couple of weeks with the new housekeeper went well. With the Ps off on travel, it helped that we could focus on just the house for the first few days.

Ms. D is a much shyer version of Ms. C. She has a great eye for what needs to be done and is self-motivated to do it. Ms. C and I are both relieved to be back to full staff. It was a crazy 6 weeks.

Title by: Frank Zappa (Can you believe it has been 15 years!?)


Sunday, July 20, 2008

Deadline

It has been so crazy at work. I did not realize that I was pushing myself so hard. Fortunately, the Ps absense gave me a chance to breath and catch up on the back-log of tasks and small projects on my desk and floor. Yes, my floor. It turns into a rolling "to-do" list when things get hectic. Now, I can see my floor! It is the small things at work, sometimes.

Next up, my House Managers Book. I have a self imposed August 6 deadline (one year anniversary). Wish me luck.

Title by: Blue Öyster Cult

Saturday, July 19, 2008

We Have All The Time In The World

My plans are pretty low-key this weekend. The Greenport Greek festival looks like it will be fun. There is also an Irish festival in Calverton. I will probably end up tat the Greek festival tonight and head over to the Irish festival tomorrow for some Guinness and shepherd’s pie. It will also give me a chance to ogle the local red-heads (yeah, yeah, oink, oink, oink). I am, after all, a semi-bachelor. There’s something James Bond-ish…”taken not stirred”. (I’ll have to work on that line a bit, I think.)

It is interesting that both cultures provide for great pleated skirts. Too bad the Greeks dress their men in them. ;-0

Enjoy your weekend.

Title by: Louis Armstrong (From"On Her Majesty's Secret Service")

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

On the Wing

The Ps took a 6 day trip to Paris recently. It was a rather quick thing. Mr P had been knocking the idea around for a few days. I found out they were definitely going at 5 PM on a Monday. Departure day was Thursday.

The air travel was set by 6 PM on Monday, but we had to wait for Paris to be awake to set the room.

Tuesday morning we changed travel agents to American Express and re-booked the flight. By that afternoon, the air travel and hotel were locked in. The hotel and American Express concierge services helped me get dinner and theater reservations all set on Wednesday. We had Euros in hand by Wednesday afternoon. Everything was packed before I left on Wednesday, too.

This would be expected or even a bit slow if we were in Manhattan. But, no, it was all done from the Hamptons. Thanks in very large part to American Express Travel and Concierge and the banking team.

Title by: Owl City

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Make It Easier

Since I am down one half of my housekeeping staff, Ms. C and I have to make up the difference. I probably missed that introduction. Ms. C started with us just after Thanksgiving last year. She generally covers the Monday through Friday shifts.

Ms. C has been working 6 day weeks on and off since the beginning of June. She even pulled a 17 day-in-a-row jag. She can be contentious and difficult at times; however, she definitely knows how to pull up the slack when I ask her. She has the right kind of heart for the job. I will have to be sure to not burn her out during this transition.

Title by: Indigo Girls

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Everybody Ought to Have a Maid

One of the housekeepers left suddenly at the beginning of June. For complicated reasons, she was unable to return to our service in a timely manner. I had to replace her. Thankfully, she was able to refer friends and relatives. The new housekeeper starts next Wednesday.

Title by: Stephen Sondheim