Field Trip Friday

This week I went on my own Friday Field Trip. My friends from high school and I have had to cancel several lunch dates starting in late November due to illness, roads, spouses health, our health, grandchildren. We finally made a date! And one friend's GPS sent her to the wrong address. We finally got to the same place and I ordered the world's biggest Monte Cristo sandwich. This picture does not do justice to the size of this sandwich. 

That dish of raspberry compote was the size of a large soup bowl! 

My friend just purchased an embroidery machine and practiced by making us each a personalized "rug mug". 

Isn't it fabulous! 

After two and a half hours of conversation, we parted and my car accidentally stopped at the cancer thrift shop on the way to the grocery store (I have another recipe challenge for this weekend). 

I spotted some items in this photo from their Facebook page. I have about 4 Beatrix Potter figurines from Boswick that I have collected over the years. It looked like there were some in this cabinet. 

These are the 18 new figures I bought to go with my collection of four. They were ridiculously under priced and I couldn't leave any behind. I think 2 are Royal Doulton but I am not holding that against them. I am behind in love. I actually left about a dozen behind and I am tempted to go back.  The volunteers told me a woman had collected them for years and when she passed, her 90 something year old husband was going to assisted living and sent them to the shop. There are also a trillion other Beatrix Potter items from dishes, to tea pots, to books to paintings. 

Here are some things I didn't buy. 

My hands were too full to take more photos. 

Just a selection of eggs from my farm lady this week. I try to keep the smallest ones (normal size large) for baking because the others are too large for recipes. 

I met my friend Susan about nine years ago. She was at an event I attended and told me this horrible story about her son-in-law who was, at that time, active military having served two terms in Iraq who was fighting military burn pit exposure illnesses and getting no help from the military health services. 

I first took this with a grain of salt because I could not have had a more positive experience with my father who I was transporting to a VA hospital with leukemia. The facilities and the staff were exemplary. He then had a massive stroke and I moved him into an assisted living unit and eventually a nursing home, both located in a VA home.  Every interaction (and I was there most days) could not have been kinder, more helpful and warm. 

But then I paid more attention to her son-in-law's plight. The families of these victims of the military use of burn pits had found each other on social media and were pressing our government for help. They even did a session on 60 minutes. 

These young men and women were developing fatal illnesses and receiving no help from our military. 

Through the efforts of these families, congress members they enlisted, and even advocate Jon Stewart, they were able to get the Heath Robinson Act passed to award benefits to the dying soldiers and their families. Susan fought this battle to the end, even though Heath died before her own family could benefit.  Susan's daughter Danielle was a guest at the State of the Union and little Brielle has the pen that it was signed with. 

Last night every Republican member of the Senate, including senators who had championed and fought for this legislation when it was passed, vote NO on funding it for the future.