Mr, & Mrs. Hawthorne Go To The BIG CITY!

Quel horreurs!!! Last year, in November of 2007, Mr. Hawthorne bought himself a big-ass flat screen TV and installed it over the fireplace. Now, Mr. Hawthorne loves that TV. I'm thinkin' he just might marry it. Until ... last week. I heard grumblings coming from Mr. Hawthorne. Seems that there was some kind of blotchy shadow on the bottom left of the screen. Something you couldn't even see unless there was a white background on the TV and you have a Y-chromosome. Seriously, folks, this is something I would SO never notice. But, with Mr. Hawthorne, it's a catastrophe. This is dire straits. He called Sony. And the nice lady at Sony talked him through 70+ minutes of remote control handling stuff. Nothing worked. Then he got the name and address and number of the Sony repair place in Virginia Beach. He called the Big Screen Store from which he bought this behemoth and was advised to bring it up and leave it with them for the repair people to pick up on Monday. Soooooo, Saturday morning, crip Mr. Xmaskatie with his bad leg and crip Xmaskatie with her bad arm tried as best they could to help Mr. & Mrs. Hawthorne take the TV off the wall. (As Mr. Hawthorne said, "Poor shits, they can't even make up one whole person together.") I was just flummoxed. Because that TV is HEAVY. I was scared when we got it off the brackets on the wall that I would drop the damn thing. So, one-legged Mr. Xmaskatie, and one-armed Mrs. Xmaskatie jumped in to help while Mr. Hawthorne and I took the TV down. And it was scary.

Mr. Hawthorne just told me to back up to the sofa. Then he left.

You know what? I've always wanted to be ON TV. But I never wanted to be UNDER TV. Unfortunately, I was UNDER the TV and I was having difficulties breathing at this time what with the weight of the TV on my chest and NOBODY helping me, although I will give credit to Mr. Xmaskatie since he seemed concerned about my well-being. Mr. Hawthorne just left me there, struggling to breathe, while he went about his business. Mr. & Mrs. Xmaskatie left for their home and Mr. Hawthorne & I were left to deal with the TV issue. Mr. Hawthorne wanted me to help him carry the TV out to the truck and I absolutely refused. "I can NOT do this, " I insisted. "It's NOT heavy," he kept on saying. "NO. NO. NO! I'm calling a neighbor to help." "No you don't. I've never asked a neighbor for help." "Then it's high time you did." So I called good neighbor Dave. He'll be over as soon as he finishes his oatmeal. Must've been a HUGE bowl of oatmeal. 25 minutes later, Dave arrives, and says, "Damn, this is heavy!" Hrrrrumph!

Finally, we left Colington and got to the Big Screen TV place in Virginia Beach. This place is really nice and the TV's are amazing.

The pictures look like 3-D. Absolutely amazing. Must be blu ray.

Mr. Hawthorne couldn't stand being without a TV during his 7-10 day repair period. So, here's Mr. Hawthorne buying a Mitsubishi TV to take home.

After dropping the Sony TV off at the store, I contacted my dear friend, Ticky, of ReinventingABoomer blogdom. And we met for lunch. Ticky suggested going to one of her favorite restaurants - a Lebanese place. Of course Mr. Hawthorne became very excited since he thought he was going to a Lesbian restaurant.

At Azar's.

I ordered the Spanakopita for appetizers. I've never had this, but always have wanted to make it. I will, now, after having it at Azars. It was delicious.

And I had the Chicken Tawook.

And the salad with the house dressing. Best I can tell you, the house dressing was mustard, vinegar, and lime.

Ticky had the Baba Ghanouj. I just might have to make this too. An eggplant recipe.

I had a bite of Ticky's and it was really good. Thank you, Ticky, for suggesting this restaurant. Inside the restaurant, there was also a store. Here's Ticky, tying her shoe laces.

Oh, just so much stuff here.

Ahh .... the hookahs.

All manner of spices.

And every type of oil imaginable.

Upon leaving Azar's, a coy Ticky tossed her curly locks out, and posed for a picture. Mr. & Mrs. Hawthorne sadly left Ticky, although with fond memories, and headed back to the beach. Now, do you think you have a crappy job? Think about these two folks: Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty.

I saw them right off 168 Highway, hawking for Liberty Tax Service. Poor schmucks.

The temperature was in the forties, very windy, and these poor souls were standing on the edge of the highway, waving to everyone who drove by. I made Mr. Hawthorne turn around and go back so's I could get a picture.

Next, I made Mr. Hawthorne stop at the Old Jarvisburg Colored School. I hit it at the wrong time of day, in the afternoon, with the sun behind it. Too bad. Here's some more. And some more.

Mr. & Mrs. Hawthorne continued on our journey home.

Right before the bridge going over to the Outer Banks, we passed Mermaids, the Topless Bar. In case one review doesn't do it for you, here's another.

I had Mr. Hawthorne turn around and stop so I could get an employment application. And yes, mine are REAL and they are SPECTACULAR. WHOOT, SISTAH!!!!!