We had a lovely drive to Hudson and the DMV. You cross the Hudson River on my favorite bridge, the Rip Van Winkle bridge. Once we got there, we fed a quarter into the parking meter and joined the lines outside. There were two lines, one for county residents and one for non-residents, like us.
Altogether, we stood outside for about an hour and a half. At one point, I had to go buy something so we could feed more quarters into the meter. I bought a bag of chips which ended up being a godsend on the way home.
Hudson is a charming town with beautiful architecture, and the main drag is lined with antique shops, many of them high-end. I knew that a shop I’d always wanted to visit, The Red Chair on Warren, had relocated from New Hampshire to Hudson about ten years ago. The owner sells a lot of French antiques. I scooted over there (it was just around the corner) and I fell in love. It’s simply beautiful.
I chatted a bit with the owner while I looked around. Since I had limited time, I’m determined to go back again and take my time. But I did spy two café au lait bowls and bought them.
Side note: I saw a display of vintage café au lait bowls on IG that a woman had collected for years and I was so entranced that I saved the photo. A new thing to collect, I thought! The irony here is that I could have purchased a lot of them when I was in Paris, as I saw several each time I was at the flea market. And another visit to Paris is not a possibility for a long while, as we’ve just bought a car. Sigh.
Anyway, I rejoined Don in line, all the while sweating the meter. Right before we were about to go inside to join yet another line, the couple in front of us, who we had been chatting with off and on, overheard us talking about being out of quarters, and one of them went to their car to get us some. And they wouldn’t take a dollar bill in exchange from us. Good people are everywhere.
We encountered one minor snag about the insurance when we got to the window, but the clerk advised me to go to the end of the inside the building line while Don went over to the corner to call our insurance company. Eventually, it was resolved, Don joined me in line, and he got his plates and registration.
We knew we had to get back on the road quickly, whereupon we wolfed down the bag of chips while driving. I dropped Don off at the mechanic’s shop, where they put the license plates on the car, and Don came home with his new car.
We left at 9:30. We got back at 3:00. A long day, but it’s all taken care of now.
Today, we mow.
Stay safe.
Happy Tuesday.
Next visit to the Red Chair, I recommend stopping at at Le Gamin Country Restaurant (a little bit of France) just across the street. We stopped one brisk fall day, sat outside, and I had the most wonderful asparagus soup. It was the perfect ending to a great day of shopping.
Thanks for the suggestion, Anne. Will do!
Stay safe.
Happy, Happy that your new car is ready! What a relief.
Love, your new finds..
Take Care,
Kaye
It’s a pretty neat car, Kaye!
Stay safe.
Love the bowls so pretty
We would love to take a trip to o
Israel but retirement and constant house repairs , the limited travel is to CA to see family
As we get older that is the most important thing to us anyway.
Enjoy your new car
Sad to hear the news of Don’s family, member
Very sad.
Thank you, Linda.
Stay safe!
Love your finds. And now Don will be happy driving a vehicle he fits!! Enjoy your new car.
Marion
Yes, it actually fits him!
Stay safe!
such pretty bowls (ice cream-sized?!?)! am sure you already are enjoying them and the new car. good for you!
i’m thinking you and don will get back to paris (and get some old french bowls) … and sooner than it might feel right now. that’s a hope i have for you.
happy tuesday.
kathy in iowa
We’ll see. We also have house repairs to do. I sure hope we get back there someday.
Thanks, Kathy.
Stay safe!
What a long day; I’m tired just thinking about it. But the bowls are lovely and such a nice size for a creamy soup!
ceci
Thank goodness it was much cooler outside than the day before!
Stay safe, Ceci.
You and Don were nice and patient for that DMV wait! Some people get so irate about waiting, even tho, they should expect to wait at the DMV. A good attitude makes it seem shorter sometimes and you were rewarded with the lovely bowls!
We knew we’d have to wait and we were just grateful we didn’t have to wait two weeks for an appointment.
Stay safe, Ellen!
Yikes! That was quite a process to register your new car. I look forward to see it. Safe travels.
All because DMVs in New York State are still going on an appointment basis because of COVID.
Stay safe, Kay!
You accomplished what you needed to do! Well done! And I love the cafe au lait bowls. They’re lovely!
They really are. Now I have to figure out where to put them!
Stay safe, Jeanie!
Hi Claudia, you mentioning Paris reminded me of a young Japanese couple who live in Paris that I follow on YouTube. Their channel is MashAyaVideo. I don’t spend a lot of time on YouTube but they are interesting with their trips to various flea markets and their daily life in Paris.. Its a beautiful city.
Thank you, Janet+k, I just watched one of the videos. Wonderful. I’ve been missing this lifestyle so much.
I’ll check them out, Janet! Thanks!
Stay safe!
Quite the day of DMV. Whew!
Your café au lait bowls brought back the souvenir of seeing my father-in-law , hunched over the kitchen table (which looked like a very old rickety card table), slurping his morning beverage from a large bowl in my in-laws small kitchen every morning. My first visit to the south of France and I felt like I had stepped back in time.
Thanks for that moment coming back.
Ah, what a lovely memory, Martha. Perfect.
Stay safe!
I can’t imagine waiting in line for an hour and a half at the DMV. Kudos to you both. Guess Monday is a busy day. You have to be happy that now the car is all taken care of, and properly registered.
And..,you found a new shop! What more could you ask for, eh? Love the cups…so another collection is born?
Have fun mowing…we are working on our outdoor list…it never seems to end! ;)
Yes, and most DMV offices in NY are on an appointment only basis during the pandemic. There was a line because this facility welcomed the public without an appointment. I’ll wait in line when the alternative is a two week wait for an appointment, or a month long wait in the case of the couple in front of us.
Thanks, Donna.
Stay safe!
Do you find that you carry less cash? With no one wanting to take cash, I find that I just don’t carry much. Could be a problem for parking meters but ours downtown all take cards.
Yes, definitely I hardly ever carry cash.
We took all the change we had, but it wasn’t enough.
Stay safe, Becky!
So happy that you found a vehicle! we just went through the same process, but did not
have as long a wait as you! What vehicle did you end up getting? We are still having a lot
of time trying to figure everything out……was much easier when we were younger. Now we have to have my son come over and help us figure out all the gadgets. I prefer simplicity!!
Enjoy your new ride!!
We got a used Honda Pilot. Much roomier than anything we’ve had before!
Thanks, Deborah.
Stay safe!
Latte bowls are the perfect size for lots of things. Yours are very pretty! I have quite a collection at both houses, but non of mine are vintage. Mostly from Crate & Barrel, Anthropologie, and Sur La Table, but I still love them.
Congratulations on your new car ! I have never seen cafe au lait bowls. What a fun find!
I am a patient sweet gentle person. There is no excuse for the way some DMV’s keep others waiting. In WV hours. In Ohio nil…in South Carolina…no waiting…Indiana had enough workers that I went in and out ASAP every time…I had to get license at great expense on Indy first week of March as mine were running out…I had to get them end of March when I moved to Florida..I never complained about that. No aiting in a crowded county…for years I went to DMV and sat there forever…never saying a word…there is no excuse sorry…for you to wait outside that long imagine..glad it is over…not a good thing to have to do…