 Nostalgia, DVDs, old movies, television, OTR, fandom, good news and bad, picks, pans, cute budgie stories, cute terrier stories, and anything else I can think of. Contact me at theyoungfamily (at) earthlink (dot) net . . . . . . . . . .
|
||
|
» Friday, December 31, 2004
 » Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Powering Down
Just an ordinary day at work...until the power failed about 8:15 (apparently something fried at the substation, which seems to be a common occurrence in DeKalb County; when I lived there we had at least one power outage a week). We lost everything; we had APCs on all our computers at one time, but they never worked properly--good ol' lowest bidder!--although the units remaining spent the next hour or so beeping pathetically until our LAN specialist turned them off.
Luckily I had brought a book with me, and at first sat under the emergency light reading. But the emergency light got dimmer and dimmer and I finally picked up and moved. A lot of folks have "use or lose" annual leave at this time of the year, so I just found an empty window office and continued reading. We're often told there's a rule that if the power doesn't come back on after an hour, they're supposed to dismiss us. Well, after three hours someone finally came around saying we could go. As I went back to my desk, the power came back on. (Obviously I didn't get out the door fast enough. :-) But it was kinda hard to find my things in a perfectly dark cubicle.) So I rebooted my computer and sat back down. Soon my supervisor appeared. "The dismissal is still in force," he said. Turned out it would take at least 2 hours to get the servers back up. Needless to say I didn't let grass grow under my feet. It wasn't a bad afternoon. I did some errands--picking up prescriptions at Kaiser and perusing both Home Depot and Lowe's for a new freestanding cupboard for the kitchen (oh, and buying new halogen bulbs for the living room fixture; the notation on the box says "Lasts 1 1/2 years!"--uh-huh, two of the three lasted all of seven months...)--and "did" two Borders and two Barnes & Nobles. Cool! Three web design books on sale! I also noticed The Legend of Holly Claus is half price. It's gotten some nice reviews, so I'm going to go back and get a copy. And I finally found the January issue of Yankee magazine. I was, in a word, upset. For the past two or three years, this issue of Yankee has come with a small calendar of New England scenes. I use it on my computer desk to note which paychecks of mine go for which payments, and also when the trash collection day is different than the usual Monday and Thursday. When we were visiting my mom last month, I saw several small calendars with New England scenery, but didn't buy them because I knew I would get my calendar in Yankee. Not. It has a booklet about herbs, which, while very interesting, just isn't the same. I grabbed a small lighthouse calendar at one of the bookstores instead...but damn, I'm gonna miss the fall scenes and snowscapes. Out, Out Brief Candle
Jerry Orbach dead at 69
Lennie Briscoe was one of my favorite television characters; I loved his wry humor. And who could forget his bravura performance as the candelabra Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast? It's Super Jennings! » Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Pop Culture Commentary For The Calvin and Hobbes Fans: » Monday, December 27, 2004
» Sunday, December 26, 2004
» Saturday, December 25, 2004
The Turkey Was Delicious, Thanks...
Merry Christmas! » Friday, December 24, 2004
Christmas Eve Doings...
What I Want for Christmas
Pigwidgeon's list:
1. Millet 2. Grandma 3. Millet 4. More toys 5. Millet 6. Mama and Daddy at home 7. Millet 8. Things to chew ...have I mentioned millet? Willow's list: 1. People food 2. Cookies 3. Baby carrots (and Daddy at home) 4. Wet dog food 5. The sunflower seeds out of Brother's food (and Daddy sitting in his chair) 6. More cookies 7. Daddy at home without Mommy ...did I mention cookies and Daddy? Tis the Day Before Christmas
The cookies are baked.
The presents are wrapped under the tree. Visits are planned. The Christmas music is playing. And I've watched The Homecoming. Yes, it's Christmas and time to enjoy... » Thursday, December 23, 2004
Up in the Air
» Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Dum Da Dum-Dum!
Remember Dragnet? The real Dragnet, with a poker-faced Jack Webb solving crimes? Many years ago, the great Stan Freberg came up with Christmas Dragnet. It's better heard than read, but here for your pleasure is a transcript.
If you want to really enjoy every silly word, this is on the Dr. Demento Christmas album. along with the now perennial "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer," Doug and Bob MacKenzie's version of "The 12 Days of Christmas," and the delightfully zany "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas." » Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Some GOOD News on This Winter Solstice
Tuesday Twosome
Holiday celebrations... 1. Do you celebrate a religious meaning to this season and if so, what (Christmas, Hanukkah, etc.)? If not, why? Yes, I celebrate Christmas. BTW, why ask why people don't celebrate a religious meaning? They just don't, for whatever reason. 2. What does this holiday season mean to you and why? Warmth within the cold outside: warm house, pretty lights, special treats (edible and otherwise), gatherings with family and friends. I love the lights. It makes every house look welcoming. 3. Which do you enjoy the most: giving presents or receiving presents and why? Giving, because I enjoy picking out something I think a friend or family member would like. Getting a gift is great, of course, but giving is more fun. 4. Name two holiday movies that best describes the season for you: A Christmas Story and The Bishop's Wife. 5. Name two holiday songs that best describes the season for you: "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "White Christmas." » Monday, December 20, 2004
Hot Times in the Old House
I've had hot flashes too long. I can't tell them from a fever.
I think being dizzy should've tipped me off. So I've been wrapped in a fleece watching Christmas things: Ask the Manager Christmas episodes, Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory, the British Christmas Past and the Voyagers episode "Merry Christmas, Bogg." And I've been doing some reading (but more about that in Holiday Harbour).
Monday Madness
1. From Becky... How did you learn about computers? Were you self taught? The first computer I was "exposed" to was in high school. I never got to work on it, though. You had to have an A in math to be in the special class to use it. I didn't want to; programming involved math and that's all you could do with a computer back then: program it to get numbers out of it. When I went back to school for a year in 1981 I had hoped to take word processing, but they wouldn't allow it if you couldn't type over 60 wpm. Sounds funny now, but word processing was just for trained typists back then. It took some friends with Commodore 64s to introduce me to the wonderful world of word processing. I'm self-taught in a lot of computer things, including web design. Funny, when I was in high school my dad urged me to "go into computers; that's where the money's going to be." I didn't have the math grade and didn't want to go into anything that involved math. Years later I am finally "into computers" like he wanted. 2. From Tom... What is your favorite color and why is it your favorite color? The blue of the sky on a winter day. And just because it's so beautiful and free. 3. From Olivia... What one thing going on in the world right now, has the most effect on you personally? The war in Iraq. I have a co-worker serving there. 4. From Barb... If you were going to develop your own meme, what kind would you create? I dunno. I'd rather answer questions than ask them. 5. From Sherle... Why do you enjoy answering memes? :-) I'm an old broad who likes to share her opinions. 6. From Teresa... What is your wildest dream? To live in New Hampshire and write books. 7. From Mz. Em... Why do you answer these questions? Didn't I answer this in question five? » Sunday, December 19, 2004
Welcome to the 21st Century
Seven years ago I was driving a terrible old Honda.
In 1990, TuneUp Clinic did an unneeded repair on my car while changing the oil and set my beloved Dodge Omni on fire. I needed another car in a hurry due to my commute and a friend found what he thought was a well-maintained Honda for me. It turned out to be a turkey that broke down every six months to the tune of between $500 and $700. At Christmas of that final year I had it, James and I got cellphones. He told me afterwards he was so glad we'd decided to do so: he was afraid of me breaking down and not being near somewhere I could call for help. We only bought the phones for emergencies and rarely had them on. I rarely kept mine on anyway because three days after I got it I dropped it and it barely held a charge for about an hour. The cell phone mania passed us by. I still don't understand the reason for wanting to be yapping on the phone most of the time. But I figured it was time for us to upgrade, so we did. We got the lowest price plan Verizon had (I considered Cingular, too, but Verizon had the same plan and a bigger calling area). Even with that, we still get free long distance, no roaming, free nights and weekends, and we can talk to each other (and other Verizon customers) without charge. When it came to pick out the phones, we got a flip because one or the other of us were always pressing one of the phone buttons and turning it on, then when we needed to use it the power would be drained. (During vacation James' phone woke us up beeping because of low power. He had accidentally turned the phone on during the drive up to DC.) And since we were getting all the bells and whistles anyway, we got a camera phone. It was only $20 more. I can't remember how many times I've seen a beautiful sunset or a cute dog or bird and said to myself "I wish I had a camera." Now I do. The free long distance will be a godsend. Now I can call my mom any time I like and not have to worry about how much it's going to cost as long as I don't go over my minutes. It will be nice to cheer her up during the day. » Friday, December 17, 2004
Sometime's Christmas Shopping Isn't Fun...
Friday Five
I think I've answered some of these questions before. :-) 1. What is a fond holiday tradition from your childhood? At my Papà's house, on Christmas Eve and sometimes on Christmas Day, later on all the uncles and Grandpa would play poker. But earlier, when the kids were still alert, we would all play Pokeno with the grown-ups. Our parents would save pennies for a couple of weeks, and we would bet pennies on corners, "bingo," and centers. Then auntie would serve coffee and we'd eat Italian cookies and torrone. 2. If you could start a new holiday tradition, what would it be? I've always had this hankering to sing Christmas carols around a piano, the way they used to do on Petticoat Junction or The Waltons. 3. What is your favorite Christmas song and who sings it? "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and just about anyone who sings it in the traditional manner (i.e. not screaming or rapping). 4. Is there a certain event, food, television program, etc. that makes your Christmastime complete? Going out to see Christmas lights, wine biscuits, The Homecoming (and The House Without a Christmas Tree, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas), respectively. And Christmas music. Lots of Christmas music. 5. Does is traditionally snow where you live at Christmastime? If not, do you wish that it did? No, and I do, even if it's just an inch. Snow makes everything pretty. It's like a magical event when it snows. Spook's Walk » Thursday, December 16, 2004
Schroeder Celebrates Today
Thursday Threesome
::Christmas is Coming!:: Onesome: Christmas-- Hey, an easy start for you, what with the new layout and all: What is your favorite Christmas song? ...and sung or played by whom? You know, the one you tend to listen for on the radio or hit 'repeat' on the player... Just one? I'd say any Christmas song played by George Winston. I'm also partial to Bruce Mitchell's "Joy to the World." And of course Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas." Twosome: Is-- Is the longer "Holiday Season" this year between Thanksgiving and Christmas making it easier to get your Christmas act together? Last year's was short; has this year flowed any better for you? Since I shop for presents all year long, it's not that bad. I don't get myself down to the wire like that. I do have two Christmas gifts yet to buy. Usually something throws itself off the shelf at me saying "Buy me for So-and-So." It hasn't happened with these two people this year. So the length of the shopping season doesn't matter to me. It's longer this year? It doesn't seem like it; the days have just flown by! Threesome: Coming-- Ready or not, here it comes! Are you ready? What do you have left to do with just over a week to go? ...or are you just cruising? The two gifts I just mentioned--plus I have to finish something for my mother-in-law and a couple of young ladies. Enough to keep me busy until Christmas! » Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Nostalgia, Inc.
Remember Woolworths? That's what I'm doing today in Holiday Harbour.
For much, much more Woolworths nostalgia, try Karen Plunkett-Powell's super Remembering Woolworths, full of memories and vintage photos. » Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Tuesday Twosome
Winter Wonderland... 1. What two things do you "have" to wear when it is chilly/cold outside? A hat for one. I never did understand those girls and women who wouldn't wear hats so they wouldn't spoil their hair and walked into a building with their ears turning purple. I need gloves when it gets really cold or I can't feel my hands. 2. What are two good things about wintry weather? It's cool, cool, cool, and the air is nice and breathable and doesn't smell bad. And the sky isn't yellow on the horizon. And at night if it's not snowing it's crystal clear and you can see the stars. 3. What two things do you really dislike about wintry weather? Um, nothing? No, I take that back--people who act like idiots in cars. They either drive like it's not slippery, or go so slowly they aggravate others. You need to be careful when you drive in the winter, especially on ice, but you shouldn't drive like a maniac and you don't have to drive like great-granny. 4. On average, how cold does it get in your city/town and how long does the cold weather last? Really cold weather? Usually one week in January. It went down to 8°F one year; that's why our pipe broke! 5. Would you rather be stuck at home because of a blizzard or flooding? Blizzard. It's dryer. » Monday, December 13, 2004
Monday Madness
1. From Mel... Do you have a favorite 80's song? Don't laugh..."Him." Not just because Rupert is a friend of mine, but because it reminds me of Sundays driving out to South County (Galilee, Sand Hill Cove, Scarborough) on Tower Hill Road with the windows open and the breeze blowing in my face and being with Mom and Dad. 2. From Luzja... What's the biggest event in your life to date? Hm. It's a tie between getting married and buying a house. 3. From Amy... What's one more thing during your lifetime you would like to learn how to do well? Would like to? I should learn to swim, but I'm still too afraid of having no footing. 4. From Susan... what is your earliest childhood memory? I was about two or three and we were about to go out somewhere. It was a warm day because the car windows were open. We were still parked in the driveway and of course there were no seatbelts back then. I leaned so far out the window I fell on my head on the concrete driveway. I remember that. I don't remember the doctor or having to go to Boston to the doctor to make sure I was okay. 5. From LDH... What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow? 42. 6. From Beverly and Rosie... Where, When and What is your most favorite memory? Oh, gosh, I can't pick one. One of them would have to be having Christmas at my Papa's with all the relatives and playing Pokeno around the big old table in the basement and eating goodies like macaroni and lasagna along with the turkey. But then there were those Sunday with James making biscuits and Bandit sitting on my shoulder... 7. From Shirl...Do you fit in? Naw, never did. Didn't bother me most of the time; didn't want to be a mundane. But when I did I felt a lot like young Scrooge's song in Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol: "A hand for each hand was planned for the world; why don't my fingers reach?" 8. From Sherle... Tell me your favorite recipe then go to Recipe Swap and share it with all of us! My favorite recipe is my mom's wine biscuits here. Good Fences Make...Bad Backs
The fact that I can sit at the computer right now owes to a good mattress, Advil, and a long, long sleep.
Yesterday was a bit of a blur. We had groceries to stock up on, so had stops at Walmart and BJs. We also had to go to Lowe's for some lumber. Pertinent digression: Our property backs on an apartment complex. It's a bit "low rent." Most of the folks are just nice ordinary people and the worst trouble we have is someone playing loud music (audible through closed windows with the A/C on) late into the night (but usually on Saturdays when it isn't so bad). But there are a few of the hoodlum element. Two years ago I stood at the sliding glass doors and watched in incredulity as some "kid" (I use it loosely; he could have been in his twenties) bashed a hole in the fence (apparently to use the wood for something, since he didn't come through). (I would have shouted to him, but the doors don't open.) I called up the apartment complex. When someone finally answered, they sounded properly horrified and said they would do something about it. Yeah. Sure. Some weeks later James took some spare fence panels that were in the shed and used three-inch deck screws and blocked all the broken parts of the fence. It remained okay. (Digression about the fence: we bought this house from friends. There was originally another fence behind the property, but it was cheap and collapsed. Our friends were going to replace the fence and contacted the apartment complex management to inform them there might be some workers on their property. The complex management replied with asperity that the fence was theirs and they would replace it. And so they did, with the sorriest bit of fencing God has ever seen. Instead of using six-foot solid fencing boards, they used five-foot boards at the bottom of the fence and one-foot boards at the top. They were held to the crossbraces of the fence by only two nails about an inch long; a good kick would take them loose. By the time we moved in, the fenceposts were leaning backward and we had to brace them with other fenceposts.) Well, I happened to peer out the window the other day and what should I behold but a nice hole in the fence in one of the places James had repaired, where the kids had broken through before (they're too lazy to walk around to our street and want to cut through). The wood was all splintered and pushed aside so someone the size of a 12-year-old might squeeze through. Yes, I called the apartment complex. The line was busy. So Sunday we bought enough boards to fix the hole, and I helped James push the fence back up a little bit more upright and brace it with the the fenceposts. This, compounded with spending the evening putting up the Christmas tree, completely undid my back, even though I took pain medication from the time we got back inside. The ultimate solution is to have it out with the apartment complex, I know, but I hate these confrontative issues. If I had something to back me up, I'd be in a much better position. I spent one entire day last winter calling city and county offices attempting to find out if there was some type of ordinance that required the apartment complex to keep a barrier (well maintained or not) between their land and private land. The conclusion: "I don't know" and the infamous "We'll have someone call you back," the latter which was the response when I called them to find out how to safely dispose a computer monitor and if they had a paint recycling center. Need I say that no one ever called back, on any issue? » Saturday, December 11, 2004
Birthday Doin's
Had a swell day, but it was a good thing my mom called to wish me happy birthday this morning or we would have been too late to go to the bank! We decided to do all the fun things today, so grabbed a quick bite, then went to turn James' shirts in to the cleaner. He dropped me off at Harry's Farmer' Market to get veggies and other goodies and visited the hobby shop. Then we were off to Stone Mountain Park for the "Fruitcake Festival" where the Atlanta Radio Theatre Company was performing.
Their "Atlanta Christmas" presentation was extended this year to a nearly three-hour show (two performers from Theatre Gael also did a reading of "A Child's Christmas in Wales" to harp accompaniment, which was very good). While the usual annual stories appeared (by now they are as familiar and welcome as the well-loved books in our library), this also included a previously unproduced story by the late Thomas Fuller about two boys wishing for Davy Crockett hats for Christmas. I sat absorbing this story with delight because it was basically my own childhood Christmas pushed back a few years. We had one of those boxy old televisions they spoke about. There was also a very funny new story called "A Blue Hanukkah Carol" about a young man stranded at home on Christmas Eve and meeting some very peculiar...um, visitors. The different sketches were separated by caroling and we were openmouthed with delight when Daniel and Oreta Taylor's 16-year-old daughter soloed "The Carol of the Birds." Sarah has been taking voice lessons and the result was ... absolutely magnificent. She has the voice of an angel. Most of the Company had not heard her sing the piece, so her own compatriots were speechless as well. After the performance we hit Michael's for a new set of lights (as the one on our wreath seems to have failed) and then went to Media Play where I bought too many DVDs. We ended the night at our usual Saturday night trivia. Mel and Phyllis Boros brought miniature Menorahs and we had a fifth evening of Hanukkah celebration. Natal Felicitations to Myself » Friday, December 10, 2004
I Did Something Right
When we brought Pidge home, knowing we were eventually going on vacation, I made the decision to take him with us if we could. The car accident put the execution of the plan a bit behind, but we did get it going as soon as we could. First I bought a roomier carry box and left it next to Pidgie's cage so he could get used to it. Then, one by one, I started stocking it with a mirror and toys and left it open.
His curiosity got the better of him and soon he was clambering in to converse with the mirror. He would toss his toys inside and sit on the edge of the door and look down at them. Then we started with taking him out in the box, then sitting in the car, then a short trip, then a longer one to Petsmart and Bruster's. I still had my heart in my mouth when we started on that long, long ride. He did super well--of course the super-sized sprig of millet in there every time he rode inside was a big plus! But I wondered if after the trip was over if he would still feel the same about the carry box. When we got home it went back to its place next to his cage, and when I let him out I still open the box. I needn't have feared. He goes in there to peck the mirror, or just to climb in and out, and doesn't seem afraid or hold any aversion to it. I expect that means the trip was moderately pleasant for him. I'm glad I managed that. (LOL. He sure enjoyed harassing Grandma.)
Friday Five
• Last Week's: 1. If you have a phobia (or something close to one), what is it? Just one? :-) My worst phobia is that I'm claustrophobic. As a kid I couldn't even play hide'n'seek by hiding in a closet and closing the door. Even though "the doughnut" is open and rationally I know I can breathe, even CAT scans give me panic attacks. This is getting worse as I get older. I'm also afraid of snakes and worms. When I used to read the encyclopedia I would skip those entries. Irrational, I know, but there it is. 2. How long have you had the phobia (or something close to it)? As I said, since I was a kid for all of them. I still remember the day when I was seven or eight and my mom took me to someone's house. The person who lived there had a little boy and he found out I was afraid of worms. He deliberately dug one up and chased me with it. 40+ years later I can still remember this horrible kid. 3. If you know anyone with a phobia (or something close to it), how does s/he act when s/he is experiencing it? Well, I know James has to lie down when they take blood. Needles make him slightly woozy. 4. What is one phobia you would wish not to have? Agoraphobia. How would I ever go anywhere? 5. What is one phobia you wouldn't mind having, if you were to face one? I don't know...is there a fear of hot places? :-) :-) :-) • Thanksgiving Week: 1) As a child, where did you go for Thanksgiving and who was there? I understand we're ahead of today's trend: we went out to eat! My dad's paisan owned a beautiful place called Venetian Gardens, which was on West Shore Road on the way to Oakland Beach. At one time it was a supper club and still had the stage for the orchestra. When we first started going there they had a live pianist, but as the years wore on it was just Muzak. They had a hat check girl and a cigarette girl and the waiters all wore suits. It was pretty spiffy. Afterwards we would do rounds at the relatives and have desserts. My Aunty Lisa made a mean high-crust apple pie! (Of course I'd leave the apples for my mom and eat all the crust!) 2) What food(s) do you remember best/were tradition then? Oh, the turkey, because it was the only time of the year we ate it. My mom, as good a cook as she was on other foods, couldn't cook a turkey to save her life. Also butternut squash, but the restaurant always sweetened it too much. There also used to be squash pies. These were like pumpkin, but with a milder flavor. When we went on vacation we tried desperately to find a squash pie in one of the markets. Not even Ruggeri's (the Italian market) had one! I guess it's like crullers and no one makes them any more. I wonder if they are still making rice pies for Easter? 3) Where do you celebrate now, and with whom? For the past years we have been celebrating with friends. We had a couple of Thanksgivings at Pat and Alex Lucyshyn's house and some at Ron and Lin Butler's. One year we had James' mom, sister, and niece up, but it was as long a ride for them as it was for us. On a couple of our favorite Thanksgivings we went out to eat and then went to a movie. 4) Has your menu changed (if so, whats new?) ? More sugarless food! I always thought desserts were too sugary anyway. 5) What are you thankful for this year? Mom being with us another year, not being hurt badly in the car accident (and the car being finally fixed), Pigwidgeon. Friday Five had an alternative set of questions for those who don't celebrate Thanksgiving, which I thought interesting as well: 1) Was there a holiday meal, a special event meal, or even a weekly/monthly meal that you recall from childhood? Oh, all those Christmases and sometimes Easter's at Papa's house! We would gather in the cellar around the big old table covered in oilcloth (Aunty Margaret still finds oilcloth somewhere; I didn't know they sold it any more) and eat macaroni and lasagna and roast chicken all cooked on the big black woodstove that had been converted to gas. There would be plates of torrone and Hershey kisses scattered among the homemade Italian cookies--wine biscuits and pepper biscuits and butterballs and almond bars and molasses cookies (and wandi's if someone had the fortitude to make them!)--on the big dresser that served as a sideboard. After dinner we would play Pokeno and the men would play poker or sneak upstairs to watch football with their eyes closed. :-) 2) Who would gather with you for this meal? My dad's family. We'd see my mom's folks on Christmas Eve (actually, since her older brother and his eldest daughter lived not five minutes from us, we saw them frequently). 3) How about these days? There are special Thanksgiving and Christmas meals with friends now. We also go out and eat Saturday nights and play trivia with friends. 4) Who dines with you this time? See above. 5) If you could create a gathering, why would people gather, who would you invite, and what would you eat? This question attracted me because I've always had this secret wish to have one of those swell gatherings like they used to have on Petticoat Junction. I dream of a big get-together with lots of simple homemade foods (nothing fancy dessert-wise, either), and later everyone gets together and sings Christmas carols around the piano. » Thursday, December 09, 2004
Thursday Threesome
• This Week's: ::Jingle Bells:: Onesome- Dashing through the snow: Do you get much snow where you live? Do you enjoy winter sports like skiing or would you rather stay in by the cozy fire? No, unfortunately or fortunately as the case may be. I love snow. I love to walk in it. However, if I tried to shovel snow now after years of inaction, I'd probably have a heart attack. Twosome- In a one horse open sleigh: Have you ever been on a sleigh ride or a carriage ride? Do you even like horses? Or would you just rather travel by your own two feet? I've never been on a sleigh ride but would like to. I was on a carriage ride at least once, in Helen, GA. I've even ridden a horse. I was up too high and it made me queasy, but it was a nice ride anyway. I don't want a horse. They're expensive to keep and to keep them properly you need to spend a lot of time with them. Threesome- O'er the fields we go: What's the first thing that pops into your mind when someone says field? Corn? Football field? Outfield? The field across the street from our house when I was a kid. There were two levels to it, the upper field where we had outdoor gym class (my junior high was across the street) and the lower field where the guys played baseball on summer nights. This was a right-of-way for the railroad and you could cross the field and cross the train tracks. The tracks are gone and it's a bicycle trail now, and the field has been fixed up. There's a jogging track around it and a playground and they've replaced the batting cages. It looks spiffy but I kinda preferred it when it was wild. • Last Week's: ::Dancing Polar Bears:: Onesome: Dancing-- Dancing? Does anyone go dancing anymore? I mean, disco died, and the club scene? Hmmm... Is dancing dead? ...or are we just here on the web instead of out for the evening? Dunno. A lot of fun things aren't done any longer. Maybe folks have two left feet like I do. James and I shuffled through our first dance at our wedding reception. Twosome: Polar-- Polar bears seem to do well in the snow... How about you? Is snow just another thing you deal with when it shows up, or is it shutdown time? ...and if you're posting from a non-snowy locale, do you make trips to actually see snow? It's okay to admit it... I love the snow. It's ice I don't like. You actually have good traction on snow as long as you don't go too quickly. Ice is just treacherous. I tried to see snow over vacation, but we didn't have time to go quite north enough. They were probably making snow at Killington and Pico. Threesome: Bears-- Bears? Christmas Bears? Have you seen the number of bears on the shelf this year? Are you getting one for anyone? ...or are you looking forward to receiving one? ...or do you still think that inguana in the elf outfit is more your style I am probably one of the only women on earth who doesn't give a fig about bears. I had a special teddy when I was little, but still preferred my stuffed dogs. I have two bears right now, but they are special gifts that I keep because of the sentiment. Most of the time when I get bear-themed things I give them to people who like bears. • Thanksgiving Week's: ::Christmas Bells are Ringing:: Onesome: Christmas-- Is it Thanksgiving? ...or just the day before the start of the "Christmas Season"? (...and how are you supposed to shop if you're all stuffed with food?) Hey, is anyone going out tomorrow to save tons of money standing in endless lines with 10,000 of your closest friends? Just curious... Oh, it was Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving, and I hate the fact that Christmas prep starts so early, distracting people from it. We have gone shopping on previous Fridays--if you get up early enough and plan your route with the sale papers, it's actually fun and profitable. Two years ago we got nearly $200 of computer parts and equipment for about $40. But this year we were away and didn't have much room in the car--the darn car is a TARDIS considering how much extra we did squeeze in it: the books we bought, my dad's memorabilia box, a manuscript, the bags of sugar-free candy, the bag of things from the Vermont Country store--oh, yeah, and that extensible Wolfgarten pole for the rake! We had to fold half the back seat down to get it home, but we made it. Twosome: Bells-- Okay, we'll give in and admit that maybe the season has started: what decorations are you looking forward to seeing in the next few days? ...the lights in the downtown? How about knowing you'll soon have a tree with that memorable ornament? The Toys for Tots drop off? What makes you comfortable knowing the Christmas season is really here? Oh, the beautiful multicolor Christmas lights and the music. I love both. Sometimes I play Christmas music when I'm depressed, but it doesn't feel quite right; now is just the time for it. Threesome: are Ringing-- ...in your ears? What song are you just dreading to hear this season? Come on, the one that just makes you scrunch up inside and want to duck into an iron foundry so you can't hear it? Weird Al? Something from "The Nutcracker"? Those dogs? I mean come on, there's some bad stuff out there Even worse than the dogs. "The Christmas Shoes." Once upon a time, this was a beautiful little anecdote about a man (or a woman, depending on which version) who discovers the real meaning of Christmas from two little children who purchase a last Christmas gift for their dying mother. Then it was expanded into a book and a totally bathotic Christmas song that makes me flinch every time it plays. » Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Happy Hanukkah!
Play the dreidel game online: http://www.billybear4kids.com/holidays/hanukkah/dreidel2.htm
History Of The Driedel » Tuesday, December 07, 2004
A Day to Remember
Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan...After having seen the World War II memorial in DC, this day is all the more meaningful. Some excellent Pearl Harbor links: National Parks Service: USS Arizona Memorial US Navy's Pearl Harbor Site National Geographic's Pearl Harbor Site (sigh--ignore the links for the awful movie) Pearl Harbor Remembered Pearl Harbor Attacked Eyewitness to History: Pearl Harbor (this entire site is fascinating) Facsimilie of Roosevelt's Speech to Congress I'll have to watch my copy of The Waltons' "Day of Infamy" tonight. It captures the individual reactions of Americans on that day quite well. A Song to Sing By
At home last night found the held mail carefully stacked on the porch table. After disposing of half in the wastebasket and putting the first Christmas cards up, I dug into the two boxes from Amazon.co.uk which contained something for James, the second series of All Creatures Great and Small (it has the Christmas episode "Merry Gentlemen" in it), the widescreen version of 84 Charing Cross Road, and the last series of The Good Life; we watched "Merry Gentlemen" and the first three Good Life episodes later.
As I used the "secret region hack" to change the DVD player to Region 2. James asked curiously why I didn't just keep it on Region 0 ("bypass," as it's known on our unit). Good question. I think I had it on "bypass" at one point and a couple of my Region 1s wouldn't play, my old version of The Andromeda Strain being one of them. (The new version plays fine on that setting.) So I tried different Region 1 and 2 versions until I was satisfied it was good in general. (I can always change it if I have a problem.) The final DVD I tested was The Secret of NIMH, skipping through scenes to get to the credits where Paul Williams sings the theme song, "Flying Dreams." James and I fell in love with this song when the movie came out. I used to sing it to my budgie Sylvester. It's why our APAzine and our website is named "Flying Dreams." It's the song we danced to at our wedding reception in RI. So we stood there and cuddled as it played, reliving a lot of nice memories. » Monday, December 06, 2004
Cool Cats
Catch Up Time #1
Monday Madness
• This week's: 1. From Briar... and Sherle... What's your favorite TV show and why? I don't have a favorite TV show right now. I may start watching House, though. I liked what I saw last week. 2. From WickedSway... What's your sign? Sagittarius. 3. From Beth... Why is common sense so uncommon? Oh, there's an IMHO for you. Probably because people want things too quickly. They don't stop to think before they do. 4. From Bug... What are 5 (or 10) great things about your life partner? He puts up with me! He cooks. He has a good sense of humor. He gets along with my mother. He reads. He doesn't like sports. 5. From Elena... Why do you blog? Are you a writer at heart? Is it a passion? Or because it's en vogue? Don't follow "vogues." I've been writing since I could set pen to paper. It's as natural as breathing. (Heck, when my allergy's bothering me, writing is easier than breathing...) 6. From Lady Starlight... How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? 42. 7. From tmk... Fiction or nonfiction? These days nonfiction. 8. From Moody... If you were an animal, which animal would you like to be, and why? Lassie. I'd be kind, gentle, and help everyone all the time. :-) • Last week's: 1. How did you choose a name for your blog? It seemed everyone was blogging, but I didn't have a particular theme. Since I always have kept a journal anyway, this was "yet another journal." "Holiday Harbour" was a holiday refuge. "Cozy Nook"--well, doesn't everyone want a cozy nook to read in? 2. How many times have you changed the name of your blog? Never. 3. How many blogs to you update regularly? Three. 4. How many times have you moved in your life? Seven. 5. On a scale of 1-10, how stressful is moving (in your opinion)? 42. :-) 6. When moving, do you/would you rent a moving van/truck? Yes. And have had the help of wonderful friends. They deserve all the credit. THANK YOU. 7. Do you wear glasses? If so, how old were you when you needed them? Yes. Ten. My best friend snitched on me; she told my mother that I couldn't see the blackboard. 8. What one question would you hope someone running a meme, would ask? I can't think of a one. Why do you ask this on a Monday. (Never mind, why do you ask this on a work day?) • Thanksgiving week: 1. What is your favorite sport? Dog agility trials. (Team sports? I don't do team sports.) 2. Do you watch sports on television? Just dog agility trials, "bench" shows, and horse jumping. 3. In high school, did you (or do you) play any sports? Play them? I couldn't even figure out where I was supposed to throw the ball when we played softball in gym class. The only games I liked were dodge ball and tag and those were considered babyish after second grade. 4. Any favorite teams? The Clydesdales that pull the Budweiser wagon. :-) 5. If applicable, did you (or do you) attend your child's games? It's not, but if I had a sports-minded child of course I would attend his/her games. I'd want to support them. 6. Do you think professional athletes make too much money? Damn right. Let them go out and get an honest job. (This of course leaves being a politician out...) Check Out The December 6 Strip » Sunday, December 05, 2004
Endgame, Part 2
Well, we're in for the night, and pretty much mostly unpacked. Pidge has been running up and down his cage roof tossing bird toys off the floor (he did it at Grandma's, but not to this extent; he found it much more fun to jump on Mom's head and get her attention) and Willow is lying on her dog bed, blissful on the fleece (she already had her recliner fix when James sat down earlier). Not quite sure what to do with everything (it's remarkable what we packed in the car). And we're actually cold for the first time in two weeks. (We also had a decent night's sleep for the first time in ten days; Mom's mattresses are both over 30 years old. She said wistfully late Friday night that she should have had us go with her to buy a new one. Arrrgh! We could have gone on Wednesday, after it stopped raining.)
We went from one extreme (below freezing) this morning; by the time we got to North Carolina we had to peel off our jackets because it was in the sixties. It was another clear blue-and-white day for most of the ride (we should have known it was going to be nice, as we had seen a magnificent scarlet and orange sunset last night), and we got to see all the beautiful country we missed on November 20 because of the fog and then darkness: lovely farms--lots and lots of cows, both dairy and feeder steers--and rural landscapes against the line of the Blue Ridge. The steep roads that had led up in the clouds on that Saturday were clear and we saw an outspread valley to the East; it was still a bit hazy and you could still see for miles. Pidge got his first turndown today--after we'd brought him into a Wendy's and also the Russell Stover outlet store in North Carolina (where I-77 and I-40 meet) and the South Carolina Welcome Center (they were serving wassail and apple doughnuts--yum!). The clerks at the Russell Stover store actually made a fuss over him. They didn't have any of the boxed sugarless dark chocolate, so we stopped at the larger store in Anderson, SC, and they wouldn't let me bring the carry box in. The manager was apologetic; it was because they served ice cream. Actually, the fact that we didn't get directed out of the other places was the big surprise; we just waited outside while James shopped and Pidge was cooed over by a half-dozen elderly ladies who came in as part of a bus tour. Willow scarfed down a plain junior Wendyburger with relish and actually challenged a bigger dog at a rest area. Wow. BTW, many thanks again to Charles Rutledge who suggested using Route 321 instead of taking I-85 into Charlotte. Apparently construction has made the interchanges a mess there. 321 was a great road and we even found Public Radio's delightful current events' quiz show, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me playing both times we were on it. Mostly we just listened to Christmas music until even I was sick of it. Oddly, we noticed most of the "Lite" all-Christmas music stations are 102Mhz, 103MHz, 104MHz, or 105MHz. Unfortunately the moment we got north of Atlanta, it started to rain, so we had to schlep all our things into the house while getting wet. We're good at it, though, and didn't get too damp. (That was left for the run to the grocery store for the necessities of life: milk and a Sunday paper.) The only bobble we had was the DSL modem not working. I guess if you don't use them for a while they shut themselves off. James rebooted both the router and the modem and everything is now fine. » Saturday, December 04, 2004
Endgame, Part 1
"I'm so glad we had this time together,It was a bridge-and-river day mainly--it seems the return route is all via major bridges over major rivers: the Connecticut, the Hudson, the Delaware, the Potomac, and more (plus one tunnel going through Baltimore). (Once again it was a beautiful day on the Hudson as we went over the Tappan Zee Bridge and I didn't have a camera ready.) An unremarkable day, thankfully; traffic good except for some gawpers holding up traffic to see the accident on the northbound lane. This morning was the most painful, loading the car and saying goodbye to Mom...we had a case of the weeps for a few minutes and my dinner tonight was only minimally appetizing. The worst part was not getting enough sleep last night, between "last-night blues" and hot flashes. Should have left the bedroom window open despite it being in the 30s. Pidge has two more "locations" under his belt: on the ride up we stopped at both a Maryland House restaurant and a New Jersey service area and took Pidgie in the restaurant with us (James got a lot of attention sitting with him in the Jersey place). Nobody minded. Today we brought him in another service plaza, a McDonald's in Connecticut and also a convenience store with a Blimpie inside on the Garden State Parkway (NJ again). Not only did anyone mind, but a tiny child kept asking me questions about him and the convenience store people all said "How cute!" I also walked him around a rest area building in Virginia. Poor Willow. Too bad so many bad dogs have to ruin it for good dogs. We arrived at the McDonald's in Connecticut at the same time as a bunch of tour buses. I think they were those organized shopping expeditions that go to New York City before Christmas to see the store windows and shop. The line was horrific...and let's not talk about the one to the ladies' bathroom! (As always, there was no line at the gents!) We finally "lighted" in Harrisonburg, VA, after a lovely sunset drive--and the sight of a herd of deer in Manassas' National Park--through the mountains, in a Motel 6. Quite clean and adequate, but a step down from the TownePlace Suites, that's for sure! We found a Bob Evans to eat supper at and procured a loaf of the yummy pumpkin bread. » Friday, December 03, 2004
The End of This Part of the Story
We had a quiet day. While Mom was at radiation, I did some things to help her. She's been having trouble operating the DVD player, so I color-coded some of the buttons for her. She's also been struggling with the portable TV in the kitchen; she doesn't have cable and this thing has a useless "power" antenna that barely gets the local stations--and it has one of those stupid round UHF antennas on it to boot. (Found out one of the problems right away; it was set for "cable" instead of "antenna.")
So after she got home we went to Radio Shack to get a regular set of rabbit ears and a bow-tie antenna for the UHF. I used to get a dozen stations with that combination; the silly thing she has now barely gets three. We also had some keys made and I bought her an "Ove glove." She cooks a lot with her toaster oven and uses a clumsy oven mitt. The Ove glove is Kevlar and very flexible. We also stopped at Garden City Shopping Center for some chocolates and then had hot cocoa and pumpkin bread at Starbuck's. After our errands we visited some of my relatives: my Aunty Margaret and Uncle Johnny. They were, as usual, at my Uncle Guido's house, which used to be my grandfather's house. Right now Uncle Guido is at a nursing home after a fall, but is supposed to come home soon. We caught them half-napping, but talked for about an hour about various family events, and my Uncle Ralph, who lives next door, stopped over. We would have stopped to see my Aunty Lisa, but she doesn't sleep well any longer because of leg pain, and was trying to nap. We had supper at Chinese and, before and after, got things packed and mostly in the car. James made tea for the trip. All we have left to load tomorrow is the small suitcase, the toiletries, the laptop, the "black bag" (which has the cameras and Willow's extra towel and goes wherever it fits), "Fred the traveling pillow," the animals, and ourselves. I can't believe we fit all those books in the car! Willow was not happy with all the packing. After six years with us she's still afraid we're going to abandon her. Finally we could sit down and relax and watch The House Without a Christmas Tree. » Thursday, December 02, 2004
A Little Bit of the Country
James and I took a nice long drive today; it was perfect weather, cool and clear (at least until we got close to our destination). I said, "Let's see if we can find some snow," so we ran up I-95 and I-495, first to Marlboro, MA, where there was a hobby store called the Spare Time Shop that he'd read about online. This was a small store, but crammed literally ceiling to floor with plastic models, fantasy card games, military/aviation books, model rockets, and other hobby materials (James saw everything but train supplies). You could probably look around for a couple of hours before you saw everything.
From there we drove west (US 2) and then north (I-91) to the Vermont Country Store. This is the "new" store in Rockingham as opposed to the original store in Weston. It's a fascinating place. They truly are a "country store" in that they sell clothing, gadgets, and even some "grocery items" like cheese, preserves, and maple sugar/syrup products, plus they have soaps, candy, toys, souvenirs, dishtowels and regular towels, slippers, blankets, sheet sets, Christmas ornaments, gardening implements, books, and probably a lot more things that I've forgotten. They also have a "discount barn" with out of season items. Some of their items are old brands and items that have been discontinued everywhere else. You can get old-fashioned candies like Mallow Cups and Charleston Chews there, a Chatty Cathy doll, Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls, Evening in Paris perfume, Beeman's and Clove gums. And of course the place was decorated for Christmas, with trees and roping and garlands. We stopped to take some photos on the way out and I looked up at the sky. It was starting to turn from grey, high clouds to that lighter silver that occurs before it starts to snow. It was about 42°F, but I said, "It could snow." In a minute or two, it was snowing, just briefly, a small flurry of flakes around our heads and the front of the store. Rockingham is off I-91, which runs up the length of the Connecticut River (its source is somewhere in Canada), and on the east side of the road is the valley surrounding the river. It must have been magnificent with color about five or six weeks ago, but now the grass spreads alternately green, brown, and yellow behind the sketched branches of the trees. On the return trip there was a parking area across from one of the vistas where they had trimmed the trees down enough for you to see beyond. It was all very pretty and peaceful, even if there were only a few flakes of snow. » Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Like Grandma, Like Grandbird
We had a whopping rainstorm this morning, but ventured out to buy Pidgie a new water container and stop at the big Barnes & Noble on Bald Hill Road. The rain wasn't bad most of the time, but the wind was gusting into the 20s, sometimes into the 30s (it's been into the 40s up in Boston). James also stopped in at the Apponaug Hobby Shop.
The moment we settled in the house the rain went away, although it's still mighty breezy out. We were reading with the television on in the background--and both Mom and Pidge fell asleep, her in her chair and Pidge in his cage, next to each other. They look so cute being asleep together... » Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Adventures in the Land of Chowda and Pahkin' the Cah in Hahvahd Yahd
Sorry--was wiped out last night and didn't put in an entry. It's there now.
James and I went to Boston today. We'd talked about going to the Computer Museum, but basically ended up just wandering about absorbing the feel of the city. We went up on the commuter train, which we've been doing for a couple of years rather than driving up to Braintree and taking the T: we'd had one too many "garage full" situations. So guess what happened when we got to the Providence Amtrak/T commuter rail station. Yep, the garage was full! We just found a parking lot and went on. We had lunch in Harvard Square, doing one of my favorite things, feeding the sparrows. We got sandwiches from Au Bon Pain--alas, Warburton's has been swallowed by them (and Wordsworth only exists as a children's bookstore anymore)--and sat outside and fed bits of the bread to the little sparrows who flocked around us. We attracted the pigeons, too, but managed to lob bread at the sparrows most of the time. They were willing to pounce on the crumbs rather than just stand there and coo like the pigeons. Someone's been feeding all of them, though; they're all plump and well-preened and healthy-looking. From there we went into the Coop [the Harvard Cooperative Society] bookstore. We were very bad. :-) James found a fat volume about war movies and the print copy of The Grantville Gazette (stories set in Eric Flint's 1632 universe) which has previously been only available online. I bought a New England seasons calendar, a new book about Walt Disney, also Harry Potter and Philosophy and one of the new Images of America books. This one is about the construction of Route 128. I spent many happy Sundays driving up to relatives in Massachusetts via 128, past Jolly Cholly's amusement park and Pleasure Island Park; today it's been overlaid by Interstate 93 on the south side and Interstate 95 on the north. One of the photos in the book brings back other nice memories: Northshore, the shopping center near my aunt's house where my dad bought my tricycle, back before it was a mall. Almost all the store names listed on the sign in front of the mall are now an exercise in nostalgia: Jordan Marsh, J.J. Newberry; S.S. Kresge... I had a Starbuck's gift card, so James and I both had peppermint hot chocolates and a slice of pumpkin bread. The Starbuck's was full, so we went back to the area near Au Bon Pain to drink and eat. The pigeons and the sparrows either recognized us or they had a sharp eye for food, because soon we were tossing bits of pumpkin bread to the sparrows. They were quite bold and came within six inches of us. James had found some wonderful space books at the Boston Museum of Science last year, so we took the T out to Science Park--or rather we took the T to Government Center then had to transfer to a shuttle bus because the T is under repair in that area. Alas, they have cut way down on their books and they didn't have any more of those particular volumes. We decided to eat supper in town and had something at Quincy Marketplace while we peroused our new books. The Quincy Market/Fanueil Hall area was decorated with festive white lights and star ornaments lined the Washington Street area [shopping district], but to my disappointment they had not yet set out the decorations on the Common. Then it was time to head home with the rest of the commuter crowd and read more until we reached Providence again. We watched the series House for the first time this evening. It's about a grumpy, pain-ridden but brilliant doctor who apparently works at a clinic. It's one of those "mystery diagnostic" type programs (CSI with doctors, with the same weird graphics showing the inner workings of things). In an odd twist, Hugh Laurie, who always played idiot twits in the different Blackadder series, is grumpy Dr. House. It was actually interesting to watch because of the character; I'm not much of a CSI fan. We also saw Ken Jennings end his long winning streak on Jeopardy. This has been a blast to watch. I love Jeopardy and have loved it since it premiered in 1964; it was one of the best things about school vacations and being out sick. My favorite sequence in Airplane II is the Jeopardy scene with Art Fleming, the original host. They did a special sequence on Jennings on Nightline tonight with clips of the original show. » Monday, November 29, 2004
Sunny Day by the Shore
We waited for Mom to finish her radiation this morning and then headed out to Newport. James has never seen any of the mansions and I wanted to see what they looked like "decked for Christmas." (Of course the irony is that all the Newport mansions were only "summer cottages" and in use for 10 weeks during the warm part of the year and none of them would have ever been used at Christmas. Nevertheless, it looked really nice.) It was another pretty blue-and-white day and I took advantage of the nice weather to take a different route, down 114 instead of 136. Dad didn't like going through the towns of Barrington, Warren, and Bristol, but the traffic wasn't bad and we had a chance to see the various areas decorated for the holidays.
If you're going to see one Newport mansion, the Breakers is the one to see. They include the kitchen and the butler's pantry as part of the tour, along with the main part of the house, so you get an idea how the entire home worked. This was the home of Cornelius Vanderbilt, grandson of the Cornelius Vanderbilt who made his fortune in New York steamboats and then railroads. The brother of the younger Cornelius, William, also had a home in Newport: Marble House on Bellevue Avenue (you see this most often in documentaries about Newport Society, chiefly due to the Marble House's ballroom, which is covered walls and ceiling in gold leaf). Needless to say, the Breakers is a fabulous place and looks all the better decorated in Christmas Victorian style with roping, garlands, period toys (including dolls and a fab toy horse), and different styles of Christmas trees. The rooms are filled with authentic furniture in French and Italian styles, Tiffany glassware and china, marble walls (indeed, entire rooms) constructed in Italy, then disassembled, crated, and shipped to Rhode Island, then reassembled within the house. One room has designs painted on silver, another with then rare-aluminum plates (they cost more than platinum when the house was built). The ceilings of different rooms are inlaid with gold or painted by noted artists in themes like the Four Seasons. A theme of dolphins runs throughout the house, not just because the home was on the shore, but because the architect loved them. We saw the morning and music rooms, the men's billiard room, the great hall, the upper and lower loggias, and the main bedrooms and baths, and of course the magnificent doorways, halls, and stairs. It's indescribable, really; no description will do, only a visit in person will do. After a bite to eat, we had my favorite part of the afternoon. We'd headed out so late that it was approaching sunset when we reached Brenton Point. Mom was cold and said she'd stay in the car, but James and I took the cameras and walked along the sea wall. The ocean was a wonderful silvery blue-grey color, shading dark and light between the combers. The tide was coming in and the surf was wild and wonderful against the outjutting rocks of Brenton Point, and there were only a few people out watching the surf. This is the best time to come to the beach: it's pristine and still and open and free. We waited until the sun set and then walked back to the car; Mom had been unable to resist the beautiful sunset and had come out of the car to watch it. Before he died, she and my dad would always go outside to watch the sun setting over the field across the street from our house. We found a station playing Christmas music and had that to "light our way home." » Sunday, November 28, 2004
Sweets and Holiday Treats
This vacation has been one of glorious days interrupted by rain. Today was one of the rainy days, but the deluge didn't start until afternoon. We had planned to go out before it began raining, but I got a great surprise: an old school friend dropped in! She lives in Virginia now, but was visiting her parents for Thanksgiving and walked over this morning. Willow discovered she was a good dog scratcher after barking at her, but that's not strange because Cindy's had dogs all her life. We talked about various things, including our 30th high school class reunion which she attended last night. She joked that she thought she'd walked into someone else's reunion; who were all these grey-haired people?
It was just starting to rain when we finally got out; it was pretty stormy, which accounts for why we missed our destination several times (one wrong turn and one time going directly past it). This was Wright's Dairy Farm, which we had seen on Food Finds on the Food Network. It is a working dairy farm and they also have a bakery. Well, I haven't seen a good bakery in a dog's age; the rare places around us have a few insipid slices of yellow cake clogged with sugary frosting alongside limp cupcakes and soggy pastries and that's about it. The showcases here were full of goodies: cheesecake, cannoli, cream cakes, Bismarcks, and more, and also muffins. I went a bit crazy. James got German chocolate cake, I got a chocolate cake with cream interstices, Mother got two chocolate cannoli, then I bought three cream puffs for each of us (cream puffs with white cream! richness!), and also three muffins and three eclairs for Mother to share. On the way back we stopped at Border's. I had a 15 percent off coupon and three $5 certificates, so I got some local interest books and also a copy of It's a Wonderful Christmas, which is a delightful collection of old advertisements and memorabilia from 1940 through 1965. We watched Masterpiece Theatre tonight as they were doing a recent British production of Pollyanna. I had read some reviews of this production that said they thought it was better thant the Disney film because it played more closely to the book, which it did, but I still enjoy the Disney version. Changing the setting to England was fine, but I really thought the subplot with Tim the handyman and his love of motorcars was foreshadowing the ending a bit too much! While Pollyanna was on, I helped Mother put up her little Christmas tree. The string of lights was very long and a bit daunting (the lights never have been my favorite part of putting up the tree), but it was finally fixed and the tree decorated and the manger scene put up. Speaking of Masterpiece Theatre, we ended up staying up very late last night watching their presentation of Bertie and Elizabeth, a dramatization of the marriage and reign of George VI, who inherited the throne of England after his brother, Edward VIII, abdicated to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Neither of the two latter people were portrayed very complimentarily! I wonder if Queen Elizabeth had any input in the portrayal, as they were her parents and she was also shown in various stages of her life. » Saturday, November 27, 2004
Harbor and Heavenly Lights
Didn't go as far as we might have liked today; we all slept through the alarm. By the time we got this and that done and had breakfast (or rather brunch), it was almost noon.
We drove out Cape Cod further than I had ever been, but not to Provincetown and on the main road rather than the scenic drive, so we didn't see much on the outbound leg. We went out to Chatham Light--when you get local weather reports here, you always hear something from Chatham and I had always wanted to see it. The lighthouse itself is small and white, but the beach across the way is breathtaking on a blue-and-white day like today--the sky a pied bowl overhead, and the sand beach spread before you, lined around the edges with dormant wild rose bushes (some with rose hips) and sea grass. A flock of a dozen or so grey and white seagulls sat at the shore's edge looking like little sailor-carved and painted statues. The sea was beautiful, multiple shades of blue and greyish blue melding into each other, with little combers ruffling its surface. We stayed on the sea wall about a half hour. Mother was cold and went back to the car, but we stood and watched a parasailer for the longest time. He was clad in a black insulated suit and had a red-white-and-blue sail that curved above the beach like a giant supple "C" shape. The wind was quite strong and the sail drew him across the water like a bird. He could barely curb it and bring it into land when a friend showed up to share the sport. There were other couples and families there who didn't mind the sharp breeze. Little kids ran across the sand, and there were several people with dogs: a little fox terrier, a shaggy type, at least two Golden Retrievers, one who begged, straining at his leash, to be allowed loose for a run, and a beautiful Bernese Mountain Dog, who galloped across the sand with abandon. We drove back for several miles on Route 28, which was the local road that ran through Chatham, Harwich, and Yarmouth, dotted with little restaurants and local businesses, many closed for the season (I don't think James had ever seen a Dairy Queen that was closed for the season!). Then we got back on Route 6 and made our way back home via a different route so we could go to La Salette Shrine in Attleboro, Massachusetts, for their Festival of Lights. La Salette was founded officially in 1953 commemorating an appearance of the Virgin Mary at La Salette in France. The shrine has a church and a monastery, also a small body of water surrounded by mosaic versions of the Stations of the Cross and several other landscape features, including the Holy Stairs, a flight of stairs that, if you are hoping from an intercession from God, you go up one step at a time on your knees, saying a prayer at each step. For years at Christmastime they have always had a light display. It is now 300,000 lights strong. The water is surrounded by poinsettia-shaped lights and the Christmas alphabet done on a series of 26 boards. Near the prayer steps, there is a life-size manger scene. The rest of the grounds are covered with multicolor lights: figurals, lights wound around trees, bushes, along paths. Opening day was Thanksgiving; hundreds of people came in the pouring rain. Tonight we were lucky we got there before the lights went on: we got one of the last few parking spaces in the main lot; by the time we emerged two hours later, the auxiliary lot, the size of a parking lot on one side of a big shopping mall, was full of cars and buses--tour buses were still pulling up to the main area. James wanders a bit bemused among this ornate display of "Catholicity" but even he enjoyed the craftsmanship of the display of Nativities from countries around the world, made of ordinary materials like wood and ceramic and also out of wool, stone, straw, burls from trees, even one in a loaf of bread ("Bethlehem," after all, means "house of bread"). The showpiece of the collection is a beautiful presepio built by one of the priests of the order, originally from the Azores. His manger scene is not only the Holy Family, Wise Men, and shepherds, but an entire town built around them, including the vintner, millers, farms, streets, people going about their jobs, produce stands, shops, trees, flowers, animals. The entire display takes up a room the size of a good-sized bedroom. When I see things like this, I'm always certain Heaven is full of Christmas lights. Speaking of preparations, Christmas decorating is going great guns this weekend. Thank God, Santa Claus arrives at his proper time after Thanksgiving around here, not mid-November, and though I'm sure somewhere there are already folks with Christmas lights up, we saw dozens of trees going home today on roofs of cars, and people stringing lights in their yards. It was especially pretty on Route 118 on the way to La Salette and also around the city of Taunton, which still has a beautiful town square or "green" as they were known in colonial times. » Friday, November 26, 2004
Shipping Out in the Harbor
We had some time on our own today: went out to Taunton, MA, to East Bay Hobbies and then further out Route 44 to Readmore Bookstore. This is a little hole-in-the-wall place I found back in my twenties; when I go out there each time I'm always surprised it's still there. They sell new and used books, and many times you can find things there that went out of print a few years back. I found a locally-published book on the Hurricane of 1938.
James said there was a new ship at Battleship Cove along with USS Massachusetts and the other ships, so we went there. It's a Russian missile frigate, Tarantul class, called Hiddensee (well, Russian-built, anyway; it was used by the East Germans). There are no guided tours; you just walk about and look at your leisure. We also had lunch in the officer's wardroom of Massachusetts and walked on a landing craft similar to those used at Normandy. I cannot help but admire the bravery of the young men who rode these small flimsy craft on pitching Atlantic waves to get to the shores only to face bullets and artillery fire. They also had an exhibit of the two different types of PT boats, the Elko-made craft and the Higgins model, the latter which had a tiger-mouth painted on it. As a devotee of McHale's Navy in my childhood, I still find PT boats fascinating. I still can't believe they are made of wood. After the dismal rain of yesterday, it was absolutely gorgeous, blue sky, sun, and all that. It was also very cold, which was welcome--high was only in the low 40s and with the breeze whipping across Battleship Cove, as you can expect it was very chilly. But we both enjoyed it; Mom keeps her house warm now that she's not feeling well and both of us are suffocating. All the baseboards [heat] are closed in our bedroom and I've even had the window open to cool the room off. Alas, although the sun was setting as we drove past Providence, they still didn't have the Christmas lights lit on "Nibbles Woodaway," the infamous "blue bug" on the top of New England Pest Control. "Nibbles" was officially lit for the Christmas season yesterday, but I guess it wasn't dark enough for him to be on. Nibbles has other costumes for different times of the year, including summer. Before supper we had a rather sad errand: my godfather (husband of my Confirmation godmother) passed away on Wednesday. We went to the wake. I hadn't seen anyone in the family for years. My godmother's youngest daughter, also a Linda, and I had been best friends in elementary school. (Linda was a big name that year; there were three of us in that 1962 first grade class.) We "swapped mothers" for Confirmation, so my mom is her godmother. My godfather, Armand Azzoli, had a shoe store on Washington Street in downtown Providence for years. His store was one down from the corner which was the bus stop for us to get the bus back to Cranston, and if we were early, especially on cold days, we'd go in and talk to him and get warm. He loved playing the guitar. Even after he retired, until he got sick, he was never still: he joined a band--sort of like Grandpa Jim in the comic "For Better or For Worse" and played at the senior center. » Thursday, November 25, 2004
Talkin' Turkey
We watched turkeys and ate turkeys. :-)
Of course sat and watched the Macy's parade, but I managed to miss the last part of the dog show. (I did see the fox terrier win--hurrah!). As mentioned some months ago, the Roto-Rooter man tried to sell Mom a complete pipe replacement just to unblock her kitchen drain. The drain was still working very slowly, so she brought me some Drano she had downstairs. We were going to put it in the drain before we left to eat, but I wanted to make sure there were no fumes that would harm Pidge. So I opened the bottle. The sides had been pressed in and the darn thing burped like a volcano and spilled on the counter and into one of the sinks where the dish drainer was. So I had to scrub the counter, and the sinks, and re-wash the couple utensils in the drainer as well as the drainer itself and the rubber mat in the sink. Just for the record, the combination of Drano this afternoon and baking soda and vinegar tonight combined with a vigorous workout with the plunger worked slightly. But the drain is still slow. We had a delicious dinner at Bassett's Inn on West Shore Road. I had a traditional Italian Thanksgiving dinner: I had macaroni for a side dish! But it pains me to watch Mom eat. The radiation has irritated the inside of her mouth and she can't eat anything hot or with any type of a "bite" however slight (I'm not talking pepper, I'm talking salad dressing or oranges). The only thing that made her feel good was the Grapenut custard pudding she had for dessert. She hates eating so now that she's lost weight, which the doctor says is not good. She has some ointment for her mouth, but it has to be reapplied every three hours and it isn't coping against the radiation well. Because it was pouring when we finished, we came home instead of going visiting. We ended up watching Samantha: An American Girl Holiday, which is based on the different historical series of books formerly published by Pleasant Company, now owned by Mattel (you can tell the change because suddenly there are dolls and accessories and a bunch of other geegaws based on the different characters. I was amused when I saw the first announcements because of the eight girls in the series I always thought Samantha was the least interesting: she's the rich orphan living with her grandmother in 1904. I would have thought they would have made the story about Addy, the girl who escaped slavery, or perhaps the two frontier girls, Native Kaya or immigrant Kirsten. (The other girls are colonial Felicity, Hispanic Josefina, Depression-era Kit and World War II Molly.) The books are all "empowering" for girls, so while you will find old-fashioned attitudes there, modern politically correct slants always overrule them. Samantha, for instance, learns about the evils of the factory system and has an aunt who is a suffragette. The movie turned out to be a combination of several of the six books (the first and the sixth, primarily, and also one of the short story books), and to emphasize the character of Nellie, who is suddenly becoming a main character of her own right, with a book of her own, the mischievous twins have been condensed into one younger girl. But the books at least had marginally good narratives: the movie is a series of hugs and assertions of love, with no suspense to it. The orphanage sequence fell flat because every cut to commercial showed the happy ending. The girl playing Samantha wasn't bad, but Nellie, who in the book is practical and sturdy, is wimpier in the movie. Almost every shot has her seeing Samantha suddenly and having her jaw drop open and squealing her friend's name. Granted, none of the three of us were of the age group this movie was aimed at, but children aren't dopes: I don't think they need such predigested pap. The commercial breaks were made more tedious by an animated series of Tide commercials about a blizzard affecting several families who were heading to a special event that turned out to be a clothing drive for the poor. It could have been an interesting narrative using live action and a better script, but the result was dull and preachy. Thanksgiving Memories Giving Thanks...
...for the car being fixed in time.
...for the bump in Connecticut not being worse. ...for Pidge and Willow "doing the ride" (although she is depressed; he, on the other hand, is going hell-for-leather around the living room as I speak). ...getting to see Mom one more time. ...for the Macy's Parade and turkey dinner and relatives and no rain and a cool spell coming. ...for absent friends. Hug everyone you love this Thanksgiving. Hug them hard and enjoy their company. Enjoy them every minute and give thanks that you can do so. "Time goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday." » Wednesday, November 24, 2004
"Rainy Days and Wednesdays..."
We had a "rest day" today that wasn't exactly restful. The day was quite miserable, cold, wet rain alternating with cold, wet drizzle, and we went out on errands. First Mom had her radiation treatment, then we had lunch. We had to go out to the restaurant where we had reservations for Thanksgiving to confirm them (evidently they've had people make reservations and then not show up) and managed to get an earlier seating. Pretty good for last minute at a popular place.
We then hopped down Bald Hill Road stopping here and there, including a craft store called A.C. Moore which was akin to a Michael's. Oh, remember that extensible rake handle I was waffling about some weeks ago, the one we couldn't find in any Lowe's in Georgia? We found one in Lowe's RI--they had six! We'll have to fold down half the back seat to get it home, but will have it for spring. Finally we hit Ruggeri's Market for supper fixings--James made "Hawaiian pork chops" (cooked with pineapple and pineapple juice and teriyaki sauce). Because tomorrow is Thanksgiving, we had pumpkin pie for dessert. Saw my cousin Anna and her husband Anthony. He used to be a small jolly bear of a man; now he has Parkinson's and is thin and sad. Anna's doctor suspects she has another tumor. It's hard to watch people who were always so strong being victimized by age this way. Because we leave the television on for Pidgie, we've been seeing bits and pieces of local TV all day. Doug White looks more like a silver-haired doll every time I see him. Patrice Wood still looks terrific. John Ghiorse, the former wunderboy meteorologist (he was the first in the RI area; before we just had a weatherman, who read the Weather Service reports), looks greyer and more tired. We also saw bits of Regis and Kelly (egads, I thought it was bad with Kathie Lee...) and Ellen DeGeneres...who was sort of amusing, especially when she was talking to Tom Hanks. We covered up Mother's shadow box with her little glass things with an old sheet and let Pigwidgeon out tonight. He flew about the room and perched on the curtains, but they caught in his claws, so he perched up on the painting over the sofa instead. He spent most of the time he was out trying to convince one of his saucer toys that it was sexy and that it should mate with him. » Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Due North
Early start this morning and we still got caught in traffic going into DC. We purposely skirted Baltimore via their "beltway"--and were delayed even there.
Willow had to stay in her crate, but we went into two service area restaurant complexes, one in Maryland (prettily decorated with white lights and red-bowed wreaths for Christmas) and one in New Jersey, and took Pidge with us. James told me when I got back from getting my Nathan's hot dog in New Jersey that Pidgie was quite a "babe magnet": three different young women stopped to say "how cute!" :-) We had two minor mishaps: Pidge's water bottle suddenly failed and drenched the bottom of his carry box. There was no way we could clean it up or get a new water bottle without risking his getting out, so the poor guy rode from New Jersey to Mom's house without drinking. We still don't know what happened to the bottle: it was working fine early this morning. The other was having to stop short in thick traffic on the former Connecticut Turnpike. The cars in front of us screeched to a stop and we just narrowly missed hitting the car in front of us. The car behind us bumped us hard, but thankfully there was only a one-inch scratch on the rear bumper, one of the backup lights was cracked, and my license plate was dented. Chrysler makes good bumpers. Got to Mom's about 4:30 and unpacked and various things, then had Chinese for supper, came home for the usual laundry things and watched television. Mom is...doing as well as can be expected. I knew she had a growth near her eye, but the cancer has spread to the right side of her face. It looks like a giant bruise and is affecting her right eye and her mouth. The eye is all irritated. It's very frustrating that I can't do anything. » Monday, November 22, 2004
Reviews
I haven't paid the final lodging bill yet, but I'll post my reviews:
Udvar-Hazy Center: if you love aircraft or spacecraft, or the way they fit into history, A+. TownePlace Suites by Marriott, Chantilly, VA: A+. These folks are very nice. The room we had--a studio--was clean, well laid out, and nicely appointed (complementary coffee, coffee maker, dishes, etc. in the kitchen), complementary coffee in the lobby all day, danish in the morning, cookies in the evening, and food you can buy, from noodles to main dishes, for eating in your room. The staff was friendly and helpful; I asked for two more pillows and a blanket at nine o'clock at night and we had them within five minutes. They gave us directions to the nearest Metro station. They're under the landing pattern to Dulles airport, but are so well insulated you can barely hear the aircraft. Plus: they take pets, treat animals with friendliness, and dogs/cats may stay locked in carrier in the room unattended, unlike Motel 6. Bob Evans, Lee Jackson Highway, Chantilly, VA: B+. Bob Evans was in walking distance, so we ate there every morning and night. This is a chain restaurant. Like Shoney's or Friendly's or any of the innumerable similar places, it's not haute cuisine and doesn't claim to be. The food is plain ordinary food and what we ate of it was good. I don't recommend the open-face roast beef sandwich, but the turkey and dressing is good (I don't recommend much dressing/stuffing because a lot of it is bad, but this was good; it's not as good as the Colonnade in Atlanta, but nothing is) and so are the pork chops. The French toast is great and they don't burn their bacon. James recommends the pot roast omelet, the sirloin steak and noodles, and their biscuit and gravy. And thank God it's not noisy with long waiting lines and overpriced food like those Yuppie chains Chili's, O'Charley's, Cheddar's, etc. The service was fabulous. When we staggered in after nine on Saturday night and told the waitress we were starving and thirsty, she had drinks at our table in under five minutes and some rolls in five minutes. Our dinner was out in fifteen minutes, hot and savory. Taking Flight in Chantilly
Today's destination was our primary reason for making a stop here in DC: the new Smithsonian Air and Space building, the Udvar-Hazy Center, which was just about three miles down the road from our motel (the reason I chose this place beside the good reviews). It was a grey day, so we couldn't see much scenery later in the afternoon when we went up into the observation tower to watch the planes landing at Dulles. (Frankly, we almost get a better look at the planes from our parking space; the hotel is right under the Dulles landing pattern. The soundproofing, however, is such that we hardly hear the planes when they come over.)
This is a huge building built like an airplane hangar--which of course is what it holds. The "stars" of the gallery are "Enola Gay," the airplane which carried the atomic bomb to Hiroshima; the space shuttle "Enterprise," which never flew but which did get the space shuttle program "off the ground"; the very first Boeing 707; the Stratoliner (the very first pressurized commercial airliner); and a Concorde from Air France. Scattered about are other aircraft that were either formerly in the main Air and Space Building on the Mall or stored out in the facility at Silver Hill, including Wiley Post's "Winnie Mae" (too bad he wasn't flying her when he and Will Rogers took that flight together). There are commercial planes and military planes, helicopters, missiles, early aircraft, gliders, and aerobatic planes--including "Little Stinker," the second Pitts special ever made. The Pitts is one of the smallest aerobatic aircraft; I saw one at an airshow many years ago and exclaimed, "It's not much bigger than Shadow [my Dodge Omni]!" In the back gallery (the James McDonnell Space Hangar) with "Enterprise," there are also space satellites, space suits, several Mercury capsules, including one flightworthy one that never made it to space, one of Robert Goddard's rockets, sounding rockets, the original model of the Mothership from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and even an original Univac computer. The display is interesting in that the planes are not all mounted on the floor of the building area, but are hung from the ceiling at different levels. There are walkways at the different levels so you can see most of the aircraft close up and get unique perspectives on the others below. Smaller displays include a wonderful assortment of "space related" toys and products, including a wonderful saucer sled, Apollo and Mercury capsule cooke jars, Space Patrol pens; astronaut flight suits and space food; memorabilia like Jimmy Doolittle's uniform and Eddie Rickenbacker's jacket; and furniture and china with balloon motifs from the "balloonmania" that spread across France after the Montgolfier brothers' first successful balloon flight. It would take me all night to list all the great things we saw, so I won't even try. Just surf here and investigate Udvar-Hazy for yourself. We went up to the tower before we left; a level below the tower but not in the building proper was a display of how air traffic control works, including a radar screen showing planes landing in Newark, NJ, where you can listen to the voice of the air traffic controllers bringing in their charges. It took us about five and a half hours to get around and see everything, with a pause for a Subway box lunch (the building is so new that the cafeteria isn't finished yet). We were quite footsore by the end and were content to stop for gas, cash, and cough drops for James' throat on the way back before returning to our room and two very excited animals. This has been a nice two days, except for James' sore throat, but it's like having a couple of Ritz crackers with cheese at the big buffet table. We figure we need to come back for a week just to do most of the interesting museums: one day at Air and Space proper, one day at History, one day at Natural History, one day at the Postal Museum, etc...sigh...so many museums, so little time! » Sunday, November 21, 2004
Doing the Nation's Capitol
Actually not too much...we got a late start and then a bit misdirected on the way to the Metro station. Plus James has been spoiling for a sore throat for weeks now and the dampness yesterday along with the driving stress now has him ragged out.
It was a perfect day for wandering around the Mall. It was overcast most of the day which made it heaven for walking, and although half the trees are past peak there are some beautiful ones still extant. The Reflecting Pool was lined with beautiful golden trees which sent yellow eddies toward the water every time the wind blew. Several trees were such a beautiful orange-red one almost wanted to drink them in. The Washington Monument grounds are closed for landscaping, but we walked past it and spent over an hour walking around the World War II Memorial. I found my dad on their computer system and found myself in tears. The Memorial is absolutely magnificent, a somber, beautiful combination of stone and water. One side is devoted to the Atlantic campaign, the other to the Pacific. As you approach the front there are bas relief panels on either side depicting scenes from the era. The Atlantic side begins with lend lease and continues through D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge to end as the Americans and the Russians meet at the Elbe bridge. The Pacific side begins with families listening to the news of Pearl Harbor through soldiers shipping out and on ships and airfields and ends with "War Ends" and a soldier coming home. All around the Memorial are different quotes, but the most affecting portion is the wall of 4000 gold stars. Each stands for 100 Americans who died in WWII. I'd planned to walk down to the Lincoln Memorial and stop by The Wall, but James was flagging badly. So we walked back past the other side of the Washington Monument and saw the National Christmas Tree ready for lighting and the White House. We ended up in the Museum of American History to have a bite to eat at the Subway on the first floor--James' throat badly needed something hot; we had soup--and dabbled in a couple of galleries before we had to get back. We saw about half of the "America at War" exhibit, mostly the World War II portion, and also a bit of the Presidential gallery. I nipped in to see the First Ladies' gowns--when I was first here back in 1973, they had them all on exhibit and Mamie Eisenhower's gown was paired with the tiara she wore at the 1956 election. The tiara was made by Trifari, the place where my dad worked for 29 years and I worked for 3 1/2. I wanted to get a photo of it. But they don't have all the gowns out any longer, just a selected few, and the tiara wasn't there. We did visit the gift shop--not the souvenir-shack on the Mall entrance side or the little one on the third floor, but the big one downstairs that had books, DVDs, CDs, and beautiful crystal ornaments. I came down the stairs to it with big eyes and said "James, it looks like the [Harvard] Coop!" I could be very, very bad here with all the wonderful history books (in debt and have no time to work because I was reading!), but I only bought something fun, What Were They Thinking?, a listing and detailing of the 100 worst television events. (It's a brand-new book: Janet Jackson's boob is in it.) One of them was "Spock's Brain," of course. Number one was...naw, if you're interested, buy the book. It's hilarous. We had to head back at 4:30 because we were meeting Rodney Walker, one of the friends we made in Remember WENN fandom, for dinner. We did get a nice shot of the Smithsonian "castle" and the Capitol with the lights coming on before descending into the Metro again. Got turned around on the way back; coming in from the opposite direction, the exit is completely different, but made it in time. We just walked over to the Bob Evans across the way and ate, then came back to the room to chat some more. I let Pidge out and he found a very satisfactory perch on top of the kitchenette cabinets. His chirp echoed up there, which I'm sure he enjoyed. » Saturday, November 20, 2004
Off on the Road to ... Virginia
Your roving correspondents here...greetings from Chantilly, Virginia.
We started out from home at 7am after about five hours sleep, which made it a bit difficult later in the day, but we managed. I'd already mostly loaded the car yesterday afternoon, so all we had to put in was the cameras and the laptop, and then the animals. Pidge, not six months old and sitting in a 12x10x10 cage carry box, coped pretty well. The thermometer I bought at REI didn't work, so it was hard to gauge when he was going to get overheated without it happening and his raising his wings. Willow got put in the car last because, as always, she was nearly hysterical thinking she was (a) going to be left behind and then (b) going to "dog camp." she finally cottoned to the trip more when we stopped for lunch and she got to eat a plain Wendy burger at a picnic table. The weather was uniformly cloudy or rainy. This wasn't too bad except when we went through a "gap" on I-77 which literally did climb into the clouds. If it had been sunny we would have had some beautiful views. It started to steadily drizzle when we got to Manassas, so we had to find our hotel in the rain. We are staying in a studio room: a wonderfully compact room, tiny living room and kitchenette, bath and a big closet. Pidge got loose when I transferred him from carry box to cage and flapped about the room until he lost his breath and then was duly and happily transferred into his cage, where he began to burble to his cuttlebone the moment he turned the TV on. Willow is still wandering about the room looking askance at everything. We're pooped. We now understand how parents traveling with their kids feel carrying the changes of clothing, the stroller, the playpen, the toys... :-) There's a Metro station nearby so tomorrow we're planning to take it into the city and see the new World War II memorial and other things on the Mall. (PS: We noticed several Russell Stover candy outlets on the way up and stopped at one right near I-77 to pick up some sugarless dark chocolate and other diabetic goodies. |
||
