Back in the Before Time

Yes, I'm catching up again. So, going back to my birthday:

12 May 2012. I turn 48. The SigO takes me canoeing at Mason Neck. We had packed a lunch of fried chicken (KFC - a decadence allowed very rarely), potato salad, beer, and desserts. We loaded the picnic onto the canoe and set sail (so to speak).

We hadn't gone far at all when we saw this nesting mother.

The Rhododendrons were in full bloom.

and the irises.

As we entered another section of the marshes, I began looking for a place to stop for a picnic. And mayhaps some other recreational activity. Not long after this turn in the river

we found this wonderful secluded spot. Perfect for birthday hanky panky. Oh. and lunch. SigO's comment on it all: "Canoeing is fun!"

Afterwards, we headed into Old Town Alexandria to my favorite local yarn shop where I limited myself to 6 skeins of fingering weight (hey! that's an accomplishment!)

And that was my birthday. A nice way to spend the day.

Fast forward to Memorial Day weekend.
The forecast for the weekend was mid 90's. And for once, the weathermen were right. Take that together with the abysmal traffic around here whenever there's a long weekend, and we decided we were only going to do little day trips. And one of those days was spent at a Renaissance faire at Lake Anna. It was my first time at a Renaissance fest since I left Germany, and trust me, they barely resemble each other. The last one I went to in Germany was in the village I lived in, which was quite old. That particular fest included unfiltered ice cold beer served in stone mugs and drank in a communal hot tub. FYI, Germans don't wear clothes in their hot tubs. Not even the public ones. But, really, I guess the one here in the states wasn't too far off that theme:

In addition to this scantily clad lad we sat across from a man sitting with his legs spread wide wearing a kilt that was way too short. I was really impressed by a lot of the costumes worn not only by merchants, but by visitors. This fairy was actually a merchant selling fairy wings:

I'm not sure what this guy was, but he seemed to love posing for pictures, so...

there was real live jousting

and we all took our turn at throwing hatchets. Only H-Boo succeeded in hitting the target and having the hatchet stay in the board. We all hit the target, but mine and SigO's just bounced right off.

Otherwise, we just sat in the beer tent, drank beer and listened to music. I tried Scotch Eggs. I can safely mark that off my list of things to try going forward. Blech.
So, that was a fun weekend.

Fast forward to last week. My family came to visit. My oldest brother, his wife, their daughter, and my middle brother. I ran them ragged. Or they ran me ragged. One or t'other. Whichever, the running began on Sunday. We wanted to see all the memorials, and I thought it wise to start with the ones tour buses don't normally stop at, so we parked our car at the Jefferson Memorial. I've seen that lots, but somehow always missed the George Mason Memorial. So here's a picture of La Femme (best niece ever) and me with ole George.

Walked from there to the Washington Monument,

followed by the WWII Memorial, where we all crowded in under TX. SigO and I each sat under our military branch. Of course, it was WWII, so the Air Force didn't exist yet. I had to sit under the Army Air Corps. Back in our slumming days.

then back over to the Tidal Basin for the MLK Memorial

and the FDR park (which is my favorite now)

then ALL the way back on the mall for the Smithsonian Natural History museum.
That was day one.
Monday, we headed out to Mt. Vernon. Scott and I had both been there more than once, so there was no point in seeing that again, so we dropped off the rest of the fam and headed over to the river where we set up some lawn chairs and just chilled out. It was great. I don't get to talk to the brudder as much as I'd like. Afterwards, we headed to the mall where they have an American Girl store, and I bought La Femme a new doll. That store is awesome. They have a "salon" where you can take your doll and get her hair styled. It almost makes me wish I was young enough to want one. OK, I kind of do want one. So, I guess it makes me wish I was young enough for someone to think it was appropriate for me to have one. After that, we went to the new Air & Space museum out by Dulles where they have the space shuttle.

That was fun. La Femme and I compared cartwheels. Hers are considerably more impressive than mine. And to close out the trip, we went on the world's longest night tour of DC's monuments. It was beautiful and the guide was very knowledgeable, but I have to say, any tour lasting more than 3 hours is just too damned long!
The Army  band was playing on the steps of the capital as the sun set. It was truly beautiful and somewhat moving when they played the National Anthem.

Turns out we didn't need to see the WWII memorial during the day as we had plenty of time to see it at night. It's really quite beautiful with the fountains lit up at night.

As is every other monument in DC. The Lincoln memorial is always beautiful at night

as is the Marine's.

It was a good visit. It opened my eyes to a lot of other places in DC that I still haven't seen, after all these years.
So, now we're all caught up. This weekend is the Taste of Reston. Should be fun. See you there.

Back & Better Than Ever

For several months now, the weekend rolls around and I make no plans at all. No plans? Well, then, why bother getting out of bed? Next thing you know it's 2:00 in the afternoon and I'm just lugging my lazy ass out of bed.
But last weekend I made plans. I was going to meet a couple of friends for brunch on Sunday morning. Not wanting to be too ambitious, I scheduled it for 11:30. Still plenty of time to sleep in and get down there in time. Right? Yeah. Not so much. I've been such a slug for so long that I completely slept through the brunch and then, following my usual Sunday morning pattern, went downstairs and sat in front of the TV drinking diet coke for an hour. It wasn't until my face began to drown in oil and my teeth began to grow moss that I got off my kieser and went upstairs for a shower. After that, I checked my phone and saw my missed calls, and CRAP!!! I had completely spaced our brunch. And for what? A few hours in bed? Doing what? Sleeping? Won't there be time enough for that when I'm dead? Monday morning after prostrating myself in remorse, my friend Nancy told me what a wonderful time they had had. The weather had been gorgeous. The food tasty. The company superb. And I missed all of this for what?! Sleep?? Then, as if the wound wasn't smarting enough, she told me about all she had done before she got to the restaurant. Before? Good grief, I asked, what time do you wake up in the morning? "6:00. Whether weekend or weekday." And in so doing, she gets her shopping, gardening, cleaning, etc all done before I'm even out of bed.
The gauntlet was thrown.
I realized how much of my time off I've been wasting and resolved to no longer sleep in past 8:00. And that's how, this past weekend, I was, to steal from Mike & Mike, Back and Better Than Ever.
I should be honest here. When the alarm went off at 8:00, I did hit the snooze button, but I was up by 8:30. And as a result of finally getting it in gear, I was able to do something I've wanted to do for a long time.
Meet the indoor herb garden:

For years, I've tried and failed to grow most of these in my yard. Either they don't get enough sun, or they do, but they get eaten alive by something. So, I bought a 200watt grow bulb and installed it in my storeroom. In here, the floor is concrete and right next to a drain, so if I get overly exuberant in watering, no harm, no foul (to the floor anyway). I had to rearrange the room to find a good spot for this, and I had to be frugal in my use of space so the SigO would still have room to do laundry, but I have high hopes that I will no longer need to spend $5.00 for cilantro of which I will only use 1/3 of the bunch and have to toss the rest after it gets all slimey and gross. Or, $5.00 for basil and not have enough for my recipe, so there goes another $5.00. Not to mention the lavender. I've had a recipe for lavender-bloom crusted duck breast I've wanted to make forever but can never find blooming lavender. And tarragon. I have this killer recipe for Veal Tarragon. Yum!! Not to mention Saltimboca - which calls for lots of sage. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I'm really hoping this will solve my herb dilemma.
But, that was Saturday. What to do Sunday? Wellllllllllll...
Meet the yard.
Starting with the deck. Under the deck I have three hanging plants and on the rail I have another moss basket. I usually put a hummingbird feeder in the moss basket, which is why I have Salvia planted in there. I'm still waiting for the feeder to arrive in the mail.

 On my side of the deck, you see lots of fuscia, and behind the chair, where you can't see, is a nice tall palm tree that lives inside the house until it gets warm enough to come outside. The temps aren't supposed to drop below 55F after it comes out. It's nearly mid-May and that's still a potential problem, but I'm hoping we're past the risky season.

 On SigO's side of the deck is another plant that lives indoors year round and should only be out when the temps are warm enough. Also, you can see a nice small bamboo. Every year, I spend >$100 on bamboo only to have it die in the winter because it's too big to bring in the house. This year, I spent less and plan to cut back anything that's too tall and bring it in during the winter, hoping it will survive til next year. I love bamboo, but don't want to plant it in the yard as I know that will be the last thing I ever plant and then I'll be living in Vietnam. So, here's hoping it does well this year. Also, out of sight, is a large pot full of coleus. I love coleus, fuscia and dragon wing (what they call angel wing in TX) begonias. They bloom even in the shade. In a yard like mine, that's invaluable.



Moving into the yard, here's my limelight hydrangea that grows leaves like a lunatic. It's 3 years old and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it eventually started climbing the maple tree behind it. But will it bloom? Of course, that is, in large part, my fault. I never prune it in the autumn and I suck at fertilizing it. I actually did remember one year, and it bloomed very nicely. Maybe this Autumn. Maybe I can get Nancy to throw down the gauntlet on that one as well?

Continuing on, we have the section of my yard where I'm pretty certain a dead indian princess has been buried. See the pine? We planted that five years ago to replace the dead pear tree. It hasn't grown an inch. I guess I shouldn't complain. It hasn't died either. Unlike everything else in that corner. I've tried coral bells, which, you can see do fine away from the corner. I've tried Hostas. There's one still fighting for its life. Barely. Last year I tried something I don't remember the name of and the stems looked like dead fingers reaching from the grave. So, this year, what the hell. I'm trying roses. Next year (see, I'm already planning for failure), I'll try azaleas. When (not if? Really? Am I so cynical?) those die, I'll just let the pine live (relatively speaking) there all by itself.

Straight back in the center of my yard live my pride and joy - my Nandina's. These are gulf stream Nandina's and I've had them for a few years now. They started out about half their current size. I love these because the new growth has this beautiful orangey color reminiscent of Autumn. Sandwiched between them is a poinsettia from two Christmas' ago. At the end of the season, I decided I'd experiment and put them in a nice large pot and let them grow all year. My thinking: I'd have this huge, beautiful poinsettia and not have to buy any come next Christmas. And they did grow beautiful and large. Big luscious leaves. Thick healthy stems. I was so excited. Just wait and see them in the winter! They'll be gorgeous! I think I got four measly red leaves. The rest stayed green. So, into the yard with them and the bamboo now lives in the pot they grew in. Will they survive the winter? I seriously doubt it. That'll teach 'em not to bloom for me. Also, in the top hanging basket is some St. John's Wort. In case I get too depressed when they do die.

And finally, the pond. The poor, unbalanced, leaky pond. It's nice and small so it doesn't take much to clean out, but it can't hold a full load of water for more than an hour before it's leaking out from somewhere. Not to mention it so completely unbalanced, the lower half is pouring out over the edge before the upper half is even half full. But, I still have a pond in my yard. How many people can say that, huh? And those Dragon Wing begonias love it there. I plant them there every spring and they go ballistic every year. I used to drag those in for winter too, but they get so leggy and spindly that it actually takes them longer to get healthy after I drag them back out than they do when I just buy them new.

So, that was my weekend. Much, much, much better than sleeping in all weekend and then slumming it in front of the TV, completely wasting a beautiful day. Thanks, Nancy!

Escape from DC!

Finally, after months of being cooped up in our cave (aka basement), we were able to escape to a nearby adventure.

The adventure begins at Petersburg National Battlefield.

For those of you who read the book or watched the movie Cold Mountain, the opening scene of the book/movie is the horror of Petersburg. The Union army had a division of men from the Pennsylvania Mining Company who came up with the great idea to dig  a tunnel under enemy lines.

Once deep into enemy territory, they then filled the tunnel with explosives and ka-boom!!! Very clever idea, right? And, it would have been except that once the air had cleared, the blues then proceeded to run right into the crater created from the explosion. Why?! I'm not sure anyone knows to this day, but needless to say, it was pretty easy pickings for the greys once the blues had jumped into a hole with no way out. The other horror of this particular Civil War battlefield is unlike similar battles that were over in days or weeks, this one lasted for months. Nine long months. I think the Park Ranger summed up the feelings of the veterans the best when he pointed out that unlike many of the other civil war battlefields, this one has very few monuments.

None of the veterans wanted to remember this tragedy. None from either side. I know. Sounds like a bleak start to our adventure, but if we don't learn our history, how will we move forward, instead of back?

To continue our historical weekend, we then traveled to Colonial Williamsburg. By this time, it was getting late and we had dinner reservations at our hotel, so we went straight there and checked in. Now, I had done copious research to find just the right place for our first night out in months. I looked at the websites for pretty much every hotel, resort, and B&B in Williamsburg and finally settled on The Wedmore Place, which, conveniently is also a winery. Believe it or not, that is not the reason I chose the place. I chose it because it looks like this:

And the room I chose looks like this:

Enchanting, right? Yeah. I'm pretty sure that room was cursed. The absolute first thing that happened was I caught my brand new, just finished knitting, shrug on this door and ripped a hole in the sleeve.

Shortly thereafter, the SigO whacked me upside the head while pulling his shirt off.

The fire wouldn't catch.

The hot water ran out before the tub was full.

A series of incidents continued through the night, but by far the kicker was early the next morning when the birds began attacking their reflection in the window. We tried everything. Opening the curtains to reduce the reflection. Banging on the window to scare them off. Finally, we took my lipstick and drew giant faces on the window. I'm not sure if that actually did the trick, or if the angle of the sun finally changed enough that they no longer saw their reflection.

Let's just say this was one of those things that's funny in retrospect, but not so much at the crack of dawn on your day off.
Dinner cetainly wasn't cursed, by the way. I had Foie Gras (I know - I'm a horrible, horrible, barbaric person) and the SigO had Lobster ravioli for the appetizer. We both had venison (again with the barbarism - now I'm eating Bambi's Mother!) for our main course and I had Lemon Panne Cotta while the SigO enjoyed a decadent brownie with ice cream.

Saturday in Colonial Williamsburg was a gorgeous day.

The period actors were entertaining.

and we found this really cool tree - no idea what it is -

but check out the bark.

Also, speaking of bark - wouldn't this be more fun than just putting the SigO into the doghouse?

Look at that furrowed brow.
Oh - and just for giggles - here I am - being me.

Yeah. I'm groping Thomas Jefferson. What can I say - I told you I'm a barbarian.

Honey's BDay Celebration

Well, today is the SigO's birthday. He claims he's like to just forget these annual events, but he knows that won't fly with me - I believe in celebrating your birthday, no matter how old you get. Some would say celebrating your birthday beats the alternative. I wouldn't know, having never experienced the alternative, but still, I say Carpe Diem - let's party.
So, we went to The Grille at Morrison House Saturday night. They offered us the choice to dine in the bar (pictured on the site) or in the dining room. I am so glad we chose the bar - it was open mike night. Now, I've been to some pretty sketchy open mikes. In one instance, I was actually serenaded. Sounds romantic, I'm sure - and it might have been - if it hadn't been our first date!! Then, it's just awkward. But, I digress. Open mike night at the Morrison House was mostly professional singers who seemed to just want to do it for fun.
The pianist was quite talented - as was his accompaning trumpet player, who, in this video, is actually singing.

That's me coming in at the end - I know - I'll keep my day job.
And speaking of day jobs - this man's day job was for the Washington Opera.

And, this couple was engaged to be married, so one of their table-mates sang a song for them - he was the only non-professional singer, but he roped one of the others to sing with him to keep it on key.

It was very entertaining. One older man with a very deep voice seemed to enjoy singing show tunes from plays such as Oklahoma and Paint Your Wagon - his voice was perfectly suited for the songs he chose.
All of this was our entertainment through a lovely meal, which included:

1. Artichoke pate with black truffle oil paired with a sparkling wine
2. Cauliflower Bisque (I know - sounds bland - but it was quite good) paired with a Chablis
3. Pumpkin Ravioli with Duck Confit paired with a Pinot Noir (our favorite dish for the night)
4. Salmon paired with a Chardonnay
5. Lamb paired with a Meritage
6. a small Cheese course paired with port
7. Dark Chocolate cake paired with a dessert wine

We really enjoyed the evening and stayed til around 11:30 - I haven't stayed out that long since...well, OK - since my birthday - but still.

We weren't ready to call it a night, so when we got home, we opened a nice bottle of Two Hands 2009 Lily's Garden Shiraz and stayed up chatting til 3:00 AM.

Now that's the way to celebrate another year of life!

Ketchup!

A family of tomatoes were out walking one day and the little boy tomato kept falling behind. After admonishing him over and over, his father finally just got fed up, walked back to where the boy was lagging behind, stomped on him and shouted: "Ketchup!"

yeah - lame - I know, but there it is, and that's what today's post is about - catching up.

First, we haven't been anywhere or done anything in a while, so no exciting trips to report. Finances are a bit tight right now so we're keeping a low profile. But, that does give me an opportunity to knit and sew more than I usually would - oh, and improve my crochet skills.

So, first, I made this messenger bag that I love so much I can't figure out what to use it for:

As you can see, I used a log cabin pattern to make the flap

I used my indigo's to create the outer portion of the bag - even the browns are indigos - well, except that little pocket on top of the larger pocket - that's batik.

And, I used batik's to line the bag and create the inner pockets. I love all the pockets on this thing. You can see there's an outer zippered pocket in the front - well, there's another in the back. Then, there's an inner zippered pocket (the yellow one), not to mention all the pockets on the front, right inside the flap. There are also two side pockets that you can barely make out in the second picture. This is what I spent my New Years weekend making, and seriously - I love it...now what to do with it?

The whole thing was created because of one of my favorite Ravelry groups, called Tiny Owl Knits (TOK). We're on a year long "quest" and this is my quest bag. But, of course - it's all virtual, so having made the bag for this notion, I now want to use it for something real.

I was originally thinking of using it for all my knitting notions - needles, etc. But that seems like a waste - it would hardly ever leave the house. It's definitely big enough for a laptop, but I associate my laptop with work, and I don't want to use this for anything work related. So, right now, I'm still mulling it over. Open for suggestions.

Speaking of my TOK group, I've also been doing a few swaps, which has helped me increase my skill set. One of my swap partners had this little gem in her queue, and I thought it would be fun to try. In the end, I had to meet up with someone who teaches crochet and have her help me, but I'm fine with that. I remember when the only patterns available for crochet were those hideous afghan's. Now, there are lots of really cute things out there, and let's face it, crochet eats up a lot more of my stash than knitting does, so that's a good thing, right?

Finally, the winter weather has been SO boring this year - in fact it's over 60 degrees outside right now - you'd think I lived in TX again. However, we did get a dusting of snow this one day, and I got this picture - I wish someone could dye yarn to look like these colors together - it's just incredible!

So, that's it. Not much to report, especially considering how long it's been, but what can I say. Times are tough.

You've Got to be Effin' Kidding Me!!

Yes! We really did go White Water Rafting on the Gauley!
And Yes!! It really was snowing!
And yes. We had a great time.
I have to admit, what with 40 degree temps, rain mixed with snow and our  "pep talk" on the way down to the river, the SigO and I seriously considered bailing for the weekend. It was more of "well, we're here now" and "we'd just kick ourselves if we bailed out" that kept us from staying on the bus. I'm not sure either one of us was very gung ho about the trip until we saw who our guide was going to be.
Thank all that is holy for John! He's been a guide on the Gauley for 34 years now and I think he knows every single rock in the river. When one of our crew asked about the experience level of another guide, John said "Yeah, he's pretty new. He's only been doing this for 8 years." Ha! That's my kind of river guide. John had been our guide on a previous trip, so as soon as I saw him, all my fears evaporated and I was ready for a fun day.
I've placed YouTube links on each of the biggies. None of them are our video, but they'll give you an idea of what we did. I have to say though, the river was a little bigger than average due to all the rain we've had this year. According to the guides, the average is 2500 cfs (cubic feet per second) and we were at 3200 cfs. So, some of these videos aren't accurate representations of what we rafted.
So, with that intro...
As soon as you put in on the river, you shoot a Class III rapid. Nothing huge, but still, the fact that you haven't been in the boat for a full minute and you're already really paddling should give you an idea of what's in store.
Most of the rapids on the Upper Gauley are Class IV - V. Of course, there's not a rating for anything bigger than a V, but still, what do you do when you say "This is a Class V" and then, a little way down the river, there's something bigger? Well, I'll tell you. You call it a "Class V+"
However, to quote Wikipedia: There are dozens of rapids on the Upper Gauley; the most notable are the "Big Five":
The first Class V rapid encountered is called Insignificant. According to the story John told, the first person to shoot these rapids after the first ever dam release was a kayaker who reported there was nothing significant before Pillow Rock. Apparently, he forgot all about the first Class V that was well worth some notation. But, because he forgot about it, guides today call this set of rapids "Insignificant". It's not. And you hit it really soon after launching your boat.
Mostly what I remember about this, and every other Class V (or V+ rapid) is John screaming "Go Go Go!" Honestly. I don't remember him raising his voice a single time when we rode the New River with him. I don't have any pictures of Insignificant (or really, any other Class V, other than Pillow Rock and Sweet's Falls), but I do have Video. I can't embed it here, so you'll just have to come to my house and watch it.
That said, here's Pillow Rock. This is the first Class V+ rapid encountered on the Upper Gauley.
I love the guy almost falling out. His name is Mike. The guy opposite him is Dan. Note the look of terror on his face.

Check out the look on SigO's face here. "Grrrr!!! Argh! I will not let us flip! I am Man! Hear me Roar!!"

None of us fell out on this, or any other Class IVor higher rapid. That's the irony. The only time anyone fell out at all was on a Class III. We hit a rock, and that tossed the two in front of me. (I'm in the back, right in front of John, our guide. He's the one with the gold helmet and green PFD [Personal Flotation Device]). The girl in front of the SigO (who's across from me) completely freaked out when her brother and friend fell out of the boat and abadoned paddling altogether. No big surprise, she ended up in the drink shortly after them. That was the only time anyone fell out during our trip. And really, if you're gonna fall out, I'd much rather do it during a Class III than a Class V or V+. I'm just sayin'.

There are some III's, and IV's after Pillow Rock, but the next biggie is "Lost Paddle". This class V is 0.25 miles long and has five drops. Just about the time you think you're safe, wham, there's another drop. I rather enjoyed it to be honest with you as most of the other Class V's or higher were over so fast, you didn't even know what happened.

After more III's and IV's, comes Iron Ring. Another Class V+. Scary. To me, more scary than Pillow Rock, although I guess Pillow Rock is more notorious. Iron Ring is so named because it used to be a set of falls. However, when trying to float logs down the river (for coal mining, etc, back in the day), the logs kept breaking up over the falls, so they put iron rings in the rocks on either side of the river, lowered a bosun's chair, and then placed some dynamite in the rock of the river and blew out the falls. The iron rings were there for a long time (hence the name) until some bone head stole them. People. They're the worst!

More III's and IV's ensue, and then, Sweet's Falls.

There are a few funny things about these pictures. First, look at the look on my face here. It's "OH HOLY HELL!" Meanwhile, look at the look on John's face. It's "Yo. Hey. What's up? Oh, me? Not much. Just kinda chillin'. Hangin' Out. Cold out here though, huh?"

Then, check out the SigO in this shot. Other than John, he's the only one with a paddle in the water. Yeah, I'm pretty sure we would've all been screwed without him along. And NO, I am NOT biased. I don't know what you're talking about.  

After Sweet's Falls comes lunch. Which, I swear is just a way to extend the day, because before lunch, I'm pretty sure my heart rate never dropped below 200 bpm, but after lunch, until the very end, I don't think it ever got higher than 60 bpm. After lunch, you're no longer on the Upper Gauley. Now you're on the Middle Gauley, and it's pretty calm until the very end when there is one last rapid right before you pull out for the day.

It's not a Class V, but it does have this big a$$ rock right at the end that will clear your sinuses if you hit it, and I was pretty sure we were going to until the very last second when we got clear of it.

It's called Woods Ferry. Julie's Juicer is what they call the hole behind the rock and I'm glad John kept us out of that as well.

So that was the trip. Check that one off the list. No more big adventures planned for 2011 other than climbing Old Rag in a few weeks. Don't worry though. I'm sure we'll ad lib something.

For anyone who needs some calming after this blog, check out the cool swag I got on the way down to the river:

Yummy squishy Malabrigo.

Some fun sock yarn - you knit the leg and foot in the blue and gold and the heel and toe in the black. Kewl, huh?

Some yarn for my Secret Santa Recipient's present. I'm making her Fairy Castle's to store her Double Pointed Needles (DPN's) and Crochet Hooks.

Here's what the Fairy Castles look like. What you can't see is you can store needles and hooks in them. They're way cool.

and, last, but never least, some loverly stitch markers. I can never have too many. Hint Hint.  

And for those of you who have gone too long without a shot of a hot man...

Until next time.