What a beautiful night here in Richmond!  Sadly I am inside preparing for class . . . tricky people at school switched books on me so I'm doing well to stay ahead of the students.  (Great group so far . . . several of them have actually turned in their homework early.  Gasp.)

Kristin and I went out for my birfday (observed) to the charming Kuba Kuba and had a predictably delicious dinner.  I had Huevos California, like huevos rancheros but with avocado on top.  And since it's Kuba Kuba, served over Cuban bread instead of tortillas.  Also a side of tostones and tres leches cake for dessert.  We walked around a few blocks in the Fan, but I'll be clocking in some serious treadmill time to burn off all the deliciousness!  Thanks, Kristin!

To conclude . . .

Well, last weekend (meaning the 16th and 17th) was considerably less dramatic, but not without its ups and downs. I went to visit my grandmother in Chesapeake and decided on Sunday that I'd go to a church in Virginia Beach that is pastored by an ex-roommate's parents. I'd been there once before, though from a totally different direction, and it was really nice. So I mapquested it, found the service times, and started off last Sunday, full of hope.

Alas, it was not to be. Darn Mapquest completely misdirected me through Portsmouth, though I can fortunately bluff my way through that town tolerably well. However, when it gave me a wrong turn in Virginia Beach I was completely befuddled. I don't know the Beach at all, so I was at the mercy of a merciless mapquest. After I finally found the church (sadly long after they'd started) and turned around to head back to Meme's house, I discovered another interesting thing: The Downtown Tunnel has holes in it! ! !

To be specific, the superstructure, i.e., the part that contains the tunnel you drive through as well as electrical and ventilation systems, etc., appears to be sound. However, it is severely disconcerting to be driving, you know, under the water and look up and see a gaping hole in the ceiling. And not just one hole, but three. I need hardly add I was very very happy to get back to Meme's.

I had a fun birthday yesterday that featured a delicious chocolate cake and quality time with a friend. Mike Shula apparently did not get the memo that Bama can't lose because it's my birthday. Apart from that everything was lovely.

Okay, so . . .

How does it get to be so long between updates? As promised, last weekend's drama follows . . . and by "last weekend" I mean September 9 - 10, not yesterday, which has its own story.

So, Saturday a week ago I decide to spend the afternoon/evening gallivanting in Northern Virginia. Go watch the game with the UA alums, then play around until time to leave. The game was close (Vandy always is) but we won. Also I discovered that a burger with avocado and bacon is very tasty. Then we went to a park near National Airport where you can watch the planes take off and land. It was a lovely evening and very nice until we were (okay, I was) scared off by disgusting rats hanging around the water's edge. As Suzanna would say, Ew.

So it gets to be ten and I decide it's time to leave. I hop in the car and head down 395 and merge onto 95 towards Richmond. Pretty soon I hear a horrible grating sound coming from my car. I turn off all extraneous noise such as radio and a/c, and while it's definitely my car, it's also definitely not the engine. I pull off at my earliest opportunity and swing into a gas station that is surprisingly isolated for NOVA, take a peek under the car and discover the source of the noise: A metallic something-or-other hanging from the undercarriage.

Obviously I can't drive back to Richmond with who-knows-what dragging on the ground. I call my host who gallantly comes to pick me up and even lets me swing by a CVS so I can sleep makeup-free and with brushed teeth. The next day is taken up with consultations with parental types and trips to auto parts stores (don't even think about trying to find a service station that's open on Sunday - the idea!), culminating in a triumphant return to the gas station where I left the Kellymobile the night before. As it turns out, what I'd feared was an exhaust pipe was just a cover for an exhaust pipe or catalytic converter; a nicety, to be sure, but hardly necessary for proper vehicular function. So we redneckily rip off the offending piece and I'm on my way.

(Now, this was all especially strange because I'd just had my exhaust system replaced this spring. But I had an email in my school account later that week saying that another teacher had come out from class to find his catalytic converter had been stolen; apparently you can sell them for $75. Made me wonder if someone had tried to get mine and was scared off or something. Again, Ew.)

Oh, and if you're reading this Mom, I got the UPS package today, so everything's peachy on that front. And congratulations to my excellent brother Kenny, who passed his comps last Friday.

"You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good."  (Genesis 50:20)

I take great comfort in providence.  (Or is it Providence . . . never can remember . . . )

More later this week about the weekend's adventures.  Long day.  Tired.

Update!

What a very busy couple of weeks . . . and no letup in sight. I spent Labor Day weekend in Alabama visiting the family and going to a football game in the fabulously expanded Bryant-Denny Stadium, which clearly takes as its motto, "Anything worth doing is worth overdoing." Got to see Bama win, always a nice thing, and also got to see my very funny niece who has taken to calling herself Baby Zanna. She's also developed the charming habit of dancing any time she hears music. What with Muzak in WalMart, radio, and cell phone songs, that's a lot of time to boogie!

(Is it sad that my family's chief entertainment these days is sitting around and watching the baby?)

I thought I'd have a relaxing three-day week, but I discovered as soon as I returned that not only did I have a meeting for school that night, classes in fact start a week earlier than I'd thought! D'oh! I'm teaching Thursdays this semester, which means I unfortunately miss Bible Study, but I will get to take time off for Thanksgiving. The fall calendar is filling up quickly!

More tomorrow night, I hope. I have another stinkin' meeting for school, but there are weekend adventures to share.

This is extremely fine.

Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti

More details on the weekend

I'm going in reverse chronological order, mainly because I don't have the picture of Patrick Henry without which the day's earlier events would be sadly lacking. After going to the re-enactment and the Pow Poe (tee hee) Museum we ended up at Cafe Gutenberg to refuel. Chocolate croissants and iced mochas on the sidewalk. Tres chic.

So there we were, enjoying a hot late summer day at a partly-shaded table, when we heard some barking. Looked around and discovered the source: A cute little dog in a purple van.

Now, it's a hot day, probably 90 degrees, and it's a sunny day. There is a wee bit of a crack in the window, but it's got to be pretty darn hot in the van. Maybe the people just stepped away for a minute. We carry on eating, keeping an eye on the dog. The dog, in turn, keeps an eye on us, looking all mournful and pleading as dogs do.

We finish our food. By this time it's probably been half an hour and no one has come around for the dog. We pay the check and go over to have a look at the dog, who is laying down and panting pretty hard. Poor thing. We go inside the restaurant and explain the situation, then ask the servers if maybe it's a regular customer or something. Of course not. One girl seems mildly concerned, the other blankly says "It's not our jurisdiction."

We can't just leave the dog there. I mean, it's probably fine, but we don't know that, and it would absolutely drive me crazy with worry if we just went away. So I ask for a phone book and call the non-emergency police number. I explain the situation and they say they'll have someone right over. We hang around for a bit and, to my surprise, they do send someone right over.

So there we are, trying to look all nonchalant as Richmond's finest is taking in the situation, when who should walk up but the van's (and dog's) owner?!? He must have been nearby the whole time. He explains (sheepishly?) that the dog was in there with a bowl of water. (Sorry, mister, that just means your dog is braising instead of roasting.) The officer says they get a lot of calls like that in the summer, blah blah blah, while we beat a quick path out of there before the guy figures out who called.

(Though judging from the politics advertised on the van's bumper stickers, the man is unlikely to be packing heat. You'd think he'd be kinder to animals, however.)

So, this weekend was the first in a while I hadn't had to work on Saturday.  Fun!  I slept in until 9:00 and laid around all morning watching cartoons and cooking shows, then went to the gym.  Kristin and I finally hung some pictures on the walls of our living room, and it looks much cozier.  Now, if only I could motivate myself to decorate my bedroom everything would be peachy.

Yesterday we went to see the re-enactment of Patrick Henry's speech to the Second Virginia Convention at St. John's Church.  Also went to the Poe Museum, which is in the same part of town, and called the Richmond police because there was a dog locked in a hot car.  More details on all of the above later . . .

Two and a half day weekend

So, on Saturday I was scheduled to work at the Library as I often am. Got there and not only was it hot, but the computers were down, meaning that all networking functions were non-operational. You could type a Word document on the machine you were using and save it to a disk, but that's about it. Turns out there was some kind of power surge overnight that knocked out the computers and made the heat come on. Must have been eighty-five, ninety degrees in there. It was both unpleasant and futile, as without computers we can't really provide a lot of reference assistance.

After lots of hemming and hawing by Management (to whom I say: Why don't you get all dressed up for work in long sleeves and pants and then come sit in a sauna?), we were allowed to close the library at 11, much to the disgust of patrons. I was sorry for them, but very very glad to be out of there. And I had a nearly free day! It's like found time. I went and had my oil changed and two tires replaced on the Honda, an errand I've been putting off for ages. Otherwise I just relaxed and enjoyed the day.

On Sunday I went to painfully early church (8:30 a.m.! It ain't natural, I tell ya!) and trekked up north to spend a delightful afternoon kayaking on the Potomac. I am paying for it today, though, with my sore arms and shoulders . . . no need to go to the Victory Lady this afternoon. Really, you'd think all that weight lifting would make paddling easier, but apparently not.

Incredible. Edible.

Okay, the first picture is one of salsa-in-the-making. I decided to have huevos rancheros this weekend (used a recipe from my beloved Cook's Illustrated) and started by making the salsa. It's really easy - just some tomatoes, onions, peppers, and garlic roasted in a slow oven sith oil and spices, then blended together and spiked with lime juice and cilantro. You poach eggs in the salsa and eat with toasty corn tortillas. Sadly I didn't get pics of all stages of the process, but don't the roasted veggies look wonderful? It only makes enough for four eggs, which is two servings in my book. I may experiment with making more salsa and baking the eggs in it.

The next picture is of a couple successful lime squares . . . the rest were devoured by greedy coworkers. I say successful because my first batch was icky icky icky. Which was weird because I've made them before and they were delish. I investigated and discovered that I'd totally spaced at the store and bought fat free condensed milk instead of the regular kind. (In my defense, I was trying to economize by buying the store brand, and the packaging for their fat free product isn't as distinctive as fat free Eagle Brand.) Anyway, this is another easy one - a crust of animal crackers, brown sugar, and butter is pre-baked. Then you mix cream cheese, condensed milk, lime juice and zest, and eggs. Pour in the crust and bake. One of my better finds this summer, another gem from my friends at Cook's Illustrated.

It's not really nice to call it loot, is it?

But that's what it is! My last package from my no-longer-secret SP, arrived late last week and I finally had a chance to photograph it tonight. Such wonderful goodies, SP, however did you know that I had just been thinking it was time to get some more magnetic chip clips? (For effect, one of them in the photo above is shown in a natural habitat of protecting chips from sogginess. The other one from the pack of four is more virtuously employed keeping a bag of salad closed.) Also enclosed is the new Interweave Knits with Scarf Bonus, which I'd been waiting until the end of the semester to buy. Plus a journal, some snacky goodness, a little paint by numbers kit, a light stick, a hand treatment kit from the Body Shop, a toy for the cat, and the piece de resistance, three skeins of beautiful Italian merino Karabella yarn. Pretty pretty red.

It was a busy but fun weekend . . . I have a lot of those, don't I? I did some cooking, pictures of which will follow. Also finally finished getting grades calculated and posted. It was a rough semester from my point of view, i.e., information taking a long time to make its way to me, general daftness on my part, and students having icky things going on in their personal lives. But this was the sharpest bunch I've had so far and they really persevered. I'm proud of them.

A couple more pictures of Suzanna-Pants

The first one is another one of her enjoying the bus, and the second shows her bursting someone's bubble! (Seriously, there were these cool things where you stood in the middle and pulled a soap-dipped hoop around you via clever pulleys, thereby creating a bubble for yourself. Nifty.)

Funfunfun!

I spent the most adorable weekend visiting my grandmother who was hosting my niece, sister, brother, and brother-in-law. Though I have miles to go before I sleep (adorable weekends mean very few papers get graded) I did want to post a few photos of sweet little Suzanna at the Children's Museum of Virginia. A good time was had by all.

(Does anyone else think the picture of Kerry and Paul might just be a pretty common sight?)

Okay, I'm getting some pushback from people (Mom) miffed at the fact that I haven't updated in a while.  (Since Bastille Day, if I recall correctly.)  Sorry about that.  My reasons are:

1.  Busy
2.  Busy
3.  Busy

Seriously.  End of the semester, Bible studies at chez moi, occasional trips to NOVA, etc. etc.  Also none of these are picture-generating activities, and it's kind of a drag to look at a blog and not see pics.

So consider yourself updated.  (Actually, I will see family this weekend, so hopefully some photos as well as interesting stories will emerge.)

Happy Bastille Day!

I've been shamed by Kerry's excessive blogging, but she has a cute little toddler to write about.  I love how she says ""Virginia" - "A-gin-a."  Not much has been going on of interest.  (I say of interest because I just now had a chance to use the Burt's Bees facial kit my SP sent me a month ago!  My skin feels so nice, SP, thank you!)  I'm off to fabulous NOVA this weekend, but have to go to a meeting for school tomorrow morning and would really like to get a quick workout in during the interval . . . maybe whilst the oil is being changed in the Honda?

Remember when weekends were restful?

More goodies from SP!

I was so pleased yesterday to come home to a present from my Secret Pal! All of it beautiful stuff, too. There were some more Addi needles for sock knitting, some gorgeous red sock yarn (what kind, oh SP? As soon as I find out I'm going to cast on some socks straightaway), notecards, a sweet little knitted bag stuffed with stitch markers and a retractable measuring tape, peppermint candy, and some Body Shop eye treats, which I'll need after knitting on those tiny tiny needles. Also some toys for Marzie, which she Loved.

I am now off to Carytown to pick up some yarn for those fingerless mitten things in the new Knitty (what is the pattern called again? Can't remember). Beautiful and useful. I hope to shame the building management at work into keeping the offices a decent temperature, but if my hearing a hat inside hasn't done it, I doubt this stunt will, either.

Everything is beachy

Today was uneventful unless you count the light at the grocery store being out owing to the monsoon of a thunderstorm we had between 5:30 and 6:00. Which meant I had to get across Broad Street without a traffic control of any kind. It wasn't pretty, believe me.

To the left is an action shot of my cousin Will surfung, or boogie boarding, or whatever. (If anyone reading this knows the difference, please enlighten me.)

Also included for your enjoyment is a picture of Beth and Will really enjoying their portable game things, as well as a picture of Stephanie looking very much like her mother. (You see a bit of Beth and Cecelia in that one too, as well as Melissa's right hand.)

They're Golden!

I had excellent fun this weekend at Virginia Beach attending the 50th wedding anniversary of my Aunt Ginny and Uncle Bob. (I also represented the Gilberts and Brothers, who were in Alabama having as much fun as they could manage without my presence.) Aunt Ginny, for those who like to keep track, is my maternal grandmother's sister. Also in attendance were all three of her children and their spouses - no mean feat - as well as all three grandchildren, my grandmother, an uncle, aunt, and cousin as well as Calvin who, I believe, was in the wedding party.

We had a delicious dinner (well, mid-afternoon meal, whatever you like to call it) on the porch that featured grilled chicken and smoked beef. Also green beans, squash casserole, salad, and rolls. Then adjourned to the garage for champagne and cake. Many of us also went to the beach (Sandbridge for those of you familiar with the area) and sat around, walked, etc. It was a beautiful, but hot day. Beth and Will got in some ocean time. More pictures to follow.

Happy Palmetto Day!

Today we remember the American victory at the Battle of Fort Moultrie in 1776. Vastly outnumbered and outgunned patriots prevailed over British attackers. They were aided, in part, by a fort constructed of palmetto logs which absorbed the enemy fire harmlessly instead of shattering. More can be found here. (Note: This site calls it Carolina Day, the lame PC term for Palmetto Day, which apparently is out of favor owing to its Southern Nationalist associations.)

I could have celebrated with Huguenot torte, or Hoppin John, or some other indigenous food, but I took the lazy option and had some fried Haloumi cheese (deelish) and a salad. Oh, well.

In other news, the two circ knitting has progressed to the point where I can take it on the bus, a big accomplishment in my mind. Also have gotten past midterm grade time in class, so the worst of it is over. Fourth fun this weekend in Virginia Beach - an anniversary party for my aunt and uncle. And a haircut for me this Saturday! Pictures are forthcoming.

Last night I saw the most wonderful rainbow!  It was a full one, too, stretched across the sky from north to south, straddling the West End like the arch in St. Louis.  (What's that called?)  Pretty.

Not so pretty has been the last week at work, which has been characterized by crazed genealogists from Texas.  It's also been busy extracurricularly, and exhaustion is not a state I deal with well.  I get extremely sensitive to noise, which is unfortunate as I have the world's most vocal cat.  She and I have mostly made up since The Great Escape two weeks ago, but I must say that the magic is gone.