California winter has finally come to Delaware. In a bizarre turn of events (um, climate change?), not only have CA and DE had the same weather since we got here, but it was colder last week in Cali than it was here! After some anxious conversations with Supermom ("It's not a laughing matter; if my garden freezes, I won't be replanting!") and Superdad ("They're saying we should run water so the pipes don't freeze, but doesn't it have to be below zero before you need to do that?"), the thaw has come to Los Altos, and now it's cold here. Beautiful and sunny, but cold. I finally get to break out the wool, color coordinate my scarves, hats, and mittens with my outfits, and perhaps get snowed in! The beauty of living downtown is it doesn't matter. I can still get Starbucks (well, assuming the employees are there) in a deep freeze.
The office is now periwinkle, and the new mattress was delivered today, so we have an official guest room now. This means that soon it will be time for me to post some pictures. As I paint my desk pink, I wonder what my great grandpa Beauchamp would think about the fact that his old desk is pink. His daughter, Grandma Alice, would love it--pink, red, and black were her colors. I think he'd be glad that it represents the beginning of my home business. He was a creative, entrepreneurial man, and I like to hope that I'm a little like him.
Speaking of entrepreneurship, I have filed for my Federal Tax ID number and have secured my website domain name. Soon, it will have content. Business cards should be coming, and after I find someone to help us do this year's taxes, I'll meet with a financial planner and develop a financial plan for myself. This is an exciting chapter in my career. I have my dream job; it's going well, and I have the most beautiful office I could have imagined!
I went to a workshop at the library today about financial planning for the home business, and made two new friends. One of them runs her own business placing lawyers in their dream jobs, and one is just out of Notre Dame, working at a nonprofit and planning her next move. I look forward to networking with both of them. I am in love with our library--I'm getting all my sources for my rock musician biography there. It's a lot like the Los Altos library--clean, bright, diverse, with many wonderful resources.
We made some new friends last night at Half-Price Burger Night at the Deer Park Tavern, a local favorite known for the fact that Edgar Allen Poe presumably stayed there once--or was kicked out of there once for being drunk, which I personally think is the real story. The Poe house in Baltimore is supposed to be great--I look forward to visiting. There is no shortage of interesting people here. I enjoy hearing about all the different things people do for work, their pets, etc. This morning's post-swim practice coffee was at Brew Ha! Ha!, one of two independent coffee chains in town (Brewed Awakenings, the other, is also great).
Have a sunshiney day!
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Thursday, January 11, 2007
January is Not a Terrible Month; In Fact, It's Pretty Good
"January is such a lousy month," I kept saying, when we returned from CA and I was feeling blue. "I'll just have to bear with it." Then, New Year's came and went, and things got interesting.
Class was the first thing to shake up my program. Attending a lecture every day from 9:45-11:15 is definitely something to work around, and my professor in History of Rock is absolutely phenomenal. It's among the top five classes I've taken, and his body of knowledge about music and its history, not to mention his supremely engaging lecture style, make it a treat to attend class every day. I had a conflict with my section last week due to a doctor appointment, so I went to the later session, because I didn't want to miss out! Also, we have a test next week, and I'm trying to absorb everything I can so I don't have to study very much. :)
Speaking of music, if you're not listening to The Current from Minnesota Public Radio on your computer, you should be. A great blend of old classics and new, mostly indie rock. They have a free download of the day, so I'm acquiring some great new stuff, the Shins among it.
And who else enjoyed Stephen Colbert's guitar-off with the Decemberists before New Year's? We just caught the re-run of it, and I'd rate that the best Colbert Report ever.
We're going to hear a band in the student center next Saturday, so I can write a report about them for class. We're debating between a Little Bakers Dinner Theater show for my second report (How often do you have an excuse to go to a dinner theater ten minutes from home? Plus, this one's actually quite well-known and well-regarded.) or a visit to Woody's in North East, MD. North East is sort of like Pacific Grove, only on the Chesapeake Bay, and Woody's is this amazing seafood place with paper tablecloths and live music on weekends. We'll just have to visit both.
It's been hard to fit my reading in with all the writing projects I've been getting. In addition to editing, writing for, and selling ads for the co-op newsletter, I've continued to write for Clif Bar and just did a project for ReserveAmerica (great campground reservation site) that I hope will turn into long-term work.
I have a wonderful new doctor, whose office is painted pink, and who brings her darling children to work. I've found a new stylist, around the corner from my house in an old house with walls of every color. It's an Aveda salon, which I like, and I got a great haircut for a third of what I used to spend. I also have several phone numbers of dog breeders. The big decision: kitten or puppy first (we're getting both but can't decide when)? And for the puppy, which will be a girl, chocolate, yellow, or buttercream lab...or golden retriever? I have the phone number of a breeder about ten minutes away whose now full-grown puppy, Ike, is the most beautiful red golden retriever I've ever seen. He's also the biggest! A dog of his shade would match Poppy so well, but perhaps color coordination is not the best way to decide which puppy to get.
We have now painted two upstairs rooms and will be finishing the office next week. Pictures will be posted when the furniture is back in all the rooms! Would you show a house un-staged? I didn't think so.
Other things that made last week particularly busy, other than social activities, which we finally have (!), were my first practice with Dazzle, the ladies' synchronized skating team that skates at the on-campus ice rink. They were impressed that I walked onto the ice and could do lunges (thanks to Wonder Woman's and my "step out" in our ice jazz team's 1988 show, during the Rolling Stones' ""). I've made the team! I'll be skating with them for two more Mondays before their season ends--we'll start up in March. One thing is clear: I've got to get new skates. I had an amazing pair of Reidell Gold Stars, with jumping blades, that got me from the late 1980's into my twenties, but as college ended, the boots got tighter, and I had to downgrade to a pair of lesser quality. Don't get me wrong; I'm grateful to have such beautiful skates, but after skating for years in truly excellent ones, I really feel the difference in the blades--with jumping blades, you feel really confident, and even if I only skated a couple of times a year, I could still do simple jumps and spins after a little time on the ice. With my current skates, I don't dare--these days, I'm not even comfortable going backwards! I think if I spring for a new pair (I'm saving my writing money!), I'll be able to get my "skating legs" back in no time.
The skating team is comprised of some of the nicest people! Everyone's nice in Delaware, so it's not surprising, but what sweet folks. I look forward to spending more time with them. It's a kick; they're of all ages and abilities--there's even a UD Astronomy professor. I'm not sure I'll be thrilled to attend three skating competitions around New England next year, but it's too entertaining not to do it, and I do love to skate. Supermom has offered to finance my costume and warm-up suit--she's pleased as punch at still being able to buy skating gear for her daughter. I don't know that she envisioned doing this when I was 32, but skating stuff does make a great gift for those winter birthdays.
Yesterday, I visited St. Andrew's school, in Middletown, DE, best known by you non-residents as the school in the movie Dead Poets' Society. It's a stunning campus, and I got to have lunch in the dining hall with my lovely hostess, the college roommate of a coworker of my friend Shirley. When I sat down, I felt like I was in a Harry Potter movie--flagstone floors, stone building, wood ceilings, polished wood tables with benches, boys in coats and ties, girls in skirts. It was great. Not being familiar with the whole boarding school thing, the kids I sat with and my hostess gave me great insight into their daily lives. The school was created by a duPont, like so many of the beautiful buildings and gardens in this area, specifically to educate a range of children, via financial aid. I'm constantly amazed by how progressive so many of the duPonts were. I loved getting to see another part of Delaware. I got to see the organic garden that supplies the dining hall and uses dining hall compost to grow; I visited an art exhibit; and I made a new friend.
Today is gray, and almost as cold as California. :) Poppy and I are sitting on the easy chair in my office while Superman paints trim in the other room. We are looking forward to seeing Olympian Kimmie Meissner skate on campus tomorrow, and to a mellow day of doing nothing, after quite a busy week.
So, as it turns out, January is quite a lovely month!
Class was the first thing to shake up my program. Attending a lecture every day from 9:45-11:15 is definitely something to work around, and my professor in History of Rock is absolutely phenomenal. It's among the top five classes I've taken, and his body of knowledge about music and its history, not to mention his supremely engaging lecture style, make it a treat to attend class every day. I had a conflict with my section last week due to a doctor appointment, so I went to the later session, because I didn't want to miss out! Also, we have a test next week, and I'm trying to absorb everything I can so I don't have to study very much. :)
Speaking of music, if you're not listening to The Current from Minnesota Public Radio on your computer, you should be. A great blend of old classics and new, mostly indie rock. They have a free download of the day, so I'm acquiring some great new stuff, the Shins among it.
And who else enjoyed Stephen Colbert's guitar-off with the Decemberists before New Year's? We just caught the re-run of it, and I'd rate that the best Colbert Report ever.
We're going to hear a band in the student center next Saturday, so I can write a report about them for class. We're debating between a Little Bakers Dinner Theater show for my second report (How often do you have an excuse to go to a dinner theater ten minutes from home? Plus, this one's actually quite well-known and well-regarded.) or a visit to Woody's in North East, MD. North East is sort of like Pacific Grove, only on the Chesapeake Bay, and Woody's is this amazing seafood place with paper tablecloths and live music on weekends. We'll just have to visit both.
It's been hard to fit my reading in with all the writing projects I've been getting. In addition to editing, writing for, and selling ads for the co-op newsletter, I've continued to write for Clif Bar and just did a project for ReserveAmerica (great campground reservation site) that I hope will turn into long-term work.
I have a wonderful new doctor, whose office is painted pink, and who brings her darling children to work. I've found a new stylist, around the corner from my house in an old house with walls of every color. It's an Aveda salon, which I like, and I got a great haircut for a third of what I used to spend. I also have several phone numbers of dog breeders. The big decision: kitten or puppy first (we're getting both but can't decide when)? And for the puppy, which will be a girl, chocolate, yellow, or buttercream lab...or golden retriever? I have the phone number of a breeder about ten minutes away whose now full-grown puppy, Ike, is the most beautiful red golden retriever I've ever seen. He's also the biggest! A dog of his shade would match Poppy so well, but perhaps color coordination is not the best way to decide which puppy to get.
We have now painted two upstairs rooms and will be finishing the office next week. Pictures will be posted when the furniture is back in all the rooms! Would you show a house un-staged? I didn't think so.
Other things that made last week particularly busy, other than social activities, which we finally have (!), were my first practice with Dazzle, the ladies' synchronized skating team that skates at the on-campus ice rink. They were impressed that I walked onto the ice and could do lunges (thanks to Wonder Woman's and my "step out" in our ice jazz team's 1988 show, during the Rolling Stones' ""). I've made the team! I'll be skating with them for two more Mondays before their season ends--we'll start up in March. One thing is clear: I've got to get new skates. I had an amazing pair of Reidell Gold Stars, with jumping blades, that got me from the late 1980's into my twenties, but as college ended, the boots got tighter, and I had to downgrade to a pair of lesser quality. Don't get me wrong; I'm grateful to have such beautiful skates, but after skating for years in truly excellent ones, I really feel the difference in the blades--with jumping blades, you feel really confident, and even if I only skated a couple of times a year, I could still do simple jumps and spins after a little time on the ice. With my current skates, I don't dare--these days, I'm not even comfortable going backwards! I think if I spring for a new pair (I'm saving my writing money!), I'll be able to get my "skating legs" back in no time.
The skating team is comprised of some of the nicest people! Everyone's nice in Delaware, so it's not surprising, but what sweet folks. I look forward to spending more time with them. It's a kick; they're of all ages and abilities--there's even a UD Astronomy professor. I'm not sure I'll be thrilled to attend three skating competitions around New England next year, but it's too entertaining not to do it, and I do love to skate. Supermom has offered to finance my costume and warm-up suit--she's pleased as punch at still being able to buy skating gear for her daughter. I don't know that she envisioned doing this when I was 32, but skating stuff does make a great gift for those winter birthdays.
Yesterday, I visited St. Andrew's school, in Middletown, DE, best known by you non-residents as the school in the movie Dead Poets' Society. It's a stunning campus, and I got to have lunch in the dining hall with my lovely hostess, the college roommate of a coworker of my friend Shirley. When I sat down, I felt like I was in a Harry Potter movie--flagstone floors, stone building, wood ceilings, polished wood tables with benches, boys in coats and ties, girls in skirts. It was great. Not being familiar with the whole boarding school thing, the kids I sat with and my hostess gave me great insight into their daily lives. The school was created by a duPont, like so many of the beautiful buildings and gardens in this area, specifically to educate a range of children, via financial aid. I'm constantly amazed by how progressive so many of the duPonts were. I loved getting to see another part of Delaware. I got to see the organic garden that supplies the dining hall and uses dining hall compost to grow; I visited an art exhibit; and I made a new friend.
Today is gray, and almost as cold as California. :) Poppy and I are sitting on the easy chair in my office while Superman paints trim in the other room. We are looking forward to seeing Olympian Kimmie Meissner skate on campus tomorrow, and to a mellow day of doing nothing, after quite a busy week.
So, as it turns out, January is quite a lovely month!
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
History of Rock: Day One
The first dilemma: Do I bring a backpack or purse to my first class at UD? I asked Superman, whose reply came in the form of a question. "Which girl do you want to be? The one with the backpack or the one with the really expensive purse?" I responded, "I want to be the girl with the least stuff."
Then, I had a second question. "Do students all take notes on laptops now?" Superman, who has actually been in a university classroom in the past ten years, assured me that no, most students actually use pen and notebook like they did back when I was in college. And it's true! In fact, no one in my class had a laptop. I might actually do better on the tests if I do have my notes in typewritten form, judging from the scrawl in which today's notes appear, but I don't want to be the dork. Superman said, "I can tell already, you're going to be the 'nodder' in class; you know, the Continuing Ed student who's totally into everything the professor says." I told him I'd try to restrain myself.
I did probably smile and laugh a little too much, particularly in comparison to the dude next to me, who shifted in his seat endlessly, and the guy in front of me, who dozed off. At least I wasn't the one who fell asleep (I drank two cups of tea, resulting in a sprint to the restroom, which I had some trouble finding, but I did not fall asleep!). And it's going to be a great class.
I appreciate school more now. I appreciate that I'm not in teaching credential courses, which always require active participation and frequently feature Type-A people who are way too enthusiastic about lesson plans. I appreciate that I get to pretend I'm 22 and maybe get away with it (Someone else had a ring on; hers is a big diamond. I think mine's more subtle.). I appreciate the professor immensely. He's teaching the daily 90-minute class twice, back-to-back, which I know from experience is exhausting. Now that I know what it takes to become a faculty member at a major research university like UD, I am in awe of anyone at that level. Plus, he's a professional trumpet player--he's played at Kennedy Center! I appreciate that UD considers postdocs employees so I get benefits, and can freelance write AND take classes for free. I appreciate that the class is three blocks down the street from my house.
I get to write a bio of a current musical artist, and am required to attend two live performances and write about them. I've already learned a great deal (lots of info in 90 minutes!). Plus, it's sunny and 50's today, so it'd be hard to be in a bad mood. January is promising to be better than I had anticipated!
Then, I had a second question. "Do students all take notes on laptops now?" Superman, who has actually been in a university classroom in the past ten years, assured me that no, most students actually use pen and notebook like they did back when I was in college. And it's true! In fact, no one in my class had a laptop. I might actually do better on the tests if I do have my notes in typewritten form, judging from the scrawl in which today's notes appear, but I don't want to be the dork. Superman said, "I can tell already, you're going to be the 'nodder' in class; you know, the Continuing Ed student who's totally into everything the professor says." I told him I'd try to restrain myself.
I did probably smile and laugh a little too much, particularly in comparison to the dude next to me, who shifted in his seat endlessly, and the guy in front of me, who dozed off. At least I wasn't the one who fell asleep (I drank two cups of tea, resulting in a sprint to the restroom, which I had some trouble finding, but I did not fall asleep!). And it's going to be a great class.
I appreciate school more now. I appreciate that I'm not in teaching credential courses, which always require active participation and frequently feature Type-A people who are way too enthusiastic about lesson plans. I appreciate that I get to pretend I'm 22 and maybe get away with it (Someone else had a ring on; hers is a big diamond. I think mine's more subtle.). I appreciate the professor immensely. He's teaching the daily 90-minute class twice, back-to-back, which I know from experience is exhausting. Now that I know what it takes to become a faculty member at a major research university like UD, I am in awe of anyone at that level. Plus, he's a professional trumpet player--he's played at Kennedy Center! I appreciate that UD considers postdocs employees so I get benefits, and can freelance write AND take classes for free. I appreciate that the class is three blocks down the street from my house.
I get to write a bio of a current musical artist, and am required to attend two live performances and write about them. I've already learned a great deal (lots of info in 90 minutes!). Plus, it's sunny and 50's today, so it'd be hard to be in a bad mood. January is promising to be better than I had anticipated!
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Joining Gen Y: I'm a Student in the New Millenium
The first sign that I haven't been to college in a while was that I forgot I might need to buy books. Sign #2 was that I can look online for my classroom, take a virtual tour of it to find the classroom, and even map my route from my house to the lecture hall (about three blocks away). Sign #4 is that my section is only half full, because it starts at 9:45 A.M. The 11:30 P.M. class is full. No, I will not be sitting in the front row, however. I swim on Wednesday, and since I can't seem to drag myself out of bed before 9:00 A.M. since I got back from California, the 5:00 A.M. wake-up call followed by a hard mile of swimming ensures that I'll be napping in the back row on my first day of class. Coffee!
Fortunately, this will give me some purpose, not to mention a schedule. 2007 is promising to be packed what with attending classes, reading, and writing papers (with supplementary viewing of the T.V. series "American Dreams" which chronicles a Philadelphia family whose daughter dances on American Bandstand), writing for and editing the co-op newsletter, the occasional copywriting gig, volunteer work, my new mission to paint the entire upstairs of our house, travel, Master's Ice Skating (yes, you read that right), and oh, that novel I keep saying I'm going to work on.
Fortunately, this will give me some purpose, not to mention a schedule. 2007 is promising to be packed what with attending classes, reading, and writing papers (with supplementary viewing of the T.V. series "American Dreams" which chronicles a Philadelphia family whose daughter dances on American Bandstand), writing for and editing the co-op newsletter, the occasional copywriting gig, volunteer work, my new mission to paint the entire upstairs of our house, travel, Master's Ice Skating (yes, you read that right), and oh, that novel I keep saying I'm going to work on.
Happy 2007 from DE!
We both hate New Year's, so our new contest is to find the most old-fogey thing we can do, and do it. New Year's in Yosemite the past two years was more Intrepid Winter Adventurer than Old Fogey, as it snowed many feet in '05 , allowing for excellent snowshoeing. '06 was less enjoyable, since it involved hiking among falling redwood trees. This year, we did it right. After pursuing New Year's Eve in Gettysburg, where our friend Dan claims "they shoot off a real cannon," we discovered that either Dan is fibbing or things have changed since he was eight, because not much goes down in G-burg on New Year's Eve these days. Well, it saved us an hour's drive, anyway, and we don't need Dan thinking we're totally middle-aged. We decided to go to Longwood Gardens. It's hard to have a bad time there, and it seemed appropriately "mature"--we'd be back by ten! We spent the day mattress shopping and buying paint at Home Depot, both reminded of Will Ferrell's character in Old School ("Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday. We're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed Bath & Beyond; I don't know...I don't know if we'll have time."). After dinner, we headed up to Longwood (good Christmas light viewing along the way; people in the country do it up right). Longwood had a spectrum of attendees--some dressed up for their 10pm parties, others in jeans and sweatshirts. Babies, toddlers, adolescents, teens, couples, extended families...hundreds of people, having a good time. The lights were as spectacular as we remembered, and we made a beeline for the fountain show upon entering the gardens. We watched all three fountain shows, then got our cookies and hot chocolate, wandered through the conservatory, and at 9:00 P.M. on the dot, the fireworks began. It was the best fireworks show I've ever seen. We were so close! The fireworks were shot over the huge fountain that is one of the centerpieces of the gardens, and we were on the other side of it. Fireworks right over head, and the show went on and on--longer than the promised five minutes. It was wonderful. We headed home on a different country road, to see more lights, and made it home in time to see the ball drop in Times Square, feeling glad not to be there.
New Year's Day, we watched the Rose Parade (ghastly coverage, but entertaining nonetheless), went ice skating on campus with half the town, had the worst mattress-researching experience ever at Sleepy's Mattress store (the woman told us we are doing spinal damage to ourselves by preferring extra-firm mattresses, and tried to argue with Superman when he said he sleeps on his right side, not his left, like her bizarre sleep-pattern analysis machine said), determined to buy our new mattress at the store we went to on New Year's Eve, where the salesman is nice and actually knows what he's talking about, and painted our bathroom aqua. Happy 2007!
New Year's Day, we watched the Rose Parade (ghastly coverage, but entertaining nonetheless), went ice skating on campus with half the town, had the worst mattress-researching experience ever at Sleepy's Mattress store (the woman told us we are doing spinal damage to ourselves by preferring extra-firm mattresses, and tried to argue with Superman when he said he sleeps on his right side, not his left, like her bizarre sleep-pattern analysis machine said), determined to buy our new mattress at the store we went to on New Year's Eve, where the salesman is nice and actually knows what he's talking about, and painted our bathroom aqua. Happy 2007!
Christmas in Cali
I either pack for the weather I'm currently experiencing, or for the weather I hope to enjoy when I reach my destination. Either way, I pack too much of one thing and not enough of something else. Thanksgiving was OK--I pegged Maine about right (ten degrees cooler than DE), but Christmas--let's just say it's good that I got a Stanford sweatshirt from Santa. Delaware and CA are currently at the exact same temperature, and have been since about September. Hello, climate change. I'm ready for some snow, but we'll see.
Christmas in California was cozy and overprogrammed, just the way I like it. We arrived via American Airlines (second leg of free round-trip ticket from when we moved to DE in October) late at night on Tuesday, December 19. After a sound sleep in the world's best bed, we hit the ground running Wednesday. Out to lunch...Christmas shopping...a visit to our CA workplaces...a run...Christmas party at Matt's Ph.D. advisor's house, cracked crab with Supermom, Superdad, and Superbro for dinner, and a heated game of Trivial Pursuit: Genus IV ("oldsters" vs. "youngsters") to end the evening . Thursday featured a walk downtown to purchase the New York Times (we couldn't take more than one day of the Crapicle), Master's Swimming, second trips to our former workplaces, candy-making, and happy hour at Vino Locale with friends. We moved on to Homma's Brown Rice Sushi for dinner, to ease the sushi cravings. Too bad Poppycat wasn't there for her favorite maguro! Friday, the boys baked and watched sports while I went to San Francisco for a delicious tea at Lovejoy's Tea Room with Wonder Woman, a wander down the Embarcadero to the Ferry Building and Embarcadero Center, a quick jaunt to see the sugar castle and tree at the St. Francis, a power-walk through Union Square, and dinner with friends at Globe. Saturday included a failed attempt to get the Times (apparently, if you don't get to town by 8:30 A.M., there are no papers left!), a hike at Hidden Villa Ranch, some quick Christmas shopping for Supermom at Cook's Junction in downtown Los Altos, and dinner at Zibibbo. Sunday was fairly free, so we went on a short run and read a bit before our family friends swung by for apple cider in the afternoon. Christmas itself was a swirl of gifts, reading, walks, and friends, as relatives came over at 3pm and we went around the corner to Wonder Woman's family's house for dessert later in the evening. Tuesday we met high school friends for breakfast, managed to get our Times early in the morning, and Superman visited Stanford again while I visited with SuperAuntie J, who came down from Berkeley for the afternoon. Dinner at home and round two of Trivial Pursuit (youngsters won). Wednesday was a quiet day. We bought too much at the Sports Basement, and the girls beat the boys at Trivial Pursuit.
Returning to Delaware on Southwest was pleasant--lots of cheerful families, plenty of leg room, and Superbro's headphones with which I watched two movies. Midway Airport is much nicer than O'Hare, and we arrived in Philly on time.
It was a little hard to adjust to being back, after the warmth of family and old friends, and the excitement of Christmas. I view New Year's as the wannabe Christmas, and it sort of lets me down. Town seemed quiet, pace seemed slow. I had to slide into it. After four days, I feel back to normal again. Kitty was happy to have us home, and everyone still has their lights up for winter cheer--one of my favorite things about the East Coast is the lights in the windows of people's homes, a sign of welcome. Now I have a light in my window, too! Come visit!
Christmas in California was cozy and overprogrammed, just the way I like it. We arrived via American Airlines (second leg of free round-trip ticket from when we moved to DE in October) late at night on Tuesday, December 19. After a sound sleep in the world's best bed, we hit the ground running Wednesday. Out to lunch...Christmas shopping...a visit to our CA workplaces...a run...Christmas party at Matt's Ph.D. advisor's house, cracked crab with Supermom, Superdad, and Superbro for dinner, and a heated game of Trivial Pursuit: Genus IV ("oldsters" vs. "youngsters") to end the evening . Thursday featured a walk downtown to purchase the New York Times (we couldn't take more than one day of the Crapicle), Master's Swimming, second trips to our former workplaces, candy-making, and happy hour at Vino Locale with friends. We moved on to Homma's Brown Rice Sushi for dinner, to ease the sushi cravings. Too bad Poppycat wasn't there for her favorite maguro! Friday, the boys baked and watched sports while I went to San Francisco for a delicious tea at Lovejoy's Tea Room with Wonder Woman, a wander down the Embarcadero to the Ferry Building and Embarcadero Center, a quick jaunt to see the sugar castle and tree at the St. Francis, a power-walk through Union Square, and dinner with friends at Globe. Saturday included a failed attempt to get the Times (apparently, if you don't get to town by 8:30 A.M., there are no papers left!), a hike at Hidden Villa Ranch, some quick Christmas shopping for Supermom at Cook's Junction in downtown Los Altos, and dinner at Zibibbo. Sunday was fairly free, so we went on a short run and read a bit before our family friends swung by for apple cider in the afternoon. Christmas itself was a swirl of gifts, reading, walks, and friends, as relatives came over at 3pm and we went around the corner to Wonder Woman's family's house for dessert later in the evening. Tuesday we met high school friends for breakfast, managed to get our Times early in the morning, and Superman visited Stanford again while I visited with SuperAuntie J, who came down from Berkeley for the afternoon. Dinner at home and round two of Trivial Pursuit (youngsters won). Wednesday was a quiet day. We bought too much at the Sports Basement, and the girls beat the boys at Trivial Pursuit.
Returning to Delaware on Southwest was pleasant--lots of cheerful families, plenty of leg room, and Superbro's headphones with which I watched two movies. Midway Airport is much nicer than O'Hare, and we arrived in Philly on time.
It was a little hard to adjust to being back, after the warmth of family and old friends, and the excitement of Christmas. I view New Year's as the wannabe Christmas, and it sort of lets me down. Town seemed quiet, pace seemed slow. I had to slide into it. After four days, I feel back to normal again. Kitty was happy to have us home, and everyone still has their lights up for winter cheer--one of my favorite things about the East Coast is the lights in the windows of people's homes, a sign of welcome. Now I have a light in my window, too! Come visit!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)