Thursday, November 30, 2017

Three Things on Thursday| Random

Last night I went to a book talk/signing with Deb Perelman aka Smitten Kitchen.  I've been following her on Instagram and reading her blog for a while.  I have her first cookbook which I have really enjoyed.  So my Three on Thursday includes

1. Cookbooks-I got one for myself and Andrew, and I also got her first book signed.  Here's to trying new recipes.



2.  Currently my office is crazy busy with my boss retiring, the process of hiring a new director and our training coordinator retiring.  So the first of two retirement parties have been held, the one I have on the 12th will be much more involved as it is also our annual holiday lunch.  This event is usually attended by over 100 people and includes coordinating a pot luck style meal.

3.  I got this photo from my cousin's daughter this morning-aren't they cute!  I plan to make them some very quirky hats for their first birthday.  I know their Mum will totally appreciate them.
I fully plan to blog about our Thanksgiving happenings-it was a very busy week with getting Andrew ready for his move and spending time with family.  Is it January yet-I don't know if I have the energy!

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

There and Back in a Flash

On Wednesday Andrew had a job offer, by Friday afternoon we had the Tahoe packed and were booking a room in Arlington, VA, so we could find an apartment in the DC/Maryland area.   Before bedtime I had just enough time to download a book on Overdrive and Audible.  We headed out at 4:45 AM on Saturday-Andrew at the wheel, Sophie in the middle seat and Cocoa right next to me.  I had to wait a while for it to be light enough to knit, so in the meantime I read Louise Penny's Bury Your Dead.  I somehow managed to skip #3, but this one is proving to be just as good as the others.  Eventually I was able to knit on the 2nd sock of a pair of plain vanilla socks, and listening to Bear Town.  Let's just say it's a very looonng drive from Atlanta to Arlington, VA.


 Finally dawn is breaking
 Yes, this was me and Cocoa on the way up and back home!  This dog likes to cuddle!  Sophie didn't complain since she had the whole middle seat to herself.
 The Shenandoah Valley is soo pretty.  I've never spent much time in Virginia-I really need to change that!



 A quick break at the welcome center-Sophie was so intent on keeping an eye on Andrew.  She knew something was upon Thursday, but she wasn't quite sure.
 11 hours later and we finally made it to Arlington, and to the storage unit where we dropped off about a good # of boxes.

 We headed out on Sunday around 8ish-not a great photo, but they all can't be right?!

 Sophie's first ride in an elevator-yea-she'd be totally okay if she doesn't do this again!
 Since the first property we wanted to look at didn't open until 12, we decided to take the dogs to the dog park, they really enjoyed having a chance to run around.  We explored Chevy Chase which was an area Andrew was considering, and while it is very nice, the housing is a little expensive and there wasn't a grocery store in sight!
 Sophie and Cocoa by the time we got to the 2nd apartment!  These two actually did really well considering how we upended their schedule.
 The 4th apartment was our favorite, and we're waiting for approval of the application  Such a nice kitchen and the counter across from the sink has a partial wall and cabinets above and below!  I so loved this place.
 The living "room"
The bedroom area-love that it is separate, but not completely closed off-the whole place seems to get plenty of light.  There is a huge closet in this area too.
 The bathroom-also with plenty of storage space.  Another thing we liked about this building was how very dog friendly it is; they even let the dogs swim in the pool right before they drain it for the season, and have a dog costume party at Halloween!  They also support the local food bank and Toys for Tots.  The Metro, Safeway [for groceries] and plenty of ethnic/unique restaurants are all within a couple blocks from the building.
 We quickly dashed around metro DC.

While it seemed really late we were back at the hotel by 6-ish.  We got salads from a restaurant close by the hotel, and I kitchenered the toes of the socks and can now call them-DONE!

I spent a little time getting caught up on some blog reading before turning in for the day.  Monday morning dawned with the local news showing the implosion of the Georgia Dome-I found this so funny.

We had breakfast and then packed up the car and heading south hoping to make a stop at another dog park, but there was no parking.  Instead we hit the interstate for the long ride home.  I managed to get all the way to the foot of another 2nd sock from a pair that Mary gave me last year to finish.  I started this 2nd sock at least 8 times before I felt like I had it right.  I'm pretty sure I'll get this finished by the weekend, and that'll leave me to complete a 2nd mitten and finish a baby sweater.  Empty needles is what I want before the end of the year.  I'm hoping that soon I can swatch for Taproot so I can have this for my plane/travel knitting for a trip I have in early January to Las Vegas-guaranteed a lot of knitting time!
By 5:00 we were at the midway point.  We pulled into Dunwoody at 10:00 and I was so tired.  I headed straight to bed so I could be at work on Tuesday.  It's going to be different having Andrew so far away, but I'm looking forward to being able to visit and see the sights in DC.  It's been a long time since the last visit when both boys were very little. I'm also looking forward to trying some of the restaurants too.
Here's to baby birds flying the nest!

Thursday, November 16, 2017

Three on Thursday| Better Day





Yesterday was a day that seemed to get bleaker by the minute.  November 15 is the calendar day that marks the last time Steve and I got to see PJ before he died.  The day started okay, but by the time I got home there was a definitely black cloud hanging over me, and it didn't seem to be letting up. However, things got a lot brighter when Andrew got a very quick follow up phone call from his 3rd phone interview for a job contracted through Amtrak.  We are excited and very proud of him, but of course will miss having him and Cocoa around.  Now things are going to get real crazy as he reports to work on December 4th.  We broke out a bottle of very good bottle of champagne as a way to celebrate.  So my Three on Thursday are  . . .

1. Plan a road trip to find a place for Andrew and Cocoa to live-hopefully somewhere that will allow him to easily commute.  Since we're driving we'll load up the Tahoe with nonessential stuff to go into storage.  We are hoping to go this weekend, otherwise it will be right after Thanksgiving.

2.  Plan some knitting to go with #1-it'll be a long car ride!

3.  Plan some more knitting as it gets cold in DC and since Andrew will be walking to the train station he'll need a few things to keep his head warm!

So glad that Carole has a place where we can put our lists-especially when it's good stuff!

Monday, November 6, 2017

Weekending| Catching up

It's been quite a while since my last blog post, but there has been lots going on, so here's a bit of an update-I've been trying to ride as much as I can on Saturday and Sunday.  It's the only days I feel comfortable riding alongside traffic, but I have to get out early or people just aren't paying attention.  My typical route is 13-ish miles in about 90 minutes.  There are several intersections I have to stop at so that slows me down a bit.  My route includes some serious hills, so I feel like I'm getting a good workout.  My cool new Alaska cycling jersey has provided the perfect inspiration!  Since mid-September I've logged  79.8 cycling miles. 

 There has been a lot of college football games, both on TV and in person. 

I got to go to my first game at Death Valley to watch Clemson play Georgia Tech.   It was sooo wet and soggy, but I had a cool hat with a big a$$ pompom!  It was also fun spending time with Andrew.

We also scattered Roy's ashes on campus, and it was the perfect spot-in view of the Tech Tower and close to the stadium.  We decided the rose bushes would be a good spot as it seemed like an area that would be permanent rather than seasonal.  We were able to do this together and on what would have been Roy's 80th birthday which really made the experience special. 


There has been some serious eating.  We went to the Atlanta Ramen Noodle Fest which is an event that benefits The Giving Kitchen, this was a charity we picked for donations for PJ, so this was another opportunity to contribute to this great [and local] organization.  We had some really great ramen.  We also later we went to the Atlanta Kosher BBQ competition at Brooks Run Park.  We tasted some very good BBQ.  We love having things like this within walking distance from our apartment.

 There has also been some yummy homemade pasta-I'm getting quite spoiled with Andrew doing so much of the cooking.
I've been able to get together with my quilting friends from our old church twice.  We've had to get a little creative with our meet up dates.  This photo was taken at home, but these are the hexagons I've been working on since last year.  I hope to have the last few finished when we get together on Friday so that I can put the blocks together and quilt it before Christmas.  I have some small projects planned for the new year and I'm trying to keep things small and simple.  I spent a lovely Saturday afternoon knitting and having some lovely wine and yummy snacks, with Mary and Karen.  It was so nice getting together before the holidays get here.


 There's been a lot of knitting and the frogging of 3 sweaters.  I'm trying to empty my knitting basket before the end of the year so I can start 2018 with clean needles and fresh projects.  These green sweaters are for my cousin's daughter who had twin boys a couple weeks ago.  These were my travel knitting this summer so they traveled from Atlanta to Alaska and then made a trip to London!  What an adventure.  I also knitted a sweater for my friend Joyce's grandson using the same Antler Cardigan pattern in gray, as requested.

I've also completed a Sitka Spruce Hat and the mittens [1 mitten is soaking now] the pattern was so easy and I have enough yarn to do a cowl.  I had a total of 14 skeins of this yarn that my Mom gave me, so I've managed to get a stole, hat, mittens, and a cowl [soon].  That's some serious stash busting!

Our knitting guild hosted Marly Bird who taught classes and spoke at our guild meeting.  I took one of the classes on Saturday, and was fortunate enough to be Marly's driver from the class to her hotel and then to dinner.  We had a pot luck dinner in her honor, and someone brought this very fun (and good) bottle of wine!
 We had dinner in the hostess' sukkah-such a neat experience and some really delicious food.
 As if there wasn't enough on the calendar we saw the first show of the season with Stage Door Players- Dial M for Murder.  We have so enjoyed their productions, and look forward to another one in a couple weeks.
 Over the last few weeks I finally managed to finish the show Turn; which I thoroughly enjoyed and has inspired me to plan a visit to colonial sites in NY, Connecticut and New Jersey.  Steve, Andrew and I have already visited Boston, Concord and Lexington. I purchased the book the series is based on, and am really looking forward to reading it to compare it to the show.  I also managed to get caught up on Sherlock and Call the Midwife.  Now I am in the process of watching Luther which is another British show, so far it's really good.
I've also done some reading: The Paris Spy, News of the World, and Before We Were Yours these were just okay.  A lot of build up only to be let down at the end.  My Reading Life by Pat Conroy, The Underground Railroad, The Boys in the Boat were excellent.  I'm currently reading Fannie Flagg's The Whole Town's Taking, and so far it's turning out to be pretty funny.  I've requested our next book club book which isn't actually due to be discussed until January, but I want to go ahead and get my copy.  We're reading The Girl on Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See.  I'm hoping this is as good as her other books.  

I admired some very lovely trees in vibrant fall colors on my bike ride this morning, but stopping for photos proved to be not such a good idea.  This tree is at the back entrance to our complex so I made a point of getting a photo when I was finished riding.



Oh yea, I had to make a trip to the mall to return a couple dresses, and had to pick up something from the M-A-C store.  I also decided it was time to replace my Otter phone case cover, I love the blue which was not available when I bought the red one, but you can see I definitely need a very good and protective case!
I hope your weekends are allowing you to do the things you enjoy the most!