Friday, July 06, 2007
[Totally anti-linear entry ahead; the paragraphs/events aren't in chronological order, and I added to them over a couple of days:]
Posted at 11:16:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
Diane says I have to post that she took me to a Starbucks on the outskirts of Raleigh and they actually made me a good tall dry cappuccino! Apparently she's aware of how impressive this was. They didn't have any for-here cups, but it was good anyway. We had an extremely excellent Quality Sister Time outing (Starbucks, lunch at very tasty restaurant, and two Duplin-hunt locations), with lots of driving-and-talking time. [Neither of us can remember what the restaurant was called, and I didn't get a receipt, so we told Dean to bookkeep it as "The Firehouse Grille" just because it seems like a good name.]
The M served something called "cheerwine" for our fake 4th of July picnic tonight, saying it's a North Carolina tradition. It was extremely similar to Dr. Pepper (but weaker and more cherry-flavored).
I petted some okra that were sitting on the counter. I think I should try eating a raw okra. (It wouldn't be poisonous, would it?) Just as a weird food. I regaled Hunter with tales of having to get down okra slime meals as a kid by holding my nose and swallowing it with lots of milk.
We played the Brain Game tonight, and it was lots of fun. We had to rope the G and Tim into doing it, but they ended up being great players. Hunter kind of got discouraged, though (it's really more of an adult game), so he ended up as reader. Dean and I won. Then we all (except Hunter) ate the rest of the Big Fat Watermelon Dean and I got at Vollmer Farm. (We took Duke there on an ice cream hunt yesterday. They had good homemade ice cream! Duke got chocolate and Dean got peach, and I shared both. The Vollmer Farm store scares away flies by hanging clear plastic bags filled with water on strings in the doorways.)
Last night, the Gs and I sat out in the three seasons room with the fan whirring overhead, talking in the dim about all kinds of things. It was really nice! Later, the M went off to take a bath, and Dean joined the G and me out there and we three shared some Hatteras. I love all the Gs' new ceiling fans.
I've had to play about a gazillon games with Hunter including Uno, War, Yahtzee (there's an old scoresheet from Robert in the box, which says, "Robert Whaples, 'the pro' for short") [There was also one with my name on it, although I don't remember ever playing Yahtzee before in my life until I visited David's family at Memorial Day. It had a big scribble on the back, so I told Hunter I probably got so frustrated last time I played it that I did that, then blocked it out of my memory. He thought that was pretty funny. I added "'the amateur' for short" to my old scoresheet], Monopoly (which I had never played before), and King's Corners (I taught Hunter how, and the G played with us, last night). We haven't played Masterpiece, since it requires at least three players. I played Uno and War (his idea) with him in the back of the plane on the way from Maryland, to keep him entertained. [I also taught him how to play Rummy, on Saturday.]
Hunter is totally crazy about me and Dean--it's scary! He's all over us! I like it, although it can get to be a bit much. And I have to keep rescuing Dean. :-)
When we picked up Hunter at Tipton on the way, we could feel the storm coming; it was all dark to the west, and we could hear the thunder. Dean could see the storm approaching on radar, so we expedited our departure to the southeast. While airborne, we heard the controller talking about how they were evacuating the tower at Dulles International Airport (!), because of severe thunderstorms, a tornado warning, and golfball-sized hail. The G told us that he heard on the news that they also had to evacuate the Mall downtown (in Washington, D.C.) where they have the Fourth of July fireworks. I hope they weren't cancelled! [Edit: Oh, good, they weren't!] I always remember how Robert took me to the fireworks there one year when I was little. That was the coolest.
Wow!! An octosquid was found at the Natural Energy Labs (home of Loli Longs) on the Big Island!
Posted at 12:00:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
We were going to fly down to N.C. Thursday (& pick up Duke in Maryland on the way!), but there's a big line of thunderstorms coming in, so we're changing the plan at the last minute and going tomorrow instead. I'm all packed! I was very efficient. We're not bringing any fireworks, although, if we wanted to, we could. No regulations against them in Tango! I am bringing the Brain Game, though. Maybe there should be regs against that. (And yes, the original original plan was to fly down today. But that was before we found that the the G-ville fireworks are on Saturday. Very complex.)
Posted at 11:40:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
The M sent me a really evil e-mail this afternoon. I quote: "Just thought you would like to know that the okra is ripe in the garden now! I picked 4 today. I can hardly wait for you to come so that I can make your favorite okra dish!! This is so darn exciting, isn't it?"
I replied, "I guess we'd better have a really, really, REALLY big lunch before we arrive, since you're planning to serve okra!!!!! And I guess you're hoping poor Hunter never wants to visit again. (Or is the okra dish just for me?)"
You can tell I'm not a big fan of eating slime.
Laura: "Admit! Admit 'Blake' is great."
Posted at 12:38:00 AM by Laura W. Petix.
Dean: "... Fine."
Laura: "Wow! I can't believe you admitted it!"
I was so stunned the first time I saw this. I mean, like, for hours (days?). In a daze, numb. The fourth season had its ups and downs, but the last three episodes redeem the whole series. What a powerful way to end it all.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Farmington Canal Heritage Trail (Cheshire/Hamden) after work again! We went on the same section as last time, and had a picnic with FSPs again, but this time I talked to the sheep and goats instead of the birds. There were two little sheep (one white and one black), one big sheared sheep, and three white goats with short little legs. The white sheep was incredibly vocal and kept going, "Maaaa! Maaaa! Maaaa!" really loudly the entire time, including the whole time we were having our picnic. None of the other animals spoke up at all! (Except the rooster with a sore throat, and the peacock, just a little.) Totally crazy sheep. Dean took some AVIs of me petting it and feeding it grass, but I kept talking by mistake! The sheep was insanely soft. I've always wondered if they're as soft as they look; the answer is: they're even softer!!
Posted at 10:04:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
I like the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. We went fast this time! Oh, and the best part (other than the nutty sheep) was this dude who called out, "Cool bikes, man--alright!!" as he passed us going the other direction. I said, "Thank you!!" Best hound comment yet!
Trip Distance: 9.71 miles
Average Speed: 11.3 mph (last time on the same bikeway it was 9.7)
Max Speed: 19.9 mph (accurate this time!)
Trip Time: 51'24
[Edit: I don't know why I'm posting this. I must be a masochist. And I have no idea what that tongue part is all about!!]
Almost forgot the Cat Stats from Northampton:
Posted at 5:55:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
Trip Distance: 12.20 miles
Average Speed: 8.8 mph
Max Speed: 49.4 mph (this is obviously wrong; my Cat must've gone bonkers again)
Trip Time: 1:22'57
Such a beautiful clear day. It reminded me of our Band-ville flight--bright blue sky, white clouds, blue mountains, green ground below. I liked exploring downtown Northampton (very cool place) on our hounds, and the Northhampton Bikeway was very quiet and pretty. I could totally imagine a train chugging along where we were riding. The whole trip was nice, very smooth and fun. I loved wearing a skirt while riding! (No problem on the Ciao hound.) And I officially like my new basket bag! We stopped for dinner downtown at Pizzeria Paradiso, which Nancy (of Nancy's Airfield Cafe) recommended to us, along with two other restaurants. She knows the proprietor of them all. We ate outside in the alley which had been converted into a covered patio, and we had a great view of our hounds, locked up across the street, so we could keep an eye on them. Dean ordered a weird Coke flavor, and I didn't hear what it was, so I tried to guess by tasting it. First I guessed Moldy Coke, but that wasn't it, so I guessed Mushroom Coke, Moss Coke, and Algae Coke. None of those were right, either, but I was giggling helplessly. It turned out it was supposedly Cherry Coke.
Posted at 3:17:00 AM by Laura W. Petix.
