AAM Monday: Project Life Week 27

I've really been liking this mint green lately. i think when it started getting warm, fortunately not full on unbearable-to-me hot, the idea of visual coolness took hold. Whatever. The color is not usually one of my go-to colors but then again, maybe I forget that every year til the weather changes. After all summer had officially started. It was even time to get the July art up in the kitchen.

AAM Monday : Project Life Week 25

Having that cataract surgery sure messed with my ability to do work on the computer. That's ok. My vision is different with this multifocal lens in my right eye. Seeing the computer is the hardest thing but then again, it always was. Nothing new there. I swear, computers will make us blind in the end! But what a fun way to go!

This was the week of dog sitting for me and a trip to Alaska for him.  Worlds apart and happy doing our own thing once in a while. Works for us!

Travel With Me Tuesday: Regensburg

Back to this travelog, so far back in my mind but actually it was November 2012.  Veterans Day for us in Regensburg Germany.

Regensburg was a rainy day and one that was half spent on the water going through lock after lock til we arrived at the city after lunch.  All the cities are beautiful and yet after a point, it becomes like a wonderful museum. You just can't appreciate another painting.

Various apartments along the water - do we look at them or do they look at the boats more?

Despite our moving boat, the water remained still enough for some good reflections.

There were also the occasional glimpses of color in the leaves. But it was mostly a sleepy quiet day. We also had a briefing on the post cruise extension in Budapest. We had visited Budapest in 2008 and it would be interesting to see how much it had changed.

But at noon it was lunch time. Schweinbraten with potatoes and carrots. There was no shortage of pork on this trip and it was always good

Sometimes a big meal was too much, though the Croque Monsieur wasn't really much lighter.

I always tried to save room for dessert. This was a Peach Polenta upside down Cake with mint ice cream.  Cake for me and the ice cream mostly for him. I'm no mint lover.

Do you wonder why we decided just to take a day off from sightseeing and rest up for ...dinner???

When the Time Is Right - A Short Short Story

All about finally letting go...

A foot note to this story is that a few months after giving Janie the tin of buttons, she returned the empty tin to me. I don't have many buttons any more but those I do will go into that tin. It's not only a reminder of my mother's sewing skills, it's a reminder of the tin of candy we had one Christmas. A candy that enchanted me with the rolled and swirled sugar treats. The filled raspberry candies were my favorites.

Do Plantation Dainties still exist???

Come to the Dark Side

This one tickled my fancy...do check his shorts.

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Finally - Some Snow

I was out early yesterday, and as I was coming home a few bits of snow/sleet/teeny hail started to come down. In the < 2 mile drive, I saw it turn to rain, and then as I came closer to our house, it turned to big puffballs of snow. I quickly stopped the car, rolled down the window and took this shot. Yes, by the time I then drove another two blocks it had blown over. No more snow.

But then I went back out again. I felt as if I was driving through several climate zones as the stuff falling from the sky kept switching back and forth. By the time I was driving home a couple of hours later, real snow had fallen but my car had been warm enough that it all melted. The drive home was beautiful though. Clean roads since the temperature was still closer to the 40s but the sky and air was filled with snow.  There was no sign of this snow by the time I reached my own house, and later in the day every trace was gone and the sun was shining. That's just how it usually is in Maryland.  I'm glad I didn't sleep through it!

To You and Yours

A peaceful Merry Christmas!

AAM Monday - Christmas Eve, Without Fish

Sadly, no one over here in VA, or in MD for that matter, is seriously Italian and inviting me to the Christmas eve La Viglia - the Feast of Seven Fishes.  I don't always enjoy cooking in someone else's kitchen either, and so I had Ledo pizza for lunch. It's Italian, isn't it???? and vegetarian for a day of abstinence.  Having a rather late lunch, I only had an avocado salad for dinner. A small salad while I watched more Lightroom tutorial videos.

All of that was part of my day's activity - enjoying some of the multi-ethnic bounty of Northern Virginia.

From Lebanese Taverna - Garlic spread, Avocado salad, and Taboulleh

From Heidelberg Bakery - a Dresden Stollen for tomorrow's breakfast

From Mama Lavash - a packet of sorely needed Zaatar

and finally

From Trader Jo's  - Belgian chocolate to go with the wonderful pears left for my by my daughter in law.


Life can be very delicious in Northern Virginia even without dinner invitations.

Silent Sunday

I have often thought about taking a silent retreat again. I did this about 13 years ago when I was out in New Mexico for a conference. A workmate and I visited Christ in the Desert Monastery afterwards but only I had the time to stay for a couple of days after she flew back east. It was a wonderful time being out in silence by myself, eventually. The sky was clear and the rare sound was a plane flying overhead. The first day was hard to start but I had brought a bag of Easter peanut M&Ms. No doubt sugar works as a way to numb unpleasant feelings! I got into the rhythm soon after that and felt the calm and the peace. I really didn't want to leave when it was time to fly home to my 'normal' life.

Periodically, I come to Virginia to dog-sit for my family. It's just me and an old, mainly silent dog. He is a faithful companion and does not ask for or need much. It's all about me time and how I want to use it. I've learned to bring less food, to bring fewer books to read, and to have fewer plans of things I want to do while on the this side of the Potomac. I've learned to take time, during these days, to just listen to the silence. At home, I can hear the rustle of traffic through the bamboo leaves and it sound like waves on the beach to me. Here in Virginia, I can  hear the traffic of a major road and the Metro cars but it becomes a rhythmic background sound. I don't have to get caught in the bustle of all that outside my yard unless I want to.

Friday, I needed to get a lens from my glasses put back in. My husband had fixed them once but used glue to secure the screw and sadly that eliminated the ability to put a new screw in. My clerk tried to find the same frame but couldn't. I sat and waited for about 30 minutes, restless at first while she had to deal with a serious paying customer, and then watching the drama of other peoples' lives as they picked frames, talked about this style or that and remained unsure for a long time about just which frame they really wanted. I let go of my need to have my glasses issue resolved and just enjoyed watching life. In the end, the same frame in a slightly different color was found and my old lenses went into a new frame.  My issue resolved in silence.

So will each day here be silent? probably not. A mixture of things I want to do - like watch some Lightroom videos to give myself a basis of understanding before I start to use it, reading a book or two, watching some Swedish Wallander films on Netflix and eventually buying one or two things that aren't available in MD such as the wonderful Lebanese garlic spread I love - but balanced with time set aside in silence to... just... be.  I love these weeks alone especially as I continue to learn how to use them wisely. Oh, I also think it's going to be a stay in the jammies day!

Flashback Friday: Baltimore, hon

Back in 2000, my husband-to-be and I looked at many house in Baltimore. We wanted a rental but we also wanted one we might be interested in living in...some day. On a beautiful December day, we looked and looked all over the Canton area. Nothing we wanted but there was the iconic Sip&Bite, still there...still feeding all sorts. So where did we have dinner that beautiful cold evening??? You got it, hon.

Sip&Bite

If you want diner food and diner atmosphere, this is the place for you. Some Greek touches, but still the basics since 1948.  24hrs a day, but just not Tuesday.

5 Fact Friday - December 21, 2012

This meme comes from

Well here we are again. Alive...still, and able to blog. So what are my facts? Rather limited since it's just me and an ancient dog who likes to spend his days sleeping.

1. I am spending a week dog sitting over in Virginia. With short days, and last minute Christmas shoppers out and about on the already overcrowded roads, I plan to vegetate for the most part. The dog is my role model.

2. One lens fell out of my glasses yesterday and I do not have my dh & his collection of eyeglass screws to fix the frame. Thus I may end up on those roads. Directions call for making a U-turn near the Pentagon! bwahahaha! As if I'd like to try this and live.

3. There is a live Christmas tree in this house which is something I don't have at home. It smells wonderful and the needles are not my responsibility. Woohoo!

4. This tree has a funnel in the branches for watering! Who knew? My son apparently knew.

5. I am repeatedly wearing out the battery life on the electronic iToys I brought with me. Use and charge; use and charge; repeat; repeat. I miss my iMac which is so a first world woe, isn't it...

That's all for this week, folks! Have a great weekend! and do check out the other bloggers on that link at the top of this post.

You Have 24 hrs...Maybe

My husband warned me as I was packing to go to VA for my dog sitting week. He said "don't bother to take much..." I believe it was a NOOA/NASA friend who sent this to him. Now you too have been warned.

So... maybe a Merry Christmas ahead, maybe toast with the Zombies... If I'm not dead, I'll see you here tomorrow since no one told me where the safe houses are. The you-know-who is just up the road, so maybe I'll check with them!

Wordless Wednesday: Inseparable

original

Travel with Me Tuesday - Amsterdam Day

I changed the name of the Tuesday post to reflect what it really is, a post about my travel. It will also help me remember what happened when. Trust me I need that help! I used to have my other blog but it just didn't work out to blog while traveling. Other people manage but I never had a great net connection, so it's after the trip for me!

After a good night's sleep on the boat, we woke up to our greeting from Vantage.

Vantage

After our breakfast, we assembled out on the sidewalk to sort ourselves out by color. We would do this a LOT, and we were the orange group. Each bus was colored coded and I never really saw anyone get lost.

lots of riverboats ready to sail

The weather was uncertain so we started off with the standard advice of layers, layers, layers. Our bus drove through the city of Amsterdam but as it was a Sunday, very little was open. I was sorry not to be able to go here...

The Beehive

I had last been in The Beehive department store in ...1972. I don't plan to be alive 40 years hence so I imagine my shopping there is now history.

the flash of a cyclist

We drove over many a canal but it became a bit of a mental blur to me after a bit. We were headed to the Rijksmuseum. Again, I had first been there in 1972, but had gone back several times over the years. On my first visit, Rembrandt's Night Watch had a place of honor but it wasn't what "I" wanted to see. My great love is the Vermeers.

winterlandschap

After these gentlemen moved, I too stood and studied another of my favorites. We had a guide in the museum, but a lot of time was spent on paintings that really didn't interest me. I knew what I wanted to see and headed off on my own. Those layers of clothing were also making me feel as if I was in a hothouse. Finally we finished, and it was outside to wait for out bus.

intrepid travelers

The fresh air felt wonderful, and I only put all my layers back on so I didn't have to carry them! On to the bus which would take us to our canal boat.

still no real rain

The canal boat ride could have been very nice but with a boatload of breathing passengers, the windows immediately fogged up in the mild but drizzly weather. In any case, it was to be our last few hours in Amsterdam, and there would be no more time to explore anything here. Back to our river boat and a full lunch. It was one of the few days I was glad for a nap.

Finally we left Amsterdam, and started our cruise towards the Rhine. A chance to walk on the top deck and breath in the air ... Little did we know that our time on 'the top' would be hampered by the many many locks we were to go through.

Dutch fields

Goodbye Netherlands. The next day we would wake in Germany.

AAM Monday-Winding Down the Year

I have been surprised that I have not had much trouble keeping up with my 365/Project Life scrapbooking. Now that we are in the last few weeks, I have been thinking and wondering if I'll do this again next year. Do I want to? My feeling is actually pretty neutral about it. I enjoy it but it's a lot of expense for ...??? I'll have to ponder that over the next weeks as I have alone time while I'm dog sitting.

But here is week 50...a week spent doing things that weren't totally Christmasy but with family time, it felt like Christmas - finally.

I hope your spirit is feeling some joy and peace, despite the recent events that make us question our country and our humanity. I still feel hope and...joy. Do you?

Sweet Sunday

I have been thinking about making this for a couple of years. Somehow, this is the year it happened. I had to get the man out of the house first, but then I made it. I made it as well as two meatloaves for him. He is one lucky man!

It helped a lot that I really really dislike peppermint. Thus, the cook was spared a lot of sampling. Yes, there is more dark chocolate than white chocolate. Those white chocolate bags weighed less. btw, didn't chocolate chips used to come in 16oz bags???

5 Fact Friday: December 14, 2012

This meme comes from

Fact 1. This year I am not doing a December Daily. Somehow, after the trip this fall, I really had no incentive to do it. I am enjoying looking at everyone else's, and may even get the 'gitupandgo' to do a few digital memory ones myself. The 'gitupandgo' means looking through old photo albums and scanning the photos. I suspect that may not happen.

back in 2010

Fact 2. I managed not to gain any weight on the trip despite the prodigious amounts of eating we did. I even had dessert twice a day usually! My doctor was pleased with me, and so was I.

Fact 3. While I love my new external hard drive that is working as my backup, the flashing white light when it's 'working' is really annoying. At least it's not a blue light.

Fact 4. My husband had a torn retina years ago. I called it his 'exploding eyeball'. Now a friend of mine also tore hers.  What I mean is that she had a torn retina, and the description of the surgery made me want to put my head under the covers and block the idea out.

Fact 5. I left one pair of black shoes on the ship because I was done with them, but I also left another black pair that was supposed to go in my carry on bag. I no longer have a good daily black pair and I really don't feel like fighting the Christmas crowds to get a new pair.  Thus I expect to wear tan Clarks until mid January.

wearing Christmas socks though!

Are We Still Here???

Ok, I wrote this blog post on the final day of life, of earth's existence or whatever it was supposed to be. If you're reading it, I guess we're still here. December 13th has arrived. I presume I, too, am still here...

But let me tell you about the fruit lately. What is going on with it?? Usually, come winter I can count on the great clementines and navel oranges. That's the fruit to me that says Winter! Even better are little satusumas but I can rarely find them any more. Or if I do, I have to consider ....Do I really want them at this price? The price that sends me over the edge is when a satsuma is priced individually. I mean I eat 3 or 4 of these babies at a time!

But so far, the citrus fruit I've bought this year has been ...meh. Already slightly dry and just...not...very good. Oh well, I only have two more little crates of clementines to go through. Sigh.

So the sad citrus saga takes me to the fruit many love but I think of as the vegetable of fruits. Apples. Yes, they can be great, and I grew up with ones that DID taste good but still...They have always been, for me, the fruits you eat because they're there. You need fruit and apples are there. Eat one. Ok, check that off the list for today. Apples are the filler between the wonderful peach season and the winter citrus season. Apples. Bleh.

This year, however, my dh bought some apples that really were good. I like them refrigerator chilled and I really enjoyed them. Then they were gone, and of course, he had 1. no idea what they were and 2. no idea where he bought them. Typical. Typical. Typical.  So after the citrus disappointment which is going on as long as I have those insipid little orange reminders of what-wasn't-to-be, I succombed t apples. A bag of beautiful red apples. Not Red Delicious which is no longer delicious but a variety whose name I have forgotten. (I've lived too long with The Man.)

Pretty apples? oh yes.

I have to say they look beautiful in the blue and white bowl, but somehow I feared that they were Beauties w/o Substance.

still hoping for a great taste

aaaargh

Dear God was I right! I cut one, and there was still promise. But then I saw the red color had bled into the white flesh!! Bled??? RED DYE 1? 2? 73? Ok, possible red dye be damned, what about the taste?? Arrgh, that wretched texture of slightly mealy. Not crisp, not tangy, just bland and mealy.

sadly not the answer

To endure such apples, I often resort to a dab of peanut butter on each slice.  Nope...it almost ruined the taste of the peanut butter.

And so...I have a bag of red beauties. Tasteless beauties.  Perhaps the Paris Hilton variety... Well, do I keep them as table decorations instead of flowers? or do I cook them into applesauce which I don't care for and don't eat? Will they even be good for adding to onions for pork? What is the answer! The big question is...how long is it til peach season???

Wordless Wednesday: Twilight

Amsterdam Twilight

Tuesday Travel - Arrival in Amsterdam

Once we landed at Heathrow, we had a bit of time before our flight on to Amsterdam. I always like both airports despite the bad reputation Heathrow has had. Terminal 5 is modern and has lots of wonderful distractions when you have some time to kill. Like a Harrods shop...

Harrods and other shops - easy way to pass the time

It was quite a bus ride from Terminal 5 onto our departure terminal for an intercity flight. Perhaps one day that will be improved. But Schipol is always welcoming.

love that spark of red

Amsterdam was overcast and grey but still there is that spark of humor under the surface. Our Vantage host were ready to meet us and escort us to our waiting bus.

Ivana, one of our Vantage guides

I had been to Amsterdam many times, but he had not. I was approaching the city of Amsterdam from the harbor location which was a totally different side for me.

nooduitgang - emergency exit

We arrive at our boat.

Onto our river cruise boat and some free time. As soon as we deposited our luggage in our cabin, we headed out for a walk. There were many places that looked very modern and many that looked very very old but with the threat of an impending downpour, we didn't walk too much.

bicycle parking lot

nightfall is coming

I check my camera, er phone..

we have a laugh at this shop

 
We would be having a tour of the city the next day, so after about an hour getting our legs moving again, we headed back to the boat. Time for dinner and the first of many many meals on this trip!

stairs we would climb a LOT