(07/25/14) In Country!

We are in country! First class seating was divine! We were seated and found a personal care kit with mini toothbrushes and toothpaste and eye masks. We were served a snack of warm mixed nuts and sparkling wine while the flight attendants cooked our dinners that we got to choose. I had mini burgers with some delicious mayonaise sour cream type sauce. George had salmon with sweet potato puree. We were given hot towels to wash our hands and faces with. As we chased the dawn across the skyline, we were served croissants, orange juice and coffee. We had individual TV monitors with touch screens and noise cancelling headphones so I entertained myself watching "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty". (The lead character goes to Iceland!) George slept through most of the flight. I tried watching a second movie, "The Grand Budapest Hotel", but the comedy was lost on me. We arrived early this morning at 5:45 AM.

I HATE airplanes and flying but this experience was different. There was not squishing in the seats. There were no crying children. There was a nice lounge for me to sit in at Dulles Airport so I could watch my airplane come in to the the gate and unload and reload, all kind of prepping me for the reality of getting on the plane. First class is it for me now! I have been spoiled and wil never go back. Poor George.

We were sent through security at the airport then we grabbed a rental car and were on our merry way... Not exactly. Our iPad maps were not working and the map that Hertz gave us was not going to cut it so we went back inside and rented a portable GPS unit. Back out to the car and then off we went. We are driving on the US side of the road and the steering wheels are also on the US side of the car. 

So what is Iceland like? It is barren, no trees or bushes, maybe some grass here and there. It is raining. Not exactly the land of paradise. The stewardess mentioned to me that they have been having terrible weather this summer, rain coming  5 out of 7 days a week. We have been having some culture shock. It is weird strolling around and not understanding anyone we hear talking. We did find a mall because we needed to buy a mobile hotspot for our electronics. There were no fewer than five shoe stores in a mall the size of the former Frederick Town Mall. Icelanders love their shoes? Food is very expensive. We needed lunch and the mall was full of american restaurants, so we ended up at TGI Friday's, laughing that this was where we chose to eat our first Icelandic meal. We did find our first Icelandic geocache this afternoon. We just did one so that we got it out of the way, knowing that there will be more to get tomorrow and the next day.

Tomorrow we are going on a cruise to see a Puffin Colony and then in the afternoon we are going on some brewery tours. Busy day, early night to bed!

(07/25/14) Wrong Side of the Road

We have rented a car for our trip and we have some concerns. Let me just first say that we do have International Driver's Permits. However, we don't know what side of the road to drive on. Nor do we know which side of the car the steering wheel is on. So I did some research on the internet... This picture shows that cars apparently drive on the same side of the road as in the US.

Unless, maybe this car is turned around and just parked, in which case, I am wrong. This next picture shows the same car-on-the-right-side orientation and that the steering wheel is on the same side of the car.

Unless this picture is not actually from Iceland, like it was described... Yikes! We did get a car with a manual transmission, not an automatic. And we only taught ourselves how to drive stick within the last year. We bought a convertible, not knowing how to drive it. We watched a few YouTube videos and then practiced going up and down our street a few times. So we figure that we are good to go! Driving overseas will be a challenge in and of itself.

(07/24/14) Trapped Stateside

Well, we aren't in Iceland. We are trapped here stateside. All of the thunderstorms and lightening yesterday proved to be problematic for airplanes. Who knew? Our flight was delayed by an hour, then again by another hour. At this point we were not worried. We had four hours to kill up at JFK. But then came the death knell; we were delayed by a third hour. That left us 12 minutes to run from our arrival gate to our second gate. Not going to happen, right? About ten minutes after the third delay, all the cell phones in our waiting area rang simultaneously for the fourth time and this time the automated message told us we were not delayed, we were grounded. The flight was cancelled. We dashed over the bank of phones and tried to get another flight for the next day figuring that we could stay in a hotel near BWI and just hop a shuttle back to the airport the next day. Delta had nothing for Thursday at all and could get us there Friday, but we would not arrive until late at night. Boo, Hiss, Delta. 

So, I called my dad to come and get us. Poor guy had only dropped us off four hours before. We made our way downstairs and collected our returned luggage. George was surfing the internet for flights, something, anything, and he stumbled across a deal on kayak.com (Go, Kayak!) that offered us direct flight Business Class seats on Thursday that would fly us overnight and get us there by Friday morning. This means we would only lose about a day and a half instead of the other alternatives, which stunk. George booked the flight and Dad picked us up and we went home to three very happy kitties. 

Getting up this morning and dealing with all the changes would have been quite a task. We had to reschedule a whale watching tour, change our hotel reservations, change our car rental reservation and rebook our return flight (since Delta cancelled the to and from when our flight got cancelled Wednesday night). We would have been on the phone all day if not for Kaitlyn. She is our AAA representative who helped us book the entire trip. She spent her entire day today untangling the knotted mess that our trip had become. We just hung out and waited for her calls about each piece as it was fixed.

We are now sitting in the First Class Lounge for AirFrance, flying on IcelandAir and looking forward to our extended leg room. Yay, IcelandAir!

(10/28/12) Washington Post Second Glance

The Washington Post magazine runs a weekly feature called "Second Glance" where readers get to hunt for the 12 changes made between two pictures. Usually, they involve things that are missing or dimension changes to an object. I used to do these all the time when I was a kid. I think Highlights magazine even had a feature like this...

My dad LOVES this column and keeps his fine point Sharpie marker next to his chair all week while he works on the puzzle. From time to time, I will leave him a hint on his puzzle, like I did today -- "Check out the pole above the bicycle seat. XO". Payback for all those years of playing "I Spy with My Little Eye" on roadtrips?

(10/27/12) Pumpkin Patch

Well, with all we had to do lately, I have completely forgotten about our annual pilgrimage to a Pumpkin Patch. I was so caught up in getting this crossed of the to-do list, it didn't occur to me that this is the last Saturday before Halloween. I did remember though, at 6:00 PM when all patches were shut down for the day. 

George suggested I go by myself and I looked at him like he had two heads. This is a together activity that we have always done. I can't just go by myself! So, clever me started brainstorming how to fix this debacle and it occurred to me that stores actually do sell pumpkins. So, off we went to Home Depot on Route 40 to see what was left. We were able to find some pumpkins to chose from. As always, George picked a little one and I picked a big one. Sutty came along. SO behold this year's Pumpkin Patch, complete with moldy hay bales and wilting chrysanthemums!

2012 -- Home Depot

In honor or my forgetfulness, here are some throwback pictures of our Pumpkin Patch-ing from years past.

2011 -- Crumland Farms

 

 

2010 -- Summer's Farm

2005 -- Summer's Farm

(10/13/12) Penny Lane is no More

Meet Ridley.

Despite the vet checking the cat out, nobody noticed the teeny weenie, umm... weenie... until Ridley was mid-procedure to clean out his abscess on his hip/tail.

The appointment at the vet's went very well. We go to O'possum Pike Vet Clinic near TJ High School. We were thrilled that Ridley could see Dr. Yau, who is our regular vet for our girls.

Ridley was amazingly cool with the whole process. He let the vet hold his paws and check his claws, his eyes, his ears, etc. The only thing he objected to was the thermometer up his bum, but who wouldn't object to that? Dr. Yau discovered one tick on Ridley so he gets a three month treatment of meds for that. He also got a shot of antibiotics that lasts for two weeks in his system. His teeth are in great shape with minimal tartar buildup, which surprised me because of his inconsistent diet for the last few months. Dr. Yau told us that Ridley is between five and six years old, much older than we'd initially believed. He did have an abscess that was probably sustained while fighting with another cat. We had to leave him there overnight so he could be ready bright and early for his procedure.

I got a call the next day at work and was told that Ridley was doing well, was awake and that the spot was cleaned out and didn't look too bad. He also had worms, so we dealt with that, although it was no surprise. I was then told that we would have to change his name because of cat was a boy! I wanted George to name this kitty because I had named Maggie and Rose came with her name, so it was his turn. I did reserve veto power in case he wanted to name the poor cat something ridiculous like "Mr. T." or anything that sounded like an American Gladiator castmember. George picked "Ridley" because of the endangered Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle. It is unusual, but not weird, so now the kitty has a name.

He is a completely sweet lunatic. He has slept next to George or on my chest or lap in bed nearly every night. He has not had a single litter box accident, except for one mis-aim, so we got a box with higher sides. He has not "horked" up his food, but he is a gobbler to the extreme so we feed him pieces at a time and make him eat slowly. He climbs the inside of my screen door and gets stuck at the top and screams until you come get him. He loves Sutter and the two of them spoon each other in our bed and Sutter licks him. He is completely food obsessed and wants whatever I am eating, regardless of what it is. He is adjusting well to the girlies and we are only having a hiss-and-spit-fest maybe once every other day, usually around mealtimes. Enjoy the pics of our new boy!

 Sleeping with George

 Our living room -- 3 windows, 3 cats. Coincidence? (From left, Rose, Maggie and Ridley)

 Snuggling with Sutter

 Apparently, cats like to eat cherry yogurt!

He was after the crumbs from my popcorn chips.

He is happily wearing the bag on his head so he can lick the inside clean.

(10/09/12) Underroos

What is wrong with Victoria's Secret?!?! When I got married about three and half years ago, I went to pick up some things for our honeymoon trip.  I weighed about 180 and was the height I am now (5 foot 7) with roughly the same-sized dimensions. I found that (and was told that) they had nothing in my size, particularly that they do not carry any band sizes larger than 36 in the store and no cup sizes larger than D. I do not consider myself fat by any means; I am a solid gal with some jiggly spots and a penchant for food. I could stand to work out more often, but who of us couldn't?
 
I wanted to find a lacy-racy-something to torment my new husband, but everything for sale wasn't even going to cover a thigh. I was gently told that customers needing larger sizes could find them online and through the catalog. I remember feeling ugly and awful -- the week before my wedding. 

Of course, I hit up the website and found what I wanted, but how is this store staying in business? The average American woman wears a size 14, which does fit me, as I wear anything from a 10 to a 14, depending on the cut and designer. A size 6 is considered plus size. The average North American woman also weighs 177.9 pounds (thanks, Wikipedia). So if I fall right in the middle, what gives? If most of us are chunkier, why don't they carry products for our market in their stores?

You'd think I would have learned my lesson, but those "free underroos" cards keep coming in my mailbox, so in I go and trade them in. Take a look at the top picture -- the drawer for size S panties. Observe all the pretty colors and patterns. Then look at the picture underneath -- for size L panties. Note the overwhelming presence of beige.

Do big girls really only want black, beige, gray and white undies? Beige is not HOT. Nothing screams "1950 mommy drawers" louder than some wicked white panties! Yeah, there were some other colors in the drawer, but the number of color choices was significantly reduced. I asked the sales girl and she remarked that they sell a lot of underwear in the L size and that I should check back. [Going to the mall, for me, is akin to slow torture.] So why don't they have a bunch on hand for restock?

Thank you, Vicky See's for condemning my largely average butt to beige undies. But I'll keep checking back in the hopes that one day, a rhinestone-encrusted cheetah-print pair will be left just for me. Until then, I bet Wal-Mart has exactly what I'm looking for -- in bulk.

(10/08/12) Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes...

I received the following email from a work colleague:

"This cat was abandoned by our neighbor when his house was foreclosed on :(.  The cat has been hanging around our house for a few months now- she is very friendly and gets along with dogs and kids! My husband is allergic, so we can't let her inside. Now that it is getting cold, we are thinking about taking her to a no kill shelter, but I thought I would ask if anyone wants to give her a home first. I heard she is spayed and is fairly young. Please let me know if you or anyone you know is interested."

So, George and I have tossed around the idea of a dog or a third cat for quite a while now. The dog just isn't going to work. We are not home on a regular schedule and it would not be fair. We live vicariously with Sutty when we are able to borrow him, and that's all we can manage. So, the discussion turned back to the third cat. We have not been actively pursuing this because we have two oddballs already and are very nervous about upsetting the apple cart. Adding the wrong third cat could make everyone unhappy and that is the last thing that we want. So, we figured at the bare minimum, we could catch this cat, crate it in our basement, get it to the vet's for a check up and then see how it goes. If it does not work out, I know a ton of no-kill rescue groups that could help us re-home it.

So I drove all the way to Ranson, WV tonight, intending to catch the cat and drive back to Frederick for a 6:10 PM vet appointment. The cat was M.I.A. and was not interested in being found. We looked for two hours and finally gave up. Driving home, we got a call that the cat was back and had been caught. We turned around and met halfway for the hand off. Kitty rode home mostly quietly while I sang to her and if I asked her a question, she mewed a response. A was impressed that we have a very mellow traveler! She rubbed happily against my fingertips I had slid in the front grate holes.

The cat is currently settled in a metal crate (the size for a Westie) with a litter pan, some old towels, food and water. We draped the outside with old towels so the cat feels secure. The dehumidifier should run all night as constant noise. This will also be good so the other girlies can't hear if she starts to cry. The cat ate right away and settled down easily. I need to call the vet in the morning so we can get an appointment. Until then, we are washing our hands in and out of visiting the cat so we don't transfer germs in either direction.  I am crossing my fingers that it all works out because George already named her -- meet "Penny Lane".

(10/06/12) Busy Saturday

Yard Sales, Gathering more Black Walnuts, a Visit to Grandma and Dinner

Slept in this morning a little, rather than our way-too-early yard sale wake up. Dragged ourselves out of bed, fed the dog and cats and we were off. The Meadows neighborhood in New Market and a neighborhood in the Ballenger Creek area were both having their fall community sales. We also stopped at a Boy Scout Troop sale at the pavilion in Clover Hill Park. Here's how we did:

Necklace $1, Earrings $2

Books for BES (Hardcover Dog $1, paperbacks $0.50)

If You Give a Pig a Pancake Stuffed Animal (Kohl's Cares for Kids) $0.50

Box of Cat 5e cable (so George can cut his own to length) $5.00

 

Western Puzzle $0.50 and Puzzle Keeper (so I can clear my table top) $2.00

 Two new stuffed animals for Sutter (no pellets inside) $0.50 each

Purple Chaps Purse, new with tags $15

We then spent about an hour gathering more black walnuts that had fallen from our two trees in the backyard. We were able to gather more than 40 gallons of walnuts while Sutty played in the yard. George had mowed this week, squishing more than a few under the tires of the tractor. We wanted to get these off the ground a well as donate them, so we went to work! We will probably have one more "big sweep" before fall ends, as there are some still hanging in the trees, but I think this was our biggest haul of the season. 

When we took them up to Gambrill to the drop off station, we were shocked to see that most of the bins were full and there were very few empties left. We were proud to fill up two bins close to full. Here are comparison pictures of what was donated two weeks ago and now today... In the pic on the right, you can see how small the stacks of full crates are over by the blue truck.

We went to visit my Grandma (dad's mom) in the newly opened Citizen's Nursing Home. She will be transferring to Montevue soon. Grandma looked well and I was very impressed with the quality of this new facility. Builders, designers and staff did a fabulous job.

Sutty went with us for the entire day. We always bring him along because then he can't nap all day and we know he will sleep a full night through without trying to get us up to play at four in the morning! He loves fall because we ride with the windows down and the butt warmers on -- as soon as we get out of the car, he jumps to one of our seats and curls up to nap.

We had a very late dinner at the Barbara Fritchie. Each of us had eggs and hash browns. George got bacon for himself and wrapped a piece in a napkin that he stuffed in his pocket. It was for Sutty, who had waited patiently in the car. George shook his head, remarking that he had become his father -- secreting food from restaurants for the dog waiting in the car. Sutty climbed up on my lap, inhaled his bacon, and rode home curled up with the windows down and the heat vents blowing on his fur.

 

09/23/12 Black Walnut Gathering

Did you know that the Maryland Department of Natural Resources collects Black Walnut pods that have dropped into people's yards? These pods are collected at various sites all around the state and transported to  the state sapling nurseries where they are planted and cared for. The resulting sapling that grow are then sold to the public at cost for private planting. All of this to help re-establish the black walnut tree in Maryland, a native species!

Our next door neighbors, Andy and Robin and their kids collected the walnuts from our trees a few years ago, but we decided to gathering them this time ourselves. George bought us two buckets at Home Depot while I emailed the DNR to make sure they still wanted them and to find out the procedure for turning over what we collected.

There is a drop site up at the Maintenance Building near the Ranger's residence in Gambrill State Park, a few short miles from our house (and where we got married). So, out we went into our great backyard to see what we could find. We managed to collect about 11 gallons of walnuts! Both buckets were mounded over, and of course, tipped over in the car on the way to the park. My hands were a little stinky after the pick-up because the walnuts "skunk"  their odor on your hands.

  

When we got to the drop off site, we followed the signs around to the back of the building where we found transport crates to deposit them into. We dumped in our haul and filled a crate just over half-way full. Examining the other crates, we noticed that people had dropped off some walnut pods that were partially rotted or the pod was punctured or broken open. We had sorted all of these out from our load into a lawn/leaf bag and had planned to drop them out at Heritage farm to be composted. Perhaps we will have to bring them up...

 
 We each posed with the transport bin. I think I held Sutter too tightly, as he mushed his eyes shut while we smiled for our picture. Of course, he was much happier riding home on George's chest, smiling while the wind whipped his fur around. Sweet boy.

(09/22/12) Saturday Morning Lard Sales

My family has had and gone to Yard Sales for as long as I can remember. When Emily and I were very small, Dad went alone and we would anxiously await his return for two main reasons: he always brought a dozen donuts from the Donut Shoppe near the hospital (long gone now) and to see if he found anything for us. Helping to unload the car and ooo and ahh over the treasures was and is an ingrained part of our family culture. Favorite items for us were sports equipment, new Big Wheels (I burned the tires out of mine faster than Lindsay Lohan goes in and out of rehab), art supplies and the big one - Barbies.
 
A house near our Clover Hill home was selling the long-grown daughter's collection of stuff - 70's style houses, cars, clothes, dolls and accessories. Dad actually came home, picked us up and took us over there to let us "shop". The yard sale was closing and he basically gave us free reign to pick whatever we would like. Even sweeter, he went back the day after and bought most of the remaining stuff for us as well. When my parents finished our basement, dad included a 12 foot by 12 foot room with lights and plush carpet that was dubbed "The Barbie Room". Finishing the basement ruined our large in-house roller skating track loop, but we definitely needed the converted space to play in. I'm sure my parents envisioned this as our playroom, but Emily and I had no intention for it other than Barbies (and the occasional My Little Pony play session).
 
Dad never really went yard-sale-ing for us personally though. Most often, it was for his antiques business, with the occasional find for him or mom for their classrooms. Dad's business plan works like a charm. Buy an item that needs cleaning, repair or is ready to sell at a low price, spiff it up and resell it for a higher price. Fairly simple, he makes sure not to max the price out, giving others the chance to roll-over the item as well, with the result  being his inventory is constantly changing. Our family even had our own store across from the C. Burr Arts library on Patrick Street when I was a teenager. He now rents booth space in a co-op situation at an antique mall in Frederick.

Over the years, Dad has come home with some amazing stuff as well as some bizarre stuff. Of course, the bizarre stuff is what made the greatest impression on me. In no particular order, here are some of the oddities that have found their way to our home: a 3 foot long alligator skull, a taxidermy bear rug, lots and lots of old records, Civil war re-enactor uniforms, mannequins, estate jewelry, tools that my sister I had never heard of, odd furniture (ceremonial gothic-style chairs from a church, Mid-Century Modern pieces, an electronic quack-medicine thing, a collection of hand-decorated eggs from around the world, a tanned skunk pelt, and even a glass eye! All of this leads me to conclude that for every thing that exists in the world, there is probably someone who collects it!

Things were always interesting at our house on Saturdays as we ran around on major sugar highs from the donuts, playing with whatever Dad had found. By all accounts, I have handled things that most other people have never touched and will never touch (i.e. a Civil War Battle Flag) and it has all colored my life in one way or another.
 
George and I go to Yard Sales (I capitalize because for us, they are an Event!) for entertainment. We find things for our house as well as things for my job. I cannot begin to describe how much of our home has come from Yard Sales, but I would guess at least fifty percent. The hard part is that some days I have gone for four hours and come home with nothing; defeat is disheartening. Other days, we have to call my mom to bring the truck because we found "a big one". 

We have even stopped at Yard Sales on family vacations. Usually, west coast and mid-west Yard Sales are not as great because I truly believe that on the East Coast we buy unnecessarily and are quick to get rid of things. There is a lot of product turnover to get the newest "it" thing. Out west, you buy one of something and make it last. There aren't enough stores around to do things any differently! I do remember one good one though: we were driving up the west coast when my sister and I were in our early twenties and stopped at a Yard Sale. I had to buy a second suitcase at the thrift store later that day so I could get 16 inch tall Tigger, Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore home from CA! The lady who sold them to me for $5 each used them to decorate her son's nursery. They now live at my school and I remember that trip every time I look at them. Dad is much the same way.

If you visit my parents' home and remark that you like something or think it is neat, Dad will tell you all about what it is, where he found and even how much he paid for it, even with things from decades ago. He has SUCH a memory. So, we have had a plethora of oddities in our house, more than enough to restock the Hall of Curiosities at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, at least twice over. 

None of my friends' parents are like this, just mine. (My extended family members will probably stone me to death for my involvement in this next part...) About two years ago, I was watching the Palin family reality show and the family took a trip with the Gosselin kids, who had come for a visit, to see Sarah's Dad, a retired schoolteacher, I was on the floor howling with laughter. I watched the show for the travel and adventure aspects (not political), but I nearly peed my pants. Sarah's dad is a retired science teacher. He was showing the Gosselin kids all the stuff in his garage, including some porcupine quills. He took one out and jabbed it in his hand and tugged on it to show the kids how the ends are barbed. Sarah was grossed out, embarrassed and telling her dad, "Oh, no! Stop, Dad. Stop that!" This, very possibly, could have been us. No joke.
 
Today was a huge day; many neighborhoods had their fall sales. We had a ton of places to choose from: Mt. Airy carnival grounds, Worman's Mill neighborhood, Gettysburg Antique Sidewalk Sales, Keys' Stadium Flea Market, and on and on. We left our house at 6:45 AM and finished well after lunchtime with a full car. Of course, we stopped at my parents to check out their haul and to show off ours. Here is some of what we came home with...

 Paddington Bear $5, Rainbow Magic Sun Fairy $4

Two sets of 4 napkin rings, $2 each (I collect napkin rings!)

Worn once Birkenstocks IN MY SIZE $10

Necklace $1, Silpada posts $10, Hammered Silver Hoops $2

Brand New Router in Packaging $10, Set of Eight Lightbulbs $4

Picture Frame $5, Trivet, signed $3 (I collect Native American pottery)

Puzzles $0.50 each (I only pick the really hard ones, minimum 1000 pieces)

Tin fish $3 (going in my bathroom on the wall)

Old postcards of places we've been (we have an album going) $3 for all 4 (Redwood Highway CA, Fire Tower Allegheny National Forest PA, Court House Warren PA, Grizzly Giant Tree on Road of a Thousand Wonders CA)