I’ve actually had an exciting week for a change. “Exciting” in my case does not mean oh-my-God-did-you-hear-what-happened sort of stuff. It means I finally did something different.
It’s about time, too. Different does not necessarily mean exciting, but at least it was fun.
We did NOT go to a sushi bar.
Amy’s kids were with their other grandparents for the weekend. Amy, who was really in need of some girls-night-out sort of fun, adult time or both, invited me to join her and her girlfriend, Jess, for dinner and drinks in Annapolis.
The plan was to eat Mexican food and drink margaritas at El Toro Bravo on West Street. Margaritas would have been REALLY good after yet another 100-degree day.
Jess arrived very early (3:30-ish) with her friend Kaitlyn. They each had an 8 dollar margarita, which they nursed because they are both tiny and they knew Amy and I would be awhile. Amy arrived next and ordered her own 8 dollar margarita. A short time later, they all ordered another round because I still wasn’t there (I had to work a full day on Friday).
AFTER their second round of expensive margaritas arrived, the fools at the restaurant told them there was a time limit on how long they could stay there if they were just going to have drinks.
So, you have three women seated at a table in an uncrowded restaurant who told the staff they were waiting for someone else (me!) AND already spent $48 on drinks, and you tell them there’s a time limit? Seriously? Idiots.
When I finally arrived, the girls told me what happened. We all agreed that was a very rude and stupid thing to do. And, after that, the restaurant didn’t deserve our hard-earned money.
Because I’m an idiot and know nothing about Annapolis, I parked like 10 blocks away (I did mention the 100-degree day thing, right?). That meant by the time I got to the place, I was dripping with sweat and quite thirsty. So I was drinking Amy’s water and Jess’s margarita. The waiter asked if I would like to order something and I said, “No. I’m just going to share these drinks and we’re going elsewhere.” They never did apologize, but instead tried to joke their way out of the screw-up by acting cute and asking if we were mad. Duh.
Anyway… we did not go to a sushi restaurant as the picture would imply (I just thought that sign and the artwork behind it were cool). We went to an Irish pub on Main Street. I won’t mention that restaurant’s name because the chef was on vacation and the food SUCKED. The beer was very cold, however, and we had a great waitress. Had the owner not apologized several times and removed the food from the bill, I would definitely reveal the pub’s name. But I’ll give them another chance. Even if they did serve our butthead, let’s-make-everyone-pay-even-more-taxes governor. And despite the fact that the well-intentioned owner touched Steve (Jess’s boyfriend had joined us) REPEATEDLY when he visited our table.
We did manage to capture a few pictures, though.
Here I am (in back) with Jess and Amy (Kaitlyn was gone by then).Steve, Jess and Amy.
After plenty of beer and a mediocre and far-too-small meal, we left and looked around a bit. Downtown Annapolis on a Friday is always interesting even in the sweltering, still-90-degrees-at-9:00-PM heat.
Steve, the Indian and me with Jess do-si-doing in the front.
Amy knows how much I like being photographed with weird, inanimate stuff, so she made us pose for that fun shot with the wooden Indian. I was trying to look solemn like the Chief. Steve was feigning surprise. And I think Jess was either trying to square dance or strike an Irish-dancer pose. (We should have communicated on the appropriate mood before Amy snapped the picture.)
A booty-defining store.
The store windows we saw were quite entertaining. Annapolis is the home of the US Naval Academy.
Fun, touristy bumper stickers.Taking a positive spin on things.Proof that Jess rarely stands still.
It was a very fun evening full of laughs. I had dual cheek cramps at least twice during the night. It’s too bad Kaitlyn had to go home to feed her dog before I remembered the camera was in my purse. I promised the girls a real margarita night at my house in the near future. So maybe we can get some pics of Kaitlyn, too. And I can find out if her name is spelled with a “C” or a “K.” If I spelled it wrong, I’m sorry. That’s one question I forgot to ask…
I knew yesterday’s trip back to Maryland would be a hot one, so I set out early. Not super early, but early enough that I didn’t eat breakfast.
The Bon Matin Bakery in Berryville, Virginia
Driving the same old routes all of the time gets boring. So I decided to detour through Berryville, Virginia. We often drive past Berryville on our way to or from the WV place, but we never drive through the downtown business district. I knew we’d been there at least once during a day trip, but I couldn’t remember what it was like.
I was hoping to find a little cafe or bakery where I could get breakfast. But imagine my delight when I discovered not just any bakery, but a FRENCH bakery. Woo hoo! I was thrilled. I parked immediately and practically ran inside.
First, I ordered a blueberry and cream cheese-filled croissant. I also got a plain croissant to eat later. And then I saw these unlabeled mystery pastries.
Hmmm... what the heck are those?
“Um, what are those things?” I asked the guy behind the counter.
“They’re pretzels,” he replied. Seeing the look of confusion on my face, he said, “They’re not in the traditional pretzel shape because we use them to make sandwiches.”
When we were in Europe recently, one of the things we ate a lot (as often as possible) were pretzels. Soft pretzels made in bakeries are sort of similar to those you can get here in the US, but way better. Anyway, I had to have a couple of pretzels, too.
Here are a few shots of the cute little downtown area in Berryville…
Downtown Berryville looking west, showing the bench where I'd perched to eat my breakfast.Looking east from the bench.The Berryville Gallery, a couple blocks east of the bakery.
My croissant was quite tasty. I’ll definitely have to go back to that place. They offered a nice variety of sandwiches, too.
I didn’t dally too long. Remember, I was trying to beat the heat. (It didn’t work, by the way.)
During the rest of trip, with those fresh-baked pretzels snug in my saddlebag, I pondered what delectable sandwich I could make. AND what I could make to go with them.
The myriad produce stands I passed along the way inspired me.
Here’s what we had for dinner…
Caprese Salad
Shannon introduced me to this tasty treat over a year ago. It’s simply sliced fresh tomatoes, topped with fresh, soft mozzarella cheese, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar then topped with salt, pepper and basil. YUM.
Corn on the Cob
What summer meal is complete without fresh corn on the cob?
And for the entree, I decided on Crab Melts.
Crab Melts
Essentially, this is the same stuff they use to make the traditional pretzel-shaped crab pretzels. Since these don’t LOOK like pretzels, I’m calling them Crab Melts. It’s just a mix of cream cheese, mayo, Old Bay seasoning and crab meat, all mixed together and spread on a pretzel, bread or, in this case, a roll-shaped pretzel. It’s all topped with shredded cheese. You bake it until the cheese melts and, voila… Crab Melts. (These are also good on English Muffins.)
Double YUM.
Dinner was definitely a success.
Now, if only this darn heat wave would break…
Oh yeah, I should also report how BORED the girls were without me. Don’t they look sad?
StillMary at Musings of the Sixties gave me an award on Tuesday. An AWARD! Thanks, StillMary!
It’s not a huge award and it won’t make me world-famous or rich or anything, but I still think it’s pretty cool. Because it’s a total stranger saying, “I like reading your Blog.” Which is awesome, if you ask me. I like reading her Blog, too. And seeing her pictures. She’s a mother of six, one of whom happens to be Beth (I Should Be Folding Laundry), the lovely young lady who started the You Capture meme I participate in sporadically. She’s got 19 grandchildren and 1 great-grandson, too. She’s no boring Granny, though. Be sure to check out her Blog when you have time.
Anyway… people who have been given this award are supposed to share the love as follows:
1. Thank the person who gave you the award (done!);
2.Tell seven things about yourself; and
3. Pass the award on to other Bloggers you find to be versatile, too.
Hmmm. This might be harder than I thought…
Although, truth be told, my department at work is having a contest where you have to match everyone’s picture with their brief bio. To participate, we all had to write a bio, so I could just cheat and use that. But I’ll be different and reveal some stuff that fans may or may not already know…
Thing 1: My Job
Most people know I have a full-time job. I’ve been working for this particular employer for almost four years (gasp!). The job isn’t always fun, but I do work with some very nice, interesting people.
Wanna know what’s weird, though? Most of the people I work with on a regular basis, I have never met in person. There are some I’ve seen once or twice, but most of them I have never seen. That’s why we’re doing the picture + bio contest.
Are you wondering why I don’t get to see my co-workers? It’s because, like me, many of them are regional employees and work either from their home or one of the company’s more-remote locations. We communicate primarily by e-mail and telephone. When I say I’m having a “meeting,” I really mean a teleconference. It may sound easy and full of perks, but I gotta say the hours can sometimes be long and it is often very stressful. I write proposals, which are subject to pretty tight turnaround times. Not only do I have to write the proposal describing the services we are providing, I have to develop the budget to go along with each. Sometimes there are multiple budgets.
Imagine being given a week to crank out a 60-page document and 1,000-line budget describing services you sort of understand and detailing costs others, who are often too busy to respond to your requests for input, have to define. Like I said, it can get a bit stressful. And as deadlines approach, the days can be long.
One of the quilts I've made.
Thing 2: What I’d Rather Be Doing
As jobs go, I guess mine is okay. But there’s lots of other stuff I would rather be doing. I guess you’d call these activities hobbies. Photography is one of those things, of course. But then y’all knew that, right?
Did you know I like to sew? I’m a total novice. And I don’t have nearly enough time to do as much stuff as I’d like. But I will one day. What I like most about sewing is the creativity in finding a bunch of different fabrics that I think will work well together. Most of the time, they do, too. The quilt pictured here is the one I made for one of the guest bedrooms at the WV place (I made the curtains to match, too). It is a very rudimentary, hand-tied quilt. I’m not sure if I’ll ever have the patience to do the really intricate hand-stitched quilting, but some of the projects I’ve made have turned out quite well, if I do say so myself.
ToadMama the Ranger
Thing 3: The Job I Wish I Had Chosen
You know what they say about hindsight… I should have been a forest ranger. That would be a job I would really enjoy. I could work at Yosemite National Park. Or maybe Yellowstone. Although they might be too crowded. How about a more remote one like maybe Katmai National Park in Alaska? Or Denali?
Although, with my luck, I’d get stuck somewhere hugely boring like George Washington Birthplace National Monument. That is NOT the same thing as Mt. Vernon in Northern Virginia. It is in Virginia, but it’s in the sticks.
Can’t you just see me as a ranger? I wouldn’t want to be stuck at the entry gate, though. I’d want to be doing stuff like patrolling the woods for lost hikers, or monitoring the critters in their habitat, or guiding kayak trips in Glacier Bay. You know, nature stuff.
Thing 4: Why I Haven’t Been Online Much Lately
Hubby and I have been on a house beautification kick. The MD house has been sorely neglected over the past several years. With us spending most weekends at the WV place, we just don’t have much time to do things at the house in MD. Things like flower bed maintenance. Painting. Home improvements. You know, normal stuff. We’ve been doing all of those things lately and it’s been keeping us pretty busy. That’s why it took me so long to acknowledge this award. That and the fact that it’s hard to come up with seven interesting things to say about myself.
Thing 5: I Am Really Bad When It Comes to Deleting Pictures
You all know I like to take pictures. What you probably don’t know is just how many pictures I have taken over the years (a lot, trust me). Sometimes, you have to take 20-30 shots to get one really good image. So I end up with all these extra images that I say I’ll delete one day. And then I don’t.
Couple that with the fact that I take pictures of odd stuff, too. Like these cinnamon rolls…
Hubby's Famous Cinnamon Rolls
Most of the really weird images you’ll find on the computer are shots I have taken for the Blog.
Thing 6: Which House I Like Best
Hands down, I enjoy being at the WV place more than I like being at the MD place. Most of you know the story behind the WV place. For those of you who only discovered me recently, you should CLICK HERE to see what “story” I am talking about. THAT was quite the DIY project. Looking back, I’m glad we did it, of course, even if it was a lot of work. I really enjoy living in the woods. Hopefully, once we whip the MD place back into shape, we’ll be able to spend some more time there. I mean, jeez. Pretty soon I’ll be saying the WV place has been neglected…
Thing 7: I’m Playing Soccer Again!
I can’t remember if it was eight or nine years ago. Either way, I was either 34 or 35 when I started playing soccer. I grew up in Baltimore City during the late-70s/early-to-mid-80s. They didn’t have soccer programs for girls. Heck, there weren’t a lot of sports programs period. Except for in the high schools. I played a lot of baseball and football (the American kind) when I was in elementary and junior high school. Had I known anything about soccer back then, I would have just played on the boys’ team.
Anyway… eight or nine years ago I saw an ad in the paper about this program to create real soccer moms. Not the sideline-riding, kid-taxiing, snack-bringing kind. The kind that actually got out onto the field and play. I’d always enjoyed watching the kids play. I thought it looked like fun, so I gave it a try. And I loved it.
I stopped playing a year or two ago mainly because I needed a break. I hated having to rush back from the WV place to make it to the games, which are played on Sundays. I mean, we’d finally finished the WV place, I wanted to be able to enjoy it. Plus, I’d packed on some pounds and running wasn’t easy.
Last year, I decided to shed some of those extra pounds. (I lost 30 pounds!) Of course, I gained a few back over the Winter (who do you think ate those cinnamon rolls?). And, honestly, I’ve missed playing soccer. It really is a fun sport. So I rejoined my team in April. And I am so glad I did. I am also happy to report that I made it through the season injury-free. Except for a couple of pretty big bruises, but those aren’t really injuries.
Versatile Bloggers I Know
Talk about tough! There are quite a few blogs that I frequent. Most are on my Blogroll on the left side of the screen. Rather than give this award to any of those folks, I decided to pass it on to Bloggers I’ve only recently (relatively) discovered. These are all people whose Blogs I think you might enjoy, too.
So here goes…
Household Diva 6: This Blog belongs to Ann Marie, an American mother of three, married to a soldier, who happens to be living in Germany right now. I met her through the aforementioned I Should Be Folding Laundry (StillMary already gave her the Versatile Blogger Award). Ann Marie takes awesome pictures, she makes really cool cakes, she’s got three adorable kids. The list goes on. Just check her out. Really.
The Old Nichols Farm: Meet Jess, another Mom photographer with a twist. She lives on a farm. So, in addition to her very good photographs and cute kids, she has lots of cool critter pics, too.
Random Ramblings: Finally, there’s Melissa. An Iowan with three dogs (one that’s REALLY bad), two cats and a husband that’s a kidney cancer survivor. She doesn’t post nearly as frequently as the other two, but she’s got some great stories and also takes very nice pictures.
I hope you take a few minutes to visit each of these blogs. And be sure to leave a comment saying something like, “The awesomw, amazing, VERSATILE, and witty ToadMama sent me!” Or maybe “ToadMama sent me” would be sufficient.
Wouldn’t you know it? After I do a blog post complaining about on-line news agencies foisting videos on me, lamenting how I’d much rather READ my news than be forced to watch a stupid video, the only good bits of info I run across for DAYS afterward are in video format.
Oh well. Here’s a video from my favorite CNN correspondent, Jeanne Moos, talking about a recent hailstorm in Oklahoma. You gotta see it to believe it.
I found this video particularly interesting after seeing what last week’s storm did to a co-worker’s car. What’s interesting about these pics, which my co-worker allowed me to share with you, is that she lives in Pennsylvania (just outside of Philadelphia), NOT Oklahoma where hail like this is common.
Jessika's husband showing off one of the hail stones.Jessika's car with rear windshield shattered.
She just learned that her car will be in the shop for at least another week and will require $4,000 worth of repairs.
Here’s another video of that crazy Oklahoma storm that was shot INSDIDE someones house…
[youtube p9yjhAjfb6I]
In this next video, the real INTENSE action doesn’t start until about 1 minute into the video, so stick around. It’s amazing. I think a snippet of this was in the Jeanne Moos video I shared earlier.
[youtube OFv2W7Duqiw]
According to The Edmond Sun,”the National Weather Service’s preliminary local storm report 1.25-inch hail fell in south-southwest Edmond, 4.25-inch hail fell in northwest Oklahoma City, 2-inch hail fell in Warr Acres, The Village, Nichols Hills and Choctaw, and 2.5-inch hail fell at Tinker Air Force Base.”
The reason I rely on the Internet as my source of what’s happening in the world is that I much prefer reading my news. I never did like the way my fingers became black from newsprint, but there’s just something about reading an article and carefully studying the accompanying photographs, when available, at my leisure. To me, that is and always will be so much better than seeing images flit past and listening as someone else narrates a story, giving their own voice to peoples’ quotes.
I still don’t read an actual newspaper. I don’t watch television news much either, local or otherwise. I get my news from the Web. But I am becoming increasingly frustrated by the fact that so many news Web sites are posting videos instead of written articles. It would be one thing if I were given the opportunity to choose whether I get to read or watch the news, but that’s usually not the case. It’s either an article or a video, it’s typically not both.
Most news outlets, thankfully, will show a video camera icon with a hyperlink to let you know you’ll be seeing and hearing a video instead of reading an article. At least there’s still that choice.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying video doesn’t have its place. I just don’t think all news needs to presented in that fashion. Words on a page or on a screen afford me the opportunity to get information at my own pace. I can read and pause to think about something if I want to. I can stop and try to imagine the suffering being described. I can stop, if someone needs to talk to me, without having to worry that I’ll be missing something.
Shannon at her high school graduation 14 years ago! (Not at all related to this article/video, I just hate pictureless posts.)
Video does have its place, though. Like with the link I’m about to share. Once I started watching, I couldn’t stop. Not because of the action or images on the screen, oddly enough, but because of the audio. It’s a graduation speech, of all things, addressed to a group of Harvard graduates a couple years back. Here’s one example when new media is beneficial. I don’t think the speech would have near as much impact if presented as words on a page. The message is powerful both because of the presenter as well as what she has to say. She tells a group of soon-to-be Harvard graduates about the benefits of failure and the importance of imagination.
If you don’t have time to watch the whole thing now (it’s at least 5 minutes long), come back when you do. It’s a great speech. It was beautifully delivered. And I think it is a message not just every new graduate, but every person needs to hear.
Yes, I am recommending that you watch a college commencement address. This is JK Rowling’s graduation speech presented at Harvard a couple of years ago.
In case you just crawled out from under a rock and aren’t familiar with the JK Rowling name, she’s the BILLIONAIRE author of the Harry Potter series of books. She’s got a pretty compelling rags-to-riches story. After you’ve watched the video, check out this very brief article I stumbled upon when trying to determine her net worth (I have to make sure I get my facts straight when writing about stuff here).
I like this lady. She could be my girlfriend. I bet she’d be great fun and not the least bit ostentatious.
If you do take time out to watch the speech, let me know what you think. Even if you don’t view it, forward this link to all of the soon-to-be and/or recent graduates you know and ask them to watch the video. It’s a great message, really. And not at all boring like many commencement addresses tend to be.
I love to read. And I read a lot. By “a lot,” I mean it’s a rare day that passes where I haven’t read at least part of a book.
This is not a book-review blog. I do not mention every single book that I have read. In fact, I don’t mention most of what I have read/am reading.
This is my "human" dog, Meg.
But every now and then I read something I have to mention. Like Hold Love Strong, by Matthew Aaron Goodman. Have you read that yet? I know Shannon did (loved it as much as me). And Amy, too (liked it okay). I think my MIL may have started it, but couldn’t get into it. But I could be wrong. My Mom has it now.
Anyway, this post isn’t about that book, it’s about this one: The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. (NOTE: this book was released in May 2008. I apologize if this is old news for you, I’m just not always “up” on current happenings. A friend finally told me about this book a few months ago.)
I can see why some folks didn’t like HLS as much as me. Different people like different book genres. HLS certainly has a compelling story, but it’s more of a literary fiction-type book. It’s not a book you like as you read because it gives you the warm fuzzies, or because there’s a mystery to solve or a romance that intrigues you, or even a particular character you like (as in “this person could totally be my friend”) or can identify with. It’s just a very well-crafted book that gives you a glimpse into someone else’s reality. A reality which isn’t always pleasant.
The Art of Racing in the Rain is different. If you followed my last link, you may have seen this quote from Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants:
“The Art of Racing in The Rain has everything: love, tragedy, redemption, danger, and–best of all–the canine narrator Enzo. This old soul of a dog has much to teach to us about being human. I loved this book.”
Does it really involve racing? Yep. Racing is a huge component of the book. But it’s just the philosophy of racing, which is interwoven artfully throughout the story because it parallels and/or shapes Enzo’s philosophy on life.
Fans of just about any genre should be able to read and enjoy this 320-page book, which in my mind is an instant classic. I read it in only two sittings. It’s an easy read. Some critics complain that it is written at about an eight-grade reading level. I think that’s intentional. The book is, after all, being narrated by a dog who has learned much of what he knows from watching TV. Others say it is sappy, and contrived and written like a Lifetime movie.
Well, I obviously enjoyed it. I guess everyone needs sap once in a while.
There is an official book trailer video, but it’s about 3 minutes long. I much prefer the video I embedded below, which was created by a fan who described this as their favorite book “EVER.” It’s way up there on my favorite book of all times list, too.
[youtube NNY_JlCdxFY]
This next link should lead you to an excerpt of the first few pages of the book at Amazon.com. While you’re there, check out some of the negative reviews. Remember, not everyone likes this book. Many say it is just another sappy dog story capitalizing on the success of Marley and Me. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I, for example, thought The DaVinci Code was awful, but it sold close to 100 MILLION copies and has been translated into over 40 languages.
If you have read, or if you do read, The Art of Racing in the Rain, I’d love to know what you think of the book.
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NOTE: This image doesn’t have much to do with the book. It shows all three of my girls, though.
