You know how you always say, "Hey, we don't have kids, we both have passports, we live on the East Coast, we (fill in the blank with your favorite "we're not tied down" line), so we can just hop on a plane and go to Europe any time we want."
Yeah, well, we did it.
Seriously, how spontaneous are we? A couple of weeks ago Jason found out he had to go to the Netherlands for a meeting, so, since Congress isn't in session, we scrounged up a ticket for me and spent the weekend in Amsterdam. I met Jason in the Hague on Thursday morning and
illogically (yes, I read the book) that the story would end happily when we got to the end of the tour.
We usually like to go apple picking in the fall, but this fall has been extraordinarily busy, so on Saturday I settled for the apple stand at the Arlington Farmers' Market. By the end of the day, these beauties had become this fall's batch of applesauce and the first apple pie of autumn. Mmm... We ate it with chili and Dawn and Brian while we watched the Redskins lose. At least the pie was tasty.
(Oh, and a new ww pie crust recipe, this time a real one from my Aunt Kathy, who is knowledgable in things like whole wheat crusts and apple pie. Waaaaaay better than my last try...and almost as easy as buying the frozen kind at Safeway!)
It was a long, lovely weekend, and until about noon on Monday we reveled in the long-weekendness of it (fall is delighful for a lot of reasons, and one of them is the regular sprinkling of federal holidays). By Monday afternoon, we started thinking of other things, like homework...work...Jason's meeting in the Netherlands, etc. But it was gooood while it lasted.
One of the nicest things about living in Washington, DC, is that people tend to come here for, you know, family vacations, eighth grade field trips, work conferences, etc. And then I get to see them! Such was the case this last week when Laura flew back east for a conference at a hospital in the area...then got to come over for dinner and stay the night! Yay! It's not every day one of my dearest friends can leave her two sweet kids at home and just hang out with me, so we made the most of our evening and morning together.
Wednesday night we just hung out at home for risotto and talked and talked, then Thursday morning we did a little sightseeing and snapped some pictures before Laura headed back home. It was a blessing to have a few hours together, and I love having her as a friend!
Last weekend I visited Toronto to attend the wedding of a dear high school friend, Rex Lam. The wedding was beautiful and provided a good excuse to see old high school friends I had not seen in ten years (Bahi, Keith, Ray, Ken, and Karen). In keeping with Chinese tradition, Rex's bride (Christine) changed dresses frequently throughout the reception. I was told it was a tradition that demonstrated opulence. The bridesmaids also organized several games for the bride and groom during the reception, partly as entertainment during the 10 course Chinese feast. (I still maintain that a hired comedian would be an appropriate and novel addition to a wedding reception -- despite Missy's continued protests.) For the meal, I tried many delicacies, including shark fin soup!
I also had the chance to visit Diana Clark (my old Sunday school teacher) and attend Rosewood Nazarene Church with the Dookheran family to celebrate the denomination's 100th anniversary. All in all, a great weekend! Next stop, the Netherlands...
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. It is finally over. And, just for the record, if you already called your congressman last week, you shouldn't call again on Monday, even if you don't like the response that you (intentionally) received late on Friday night when it was too late to call back. You only get counted once, so you're just wasting both of our times.
I have been attached to my blackberry (or, rather, it has been attached to me) for 12 days straight now, and it was strange to leave it home when I went to the grocery store this morning. Strange and wonderful. And it is sunny and lovely to boot. I'm wearing a long-sleeved T and jeans and the leaves on our pretty dogwood are turning reddish and the chrysanthemum that has been the bane of my existence all summer because it swallowed up everything else I planted in the flower bed is redeeming itself by bursting into lovely maroon flowers and there is a pretty red cardinal right outside the window and last night I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and ate them all by myself. All is most certainly right with the world.
Jason is in Toronto at a wedding, and I was originally planning to spend the weekend in New York for more of this, but alas, work interrupted. And now, recovery. Homework. Playing with Dawn. Finding a place for the 20 paper towels from Tuesday's trip to Costco. Pulling out the fall table linens. Taking a bubble bath. Baby gifts (is everyone pregnant? I am so not in the cool club.). And maybe even reading something that's not for school...?
Last night I dreamed that my dad and I decided to expand the garden, but for some reason we cut grass out of the front of the yard instead of the side. I woke up and thought I should do some gardening (for the first time in weeks). We're getting close to the fall gardening season--planting more bulbs, trimming bushes, and, yes, expanding the garden for next year. I'm already planning what I'll plant--onions and spinach next time, and no arugula.
Our garden has settled into its matronly state of middle age--the zucchini and cucumber both died early deaths, but the herbs and tomatoes and even the strawberries have been a rousing success. In fact, I have not had to buy a single tomato since the beginning of August, and until last week we were tripping over ripe tomatoes. Then suddenly, nothing--we ate our last ripe tomato and looked out the window to see plants full of lovely green ones, but even now they are not even close to ripe. We've been eating tomatoes without a break for months now, and I feel confused now at their absence.
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