I was in a truly rotten mood last night, for no real reason other than not being able to get to the library yesterday. In a 9-hour day, you'd think that I could manage to get El Burrito packed up and get both of us to the library for half an hour. Considering that it's at most 2 miles away, I can't figure it out, and it bugs me more than you would think. I guess the main reason is that I seem to suck severely at time management. By the time El Burrito eats twice and has a nap, and I eat twice, we seem to have at best a two hour window in the morning to go out and about. Unfortunately, I'm not a morning person, and that two-hour gap doesn't coincide with the library sale.
And, since we didn't go to the library, we also didn't stop at the thrift store on the way home to see if they might have jeans in case I get the nerve to take those riding lessons. (Thanks for the idea, Jan. Don't know why it didn't occur to me. Duh.)
I also didn't make it to the monthly condo lunch today, and couldn't find my phone list to let the ringleader know.
The Not Getting My Act Together bit also means that instead of doing the shopping during the day (a la the pre-El Burrito days) means that it gets done on the weekends, and it somehow takes all Freaking day, which means no time to do the things we used to do on the weekends - like the bigger errands, house-hunting, and so on.
And we need to spend some time researching and shopping for a new car seat and stroller, since El Burrito is about to outgrow his first car seat. It snaps into a stroller frame, which is the only stroller we've got right now. And no, we don't get out much, or this setup wouldn't have worked this long. Stroller shopping is something I'm dreading, since there are so many insane options to choose from, and there are very very few places locally that carry strollers and actually let you test-drive them in the store. (Walmart, for example, has theirs on a 3-foot-high shelf, tied down, with the front wheels missing. Hard to try one out that way.) Maybe I've been lurking on the diaper-bag fanatics group too much, but when people start talking about buying their 8th or 9th stroller, and mentioning prices upwards of $400, I start to worry.
The car seat will be another pain. Right now we've got one of the seats with a handle, and a base for each car. That's not going to happen with the bigger seat. So, we have to decide: shell out the $$ for two seats, or get only one and swap it from car to car? Assuming we can find one that will fit both cars, since the Escort (aka my car) is smaller than the Taurus. DH takes the Taurus to work, so if I take El Burrito out we go in my car. But for longer trips or weekend errands, we take the Taurus - DH can't drive a stick shift yet.
In other news:
1. An old college roommate just had her first baby, a girl. A few weeks early for some reason involving unexplained low amniotic fluid, and she'll be in the NICU for a few weeks. I plan to send a card.
This bugs me a little too. When I found out I was pregnant, I emailed my friends to let them know the news, and actually sent letters/cards to my two closest friends. Of those two friends, I got a letter from one (with a gift card, which was unexpected). The other friend, who I roomed with for two years and see once a year? Not a peep. Yes, my feelings were (are) hurt.
The friend who just had a baby? Also not a peep, until I and 15 other people started getting regular impersonal announcements regarding her pregnancy. I did get invited to her baby shower, but I didn't get to go (it would have meant about a 4 hour round trip). I've sent periodic emails to her, asking how things are going with school and such, but at most I get an email with a 4 word reply.
(I am also still bugged that of DH's 5 siblings, only one (his sister & her husband) stopped by during my 5-day hospital stay. And her husband works in the hospital, so it's not like it was out of the way or anything. After we came home, same thing. One brother visited on Memorial Weekend, and it ended up costing us $100 because he parked in the neighbor's space, alcoholic neighbor had the truck towed, and brother was too broke to pay the tow bill. The other three brothers didn't even freaking call on the phone. Yes, I need to let it go. Give it another year and we'll see.)
2. My brother-in-law found out that his ankle bone is deteriorating and he'll have to have it replaced in the next year or two.
It's the result of an accident he had last fall. He got a small motorcycle (not one of the big Hondas or anything) to commute on. He went to visit a friend nearby, and while he was leaving to head home, in a residential-type area, some woman backed out of a driveway and hit him. She, of course, had little or no insurance despite driving a new SUV at the time. (Which must have been paid for, or the lender would have required more insurance.) He came thisclose to losing his foot, I guess, and they're still fighting with the insurance companies.
3. El Burrito is having two birthday parties, one at each grandparents' house. On two separate weekends. Which is why this weekend is our only "free" one this month. Because it would be too freaking simple for us to have, say, a house, and be able to have one party, you know. Not to mention, that would be the only way I'll ever get anyone to see my house. Right now, the UPS man spends more time delivering boxes here than our families do.
And now a young man is wanting some attention.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Ooops
I just realized something that makes me feel like a dork (to use an old word). I bought El Burrito a romper online last week, secondhand but new. I just went into the closet to check the size on a different romper, and realized that I have two of the other one now. Both new with the tags still on, but the exact same size. Duh. I'd forgotten that I bought the green one.
I guess it's time to see what they go for on Ebay.
I guess it's time to see what they go for on Ebay.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Forward progress
Well, a bit, anyway.
I'm still bummed about Gilmore Girls, and about Stargate, especially since my copy of the episodes I missed hasn't shown up yet.
Had some luck at Target this weekend, and found a camcorder case marked down to 75% off. It fits our camcorder perfectly.
We had some weather-related luck yesterday, and didn't get hit with the quarter- and golf ball-sized hail that was in the area. That's nice, because we don't have covered parking, and while it didn't bother me for the Lumina (our former car) to get dinged, the new-to-us Taurus still looks nice, and hail dings would have been a sad thing to see. We did get some heavy rain, and of course the storm hit just as we were ready to walk out the door on the way to a church anniversary celebration. We skipped the celebration and dinner, and watched our worthless local weather channel instead. It's a waste of a channel - it used to show the weather radar about 50% of the time, until they started running commercials and other such junk. Yesterday, with some nice storms coming at us from Kansas, they didn't show the radar until about 10 minutes before it hit here. Too bad for people west of town, I guess.
I've been looking at old digital cameras online. I'm thinking of getting an older Olympus FE series to use as a purse camera, hoping to escape the same Duh moment that led to the injury to the 3020. If I keep an eye out, I should be able to get one for $60 or so. And lately I've been thinking of dabbling in infrared photography for kicks, which would mean shopping for an even older Olympus, hopefully for $40 or so. I haven't been watching those long enough to get an idea on prices, but it's something to think about. Not that I need another hobby or anything.
And that's about it for my world at the moment. Off to do more laundry.
- I've got a stack of magazines that are leaving the premises, one way or another. Right now I've offered them on Freecycle. If there are no takers, they get recycled. The library doesn't want them and they aren't worth trying to Ebay them. DH calls it "giving them back to the trees" - it's an attempt to get past my resistance to throwing away anything that's still useful.
- We got the laundry sorted yesterday, and went through a couple of laundry baskets of "stuff" in the process. Now we can walk into the walk-in closet, and there's a basket of Stuff to Get Rid Of, and one of Things to Pack With (i.e. fabric and non-summer clothes that I can wrap my Breyers in as I pack them up).
- We got the shopping done on Saturday, mailed a few pics that Mom needed, and remembered to get Mothers Day cards as we walked past the Hallmark store at the mall.
- As part of the "eat healthier" idea, I finally sliced up the jicama I bought about two weeks ago, along with half a 5-pound bag of carrots that were starting to sprout roots (and grey spots). So I have 2 Ziploc tubs of sliced munchies in the fridge.
I'm still bummed about Gilmore Girls, and about Stargate, especially since my copy of the episodes I missed hasn't shown up yet.
Had some luck at Target this weekend, and found a camcorder case marked down to 75% off. It fits our camcorder perfectly.
We had some weather-related luck yesterday, and didn't get hit with the quarter- and golf ball-sized hail that was in the area. That's nice, because we don't have covered parking, and while it didn't bother me for the Lumina (our former car) to get dinged, the new-to-us Taurus still looks nice, and hail dings would have been a sad thing to see. We did get some heavy rain, and of course the storm hit just as we were ready to walk out the door on the way to a church anniversary celebration. We skipped the celebration and dinner, and watched our worthless local weather channel instead. It's a waste of a channel - it used to show the weather radar about 50% of the time, until they started running commercials and other such junk. Yesterday, with some nice storms coming at us from Kansas, they didn't show the radar until about 10 minutes before it hit here. Too bad for people west of town, I guess.
I've been looking at old digital cameras online. I'm thinking of getting an older Olympus FE series to use as a purse camera, hoping to escape the same Duh moment that led to the injury to the 3020. If I keep an eye out, I should be able to get one for $60 or so. And lately I've been thinking of dabbling in infrared photography for kicks, which would mean shopping for an even older Olympus, hopefully for $40 or so. I haven't been watching those long enough to get an idea on prices, but it's something to think about. Not that I need another hobby or anything.
And that's about it for my world at the moment. Off to do more laundry.
Friday, May 4, 2007
Riding lessons
(I'm not good at titles for these. Just saying.)
(Does anyone read this, or am I writing for the electrons' enjoyment?)
I got an email yesterday with this year's riding program information. It starts in about four weeks, so I need to do some thinking about whether to attempt it or not. I'm wondering how insane I am to even think about it. I'm out of shape, definitely overweight, and have been on a horse once in the past 11 years. I just put some numbers into one of the online BMI calculators, and it's not a happy thing. Last time I went riding, in Ireland, it took three tries before I could haul myself up into the saddle. I don't think anything has changed for the better in the meantime.
The lessons are two hours each, and depending on which session you take, the lessons are two, three, or five times a week. The prices are different, so it works out to about $16 per hour no matter what, which is nice. But 4 or 6 hours a week, when I haven't been on a horse in years, is a bit daunting. I was hoping to have been at least walking regularly, but it hasn't happened. (I also swore to do some work packing and decluttering this week. Also hasn't happened. It's Friday and I've done squat this week.)
If I'm even going to consider it, I'd need at the least, an approved helmet, boots, and probably some pants. I've only got two pairs of jeans that fit right now, and as much as I love Lee jeans, the inseam is nasty when you think about riding in them. I forgot to dig out my old boots last time I was home, but I doubt they'd fit after 11 years, so a new pair is probably the only option. And I'm not sure a month is enough time to break a pair in, assuming I could find a pair that fit around here. Having wide feet stinks. Finding a pair of New Balance shoes was a hassle, and finding Rockports that fit was a freaking miracle last time.
Plus there's the whole headache of scheduling things, since El Burrito isn't old enough yet to stay home alone. He's almost a year old and has never been left with anyone not-family yet, so we don't have a regular (or otherwise) babysitter or anything. Depending on the session time, DH might be able to vary his work hours a bit, but for a few sessions that wouldn't work.
Yes, I'm a pessimist. I need to spend the weekend thinking about this, and see if I can talk myself into it. Adding up the total costs, both money and the time spent finding boots & a helmet, could convince me to skip it again this year.
Feh. It's Friday, and two hours of Stargate usually cheers me up. But, since there are only 7 or 8 episodes of SG-1 left, I don't see a lot of cheery thoughts for the night.
(Does anyone read this, or am I writing for the electrons' enjoyment?)
I got an email yesterday with this year's riding program information. It starts in about four weeks, so I need to do some thinking about whether to attempt it or not. I'm wondering how insane I am to even think about it. I'm out of shape, definitely overweight, and have been on a horse once in the past 11 years. I just put some numbers into one of the online BMI calculators, and it's not a happy thing. Last time I went riding, in Ireland, it took three tries before I could haul myself up into the saddle. I don't think anything has changed for the better in the meantime.
The lessons are two hours each, and depending on which session you take, the lessons are two, three, or five times a week. The prices are different, so it works out to about $16 per hour no matter what, which is nice. But 4 or 6 hours a week, when I haven't been on a horse in years, is a bit daunting. I was hoping to have been at least walking regularly, but it hasn't happened. (I also swore to do some work packing and decluttering this week. Also hasn't happened. It's Friday and I've done squat this week.)
If I'm even going to consider it, I'd need at the least, an approved helmet, boots, and probably some pants. I've only got two pairs of jeans that fit right now, and as much as I love Lee jeans, the inseam is nasty when you think about riding in them. I forgot to dig out my old boots last time I was home, but I doubt they'd fit after 11 years, so a new pair is probably the only option. And I'm not sure a month is enough time to break a pair in, assuming I could find a pair that fit around here. Having wide feet stinks. Finding a pair of New Balance shoes was a hassle, and finding Rockports that fit was a freaking miracle last time.
Plus there's the whole headache of scheduling things, since El Burrito isn't old enough yet to stay home alone. He's almost a year old and has never been left with anyone not-family yet, so we don't have a regular (or otherwise) babysitter or anything. Depending on the session time, DH might be able to vary his work hours a bit, but for a few sessions that wouldn't work.
Yes, I'm a pessimist. I need to spend the weekend thinking about this, and see if I can talk myself into it. Adding up the total costs, both money and the time spent finding boots & a helmet, could convince me to skip it again this year.
Feh. It's Friday, and two hours of Stargate usually cheers me up. But, since there are only 7 or 8 episodes of SG-1 left, I don't see a lot of cheery thoughts for the night.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
This stinks.
And for "stinks" feel free to substitute the word of your choice. I just got word of this from the CW website:
The former producers (and creators of the show - the Palladinos mentioned above) decided to write the show into a corner last year before they jumped ship, which left the new producer stuck trying to get things back to "normal" this year. Which is why we had to sit through 15 episodes of Luke & Lorelai being apart, plus the whole elopement scam, and enough Christopher to qualify as "cruel & unusual punishment." Ai ai ai. And now, just as things are finally looking up, WHOMP!! Right to the head.
Tell me, please, how they can "give this series the send off it deserves" if the last episode has already been filmed, probably weeks before this crappy news came out? Only two episodes left, and no way on heaven or earth can they manage to pull everything back to where it ought to be. Gah. There are no words to fully express my disgust with whoever decided they didn't want another year of entertainment.
But please, powers-that-be, please don't let it be the travesty that was the finale of Enterprise. Because I don't have enough post-Easter-sale chocolate to deal with something like that steaming pile again. Pity Scott Bakula - the only actor with not one, but two, series finales that I categorically refuse to ever watch again.
"Announcing the final season of 'Gilmore Girls' is truly a sad moment for everyone at The CW and Warner Bros. Television. This series helped define a network and created a fantastic, storybook world featuring some of television's most memorable, lovable characters. We thank Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dan Palladino, Dave Rosenthal, the amazing cast led by Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel as well as the producers, writers and crew for giving us this delightful gem for the past seven years. We would also like to thank the critics and 'Gilmore' fans for their passionate support and promise to give this series the send off it deserves."
The former producers (and creators of the show - the Palladinos mentioned above) decided to write the show into a corner last year before they jumped ship, which left the new producer stuck trying to get things back to "normal" this year. Which is why we had to sit through 15 episodes of Luke & Lorelai being apart, plus the whole elopement scam, and enough Christopher to qualify as "cruel & unusual punishment." Ai ai ai. And now, just as things are finally looking up, WHOMP!! Right to the head.
Tell me, please, how they can "give this series the send off it deserves" if the last episode has already been filmed, probably weeks before this crappy news came out? Only two episodes left, and no way on heaven or earth can they manage to pull everything back to where it ought to be. Gah. There are no words to fully express my disgust with whoever decided they didn't want another year of entertainment.
But please, powers-that-be, please don't let it be the travesty that was the finale of Enterprise. Because I don't have enough post-Easter-sale chocolate to deal with something like that steaming pile again. Pity Scott Bakula - the only actor with not one, but two, series finales that I categorically refuse to ever watch again.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Plugging away
I'm typed out after that long post yesterday. Today so far has been a catch-all day. We got started early this morning - DH had an early meeting, and somehow we all ended up awake an hour earlier than usual. We managed to get to the library, Post Office, and Barnes & Noble before lunch; the usual Tuesday library run didn't happen yesterday, so we did it today. And I managed to use some of my B&N certificates that have been sitting around, on the new China Bayles mystery by Susan Wittig Albert.
Side Note: How can I, a book nut, manage to have $50 worth of B&N cards sitting around for most of a year? How? It boggles the mind. I'll tell you how: I went to B&N today looking for two books, the aforementioned Spanish Dagger, and The Children of Hurin. I wasn't really planning on buying Hurin from B&N, since it's 45% off at Amazon, but I thought I'd look. Well, this is how I can have B&N cards hang around a while: I couldn't find the book there at all. Granted, it's a decent-size store, and their organization scheme escapes me most of the time, but still. It's a new book, pretty popular, and it's Tolkien for pete's sake. How was there not at least one copy in the 3x6 feet of shelf space devoted to various Tolkien books?
Anyhow. Back on track. This afternoon I'm catching up on bits and pieces, like finally registering the new camera on the company's website, getting the disputes of our credit reports taken care of, catching up on last week's email backlog, and generally dealing with bits of paper. Later, the decluttering will begin. I'm fed up with this place (again) - it started when I was looking for two pieces of paper that Mom needed. It took way too much hunting to find them.
We (okay, I) need to get back on track with the weight loss, too. DH has apparently lost 15 pounds recently, which I hadn't noticed at all. Yes, I feel like a heel about it. On the other hand, my weight hit an all-time (*) high Monday night. I can maybe write it off as water retention after 4 days in the car, but still. There's a mental block somewhere, since I can sit and read a diet book (last week was Denise Austin's Tone your Tummy Type) while munching Doritos with lunch. Go figure. Not sure what I think of the book's idea, either.
(*) Yes, I did weigh more during the last month or so of pregnancy. Right now, I'm 15 pounds lighter than I was when I came home. The real kick in the butt was that I weighed myself the morning I left for the hospital. That morning I weighed either 207 or 206. Five days later, I came home with an 8-pound baby and decided to get on the scale again. One freaking pound lighter. I know I was retaining a truly insane amount of $84/liter IV saline (no glucose added, I asked), but still. That's so not fair.
And honestly, I'm still a bit discouraged or mad or something over the last time we really tried to lose weight. Somewhere between the engagement and wedding, DH was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. We cut out non-diet sodas, joined a gym, spent at least 3 hours a week at the gym, and started eating salads with dinner. Not just a typical salad, either. Ours involved half a head of lettuce per person, and were served in a 3-lb butter tub. Lettuce, radishes, carrots, mushrooms, very few croutons, a sprinkle of bacon bits (imitation), and moderate amounts of fat-free dressing. DH lost 30 pounds in no time. People noticed. I lost maybe, maybe, 5 pounds. And that was on a good day, scale-wise. And that bit about "you're making muscle while you lose fat, so you may not have a net weight loss" doesn't explain it either. The only difference I noticed was that I gained just enough leg muscle that my only pair of shorts didn't fit anymore. Other than that, I couldn't tell a difference and neither could anyone else. It was very discouraging.
In other news :) Gilmore Girls last night was one of the better episodes this season. It's finally back on track after the insanity of the past season or so (I blame the former producers for writing their show into a corner that had no exit). Unfortunately, there are only two episodes left of this season, and no word yet on if there will be a "next" season or not, and what form it will have if there is another one. So, thanks to some lousy writing last season, a full year was wasted on stupidity and insanity, instead of a decent show. Sigh. I can only hope for another season, whatever form it takes. Rumors include: a half-season, a quarter-season (8 episodes), a full season without Rory since Alexis Bledel is hesitant, or no season at all. Personally, if Luke & Lorelai can get back on track, and Emily & Richard show up occasionally, I could probably handle a Roryless season. Heaven knows her storyline lately has been vague, and with that timid preschooler voice, I find it hard to take her seriously as a journalist anyway. Long-lost daughter ideas should be left to the soap operas. They have more episodes to devote to the drama.
Side Note: How can I, a book nut, manage to have $50 worth of B&N cards sitting around for most of a year? How? It boggles the mind. I'll tell you how: I went to B&N today looking for two books, the aforementioned Spanish Dagger, and The Children of Hurin. I wasn't really planning on buying Hurin from B&N, since it's 45% off at Amazon, but I thought I'd look. Well, this is how I can have B&N cards hang around a while: I couldn't find the book there at all. Granted, it's a decent-size store, and their organization scheme escapes me most of the time, but still. It's a new book, pretty popular, and it's Tolkien for pete's sake. How was there not at least one copy in the 3x6 feet of shelf space devoted to various Tolkien books?
Anyhow. Back on track. This afternoon I'm catching up on bits and pieces, like finally registering the new camera on the company's website, getting the disputes of our credit reports taken care of, catching up on last week's email backlog, and generally dealing with bits of paper. Later, the decluttering will begin. I'm fed up with this place (again) - it started when I was looking for two pieces of paper that Mom needed. It took way too much hunting to find them.
We (okay, I) need to get back on track with the weight loss, too. DH has apparently lost 15 pounds recently, which I hadn't noticed at all. Yes, I feel like a heel about it. On the other hand, my weight hit an all-time (*) high Monday night. I can maybe write it off as water retention after 4 days in the car, but still. There's a mental block somewhere, since I can sit and read a diet book (last week was Denise Austin's Tone your Tummy Type) while munching Doritos with lunch. Go figure. Not sure what I think of the book's idea, either.
(*) Yes, I did weigh more during the last month or so of pregnancy. Right now, I'm 15 pounds lighter than I was when I came home. The real kick in the butt was that I weighed myself the morning I left for the hospital. That morning I weighed either 207 or 206. Five days later, I came home with an 8-pound baby and decided to get on the scale again. One freaking pound lighter. I know I was retaining a truly insane amount of $84/liter IV saline (no glucose added, I asked), but still. That's so not fair.
And honestly, I'm still a bit discouraged or mad or something over the last time we really tried to lose weight. Somewhere between the engagement and wedding, DH was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. We cut out non-diet sodas, joined a gym, spent at least 3 hours a week at the gym, and started eating salads with dinner. Not just a typical salad, either. Ours involved half a head of lettuce per person, and were served in a 3-lb butter tub. Lettuce, radishes, carrots, mushrooms, very few croutons, a sprinkle of bacon bits (imitation), and moderate amounts of fat-free dressing. DH lost 30 pounds in no time. People noticed. I lost maybe, maybe, 5 pounds. And that was on a good day, scale-wise. And that bit about "you're making muscle while you lose fat, so you may not have a net weight loss" doesn't explain it either. The only difference I noticed was that I gained just enough leg muscle that my only pair of shorts didn't fit anymore. Other than that, I couldn't tell a difference and neither could anyone else. It was very discouraging.
In other news :) Gilmore Girls last night was one of the better episodes this season. It's finally back on track after the insanity of the past season or so (I blame the former producers for writing their show into a corner that had no exit). Unfortunately, there are only two episodes left of this season, and no word yet on if there will be a "next" season or not, and what form it will have if there is another one. So, thanks to some lousy writing last season, a full year was wasted on stupidity and insanity, instead of a decent show. Sigh. I can only hope for another season, whatever form it takes. Rumors include: a half-season, a quarter-season (8 episodes), a full season without Rory since Alexis Bledel is hesitant, or no season at all. Personally, if Luke & Lorelai can get back on track, and Emily & Richard show up occasionally, I could probably handle a Roryless season. Heaven knows her storyline lately has been vague, and with that timid preschooler voice, I find it hard to take her seriously as a journalist anyway. Long-lost daughter ideas should be left to the soap operas. They have more episodes to devote to the drama.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
The Road Trip
As promised (is anyone reading?), the tale of our road trip to see Loreena McKennitt in concert. This could get lengthy, so sit back and enjoy.
Day 0.5 - Wednesday:
We left Wednesday evening, and drove down to my parents' house to drop off El Burrito for a weekend of fun with Grandma and Grandpa. We intended to leave here by 7:00 and be there by 9, but we left about 90 minutes later than expected. It didn't help that the weather was uncooperative. It was raining so hard at one point that we were only going about 15 mph. And since it was a small back road, pulling over wasn't an option - the shoulder on those roads is about 6 inches wide before you hit the ditch or the fencerow, so unless you find a driveway you can't get completely off the road. El Burrito proceeded to be a fussy-Gus until about 3 a.m., and would only sleep if DH was holding him. Not a good start, since we had a long drive to come.
Day 1 - Thursday
Left a bit later than planned, again, and drove in the rain until we were somewhere in Illinois. We ended up going up I-44 to St Louis, then out through Illinois, down through Kentucky, and into Nashville. Had lunch at a McDonalds in Mount Vernon IL, I think. I'm not crazy about McD's, but it was our best option. We had a bit of trouble twice with the Mapquest directions. Worst was in St Louis, when Mapquest gave us the right exit, but the wrong side, so we ended up going the wrong way. The other problem was getting to our hotel; the directions involved a u-turn, which was freakishly wrong. I think the problem there was that while the hotel's address was on one street, their entrance was on another street (which to my thinking, means their address should be on the entrance street). We got it on the second pass, though.
We ended up staying at the Best Western near the airport. There was a big marathon in Nashville last weekend, so everything downtown was booked, unless we wanted to pay $300 per night. Ha! The final price at Best Western was just over $50 per night. Now, granted, it's not the best hotel, but it worked. Their free breakfast was pretty sorry, and the light over the desk was pink and gave off about as much light as a firefly. And we forgot to ask for a non-smoking room, so you can imagine the odor. On the other hand, there were restaurants just across the street, and a Waffle House in the parking lot. And the route to the concert venue was impressively simple.
After we checked in, it was dinner time. There was a catfish restaurant just across the street that one of the guidebooks had talked up, saying it was local, good, and very popular. Well, not popular enough, I guess, because when we got there it was closed and out of business. We settled for the Cracker Barrel two doors down, so I still got to eat catfish, but I fail to see the point of driving 8 freaking hours across parts of 4 states, just to eat somewhere I could have eaten here.
Then it was time to figure out what to do the next day, and go to bed. This is where I had trouble. Too much to do, not enough time, and I am still in the habit of taking time estimates from guidebooks seriously. As if the mess in Ireland didn't show me the light there (because honestly, if Rick Steves can really accomplish everything on his sample itinerary in one day, he must drive like Earnhardt or have mastered time travel). We ended up planning to go to the Parthenon in the morning, the Hermitage in the afternoon, and probably Belle Meade in the morning as well since Frommers estimated 30 minutes for the Parthenon.
And after that little headache, we finally got to bed around 1 a.m.
Day 2 - Friday
After a weak breakfast thanks to the hotel freebie, we drove downtown to Nashville's Centennial Park to see the Parthenon. Frommers' 30 minute estimate was a joke. I think we spent at least 90 minutes there, and I took a lot of pictures. It's amazing. For the Tennessee Centennial in 1897, they built an exact life-size replica of the Parthenon, including replicating all the friezes for the facades outside. It was built mostly of plaster, so it was renovated with concrete in the 1920s. In the 1980's, they added a statue of Athena Parthenos. The original from Greece was lost in antiquity, so this one is based on the few descriptions that remain. It's 41 feet tall, and gilded with 8 pounds of gold leaf. "Wow" doesn't begin to cover it. There were a lot of schoolkids around that day, and the preschoolers were much better behaved than the junior-high kids.
After the Parthenon, we went to the Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's home. DH picked this one over Belle Meade. I'd rather see Belle Meade, as it's a horse-breeding estate and I'm not Jackson's biggest fan (the whole Trail of Tears idea lost him any points he might have gotten from me). We had a little trouble getting there, as we were going by the free map from the hotel. Given that this map had the hotel's street on the wrong side of one arm of the lake, we should have known. The cross street we were looking for did cross the road we were on, but they didn't connect - it went under the parkway we were driving on. We could see the estate, but we couldn't get to it.
We ate lunch at the Hermitage cafe, which is probably the best cafeteria-style food I've had in a while. More catfish, yum! The visitors center was also hosting an art exhibit called the Spirit of Nashville, with scenes done as old-style posters. The estate is picturesque and interesting, though. The tour of the actual home wasn't as informative as it could have been. The main theme of the day seemed to be the antique hand-painted wallpaper, which told the story of some Greek myth that I can't remember. It wasn't the original wallpaper, either. The original was "lost" somehow about 20 years ago - that's all the docent said, "we lost it" but no details other than it wasn't lost in the fire that they had. Anyway, this wallpaper had been found at a summer home in France, and they bought it. Identical to the original, though.
Other than the house, the tour is a do-it-yourself thing most of the time, unless you're in time for the 4-per-day seasonal theme tours. There is a horse-drawn wagon tour that focuses on the slavery aspects, but there was an extra $7 charge for that, on top of the $14 each entrance fee.
While we were there, I got a phone call from an online-friend who was also going to the concert. We had talked before we left, and planned to get together for dinner and ride in to the concert together. As it turned out, we were at the same hotel, too, which made things even easier. We ate dinner at a little Italian place across from the hotel, and drove downtown. We had a bit of a time finding a parking garage - we could see a couple of garages, but thanks to some one-way streets, we had to circle them a few times before we could get to the entrance. The first one we tried was mostly empty (yay!) and only cost $5 (Yay! again).
We ended up at the Ryman about 90 minutes early. We were there to see Loreena McKennitt, who is known mostly to non-fans for a radio-mix version of "The Mummers' Dance" about ten years ago. This is her first tour in 9 years, and the last tour was very short, with only 5 dates in the U.S. and 3 in Canada. So, when I heard that she was touring with her latest album, I said we were going, hell or high water. Thanks to a listserv of Loreena fans, I was able to get tickets during the pre-sale, and we ended up in the front row. (!!!). Okay, actually, there were about a dozen folding chairs in front of us, but we were in the first row of permanent seats. They were worth every bit of the 8 hour drive and Ticketmaster's lousy fees.
Anyhow. We were early, so we used the facilities, checked out the Ryman gift shop (I didn't buy anything), and got our tour souvenirs before the show started. We splurged and came home with the CD/DVD set of the PBS special, a t-shirt, and two posters. One was the standard tour poster, and the other was a special print done for the Ryman concert by Hatch Print, just around the corner. Then we found our seats. The seats at the Ryman, by the way, are church pews, since it was originally a church. Uncushioned pews. Oddly enough, I must have the right size seat for old pews, because I was more comfortable there than most folding chairs I've sat on. DH did not have such luck, though. :)
The show started promptly at 8:00, and was awesome. There aren't enough words to describe the performance. Loreena was amazing, her accompanying musicians were stellar, and the music was phenomenal. The acoustics at the Ryman were great, and I wonder if it's not partially due to the wood - the stage is wood, the seats are all wood, and the main floor, at least (I'm not sure about the balcony) was also wood. You could feel the music vibrating through your feet. We own her first live album and have seen the live performance at the Alhambra on PBS, but even those didn't compare to the full live experience.
The show was a full two hours, plus 30 minutes intermission, including 2 encores. And then our luck got better. Jeanne, my online pal, had also gone to the concert in Asheville NC the previous night. As luck had it, she met another fan there who was a former roadie, and knew where to wait outside in hopes of meeting up with the performers. That information held for the Nashville show, and after waiting outside near the buses for half an hour, we got to meet briefly with Loreena McKennitt herself, and the band. (Yeeeeee!!) I got my Hatch print signed, DH got his program signed, and we got to shake her hand. One lucky guy was having a birthday, and she actually sang "Happy Birthday" to him. She's a very nice lady, although she doesn't seem to seek out the spotlight like some artists do.
Day 3 - Saturday
Not much of a day. We got up, loaded the car, and had breakfast at the Waffle House next door. We took a different route back home this time; we skipped most of Illinois and crossed the Mississippi south of Cape Girardeau instead. We had lunch at the Lambert's Cafe in Sikeston, which was an experience. Their food is good, but they're always busy-busy-busy. We got in line at 1:10 on a Saturday afternoon, and had a 45-minute wait. The parking lot was full of tour buses and church vans, and while we were waiting, they took in a group of 35, and another group of 48. Oy. And that didn't make a dent in the crowd waiting outside, which was noisy enough to really get on my nerves. The piano playing over the loudspeaker didn't help. They do throw the rolls, by the way. We only got one, while we were waiting for our order. I'm not a great catcher, so I got one as the roll wagon went by and didn't try to get one tossed at me. After that delay, we finally got back to my parents' house at 7:00. No one was home, because El Burrito and the grandparents were off at an anniversary dinner for a friend of theirs.
Day 4 - Sunday
Breakfast with the grandparents and my brother (and his girlfriend). El Burrito got to see Toby and Missy, the bottle calves, again, and pet the dog just a bit. Then we drove home, unloaded the car, relaxed for an hour or so, and drove out to the in-laws' place for a birthday dinner. We got home for good about 10:30. We spent at least 24 hours driving over the four days, but it was worth it.
The bad news we discovered when we got home was that the VCR had mutinied. It's been acting up lately, denying that it has a tape in it and such. That's what it did while we were gone, and I didn't notice the flashing "timer" light before we left. So, thanks to the mutiny, we had no tape of Stargate and Atlantis to watch last night. I managed to borrow a copy from someone online, but I'm looking for a new VCR this week. I can not wait until we move and can dump cable, sign up for satellite service, and get a Tivo-like device. We'll still need a VCR for the old archive, but a Tivo-ish job with a big hard drive will make things a lot easier. (Because, see, I have this habit of not labeling video tapes. Which causes problems when looking for an hour or so of tape to reuse, or trying to find something I taped last week.)
Day 0.5 - Wednesday:
We left Wednesday evening, and drove down to my parents' house to drop off El Burrito for a weekend of fun with Grandma and Grandpa. We intended to leave here by 7:00 and be there by 9, but we left about 90 minutes later than expected. It didn't help that the weather was uncooperative. It was raining so hard at one point that we were only going about 15 mph. And since it was a small back road, pulling over wasn't an option - the shoulder on those roads is about 6 inches wide before you hit the ditch or the fencerow, so unless you find a driveway you can't get completely off the road. El Burrito proceeded to be a fussy-Gus until about 3 a.m., and would only sleep if DH was holding him. Not a good start, since we had a long drive to come.
Day 1 - Thursday
Left a bit later than planned, again, and drove in the rain until we were somewhere in Illinois. We ended up going up I-44 to St Louis, then out through Illinois, down through Kentucky, and into Nashville. Had lunch at a McDonalds in Mount Vernon IL, I think. I'm not crazy about McD's, but it was our best option. We had a bit of trouble twice with the Mapquest directions. Worst was in St Louis, when Mapquest gave us the right exit, but the wrong side, so we ended up going the wrong way. The other problem was getting to our hotel; the directions involved a u-turn, which was freakishly wrong. I think the problem there was that while the hotel's address was on one street, their entrance was on another street (which to my thinking, means their address should be on the entrance street). We got it on the second pass, though.
We ended up staying at the Best Western near the airport. There was a big marathon in Nashville last weekend, so everything downtown was booked, unless we wanted to pay $300 per night. Ha! The final price at Best Western was just over $50 per night. Now, granted, it's not the best hotel, but it worked. Their free breakfast was pretty sorry, and the light over the desk was pink and gave off about as much light as a firefly. And we forgot to ask for a non-smoking room, so you can imagine the odor. On the other hand, there were restaurants just across the street, and a Waffle House in the parking lot. And the route to the concert venue was impressively simple.
After we checked in, it was dinner time. There was a catfish restaurant just across the street that one of the guidebooks had talked up, saying it was local, good, and very popular. Well, not popular enough, I guess, because when we got there it was closed and out of business. We settled for the Cracker Barrel two doors down, so I still got to eat catfish, but I fail to see the point of driving 8 freaking hours across parts of 4 states, just to eat somewhere I could have eaten here.
Then it was time to figure out what to do the next day, and go to bed. This is where I had trouble. Too much to do, not enough time, and I am still in the habit of taking time estimates from guidebooks seriously. As if the mess in Ireland didn't show me the light there (because honestly, if Rick Steves can really accomplish everything on his sample itinerary in one day, he must drive like Earnhardt or have mastered time travel). We ended up planning to go to the Parthenon in the morning, the Hermitage in the afternoon, and probably Belle Meade in the morning as well since Frommers estimated 30 minutes for the Parthenon.
And after that little headache, we finally got to bed around 1 a.m.
Day 2 - Friday
After a weak breakfast thanks to the hotel freebie, we drove downtown to Nashville's Centennial Park to see the Parthenon. Frommers' 30 minute estimate was a joke. I think we spent at least 90 minutes there, and I took a lot of pictures. It's amazing. For the Tennessee Centennial in 1897, they built an exact life-size replica of the Parthenon, including replicating all the friezes for the facades outside. It was built mostly of plaster, so it was renovated with concrete in the 1920s. In the 1980's, they added a statue of Athena Parthenos. The original from Greece was lost in antiquity, so this one is based on the few descriptions that remain. It's 41 feet tall, and gilded with 8 pounds of gold leaf. "Wow" doesn't begin to cover it. There were a lot of schoolkids around that day, and the preschoolers were much better behaved than the junior-high kids.
After the Parthenon, we went to the Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's home. DH picked this one over Belle Meade. I'd rather see Belle Meade, as it's a horse-breeding estate and I'm not Jackson's biggest fan (the whole Trail of Tears idea lost him any points he might have gotten from me). We had a little trouble getting there, as we were going by the free map from the hotel. Given that this map had the hotel's street on the wrong side of one arm of the lake, we should have known. The cross street we were looking for did cross the road we were on, but they didn't connect - it went under the parkway we were driving on. We could see the estate, but we couldn't get to it.
We ate lunch at the Hermitage cafe, which is probably the best cafeteria-style food I've had in a while. More catfish, yum! The visitors center was also hosting an art exhibit called the Spirit of Nashville, with scenes done as old-style posters. The estate is picturesque and interesting, though. The tour of the actual home wasn't as informative as it could have been. The main theme of the day seemed to be the antique hand-painted wallpaper, which told the story of some Greek myth that I can't remember. It wasn't the original wallpaper, either. The original was "lost" somehow about 20 years ago - that's all the docent said, "we lost it" but no details other than it wasn't lost in the fire that they had. Anyway, this wallpaper had been found at a summer home in France, and they bought it. Identical to the original, though.
Other than the house, the tour is a do-it-yourself thing most of the time, unless you're in time for the 4-per-day seasonal theme tours. There is a horse-drawn wagon tour that focuses on the slavery aspects, but there was an extra $7 charge for that, on top of the $14 each entrance fee.
While we were there, I got a phone call from an online-friend who was also going to the concert. We had talked before we left, and planned to get together for dinner and ride in to the concert together. As it turned out, we were at the same hotel, too, which made things even easier. We ate dinner at a little Italian place across from the hotel, and drove downtown. We had a bit of a time finding a parking garage - we could see a couple of garages, but thanks to some one-way streets, we had to circle them a few times before we could get to the entrance. The first one we tried was mostly empty (yay!) and only cost $5 (Yay! again).
We ended up at the Ryman about 90 minutes early. We were there to see Loreena McKennitt, who is known mostly to non-fans for a radio-mix version of "The Mummers' Dance" about ten years ago. This is her first tour in 9 years, and the last tour was very short, with only 5 dates in the U.S. and 3 in Canada. So, when I heard that she was touring with her latest album, I said we were going, hell or high water. Thanks to a listserv of Loreena fans, I was able to get tickets during the pre-sale, and we ended up in the front row. (!!!). Okay, actually, there were about a dozen folding chairs in front of us, but we were in the first row of permanent seats. They were worth every bit of the 8 hour drive and Ticketmaster's lousy fees.
Anyhow. We were early, so we used the facilities, checked out the Ryman gift shop (I didn't buy anything), and got our tour souvenirs before the show started. We splurged and came home with the CD/DVD set of the PBS special, a t-shirt, and two posters. One was the standard tour poster, and the other was a special print done for the Ryman concert by Hatch Print, just around the corner. Then we found our seats. The seats at the Ryman, by the way, are church pews, since it was originally a church. Uncushioned pews. Oddly enough, I must have the right size seat for old pews, because I was more comfortable there than most folding chairs I've sat on. DH did not have such luck, though. :)
The show started promptly at 8:00, and was awesome. There aren't enough words to describe the performance. Loreena was amazing, her accompanying musicians were stellar, and the music was phenomenal. The acoustics at the Ryman were great, and I wonder if it's not partially due to the wood - the stage is wood, the seats are all wood, and the main floor, at least (I'm not sure about the balcony) was also wood. You could feel the music vibrating through your feet. We own her first live album and have seen the live performance at the Alhambra on PBS, but even those didn't compare to the full live experience.
The show was a full two hours, plus 30 minutes intermission, including 2 encores. And then our luck got better. Jeanne, my online pal, had also gone to the concert in Asheville NC the previous night. As luck had it, she met another fan there who was a former roadie, and knew where to wait outside in hopes of meeting up with the performers. That information held for the Nashville show, and after waiting outside near the buses for half an hour, we got to meet briefly with Loreena McKennitt herself, and the band. (Yeeeeee!!) I got my Hatch print signed, DH got his program signed, and we got to shake her hand. One lucky guy was having a birthday, and she actually sang "Happy Birthday" to him. She's a very nice lady, although she doesn't seem to seek out the spotlight like some artists do.
Day 3 - Saturday
Not much of a day. We got up, loaded the car, and had breakfast at the Waffle House next door. We took a different route back home this time; we skipped most of Illinois and crossed the Mississippi south of Cape Girardeau instead. We had lunch at the Lambert's Cafe in Sikeston, which was an experience. Their food is good, but they're always busy-busy-busy. We got in line at 1:10 on a Saturday afternoon, and had a 45-minute wait. The parking lot was full of tour buses and church vans, and while we were waiting, they took in a group of 35, and another group of 48. Oy. And that didn't make a dent in the crowd waiting outside, which was noisy enough to really get on my nerves. The piano playing over the loudspeaker didn't help. They do throw the rolls, by the way. We only got one, while we were waiting for our order. I'm not a great catcher, so I got one as the roll wagon went by and didn't try to get one tossed at me. After that delay, we finally got back to my parents' house at 7:00. No one was home, because El Burrito and the grandparents were off at an anniversary dinner for a friend of theirs.
Day 4 - Sunday
Breakfast with the grandparents and my brother (and his girlfriend). El Burrito got to see Toby and Missy, the bottle calves, again, and pet the dog just a bit. Then we drove home, unloaded the car, relaxed for an hour or so, and drove out to the in-laws' place for a birthday dinner. We got home for good about 10:30. We spent at least 24 hours driving over the four days, but it was worth it.
The bad news we discovered when we got home was that the VCR had mutinied. It's been acting up lately, denying that it has a tape in it and such. That's what it did while we were gone, and I didn't notice the flashing "timer" light before we left. So, thanks to the mutiny, we had no tape of Stargate and Atlantis to watch last night. I managed to borrow a copy from someone online, but I'm looking for a new VCR this week. I can not wait until we move and can dump cable, sign up for satellite service, and get a Tivo-like device. We'll still need a VCR for the old archive, but a Tivo-ish job with a big hard drive will make things a lot easier. (Because, see, I have this habit of not labeling video tapes. Which causes problems when looking for an hour or so of tape to reuse, or trying to find something I taped last week.)
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