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October 25th, 2003
09:07 pm - the nashels come to reston
This morning I went to the store to get Dove soap and Starbucks to get coffee for Amy. While at Giant, I got some granola, but the American Airlines frequent flyer miles promotion with certificates on the boxes was over. So I decided that I should take my two coupons to the Nashels in case they had enough to send them in.
We went to the Tortilla Factory for lunch and then went to Pottery Barn to spend money I don't have with Alyssa's Friends and Family coupon. Amy got some Christmas decorations, and I got some wine glass charms, little bud vases, three Christmas candles and a tray to put them on, and a photo album. We then went to Banana Republic, where I resisted the call of the underwear, but Amy got a $4 short-sleeved blue striped stretch shirt and some socks.
After our shopping, we came home for a minute to walk Becket and decided to take the Nashels the coupons and a new mouse because theirs was crap.
When we arrived, we found Mrs. Nashel just out of the shower (though dressed), and Dr. Nashel on the Erg in his 25-year-old ratty penny loafers. After a while, we asked them if they had plans for the evening, and they didn't, so they finally came to Reston to see my not-so-new house.
I gave them the 50 cent tour, noting all the many home improvement projects I had undertaken within the last year and three months. After a little discussion, we managed to sway Dr. Nashel away from Chinese food and steer him toward fish at McCormick and Schmick's. We arrived and found there to be no wait. Our waitress was overly cheerful and had a heavy Ukrainian accent which made us laugh every time she left the table.
(this entry is respectfully submitted by my secretary Ms. Verner)
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October 13th, 2003
07:58 am - ft. ligonier days
Amy and I went to Pennsylvania this weekend to visit her former co-worker Jen, her husband Brett, and their baby Camrey. Friday after work Mother picked up Becket on her way home and Amy and I left Reston about six o'clock. We went this way:
267 W, 15 N, 70 W, PA turnpike W, 711 N
Traffic on route 15 to Point of Rocks was terrible as it was on 70 in Hagerstown where we stopped at Wendey's for the slowest service ever (worse than the Roy Rogers in Great Falls even). We arrived at Jen and Brett's after eleven.
Saturday morning Camrey got up at 4:30 and so did Jen and/or Brett. After some Enfamil the rest of us slept a while longer. We had chosen this weekend to visit because Ligonier was celebrating Fort Ligonier Days full of parade, craft, and food goodness. We walked into town (2 1/2 blocks--via some alleys) and checked out the crafts. More accurately, Jen and Amy browsed while Brett, Camrey and I watched. After having some lunch from some vendors (including sweet tea--these people may need a geography lesson) we went over to the fort.
[caption from my $0.80 postcard: Fort Ligonier, 1758-1766, was a British outpost in western Pennsylvania, active in the French and Indian War and Pontiac's Rebellion.]
Ligonier was a French ex-patriot who fled to England and was a military strategist. Though he never came to America, the British named a fort for him which they built durring the French and Indian War (which was part of the Seven Years War) in which they fought the French and Native Americans. That's all the history I learned, but the fort was really cool and Brett and I decided it would be a good place for paintball.
After the visiting the fort we all went back home for a nap. We went back into town for more fun stuff and then Jen and Brett made some yummy chicken for dinner. After dinner we had some more wine and played Scooby-Doo Monopoly which Amy and I had brought as a gift. Typical Monopoly craziness ensued.
Sunday morning Camrey has some more Enfamil at 4:30 and we went downtown for lunch. We were seated outside on the 2nd story porch but it started to drizzle some. After some debate as everyone else was moved inside and the rain picked up some we decided to tough it out. It was a good choice because the rain didn't last 10 minutes.
After lunch we went back to the house and then left for home about two o'clock. We had better traffic on the way home except for the merge from 70 to 270. We went though McLean to pick up Becket and then had dinner with Scott.
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September 17th, 2003
August 21st, 2003
08:25 am - kyle was here
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) kylegirl was here this past week. She arrived last Tuesday and left yesterday. We did all kinds of exciting things to keep her entertained (or we tried to). Amy was still off from school (until yesterday) and so we left her in charge of Kyle during the day.
- Tuesday, dinner at Clyde's with Scott and Amy.
- Wednesday, Amy and Kyle made ziti for dinner (it was ready when I got home).
- Thursday.
On Friday afternoon they convinced me [read: mentioned in passing to me] to go downtown to the National Postal Museum. We had lunch at Union Station and walked next do for our philately. That night we met people at Jimmy's for Happy Hour and then went to the second to the last Friday Night Live of the summer.
Saturday I let Kyle have a break from me while Scott and I helped Shaq build a window casing in the pass-through between his back room and kitchen. It turned out ok but was a pain in the ass.
- Sunday, dinner at Big Bowl.
- Monday, red snapper at home.
- Tuesday, sushi with Dana, Margie and Kristen in Ballston.
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August 6th, 2003
07:02 am - updates including cabo san lucas
rehoboth beach medical evacuation, july 25
While visiting my Aunt Jean, my mother managed to break her tibia and damage a ligament in her knee by standing on the beach. She called me Wednesday and informed me that someone (I) was going to have to come get her. Amy and I drove her car up on Friday morning in about 3 1/2 hours (with an inadvertent trip though Ocean City, MD because we had missed the turn off of 50 onto 411 but weren't sure we had so we just kept going). We had lunch with my aunt who i hadn't seen in years and then spent about an hour and a half on the beach before driving back home. The trip home was more direct but less fun. Amy drove alone and I drove mother and her pseudo-broken leg in her car. The trip took over an hour longer because of terrible traffic on the beltway from 50 to 193.
jerry seinfeld, john and brian's party, july 26
Amy got us tickets to see Seinfeld at the Kennedy Center as a surprise a while ago and we went Saturday night. We met at the West Falls Church metro because she was coming from her cello-playing wedding in Manassas and then took the ever-popular Foggy Bottom-Kennedy Center shuttle bus. The woman who opened and he were very funny. I had a hard time breathing for a while because I was laughing so hard.
After the show we took the metro to Courthouse and walked to John and Brian's.
cabo san lucas, july 28 - august 4/5
It was hot and fun. Please see the website [currently still in development] and slicegirl's journal entries (1 and 2) for details.
becket's hair loss, mary chapin carpenter, august 5
Before we left for Mexico, Becket was showing some signs of itching but when I got back it was time to go to the vet. I called in the morning after picking him up at the Nashel's and took him at 2:20. The doctor agreed that it was likely his seasonal allergies and gave him a steroid shot and prescribed an antibiotic and continued Benadryl.
Amy also got us tickets to Mary Chapin Carpenter at Wolf Trap for this past Tuesday. We had great seats, the front row of the third box from the left (stage right). It happened that Dan and Becky were also going the same night and we saw them on the other side of the house. Mary Chapin had cut her hair short and joked that we hadn't seen her in a while because of the requisite therapy and her wedding. They played some favorites and some new yet-to-be-released songs.
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June 30th, 2003
02:57 pm - christine's wedding and other weekend updates
I finished Order of the Phoenix on Thursday night. Not my favorite but not bad overall.
Friday night we went downtown to Mr. Smith's of Georgetown and met up with Scott, Neil, James (Neil's friend from Oxford), Margie and Steve. It took a while for everyone to get there so we had some drinks. After dinner we went looking for a bar we had been about about 4 years ago and discoverd it no longer existed. We lost Margie and Steve to sleep and then ended up at Old Glory for a little while.
Saturday afternoon Amy and I went to Christine's wedding in Quantico. She also teaches 4th grade at SHES. We left at 1:00 with two hours to get to Quantico, check in to our hotel, change clothing and drive 5 minutes to the church. Traffic was terrible and we went directly to the church and arrived five minutes before the ceremony. We managed to get dressed in the bathroom in time and sat with Jen and Brett. Christine looked precious. It was a Catholic service so it was about an hour. We checked into the hotel before walking across the parking lot to the reception. The hotel and reception were on base and only had a minor incident with the guard who seemed more interested in the quality of the map Christine had provided than who we were. We were seated at the Signal Hill table with Jen and Brett and I met the LD resource teacher Patty and the LD classroom teacher Kathy and her husband David.
Scott looked after Becket Saturday evening and we got home about 9:30 on Sunday. On Sunday Scott and I washed our cars in time for it to rain again tonight (30%). We went to Alyssa's for dinner and had tacos and watermelon and watched some Trading Spaces.
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June 26th, 2003
10:13 am - dixie chicks
Amy and I went to see the Dixie Chicks at the MCI Center last night. We took the Metro from West Falls Church and arrived about halfway through the opening act, Michelle Branch. Our seats were in section 421 (row O) despite our purchase from the Ticketmaster bastards right at 10:30-something when they went on sale months ago. Being far away aside, the concert was really good. They played their old, new, and newest songs. The set was really cool with a runway around the outside (the show was "in the round") which they could project stuff on from underneath and they had a a giant tree for Godspeed. Natalie mentioned George W. and "The Incident" (she used quotes) only briefly and we didn't see any protesters.
Harry Potter 5 Update: page 808!
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June 23rd, 2003
09:46 am - moving margie and steve
Sunday I took a break from reading and Amy and I helped move Margie and Steve into their new (rented) condo. Shaq, Jeremy, and Neil helped. U-Haul didn't have their truck "reservation" so they had a cargo van. One load from Margie, Meredith, and Heather's and two loads from Steve's--Steve has lots and lots of Ikea furniture. Their new place is really nice and is right near the East Falls Church metro.
Harry Potter 5 Update: page 406
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June 22nd, 2003
10:06 am - harry potter 5
Amazon was good on their word and my copy (ordered January 15th) arrived yesterday afternoon about 3:00 (FedEx Saturday Home delivery by 8:00pm) all for the low, low price of $17.97 plus $0.99 shipping and handling.
I'm on page 262 of 870.
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June 20th, 2003
11:07 am - SHES end of the year party
Last night I went to Manassas to go with Amy to the Signal Hill Elementary School end of the year/retirement party. Nothing says good times like a room full of elementary school teachers. One woman had been a kindergarten aid for 25 years and the other had been a elementary musics and middle and high school chorus director for 42! We sat with Amy's mother's friends Martha and Wanda who knew the music teacher Betty.
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June 9th, 2003
08:25 am - weekend update, vintage virginia
Friday I drove to Manassass (almost an hour) and Alyssa, Amy and I picked up food and went across town to see Diana and talk about her fireman.
Saturday morning was supposed to be the Reston Chorale yard sale where I was going to donate $100 worth (as priced by Amy) of stuff from the house I've removed and/or replaced in the past year. But... it rained, and it postponed until the 14th. So instead Amy and I went with Scott to pick up Neil at the West Falls Church metro station, had lunch at Panera and then shopped for some new bedding and a bedside cabinet (a.k.a nightstand) for Neil with stops at Bed Bath and Beyond, The Container Store, and Target. Shaq joined us for dinner at Scott's--chicken and dumplings, and after dinner we went to Dairy Queen for some ice cream which Shaq couldn't live without.
On Sunday Alyssa's and Amy's children's choir was singing at church so we went. Scott arrived in Manassas late with Neila and his roommate Fernanda and then I drove us all to The Plains for Vintage Virginia. I had expected it to be soggy because of the rain on Saturday (and had brought some plastic bags for people's shoes) but were arrived to find Mudfest 2003. It was very disgusting but we were there and after our $20 investment could not be deterred (ok, maybe I could have been). It was passable but you had to watch ever step you made and look out for the drunk people at the same time.
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May 28th, 2003
11:43 am - updates incuding the yard, a/c and memorial day
It's been a while so let's get started.
Amy and Scott helped with the patio in the back yard. It was ugly weather but not yet raining. I borrowed Leberknight's Xterra to buy more sand--1,200 lbs in two trips--and the battery died in the loading zone at home depot on the second trip. After running home to get my car and jumper cables Scott E. and I were able to get it started and last 600 lbs of sand home. Amy and I relayed the 90 pavers before it started to rain.
I had my air conditioning/heat pump serviced by adco. They weren't able to keep thier first apointment but rescheduled for a week later. The service person looked at the air handeler and the compressor but found that the compressor was EOL after 17 years and neeed to be replaced since it was stuck in "heat" mode and the fan wouldn't start without help. And so this morning I'm home for the installation of the $1,700 replacment.
This Monday Amy and I went to Kristin, Kristin, and Jen's BBQ. There was a good turnout and the sun even came out for a little while in the afternoon. I had too many hot dogs and a braughwurst mit zenf. We played frisbie and passed the football.
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May 11th, 2003
10:47 am - becket's pedigree?
Becket has been called may things since we took him in off the street in Blacksburg in November of 1998:
- a "good dog"
- rottweiler-collie-dachshund
- "Appalachian-pudge"
- "pound puppy"
But it seems that he may actually be a black-and-tan English Shepherd.
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April 22nd, 2003
11:31 am - yard (and home) improvement
This past weekend I started installing an exhaust fan in the second bedroom in hopes of helping all the computers stay cool. With Amy's help I cut a hole in the ceiling without making too much of a mess and then I partially mounted the fan and tested it out with an extension cord. I need to frame out a box to attach the other side of the housing too because it was designed for 16"-on-center framing and the trusses in the attic are 24"-on-center. I plan to power the fan from the existing light switch and in the process make the currently switched outlet always be on and add a receptacle in the attic.
And then there was the yard improvement... Shaq came over and we went to Home Depot to get:
(6) landscaping timbers (4" x 4" x 10 feet)
(4) landscaping timbers (4" x 4" x 12 feet)
(24) pieces of flagstone (12" x 12")
(10) 60 lb. bags of sand
(10) bags of mulch
(14) pieces of rebar (24")
And the "Load n' Go" truck. I asked about the truck as soon as we got there but some one was already at the desk checking it out. I got my name on the list. I would later learn that the list isn't very useful when they're not really supposed to call people on the list and expect you to stand in a line and wait at the special services desk. Thinking that all was reasonably well Shaq and I began out pursuit of the items on the aforementioned list as well as a few things for the exhaust fan. Probably and hour passed before we were finished selecting lumber that was true and having them forklift more flagstone into reach so I could pick it over. Shaq had spotted the truck so I checked on my status in the queue which is when I learned that providing them my cell phone number was unlikely to have done me any good. We checked out and then Shaq waited with my purchases which I went home to get my not-yet-valid insurance card as opposed to the expired one I was carrying in my wallet. (I don't know what happened to 12 month's worth of insurance cards but I'm confident I still had (and have) car insurance.) I returned to the store where we continued to wait for the truck to get back. It was finally mine after waiting for almost 4 hours and at least three other people to use it. Shaq and I loaded it up and then drove less than a mile to my house where we carried everything into the back yard. I returned the truck in approximately 50 minutes, well within the 75 I was allowed for my $21.34. My mother had been relocating some ground cover and some flowers I didn't want to behind my back fence. I then dug holes and planted the nandina and three boxwoods (4 of the 10 plants I had) while Shaq took a shower and got ready for Margie's birthday party.
After I finished planting what I had time to got ready and then Shaq, Amy, and I went to dinner at the Chilli's hidden next to the Reston International Center before going to Margie's sisters's condo.
Sunday morning I got up early and planed the remaining three boxwoods and three azaleas before getting ready to go to church. After church Amy and I went to lunch at her parents. Her aunt had made all the food and tons of it so I was obligated to over eat.
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April 17th, 2003
08:04 am - charlottesville and nelson co.
As our vacation for Amy's spring break we went to Charlottesville and stayed in a bed and breakfast about 30 minutes south in Nelson County.
Monday morning we left about 10:30 and arrived in Charlottesville about 12:300 with no law enforcement-speed enforcement altercations. We went to the downtown mall/pedestrian area (for grownups, follow the three presidents) and had lunch at The Hardware store. After lunch we walked around a little and then went south out of town on 29 to find the Mark Addy (29 S to 6 W to 151 S).
The B&B was precious and our host, John, was great. After settling in a reading for a while we examined our map on Nelson Co. "something...something...on the Sunrise Side of the Blue Ridge", and despite Amy's mis-founded concerns over how far is was drove up past Wintergreen and then about 18 miles along the Blue Ridge Parkway. After our drive on the parkway we came back around south and past the B&B to have dinner at Bistro 151 in "downtown" Nellysford. Their claim to fame was having the "Best Pizza in the Northeast" and what we had was pretty good.
Tuesday we had breakfast at the inn and is was very good, grapes creme brulee and a crab omelet (Amy's omelet was omitted and she just had crab cakes). Before lunch we went to Ash Lawn-Highland, James Monroe's house (#5) just down the street from Monticello. It was a nice change from the usual visit to Monticello and I think Amy liked the W&M part. For lunch on Tuesday we went to the kid's area along Barracks Road next to campus. Amy bought a pair of UVA shorts because she was hot and we went back to the inn where we read until Amy was starving enough to select a place to go for dinner. We went to a little Italian place north on 151 who's name I forget but it was good and we ate outside.
Wednesday morning we had breakfast again at the inn and this time we were on time (Tuesday we were late). Waldorf salad, poached eggs and locks (Amy had stuffed mushrooms). After getting dressed we checked out about 10:30 and want again to the adult part of Charlottesville for lunch. We arrived at 11:01 (said the parking ticked) and got some much needed shopping in (I bought some new running shoes) and then had lunch with some less-than-exceptional service. We headed home about 1:30 and got back to Reston about 3:30 with only one close-call speed-enforcement potential-altercation.
Amy went to church for Children's Choir and I went to McLean to pick up Becket from my mother's.
Mother met me at my house on her way home from work and we went to Home Depot to get some plants for the backyard (we got 4, with 6 more to get elsewhere and 4 to come from her house).
The end.
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