observations

All the catching up is done.  I am officially caught up and have only my current workload for classes!  The travel was great, but it does get complicated when juggling deadlines. 

Registration for spring semester started this week.

Thanksgiving is next week.

Charlie won't step on manhole covers when we walk.

I was hoping to see meteoroids this morning.  I didn't.

Thanksgiving is next week.

Family wedding in October 2011.

I've started wearing long pants to walk to the gym in the mornings.  CCCCold at 5:00.

Also ccccold at bedtime - I've added another layer of light-ish blankets.

Thanksgiving is next week.

Yoga pants and hoodies. Turtlenecks.

I need color.

I need stronger light.

Dishwashers are wonderful!  Or maybe I'm just in that honeymoon stage - but why has it taken me 5 years to discover the delights of dishwashers!?



For whatever reason, I started using my dishwasher for storage when we moved into this house 5 years ago.  During a recent marathon weekend of kitchen work I was looking for options.  General strike, paper plates, something!  While we were at Jacob and Kate's, watching them load their dishwasher,  I had the classic enlightened moment - I have a dishwasher!  On our return home, school work and laundry shared that first day's busyness with finding a spot for the things stashed in my dishwasher. If I move this stuff here, then that stuff has to go.... Where is the soap the previous owner left behind?  (honestly, who keeps 1/2 a bottle of cascade for 5 years?)  But there it was...

For my birthday, Tim found a pretty little red-bound French English dictionary at the Goodwill.  I keep it at my desk and you'd be surprised how many times I've used it!

Where to start?!

We are back from the east coast - maritime New England or midatlantic.  It was great.  Thanks to Jacob and Kate for putting us up, putting up with us, and showing us a great time!

We decided to do NYC, as this is probably our last visit. Thursday it rained, (and it was raining hard when we first arrived) so a few adjustments were necessary. It was a good day but I have very few pictures due to the rain....We stopped at the Riverside branch of the NY public library for a minute after we parked the car.

This sign made me laugh - and we saw them everywhere!

Made our way to the subway station and headed for the harbor.  The rain let up long enough to enjoy the sight of the Statue of Liberty and a quick visit to Ellis Island.

 

On our return we ducked into a museum for some warmth and culture.  It was the Smithsonian's exhibit of American Indians and included a section on MesoAmerica which we had just studied in my WldCiv class! 

We dealt with some light rain as we walked around Times Square and the surrounding area.  Saw Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller and Lincoln Centers, ate a slice of pizza at a local joint, saw lots of suits and boots and umbrellas.

Friday we headed to Rhode Isalnd to satisfy our ocean cravings and ended up at Charleston Beach where we saw the ocean wild and tall and green and booming.  It was majestic and awesome.  There was a storm brewing in the Atlantic and this was the result.  Stopped at Mystic on the way back and browsed in a favorite shop.  (funny to think we've done this often enough to have a favorite shop)

We also visited Waterford beach which is a couple minutes from Jacob and Kate, right there in New London.  We walked and clambered over rocks, speculated about an amazing piece of driftwood, and picked up a few rocks and shells to add to my collection. 

We stopped there again on Saturday before we left and I found this:

I love flying.  I can't tell you how much I enjoy the sights through those tiny airplane windows.  (Tim graciously allowed me the window seat on all our flights.)  Providence is just a delight.  The colors, the wooded areas, the estates, the islands and bays, the boats, the backyard swimming pools in all the different neighborhoods - I love it! This time I saw snow east of Chicago, and it was my first time to fly at night.  The nighttime lights of Chicago were magical.  I wish I knew what route we actually took - I'd love to be able to identify the cities we passed over. Their lights were entrancing.