Must Read: Pride and Prejudice

I Heart Mr. Darcy.

This is in reference to the fictional character Mr. Darcy, the hero for Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. In 1995 A&E and the BBC produced a six-hour version of “Pride and Prejudice” which quickly become a favorite mini-series of mine. I had taped it from TV, received the VHS set as a cherished Christmas present, purchased the two -disc DVD, and finally upgraded to the deluxe ten year anniversary DVD edition as another cherished Christmas present.

Amazingly enough, I had never actually read Pride and Prejudice. Until now. God I love my Kindle. It is amazing what a great read this was! And of course I had the many adaptations running through my head while I was reading, mostly Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. Hands down the best representation of the character.

Please, please, please go and start reading Pride and Prejudice. And after that you have to start reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I just started reading it and will finish it in no time. Any book that has the following line is worth reading:

“His sisters were fine women, with an air of decided fashion, but little in the way of combat training.”

Weekend of Harmony and Beer

This past weekend James took Lulu and I to a bed and breakfast in Nelson County, VA. Two weeks ago he declared that he wanted to go away for the weekend. His last night on mids was Thursday and he didn’t have to be back in work until yesterday at 1400 (yay swing shift!) so this was the perfect weekend. He did the research and booked the room. Friday afternoon we packed a bag, the Escape, and the dog to take off on our adventure. Our drive to middle VA was so nice. Not a lot of traffic, warm weather, and good conversation. Our GPS unit had the location wrong for Harmony Hill Bed & Breakfast so James guided us in with his iPhone. We were welcomed to the B&B and settled in no time.

Harmony Hill Bed & Breakfast

Our first outing was for dinner at the Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company. Oh. My. God. We have found a mecca of food and beer; especially beer. After partaking in the sampler we settled on the Schwartz Beir for James and Ale of Fergus for me. We really didn’t want to leave but we were getting tired. So we bought a growler of Schwartz Beir, a couple of glasses, and headed back to the B&B for a night cap.

Devil's Backbone Sampler

Saturday morning, over a fabulous homemade breakfast, we decided that we would do something that involved Lulu first and then something “adult” in the afternoon. We decided on walking a portion of the Blue Ridge Rail Trail along the Piney River in Nelson and Amherst Counties. It turns out that we parked at milepost 1.8 of the trail and walked towards the trail head. Oh well. We had a great time. Almost four miles might have been a bit too much for Lulu, but she was a trooper.

Piney River

After our hike we decided on an impromptu picnic back at the B&B. We stopped in Nellysford, VA, and picked up fresh bread and a bottle of VA wine from Basic Necessities Café and then cheese, dip, and sandwiches from Ambrosia Bakery & Deli. It was fun to eat, drink, and dine local. Lulu enjoyed lounging in the sun. Before drinking too much more wine, we put our picnic in the room and Lulu in her crate and headed for our “adult” activity of the afternoon.

Our makeshift table for our picnic

The DelFosse Winery has been a favorite of ours since 2007, so going to the vineyard itself was quite a treat. We bellied up to the bar for our tasting. And of course didn’t leave empty handed. We even signed up for their wine club (which we learned can ship to AZ!!!). We also learned that they have a cabin on the property that can be rented, which we most likely will be doing at the end of summer.

DelFosse Winery and Vineyard

After a nap back at the B&B we headed out to dinner at Devil’s Backbone. Again. We couldn’t help ourselves. After a brief wait for a table (they were packed Saturday night) we once again enjoyed fabulous beer and food, though I had Gold Leaf Lager (awesome!). We brought back our growler and had it filled with Ale of Fergus. Saturday evening was spent drinking champers in the B&B’s gazebo and then to bed.

Sunday morning meant waking up and leaving. Not an easy accomplishment. Breakfast was incredible with an amazing baked apple french toast. We made it out of the B&B and to Charlottesville, VA, to visit our friends the Evans’ (Clay, Bethany, and Cayley). We had a fabulous time seeing their new digs (which they moved into last year) and grilling out for lunch. We had to leave there eventually, and instead of sitting in the nightmare that was I-95 North we took Route 29 North back to Northern VA.

All in all, as James and I sat in the backyard Sunday evening, drinking Ale of Fergus, and watching Lulu play…we knew that we had just had one hell of a weekend. Check out all the photos from the weekend under "Images Of Our Live" at the bottom of the page.

Promotion baby!

I just wanted to give a shout out to our good friend Bri who was promoted to Sergeant First Class (E-7) last month. She is currently deployed so the photos she sent were as close as friends and family could be to the big day. Congratulations Lady!!!!!

Bri being pinned.

Easy walk!

Now that the weather is starting to improve (they are hinting at highs of 70 on Friday!!!!) I can now once again take Lulu on walks at night before bed. I must say, two months ago it was a struggle to take her for a walk. She would pull on her lease or come to an abrupt stop and whine. It was annoying. She is a dog. She should love the outdoors! I have noticed that as she gets older and bigger she is starting to enjoy more things “dog.” Like the dog park and walks.

On advice from our friend Jes, we purchased an Easy Walk Harness which has a front-chest leash attachment that stops the dog from pulling forward; if the dog does it will pull against their chest and upper legs. It is a miracle of nylon!

The only problem is that it gives Lulu greater access to the leash which she wants to mouth, but she is getting better about leaving it alone. We crossed over Southrun Road and into a nearby neighborhood where I saw a fox! I’d never seen a fox in our neighborhood before so that was very exciting. If I had been wearing better walking clothing and my ears weren’t cold we could have kept on going.

And when it rains it pours with pet ailments. Benning has scratched all his fur from behind his left ear. Two weeks ago he got a shot of antibiotics and steroids (the vet believes it is a “hot spot” or allergic reaction) which were suppose to help. He is starting to scratch at the scab and won’t let it heal. If he is still like this next week it is back to the vet and most likely the cone of shame. Lulu has an abscess on the top of her head. An abscess! It is way gross and I won’t go into details but she to is on antibiotics orally (I would have preferred a shot) for the next 10 to 12 days. If the abscess doesn’t clear up then when she goes to be spayed on April 2, 2010, they will have to clean it out entirely while she is under. Luckily, the vet will keep Lulu overnight and perhaps she won’t require the cone of shame.

Roosie is just Roosie. Luckily nothing has happened to her yet. But everything happens in threes. So it is either her or someone’s pet that will be struck with something. Or maybe my sister’s cat Miss started it all with her ailments. And the cycle of threes has ended. Yay. That is what I am going with today.

Springing up babies....

When I awoke on Friday, March 12, 2010, there was a text message from my good friend Mary Kate sent at 4:34 AM:

"Release the Kraken! Alyce is on her way."

This was code for Mary Kate was in labor. While I haven't heard anything from the new momma since, she posted some photos of the cutie on her Facebook page (for the record I don't Facebook) and a cryptic posting which I believe means Alyce Adelaide weighed in over 8 lbs. and was over 20" in length. She has a full set of hair! And the cutest cheeks.

Now the funniest thing about Mary Kate having a baby is that among our small circle of friends from Mary Washington College, she was the last one we pegged to a) get married and b) have a baby. She is always full of surprises that Mary Kate is.....

We can't wait to meet Miss Alyce!!! Congratulations Mary Kate and Drew!

Finding treasures

This past weekend was DC Flea, an antiques and collectibles show out at the Dulles Expo Center. I started going back in 2005 on occasion and it seems that recently I am going every time. I love this show. Well, I really love any antiques and collectibles venue. It isn’t every one’s cup of tea, but it sure gets my pot boiling! My partners in crime this trip were Molly, Nancy (who was up visiting), and Laura. See below for my big scores:

This basket was my first purchase. I am a sucker for baskets and this was so unusual. I was able to talk the price down yay! (Especially since this vendor had a White Mountain hand-crank ice cream maker marked at $95 and you couldn’t even turn the crank the full circle. She clearly had no idea what she had or that it was way overpriced for an item that didn’t work.) I can’t wait to use this basket at the Farmer’s Market this year.

My second purchase came when Nancy found me in one aisle and dragged me to another. Molly was standing in front of a chest. I wasn’t in need of a chest until she opened the lid and the label inside proclaimed it to have been made by the Richmond Cedar Works! This company made wooden furniture and appliances between 1870 and 1960. Now what really makes it special to me is that the saw mill (named Camden Mills) which planed all the wood (juniper, cypress, and cedar) was located in Bells Mills, an African American community just down the road from where I grew up, on the Elizabeth River. I know exactly where the cedar wood for this chest came from (the Dismal Swamp), where it was processed (Camden Mills), and how it made it to the factory (the Elizabeth River). I have always wanted to own a piece of Richmond Cedar Works furniture and now I do!!!

Look how the label has survived! As if it was purchased and never used or opened. What a great piece.

However, the last owners decided to spray paint it white so James and I have a lot of work ahead of us to return it to its former glory. And several joints are loose. But for $40 it is worth it.

My last purchase was a ladder which I will use to hold blankets. I have been looking for something unique to hang blankets and I think I have found what I was looking for. And at a great price.

Now I just have to wait until July for the next event. If you are interested in joining us please let me know. It is always a great time. You never know what you will find. This weekend was no exception.

When the boys get together....

The oldest of James' military buddies come from his stint at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA, in the late nineties. There he met three young men: Ryan (Air Force), Micah (Army), and Shaun (Air Force). Okay, Shaun came after James had left DLI but Shaun was an alumni of DLI so we just consider him from the start. James would talk of them often to me sharing his crazy stories of their high jinxes in CA and then when they were all stationed in the Washington, DC, area. Ryan was by James’ side right after Jaime’s birth in 2001 when he was shuttled from hospital to hospital. Even before I had met them I considered them part of our family. Shaun lives in Northern VA near us. Micah current lives in Canada (his wife works for the State Department). And Ryan lives in New York City.

In 2006 I got to meet Shaun and Micah when James had come up from GA for a visit. I was very excited to meet them. And I didn’t meet Ryan until 2008 right before the wedding (for those of you at the wedding Shaun was the guy in a kilt and Ryan was the guy in a suit) but I knew I liked him from the start when he got me a glass of wine!

Whenever Ryan or Micah are in town the old gang gets together. And it can be a riot. Ryan was down recently on a visit and brought his girlfriend, Amy, whom we were very excited to meet. As we sat down to dinner I said “Let the games begin.” Amy looked at my with a puzzled look, and I explained that when any combination of Shaun, Ryan, Micah, and James are together there is always a good time and wild stories.

Here is the proof:

This is Ryan, James, and Shaun at the beginning of the night after dinner.

And this is Ryan, James, and Shaun after a night at Murphy’s Irish Pub.

Boys will be boys.....

Welcome the newest member to our Army family!

It seems that it is baby season in our world lately. And the second, of what seems like a dozen of friends who are expecting, baby in our circle of friends entered the world this morning!!

Becky safely delivered Elenore Shelby at 0905. She is 6lbs 9oz and is 20.5 inches long.

Congratulations Becky and Leo!!!! And big sister Makenzie!!!