So I got back from the Sierras yesterday. Unfortunately, I couldn’t convince my friends to leave Bishop but the weather was nice and we had a blast.
Here’s a picture of Convict Lake just before a short thunder storm rolled through.
It was kind of strange. My hubby has a broken rib, so he languished in the recliner or bed all weekend, pouting 'cause he couldn’t do anything. I was working on revising a model of Bear Creek which proved nigh impossible. Two of the kids were out of town, so nothing much else was going on around the house - it rained off and on too. So it was kind of like cocooning for us. I really got tired of sitting in front of the computer!
Yesterday morning I drove up to Brooklyn and proceeded to walk from Prospect Park through Crown Heights and on to East New York. I then took an hour and a half long subway ride up to Flushing, where I had some Kung Pao chicken and visited the Queens Botanical Garden and the Flushing Mall.
After an hour plus long subway ride back to Prospect Park, I spent an hour walking around Park Slope and Prospect Park, the latter of which smelled pretty good because everyone and their families were out barbecuing that evening.
So the best part of the day comes around 6:30 PM when I am in my minivan attempting to head back home to Southern NJ. I enter a traffic circle in which the driver of a BMW attempts to make an exit from the center lane, not noticing a sky-blue minivan directly blocking his path. I suppose he noticed it after crashing into my front driver’s-side door, because he then followed me to the edge of the circle where he got out of his car and began to explain to me how I didn’t know how to follow traffic lights (it was green for proceeding through the circle and for exiting). After squeezing out of my door (that now only opens six inches), I explained to him that my lane had arrows on it giving me the option to either exit or stay in the circle. Anyway, after the NYPD came and sorted everything out (in my favor, I believe), an hour had passed and I was ready to get out of there. About 10 minutes later at a red light, the guy in the BMW pulls up along side of me and honks his horn. I gave him a friendly wave and was extremely careful not to get into an accident with him again (we were entering another circle!).
The next hour was spent driving aimlessly around Brooklyn with no idea of where I was going, until I luckily passed a sign for the Verrazano-Narrows. From there I made record time and was home in an hour and 45 minutes.
Overall, I had a pretty good Memorial Day.
On Saturday a man in a hat handed me a ridiculously expensive piece of paper letting me know that I am in fact smart, and thus my college career ended. That’s kind of drowned out the rest of it…which is fine, because the rest of it - playing tour guide for my sister and having my parents “help” me move in (“No, I don’t need that. Or that. Please stop buying things. Please don’t make me go to WalMart again.”).
However, they’re gone and I’ve got my expensive bit of fancy paper, so I’ll say it was pretty good. 
Well, let’s see.
Thursday night, we went out to dinner and a movie.
Friday, we bought a bunch of perennials and a tree, cleaned out the front gardens, planted the plants, mowed the lawn and grilled.
Saturday, I went to brunch at a friend’s house, came home, eventually grilled again, planted some more plants and then played some WoW with my husband.
Sunday, we went on a bike ride, which was cut short due to my husband’s pedal falling off. The bolt hole on the arm assembly was stripped out and we were three miles from our car. So, we turned around and my poor husband tried to pedal back with one pedal and one pedalless arm assembly. It made for quite the workout. Then we went to the bike shop, had it repaired and learned all kinds of new things about repairing our bikes, and purchased a couple of tools.
Monday, we grilled and just generally putzed around the house. I took a three hour nap because I felt sort of crappy.
All in all, it was a nice, if somewhat busy weekend. The sun was shining and I was able to wear shorts and a tank top the entire weekend.
I have a business partner in from the UK to help guide our software development. He is supposed to be doing this on a regular basis, but this is the first time since Christmas he has spent any real time on it.
Not wanting to waste any of his time here, I worked all weekend. He on the other hand decided to go to Georgia with his Girlfriend. He left Thursday night and although he was due back yesterday, I still haven’t seen him. I’m more than a little pissed today.
By monday night I was relaxed sunburned and tipsy!
Friday - wandered Lowes, and did outdoor house chores, sweeping roof, fogging skeeters, watering veggies etc etc.
Saturday - Took the teenager shopping for bathing suits once home we launched the swim raft.
Sunday - took the teens to their summer Camp open house, on the way home saw a motorcycle accident, not a good outcome, sad. Very stupid asshole kid in truck crossed a dbl yellow to avoid a garage sale slowdown, hits and kills a lady on her HD out with other riders for a fun poker run. grrr
Monday- watched swimmers, boaters, soaked up sun, grilled on the BBQ.
MOnday evening - decided to ignore wet towels and sand tracks in house.
It was pretty nice. I skipped out of work at 3:00 on Friday, got on a train, took another train, then walked a bit. I arrived at the B&B at precisely 5:30, exactly when I said I’d arrive. I went alone this year, but managed to make friends everywhere I went. I exercised every morning, went to the beach every afternoon (rain or shine), ate far too much for dinner every night, and watched the most awesome sunsets. Monday morning I played my guitar in a park, then on returning to the B&B I got caught up in a parade, so I followed it all the way to a cemetary. Later that day I grew just enough balls to fully immerse myself in a 50 degree ocean for about 0.00001 seconds.
I never did get around to kayaking.
Most of my weekend was pretty quiet. I did go to a cookout on Sunday and had a great time. Hung out with some old friends, and made some new ones. The food was delicious. Perfectly grilled veggies, jalapenos stuffed with cheese and wrapped in BACON, shrimp, chicken, and vension. With plenty of beer to wash it down.
How I avoided both a hangover and indigestion will remain one of the unsolved mysteries of the universe.
I was asked to come into work on Saturday from 8-4 to help with a project that was behind. Then I was begged to stay until 6 instead, so I did. The weekend did not improve much from there.
Friday: Stayed home from work and worked on cleaning up lawn and minor repairs at brothers house.
Saturday AM: Bought lots of burgers and hottdogs for cookout. Continued cleanup from Friday.
Saturday PM: Married Pixilated
Sunday: Cleaned up mess from Saturday
Monday: Got to unwind a bit.
Those all sound pretty good. Especially the middle one.
On Saturday I went fishing. Other than that, the rest of my weekend involved doing laundry and playing WoW, one-handed.
On Tuesday I went back to work, worked for one hour, went home and have been there ever since. 
He forgot to mention the 10hr round trip drive to/from the airforce base my son is at just so he could give me away at the ceremony.
All week worked on getting the yard cleaned up!
Thurs - took car to body shop and picked up rental (young’n ran a red light and hit my car). Took boys shopping for shirts&ties, celebrated daughter’s birthday by going out to dinner.
Fri - Did more on the yard, got hair done, got girls’ hair done, last minute errands, finished paying for awesome cake of geeky-goodness by Edible Elegance, rented a couple of tents because of 40% chance of rain 
Sat - picked up flowers - beautiful! last-last minute odds and ends. Married my Demon (aka Projammer), got a little tipsy, had a blast! ooh’d and aaah’d at the cake (Italian cream with buttercream frosting for one “book”, chocolate-peanutbutter w/caramel for the other - yum!)
Sun - cleaned up, relaxed
Mon - drove son back to airforce base - yay, 10hr round trip! Stopped by a wee town and had some German food, brought home German sausage, mustards, and streudel.
- Drove to Cleveland from NJ.
- Went to a wedding with juggling.
- Hi Opal!
**congodwarf **what happened to your hand?
Oh, and congrats on the wedding, Projammer and Pixilated! That is a badass cake.
Went to Burning Flipside, it’s a central Texas version of Burning Man, with about 2500 people.
So my weekend was a 5 day long party of the most extreme proportions.
Nothing is wrong with my hand.
My elbow, on the other hand (hehe) is all screwed up. I have a bad case of tennis elbow. As of the 27th, I am officially out of work pending successful surgery. When the surgery will be though, no clue.
I am so bored.
I cleaned half my house today. One handed. It was surprisingly easier than I thought. I will NOT be telling my sister this though, or else she will be expecting me to clean all the time. No chance in hell.
I spent the weekend in the desert southeast of Santa Fe at the first session of Bantu-Tumbuka, a 10-day camp of lessons from African masters in drumming, dance, song, marimba, mbira, and other assorted expressions of culture.
We camp in an organic fruit orchard, and spend 8-10 hours a day in classes. The food is organic and mostly vegetarian, the African masters are demanding and supportive, the landscape is breathtaking, and I always return completely exhausted and full of new drumming techniques and rhythms.
Combined with a day before and a day after in Santa Fe doing the tourist thing with my best friend/spiritual brother, and it was fantabulous.
>Thursday drove to Michigan.
>Friday barhopped in Ann Arbor and visited old friends while watching the Red Wings lose.
>Saturday visited my sister then went to the Detroit Electronic Movement Festival.
>Sunday started home and spent the night in Cinicinntti (Covington) and watched the Red Wings win.
>Monday - home - sleep
Yes, I vacation in Detroit.