Frog and Goat

On my way home from work, I turned off the radio as soon as I crossed the Shockoe Valley bridge and opened the roof and rolled down the windows. It was really nice riding home with nothing but the sound of wind.

The closer I got to home the smell of honeysuckle got more redolent. I’m always amazed at how that smell can remind me of being a wee whippersnapper waiting for the end of school and those first glorious days of summer vacation.

Once, before we were married, the better-half and I traveled to Texas during the month of May. One of the first smells I sniffed on the way home from the airport was honeysuckle. I remember looking at him and saying that’s what its supposed to smell like here. He agreed and I knew that was reason #456 of why he was a keeper.

Nightline’s list of those killed in our war on terrorism.

The Niece and her parents came over this afternoon for a cookout to celebrate the holiday. We had a really great time kicking the ball around, practicing our batting skills and, of course, showing off GYMNASTICS!

After our visitors left, I found this image on my computer…I can only assume that The Niece had something to do with it.

Did you know that there are some ethnic groups who inhabit the Commonwealth of Virginia? I know, I know, it’s so very hard to remember that when you live in the capital region. To remind yourself, drive 50 miles north and whammo, it hits you right in the face.

We went to Giant grocery last night in a quest for booze and Doritos. We came out of there with booze and Doritos (black pepper jack–yum) and papadams. WTF? You can actually buy those in a regular grocery store? The mind reels.

Then today after feasting at Anita’s, we went to Trader Joe’s. And, we bought a package of garlic naan as well as some other tasty treats.

On the way home, the HOV lane was chocked full of motorcycles headed north. I guess they were headed to join Rolling Thunder. I’ve never seen so many Harleys in my life. Some of those bikes were beautiful, er, I mean tough.

Tomorrow evening we’ll be here watching the radio broadcast of Prairie Home Companion. It seems weird to say we’ll be watching the radio but that’s what we’ll be doing.

It’s nice to know that the show is sold out so I can prepare myself for the masses on the lawn. We’ve been to several shows there and only once before have I felt like we are packed in like sardines. It makes going to the loo a bit difficult after the sun goes down.

While we’re in the big bustling metropolis of Vienna, we’re going to hit some of the fancy schmancy grocery stores and see what interesting food items we can find. We may also look around to see what’s what in furniture stores.

On Monday we’re having The Niece and her parents over. Hey, Niece if you are reading wait until you see what fun we have planned. It involves something round and purple.

We saw Revenge of the Sith tonight and I found myself at some point saying I just needed to move past the tidiness and just go with the story. Without giving anything away, the movie was much better than I anticipated and kicked the ass of episodes I and II. Of course, nothing will ever top the original movie.

I am so excited about The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

I got an email from a friend who said “by the time you read this you’ve probably already heard my rambling voicemail about friend A.” I called home to listen to the message and then a RANT flew from my fingers. The friend A lives in a western state but has family in VA. They make a trek yearly to see A’s extended family. Quite often it works out that A, my email friend and I get together when A is in the state.

Generally, we’re able to plan this a little so that all VA-based people can get schedules straight and plan who will host the get-together. We’re never given much warning but usually we can make it happen on a weekend. My RANT started because A and family will be cruising through VA next Thursday mid-afternoon. Like leave work a half-day and rearrange all kinds of schedules to boot. Ain’t going to happen. Bottom line: Value me a little more and I won’t get all ranty.

I was in a training room all day today and will be there for two more days. We were so tucked away that we didn’t even realize that a raging thunderstorm was going on until we were released for the day.

The other bad thing about the cell, er, I mean room, we’re using for training is that there is only one computer in the whole room and the trainer is using it. Can you imagine 3 days without connectivity?

On the way home I stopped at the Home Depot across from the training space and let me tell you how much I appreciate the Home Depot near my house. There were only 2 lines open at this second-rate store and both of the cashiers were experiencing issues with nary a manager in sight. Of course, neither of the cashiers called a manager or suggested that another line should be opened to accept money from the 20 or so people in line. I was a few seconds away from leaving my cart right in line and walking out the door. The two things that stopped me was that it would be rude to the other people in line and I’d just have to stop at another store and round up all the goods again.

Isn’t it great when you are listening to your MP3 player and instead of feeling rather jaded that you’ve heard the same songs 14 gazillion times, you crank it up and put it on repeat? For one song? And, then you get home and crank it up on the big speakers because you just can’t get it out of your system?

I’m having that thrill this afternoon with Peacekeeper by Fleetwood Mac. I remember when the song came out I really liked it but I’d kind of forgotten about it. Now, my friends, it is in danger of being worn out. I think I’ve listened to the song 20 times in a row with no signs of stopping. Friday afternoon madness.

Yesterday I got the oil changed in the car and when the oil tech guy asked me how my wipers were, I told him they were crappy. Only I kind of answered him in a really excited and hyper kind of way because, by golly, those wipers were CRAP. He laughed with me, I’m sure, and said he could replace them. It was really nice today during the drive in, with the rain whipping down, that I was able to actually see the road and cars around me.