Friends in Virginia and DC

On Tuesday Mom and I met up with my friends Judy and Lance.  Judy and I worked together at my very first job out of college in 1981.  Lance and I worked together at Arena Stage in Washington, DC back in the 1980's.

Lance gave us a detailed tour of the new Arena complex.  It is truly something to behold and pictures I have cannot convey the size and grandeur.

I got kind of nostalgic walking through the few parts that are still there from what I remember as the original structures.

Lance's partner, Tony, met us a the theatre and we went up to Capitol Hill for dinner at one of their favorite places, Las Placitas.

We all got caught up.  It had been two years since we had met as a group.  This gathering of people from my past has been a Christmas-time tradition.

From the restaurant to Lance's condo to show Judy his truly amazing Christmas decorations.  Lance decorates his place in an unbelievable amount of Christmas.

There are more Dicken's villages than ever, garlands of lights and ornaments, Santas, Christmas Mickey Mouses, an enormous creche, and this incredibly beautiful tree.

We agreed we would only go up to Lance's highrise condo if there was easy parking.  There was this spot that was about six inches longer than the rental.

Not to brag (but I am)...I made it in on the first try.

Christmas in Virginia

I flew to Virginia on Christmas day to spend some time with family and friends.

After landing at Dulles International Airport, I got the rental car and drove to Herndon to pickup my sister Carol.  Herndon is very close to the airport.

Then we drove to Mom's in Burke to pick her up along with the potatoes for the traditional potato soup.  We went to my niece Gracie Kay's apartment.  My sister, Lea, and her husband Tim and his brother Todd were already at Gracie Kay's.

Also at Gracie Kay's was the newest member of the clan, Austin.  He's Gracie's nephew and only 3 months old and cute as can be.

He is successfully unwrapping one of his presents here.

The food was fantastic and the company was even better.  It was a great Christmas celebration.

Merry Christmas

Two great Minneapolis Christmas yard decorations.

Got it!

I finally got a new 2012 Ford Escape Hybrid.

This has been quite the process.  When I found out that the new 2013 Escape model coming out in 2012 would not have a hybrid version, I really wanted to get the current model which does come in a hybrid.

The problem was there were no hybrids available in the upper midwest.  So I searched around the country thinking I could fly out and drive one back.  There were just not very many and it was made more difficult because I want an all wheel drive version.

I did find three in Virginia where I am going for Christmas.  I called the dealer and was told a salesperson would call me.  Never happened.

The salesman at the dealership here in Minnesota called me Tuesday to tell me he found one.  And it was at their sister dealership in Buffalo, Minnesota.  That is the dealership where my current Escape came from!

I picked up this black beauty yesterday.  I am so happy.

Home again

I had a wonderful weekend in the Berkshires with Jill.

We stayed at the very historic Red Lion Inn on Stockbridge, Massachusetts. 

The inn is full of charm.  The halways and roms are filled sith antiques and paintings and drawings and bric-a-brac -- a bit like The House On The Rock in Wisconsin.

The impetus for the trip was for Jill to see James Taylor in A Christmas Carol.  Which we did at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Alice's Restaurant

Sitting in the former Alice's Restaurant of book and movie fame in Stockbridge, Massachsetts right now.  It is now called Theresa's Cafe.

There is no cell phone service in this little New England town but there is wi-fi. I had a work teleconference so I used Skype for the first time.  I was connected via wi-fi to my corporate email, skypeing and testing all at the same time.

James and Jill

No, it isn't Jack and Jill.

Spending the weekend in Massachusetts with my friend Jill from Oregon.  We are seeing James Taylor in a production of A Christmas Carol.  And yes, this is the James Taylor, singer/song writer.  He is performing the role of Bob Cratchet.  Jill is a James Taylor fan freak.

I flew to Albany, NY last night where we have spent the night.  I'm working this morning from the hotel lobby.  We drive to Stockbridge, Massachusetts later today.  Staying at the historic Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge.  Pictures to follow.

Interesting air freshner

Usual flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Charlotte.  I generally make one trip to the bathroom if the conditions permit.  I guess there are hiundreds if  not thousands of Delta flight attendants so there are always different ones.

This week was the first timeI can recall there being an air freshner in the head. What made it stand out was what the air freshner was...a packet of ground coffee.

The flight attendant was in the back.  I thanked her and said what a great idea.

7' 400lb gorilla

The equipment for the Delta flight home on Thursdays is an Airbus A319.  I'd never heard of an 'A319' but that's what Delta calls it.  In coach the seats are 3 x 3 -- 3 on each side with center aisle.

I always try to get an aisle seat.  That way I can go to the bathroom easily during the flight if needed.  And when landed, can stand up right away. 

I am just a hair over 6' and weigh only 185 these days but on this A319 the seat size and/or configuration makes me feel like I am the 7' 400 lb gorilla.  With my feet flat on the floor I cannot lower the seat tray to level.  It rests on the top of my thighs.  My shoulders and legs are always intruding on the center seat person.  And the refreshment cart always hits my shoulder even when I squish in.

The outbound flight from Minneapolis is on a regional size Embraer 175.  It is a 2 x 2 in coach.  But there is more room and comfort on this type of plane than the bigger A319. 

A Coffee First

I got my regular Carabou coffee at the airport and walked to my gate.  The gate was very close which was unusual.

I chatted with another gentleman that is on the same project and travels to Charlotte every week, too. The gate attendant made some announcement about an equipment change and it might take longer to board.  Meanwhile, I've been holding my coffee in my right hand with my boarding pass.

Somehow I've got myself stuck with the coffee and the boarding pass and can't switch hands.  The coffee seems to be getting hotter and hotter.  By the time I get on the plane and to my seat, the coffee cup is burning my hand.  Burning my hand so much I end up with a 3rd degree blister on my thumb which has already busted and I'm bleeding!

I cannot recall ever getting myself in such a predicament.

First Saturday Coffee and Church Bizarre (oops- Bazaar)

 I picked up James for first saturday coffee and took a couple of pictures of his newly painted house.  It looks so wonderful even on this overcast day.

 Congratulations to James, Habitat for Humanity and all the volunteers.

I was very proud to have played a small part in this project for such a deserving person

 After first saturday of the month coffee at Jack's the gang headed over to Rose's church, Incarnation Catholic, for their annual Christmas Bizarre.

In addition to great Christmas bargains there is homemade soup.  This is the clean bowl club.

Two of the basement church ladies (and friend) Jane and Diane.

Bunny and Jackie B-day Celebration

Bunny's new birthday hat.  Seems so appropriate.  It even has a bottle opener in the visor part....awesome.

And Jackie's birthday is on the 9th so she gets to wear the birthday hat, too.

Linda won second place at work for this lovely holiday sweater. Second place for most frightening. She has Rose and Amy to thank for the award.

Nothing specific

On my flight home the week before Thanksgiving a passenger was talking to the flight attendants and actually referred to another flight attendant as a "stewardess."  The passenger who used stewardess was a young woman.  The flight attendant, also a woman, corrected the passenger to use "flight attendant."

When was the last time you heard "stewardess?"  Is this from the tv program Pan Am ?

Thanksgiving sweet potato tots

When I was in Wisconsin this past September, the Grumpy Troll in Mt. Horub had these wonderful sweet potato tots.  Like regular potato tots but made with sweet potatos.  I thought that would make a great Thanksgiving dish.  So I set out to create my own.  Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 medium sized yams (I used red garnets) that came to about 4 cups shredded.
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/8 - 1/4 cup brown sugar (I wasn't so precise about this)
1 cup mini-marshallows

Stir all the above together to mix well.
Microwave 2 minutes to melt the mini-marshallows.  stir half way through
Allow to cool.

Now the difficult part.  Form balls of the shredded yam mix with your had and squeeze, squeeze, squeeze as much of the liquid out as you possibly can.  Set carefully into 375 degree oil.  I used a canola oil.  Deep fry for about 1 1/2 minutes until brown.  Allow to dry on paper towel. Makes 15 - 20 tots.

These are labor intensive but really really good.

shredded yams

mixed with mini-marshallows

the tots

I would like to figure out how to make them a bit smaller.  Or possibly keep the size and come up with different dips.

Thanksgiving

Christine and her mom, Nancy, holding my homemade apple and raspberry pie.

For the past several years I have had Thanksgiving dinner with Christine and her parents.  Tim and Nancy fly in from West Virginia and stay for a week or two.

Mrs. Peters always cooks a wonderful Thanksgiving feast.  I bring the sweet potatos and usually a pie.  This year I made the pie from apples and raspberries picked in my backyard this summer.

And for the record there was no snow on the ground.  The high temperature for the day was officially 59 very warm degrees.

No travel this week

Not having to travel this week is great. I was able to sleep-in on Monday and each morning since.

Getting some little projects done and helping out the neighbor...

Neighbors Sari and Mather are remodeling their kitchen needed to dispose of the old cabinets. I called up JT. JT and his pal Bob came over this morning and loaded them onto their trailer. Less material in the dumpster, the landfill and put to good use.

After 20 years I finally have installed outdoor and backdoor lights so I can see to get in and out the back in the dark. Thanks to skymall.com and amazon.com. These battery-operated LED lights turn themselves on and off. They are super easy to install.

This is number one on the backside of backporch.

Number two outside the back porch door.

Number three inside the porch.

Creepy

Was walking down the alley toward the house. Lots of crows on the trees and alley itself. Looked up into the trees and with te crows is the neighborhood falcon.

I counted 18 crows and one falcon. The falcon flew away with the crows following. Then a flock of pigeons flew off inthe other direction.

The whole thing seemed very creepy.

Team outing

I don't often put activities directly related to work on the blog but this was such a unique and fun event.  The team celebrated the completion of our first phase of work by getting manicutes and pedicures.  I have never had a manicure let alone a pedicure.

The team getting manicured.

Pedicure results.

The very generous Kim.

Chrysler 200 versus Ford Focus

Two weeks ago I rented a Chrysler 200, Chrysler's new 4 door compact.  The model available at National was a very basic model with no frills.   

 

Chrysler likes to tune their vehicles to sound aggressive and the 200 follows suit. It is a small car that sounds bigger.  Most importantly it is fun to drive.

 

Another Chrysler feature is an analog clock in the center of the console in addition to a digital block with the radio. It drives me crazy when the clock is way off and both clocks were off. I figured out how to fix the digital one thinking the analog would automatically follow along. But it didn't. You have to set them separately. ugh.

Last week I rented another 2012 Ford Focus. This tine it was a hatchback in bright red.   It is a very hot looking car. And a blast to drive. And unlike the Chrysler 200, this Focus was outfitted to the hilt. 

 

Everyone knows I like all the buttons and gadgets but this one might have been over the top. There are multiple buttons on each spoke of the wheel. One set controls the dash display between the speedometer and tachometer. The other set controls the radio.

Then there are ton of buttons to control the MyFord Sync system and radio/audio.  And more buttons to control the interior lights.  Of course I had to play with all of them.

Seats are comfortable and the body has the right amount of stiffness.  This new model Focus is just so much fun to drive.

The king of procrastination

I had all summer to do my home projects but I didn't do a darn one.  So this weekend and last have been spent scraping and painting and closing up the garden beds.

I've lucked out with the weather.  Last weekend was beautiful and above average temp.  Scraped porch window sills and trim then primed and painted.

This weekend I cleaned up all the garden beds.  Filled almost four compost bags.  The yard is ready for winter and looks kind of depressing.  Today I sanded and painted the back porch window/doors.  Only did the edges so next summer really need to do the entire back porch...next SUMMER!

I don't think the weather is going to stay on my side for more projects.

A break from the routine

Drove out to Mooresville last night to meet a friend from my Washington. DC Arena days -- Belinda Higdon, her husband Ronnie and daughter Olivia. Olivia is a sophomore at Mooresville High School and a member of the band. I drove to Mooresville to see Belinda and hear Olivia's band concert.
The concert was a real throw back to my high school band days.

Went to dinner afterwards to get caught up with Belinda.  It has been more than two decades!

Rollergirls

Me, Bunny, Amy and our "found" friend, Steve from Boston waiting for the 17 bus to downtown to go the Northstar Rollergirls.

Steve was very friendly and really like to talk.  We were told to wear pink to chear on the Delta Delta Di team.  Our waitress from Old Chicago, Megan, plays on the Delta Delta Di team whose cheer is "Stinky Pinky."

 The rollergirls are in the Minneapois Convention Center.  The rink is simply marked off on the poured concrete floor.

When these girls hit the floor, it looks very painful.

As you can tell from this very blurry picture, we were on the floor in the very front.  We had been warned to bring cushions thank goodness.

We were seated on turn one. The refs were between us and the game.  Though a couple of times there were a few close calls.

It was tons of fun.  At the end of the match, we got to run up to the girls for their victory lap and exchange high fives with the competitors.

The Jeffery Official Start of Fall

The annual dropping of the ginko leaves.

It was cold enough this morning to cause the trees to start dropping their leaves.  Walking to coffee was truly beautiful.  Twenty-nine degrees, no wind, bright sun...yellow, green and red leaves gently falling like giant colored snow flakes...such an amazing site.

Walked out the front door later in the morning to see the sidewalk and parked cars covered in yellow ginko leaves...ahhh.

Pumpkin carving

Bunny, with James watching in the background, at JT and Linda's annual pumpkin carving.

Here's the crowd inside.  It as a bit chilly and windy outside so another carving area was made in the living room.

 

Just a partial showing of the fabulous pumpkins.

A beautiful Fall maple

My neighbor across the street has this amazingly beautiful maple tree.

I wish the sun had been shining but still stunning.

Home but what happened to the rest of the apples

Just got home and noticed that there aren't any more apples on the apple tree.  Unless you count a mostly eaten little one.

When I left town Monday morning there were still several apples still on the tree.  Could the squirrels taken all of them?  It looks like there aren't even any on the ground.  I'll check better in the morning.

A Charlotte Fall

Canceled flight?

Woke up this morning at 4:30am to my cell phone ringing.  It was Delta letting me know that my 7:30am flight was canceled.  Delta also let me know that I had already been re-booked on the 7:30am flight. 

It didn't really make sense. Had they booked me on a different airline? I know that US Airways has a flight at about the same time or was it a connecting flight? I thought one of the messages said the arrival time was 1:0-something.

Come to find out it was a 7:30am Delta direct flight from Minneapolis to Charlotte landing at 10:30am Charlotte time...a half hour earlier than the regularly scheduled flight.  I'm guessing that the difference is the first flight is operated by Compass for Delta and the revised flight is operated by Delta itself.  

The best thing about the change is the revised flight is a bigger plane.  I got moved closer to the front and on the aisle and a row by myself.

Because of the 4:30 wake up call, I got to the airport even earlier than last week.  The security lines were even worse which seems to indicate that being early does not pay off. The non-priority line actually looked shorter so I thought I'd conduct an experiment.

I picked a guy with an orange shirt in the priority line to see which one of us got through security first.  He did. The non-priority maze was longer and the id checkers - one for priority and one for non-priority - would sometimes let the priority person go through the non-priority check.

Mouse trapped

Got home this evening to find the mouse trip over by the door between the kitchen and the dining room.  It was by the refrigerator.  I thought may be Uno had tried to get the peanut butter out of it.

Turns out there was a mouse trapped in it.  The trap is one of those that gets the mouse completely in the device and you just throw away the entire thing.  The mouse was so smooshed and didn't weigh hardly anything that I couldn't tell there was a dead one in there until I finally saw the tale and butt.

I assume the cats are the ones that got the trap from the refrig to the door.

I haven't been posting because work in Charlotte is long long hours and tiring.  This week I got up at 5am my time to get to the airport for my flight.  The security lines at MSP on Monday mornings are rediculously long so have to plan to get to the airport extra early.

I get to the client office in Charlotte about noon Easter time.  The team worked until 8pm Monday night because we had an additional training session. 

Tuesday got in early at 7:30am and worked until almost 6:30pm.  Ate at the hotel bar and then went up to executive lounge to do some more work while watching tv.

Wednesday left the hotel a little late because I over slept.  Traffic was crazy because of an accident on a different interstate.  Didn't get to the office until after 8am.  Worked until 6pm.

Got to the office early this morning for a 7:30am meeting.  Left for the airport a little before 5:30pm.  Got home about a half hour ago.  It is only Thursday and we are supposed to work a full day tomorrow yet only bill the client a 40 hours.

Still harvesting

I'm still getting tomatos, peppers and best of all apples from the garden.

Trail of Terror

That time of year...a beautiful Fall night...a hay ride...and a haunted maze.

Christine, Kay and I were joined by Jan this year on our Trail of Terror outing in Shakopee. We started with the haunted hay ride. It was a beautiful night last night...clear and cool.

We then did one of the side hauntings, got a bit to eat followed by the corn maze.

Then the highlight of the night in the haunted maze. Tons of fun. Scary and funny and scary.

The lines were so short this year we did the hay ride again. An enormous moon was out which just made the ride even more fun.

Ford Escort

Last week's car rental was the 2012 Ford Escort. The new model Escort is quite different from the previous model. Still a small compact, it feels and looks so much more high tech and polished.

The body has creases and folds creating a sleek and aerodynamic shape. A co-worker had to ask what the car was since it does look so different. He was impressed with the look.

The interior is comfortable. The center console has convenient radio and temperature controls. Windshield wiper and washer controls are on the steering column right lever. A nice feature is the delayed wiper swipe when using the windshield washer. Headlamp controls are on the left side of the steering column combined with the blinkers.

The gauges are easy to read especially with the up-down and telescoping steering column. The information controls on the steering column are not exactly intuitive though. I had some difficulty getting the display to return to normal mileage and temperature.

The front windshield is very steeply sloped. There is a bit of a visual blindspot to the front right and left because of the front pillars. You kind of have to get used to looking through the front side windows. They are so for forward that you can see forward as well as to the side.

The seats are comfortable for a small car. And unlike my first Escort back in the 1980's, I was able to adjust the driver's seat far enough back.

I was anxious to rent a 2012 Escort because the 2012 Ford Escape is supposedly going to be based on the same body style. I recently saw a spy photo of the new model Escape's interior and it looks very very similar. I am a bit concerned about the Escape being downsized to the Escort though.

I would definitely recommend the new Escort. It was a lot of fun to drive...quick and nimble.

A big paint project

My friend James was told by the city to paint his house. He was able to get Habitat for Humanity to take on the project. This is the Friday crew of volunteers who scraped and primed.

We scraped down to bare wood. The paint would buckle or peel so the Habitat for Humanity volunteer coordinator thought it best to go all the way to the wood so the primer and then paint would adhere better. JT happened to have this jackable scaffolding. Once we got that up, four of us were able to fairly quickly scrape this side of the house.

Everyone was tired out by the end of the day.

The best apple ever

Grabbed an apple from the tree in the backyard on the way to the airport.  This was the first apple I picked.  The others I've scavenged from the ground.

I finally got to eat it on Tuesday.  It was perfect and delicious.  I'm so glad I planted the apple tree three years ago.

Not as smooth this week

Well, I'm back in Charlotte. NC. But this week, Monday didn't go as well.
I actually got to the airport earlier but I hadn't printed my boarding pass. My printer isn't working so I figured printing at the airport would be fine.

I did know that I was departing from G21 so the mid-terminal security check would be the most convenient. I didn't know that the Delta kiosk wouldn't print my boarding pass, however. For some unknown reason my itinerary was blocked.

There are no gate agents at the mid-terminal security entrance. I had to take the parking tram to the main terminal. It was crazy busy at the main terminal. Monday's are always busy but everyone was making comments on the crowds.

Thanks to having status, I got a Delta agent quickly and she was able to print the boarding pass -- no problem. I was upgraded to first class again. That was a surprise and may have been why the record was blocked.

Now I had to get through security. The lines were twice as long as the previous Monday. It was now 15 mins. before scheduled boarding time. Twenty minutes later I was through security and at the opposite end of the airport from my gate. I made a gamble...instead of taking the long walk down concourse G. I went to C to catches the C tram to the mid-terminal crossover. It worked perfectly. The tram pulled up just as I was getting to it. I was the third to the last passenger on. Everything went smoothly after that.

Buick Enclave

Now that I'm back to traveling, I'll be doing my vehicle reviews again.  Hopefully since it has been a while, there will be some new models to drive.

When the shuttle pulled into the rental lot, there was the Buick Enclave right at the end.  I don't recall having had this vehicle before.  I was too anxious because I didn't realize until I got to the office that the key did not have a fob.

Not having a fob breaks one of my cardinal renting rules but it was too late.  It drove me crazy for the rest of the week.

The Enclave is a big vehicle.  It sits fairly tall and is quite wide...deceptively so.  It is actually kind of tricky to park because it is so wide. 

I am a rearview mirror user. The Enclave has a backup camera.  The display is in the rearview mirror.  The display is seamlessly integrated and is quite large..like half the mirror.  I actually found the size to be distracting. Probably once you've used it for a while, the camera and its display would be helpfull. Better get used to it because I think the backup camera and display are going to be standard.

The Enclave does not get very good gas mileage but I don't think that is why people buy one.  You definitely feel safe in this one. 

But there is a design flaw..a small but iritating one.  It was a stormy rainy week in Charlotte so the wipers were important.  I could not for the life of me find the control for the rear wiper.  Being a crossover, the back glas gets roadspray so the rear wiper is very important.  Granted I should have researched the control loacation when I first got the car but I didn't.

It wasn't until the next day in daylight that I finally found the switch. The flaw is that the control is hidden by the shifter.  Even when you know where it is, the control is difficult to use.

Overall the Enclave is a very nice vehicle. I don't think I'd want one though.

It looks like a mess but tastes so good

This is the incredible Isles Bun and Coffee coffee cake.  Famously known for their cinnamon buns, its the coffee cake that gets me going every weekend.

coffee cake

Off to a good start

I'm back to business travel.  And my first flight was an upgrade from coach to first class!

On Monday I got to the airport a little later than I planned.  The security lines were very long and moved at a slow pace.  I knew the gate and it was near security so I was not too concerned.

I was not anticipating an upgrade because this was my first flight in several months and it was just a smaller regional jet.  By the time I got through security it was past the start of boarding...Delta starts boarding way early.  I stopped at the ATM and Caribou Coffee.

When I got to the gate boarding had started as expected.  I didn't know where they were in boarding so went up to the gate agent and handed my boarding pass.  She said "Oh, there you are." and took my boarding pass and gave me the first class seat!  Sweet!

The flight was uneventful which is always what you want.  There was a full breakfast even.

I'm in Charlotte, North Carolina.  It looks like I'll be traveling here for a long time.  The weather is muggy and warm...so not what Minnesota has been like for the past several weeks.  It was 72 degrees this morning which is warmer than it has been back home since August.

Apple pie #1

Okay, it may not look pretty but there is nothing like a home made apple pie.  Especially with an apple and currants from my own garden.

It's just one apple and a mess of a pie crust.  One of what could be many because there are lots of apples.

Subaru Forester

Surprise!  I'm not traveling but I have a vehicle review.  Dave probably thought I forgot.

On our Spring Green, Wisconsin road trip we took Dave's brand new Subaru Forester.  The new 2011 Forester is much more a crossover vehicle than the old girls-of-a-certain-nature wagon.

It tool nearly the entire trip before Dave would relinquish the wheel.  Like I said it is brand new so he was enjoying the drive himself.  Driving the hills and turns of rural Wisconsin must have been fun, Dave.  I finally got to drive once we were securely on the interstate.

None-the-less the Forester drives smooth and Dave's V6 model has tons of power.  This version of the Forester stands higher than a standard wagon though not as high as my Ford Escape.  This version also has a nice wide stance with a good feel to the wheel and suspension.  There is lots of glass making road trip a treat as passenger or driver.

I'm not ready

My outdoor thermometer says it is 38 degrees.  I covered the tomatoes and peppers and geraniums.  May get to 60 today but warming up over the weekend.

Annual Spring Green, Wisconsin road trip.

Last weekend was the annual Spring Green,  WI - American Players Theater trip.
This year Rose, Dave and Jeff drove from Minneapolis. And Michael and Megan drove from Iowa. The weather was amazing and gorgeous.

Rose was challenged to find a hotel with available rooms even having started several months ago. No hotel was available in Spring Green so we ended up in Dodgeville, about 18 miles away. We've stayed in Dodgeville before but never at the Don Q Inn.

As you can see the Don Q Inn has a very special feature... this Boeing Stratofreighter in the front.

And that's kind of just the start of it.  We enjoyed our stay at the quirky Don Q Inn.

The show at APT was The Critic by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. On my gosh! The production was hysterical. At one point in the second act, I had tears streaming down my face from laughing so hard.