Tuesday, November 5, 2019
VA is for lovers.....and their babies
Yet another grandchild showed up this month. We had baby number four appear in Williamsburg, VA on Oct 22. We enjoyed the wonderful leaf show, the Halloween displays and the countless chubby cheek kisses of our grandchildren. We were lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time to do some "BBQ research" with our James Beard award winning friend Adrian Miller, who was a speaker at the Fire, Flour and Fork food festival in Richmond the same day we needed to pick up another family member who was coming to visit the baby. Highly recommend the Fried Bologna Sandwich at Pig and Brews, Richmond, VA.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Colorado Colors
We continuously talk about wanting to spend more time exploring our wonderful, colorful, Colorado. But this year, we really have been more places than I have been in the ten previous years. I've seen gorgeous Buena Vista and Breckenridge, Greeley and Fort Collins, Park County and Como, Fairplay and Salida, Gunnison and Trinidad, and the Sangre de Christo Mountains, and I have loved them all.
For Richard's birthday, his siblings flew in to surprise him from Memphis. We went to a friend's cabin warming party in Park County, and then drove an hour over the mountain to Breckenridge to stay for two nights. On day two, we connected with cousins in Buena Vista and went to have happy hour with them in their own new AIrbnb home. Then back up to Breck, with a wonderful AM walk about town, breakfast in a new French bakery and shopping. We finished the weekend at a Toad the wet Sprocket concert. I love Colorado! And I love Breckenridge.
For Richard's birthday, his siblings flew in to surprise him from Memphis. We went to a friend's cabin warming party in Park County, and then drove an hour over the mountain to Breckenridge to stay for two nights. On day two, we connected with cousins in Buena Vista and went to have happy hour with them in their own new AIrbnb home. Then back up to Breck, with a wonderful AM walk about town, breakfast in a new French bakery and shopping. We finished the weekend at a Toad the wet Sprocket concert. I love Colorado! And I love Breckenridge.
Monday, July 22, 2019
More Williamsburg, VA
We leave tomorrow to head to the homeland, aka midwest, for a family reunion. I have enjoyed this time with the 5 year old and his parents, although not the physical labor of moving:) Being here for weeks at a time, I become part of the family. Lincoln asked if I was going to live with them forever yesterday. I said, "No, I fly home after our upcoming vacation and family reunion". I then asked "will you miss me?" And he replied, after some thought, "sometimes." It'll do Pig, it'll do. :) I bought him his first treasure chest and front loaded it with a crisp $10 to bribe him to take a bath with no complaining and to walk away from his video game. He is a happy boy tonight. And tomorrow, before we leave, he wants to hide his treasure chest.
Friday, July 12, 2019
Colonial Williamsburg
I am helping my pregnant progeny and fam get moved within town to a smaller place. The grandpa went back to AZ, so they can get to an apartment again, with a pool! The young grandson, who is already 5 1/2, is so very thrilled. About the treadmill. He is thrilled with the pool, too, but is desperate for his very own treadmill. They have a newly renovated gym and are willing to let him use the treadmill. That caused his biggest smile of all.
There is a price to pay for all this lush, green forested foliage and blazing rainbow of flowering, towering trees. I'm in Williamsburg, VA. It's beautiful. From the confines of an air-conditioned space, it is wonderful. But outside, there is the blanket of warm moisture, a cloying, dripping humidity. And there are spiders everywhere, and webs spring up like mushrooms, overnight. You don't realize how many bugs there are until you see them, trapped in webs. And should you be unfortunate enough to spill water in your car, and to forget, the smell in a day will remind you of your clumsiness. On the other hand, it "rains" flower blossoms when it rains, and we saw purple rain yesterday.
The front yard squirrel clears the moss off of the 10 brick steps up into the house. It is his job to do this every day. He gets treats for keeping it clean, and yesterday, he enjoyed six perfectly sweet cotton candy grapes to reward him for his hard and vigilant work. I never knew that squirrels eat green things, but it makes perfect sense. The back yard has other squirrels but they do not eat the moss off of the steps, only the front yard squirrel does that. So no treats for them. We have a beautiful view of the nearly wild forest in the backyard, through the bank of windows that form all three walls of the dining room in this house. I will miss that view, particularly in the fall when the trees turn vibrant yellow, orange and red.
But it's a quirky home, and much too large for this small family without grandpa here. The only regular doors are to the outside. All interior doors are pocket doors, which do not seal out light and noise properly. The house is 2600 sq feet but it has a horrible galley kitchen of 12 x 14. A large mudroom off of that could have been used to enhance the space. For people who cook, this is a one person kitchen and collaboration is a challenge. And this couple loves to cook together, so they will not miss this home.
There is a Jack and Jill bath between two of the bedrooms upstairs, with a nice shower stall. Then the upstairs master has a separate bath, also with only a shower. The only tub is down a flight of stairs on the basement level, off another bedroom space, which could also be a den area. It's a kooky house. To enter any bathroom, you must go through a bedroom. Pretty sure the designer never intended parties. 3 actual bedrooms, 1 bath, and 2 3/4 baths, with Den in basement. Really odd. All entrances to the home require 7 to 10 stairs. Also not good for the grandpa who chose this place, or the pregnant progeny. I dread the move on Sunday.
We have found a great Seafood Market, a fantastic breakfast place and a lovely French Bistro. Hopefully, when we get unpacked, we will get another trip to another beach, having enjoyed the Yorktown Beach, which is a "river beach". The water was extremely warm, and while we enjoyed its briny warmth, grandson had some kind of hivey reaction at the end of our visit, so maybe we'll switch to an ocean beach next time. I'd also like to see this whole "Colonial" thing and visit some of the historical parks in the area before we leave at the end of the month for our first family reunion in 15 years. I like Virginia. If they didn't have to have hurricane contingency plans, I'd say it would be a top ten retirement area. We'll keep looking.
There is a price to pay for all this lush, green forested foliage and blazing rainbow of flowering, towering trees. I'm in Williamsburg, VA. It's beautiful. From the confines of an air-conditioned space, it is wonderful. But outside, there is the blanket of warm moisture, a cloying, dripping humidity. And there are spiders everywhere, and webs spring up like mushrooms, overnight. You don't realize how many bugs there are until you see them, trapped in webs. And should you be unfortunate enough to spill water in your car, and to forget, the smell in a day will remind you of your clumsiness. On the other hand, it "rains" flower blossoms when it rains, and we saw purple rain yesterday.
The front yard squirrel clears the moss off of the 10 brick steps up into the house. It is his job to do this every day. He gets treats for keeping it clean, and yesterday, he enjoyed six perfectly sweet cotton candy grapes to reward him for his hard and vigilant work. I never knew that squirrels eat green things, but it makes perfect sense. The back yard has other squirrels but they do not eat the moss off of the steps, only the front yard squirrel does that. So no treats for them. We have a beautiful view of the nearly wild forest in the backyard, through the bank of windows that form all three walls of the dining room in this house. I will miss that view, particularly in the fall when the trees turn vibrant yellow, orange and red.
But it's a quirky home, and much too large for this small family without grandpa here. The only regular doors are to the outside. All interior doors are pocket doors, which do not seal out light and noise properly. The house is 2600 sq feet but it has a horrible galley kitchen of 12 x 14. A large mudroom off of that could have been used to enhance the space. For people who cook, this is a one person kitchen and collaboration is a challenge. And this couple loves to cook together, so they will not miss this home.
There is a Jack and Jill bath between two of the bedrooms upstairs, with a nice shower stall. Then the upstairs master has a separate bath, also with only a shower. The only tub is down a flight of stairs on the basement level, off another bedroom space, which could also be a den area. It's a kooky house. To enter any bathroom, you must go through a bedroom. Pretty sure the designer never intended parties. 3 actual bedrooms, 1 bath, and 2 3/4 baths, with Den in basement. Really odd. All entrances to the home require 7 to 10 stairs. Also not good for the grandpa who chose this place, or the pregnant progeny. I dread the move on Sunday.
We have found a great Seafood Market, a fantastic breakfast place and a lovely French Bistro. Hopefully, when we get unpacked, we will get another trip to another beach, having enjoyed the Yorktown Beach, which is a "river beach". The water was extremely warm, and while we enjoyed its briny warmth, grandson had some kind of hivey reaction at the end of our visit, so maybe we'll switch to an ocean beach next time. I'd also like to see this whole "Colonial" thing and visit some of the historical parks in the area before we leave at the end of the month for our first family reunion in 15 years. I like Virginia. If they didn't have to have hurricane contingency plans, I'd say it would be a top ten retirement area. We'll keep looking.
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Paris 2018
We had a delightful time in Paris again. This time, we got to share it with friends and relatives. Our friends Adrian, Tammy and their 16 year old joined us, along with sis in law and a 21 year old niece. Always fun to see someone see the Eiffel tower for the first time.
As usual, the best moments were the serendipity. The "oh let's see my old hotel" turned into a jazz night in the lounge of a different hotel, Hotel D'Aubusson, complete with vocalist and pianist. At the end of the lovely concert, we found some late night snackage at a lovely Oyster Restaurant we passed by. "BEST TACO BELL EVER"! In seriousness, though, Oysters from Normandy the size of your HAND, toast with thin sliced "white bacon" (pork belly) and pink peppercorns. And champagne. Of course. Opium, La Cabane is a must go back location!
The kids found that Lime scooters were the best way to zip and zoom through the city, while we adults managed with Metro, Uber and cabs. The shopping in the Marais district is the bomb diggity, from Chanel and Gucci to hipster second hand stores, they had it all. I still love Kusmi Tea.
Pick any bakery, but look for the ones with "awards" on the windows, for the best breads and pastries. We also recommend the house red anywhere, because there truly is no such thing as bad wine in French restaurants. We found an amazing restaurant with delicious "tapas" like small plates on this trip, and terrific mosaic tile work because it used to be a giant water storage tank. Roxo Les Bains Paris. https://lesbains-paris.com/
Make sure you get some Euros and look for your local street markets, market days change depending on the neighborhood, but if you're there on a weekend, go see the giant Parisian Flea Market, it's got an incredible restaurant in the center. Chez Louisette looks like a Christmas Tree exploded, but it is old school French singers to live musicians in a cramped space. You must order food, no "drinks only" is allowed. Fun!
The museums are amazing, but my favorite is the Rodin. There's an outside statue garden and coffee shop, so if you like walking outside, this one's for you. Another must see is the view at night (on the hour light shows, too) from the Trocadero Metro stop of the Eiffel Tower. Make sure you time it right to see the light show. And if you love museums, make sure you do them all, more museums than you can ever visit in one visit. The Louvre alone takes days. We love the Musee D'Orsay for it's vast impressionism displays. The Musee de l'Orangerie if you love Monet.
We still have the Giverney gardens to visit sometime in spring for a full picture of Monet's work, but I've now seen the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, swoon, drool, smile.
As usual, the best moments were the serendipity. The "oh let's see my old hotel" turned into a jazz night in the lounge of a different hotel, Hotel D'Aubusson, complete with vocalist and pianist. At the end of the lovely concert, we found some late night snackage at a lovely Oyster Restaurant we passed by. "BEST TACO BELL EVER"! In seriousness, though, Oysters from Normandy the size of your HAND, toast with thin sliced "white bacon" (pork belly) and pink peppercorns. And champagne. Of course. Opium, La Cabane is a must go back location!
The kids found that Lime scooters were the best way to zip and zoom through the city, while we adults managed with Metro, Uber and cabs. The shopping in the Marais district is the bomb diggity, from Chanel and Gucci to hipster second hand stores, they had it all. I still love Kusmi Tea.
Pick any bakery, but look for the ones with "awards" on the windows, for the best breads and pastries. We also recommend the house red anywhere, because there truly is no such thing as bad wine in French restaurants. We found an amazing restaurant with delicious "tapas" like small plates on this trip, and terrific mosaic tile work because it used to be a giant water storage tank. Roxo Les Bains Paris. https://lesbains-paris.com/
Make sure you get some Euros and look for your local street markets, market days change depending on the neighborhood, but if you're there on a weekend, go see the giant Parisian Flea Market, it's got an incredible restaurant in the center. Chez Louisette looks like a Christmas Tree exploded, but it is old school French singers to live musicians in a cramped space. You must order food, no "drinks only" is allowed. Fun!
The museums are amazing, but my favorite is the Rodin. There's an outside statue garden and coffee shop, so if you like walking outside, this one's for you. Another must see is the view at night (on the hour light shows, too) from the Trocadero Metro stop of the Eiffel Tower. Make sure you time it right to see the light show. And if you love museums, make sure you do them all, more museums than you can ever visit in one visit. The Louvre alone takes days. We love the Musee D'Orsay for it's vast impressionism displays. The Musee de l'Orangerie if you love Monet.
We still have the Giverney gardens to visit sometime in spring for a full picture of Monet's work, but I've now seen the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, swoon, drool, smile.
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