An Eventful, Relaxing End to a Week

Monday the 26th, and Tuesday the 27th were late days at work; so I didn't do much at home besides crash. I did do some coloring in coloring books... a fine way to relax I suppose. Also, I played a bunch more on my French horn, which is always fun to do. I had steak for dinner at home one of these nights... so good.

Wednesday was different at work since I had to go out in town for some things... and I had some Panera Bread with my shipmate while we were out. Four cheese souffle and a little reading in Neptune's Inferno as well. That evening at home I set up my account for my churches' online forum and responded to the thread in my email that got me interested in finally doing it. Also talked with my family back home, and that was awfully nice. I think it was the weekend that I bought the futon for my extra bedroom... I set it up that evening and was very pleased with it. Also went swimming at the community pool for the first time... only one in it for a while... and the weather was so pleasant.

Thursday at lunch time I was let off the ship to do another errand and stopped by a little Chinese place on Hampton Blvd called Golden Dragon. They have a shrimp pad Thai that I adore, so I had that and watched the news on TV about Syria as I ate. Two different people asked me what my dish was as they came up near the counter to order. :) That night I stopped by Burger King for some fast food, went home and watched Sleeping Beauty again. I don't think I'll ever get enough of that film.

Friday I got off early, although a little later than the rest of my division (by choice). And I had such a good time... all week I had been thinking of trying out Carrabba's Italian Grill, after seeing so many ads on TV during the underway, and then remembering one of my first classes talking about how much she loved it. So I drove all the way to Lynnhaven Pkwy in Virginia Beach to experiment. Goodness, my waitress was buoyant. She squeee'd with delight when I told her it was my first time. She did suggest an excellent dish too... so I was impressed with the friendly service and the taste. They make the Olive Garden seem like McDonald's. I had a perfectly seared, tender grilled chicken breast with goat cheese and red peppers on top. And for an extra dollar, my side became a small portion of fettuccine Alfredo with mushrooms and peas mixed in just because I asked. Oh, but the chicken soup! Goodness! I've never had better. And the bread with oil and spice for dipping was nice too. Okay, enough about the food. I also got to sit outside in perfect evening weather and watch ESPN's promo stuff for college football's opening weekend... including a tidbit on the Huskies. Never had time to read my book... the service was way too fast.

After that lovely experience, I went back to the mall and spent a good long time in Barnes & Noble, just poking around looking at everything. I bought one book... an illustrated history of knights that looks very fun... otherwise I looked up books that I thought interesting online while I browsed, and generally found them for a quarter or half the price. Got a little memoir from Dick Van Dyke, and another interesting one... Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle (can't wait to look at that one!). Also: Bridging the Military-Civilian Divide: What Each Side Must Know About The Other—And Itself (promises to be fun!), The Conquest of the Ocean (so pretty!), and lastly (and randomly) a sci-fi young-adult novel by Jasper Fforde.. The Last Dragonslayer. On my way home I remembered to stop off at Walmart to return a couple things I didn't need, and to pick up a floor lamp for the spare bedroom. 

Saturday I had duty, so nothing much happened. But come Sunday, I had a whole two days to myself... and boy, did I enjoy them! Started off with a fabulous breakfast to include singed spam and waffles. Then I finished reading the last Arn book... Birth of the Kingdom. I cried at the last paragraph, partly from it's power, and partly because I was so sad that there was no more to read! While I heartily enjoyed the film, as usual, the books were a thousand times better... the five-hour miniseries just scratched the surface of this extraordinary trilogy. I loved how much the author knew and respected the middle ages... reminded me of C.S. Lewis. 

There were a few things that I've been wanting to do for a while that I finally decided on this weekend: I subscribed to MHQ for two years (military history quarterly - I've been buying them off the newsstand since I joined the Navy); second (on Monday), I rented a cello. Stopped at a music store in Virginia Beach that I looked up in order to get more music for my horn... and remembered my desire to branch out. Lastly, I signed up for Netflix, and found the amount of things I can watch directly on my TV astounding: the entire series of Foyle's War, Dick Van Dyke, Midsomer Murders, Miss Marple, Ken Burns' Civil War and Baseball, and even Star Trek and MacGuyver... instantly! ...as well as a wide variety of classic and modern films. Monday I watched the last of season 6 Foyle, an episode of Jack Benny, and a Cary Grant film I'd never seen before: People Will Talk, which was very fun. 

Sunday I managed to get my laundry done before church... and I enjoyed another trip to Ynot Pizza afterwords. Monday (Labor Day) afforded time to sleep in, more fabulous breakfast, time to reorganize my clothes (including the ones that got shipped here from home - finally), put together the extra coffee table I had bought during the summer (in the spare bedroom), then finish with the grand musical shopping trip and movie-watching marathon before mentioned. 

How enjoyable are simple things!
Jw