Two Long Weekends!

Well, I've somehow kept busy enough to keep away from here for over two weeks after pulling in from ten days out. So... it's been a while.

Way back on Saturday morning, the 23rd, just after 8am, I found myself back at my car after over a week at sea and a long night of standing watch. It is always such a pleasant feeling to find yourself back on land and back with familiar things. The first thing I saw in my car was a Virginia Symphony ad for a pops concert that very night in downtown... an evening with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. I had left it there so I wouldn't forget about it, I suppose. Well, the first thing I did, even before going home was to head over to my favorite diner, the Sandfiddler Cafe, for my favorite... western omelet with hash and pancakes. After resting at home for a while, I headed out to Virginia Beach for a DVD player (for my new TV) and a couple frames for a couple puzzles that I didn't feel like breaking up.

The concert ended up being very crowded at the Chrysler Center downtown. I barely made it there in time because it was so hard to find parking. Ended up leaving the car at the MacArthur Center Mall garage, then walked the block or so back to the symphony. Then when I finally got to my seat in the back row, there was someone sitting in it! She got up and mentioned that she was only sitting there to be next to her friends, so I offered to take her seat, wherever that was (the one I bought was the cheapest price in the house, so it wasn't too magnanimous of me). She gave me her special seating in the second row on the extreme right... a view to die for, right behind the piano so I could even see the fingers fly! What a trade!

As for the concert itself, gosh, did I enjoy it! They're celebrating their 20th year this year and still have all their original members... I did want to swing in the aisles, as the flier advertised I would, when I heard them play. They were very energetic, and played very light, happy, jazz, swing, big-band and Dixieland sounds. At intermission, I ran out to the foyer and bought their new album Rattle Them Bones before the table got swamped. And I've been listening it in my car ever since. I was surprised by a sweet love song half-way through the album on the way home that they didn't play at the concert... called It Only Took a Kiss. Immediately, I was swept away with it as it plainly described my own love with Michael.

Sunday the 24th I took pretty easy. I finished the Sleeping Beauty puzzle I had started before the underway... then I watched the first episode of Horatio Hornblower, made a very quick trip back to Best Buy to return the B/R player that wouldn't respond in the menu screen for a cheaper, but more reliable DVD player (saving $30). I started another puzzle (backyard birds this time), watched the extras disc of Sleeping Beauty to test out the new player, and ended up watching the entire "making of" film and found it very interesting. Interviews with the artists and actors, and lots of neat pictures and footage of what they went through to bring it all together. Actors in costumes, going through the motions for the artists. Casting selections, and inspirations for characters. Then I made a delicious dinner of shrimp, scallops and asparagus, and watched the live feed of Mike's church in Norman for service that night at 7pm, my time. I even saw him shake hands with people on screen during the meet & greet part.

Monday the 25, I turned 30 years old in the morning while working on a couple checks on the Sonar Dome at work. No one remembered, but before I came in, I had a message from my parents and husband on Facebook... what more could you want? :) And then I was let off early because of the evening class I had to attend, starting at 6:30 pm, lasting for 4 hours. So it was about noon-ish when I got groceries and gas at the commissary. Since I woke up late that morning, and had to rush to work, I made an excellent breakfast for lunch when I got home around 12:30. After that I worked on my puzzle, took a nap, and managed to stop for Burger King before making my way back to base for my class in Divisional Safety Petty Officer training. Oh, joy!

Because it was a two-day class, my supervisor (Senior Chief) let me off of work on Tuesday the 26th. Another fine birthday present, I think. I slept in, had cereal, watched Sleeping Beauty for a belated birthday movie, had Pad Thai shrimp for lunch, went to the shooting range on the Marine Corps base to shoot my own pistol for the first time (enjoyed it quite a bit although I was limited by the one clip of 15 rounds I brought with me... they were out of it at the store), then continued on directly to the laundromat in Ocean View and read more in The Caine Mutiny while I waited. More puzzling at home before the last installment of my class that night. Also got in a nice long call with my parents and sister Meg before talking with Mike.

Wednesday, I was allowed to come in late again! What a week! Slept in again! Didn't have to be in to work until 11am, so I heartily enjoyed a full breakfast. All I had time to do at work before we were let go to work out was get the divisional safety binder in order. And after the 30 minutes on the elliptical, another STG and I went to a public indoor pool in Norfolk for a wonderful half-hour's swim. I only did 600 yds, but that was because I stopped and talked with my friend more often than not. After dropping her back at her house, I returned home for a shower, then went down the street to Franco's Italian Cuisine for dinner and enjoyed spaghetti with meatballs the size of baseballs, hot bread and decaff for a treat. The next day was my duty day, so I saved half the meal for dinner on the ship (which ended up being much better than what they served!).

Friday afternoon, the beginning of my second wonderful weekend, I relaxed at home for a while, working a bunch on my puzzle and eating some pizza from the freezer for lunch. I had to stay long enough for UPS to deliver my push-mower from Amazon (which apparently required a signature - they tried to find me at home on my duty day and left a note) before I took off for Kristin and Dan's. It finally came around 6:30, so I made it over to Chesapeake around 7:15. They waited to have dinner until I got there too... so very sweet! We had pulled-pork sandwiches and coleslaw as we watched one of the TV shows they enjoy on Hulu... called "Revolutions". Then we finished the last of the John Adams series which we had started late last year.

Saturday the 30th, slept in til 8, and then we took off to have an Easter brunch with their close friends. I loved the egg & sausage casserole best... and had a good time meeting everyone. A couple notable things I enjoyed looking at at their house:  not sure what type of fish this was, but the Naval Academy Press book dated from 1939! I was disappointed the Sears book did not have a toy section.

Upon returning to their house, Kristin and I watched the BBC Lord Peter Wimsey film (4 TV episodes) of Have His Carcase from 1987. This was the book I just finished reading underway, so it was great fun! It was the only L.P.W. dvd I could find at our library, but I didn't mind... liked it very much. Just like the BBC too... some scenes are pulled from the book word for word!. I think I shall see the two others with these actors before I watch the Ian Carmichael series. Then I picked up my book for a while (A Voice in the Wind - a Christian/historical fiction/romance novel that the other Lay Leader on the Truxtun lent me to read - after talking about it on watch together) before Kristin and Dan came downstairs and we watched a movie (Diamonds are Forever - forgive me) and more Hulu (New Girl) before going to bed.

Today! my brother's birthday and the day we celebrate our Lord's resurrection, the 31st, we all slept in. I was downstairs first, even after my shower, so I read some more in my book. There were leftovers from yesterday's brunch, and then I read some more and chatted with Kristin about church. While she went to go get ready for the day, I borrowed her sewing machine and sewed the crows and name tapes on a new pair of coveralls, then did more straight seams along a dark gray fleece blanket for the ship. When I finished, we broke out a puzzle on the kitchen table and nearly finished it before our Easter lunch of baked ham, sweet potato casserole, and green bean casserole. Mmm! Did more puzzle and then took off for an evening Easter service at the new church they're attending... Crosscurrent Church off Indian River Road in Kempsville.

What a surprise! It is so very much like the church I've been missing for ten months now... Mission Valley Christian Fellowship in San Diego. It's about the same size, also meeting in a classic, old-style chapel that is shared by another church. They only have a couple guitars and a drum set, and a very Biblical, down-to-earth, no nonsense way of teaching. I already met a couple nice young women my age who assume I'm coming to their small group too! They do communion every Sunday, and in the same manner as MVCF... everyone gets in two lines and comes to the front. Good Lord, praises for today's find! I said goodbye to Kristin and Dan in the parking lot, as we had drove separately, and we parted ways while getting on different ramps to I-64. Praise God! I am happy.

Jw

Up to Date

I've gotten tired enough of seeing that post from March to make me sit down and update for the first week of April. It was very busy... and very tiring! I didn't take a nap until the day my new bow was delivered... and I think that was Thursday. That made getting up in the mornings very hard.

Sunday, April 1st, I did another hike at Mission Trails after church. Didn't have any precise plan... I just kept walking. Crossed a river, getting my hiking shoes wet as I trudged up the wide, gravel road to the first hill. Stopped at the picnic table at the top and looked out over another trail that wound its way up to the summit of the nearby South Mt. Fortuna. Put my dry socks on as I got ready to go, and soon I was tackling a bit of a steep trail. What a view! It dwarfed the hike I did the week before... I was able to look down on that little zig-zagging path even before I got to the high part. After a moment at the summit, especially enjoying the distant view of San Diego and Point Loma, I continued down the other side of the mountain and around along the San Diego river to the Old Mission Dam, then 2 miles on the road to the visitor center and back to my car. It took several hours, hurt my feet and burned my forearms and neck. But I loved it!

That night at small group we ordered dinner from Chili's and finished watching Fiddler on the Roof. A great day, but I'm sure it set me up to be tired the entire week. No fresh start this time!

Monday the 2nd, after my meeting with the LT on 32nd St, and after messing around online, I watched the Bette Davis movie that was due back at the library the next day: Dark Victory. It was a little dark, but I enjoyed a few scenes very much.

Tuesday the 3rd, I went right to the library after school and stayed longer than I planned. Talked with my parents, had a turkey burger at the grill across the street, then met up with Selassie and Kristin from small group. They met me at home for a trip downtown to see The Sound of Music on the big screen. We parked a couple blocks away (which is pretty good for downtown), and I bought a big bag of popcorn for all three of us. It was magnificent, as always, but it sure went late. The guy from the theater doing trivia beforehand took way too long.

Wednesday the 4th, the same threesome of us met at Kristin's apartment for another afternoon of entertainment: we watched all four hours of the 2007 Sci-Fi TV miniseries adaptation of The Wizard of Oz... called Tin Man. I loved all the subtle references to the movie and thought their unique ideas were interesting at the very least. It certainly held my attention all the way through. I watched Bambi from the library before talking with my Darling.

Thursday the 5th, after the interview, and after looking at the new recurve bow I won on eBay (my original has bent limbs from my not being careful) that arrived in the mail (which woke me from my short nap), I went to church for a special "Maundy" service where we sang, listened to readings about the Last Supper (performed by a few of the elders), and shared a wonderful dinner of chicken & rice w/green beans and salad. I even had two tiny, delicious tarts for dessert.

I wanted to go to the "Tenebrae" service on Good Friday, the 6th, but alas! I had watch. The entire day was taken up with the Navy... except for the hour or two when I relaxed on my bed at home before that watch.

Saturday the 7th, I finally managed to do all my laundry. Went to the library for a good while, managed to do a PRT run at Liberty Station as well... that felt really good. Got dinner at Trader Joe's, took a relaxing shower, watched Dumbo before chat, and then Captains of the Clouds (1942, Cagney - a technicolor war film about the Royal Canadian Air Force) during chat. I especially loved the accompanying shorts (game hunting in the Rockies... in color! and a couple related Bugs Bunny cartoons).

Sunday the 8th, I got up in time for the intimate and early 7:30 Easter service on the lawn in front of the church (in the cool air and bright sunshine). Then there was a pancake & sausage breakfast served inside, and I had a great time chatting with small group friends. I stayed for the regular service at 9:30, and was very pleased when they started off with a singing of Christ the Lord is Risen Today! A wonderful morning! Back at home I watched The Mysterious Affair at Styles (from the library) and thoroughly enjoyed watching what frightened me so much when I was a kid. For lunch, and into the evening, I spent time over at Luke & Christine's house where we enjoyed a ham, mashed potatoes, beans, applesauce and just a tiny taste of strawberry cheesecake. :) We played a game after that, then started into our new book... Mere Christianity! Yay! :)

Jp

A Brief Recap

Easter Sunday was very odd, but also quite enjoyable... especially from 1 - 2 AM... LOL! My sis and I were alone for much of the day, so after listening to a sermon, we watched Toby Tyler... and I remembered much of it for watching it so long ago. We thought we'd get work done at the same time, but we were both so enthralled with watching it again, that we did nothing but eat pizza during it. This was followed by some MASH, and then my parents returned. And after a short respite, we watched another one. Odd, odd, odd, but fun.

Monday, after a very dull day at work, I went to school to work in the lab on this week's assignment that I couldn't figure out how to do on my laptop. And it took a while. And then I came home, watched one MASH and went to bed after a quick snack.

Yesterday, Tuesday, was absolutely wonderful! I took a day off work, got up at 5:20AM, drove with my sis to her job at the Community College in Covingiton to watch her teach logic (and get a refresher, myself - I get to supervise 3 homework days the first week of May). After that and an hour of office hours - during which I read - we had brunch at Subway and went shopping at Fred's where I found athletic pants and a couple tops. Still in Covington, we took Hwy 18 to I-90 to Preston where we headed out to Carnation to go horseback riding. It took forever to brush them, as they are beginning to shed. Roo was awful for picking his feet again, but he was fine when I got up; and very patient too... I had my camera along to take more soft pictures of the forest. On the trail past the power lines, we saw a wild coyote come walking onto the trail from the brush ahead, only 10 yds away. The dogs took off, chasing it... stupid things! Thankfully they came back to us without any trouble.

The weather was very off and on... the sun broke through thick clouds when we were brushing and picking, but it was lightly hailing when we were returning from the trails. There was a slight dusting of snow along the trail as we went. Wild!

We got back to the house just in time for me to take off to class after changing my pants and retrieving my purse, which I had left on my chair that morning. Class was fabulous! We learned to make a PDF slide show in Photoshop, and then how to combine multiple pictures for even exposure. And then we had a mini assignment to go out and take pictures on campus for over an hour! What pure fun! I got a little carried away! This week, we are to use the pictures we took and make a slide show and a combined picture. :)

And I successfully bid for the Elkhart trumpet I was watching on eBay. LOL! (No, no... I actually wanted a trumpet in the first place. I used to play trumpet in Jr. High before I switched to horn. Having it be an antique made in Elkhart during the 1930's is an added pleasure :)

Today, work has been steady and engaging. I wish I could take every Tuesday off!

Jp

[Update, April 14, 2013: Easter Sunday, April 12, from around 1-2 am, was the first time my husband Mike and I talked on the phone. At this point in life I was still worried about saying too much on the Internet, for fear of who should know what about me. We were chatting later than everyone else, as usual, and suddenly we were talking about phone calls, and suddenly I gave him my home phone number. He called and we were both a little nervous, but had a whale of a great time talking vocally for the first time.]

Sunny Sunday

Bright sun again!

It was nice, because today was the Walk for MS... it was fun to see my band friends again! And the weather was perfect! My only complaint is that my left foot is hurting me now... I know - I'm falling apart. lol! It was a lovely morning! I was up an' at 'em at 7:30, arriving right on time at 8:30. We hung out together in the band block in Husky Stadium until we gathered our team and it was time to go. I loved the free beef jerky and bananas! It was a very pleasant walk, not too fast, sometimes too slow and just long enough. I was back home by 12:30... it was a good two hours of walking.

At home I took a brief lay-down/nap until my friend came over. Our family did a Passover celebration, in honor of Easter next week (My brother in law is partly Jewish), and although it certainly was not Kosher, it was sorta close... Mom got all the readings together from the Bible and we each read as we walked through God's promises and provisions for the Israelites. There was an added portion about Jesus, and we drank and feasted sort of similarly, complete with lamb. Very tasty, indeed.

Afterwards, my sister performed her LOTR/WENN fanfiction for us, as my friend and I were going to complete watching the series after desert with the last three episodes. It really is hilarious. After screaming about the usual things during the finale, I realized I didn't hate this episode as much as I thought. The last few times I watched it, I had been studying nuances about the B/S/V relationship... but now that my epic fanfiction is done, it's much more enjoyable. Some of those lines are hysterical! even if there are certain historical impossibilities... Also, we were watching it on my brother's projector, which is very cool, in and of itself. Betty, being magnified ten times! ...well, maybe not that much... LOL

And then the perfect day was rounded out with three episodes of MASH, which even my sister hadn't seen before! And they were really good! I really liked the one where Hawkeye and Hot Lips and Klinger did battlefield surgery up at the front because the surgeon had been killed there. Major character development for Major Houlihan. Darn, I love this show! Only 8 seasons of new episodes for me to watch! I'm going to miss Henry!

Jp