Tag: lake

An Erie Trip!

Last year, my folks and I visited friends up on Lake Erie, and we all decided to get together again this summer. This time, we went Thursday/Friday/Saturday and decided to arrive before lunchtime on Thursday in order to spend the day on Put-In-Bay island. After checking into our hotel, we headed for the ferry which was to carry us over to the island.

Although cars are allowed on the island, golf carts are encouraged. The 10 of us rented the last two 6-seater golf carts for the day for $15 each (a bargain, if you ask me). This gave us the freedom to roam as well as time to walk. We started off by going out to eat for lunch. We went to Mossback’s (our friends hadn’t been before, but said it was recommended). Mom and I decided to split a couple of items for lunch, so we ordered the Perch & Perogies lunch special and the Maryland crab cakes appetizer. The perch (from Erie) and perogies were definite winners. The crab cakes were OK, but nothing special. I had a Woodchuck Amber cider (which I put in my bottle koozie which I’d just bought from a store on The Boardwalk – the koozie has a built in bottle opener!)

We then walked on to Perry’s Monument where most of us waited in the (long for a Thursday) line to go up to the top. Once we were up, the view was stunning. The rangers were very helpful, even taking a photo of those of us currently up top. After the monument, we went on to Heineman’s Winery. This is the oldest winery on Put-in-Bay (and one of the oldest in the country? or something) and they provide a tour of the Crystal Cave and their winery. Basically the Crystal Cave is a geode you can stand in, some 30+ feet in diameter. We sampled their wines and I bought a few items – a nifty set of geode bookends, a t-shirt which says “50 Shades of Grape” and an umbrella that looks like a bottle of wine. “This isn’t my wine, this is my um… brella” it claims.

We checked out several establishments on the island and then split into two parties for sitting & drinking. I went with dad and two of the guys to the brewery on the island: Put-In-Bay Brewing Co. I tried their bourbon barrel oatmeal stout and dad had their regular oatmeal stout, and we split an order of walleye bites. Once I noticed it was after 7pm, I suggested we return to the others since the golf carts were due in by 8pm.

We took the scenic route back to the golf cart place and were there in time, AND in time to board the next ferry back to the mainland. One of our party had to leave at that point, but the remaining 9 of us went to Dock’s Beach House for supper. I ordered a “peaches & cream” frozen drink and the waitress asked for my ID, bless her! I thanked her and she said they are supposed to card people 30 years or younger. My 43 year old self was pleased. 🙂 I also ordered their chicken salad wrap with couscous salad. Very yummy.

The next day was intended to be our Day at the Beach day. We’d had perfect “walking around Put-in-Bay” weather the day before, and then perfect “Day at the Beach” weather the next. The Lake was a little choppy, but the sand was much easier on bare feet this time around. For lunch, we had coney dogs, veggies, chips, etc. I had brought some Angry Orchard cider and wound up having two during the day. After our leisure day, we headed out to Mon Ami for supper. Everyone got appetizers to share (once again, I ordered the lovely baked brie appetizer, this time with just peaches) and there wasn’t a loser in the bunch. Since we were sitting on the bar side of the restaurant, all of the appetizers we’d ordered were half price. Plus I got two of their specially priced martinis – a chocotini to start, followed by a raspberry mango martini second. For my meal, I had to get that lobster bisque soup again (along with a caesar side salad). Ah, food bliss.

While we were waiting on the meal, several of us visited the gift store. I bought a cruet which holds both oil and vinegar in different compartments (the inner compartment being in the shape of a bunch of grapes) and with a balsamic vinegar and oil, it’ll look pretty darned nifty. I also picked up one of their t-shirts.

A band started playing around 8:30 and the music was catchy and easy to dance to, but rather loud. After a bit, I asked dad if he wanted to take a short walk, so we wandered the grounds for a bit, before returning. Mom danced quite a bit, even coaxing dad (and me!) onto the dance floor for a bit. We eventually returned to our hotel rooms.

Sadly, two couples decided to leave early on Saturday, but the folks and I returned to our friends’ place on the lake. We spent the morning (and part of the early afternoon) vegging on their back patio. The day was warmer than it had been the day before, so I’m glad we had the cooler day for our Day on the Beach. A little after 1pm, we then headed on out to Oregon, OH, to once again have lunch at the Oregon Inn. I had their fried perch along with fries and a side salad. Tasty, tasty. Although I had driven us to the restaurant, mom took us the rest of the way home. Then I took myself to my house and relaxed the rest of the night.

The rest of this entry will consist of photos from our lovely weekend at Erie.

Perry's Monument.
Perry’s Monument.

The View from Perry's Monument.
The View from Perry’s Monument.

Group Shot on the top of Perry's Monument.
Group Shot on the top of Perry’s Monument.

Tippy Top of the Monument.
Tippy Top of the Monument.

Wine Garden at the Winery.
Wine Garden at the Winery.

The Crystal Cave at the Winery.
The Crystal Cave at the Winery.

Getting to our Golf Carts.
Getting to our Golf Carts.

Mon Ami.
Mon Ami.

Mom at Mon Ami.
Mom at Mon Ami (she was the only one at the table to get an ice bucket with her bottle of wine).

Dat at Mon Ami.
Dad at Mon Ami (he seems in his element at the Tiki Bar).

GIP and Summer Update

Dad sent me the photo he took at Erie which I loved in particular. It’s one of the five of us ladies enjoying the beach. I’m the one on the far left. Mum is beside me. I’m probably reading The Ripple Effect during this photo. I decided I wanted to make another Lake userpic, so this I have done.

Lazing at the Lake

I also figured I should continue my book, bike, and movie stats for the summer. I’m into the final weeks of my absolutely brilliant summer vacation. I’m very close to my personal goal of 25 books read and I expect to top that and then some before the kiddies return to our building on August 26th.

# of Bike Rides: 12 since the start of summer vacation. Just a short ride yesterday (under 4 miles) but a useful one where I had my seat adjusted a smidgen by the bike shop dude.
# of Books Read: 23 (with every intention of finishing #24 today – whee!)
# of Movies Watched: 24 (whoops – that took over my book total – and I should get another watched today)

The books continued:
Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King by William Joyce (which I borrowed from the library after watching the Rise of the Guardians movie)
Penny Arcade Vol 1: Attack of the Bacon Robots by Mike “Gabe” Krahulik and Jerry “Tycho” Holkins (eBook – part of a Humble Bundle eBook purchase)
Penny Arcade Vol 2: Epic Legends of the Magic Sword Kings! (eBook – ditto)
A Crack in the Lens by Steven Hockensmith (another Holmes on the Range mystery from Hockensmith – library book)
27 Nerd Disses by Phil Plait and Zach Weinersmith with art by Jess Fink (eBook, pick your price)
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal Vol 1: Save Yourself Mammal by Zach Weiner(smith) (eBook from same Humble Bundle as before)
Doctor Who: Ripple Effect by Malorie Blackman (eBook novella in honor of Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary, 7th Doctor & Ace)
The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes (which I heard about while listening to the extras on Doctor Who: Persuasion, a 7th Doctor/Elizabeth Klein adventure from Big Finish – same author for both. Library book)

The movies continued (library DVDs unless otherwise specified):
Iron Man 3 (2nd run theater)
Quartet
Despicable Me 2 (at the Icon theater in Chicago with and )
Pacific Rim (at the Icon with Judi)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (which I realized I hadn’t seen when we saw a trailer for The Wolverine at the Icon)
X-Men: First Class (might as well complete the set).
The Croods (2nd run theater – saw same day as Epic)
Epic (see above)
RED (wanted to see it in case I go see the sequel now in theaters)
Les Miserables (first time ever seeing the musical)

Still doing well with movie and book picks this summer! (Though it is taking me quite a bit of time to get through Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell… Need to renew it from the library.)

Erie Etc.

Last Wednesday, the parental units and I headed north to Oak Harbor and Port Clinton to spend some time with friends and hang out at Lake Erie. Our friends have a nice cottage right on the beach of the lake and we spent a wonderful afternoon there, enjoying the cool weather. Sadly, the zebra mussels (an invasive species) had been out in force and the waves deposited a hell of a lot of their shells on the beach making barefoot walking a bit of a chore. Apparently two days prior to our arrival, the beach was perfect for bare feet.

Apart from that, out time at Erie was practically perfect. After checking into our motel, the whole party of us (there were 9 in total) headed to Mon Ami, a nice restaurant in Port Clinton, for supper. 8 years ago, five of us in this group had all been to Italy together along with other friends (including ) and we were able to celebrate the 40th anniversary with one couple in our party. The couple celebrated their 48th anniversary with us at Mon Ami that night.

The food at Mon Ami was very good. I ordered their baked brie appetizer to share at the table (though I probably had the lion’s portion). It was soooooo good. Baked brie and baked apples and baked peaches covered in a cinnamon and pecan glaze. I think we all agreed it was a winner. I followed it up with lobster bisque and a salad (with dried apricots and dried cranberries). I couldn’t finish the bisque or the salad thanks to the brie but they were both excellent too.

The plan for Thursday was just to hang at the beach all day. Which we did. We had sandwiches for lunch and smoked pork chops for supper. Mom brought the pork chops and rub as well as finger salad (vegetables in an oil and vinegar soak). I brought bread, which I’d baked on Tuesday, and brownie bites, also baked Tuesday. Both were popular. And the pork chops when smoked were very yummy. That night we sat out on the beach by a camp fire.

Friday was another beach day, with the intent to get out on the water. Wednesday was too choppy and we just never got around to it on Thursday. So I and two others took one canoe out to the “secret beach” while the anniversary couple took their canoe out and went to the same location. Mom and two of the guys rode on a paddle boat. (Mom got to sit and rest while the guys peddled their hearts out.) Dad went fly fishing beside a sand bar.

Some time after 1pm, we all loaded up our cars and headed off to Oregon, OH for lunch. The Oregon Inn has the best fried perch in the area, according to one of the guys we hung out with. Since Oregon was sort of on the way home for most of us, it seemed best to stop there on the way home. All but one of our party ordered perch and I’ll admit, it was pretty tasty. Since both parental units imbibed for lunch, I drove us home. Go me!

I got us home safe und sound. And after we rested a little from the car ride, we went to downtown Troy’s Prouty Plaza for a free concert of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. This was possibly the biggest crowd they’d had this summer – maybe on par with the Cincinnati Pops. You can imagine that I spent much of Saturday resting up from our Erie trip followed by an evening concert!

Anyhoo, here are some photos from the Lake Erie trip, one shot from the concert, and a few pictures from my Brukner walk yesterday morning.

Lake Gulls
Lake Gulls
Gulls flying off of the beach at Lake Erie.

Friend's Cottage at Erie
Friend’s Cottage at Erie
My friend’s cottage at Lake Erie, right on the beach!

At the Bar!
At the Bar!
Standing out on a sand bar on Lake Erie. Or rip wrap bar. Or whatever one wants to call it. (This was near our motel, not near my friends’ place.)

Sunset over Erie
Sunset over Erie
The sunset on Lake Erie.

Fire on the Beach
Fire on the Beach
Thursday night at Lake Erie, enjoying a campfire on the beach.

Glenn Miller Orchestra
Glenn Miller Orchestra
The Glenn Miller Orchestra played at Prouty Plaza in downtown Troy. There was quite a crowd.

Skellington
Skellington
A deer who died at Brukner – photo taken in March.

Skellington 2
Skellington 2
The same deer in late summer – photo taken yesterday.

Wild Flowers 3

Wild Flowers 2

Wild flowers

Summer Vacation thus far

Although midsummer eve isn’t even here yet, I’m well in the thrall of summer. Mom and I have gone on a number of bike rides in the Troy area, the latest one was 12.8 miles. I spent time at the Lake with and . I went to the Troy Strawberry Festival, the Lost Creek Antique & Garden Show, and the Yellow Springs Street Fair. I’ve read several books. And I’ve vegged out on World of Warcrack. So it’s been a great start to the summer!

My last day of school was nearly two weeks ago. It was a teacher work day and I was allowed to zip off during the work day to pick up Judi from the airport. We stopped at The Brick House in West Milton for lunch and then I returned to the school. I gave Judi a tour of the new school building and then finished getting my room ready for summer. Of course, as soon as I was done, the heavens let loose with a frog strangler to strangle all frogs. During one of the points of less rain, I ran out (OK, walked quickly) to the car to pick Judi up. After a stop at home, we headed off to the Lake.

We’d been at the Lake for an hour or so when Judi needed to use the toilet, whereupon we discovered that there was water on the floor in the bathroom. Eep! I couldn’t see where the water was coming from (apparently, I’m blind because it was obvious the next day, according to Papa, that it was coming from the water softener) but I called the parental units and let them know. I cleaned up the mess as well as possible and it looked like we had the leak under control for now.

Elsa arrived later that evening, so after hugs and a bit of gossip, we headed to Brucken’s bar for supper. Having tried their “sex with the captain” cocktail before, I ordered it again. It’s basically a “sex on the beach” but with Captain Morgan’s spiced rum instead of vodka. I also got one of their Brucken burgers and ate Elsa’s fries. (She said I could!) Dessert was at the Dairy King around the corner.

The next day, I tried to start my “new summer regimen” of getting up early and talking a walk. (It’s been working sort of well so far. Some days are better than others!) The main plan for the day was for our Elsa dinner. She’s prepared some pork ribs before she drove down and I grilled them to her specifications. We also had grilled onions with a mustard sauce that she’d made, and her sour cream potato salad. The folks joined us for lunch (dad brought his World Famous Slaw) and we ate well.

While dad was there, he surveyed the leak, which seemed to be getting bigger, and saw its origins. He contacted the plumber who installed the softener and made arrangements for calling on Monday. Meanwhile, the girls and I would sleep in my house a couple of nights while the water was shut off at the Lake.

The original plan was for the three of us to go to my Aunt Becky’s for cards, but Elsa wasn’t have much luck with the task she was working on that evening, so she stayed behind while Judi and I went. So Judi got to meet Dona and Jill and see my Aunt’s new place. Sadly, Judy wasn’t there – I was hoping to introduce Judi to Judy. When we returned home, Elsa and Judi and I played the youth Trivial Pursuit that I’ve had since the ’80s and I wound up winning cuz I kept getting the easy questions. Heh. The next morning, we tried to have pancakes and sausage, but for a few issues: we’d forgotten to pack the sausage and Elsa’s grill. We improvised with mini scones and cereal and some OJ I bought at the local gas station. Then we were off to the Troy Strawberry Festival.

I’d taken Judi to the Strawberry festival before, but this was Elsa’s first time there. We parked at Meijer and took the shuttle (a school bus) to the festival. We found several things we wanted to purchase at the first few booths. I tried a very yummy strawberry sushi dish, had my usual strawberry lemon shake-up, had a strawberry empanada, and stood in line with Judi for ages for a pork chop sandwich. Elsa and I picked up the yard decorations we’d spotted at the start of the show and then returned to the shuttle.

After shopping a little at Meijer, we returned home to veg before we headed out later for dinner and a movie. IIRC, the dinner was Panera (yay for the strawberry poppyseed salad!) and the movie was Now You See Me. We all enjoyed the movie. Back at my house, Judi and I played Muppet Monopoly, which she eventually conceded to me. Go me!

Monday morning, we pack up the car again and headed to Bob Evans on our way back to the Lake. We got there late enough that we had brunch for breakfast. Heh. Dad was already at the Lake (as was the plumber) and when we arrived, he zipped off to lunch. We all just vegged at the Lake and eventually the bathroom was free for use of public (or whatever). For supper, I grilled a flank steak, which Elsa had prepared and later sliced. I also grilled some zucchini and baked a potato for Judi and I in the coals. Supper was very tasty. We then spent the evening by the fire.

Tuesday was Elsa’s last day with us. She made us blueberry pancakes and sausage (finally, success!). Then she packed up and headed back home. Judi was starting to get twitchy due to lack of Internet, so we went to the book store & coffee shop in New Breman for lunch. Then to Wagner’s grocery (which had better wifi than the coffee shop) for a few more odds and ends. That evening, we grilled hotdogs and had leftover potato salad and slaw.

Wednesday was a shopping day. We met the parental units at Kohl’s and both Judi and I found stuff (I got 5 pairs of shorts, all size 16, and a new swimsuit, size 18 – whee!) which we could then use my 30% off card. Then the folks drove us to Tipp City for lunch at Coldwater Cafe. I had their lobster and crabcake salad, which I love. I think Judi liked hers too. The folks returned us to the Kohl’s parking lot and Judi and I stopped in at the new cake shop, the Cakery, and bought a cupcake each. Mine was cookies and cream, Judi’s was key lime. Mine was good, I can say. We had leftover ribs for supper. And I think we got something ice creamy at The Dairy King.

Thursday was Winging It day. We had no real plans, other than a vague idea to go see Star Trek. We decided to have breakfast at Waffle House. On our way south to Sydney to the Waffle House, I had Judi check on her cell phone when Star Trek played at the Evil Puppy Mall. She also saw listings for the Greene, and I thought – well I’d never taken Judi there… There was an 11:10 IMAX showing according to her phone, so we headed on down after our WH breakfast and arrived at the theatre at 11:05. Which, apparently, was when the movie (not in IMAX mode) was showing. Tickets were only $4 each, so we went.

After the movie, which we both enjoyed (what can I say, I was expecting a popcorn movie and I got one!), we left the Greene (it was raining, so outdoor shopping was out) and headed for the Evil Puppy Mall. Sadly, Judi wasn’t allowed to hold any of the evil puppies (and thankfully they had no Pomeranians to tempt her). We then went to Red Slobster for lunch and then Best Buy. By then it had stopped raining, so we had time at the Lake to veg. But then we wanted just a bit of food to eat and decided to go to Dairy Queen. I had a burger and a blizzard (mint Oreo).

Friday morning we vegged some more and then eventually got the car loaded up. It was the day to return Judi to Chicago. We had lunch at the Friendly’s near the airport, then I dropped her off. I headed on to Troy where mom and I then took a bike ride. We finally got on the path north of Eldean road and it was lovely. It’ll be even nicer when they get that connected to the Piqua bike path. The folks and I then went to the Lost Creek Antique & Garden Show. We waited at the entrance for about 20 minutes waiting for them to open, then we made a bee-line for the flower vendor mom loves. She bought 4 plants which were all lovely (as every who later saw us carrying them said), and then we were able to look around the show. That night I got to sleep in my bed again with the kitties!

Saturday morning, I headed off to Troy again. This time the folks and I headed on to Yellow Springs for their Street Fair. We had lunch at Ha Ha Pizza (sadly, their calzones weren’t available due to the large crowds they always get at the Street Fair). I found a lovely wooden bowl at one of the vendors at the fair and it was still available when we were leaving, so I purchased it. Now I have a gorgeous bowl for my fruit.

Sunday was just going to be Clean Trina’s House and Do Tons of Laundry day, but that was changed slightly when mom called to say she had 2 tickets to see Dreamgirls and she’d buy my dinner if I joined her. What can I say? I’m a sucker for dinner and a Broadway show. We ate at The Spaghetti Warehouse (I had pesto on spaghetti with zucchini and grape tomatoes and a Mango Tango bellini) and then walked from there to the Schuster Center. The show was excellent – I’m glad we were able to see it.

Monday was Clean the Lake Day, which I did. I even had some time to see and relax while I was there. Tuesday, mom and I took our longest bike ride of the season so far (which was the aforementioned 12.8 mile ride). Today, I’ll be returning to the folks to spend a couple of nights. Tomorrow is water aerobics and WeightWatchers in the morning followed by Supper Club in the evening. And I’m sure we’ll do something fun on Saturday.

So this has been a great start to my vacation. Next week my two college courses start (one on stoichiometry demos, one on lab safety), so I hope to get those going well. Once I complete these, I’ll be at my Masters +15 and able to scoot up a little on the pay scale at work. Whee!

Testing an app

I’m sitting outside of a grocery near my folks’ cottage at the Lake and using their WiFi to try out this LJ app for posting. Let’s see if I can get a photo on.

Nope don’t see how to. Alas! Pix later.

At any rate, I’m having a fun and relaxing time after a rough start which I’ll post about when I have more time with a WiFi connection.

Memorial Day Weekend – a month late…

judiang and elsaf often come down to Ohio for Memorial Day Weekend and we hang out at mom & dad’s cottage at the Lake. This year, Elsa’s schedule didn’t work out to let us do that. But when she finally got a Saturday off, we made plans to hit the cottage. So that’s what we did this past weekend.

Judi flew in Friday night and I picked her up. We had dinner at Panera on the way to the cottage and it wasn’t long after we arrived that we crashed. Saturday morning, we had bagels with a smear (which we bought from Panera the night before) for breakfast. Then for lunch, we went to New Bremen for Italian food at La Piazza. For me to learn YET AGAIN that La Piazza is NOT open for lunch on Saturdays. (I’m pretty sure I’ve taken her there for lunch before, but she’s still never eaten there…) So we went to the coffee shop down the street and had a nice lunch there.

Elsa arrived in the afternoon and I later grilled a burger (for Elsa) and hot dogs (for Judi & me). Elsa had brought along some German potato salad she’d made, plus we had store bought slaw and baked beans. We had a nice evening catching up and chatting about this, that, and the other.

Sunday was Movie Day. We went to Bob Evans for breakfast, then to the 11am showing of Brave (so only $4.75 for the tickets – 2D). We all enjoyed the movie. It’s a great mother/daughter movie, but it’s more than just that. We had Coldstone Creamery ice cream for lunch, then checked on the kitties (and I showed off my new ceiling monsters to the girls). The cats were sort of kind of getting used to the fans. (Indeed, they’re now OK with the fans in the Off state.)

Our return to the Lake saw us having much relaxation time. Elsa did a butterfly cut on a whole chicken and I marinaded it for a couple of hours. Then we grilled it and had it, fresh grilled corn on the cob, and grilled asparagus & onions. All very tasty. We spent the evening by the fire then followed up with a double bill of Puss in Boots and Beauty and the Beast. Animated films for the win!

Elsa made pancakes & sausage for us for breakfast on Monday. Then we relaxed, did a little bit of cleaning (I returned later to vacuum), and, sadly, headed out. I got Judi to the airport on time (with a McDonald’s lunch in the car) and we all arrived safely in our homes.

I’m glad the girls were able to come down for a visit at the Lake, even if it was shorter than any of us wanted. And best of all, I’ll be seeing them again this weekend, but in Chicago this time. Woo!

The Trees are Purty

Lovely autumn weekend! Perfect weather. Friday was Fall Fair at school, which was fun, as usual. The class challenge, as usual, was hilarious. Yesterday, the folks and I went to Lost Creek for the Antique & Garden Show and for the FallFarmFest. Today was a trip to the Fairborn area for Doctor Who Magazines and Indian Fud.

But the highlight of the weekend was tonight at the Lake. The folks had a couple of friends from their “village” over and I was invited too. Dad grilled brats and veggies and mom made kraut. And dad had made his world famous (well, maybe not WORLD famous) slaw. So cabbage for all! Dessert was peach pie ala mode. Yum!

Autumn at the Lake
Autumn at the Lake

Sunset at the Lake
Sunset at the Lake

Memorial Day Weekend 2011

Whew! Must be late May. I keep coming up for air, only to get bogged down with stuff to be done. But this last weekend was a wonderful (quick) breath of air.

As we’ve done for several years (bar last year), judiang and elsaf came to stay with me at mom & dad’s cottage on Lake Loramie. This year, we REALLY roughed it since the folks decided not to get Internet (too expensive for as little as they’ve been using the place). Which is the main reason I never wrote anything & posted it over the weekend.

For the most part, we vegged at the Lake, not really missing the ‘net. Judi and I did have a Day Out on Saturday, however, which we spent in New Bremen. We visited the Bicycle Museum of America, which has become one of our favorite museums. Seriously, it was way cool. 3 floors of bikes from 1816 to the present day. As we were leaving the museum, the curator told us that just around the corner was Lock One of the Miami/Eerie Canal. Sure enough, it was! Nifty.

After the museum, we had lunch at a coffeehouse just down the block from the museum. They had Internet, so as we munched on our wraps (I had a BLT wrap and a vanilla Italian soda), we got caught up on our Internets. Well, mostly caught up. They closed before we were done, so we continued on to McDonald’s for ice cream and more geeking. (I had the Oreo McFlurry. Yum.)

We vegged more at the Lake and then headed off to Miami county for some cajun/creole grub at LeDoux’s. I had their shrimp pasta, which had a boozy cream sauce that was very yummy. We also split a tasty bread pudding. Then on to my house to download… something… and to work on Judi’s WordPress issue. My dabbling in PHP allowed me to help her and show her around phpmyadmin a bit. We also fixed the issue. Woot!

We got back to the Lake about 10:15pm and Elsa soon arrived as well. So yesterday we vegged and grilled meals and vegged more. And today I finally let Elsa cook (she made us pancakes – yay!) and for lunch we had leftovers. I had a very nice time with my girls! Thanks for the breath of fresh air, ladies! Gonna go under again, but I’ll resurface on Friday when we have our LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!

A visit from the girls

In my life, there are two sets of people I call “the girls” and context is everything. When talking about Amy & Rachel, they’re “the girls.” Also when talking about judiang and elsaf, they’re “the girls.” In this particular case, I’m talking about the latter. (Though next week, the folks and I are going to be visiting the girls, and I’ll mean the former.)

Judi arrived Friday and I picked her up from the airport. We had lunch at Steak & Shake, popped into Meijer for a few supplies for the weekend, popped back at my house so I could talk to the guys working on the house, then finally made our way to the Lake (stopping at Wagner’s for ice and a few more supplies).

The folks were already there (I’m usually late to my own parties), so I spent some time chatting with them. Then Becky and Dean arrived and we chatted more. Then I fixed supper – grilled hot dogs & hamburgers. Mom brought macaroni salad and some dips for chips. Then Becky, Judi, mom and I played two games of pinochle, which Judi and I won. Woohoo!

By 11pm, though, Judi and I were alone again. We geeked out on the computers for a bit, then headed for bed.

We got up a bit late yesterday and eventually headed to Waffle House in Sidney for a late breakfast (aka, a brunch). A return to the Lake for more vegging, reading, and computing. Elsa didn’t arrive until 4 or so, and the folks arrived soon after. I didn’t get around to the grocery yet for more supplies (I’m not very efficient on the supply front) so I did that while everyone got stuff ready for supper. (See, I suck at this being hostess thing.)

When I’d returned, I grilled the ribs which Elsa had prepared ahead of time (and grilled them to her specifications) and we ate wonderful ribs w/ a bourbon barbecue sauce and fresh corn on the cob (supplied by mom from a local farmer’s market). Tasty tasty, and very filling. The folks headed out before dark and missed out on dessert (but assured me they were too full). I then stoked up the fire and the girls and I sat out & watched it burn down.

Once we returned indoors, we had dutch apple pie ala mode (courtesy of Wagner’s grocery). I finally watched ep 1 of Sherlock before going to sleep. Hopefully we’ll get to see ep 2 tonight.

For breakfast this morning, Elsa made us pancakes (blueberry pancakes) and sausage. Right now, Judi’s napping, Elsa’s knitting, and I’m typing this up. We may go see Inception later today. It’s very lovely here at the Lake this weekend.

Still paused & refreshed…

Poor judiang is stuck in a plane on the tarmac in Dayton waiting for a big ass storm over Chicago to subside. She’s been on the plane now for over 2 hours and is eating bags of pretzels to keep up her strength. Poor thing! I’m on call, ready to zip off to the airport and pick her up if the flight is canceled.

The contractor’s end of things on my bathroom is done – yay! I’ve just been in cleaning things up. Tomorrow I am going to take a BATH in my new tub! Woohoo! Mom wants to take a photo – provided I have lots of bubbles. Um, yeah-no, as my friend Carolyn would say. Heh. I’ll get photos up later once I get the in progress ones that dad took while I was hanging with Judi and elsaf at the Lake.

So, last time I reported on our Lake adventures, I said I’d talk about Saturday. Saturday was our Adventure Day. In order to take advantage of the cooler morning weather, we got up around 8am. Elsa made pancakes and sausage for us and I made coffee for Judi. We then took both cars over to the Lake Loramie State Park so we could ride around. We had a fun time riding around the park – even Judi, who says it’s been 15 years since she last rode, rode like a pro (when she got her confidence back). It was a very pleasant morning ride and I think I need to get a rack for my car (I’d stuffed my car in the trunk with the back seats down) so I can take my bike there in the future.

We left my car in the parking lot and Elsa drove us to Pleasant Hill (my town) in order to see if Meddlin’s Peddlin’ Bike Shop had a better bike rack than the one she was using. (Her highway drive down with two bikes was rather disconcerting since the rack started listing to one side. She stopped several times on the way down readjusting them.) Jack Thomas is the owner of the bike shop – he’s a retired biology teacher and former mayor of P Hill. He was his usual helpful self and first tried to see if he could get her current rack more stable. He’d not seen one like it and really wasn’t able to help it out. But he had a 3-bike rack in stock that turned out to be VERY stable for the bikes. And since it holds 3 bikes, in future Elsa could take her two bikes and mine to wherever we’re going to be riding. Yay!

We stopped at my house then so Elsa could see the bathroom in progress. Rych and his son were still working on things (they finished yesterday around 3:30, dad says). It was looking GREAT! I checked on the kitties who, as usual, were hiding under the bed. I apologized for not being there, but they didn’t seem to care. Heh.

When we returned north, we went to the Haus der Eleganz for lunch. I had the chicken salad sandwich (on croissant) and onion rings. The sammich was lovely, but the onion rings were a little soggy – like they’d been microwaved or something. Oh, and I had a vanilla Italian ice. Yummy! The girls seemed to enjoy their lunches as well.

Before we returned to the cottage, we went to Wagners for some groceries for Elsa’s evening masterpiece. Elsa pulled up to the cottage and Judi said “I’ll go put the ice cream in the freezer while you two get Trina’s car.” Elsa and I just looked at each other like “Oh yeah! The car!” Neither one of us had remembered it was still at the park’s parking lot. *snerk*

Judi cleaned the kitchen while we were getting my car, so shortly after our second return, Elsa started on her evening meal. Mmmm. If you’ve never had one of Elsa’s meals, you’re missing out. (Hmmm, I think only my sister and hergrace have experienced this in my flist.) I had, as usual, invited mom & dad around to enjoy it as well.

I spent some time reading (and occasionally dropping off) while Elsa slaved away in the kitchen. Judi eventually suggested going to Wagner’s again so she could get AAA batteries for her mouse and Elsa suggested some green onions for her bourbon creamed corn. So we did that. Mom & dad arrived around 6 – about when I was starting the fire for grilling the meat and peaches.

So what had Elsa prepared for us? Bourbon creamed corn, as I mentioned. Twice baked potatoes (the best we’d ever had, agreed my folks). Grilled peaches. Peach brazed donkey dongs. (OK, so that’s not what they were, but they sure looked like donkey dongs!!! I should know, I laid ’em onto the grill to cook ’em! And I wish I’d taken a photo so you could see that I’m telling the truth.) They were peach brazed pork tenderloin and were very tasty! I’ve become quite the grill master with Elsa as my guide.

For dessert, Elsa had also baked us blueberry pie. Oh my, was it simply brilliant. We all enjoyed the supper and we love that Elsa loves to cook. 🙂

After the folks left, we tied Judi down and made her watch The Mikado. The only version I have on video is the Jonathan Miller one, which I enjoy (cuz I love Eric Idle) but which isn’t a very traditional version. What Judi really needs to see is a very lavish live version. It turns out there were two songs she recognized: “Titwillow” and “Three Little Maids from School.”

Sunday was a lazy day. Once again, Elsa made us breakfast – pancakes and sausage. But then she had to drive back home. *sniff* Judi and I pretty much spent the rest of the day sleeping and/or reading. I finished one book and made quite a bit of progress in another. The weather was perfect – I spent most of my time reading in the chaise lounge outside. The only time I had to get in my car was to take us to Wagners (heh) so we could get marinated chicken boobies to go with our leftovers for supper. (We’d grilled hot dogs and had leftover creamed corn for lunch). I picked out the rosemary garlic chicken and Judi picked out a Bordeaux marinated chicken. I grilled those and we heated up leftovers. Oh, but before supper we’d had the last of the blueberry pie with ice cream.

I had an 8am meeting this morning, so I decided I’d go home Sunday night. I made Judi a mudslide and me a sodie (cream soda float) out of the last of the ice cream. Then I drove home around 10:30pm. Judi and I played a little WoW together and then I slipped off to bed.

I woke up at 7:30am this morning, got ready, and rode my bike to the school for the meeting. It was our design team meeting for the new school building. We’re working on color schemes, type of wood, carpet colors, locker colors, etc. And the plans for the school look really cool. Neat to see the layout of my classroom/lab in context with the rest of the building. The meeting ran long, so I left before we finished in order to get back to my guest.

I returned to the Lake around 11am and proceeded to fix a late breakfast of – you guessed it – pancakes and sausage. I used the last of the Aunt Jemima mix and the start of the Hungry Jack mix (which we picked up last night with our chicken boobies). So we had Hungry Jemima (or Aunt Jack) pancakes. And loads of sausage since Judi told me to grill it all.

Then we slept. I actually did a bit of laptop work first (reading dad’s labs from his Advanced Problems in Science class which I’m restarting this year), but wound up on the sofa sleeping. But when I got up, it was time to start shutting the cottage up. Judi cleaned the dishes, I vacuumed and gathered up trash and laundry. We got on the road a bit later than I’d intended (too late to get ice cream before hand). We stopped at my house so Judi could see the bathroom now. (And also to dump off the trash.) Then I dropped her sorry little butt off at the airport. Where she’s still, I’m imagining, waiting on the tarmac in the plane. I hope they get on their way ASAP!