Flashback Friday: Open Space

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2011

open space

Last Sunday, while some people were reliving past years' travels while reveling in Super Bowl hoopla, I took my kids out into the 'hood for a little hike. It's not the same neighborhood canyon that was documented last spring, it's on the other side of the street, aka the hill between valleys. I love that we have such easy access to completely different worlds when we step into the canyon. Every time we go, I scold myself for having stayed away so long. And every time we go, we vow to return soon and often.

It's beautiful out there in the open space.

Welcome to Goober Nation!

Love this body language, a reaction to the buzzing of a nearby bee

My girl is a somewhat reluctant nature lover. She likes the idea of the great outdoors, but she would generally rather sit down than hike, and she scares easily. At one point, I let out a nice, big, healthy outdoor burst of a dainty burp, and shescreamed. She said she thought it was a lion roaring. Ay yi yi, that girl.

My boy blazed the trail nobly

This is Jeffrey.

This is a pretty girl observing a Jeffrey.

We had to cross the river bed in a couple of places, as demonstrated gracefully here

And gingerly here

We heard frogs, but we couldn't spot any

Noble and graceful, but a dork through and through.

He wanted to go in there soooo badly. I promised him that I never, ever would allow it. Too much Stephen King in my formative years.

Coming out of the canyon, it's breathtaking to look back at where you've been

And then mosey right on up to the Middle School.

After our canyon foray, we stopped at a nearby park for a little scooting and sunning.

You can't really see the mountains back there, but it was a positively delicious day - clear, crisp, warm, and beautiful.

Why is my chair empty, you ask? I was enticed away by the fitness course that the kids had discovered!
 

I suck at pull ups, but my boy is a champ!

I also suck at tricep lunges, but my kids handled them with aplomb

I do not suck at sit ups, but the photos that my girl took of me doing them were unflattering.

Still unflattering, but I didn't want you thinking that I idly observed the fitness course. I love push ups. 

And I love open spaces, especially with my home chickens.

Hybrid dork

So, I got a new car. I'm still getting used to it. I've driven an SUV for more than 15 years, and now I'm in a super low, super sporty hybrid hatchback. I wouldn't say that the car is very "me," but I don't really care when I think about the money I am saving on fuel, the guilt I no longer feel about driving a big-ass car around that gets only 16 miles to the gallon of a substance that is finite and the cause of many of the world's woes, and the fact that I have to go to the dreaded gas station half as often.

I used to fill up weekly for about $45 - $50 each time. Not anymore.

I've turned into quite the eco-driving nerd and am now tracking my mileage and fuel usage. I know, this is boring, but like I said, I'm a dork now, so I'm taking you with me. My average miles per/gallon goes up and down a bit, but is at 45.2 right now, and log results are below:

First fill up at 416 miles
Tuesday 12/20/16 4:30
$28.90

Next fill up at 847 miles
Wednesday 1/11/17 at 5:45
$28.95

Next at 1280 miles
Friday 1/27 at 9:15 am
$27.48

Next: 1744 miles
Just this week, on 2/14 at 7:30 am
$30.55

Yes, so this means 4 fill-ups in 9.5 weeks for a total of $115.88

Compare that to my prior 9 fill ups for $450 - $505 -- that's crazy, no? That's $289.12 - $334.12 less spent in just 9 weeks. And less dependence on gas/oil.

Why didn't I do this sooner?? 

Niko and Orson

We had a couple of visitors here in New London and in New England over the last few days . . .

. . . Storm Niko . . .

Welcome, Niko. C'mon in.

. . . and Storm Orson.

Actually, Orson, we didn't invite you.

 
Niko shut the world down and everybody got out there and did their wintery thing:

The cutest snow blower in all the Land.

That's our street. And that's our car down there on the left. See it? Past Patti's house and George's garbage can?

 The poor rig was absolutely buried . . .

. . . and then the plow came.

I thought for sure she'd live safely under there until Spring . . .

. . . but then Mistah sent me photographic proof of his singular, Herculean efforts . . .

. . . which he justly rewarded with luncheon . . .

. . . served by you-know-who . . .

. . . and then we took the bus home. We sat in the back row like Lord and Lady Muck and had ourselves a Time.

But wait. We had another visitor over the weekend, too . . .

Between Niko . . .

. . . and Orson . . . 

. . . we had a warm, welcoming visit from our old friend Full Moonie.

last weekend

Last week at this time, I was hanging out with my sister. 

Please pardon me while I put my head down and weep at the comparative shittiness of this moment. 

Thanks! It's so tragic when really fun things end, but we must soldier on and bravely try to reclaim those joyful feelings by immersing ourselves in fond remembrance. 

Or something. 

Julie's vacation was longer than our visit together, so by the time she got home and posted 800 photos on facebook, I was already a couple of days into a doozy of a work week. I *did* recapture our joy, though. It would have been impossible not to! There was a lot of joy there, man. Those of you lucky enough to have a mutual friends in Julie will have already seen (or chosen to NOT see, you jerks) the 800 photos and videos of our fun time, and I won't annoy you by reposting them here. I do have a few that I actually took all by my silly self, though! Yay, me. Let's have a look:

I snapped this photo on my way to work on the morning of the night Julie was arriving. It was super froggy out, and I was stopped at the crossing for a train, which was on the very same journey that we'd soon embark upon!

Fast forward! Here we are with the lovely Beth at a brewery in OB, having just begun a riotous round of Jenga. 

This was before it reached the ceiling and I won

Then after a strategic stop for fish tacos and margaritas, we went out to the pier

lurve.

And Julie tried on the fisherman face before ultimately being consumed by dat shark. 

See how happy everyone is to be the fisherman?

It was lovely out there on the pier

Whoa, whoa, wait a minute - that last one isn't the pier! We're already on the train! This trip is going by so fast. 

We took the de-luxe fancy panty train up to lasagne beach. Look how pretty:

We arrived and ate a lunch of champions, then we were swooped by the inimitable LaLa Lady Herself and her betrothed Himself. I wonder if those two are in any photos... yes I think so. Be patient. 

Here's the swanky room Julie booked 

We checked in then headed right back out to this spot

LOOK HOW FUN

LOOK HOW GORGEOUS

I can't with these people. 

We went for sushi after that spot, which was so yum and perfect and delicious. They *got* us. And when Julie pointedly requesting "quite a bit" more wasabi, they brought us this:

Meanwhile, John spent an hour doing nerd magic to concoct a wasabi potion with chemical reactions and periodic elements. By the time he looked up, we'd eaten all the fish. 

We saved him one.

Lots of food and sake and sapporo and wasabi and fish and sake and sapporo and sake and sake and sake was consumed. Oy. 

We ended the night in Julie and John's bed - all of us - watching SNL preview clips and then settling in to listen to Colleenie being smart and articulate despite the presence of her mother and aunt on either side of her, petting her and murmuring encouraging love sounds. 

The next morning, Julie texted me a photo of the adorable faces that were back in the bed, waiting for me to come join them. 

I replied:

shhhhhhhhh

Then we ate some more and laughed some more and before any time had passed we were forced to leave our nice hotel and suffer the scenery

My room was an apartment

I had a dining room table and a living room set

Two balconies. Two bedrooms

Julie set a style standard that rivaled Colleen's previous watermelon and laundry basket statement.

Colleen makes everything prettier

These two are like totally into each other.

It was tragic to have to leave, but eventually I was deposited back at the train station for another deluxe ride, at the end of which my boy chauffeur awaited to carry me home for our much anticipated, raucous superbowl party.

go sports!

For more details, go look at Julie's facebook page!