Big Band

Cari and I went out to the beach Saturday for a concert at the 17th street stage. Since it was the weekend for the Drum Line Competition we thought it would be more percussion - guess I didn't read closely enough. It was the Virginia Arts Festival Big Band playing - not a percussion band. Still, we enjoyed it - even though it was FREEZING!! You wouldn't think it would be so damn cold the end of May but the wind was whipping and everyone was wrapped up. I had fun shooting the stage and Dairy Queen beside us. Here's two of my faves:

When we came home, Cari discovered the lineup of artists for the CMA Festival and we were up until about 1:30am going through new artists and music on iTunes. Getting so excited!!

Fish Fry ...

A limo to Gloucester for the fish fry was the perfect idea. We loaded up and were off! Of course a little wine and beer for the ride made it even better. A fish fry isn't the healthiest food choice but since it isn't something we do on a consistent basis, we thoroughly enjoyed it. We started with some awesome steamed shrimp, then moved on to flounder, scallops, hush puppies, fries clam fritters (or whatever they're called), cake and ice cream. All of the food was incredible! I expected mediocre and was delightfully surprised.

I didn't have any of the sangria but it sure made for a fun photo!

... and last but not least, DESSERT!

Don't know this lady, but she passed us while standing in line for our cones. Ice cream and beer - I just couldn't resist taking her picture.

Love these fun "people" shots too:

 

Regina too this one of Bob and me. I call it Mutt and Jeff. :)

In the limo on the way home I played with some shots of all the glasses lined up. Really like the way this one came out.

What a wonderful way to spend hump day! Glad I didn't have to get up and go to work this morning after playing so hard yesterday!

(Note: the pedometer said about 13,000 steps today. Hopefully a little closer to removing some of the junk in my trunk.)

Spring ... here? / not here.

This has been a really weird spring, but it does follow on the heels of a pretty strange winter. My body doesn't know what to expect, the plants outside don't quite know what to do, hell even my Tranes keep switching back and from from a/c to heat. Bob comes home from work one night and all the fans are going (my power surges partly to blame) and the next night the heat's on. Crazy! In the middle of May last night, I, yes even I, wore a sweatshirt on our nightly walk!

More signs of spring: I've had hummingbirds on my feeder already! I'm always so excited to see the first little ones of the year. I just love to watch them. I also spotted a Rose Breasted Grosbeak on my feeder 2-3 weeks ago. I haven't seen one of those in years!! I've been thrilled to see quite a few on my feeder in the last few weeks. One night while eating dinner, I actually had THREE (2 males and a female) on it at one time! Bob and Cari think I'm nuts because I get so much enjoyment from my birds.

I did find some plants that called to me yesterday at Walmart though. Had to come right home and plant them all! I've had these square wire baskets for a couple of years now and needed new coconut liners for them. I guess square is out these days because all I could find were round baskets and round liners. I thought it was stupid to have to throw these away and buy new round baskets, so in the spirit of recycling I bought the round ones anyway. They were a PITA to try and make fit into my round baskets, but I did it. Probably ruined a pair of scissors in the process. (note to self - buy the round ones pre-cut with slits next time!) I ended up putting some beautiful light green lined, purple leaf Coleus with some variegated Vinca in them. They look ok for now - will have to see how they fare this summer. Also bought some day lilies and pretty purple Delphinium to plant together in my big pots. The Hostas sitting in from of them should be perfect!

I also just had to have a pot of gorgeous Cala Lilies and a trailing vine on a trellis with beautiful red flowers ... and I can't for the life of me remember right now what it's called. UGH!!

Cari and I went to Baybreeze yesterday! I love getting my fresh stuff from them - so glad they're open again! We do so miss that little stand when they close at the end of the summer. We bought fresh strawberries (just picked), tomatoes, sweet potatoes, baby red potatoes, some free reign eggs and I found chives!!! Have been looking for chives for a couple of weeks now. Will cut some of those to have on those baby red potatoes when we fix them! :)

Love my herb garden!

On another note, I don't think Cari and I have even come up for air since she's been home. Today makes two weeks. She's not even completely unpacked yet. Honestly, I don't think she's been home long enough to unpack. Bob and I are going to a fish fry with a group of friends this afternoon and she's looking forward to having the afternoon to herself just vegging - after we go to the gym this morning of course. We have been on the go non-stop.

Speaking of the gym, I had started going back before she came home, but she really started cracking the whip! We have gone nearly daily since she's been back. And most of those days we haven't been to the gym, we've walked or biked instead. Next will be some tennis rackets for something a little different. Have I lost any weight? Me? Not much. I walked with ankle weights last night. I told both Bob and Cari if my ass didn't shrink after all this I really was gonna start sitting on the couch watching soaps and eating bon bons.

OK, enough for now ...
QB

Almost 11 months!

Cari and I went to see Morgan yesterday. :) I guess I should say we went to see Heidi and Morgan, but since Heidi took Peanut to the shop to groom him we didn't really see her. Missy came by and had lunch with us and played. Morgan is such a TV nut we literally had to turn it off so she would pay some attention to us.

I took some Broccoli Salad and fresh fruit for lunch. Morgan had already eaten her lunch but was still in her seat so Missy cut up some cantaloupe, strawberries and pineapple and put it on her tray. It was quite entertaining watching those chubby little fingers chase the slippery fruit around. So I got a spoon and gave her little bites with it in between her chasing it around with her chubby little fingers. I ended up giving her the spoon - oh the fun she had banging it! So I got her little fork out that her MaMaw (Missy) gave her for Easter. She LOVED having a utensil for both hands! :) We were amazed at how quickly she figured out what to do with that fork. I'd stab a piece of fruit and it didn't take her long to get it in her mouth. What a little genius we have on our hands! And what a gorgeous little genius!

This picture slideshow personalized with Smilebox

Til next time ...
QB

Happy Mother's Day!

Cari found the PERFECT t-shirt for me! I LOVE it!! And Bob got me another bead for my bracelet - "GRANDMOTHER." :D How can I not smile

It's always a good day when you're with family. Cari being home made it that much more wonderful. Our day started out with breakfast at Rock-a-fellers. Yummmm! The omelet was ok, nothing to write home about (even though I'm writing about it - hmmm), but the pomegranate mimosa was divine! :) And their cornbread is always so good I had to have a piece.

 

We came home and did a 4-mile walk around the neighborhood - had to burn off some of those calories dontchaknow! Cari and I went shopping for dinner. Tried a new recipe for salmon (it was good but we're still looking for that awesome one), had baked sweet potatoes and peas to go with it. Tried some new organic wine with dinner too - I think it gave me a headache, well something did. About an hour or so after dinner we tried to go to Cold Stone for dessert. None of us had been there in ages. The line was almost out the door so we left and went to Handel's. Bob got a simple double dip (strawberry & chocolate), I got a Reese Cup Hurricane and Cari got nothing. She didn't see anything she wanted to waste the calories on. We sat down and watched some DVR'd shows and I finished a knitting project, then headed to bed.

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers in my life!

She's baaaaack! :)

Wednesday was a L-O-N-G day! I was excited Cari was coming home (for the summer) and that her second year was behind her - finals done and dorm living was over. So excited to have her home for the summer. Nashville is just FIVE WEEKS away! Even though she's taking a class at TCC, we'll still have some time together.

BTW, she's cracking the whip at the gym so maybe I'll be a little more fit by the time she goes back to school. She's also dropping some pretty strong hints at getting my back on roller blades. Now that could be entertaining! LOL

Bob and Herb went to a Yankees game in NYC and had a wonderful time - Yankees won! It was a really long day for them too. So glad Herb got to check something else off of his bucket list.

Til next time,
QB

Move out day!

It was just easier to move the majority of Cari's stuff out the weekend before her last final on Wednesday. Bob was going to a Yankees game (in NY) with his dad on Wednesday so that just wasn't gonna work. Since Exit 245's final concert of the year was Saturday night I had to go!

After dropping Peanut off at Dad's we finally got on the road around 1:30pm. Traffic was really heavy. It was nearly 5:30 before we checked in at our hotel and got to the dorm. We went to O'Charley's for dinner and my salad was sooo good! Bob opted out of going to the concert so we dropped him off at the hotel and headed to the hall to stand in line so we could get some good seats. The end of the year concerts are a big deal! The doors opened around 7:30 and Cari and I strode up to the front. Since there wasn't anything roping off the side rows, we planted on the second row hoping no one would make us move - they didn't. :) As always we loved every minute of the concert. Two of the guys are graduating seniors and saying goodbye to them was emotional. Here are some of the lousy pics I got with my little pocket camera:

 
Before leaving we were able to tour a model apartment where Cari will be living in August. It's small but at least she'll have some privacy - her own bedroom and bathroom. The kitchen is really small but Cari will be thrilled with a real refrigerator and a microwave, stove and oven steps away instead of three floors down. We're gonna have fun shopping for wall decor, new bedroom accessories and kitchen gadgets!

It was a long day but after retrieving Peanut, we finally made it home about 7:30pm. I'll admit it took me a couple of days to unpack and redistribute stuff. :) And she'll be home Wednesday!! Yaaah!