A fortnight of activities

Yeah, I know, most people like to record things as they're happening, and I confess I've done that before, but for the last two weeks I haven't really been anywhere NEAR my computer...

So what have I been up to?

Well, after Malena left, I returned to dogs that were still a little freaked out, but they calmed down eventually. Monday, Tuesday were basically work then SA stuff (FHE and Stake Committee Meeting, respectively). Wednesday, being the Fourth of July, I was able to stay home. I did some yard work, then watched the first two Harry Potter movies--I have a goal to watch all four previous movies before seeing the new one--and worked on Malena's quiet book. There was a thunderstorm that evening that cut the power for about 5 minutes and freaked the dogs out for about an hour and a half. They hid behind a door and wouldn't come out for the longest time, poor guys!

Thursday and Friday were really more like another Monday and a Friday, although I did watch HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban on Thursday night and went to Ward Temple Night on Friday night. Instead of getting ready for the Next Great Adventure: my Dad and his wife Nancy were coming on Saturday! It was ok, though.

Saturday morning was spent cleaning house and then in the early afternoon taking the dogs to yet another Adoption Event. We couldn't stay long because I still had much to do at home before picking D&N up at the airport--including cleaning the car out. I had intended to do that anyway, but since both dogs were carsick on the way to the adoption event, it became necessary. Poor little guys, right? Again we met up with people who thought they were cute but not what they were looking for, and while there were a couple people who had submitted applications for them neither were able to attend this particular event. So they came home with me and I put them in their crate and went to clean out my car.

I picked up D&N at the airport with no trouble, then we went out to eat at Applebees. Still yummy. We went home, and with a couple hours to kill before bedtime, Dad requested we watch the first Star Wars. The one he showed in 1977 while he was working as a projectionist in the evenings. I'm always up for Star Wars, so we did :)

Sunday was nice, we watched Testaments and basically hung out with the dogs. Interesting note: the dogs like my dad! They almost never barked at him unless they were startled. They barked at Nancy a lot, though. We got ready for and went to church, where I had the opportunity to hold Baby R all through church--mostly because I wouldn't relinquish her, but her parents were happy to let me since they both had to teach that day :D. I did give her back when church was over, though. We went home, had Taco Pie (yes, from Freezer Meal Swap, and it was Yummy!), and watched The Empire Strikes Back.


Monday we got up and were ready to go so D&N came with me to drop the dogs off at their boarding place. I arranged with them to let K from the Good Dog Rescue to come take them out if necessary, to meet potential adopters, since I was planning on leaving them there for a week. We joked about getting the dogs adopted before I got back. Then it was on to Strasburg, Pa for D&N and me. It was a lovely drive, and we had lunch in the Red Caboose Restaurant--yes, an actual caboose from a train. Dad loves trains, hence the visit to Strasburg. My sister Beckie and her family were going to meet us there around 2:00pm at the Railroad Museum, so we decided to visit the toy train museum first. D&N are putting in a G size train in their back yard, and love to look at what other people have done. Actually, Dad's always been into toy trains, and has instilled that love in about two of his boys. Now he finally has time to pursue his hobby :D. The toy train museum was quite fun, but meeting up with Beckie and her family didn't go well--my phone wasn't getting any signal for some reason, and they got caught in traffic. They did finally get there around 4:00pm, and Doug (her husband) decided that we had to ride the train. There's an old steam engine train that runs from Strasburg to Paradise, about a 20 minute trip. Collin, the almost-3 year-old, was in heaven. He LOVES trains. He was so excited to see all the trains, and to be able to take a ride on one! So cute! After the train ride we went back to the Red Caboose Restaurant for dinner, since they were hungry and it was close, and did actually work ok for a family restaurant, even if we couldn't put the tables all together (there were 8 of us). The drive to Beckie's house was fairly uneventful, although we started first and they managed to catch up to us on the way :D That was kind of fun.

Tuesday Dad really didn't want to go sight seeing, so we watched the kids so Beckie could go grocery shopping BY HERSELF! (You mothers know how valuable that is.) We played a bit, had lunch, and then D&N and I went out shopping while Beckie had to work and her babysitter came to watch the kids--we figured it would be better for us to get out of the way, and we had to pick up a few things anyway. We got back after Beckie put in her time, and after Davi had left, and we did some puzzles with the kids. Puzzles Nancy and I had bought for them while we were out. Because that's what aunts and grandmas are supposed to do :D A quiet night after dinner, with them visiting and me reading reading reading--I had set a goal to read all the HP books before the next one came out, and I was only on book 4! I finished it while I was there, though.

Wednesday it was time for us to leave. We walked Bonnie to school (she's in summer school), and then took our leave. Malena cried and cried--she kept trying to talk us into staying a little later, but we knew that it really didn't matter when we left, she still wouldn't want us to go. So we gave hugs and kisses all around (Collin was quite calm about the whole thing, but then, he is 2), and left. Dad wanted to go back to Strasburg, and since we were going that way anyway I wanted to visit a couple places nearby. We stopped first at the Farmer's Market in Bird-in-Hand, which I haven't been to in quite a long time. I found a beautiful little doll that plays "what a wonderful world" in the right colors for my bedroom--which is where she is right now. Dad found a little bell that he was looking for (one of the reasons he wanted to return to Strasburg), and Nancy just liked going through all the little shops and by all the little areas. I was so tempted by the little Amish dolls, but I'd already bought a pair on Monday and my rule is that I only get one pair per trip! Besides, I'd just bought the musical doll...

After the Farmer's Market, we went to the Doll Outlet store. Not sure what town it's in, but it's not far from the outlet mall just outside of Lancaster. They advertise that they have over 5000 dolls there, and they do! I loved walking around and seeing all the dolls. Upstairs they had baby dolls. I found one that has a breathing mechanism inside it. He came home with me. I really just couldn't put him down, and I figure he'll be a good substitute for those days when I don't have access to a baby at church or something :) I love to hold little babies, I find it very calming. They must too, because they all fall asleep! My one true talent, is what I call it. Ah, but I digress. We had lunch in Intercourse, PA, at a little place that has managed to cash in on the Amish way of life (I would really like to know how the Amish feel about that), and I got some dried sweet corn and some Apple Butter. The sweet corn is to make creamed corn for Thanksgiving. Not sure if I'll be at Beckie's or not for Thanksgiving since that's when her baby is due, but if I'm in MD and you're in MD you're welcome to come over and try some!

We did return to Strasburg, but it was raining and Dad didn't want to get out of the car. The Railroad Museum had been closed on Monday, due to the PA Legislature not passing a budget, but they passed it on Tuesday so it was open on Wednesday, but since we were there for Dad and he no longer wanted to go, we just drove home. I have now seen a LOT more of Eastern PA than I ever expected to. But it is a very nice drive, and it is so very green. Dad did make a comment about all the trees in MD--they're nice, but how do we see where we are, or where we're going? Well, we don't, is my answer. You just have to read the signs. We got home in time to have a makeshift dinner--the whole time they were there D&N wanted to make sure I wasn't doing a lot of work for them, so we had a lot of leftovers and freezer meals. Not really a problem for me, since that's kind of what I had planned, but I do wish I had been able to talk them into the kabobs! We watched The Return of the Jedi that evening--sense a theme? Yes, it was at Dad's request, now you know where I get it from :D

Thursday Dad didn't want to do any sight-seeing, so we came up with a list of small, odd jobs that needed doing around the house and went to Home Depot to get the supplies. Nancy decided she wanted to mow the lawn using my push mower, and discovered--with Dad's help--that it hadn't been put together properly (sorry Daely! (my niece and I put it together when she was here in March)). So Dad fixed it, and it works a lot better now. We put up garden hose holders in front and back, I clipped the bush in front, Nancy mowed, and then we were tired and hot so we went inside for lunch. After lunch we did the inside jobs--a vent that needed putting in, attatching a full-length mirror to the back of a door, and a couple of other things. Then we sat and watched The Phantom Menace. Dad had never seen the Star Wars prequels.

We went to dinner at the Crab Shanty in Ellicott City. Very nice, seafood place. I don't usually care for seafood, but I figured they were visiting Maryland so they should have Crab Cakes. Dad ordered a variety platter, I ordered Crab Cakes, and we all shared. It was very good, but I still don't care that much for seafood. Don't mind fresh water fish, and I do like crab cakes, but for the most part, I'm not a shellfish person. I did manage to grab the check before Dad did, though! He's been paying for everything--including two tanks of gas--all week! After dinner we went back home and watched The Attack of the Clones.

Friday morning was their last day. They got up at their usual 7:00-7:30 time, but their plane didn't leave until 1:30pm, so we put in the final movie, The Revenge of the Sith. There are parts of that movie I really have a hard time watching. I did get to hold my baby the whole time, though, and that helped (me hide my face!). Then, since they were packed and we were out of things to do, I took them to the airport about three hours early. Well, Dad wanted to be there at 11:00 am, so it was really only a half-hour earlier than that. Hugs and good-byes, and they were on their way.

And so was I. Off to the bank for some cash, to Wal-Mart for some last-minute things, then home to do some quick laundry before leaving to go to Shore Leave, the sci-fi convention I've been going to for the last 5 years. I usually really enjoy it. This year, not so much. But that's ok. I got to see Nichelle Nichols (Lt Uhura from Star Trek), Claudia Christian (Cmdr Ivonova from Babylon 5), Paul McGillion (Dr Becket from Stargate Atlantis), and a few others. My friend was giving a presentation on her satellite, New Horizons and the Jupiter flyby that happened a couple months ago, so I went to her presentation too. I managed to spend all my money in the dealers' rooms, although you do have to acknowledge that I finally bought the $50 "Dressing a Galaxy" by Trisha Biggar (she did all the costumes for the Prequel Star Wars movies), so that was 1/4 of what I had brought. Lots of little things for my friends, pictures for EstelSolo, and an autograph. I did stand in line for an hour for an autograph by Ms Nichols, but the picture I had bought for her to sign turned out to be pirated--she wouldn't sign it. The pictures they had available at her table were $20, and I no longer had $20 by that time. So I stood in line for nothing. I should have gone to the art auction.

I did go to the Masquerade. I love to see the costumes they come up with--they're usually very good, and so imaginative. I was thinking about entering this year, but I wasn't feeling too good (I had started coughing the night before, so I even nixed the Blood Drive), so I skipped that. Actually, the costume that stands out for me was one a kid did, based on Pirates of the Carribean, The End of the World. He was the little kid in the beginning who started singing the song--which he also did. It was a very good re-enactment. Maybe next year, if I go, I'll show up as Elanor the Hobbit.

That was Friday and Saturday, Sunday I did make it to church but left when I realized I was falling asleep, and still wasn't feeling 100%. So I went home and finished the Harry Potter book I was reading (Order of the Pheonix--one more book to go!). I did go to the SA potluck that night, but the fireside was cancelled due to lack of interest (the ward responsible for getting a speaker didn't, and since I was on vacation I didn't do it either). I got home in time to watch HP and The Goblet of Fire, so I am now all ready for the movie. Which is good, because that's what I'm doing tonight!!