Mount Vernon By Candlelight 2009

R treated me to this year's "Mount Vernon by Candelight" tour. This is the only chance visitors get to tour the historic home at nighttime. They do such a wonderful job with this each year. When you arrive, you are given a tag to hang around your neck, which is how they group visitors for the tour. The tag has the name of a dignitary who visited Mt. Vernon over Christmas at some point in George Washington's time there. Once your group "name" is called, you proceed outside to the grounds of the house.

Your first stop is next to a bonfire, about which lurk "interpreters" in period costumes. While you wait, you are invited to enter a tent, where more "interpreters" serve you a cup of hot cider and homemade cookies made in the style and tradition of the 18th century. When your group is again called, you officialy begin the tour by walking the lantern-lit path that leads directly to the manor. Your costumed guide stops the group periodically and shares stories and other information about the manor and about George and Martha's life during the holidays at the manor.


Your first indoor stop is at the first building on the left of the manor. Inside you are greeted by another "interpreter." In this case, he portrays a footman of George Washington's at the time of Washington's return from Delaware, as his monologue describes. This is the same interpreter as last year, and he's pretty good at it.

Next, you're lead into the manor itself and greeted by "Martha Washington" in the home's dining room. (That's her at left.) This lady is amazing. She's been "Martha" for some years now and she does this so well that you can imagine it's actually Martha speaking to you! She talks of Washington's long absence and of her delight in finally having him home again. In my opinion, she's the highlight of the tour.


The tour continues through the home, both 1st and 2nd levels, with additional costumed "interpreters" speaking to you of other Christmases at Mt. Vernon in Washington's time. When you come to the kitchen, an interpreter hands you a printed recipe for a cake. This recipe was discovered in Martha's own handwriting. It appears as it was in her original recipe and again in "today's" measurements. The original recipe calls for something like 40 eggs, 4 pounds of sugar, and 4 pounds of butter, among other things!
This tour is very enjoyable, and I highly recommend you go when you have the chance.

Birthday Treats

To help celebrate my birthday, my sister S met me in Boonsboro, MD to meet the author Nora Roberts at her bookstore. The book signing included 4 other authors, none of whom my sister and I were familiar with. S and I have been fans of Nora forever, so we were both excited to meet her for the first time. The bookstore (Turn the Page) is owned and operated by Nora's husband, Bruce Wilder. There was a huge turnout for the signing. We were in line for more than an hour just to get our ticket stub and know which letter of the alphabet group we would be in. With that done, we still had several hours before the actual signing would begin, so we decided to grab a bite to eat. Near the bookstore is a hole-in-the wall restaurant called Crawford's Restaurant, Guns and Ammo. I had to show the sign, as it's the first time I've had a meal at a place that "multitasks" like this. Yes, there were rifles mounted on the wall and ammo for sale behind the counter. Nonetheless, the food we were served was tasty and inexpensive -- always a great combination in my opinion! The menu offered something that S and I had never seen before: funnel cake fries. And that's exactly what they were -- french fry-shaped funnel cake dough, deep fried and served with a side of powdered sugar to sprinkle on top. They were delicious!

Right next door to the bookstore is a little gift shop/gallery called Gifts Inn BoonsBoro. The name ties the shop to the Inn BoonsBoro which is also owned by Nora and Bruce. The lotions, soaps and other toiletries provided for guests of the Inn are also available for sale a the gift shop. On this particular day, a local artist was making an appearance at the gift shop/gallery. She does amazing work with clay figures which she creates by hand. They're whimsical and extraordinarily detailed. She was just starting one while my sister and I were browsing the shop.

Finally, the time arrived to queue up for the book signing. The bookstore is not that big, and between all the bookshelves, special table displays and the people, it was a tight squeeze all the way up to the tables where the authors sat. All of the authors were pleasant and chatted as we made our way through and up to Nora. She was also very pleasant and obliged a photo with S and I behind her. Her son was next to her, helping her with the signing. He owns the only pizza joint in town, just a block from the bookstore.

With that done, it was time for lunch. We decided on the pizza joint. Upon entering, we were enveloped with the wonderful aromas of sauce and pizza dough. I all but drooled as we found ourselves a table! And what a bargain we got at this meal, too: 2 healthy slices of pizza PLUS a 20 oz. drink for $3.99. And worth every penny it was. This was some of the best pizza I have ever had. If it wasn't more than an hour's drive away, I'd become a regular customer! It was lovely to spend some one-on-one time with S, and I truly appreciated all the driving she did that day just to celebrate my birthday. Oh, and of course I'm grateful for an autographed copy of the latest J.D. Robb (a pen name of Nora's) book.

The following Sunday, R and P treated me to brunch at 219 Restaurant in Old Towne, Alexandria. The day was beautiful: sunny and very warm for November. 219 offers 2 menus on weekends: brunch and a smaller lunch menu. As I'd had breakfast that morning, I decided on a lunch dish. It was delicious and extremely filling. R baked me a birthday cake, which the waiter brought to the table complete with lit candles. It was yellow cake with dark chocolate icing, and both were laced with Kahlua. Yummy! It was really sweet of R and P to cut their NYC trip short a day just to help me celebrate.

Wedding in North Carolina

My nephew, G, got married on October 24th in Greensboro. The bride and groom chose a "Halloween" theme, so party favors included "eyeballs" that were bubbles to blow. The weather cooperated (just barely) and the reception was fun. G's sister B got married at the same event facility 2 years ago. It's a good venue for a small-ish wedding. It was great to get together with family -- especially those who came from much farther away.

Pumpkin Wedding Cakes!

The bride requested "pumkins" for wedding cake. My brother R was the baker, and I give him MAJOR props for accomplishing this feat! He outdoes himself with each cake he does. He did G's sister B's wedding cake in 2007:

which also blew me away! I'm very proud of R's talent and his generosity of spirit and time and effort when he does things like this.

Goodbye, Summer

Summer is my favorite time of year. The warm temperatures, the sunshine, the R&R time I spend at my pool...the trees have all their leaves, the grass is beautfiully green. I swear, I go into a funk for the first few weeks every September once the pool is closed for the season.

Fall isn't so bad around here. But Winter? Blech. Can't stand it. The climate here tends to give us cold temperatures with the additional insult of humidity that turns it into a bone-chilling type of cold. And ice? Please. The snow I can handle, but it tends to be more icy than snowy here and it can be really treacherous to navigate the roads when it's like that.

I should really be living farther south. Like Charleston, SC. I even have "my townhouse" all picked out! See? It's in North Charleston.

It's perfect for me: 3 BR, 2.5 BA, lots of light. Master suite on the first floor. LOVE it! I just need a friggin' JOB there first. Or maybe I can hit the PowerBall for a ton of money...then this would be my Primary Residence, of course. Others to follow...(sigh).

MY NEW FAVORITE WORD

I just got a call from my sister, S a few minutes ago. She just received the news that her leukemia and non-Hodgkins lymphoma are in remission!! What a gift. what a blessing, what a miracle. And not too shabby as an early birthday gift to her, too!

A Girl's Weekend!

I "got outta Dodge" this weekend and visited my sister, S, in Bedford. We were sorely in need of a "girls weekend."

Driving up I-70, I left behind the concrete and high rise buildings and feasted my eyes on rolling green hills and blue skies. I actually felt myself relax as I gazed around at the countryside sliding by. The weather was perfect as I rolled into Bedford.

After I arrived, our first order of business was a trip out to a place called The Furniture Barn. It's a mixture of flea market, antiques and used furniture. Fate smiled on my sister as she discovered an antique white wicker planter that was just the thing she'd been wanting for her front porch. This meant, of course, a trip back to the green house she frequents so she could pick out more flowers! S doesn't have just a green thumb--all her digits are green! Her front and back gardens are absolutely beautiful. All of her time, expense and effort really pay off each spring and summer.

I had a pedicure scheduled in the afternoon, and S got her toenails painted at the same time. Beauty stuff and shopping are essential elements for a true "girls weekend!"

On Saturday evening, I made us both a dinner of chicken marsala, oven-roasted asparagus and a garden salad (the green house she goes to is also a produce stand). It was pretty tasty and she raved about the chicken! We watched "Fried Green Tomatoes" over dinner. I couldn't believe S handn't seen this movie before. I knew she would enjoy it, and she did.

Sunday morning dawned with more gorgeous weather, along with the 8a.m. service at Bedford United Methodist. It was Pentecostal Sunday, and the whole service was centered on the meaning of this special Sunday: where "church" got its start. The pastor is really good. It's obvious he was born to be a minister. I especially appreciate how he sprinkles humor throughout his messages.

After church, we ran a couple of errands and came back to her house for a while. My Aunt K invited us to Sunday dinner at her place, so I packed my vehicle and we headed on over. What a delicious meal! Oven-baked chicken, homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, broccoli, cauliflower...I pigged out and enjoyed every bite!

I was truly sorry to have to leave. I would have been content to stay another day -- or the rest of the week, for that matter! This was a fabulous "girls weekend." I hope we repeat it soon!

It's Raining Pictures!

Question: where is one place in your house that you don't want to be when you hear a loud crash?

Answer: The shower. With conditioner on your hair.

So began my morning today. There I am, happily conditioning away, when out of nowhere comes a loud, prolonged crash. Loud enough and close enough that I thought my wall cabinet in the bathroom had taken a header. I cautiously opened the shower curtain and peered around my teeny, tiny bathroom. Nothing on the floor, and the cabinet was still in it's rightful place on the wall. Hmm....

I stepped out of the shower and opened the bathroom door. There, in the hallway, are two pictures that were hanging on the hallway wall. They are surrounded by seashells. The picture that had been hung the highest is a photo of The Weather Girls, formerly known as Two Tons of Fun. This photo is addressed to me and is autographed by Martha and Azora, the sisters who make up the singing duo who had a hit back in the day called "It's Raining Men." That is why I framed and hung it. Below that hung a photo of my father in the trombone section of a dance band back in the 50s. Peering up to the spots where they used to hang, I surmised what must have happened: Two Tons of Fun suddenly became too heavy for the hook. The hook let go, sending Martha and Azora sliding down to my dad. With my dad in tow, they made a detour to check out my basket of seashells that had been perched on a table directly below them, took the shells along for a ride, and then managed to come to some sort of gentle landing on the hardwood floor. Yeah, I said "gentle" because BOTH pieces of glass from the pictures were completely IN TACT. How weird (and cool) is that? I mean, usually falling glass meeting hardwood floor equals many shards of perile for bare feet! But it didn't happen in this case. Perhaps it was the benefit of the cushiony flesh provided by the singing sisters? Who knows.

Geese as Pedestrians

The other day, I was about 6th in a line of cars waiting out a red light to make a right turn onto a very busy thoroughfare. As I neared the intersection, I noticed a pair of Canadian geese standing SMACK IN THE MIDDLE of this intersection. I observed their behavior and couldn't help making a comparison to that of human pedestrians, impatiently waiting to cross a street. The geese shuffled from side to side, occasionally turned and took a few steps in the opposite direction, and turned and stepped again in the direction they wanted to go. Then it hit me: WHY??? What would possess a creature with the ability to fly to decide to put it's little avian life on the line by attempting to traverse such a busy channel of traffic on it's little webbed feet when all it needed to do is lift its wings and FLY THE HELL OVER IT?! Could this kind of behavior have been the inspiration behind the phrase "bird brain?"

Another Loss

On May 5, my uncle Bob passed away. He was my last remaining uncle. He was also my favorite. I remember him as upbeat, personable and funny. Oh--and musical, too! He used to play drums. My mom (his sister) and my grandmother (Nana -- his mother) told me stories of his compulsion to "drum" on any surface, any time when he was growing up. Nana used to admonish him for occasionally breaking her dishes with this drumming habit! He was also a whistler. Residents of the small town of Bedford, PA (where he lived his entire life) always knew when Bob was in the vicinity: they'd hear him cheerfully whistling as he walked. When Bob was a little boy, he met a cute little girl named Kay. They were sweet on eachother, and Kay used to make Bob mud pies. They stayed sweet on eachother all through school. They got married after graduating. They were together until Bob's passing. I think that's wonderful, don't you? I know that Kay is struggling with this huge loss of her one and only true love. I and the rest of the family intend to do whatever we can to see her through all of this.

My mom always referred to Bob as her "baby brother." But Bob wasn't technically the youngest sibling. There was Johnny, who died as a toddler. Now, all the siblings have passed on. I take pleasure and comfort in knowing that my mom is reuinted with Bob and that he is reunited with all his brothers, sisters, and his mother whom he loved so much.