Still Kicking
I haven't posted in quite awhile, so I thought I'd take the time to mention I'm still around- although ill at present. Sore throat, headache, lethargy, and low grade fever. I have whatever that equals. A virus perhaps? Sadly, I fear I may have already passed it on to Steve.
We both need to get well soon, preferably by Saturday. We planned to go Christmas tree shopping that afternoon, and then that evening is my company's holiday party. I love this season, including Thanksgiving. Last week was a joy. Wednesday night we saw Robin Williams work out some new material. There's a club near his house that he occasionally performs at (I didn't realize he's a SF native son). Then Thursday.....well, I'll skip that one. Thursday was a bust because dingbat here forgot to defrost the turkey. We tried to order out, but of course, everyone was closed. Our Thanksgiving meal that day ended up consisting of kraft macaroni & cheese (not what was planned, but a family favorite nonetheless).
On to Friday! The most comfortable beds I've ever slept in were at the Downtown Austin Marriott. Then I read about how their beds were designed and how they took 7 years to come up with their mattresses (which are available for purchase). The next step to owning one, now, was to have Steve experience this miracle too. So we got a car and drove down to the Marriott San Jose. The room was small, but had a window seat with a fantastic view of the city. We sat up there for awhile, enjoying the view, and also got to watch a lengthy police search happen below. That's always entertaining. However, when it came time to go to bed, I had what was easily one of the worst night's sleep in recent memory. At one point, I woke up because the mattress was actually causing me pain. Then I woke up a million other times for who knows what reason. Incredibly disappointing, but I feel the urge to give it another shot. The memories of the other marriott bed are so strong, that I have to make sure.
The reason we chose San Jose as the test-site was because it's home to the Winchester Mystery House. The house is a historical landmark turned tourist site, comprised of a bizarre mansion that has staircases leading to nowhere, windows in the floor, doors that open to 8 ft drops, doors that open into brick walls, and all sorts of other oddities. The woman who lived there, Sarah Winchester, had constant construction on her house until the day she died. 24 hours a day, every day, for 38 years. Her deceased husband was heir to the winchester rifle fortune, and when he passed, she inherited his stock in the company. The story goes that a psychic told her that to appease the spirits, she would need to build a house, but never finish it. Supposedly, the logic behind the house's strange design was so that the ghosts of those killed by the winchester rifle would become confused when roaming about it. Other items of note...Mrs. Winchester was obsessed with spiderwebs and the number 13. Accordingly, they were everywhere, down to the drains in the kitchen sink.
On Saturday, we went to the Hakone Gardens in Saratoga. It was absolutely beautiful, and is supposed to be one of the most authentic Japanese gardens in the U.S. Saratoga was fantastic as well. I wish we'd had more time to explore it. The entire area was one of the most lovely, quaint little places I've ever seen. It overcame me with its beauty, nature, and sweet-smelling air. I suspect, though, that it was probably due in large part to the incredible contrast that only San Francisco living can provide. As we strolled around, we inhaled deeply, and asked ourselves...."Where's the pee?"
Afterward, we drove over to Palo Alto, and browsed town a bit before heading to the Rose & Crown pub for some much anticipated fish n chips. Happily, they lived up to the expectation. We also stopped in a great little furniture shop called Gingko. They have handmade and antique Asian-design furniture. We oohed and aahed over everything, and were inspired by notions of actually getting some proper furniture one day.
We arrived back home on Saturday night, and Sunday gave way to our real Thanksgiving celebration. I so enjoy this holiday and the homey-ness of it all. I had even recorded the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which helped complete the illusion that Thursday was still here. After 5 hours of preparation, we ended the weekend with a feast, the photos of which, along with other sites we took in, may be seen here.
We both need to get well soon, preferably by Saturday. We planned to go Christmas tree shopping that afternoon, and then that evening is my company's holiday party. I love this season, including Thanksgiving. Last week was a joy. Wednesday night we saw Robin Williams work out some new material. There's a club near his house that he occasionally performs at (I didn't realize he's a SF native son). Then Thursday.....well, I'll skip that one. Thursday was a bust because dingbat here forgot to defrost the turkey. We tried to order out, but of course, everyone was closed. Our Thanksgiving meal that day ended up consisting of kraft macaroni & cheese (not what was planned, but a family favorite nonetheless).
On to Friday! The most comfortable beds I've ever slept in were at the Downtown Austin Marriott. Then I read about how their beds were designed and how they took 7 years to come up with their mattresses (which are available for purchase). The next step to owning one, now, was to have Steve experience this miracle too. So we got a car and drove down to the Marriott San Jose. The room was small, but had a window seat with a fantastic view of the city. We sat up there for awhile, enjoying the view, and also got to watch a lengthy police search happen below. That's always entertaining. However, when it came time to go to bed, I had what was easily one of the worst night's sleep in recent memory. At one point, I woke up because the mattress was actually causing me pain. Then I woke up a million other times for who knows what reason. Incredibly disappointing, but I feel the urge to give it another shot. The memories of the other marriott bed are so strong, that I have to make sure.
The reason we chose San Jose as the test-site was because it's home to the Winchester Mystery House. The house is a historical landmark turned tourist site, comprised of a bizarre mansion that has staircases leading to nowhere, windows in the floor, doors that open to 8 ft drops, doors that open into brick walls, and all sorts of other oddities. The woman who lived there, Sarah Winchester, had constant construction on her house until the day she died. 24 hours a day, every day, for 38 years. Her deceased husband was heir to the winchester rifle fortune, and when he passed, she inherited his stock in the company. The story goes that a psychic told her that to appease the spirits, she would need to build a house, but never finish it. Supposedly, the logic behind the house's strange design was so that the ghosts of those killed by the winchester rifle would become confused when roaming about it. Other items of note...Mrs. Winchester was obsessed with spiderwebs and the number 13. Accordingly, they were everywhere, down to the drains in the kitchen sink.
On Saturday, we went to the Hakone Gardens in Saratoga. It was absolutely beautiful, and is supposed to be one of the most authentic Japanese gardens in the U.S. Saratoga was fantastic as well. I wish we'd had more time to explore it. The entire area was one of the most lovely, quaint little places I've ever seen. It overcame me with its beauty, nature, and sweet-smelling air. I suspect, though, that it was probably due in large part to the incredible contrast that only San Francisco living can provide. As we strolled around, we inhaled deeply, and asked ourselves...."Where's the pee?"
Afterward, we drove over to Palo Alto, and browsed town a bit before heading to the Rose & Crown pub for some much anticipated fish n chips. Happily, they lived up to the expectation. We also stopped in a great little furniture shop called Gingko. They have handmade and antique Asian-design furniture. We oohed and aahed over everything, and were inspired by notions of actually getting some proper furniture one day.
We arrived back home on Saturday night, and Sunday gave way to our real Thanksgiving celebration. I so enjoy this holiday and the homey-ness of it all. I had even recorded the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which helped complete the illusion that Thursday was still here. After 5 hours of preparation, we ended the weekend with a feast, the photos of which, along with other sites we took in, may be seen here.