Springtime tidings.
A bright and happy Imbolc to everyone. Light up all your candles tonight and welcome the return of spring. It has been an extremely loooong time since I last posted, and quite a bit has occurred since then. Funny, that is probably the reason it has been so long.
At Christmas my darling ironmelf and I drove up to Atlanta to spend it with the family. All well and good, got to see lots of people and bring home lots of goodies. Even the kitties got spoiled. The one bad thing that happened was that on the drive home, a huge road rock (like 2-3cm diameter) crashed into my windshield and left a chip. Grrr. The chip is around 2-3mm in diameter, and probably only 1mm or so deep into the glass. There are a couple tinier chips along the same path from the rock skipping along the glass. I suppose it's not actually bad enough to repair (since there is no sign of cracking, and evidently repairs leave a mark almost as big) and it's on the passenger side so I don't notice it unless I look over at that area. It's just really irritating knowing that it's there. Grrrrr.
New Year's Eve ironmelf and I spent at Busch Gardens in Tampa. Yay, roller coasters! I had the Two-Fer tickets left over from when my brother came down in October, so we got in for the whole day for free. Woo! It's pretty cool flying along in a coaster in the dark.
Last week we visited Nebraska for a belated holiday gathering with my family. But we had an extra gift: Alan and I finally and at long last got ENGAGED !! They've been dropping not-so-subtle hints about it for years, so everyone was happy. The first question out of my aunt's mouth was "Have you set a date?" My response: "It took us like 8 YEARS to get this far, so no!" And the answer to your other question: NO I am not pregnant. :> The rock:
These pictures don't do it justice by any means. It's far more beautiful in real life.
As for the rest of the trip, it was quite fun. Toured the largest winery in Nebraska, James Arthur Vineyards, and brought a few yummy bottles home. I never really thought about wine being made in Nebraska. For you connoisseurs out there (ahem celestiasday), evidently Edelweiss grapes "grow like weeds" there. Picked up some Husker merchandise in Lincoln. Visited the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, and were astounded by the special exhibit. Went over to the black hole that is Des Moines to see friends and tour around Drake again. Then came home.
Our apartment complex went condo. Ugh. We'll likely have to move by summer. Ugh.
Progess on the Europe trip front. Purchased tickets from Paris to Dublin yesterday, as well as reserved beds here. We'll be there 15-17Mar. Yep, that's right, I'll be in Ireland on St Patrick's Day.
All right, I think that sums up the last month. Whew!
At Christmas my darling ironmelf and I drove up to Atlanta to spend it with the family. All well and good, got to see lots of people and bring home lots of goodies. Even the kitties got spoiled. The one bad thing that happened was that on the drive home, a huge road rock (like 2-3cm diameter) crashed into my windshield and left a chip. Grrr. The chip is around 2-3mm in diameter, and probably only 1mm or so deep into the glass. There are a couple tinier chips along the same path from the rock skipping along the glass. I suppose it's not actually bad enough to repair (since there is no sign of cracking, and evidently repairs leave a mark almost as big) and it's on the passenger side so I don't notice it unless I look over at that area. It's just really irritating knowing that it's there. Grrrrr.
New Year's Eve ironmelf and I spent at Busch Gardens in Tampa. Yay, roller coasters! I had the Two-Fer tickets left over from when my brother came down in October, so we got in for the whole day for free. Woo! It's pretty cool flying along in a coaster in the dark.
Last week we visited Nebraska for a belated holiday gathering with my family. But we had an extra gift: Alan and I finally and at long last got ENGAGED !! They've been dropping not-so-subtle hints about it for years, so everyone was happy. The first question out of my aunt's mouth was "Have you set a date?" My response: "It took us like 8 YEARS to get this far, so no!" And the answer to your other question: NO I am not pregnant. :> The rock:
These pictures don't do it justice by any means. It's far more beautiful in real life.
As for the rest of the trip, it was quite fun. Toured the largest winery in Nebraska, James Arthur Vineyards, and brought a few yummy bottles home. I never really thought about wine being made in Nebraska. For you connoisseurs out there (ahem celestiasday), evidently Edelweiss grapes "grow like weeds" there. Picked up some Husker merchandise in Lincoln. Visited the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, and were astounded by the special exhibit. Went over to the black hole that is Des Moines to see friends and tour around Drake again. Then came home.
Our apartment complex went condo. Ugh. We'll likely have to move by summer. Ugh.
Progess on the Europe trip front. Purchased tickets from Paris to Dublin yesterday, as well as reserved beds here. We'll be there 15-17Mar. Yep, that's right, I'll be in Ireland on St Patrick's Day.
All right, I think that sums up the last month. Whew!