the days are just packed.
Don't you just love the days that start when you wake up and decide to do something out of the way? Like, WAY out of the way? Well, that's how our yesterday started. We woke up at about 9:30 and decided to head down to the New Haven, CT, IKEA for a rendezvous with our friend Kate (
wishuponakate). Now, we didn't actually know initially that she would be available, so we decided to take screenshots of two sets of directions: one to the IKEA in Stoughton, MA in case we couldn't meet up with Kate, and one set to the one in New Haven, so that we wouldn't repeat last year's getting-lost incident: a traipse down I-84 which landed us in Danbury, a little ways west of New Haven and right on the New York line.
After we got confirmation that Kate was in like Flynn for our IKEA shopping spree (we had a good list of stuff we needed to get, like a new bookshelf, a shower curtain, and a bunch of other stuff), we trucked the rest of the way and made it to the town where Kate lives. The adventure really started there.
Kate directions were nothing less than lucid: something about a weird Mexican joint, a phallic-shaped monument and a psychic. Great! Directions you'd think I can't possibly miss, right? (No, seriously...after seeing all of these landmarks after the fact, I was floored that I got so lost the first time). After driving around downtown for a little more than a half-hour, more lost than in April when we wound up halfway across the state from New Haven, we finally got to Kate's place, picked her up, and went on our way.
Now, IKEA is a strange haven for people like Shannon and me (who live in southern Maine). No such emporium for well-designed stuff at a reasonable price (aside from Wal-Mart, which I hardly think counts) exists here, so naturally, it is a place that we kinda went ga-ga over. Eventually, our plan is to have our house decked out in some IKEA gear, but for now, we settled for a nice bookshelf, a stepping stool, dish towels, four soupbowl/saucer combos, a pillow for my huge noggin, and a shower curtain.
Finally, Kate must have been reading our minds when she suggested dinner: a great sushi place a few miles away of the IKEA. I have learned to become very picky about my sushi, and this place (called Kampai) didn't disappoint AT ALL. The spicy shrimp maki and the gyoza were the definite highlights of the evening. After we finished dinner, we headed back to Kate's place, where Kate and I engaged in what is seeming to become our own ritual: the smoking of a Djarum Black clove cigarette. Good stuff. Hopefully, we'll be back down her way soon, because she is fabulous! :D
Today, we slept in wicked late, and are on our way again; this time to my father's in Bath to celebrate my sisters' birthday. Morgan and Taylor are 'Irish Twins', born today, November 25th, two years apart. We are on the cooking line to provide dinner and have to go shopping for a present. I swear, the action never ends!
wishuponakate). Now, we didn't actually know initially that she would be available, so we decided to take screenshots of two sets of directions: one to the IKEA in Stoughton, MA in case we couldn't meet up with Kate, and one set to the one in New Haven, so that we wouldn't repeat last year's getting-lost incident: a traipse down I-84 which landed us in Danbury, a little ways west of New Haven and right on the New York line.
After we got confirmation that Kate was in like Flynn for our IKEA shopping spree (we had a good list of stuff we needed to get, like a new bookshelf, a shower curtain, and a bunch of other stuff), we trucked the rest of the way and made it to the town where Kate lives. The adventure really started there.
Kate directions were nothing less than lucid: something about a weird Mexican joint, a phallic-shaped monument and a psychic. Great! Directions you'd think I can't possibly miss, right? (No, seriously...after seeing all of these landmarks after the fact, I was floored that I got so lost the first time). After driving around downtown for a little more than a half-hour, more lost than in April when we wound up halfway across the state from New Haven, we finally got to Kate's place, picked her up, and went on our way.
Now, IKEA is a strange haven for people like Shannon and me (who live in southern Maine). No such emporium for well-designed stuff at a reasonable price (aside from Wal-Mart, which I hardly think counts) exists here, so naturally, it is a place that we kinda went ga-ga over. Eventually, our plan is to have our house decked out in some IKEA gear, but for now, we settled for a nice bookshelf, a stepping stool, dish towels, four soupbowl/saucer combos, a pillow for my huge noggin, and a shower curtain.
Finally, Kate must have been reading our minds when she suggested dinner: a great sushi place a few miles away of the IKEA. I have learned to become very picky about my sushi, and this place (called Kampai) didn't disappoint AT ALL. The spicy shrimp maki and the gyoza were the definite highlights of the evening. After we finished dinner, we headed back to Kate's place, where Kate and I engaged in what is seeming to become our own ritual: the smoking of a Djarum Black clove cigarette. Good stuff. Hopefully, we'll be back down her way soon, because she is fabulous! :D
Today, we slept in wicked late, and are on our way again; this time to my father's in Bath to celebrate my sisters' birthday. Morgan and Taylor are 'Irish Twins', born today, November 25th, two years apart. We are on the cooking line to provide dinner and have to go shopping for a present. I swear, the action never ends!