Weeds, Wings, and Warbling

So it's just about "10:15 on a Saturday night," as the old Cure song goes, and I thought I'd take a couple of minutes to write about my day.

It was a beautiful day here in south-central Pennsylvania, and I took advantage of that, plus the fact that we actually had no specific plans this weekend (a rarity!), to do some work in my poor neglected flowerbeds. Last year I never even got around to planting any flowers in them, which disappointed me, so I'm determined to do better this year.

So far, I'm off to a pretty good start. This morning I went to Lowe's and bought 36 packs of pink and white vinca plants. I always plant vinca in my flowerbeds because I like the colors of the flowers, the leaves are a nice glossy dark green, and most importantly, they do well in sunny, hot, and dry conditions. So if we get a dry spell in the middle of the summer, like we often do, they hold up pretty well. Here's an example of some vinca plants in case you aren't familiar with what they look like. The ones I got this year are the lighter pink color, and also white.

I also got 36 packs of celosia. I had these two years ago, the last time I planted annuals, and they were also nice, although at that time I only got yellow ones, and this year I got a variety: yellow, pink, and red. Celosia grows taller than vinca, so it looks nice planted in a row behind the vinca. Here's an example of what celosia plants look like, which basically look just like the ones I got:
Unfortunately, I couldn't just start digging holes and planting the flowers right away; I had to do some cleanup work first. My flowerbeds still contained the (wilting) leaves of the daffodils and tulips from the spring, as well as a few weeds, of course. My original flowerbed wasn't really in very bad condition, but my newer - and larger - one had many more weeds, as well as lots of stray grass. And the one along the side of the house - ugh. I really need to just plant some small bushes or perennials on that side, because I don't have much there but weeds and grass sticking up through the mulch. So it really needs something, but I don't really like to be bothered with it, since it's on the side of the house and isn't as visible. But that probably won't be happening anytime in the very near future.

Anyhow, after working from 1:30 to 4:30 this afternoon, I had filled a large garbage bag with plant leaves, weeds, and grass, and all my flowerbeds were ready for me to plant some flowers. But by that time, I was ready to quit for the day - I just didn't feel like starting on the job of planting 72 packs of flowers. I did water them as they sat in their market packs, eagerly waiting to occupy their new location, but then I went inside to wash off all the dirt (and sunscreen - yes, I learned my lesson after last week's sunburn) and talk about our evening plans.

After I showered, Brian asked me, "For dinner tonight, would you like to go somewhere that serves good wings?" I said, "Sure!" So after I got ready, we drove to Mt. Holly Springs to a little bar/restaurant called Three Pines. It's kind of a biker bar, but Brian's friend had told him they have really good wings. And he was right! They have 25 different sauces for their wings. We got some with Honey BBQ and some with Teriyaki. We liked both flavors, but the Teriyaki ones did get to be a bit much after a while, so it was good we got a smaller quantity of them. I had a small salad along with my wings (I had to have at least some vegetables with my meal), and Brian got some "Beef Veggie" soup (as it was written on the chalkboard of daily specials) which he said was pretty good.

After dinner, even though we didn't need them, we went down the street and got ice cream sundaes. We were going to get CMP's (Chocolate, Marshmallow, and Peanuts, for those not familiar with them), but they only came in a "Super" size, and we really didn't want anything that big. So Brian got a regular sundae with chocolate and marshmallow sauce (no peanuts), and I also got a regular one, but with hot fudge and marshmallow sauce.

On the way home, Brian asked, "Would you like to do some karaoke once we get home?" I replied with a resounding "Yes!" For Brian's birthday, I got him the Xbox 360 video game called "Lips," which is basically a karaoke game. It comes with a pretty good variety of songs, and there are more available to download on Xbox Live, and more songs are added about every week.

We sang everything in "Co-Op mode," which meant we took turns singing part of the time (usually the verses) and sang together some of the time (usually the choruses). I have to say, we make an excellent singing duo! For three of the songs we sang, we scored so well that we ranked in the top 50 singers - worldwide! So of course we were pretty proud of ourselves.

And that brings us to the present time. I guess now I'd better go get ready for bed, since I have a lot of planting to do tomorrow - plus we do want to try to get in a bike ride before the weekend is over!

Holiday Weekend - Monday

In the morning, I applied Weed & Feed to the lawn – though I had to run out when I was about 2/3 done to to get a second bag. Brian went up to his parents’ house to help get their new grill up on the deck, then when he came back, we got changed, put our bikes on our new bike rack (he got one that straps to the hatchback of the car, rather than the kind that mounts on a hitch – so far it seems to work just fine, and it was only $40, as opposed to the several hundred it would cost to get a hitch and a mountable bike rack), and headed down to Newville to ride on the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail again.

This time, it seemed much harder for me than the last time. I had a heck of a time keeping up with Brian – in fact, I was behind him most of the time! And although I noticed him coasting quite a bit, I found myself unable to coast for more than a couple of seconds before I had to start pedaling again. I couldn’t figure out why I was having such trouble – I hadn’t really done that much more exercising, and I didn’t feel any more tired than usual. But by the time we got to eight miles, I was definitely ready to turn around and head back. And those last couple miles back were really tough for me! I was getting really discouraged, not to mention tired! I didn’t think I was that out of shape, but Brian was going along without any problem, and I was trying my hardest just to stay relatively close behind him.

When we got back to where we started, Brian said, “let me see your bike for a second.” He said he thought he heard a funny noise. So he looked at the back wheel, and lo and behold, the brake pad was rubbing on the wheel! Apparently when he put the rear wheel back on, after working with my inner tube the day before, he didn’t put it on quite right, so the one brake pad was rubbing against the wheel for the entire 16-mile trip! That certainly explained why I was having such a difficult time riding and couldn’t really coast! And while that did make me feel better mentally, it didn’t do anything for my physical condition – I was exhausted! So much so, in fact, that I even felt a little queasy. (I think the heat had something to do with that as well, although we were drinking water as we rode.) But I survived, and eventually after some Gatorade and a nice long shower, I started to feel more like myself. After a while, the only physical reminders of my ride (and which I still have today) were my sunburned shoulders (I wore a tank top but neglected to apply sunscreen :-() and sore buns. ;-)

So over the course of the three-day weekend, I rode about 30 miles! I'd say I'm doing pretty well for a novice bicyclist!

And that concludes my report of my Memorial Day weekend. You may now return to your regularly scheduled program... :-)

Holiday Weekend - Sunday

Sunday's main event was a visit to my dad and stepmom's house. Laurie and Alex drove over separately from Brian and me, since they were heading back home afterwards.

We got there for lunch, and everyone but Brian had grilled salmon and asparagus. (Because Brian is a picky eater, he instead had a sautéed breaded chicken breast and broccoli.) Everyone did have angel hair pasta with Alfredo sauce along with their meat and vegetable. For dessert, we all had strawberry shortcake prepared with homemade biscuits. My dad always makes sure we are well-fed when we come to visit. He's an excellent cook!

Dad was anxious for us to see his new 'bike' - which is not at all like my new bike. His is a Suzuki V-Strom 1000, which is a 'dual-sport' motorcycle. It's the first motorcycle he's owned in about 15 years. It's very nice, but it's very big! And it is kind of funny, because he and I do have something in common right now - we're both getting used to being on 'bikes' again. He's taken his motorcyle out several times since he got it a couple of weeks ago (it's been a little difficult because of the rain), so he's getting more familiar with handling it.

We were there until the late afternoon, and then Brian and I decided to head home. We talked about going for a bike ride when we got home, but then Brian noticed that my rear tire was flat, so he said he would work on that, and I went for a walk in the park. When I got back, he said he checked the inner tube and couldn’t find a leak, so he figured what had happened was that the valve got opened somehow and all the air just leaked out. He refilled the inner tube and put the tire back on, and he said we’d check it tomorrow to make sure it was still inflated.

Holiday Weekend - Saturday

On Saturday my big event was going to the Harrisburg ArtsFest with my mom, my sister Laurie, and her fiance Alex, who were visiting for the weekend.

We didn’t get over to ArtsFest until 3 or a little after. But some of the vendors we talked with said it was warmer at noon than it was at 3, so it may have worked out better for us to arrive later anyway. It seemed warm and humid enough at 3 pm, just the same!

I hadn’t been to ArtsFest in YEARS, but I made up for my absence by making quite a few purchases. I definitely ensured that some of the artists and artisans were not “starving!” :-) I bought jewelry at three different stands. At one place I "made my own necklace" by choosing a triangular glass stone from a beautiful selection, and the artisan added some silver wire and tiny beads to it, then attached it to a black cord. At $15, I thought it was a great deal.

I also bought a new print for the pub bathroom (a really cool photo of a hillside in Ireland) – a rather bold move for me, since I normally wouldn’t purchase artwork without consulting with Brian first. But I had a feeling he would like the picture, and when I showed it to him, he said it reminded him of some picture from a Tolkein book he had, and he thought it looked kind of like Middle-Earth, so I took that to mean he liked it. :-)

The other thing I bought was a cool pottery piece made by a lady from Topeka, Kansas – it’s two small bowls connected with a handle, which I think will be perfect for serving dips or salsas at our parties.

We were at ArtsFest until between 6 and 6:30; by that time, we were all getting pretty tired of walking and being out in the heat. (And I had spent more than enough money there!!) We went back to my mom’s, where she showed us a few pictures and we visited a little, and then Laurie, Alex, and I headed back to my house – with a stop at Rite Aid first to pick up some caffeinated beverages, because by this time we were really feeling beat! I needed the energy just to be able to drive home!

Once home, we talked with Brian about how we spent our respective days, then we ordered a late supper from the local pizza shop. After we ate, we hung out for a while, not doing much of anything other than checking out Laurie and Alex's new iPhones, and then we all headed to bed relatively early (around 11 pm, I think).

Holiday Weekend Recap

Well, now that the 2009 Memorial Day weekend is becoming an ever-fainter memory, I finally have some time to write about how I spent it. I'll do a separate post for each day, so it won't be one hugely long, intimidating-looking post. :-)

Dinner at the Melting Pot

Last night we went to dinner with our friends Jan and Pat at The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant. What a deliciously fun evening we had!

Our first task was to try to explain the rather complicated menu to Pat, who was the only first-timer there. After we had achieved a moderate level of success with that, we moved on to the first collaborative portion of the dinner, where we had to decide on a cheese fondue to share and a cooking style for all of our entrees.

After lots of hemming and hawing and trying to pass the buck to others on the final decision, we all finally agreed upon the Quattro Formaggio cheese fondue and the Court Bouillon cooking style. I had had the Quattro Formaggio fondue the last (and only other) time we were at the Melting Pot, and it was a big hit among everyone there, so I recommended we get it as well. It turned out to be hit with Jan and Pat too (Brian did not partake of the cheese fondue).

Actually, the entire meal was a big hit with everyone. Although Jan had been to the Melting Pot once before, she hadn't gotten an entree, so this was her first time trying the meat cooked in the broth. Both she and Pat were really happy with their entree selections, and they also enjoyed the variety of sauces that accompanied the meal. And Brian was very happy to be able to enjoy more of the beef he had on his last visit - he was raving about it for days afterward!

Then, even though everyone was really full from dinner, we simply had to order a chocolate fondue for dessert. Jan and I were in charge of choosing the variety, and we went with the Flaming Turtle, which in addition to chocolate, had caramel and pecans in it, and was lit on fire! It was heavenly! And somehow, despite us all saying how full we were, our plates of strawberries, bananas, mini rice krispie squares, marshmallows, pound cake squares, cheesecake, and brownies bites were empty by the end of the evening, as was the pot of chocolate fondue.

Dinner at the Melting Pot is not a rushed experience - we were there from 6:15 pm to 9:30 pm! But you keep busy the entire time you're there, choosing the menu items, then dipping the different kinds of food, and of course talking and joking all the while.

And it wasn't just the food and the company that was really good; the service was outstanding. We had a great waiter named John who was not only very friendly and funny, but also informative and very attentive. And in addition to John, at least two other men who must have been managers or something (because they were wearing sport coats, not the regular server attire) stopped by our table several times throughout the evening to check on us, and would even refill our water glasses and take away used dishes. We were well taken care of the entire time!

Dinner at the Melting Pot is not an inexpensive outing, but it is a great splurge every now and again, and I think because the overall experience is so great, it is definitely worth every penny when you do go. And really, it's probably a good thing it's too expensive to go there frequently, because I'd definitely gain a bunch of weight if I ate cheese and chocolate fondue all the time!

Whew!!

Since I got my bicycle, many people have asked me how I've been enjoying it so far. I've told them that I'm really enjoying it; in fact, I'm enjoying it even more than I thought I would. However, I've also pointed out that the rides I've done so far have been pretty easy, and the weather has been really nice, so it hasn't really been much of a challenge. I guess at one point my husband heard me tell someone I didn't think I was getting as good of a workout riding my bicycle as I would get at the gym, and he kept that in mind. And today, he decided to make sure I didn't feel like riding a bike wasn't enough of a workout.

We just got back a while ago from my longest ride yet. Here is proof of how far I went today:

(In case you can't see it too well, that's 13.71 miles.)

We did this ride in the middle of the afternoon, in 85 degree temperatures, and we went up as many hills on this one ride as I think I've done in all the other rides combined! (Well, maybe not quite, but it was a lot!) AND, I'd also like to point out that I did this ride with one less pint of blood than usual, as I had gone to the Blood Donation Center just a couple of hours beforehand!

Despite the tougher conditions on this ride, I did still enjoy myself. There were still more flat sections than hills, and there was a nice breeze that kept us pretty cool. Plus, we took a couple of breaks to drink our water. But I definitely feel like I got a workout this time!! And that's a good thing, since tonight we are going to The Melting Pot for dinner, where I'll be indulging in cheese and chocolate fondue! I'll try to post about that experience sometime later this weekend. But for now, I've got to get cleaned up!