We had some bagels for breakfast, got the three of us showered and dressed, and went to Barbara's. Debbie and Kevin had gone to work. I spent some time with the baby while Casey was at the gym with his Dad and Chieko tried to get a little nap. Then I finished up knitting my mittens--only the thumbs were left. After lunch, we went with Casey and Devin and Jesse (and his roommate, Derek) to play frisbee golf. Amelia and I were the worst, but it was fun in the sun. A little cooler than the day before. Good exercise and enjoyable company.  We dropped the boys off and headed to the grocery store to pick up a few things. Ray wanted to buy a present for Laura's son Eamon, whose birthday was the fourth. Amelia and I shopped--Arborio rice, Parmesan cheese, veggies, apples.

At Barbara's, I peeled the apples and made apple crisp. Amelia worked on the risotto. Grating the carrots was the worst. Doug had gone to pick up lobsters for those who wanted them and Barbara made a salad, as well as BLT's for some who didn't want lobster. I enjoyed mine tremendously. Don't make me think about it too much! The apple crisp was very good with ice cream, but the top did not brown. Barbara thinks there might be something wrong with her oven--again. She's had it fixed 3 or 4 times since she got it a few years ago. It was a very pleasant evening, with wine and family--a little bit like a scene from a movie or a commercial.

After dessert, we rushed off to Chris and Laura's to see the boys. They were up a little later than usual because of our visit and I felt bad, because they would have a time getting them to sleep. Eamon enjoyed his presents (a plastic alligator that grows when you put it in water and a t-shirt with reptiles on it). Owen assembled a pile of pillows with a line of stuffed animals. They were the reindeer and he was Santa--he even had rope for reins. Then to Debbie's and to bed.

Cape Cod

Sunday we had a leisurely morning at Amelia's and a light breakfast. Then we went to Manhattan to the Chelsea Market. We wandered around and ate a good New York lunch. Then we walked on the High Line, a park they have opened about a year ago where an elevated rail line used to be. The tracks are there, but they have paved and planted around them, so you can walk and look at the views. It was sunny and almost warm. There were lots of people there. All the seats were taken. Ray noticed someone he recognized and called me over. It was Carl Martin, the cutting-edge builder/architect (from Athens) and his wife and son. I can't remember her name, but it's not Martin. The son they introduced as Jackson. He looks like Hank, but smaller. Hank is apparently working in Atlanta--on the show Drop Dead Diva. That was kind of fun--to run into someone from Athens. Hank is a year or two younger than Molli and they were friends.

We went back to the Chelsea Market to get gelato, Amelia went on to work, Kevin to the library, and Ray and I walked some more and looked around the Chelsea Market some more. We enjoyed the kitchen supply store--many things we didn't even know existed. We went to the theater where Amelia is working on a show. The space is called the Kitchen. Amelia had gotten us comp tickets. How can I describe this show? Well, it includes some quite traditional ballet, but it also uses multi-media. A video of an older man talking in the woods. Sometimes the dancers talk--they are at a meeting discussing the top 10 ways the world will end. They dance with chairs and tables. The show is apparently built around a quote by David Hasselhof, the actor. He had a drinking problem and his young daughter tried to get him to stop. He was eating a hamburger on the floor and she said he was going to get fired from the show if he didn't stop drinking. Different dancers repeated the same words together or separately. Amelia's job is stage manager; she has to make sure everything is in the right place (including the burgers).

The show also has two guys she calls "the twins" who aren't dancers. They are more like stage hands, I guess. They wear uniforms that say Staff. Anyway for this show, some water got spilled on the stage early on and Amelia decided to send "the twins" in to clean it up. We, naturally, could not tell that they were not always supposed to do that. Apparently the director was initially very concerned, but decided that had been the right thing to do by the end of the show. So Amelia had a stressful show. We waited a little while until she had finished her work (setting everything up for the next day).

Then we headed back to Queens and met Kevin at a restaurant for dinner. I had a great mojito. Ray had lemonade mixed with beer--hmm. Very sweet. We had really good food, including butternut squash soup. Back at the apartment, the Oscars were on TV. I didn't see much of it, because I went to bed.

The next morning, we took turns showering and finished packing up. Kevin headed to work and we went to Penn Station to catch our next train, picking up some bagels to take with us. There was quite a long line and we didn't all get seats together, although Amelia was just across the aisle and one behind Ray and me. Our train left at 8:30 and it was a very pleasant ride. Amelia slept just about all the way. Ray worked on his computer and I knit a pair of mittens. Ray and I walked to the snack bar and got a yogurt and an egg-and-sausage sandwich. Better than McDonald's and cost more, but not too bad for travel food.

In Providence, we got off. Ray had already called Enterprise to meet us at the station. They took us and our stuff back to their office. We upgraded about $10 to keep the Toyota Corolla we had been picked up in and not move our things to the smaller car (Aved?). We picked a restaurant in Fall River, using my iPhone. It was really fun and there was a great yarn store down the street that we had to visit briefly. The trip to the Cape was uneventful. The weather was beautiful. We went to Barbara's house, which was full of people. Ray's mother, of course. Ray's sister, Barbara, her husband Doug. Their oldest son Casey, who lives in Japan, with his wife Chieko and their baby, Ray. The baby was asleep, but we did have to admire him. Casey's younger brothers, Jesse and Devin, who was here from California. Devin has just completed classes to be an EMT and got a job, although it is very part-time for now. Apparently there were more than 100 applicants. You have to start part-time and work your way up. Jesse's huge dog, Nitzy. After a little visiting, the three of us took a walk around the neighborhood, including the working cranberry bog. Lots of people were outside, enjoying the sun and warm weather. Back in the house, the baby was up. He was a little fussy. When he was not nursing, there were a lot of people to take turns trying to calm him down and make him smile, including Grampy. Deb and Kevin arrived, with Kevin's grandson Shawn (not Deb's grandson Shawn). Casey's friend Mark showed up too. We all had dinner. Barbara and Amelia had made cupcakes for Ray's birthday and there were some presents too. People dispersed after supper. Ray and Amelia and I are staying with Deb, who has some extra bedrooms in her basement.

It looks like another beautiful morning here.

in New York

The train was pretty good, a lot less exhausting than I had feared. On Friday, I skipped a grant-writing workshop I was supposed to attend. Meredith went and can fill me in. I printed the labels for the newsletters and put them on 1900 newsletters, with the help of everyone in the office. Even Meredith got back in time to finish them up. I rushed out at lunch to buy Ray a birthday present (he does not read this blog,  but I won't say what it was just in case--it was inspired, if I do say so myself, not the usual book or shirt, which he obliging is always happy to get) and some yarn because I had to have a knitting project for the train. Then finished up a few more things at my office (paying bills, for instance) and made sure Meredith knew everything she needed to. This is the first time I have been gone since she started in January, but I am sure it will be fine. I went by the bank and picked Ray up and we headed home. I had packed the day before just in case I had to work late, so did not have much to do. Checked out what knitting needles I needed and packed the knitting bag and the carry on with snacks. My Mom and Dad helped with dinner and we left before 7.

We were at the train station in Gainesville an hour and a half early, knowing the train is usually running late. It is an old train station, no longer staffed, with big wooden benches. My only concern is leaving the car there for a week. My Dad kept offering to drive us, but it seemed more efficient to leave the car there so it will be there whenever we get back. At first, we were the only ones there. Ray brought in all our luggage and we sat on the wooden benches. I was knitting and Ray was working on his computer, plugged into an outlet. There was a sign that said you can only have 2 carry-ons and other luggage should be checked. However, you can't check it at Gainesville...We had more than 2 carry-ons and they were pretty big and heavy, starting with two laptops. More and more people arrived as the departure time got closer. There were about 8 of us in the end, all the rest singles, I think. The train was about 15 or 20 minutes late, not too bad. We climbed up with all our stuff and were off before we had quite gotten it all settled. There are big overhead racks where we put most of it. But just like when we are traveling in the car, I had a big bag under my feet with everything I might want--scarf and hat, snacks, books, computer, knitting...the seats reclined and there is even a foot rest that comes up. My scarf doubled as a light blanket and we had brought pillows, although they did distribute some the size of my computer. The cabin lights were dimmed about 11 and we tried to sleep. The motion and the sound of the train is quite soothing, but I had trouble getting comfortable and worried about my back. I don't usually sleep on my back, and the angle wasn't quite right. As we came into a town, the train would whistle, not too loud, but again kind of soothing. Every now and then we would stop and people would get off or on. They had them kind of sorted by cars, so I don't think anyone in our car got off, they were all bound for further north, but they did get on. I didn't think I was sleeping too well, but at one point I looked at the time and it was 5 am--I must have slept some. I got up and went to the little rest room and got some more water to drink and slept a little more.

At 7, the sun was streaming in and we were at Charlottesville, VA. It was a beautiful morning, with a little snow left on the ground. As we chugged along, Ray and I made our way back to the dining car for breakfast. The food was okay, not great, but not terrible, and not as expensive as I had feared. It was quite fun to sit and look out while the waitress lurched her way around. The tracks seemed to get worse north of DC, but we only had a few hours left after that. I read some and knitted some. There was an "in-flight" magazine, just like on the plane, with some interesting articles, in particular about the greening of Philadelphia. I would love to open a "green" store in Athens--building supplies and other products for people who want to live more environmentally. Too bad I am not an entrepreneur. I tried using my computer, but it was a little too rough for me. Ray didn't seem to mind and there was even an outlet so he could keep his battery charged. We ate the sandwiches we had packed and apples.

We got into Penn Station about 15 minutes ahead of schedule! Then the hard part began. We had to get all our stuff off the train and traipse through Penn Station and out onto the street. I don't know it well enough to find the best exit, so I am sure we back-tracked some. We headed for 34th Street and Macy's and went up a block to the N train, bought a pass and went through the turnstile. Ray had so much trouble with all the luggage that he ended up swiping the card twice (and paying double). Then we wandered around in the subway, down the stairs and waited on the platform. Three trains went by before the one we wanted--uptown to Queens. Oh well, so much for being early. Fortunately, it didn't matter at all. We got off at the last stop, Ditmars, and struggled out of the station and down the stairs. The train is elevated in Queens and there didn't seem to be an elevator--no handicapped access? They would definitely do it differently today.

It was a beautiful day and I didn't even mind that I didn't pack any gloves. We walked three or four blocks with our stuff to Amelia's building: three stories with a balcony and even a little yard. She and Kevin were home and had cleared out their spare room for us and locked up the cat in their room (Ray is allergic). It is a really nice apartment with wood floors and lots of light. They repainted the walls when they moved in about a year ago. Seems like a pretty good deal to me for NY ($1800). Of course, the toilet doesn't flush right and one of the handles is off the shower, but that is typical of NY landlords, I would say. She had made me a sweater (purple of course) that I had to try on and we played with our iPhones some (showing each other our favorite apps). Then she made bean soup, while Kevin went to the library to work on his paper. Ray and I vegged and chatted with her some. Her kitchen is small and a little crowded, but about twice as big as her last one and very well stocked. It is such a joy to spend time with her.

Amelia had to head out to work, so we walked her to the subway. Then we went on to pick up some things at Key Foods. We apparently walked right by it and had to find it on my iPhone, before turning around. We went in (city grocery stores are so fun, crowded into small spaces) and started to get a few things before realizing that neither of us had any money or credit cards. I wonder if there is an app that lets me use my iPhone as a credit card... Not a big deal, we walked back to the apartment, ate some delicious bean soup and corn bread and watched TV. My knitting project is making great strides; I hope I brought enough yarn (3 skeins).

I had thought we would be asleep very early, but I guess we needed to decompress some too. Kevin came back and said the paper was nearly done. We inflated the Aerobed in the spare room and Ray made it up with sheets and blankets. I took a shower in the iffy bathroom, which was fine. Slept like the dead, as they say, and ready for today's adventures. Ray is on the couch, so I am guessing he did not enjoy sleeping with me on the Aerobed...luckily it's a great couch.

Big sigh. TG I am not a commuter. I spent yesterday at a conference in Marietta. It took me more than two hours to drive each way. Why intelligent people would tolerate the traffic is beyond me. In the morning, I did not get going until almost 7:30 and it was after 9:30 when I arrived. (Among other things, I really had to use the bathroom when I got there). The meetings were good, but not good enough to be worth the drive. I left at 4:00 before the session was over to try to beat it, but sat for more than 30 minutes inching along from 285 turning onto 85 North. No accident, just steady regular traffic. That is not okay, people. It's crazy. The waste of gas, time, energy spent on roads!

Mom had put the quiche in the oven that I had taken out of the freezer. Ray cooked the asparagus and heated some sweet potato from the freezer. The quiche was not that good, so I will not make it again, but it was nice to have dinner ready. I spent my evening reading over knitting books and finishing my packing. I switched the middle-sized suitcase for a bigger one. No reason we really have to travel light, since we are not flying.

I wanted to charge my phone one last time and saw that I had missed two calls. I wish people would call my home phone when I am home. One was from Peggy on the Nominating Committee, so then I checked my email to find that the committee (except me) is more or less unanimous on a Treasurer that I do not think is a good choice. Unfortunately, we have contacted about 50  people who all turned it down...so I don't have an alternative to propose. This got me charged up, and, along with worrying about the trip and the work I need to get done today, made it impossible for me to go to sleep until around midnight. Then Ray woke up at 4:30. Jeez. Maybe I will be able to sleep on the train tonight.

I don't know if I will be posting every day for the next week.

Yesterday morning, the ground was frozen with bits of snow, but the roads were fine for driving. I found one small slippery spot, but it didn't cause any problems. I took Ray to his office so he didn't have to walk. I continued working on the reimbursements, except for an hour and a half attending orientation for a new kind of software for organizations in Athens to request volunteers. The board treasurer, Joni, came to meet with Meredith and me and that went very well. She is following up on a couple things I had trouble with (like the IRS saying we owe taxes that we paid). Yay! I listened to a webinar about why non-profits need an Audit Committee. It was about "best practice," but I am guessing that we are ahead of most organizations our size. It's good to know what we are aiming for, though. Meredith and I continue to be in agreement about most things. The budget we are proposing now has a $50,000 deficit, but that is because we did not get recommended for some grants. We can adjust it by cutting expenses or increasing donations and grants. Neither of us is worried.

We came home and Ray made mac & cheese for potluck. The Nominating Committee med once again at 5:30 to try to come up with a Treasurer. No luck yet. We did get the okay from the Board that they will name an Assistant Treasurer to help the person. Hopefully that will be an enticement that will help us convince someone. I didn't stay for all of choir, since I am going to be missing two Sundays this month, including a special music service. This is the time of year when choir dwindles, so I feel bad.

When we got home, I was studying my knitting patterns to decide what project to take on for our trip until bedtime.

Crazy! Snow again in Athens shut down the University at 2, as well as the schools. When I walked the dogs, it was raining. It had stopped by the time we left. I just had a sweater on, no coat, hat, gloves, scarf--even though I am usually better dressed for the weather. I didn't have any idea it was going to snow or be that cold. Staff meeting, reimbursement requests. I met Janna for lunch, driving in the snow. It wasn't sticking on the roads or freezing. Ray and I left a little early, before 3.

After supper, my parents headed out to see Lord of the Dance. It wasn't canceled, and they had no trouble. They enjoyed it very much, although it was a lot of the same dancing over and over, with different costumes and combinations. They were home before we went to bed. My Mom had made a birthday cake and it was delicious. I just dozed in front of the TV all night, when I should have been packing or doing something useful.

Apparently, the cold is only a problem early and late in the day, so that's good.

Worked too long yesterday. Got a proof of the newsletter late in the day I wanted to look over before approving to go forward. Had weekly meeting with the boss--it's going to be a wild week. Starting on reimbursements for February, tried to match up some old charges and find out if they had been submitted or not. Tedious work, going back through the files to try to find them.

Went home, made dinner, worked on Nominating Committee. Had emergency meeting, calling people in desperation to ask them to be Treasurer. Still no success. One person sleeping on it. Chose other board members somewhat carelessly due to pressure to "get it done." Home a little after 9. Fell asleep watching TV.

Vacation is coming!

Apparently, I missed blogging yesterday and didn't even notice. Sunday was a busy day. I was well enough to sing our challenging song at the service and it went quite well. It was Fourth Sunday, so I enjoyed lunch at the Fellowship. The Nominating Committee was hanging over my head and I really was sick of trying to deal with it. I drove down to Athens Seed Company in Watkinsville to buy some onions, but they are closed on Sundays. I drove over to a dance studio where the rehearsal for Athens Dancing with the Stars was. Joan and Pat were going over the cues with the dancers. Joan knew I had signed up for cooking class and was writing down the cues for me. I'm looking forward to it.

Then I drove to cooking class, where Shae, the pastry chef at Five and Ten, taught us to make macarons. This is a French treat that is apparently the latest cool thing. They are very pretty and lots of work, but personally I prefer brownies or other cookies. You make little meringue wafers, bake them and cool them. Then you make filling, such as buttercream, and put them together. Shae prefers Italian buttercream. I did not know there were different kinds. It was a much smaller group than the others--maybe 8 or 9, at the home of Angela Meltzer in Five Points. Angela's husband, Richard, was on the field trip with Ray, and brought him to the house when they were done, so that was convenient.

We drank champagne, but my favorite thing was talking to Emily Meltzer. She is about 5 years older than Amelia, graduated from Clarke Central, and had been living in Astoria, up until a few weeks ago. I really liked her a lot and would have liked Amelia to know her. Life is interesting. She got married last fall (reception by Five & Ten) and is going to Ghana to live. Her husband works for Guinness there. Weird! Two of Becky Vaughn's daughters were there, too: Jenny and Laura. I had seen them when Becky was running for office a few years ago. Now they are adults and very interested in cooking. There were two or three others, but they were my age or older and less interesting.

Ray and I drove home, ate supper, watched Olympic closing ceremony, went to bed.