A Wild & Wonderful Thanksgiving

For years we have been cooking a full Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings, usually inviting grad students and friends to share in the bounty with us. Last year I was lucky enough to have my mom, stepdad and brother visit over the holiday. But this year seems to have been especially hectic, so Troy and I decided that this time we would spend it alone.

For a long time we have understood that getting away together, especially to the woods or to the ocean, is a requirement if we are going to maintain both our relationship and our sanity. We decided to stop giving "gifts" or at least things for our birthdays and x-mas. Instead, we save money so that we can have experiences together--going away for a weekend together at least twice a year.

I scoured the internet and was able to found a cabin near Seneca Rocks, West Virginia that had a big fireplace, hot tub and also allowed pets. We did all our cooking on Wednesday night (Troy actually stayed up all night long cooking the turkey, but that is another story that I'd rather not get into) and brought the feast with us on Thursday to the cabin.

I was a bit put off at first by the fact that the cabin was right off the highway and not at all secluded in the woods like I had imagined.

And the decor left something to be desired.


But soon we drove a mile or two and this was our view.


There was even some snow in the higher elevations, which was really fun for us because we really miss it. So we went for a walk, had a beer and checked out the scenery. All these things made me feel much better.




And our Thanksgiving dinner that evening was delicious. Troy made a really yummy no-bake pumpkin pie.


The next day we checked out Seneca Rocks--a well known rock-climbing destination.

Although Troy would have love to climb, we don't have the equipment or the expertise to go it alone. I settled happily for a hike to an observation point near the top. It's about a 900-1000 foot elevation gain, a fair hike by most people's standards, but Troy was itching to take side trails and do some scrambling.

I had to reign him in on this one, with a little help from posted signs along the trail.

It was a breath-taking view once we got to the top. The pictures don't really do it justice.



All in all it was a really great trip. Although these getaways never seem quite long enough, we got some good relaxing time in and feel pretty refreshed.

Music Robots & Busy Lives

It's been a busy term for Troy, getting the music robots ready for touring. As many of you already know, he spends hours on end working--usually staying up quite late. He often tries to pull all-nighters. I typically find him passed out on the couch in the morning. Sometimes he has his glasses still on and a book or his laptop on him and all the lights in the house are on. I'm trying to get him to get better about stopping and coming to bed. But next he moves on to take his comprehensive exams so we'll see how that goes...

Troy and his colleagues and the robots had a successful tour last month up the east coast. The robots performed well--no major technological problems, which I feel is a huge feat, considering all the intricacies and things that could potentially go wrong. They had a great final concert last weekend in C-Ville. It was nice to finally see the robots in action. I didn't take any pictures at the concert but have taken some of Troy, Steve, Scott and the robots along the way. They've come a long way!


Here's some press about the tour: http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=6971
There is an audio link of them talking about the bots on the right side too. Here's their website, which is need of an update but has some more info: http://www.expressivemachines.com/index.html.

Things have been busy for me too since I've been taking a graduate level course at U.Va. in the English department. Trying to work full time and take a class has been challenging. I've done it before but I guess I just have been taking my free time for granted too much lately. I have to force myself to sit down and do the homework, generally cramming it all in on Sundays or the day before class.

Needless to say, I think we are both looking forward to the end of the term. Next week for Thanksgiving Troy and I are rewarding ourselves with a little retreat in Seneca Rocks, West Virginia for some much-needed r&r. Can't wait!

Virginia Whisky and Old Friends

This past weekend Troy and I ventured to Sperryville, VA to meet up with my dear, old friend Courtney and her husband Kevin. When we got to town Kevin was working and Courtney was napping so we took the opportunity to visit the Copper Fox Distillery where they make Wasmund's Single Malt Whisky. Troy was more than thrilled.



This is a three person operation, two brothers and their mom. The mother gave us a tour and chatted with us and explained the intricacies of whisky-making for over an hour. She was really sweet. Wasmund's is unique because they malt their own barley--they are the only distillery in the U.S. to do so. And instead of using peat (as you would with Scotch) they use fruitwood to give the whisky a distinctive taste. Unfortunately we didn't get to taste any as they can't give tastes or even sell bottles out of the distillery (stupid ABC laws). Not that I'm the biggest whisky fan, but Troy is. A bottle mysteriously has already appeared in our liquor cabinet (they sell it in Charlottesville).


Next we met up with Courtney who was in town for a couple of weeks to check out the area and find a house to rent. Kevin has been working at his cousin's restaurants, the Thornton River Grille and Rudy's Pizza, helping out with whatever is needed and learning all aspects of the business for a year or two. His dream is to open a restaurant in northern MN but he has spent most of his career as a salesman until being laid off this year. I am thrilled to have them moving within an hour of us!

We hung out by a bonfire and then went to eat at the Thornton River Grill. I would highly recommend it, the food was fabulous! Can't wait to go back.

We drank entirely too much and stayed up way to late but it was a blast to see them.

Here I'm covering my ears for fear of one of Courtney's famously horrible wet willy's. Did I mention we've been friends since 6th grade?

They are going to be living in such a pretty area. It's a really nice drive to get there once you get past 29N.


The next day I was terribly hungover (I am getting old) but Troy and I managed to go for a short hike on the way back at White Oak Canyon. It was a beautiful, the pictures hardly do it justice but I know lots of pictures are more fun to look at on blogs than lots of words are.

Hope

I'm feeling hopeful after the election. Not only the fact that we are no longer under a Republican regime but also the fact that so many people voted. Troy and I had to wait in line in the rain to vote for about 1/2 an hour (even though I left work in the very late morning to vote) but the Obama volunteers were passing out umbrellas, food, and water. Pretty cool to see and smart!

I heard on the radio that a 100 year old woman in Charlottesville who had never voted before in her life registered to vote for Obama. Now that is inspiring.

There is a lot of work to be done though. I liked that Obama recognized that in his speech and that he called upon people to rise up to help to bring the change. I hope that Obama is able to keep motivating people and able to stick to his guns and remember who got him elected in the midst of pressure from big time politicians. I'm pretty worried about that. Only time will tell.

One person that that is incredibly inspirational to look to in a time like this is the late Senator from MN, Paul Wellstone. Troy and I happened upon his memorial when we were home. It was a beautiful fall day--the Tamaracks all golden--and we saw the sign for the memorial and knew we had to go. We had never had the opportunity to visit the site before.

It was a truly powerful experience. Walking through the memorial we were both brought to tears. Just thinking about the strength and perseverance and the good that he worked tirelessly for. And his wife Sheila, who also was killed, was a strong advocate for battered women. Wellstone was never apologetic, always standing up for what he believed in and for the "little guy." As a politician he was one of a kind, he was not immune to the suffering of the world or the misfortune of others--but recognized and rebelled against these things with all of his being. What a tremendous example for all of us.

Halloween!

Halloween this year was a bit mischievous for me. I went as the Green Fairy--equipped with a bottle of Absente to share. The bottle didn't last all that long but most people got to at least sample some of the green, anise-flavored liquor. Here's me pouring some for Little Red Riding Hood (aka Sarah). I love her expression!

Troy always loves to dress up and typically goes all out with his costumes. This year he was actually in NYC on Halloween with the robots for a concert but Loren was kind enough to move his party to Saturday so that the composers could still attend.

This year Troy got Dutch hazmat suits and gas masks for the bot squad (as Sarah B. likes to affectionately call Troy, Scott and Steve). Of course, Troy had to adapt his costume so that he could still drink somehow.

Here are some more of the fun costumes



Can you name this 90's vocal trio?
They even sang for us. And I have had "Hold On" stuck in my head ever since!

Vanessa was a hot biker chic with real chaps and Dave was Captain Riker from Star Trek.


Loren just got a car that runs on waste vegetable oil. At one point Troy decided that he wanted to taste-test Loren's veggie-oil filtration system.


After that, things continued to devolve. It may have been the absinthe...

Some costume-swapping ensued at the end of the night.

Those chaps fit pretty snugly!

A few of us ended the night by dancing to old tunes from bands like Aerosmith and Guns n'Roses. We may be in our 30's but we still know how to rock out on Halloween!

My Family Knows How to Party

At the dinner and reception following the wedding we really had a good time. There were something like 220 guests so it was really big and a good majority of those people were our family since our grandma Maki had 10 kids.

We grew up pretty close to our cousins, as they all lived in the area when we were young (and most still do). Let me just say right now, the Maki family likes to party. I have such great memories about dancing all night long with my cousins at family weddings.

Here's me with cousins Kelly and Rusty.

At some point, I think I've heard it was at my cousin Rob's wedding back in the day, a crazy dancing tradition was started at the weddings. When the song "Wipe out" plays, you can see all of the family (even though they have that reserved and even shy Finnish blood in them) run to the dance floor. Each time the drum solo comes on, people drop to their backs and kick their legs up in the air. I think the dance is called the Turtle? Anyway, it's hilarious to see the reactions of the other unsuspecting other family at weddings. We know things are going to be okay if they join in the fun.


We danced until nearly 2 a.m. and then our cousins Lee, Jon and Rusty hosted us in their room for an after-party. Troy and I didn't get back to our room until 4 a.m. and my dad had stayed almost that long too! It was great catching up with the cousins and with friends I haven't seen in a while.

A Perfect Wedding

Sorry for the continued posts about the wedding and nothing newer but I just can't keep thinking about what a wonderful time it was. There was a bit of last-minute stress but other than that things went really smoothly. Many people came up to me afterwards and commented that it was the most beautiful wedding they had seen. It was a chilly fall day on our grandma's farm but the sun came out at just the right moment to warm us and to give a gorgeous light to everything. The photos, courtesy of their photographer and friend--Kristi, are amazing.

My sister looked absolutely stunning.

And our families cleaned up pretty well too.

Above are the Coles, with Delia Dog.

And my sis and me with our dad.

Here we are with my mom, stepdad and brother. I was hoping Troy could be in the pictures too but he was out at the last minute, putting up signs for us so that people wouldn't get lost coming to the farm! More pictures will be coming though. He did make it into some of the big group shots after the wedding at least.

The wedding party, which included Ethan's friends Medora, Nino and Will. And on Laura's side me, Molly (Ethan's sister) and our brother Patrick. Laura told Molly and I to get dresses in "fall colors" but otherwise left it up to us. It was pretty cool though because Molly's and my (Sarah's) dress matched almost perfectly, as if we had planned it!

Troy and Hank (Ethan's dad) did readings for the ceremony and Ethan's friend Ron, who is Ojibwe, performed it. Ron added some humor and practical advice for them and an Ojibwe song. It was really lovely.