Perspective

It's all about perspective. Here's a funny illustration of that.

I made some cookies last night to take to work because we've recently decided that Fridays should be "treat day" after a long week is over. Before I went to bed, I left a couple on a plate with a note to Troy that he should eat them.

I woke up this morning to find crumbs and this:


On first glance I was surprised and slightly annoyed that he had torn up my note and left the pieces all over the counter. Then he suggested that I look again and read the pieces.

This really shows how incredibly different our thinking is! I've decided I need to try harder to be more of a "glass half full" kind of gal.

Local Flavor

I ventured again to Flint Hill on Saturday night and enjoyed a fun evening with Courtney, Kevin, and their visiting friend Ryan. Kevin and Ryan are both wonderful chefs--they may be even more food obsessed than me! They cooked a delicious meal for us of grilled steak; asparagus; potatoes that had been boiled, smashed, fried and then sprinkled with crispy fried garlic and salt; and perfectly cooked scallops. I usually dislike scallops, mainly because of the texture, but these were excellent!

On Sunday I drove to meet Troy, Nick, Brooke and her mother Jane at a benefit for the Piedmont Environmental Council. The event was hosted by Locust Hill Farms and featured a variety of yummy local foods. It was an interesting event, but I was a bit put off by the fact that we were likely some of the youngest and poorest attendees (there were lots of people dressed in loafers and blazers). Thankfully, the grass-fed beef sliders made up for it!

Mmmmm... the boys were excited about the sliders.


And so were the girls...


There was also a lovely cucumber soup from the Inn at Meander Plantation and delicious local cheese and strawberries. The scenery was nice too.



We ventured out for a walk around the farm before driving home, which was nice since it didn't really feel much like being on a farm even though we were in a big barn. I didn't see any people who looked like farmers and it hardly smelled like a barn (only caught a couple of whiffs of horse manure, they were immaculately clean stables).


I'm not normally a big horse person but it was really fun to see and pet the beautiful and friendly horses. This one was my favorite.


All and all it was a great weekend. Good people and good food--two of my favorite things.

Sunshine at Long Last!

It's been a really rainy spring here in Charlottesville. Gloomy, depressing darkness and soggy seedlings.

Saturday there was finally a break in the rain and so Courtney and I took advantage of it. We ventured out to the Crozet for an event that was dubbed "Central Virginia's premiere arts & crafts festival." Even though it sounded really grand, we were finished looking at every booth within a half hour. That said, there was some pretty cool stuff. Lots of jewelry, wooden things and various kinds of artwork. Courtney ended up buying a really incredible leather flamingo mask that I need to get a picture of sometime. It will be the perfect Halloween costume. I obviously don't want to acquire any new stuff right now so all I bought was a $5 lemonade and a giant bag of kettle corn that Troy and I have been gorging ourselves on for the past couple of days.

After the festival we stopped at the Shebeen for lunch and daiquiris on the patio. She had mango and I had papaya. Yum! Wish I could do that every afternoon but I don't think I would be very productive!

On Sunday our landlord was in town so Troy and I frantically hurried around to get the house looking good. We also ended up showing our place for the first time to a potential renter. It's finally starting to sink in that we will be leaving. We were hoping to find a subleaser for our place so that we can come back since we love it so much, but I'm doubting that will work out. We are still looking for a caretaker for our kitty too. Lots of details to work out before we embark on our big adventure. Tomorrow I talk to the VP of my office. Cross your fingers for me, I'm hoping he'll let me telecommute part time from Belgium. We shall see.


Late Sunday Troy and I were finally able to get out together for a hike at Ragged Mountain. Last time I was there was with my dad less than a month ago. At that time there were no leaves. Now it's really beautifully greened out. I guess rain is good after all!

We spotted some turtles basking out on a log in the reservoir. I tried to get closer but they were pretty skittish.

Enjoying the sunshine and the woods together!

P.S. it's raining again! I can't f@#%ing believe it. It was a beautiful day and I was cooped up in the office for all of it. Just when we were about to head out for an evening walk.

West Virginia Gets a Bad Rap

Last weekend Troy and I celebrated our anniversary. It's hard to believe it (and it makes me old when I say it) but we have now been together for 14 years!

Each year we try to take some time out to commemorate this accomplishment and to get away from it all. We've had some great trips over the years. Most notably, a couple of years in a row at a fantastic "Bed-n-Beach" on the Oregon coast which had a hot tub overlooking the ocean.

For the last two years in Virginia we've gone to Bear Mountain Farm. It's been great but I was looking for something a little less expensive since we have to save for Belgium now. I lucked out and found a Craigslist posting for a reasonably priced little cabin near Franklin, WV.

Unfortunately we had brake trouble on the mountain on the way down (about 15 miles from our destination). It was pretty scary. We pulled over after smelling burning rubber and there was smoke billowing out of the front tire. Having no cell reception, we ended up having to press on to the next town.

We were lucky enough to find a guy at the gas station (pretty much the only business in town) who knew a mechanic down the road. They couldn't reach the mechanic by phone so the guy offered to drive Troy over there. So I sat with the car at a gas station for a while, feeling a bit uncomfortable (kept thinking I was hearing banjos).

Eventually Troy came back and then the mechanic, Dan Pope, (who in the words of my dad ended up being a "helluva guy") drove up on his Harley and took a look at the car. He figured our caliper had seized up on the mountain and would need to be replaced. We set up a time to go to his house (he works out of his front yard) to have it fixed the next day and moved on to the cabin, using engine braking and the e-brake over the next mountain. Yikes.

We finally arrived safely at our destination. It was a really cute cabin with all the comforts of home and a big deck outside. We grilled some food and were thankful--we made it in one piece and some really good people salvaged our weekend.


After we got the car fixed on Saturday, we stopped at a nearby lake. It was hot so we thought about swimming but didn't end up actually going in, just drank a beer by the water.


Because there was some funny business going on...


Later that day I kicked back on the deck with a book and Troy went for a 10 mile bike ride where he had to navigate cattle guards and chicken coops. Each of us has a different way of relaxing I guess.

Troy planned a wonderful dinner on Saturday night. He made a delicious jerk marinade and grilled a pork tenderloin. And then we finished the night by staring up at the stars on the deck while sipping Oregon Pinot Noir.

Here's Troy preparing the grill.

And the final result. Mmmmmm.


I think the next time we're in West Virginny we'll have to check this place out.