12.25.2002
We're in Virginia, and have completed the first of several Christmas celebrations this year. We had tons to do before we could get out of town on Monday, so we didn't end up leaving until about 6PM, but we got to Roanoke at 9:45 or so and got the dogs all settled in. We got to Chris's mom's house at about 11:30 and got the first decent night's sleep either of us have had in several weeks.
This morning we opened gifts... everything was extremely nice, but I got a couple things I'm really proud of. One is a Leatherman tool - the "Micra" model, I believe, which is small and light enough to fit easily in my pocket. I've been thinking I needed to start carrying something, but my Swiss Army knife is too heavy, so this came along at just the right time. Chris's mom said that if I was "Gidget" she figured I needed something like that! :) Chris gave me a book called Requiem. One night a few months ago we were at Barnes & Noble and I spent a long time looking through it -- I think I read most of it. It's by the only photographer that was allowed to be at Ground Zero during the cleanup. There are lots of photos with detailed captions and some text. The two go hand in hand really well and tell a very moving story. The photographer has so much respect for what happened and for the firefighters he came to know during the time he spent there. It's something I am very proud to have received as a gift.
And, for the first time in many years, we have a white Christmas! There's about an inch of snow on the ground and now the wind is howling -- makes me think of Little House on the Prarie, or Little House in the Big Woods, maybe. I guess they had more than 1 inch of snow, but you get the idea.
Tonight we're going to Chris's grandmother's house to see extended family and exchange more gifts. Tomorrow there are more family get-togethers, and then on Friday we'll go up to Roanoke and have our second Christmas Eve, followed by our second Christmas Day on Saturday morning. Somehow, to me, Christmas just has to be in the morning.
Anyway, I hope all of you are having a Merry Christmas and are enjoying some relaxation, good company, and good food!
This morning we opened gifts... everything was extremely nice, but I got a couple things I'm really proud of. One is a Leatherman tool - the "Micra" model, I believe, which is small and light enough to fit easily in my pocket. I've been thinking I needed to start carrying something, but my Swiss Army knife is too heavy, so this came along at just the right time. Chris's mom said that if I was "Gidget" she figured I needed something like that! :) Chris gave me a book called Requiem. One night a few months ago we were at Barnes & Noble and I spent a long time looking through it -- I think I read most of it. It's by the only photographer that was allowed to be at Ground Zero during the cleanup. There are lots of photos with detailed captions and some text. The two go hand in hand really well and tell a very moving story. The photographer has so much respect for what happened and for the firefighters he came to know during the time he spent there. It's something I am very proud to have received as a gift.
And, for the first time in many years, we have a white Christmas! There's about an inch of snow on the ground and now the wind is howling -- makes me think of Little House on the Prarie, or Little House in the Big Woods, maybe. I guess they had more than 1 inch of snow, but you get the idea.
Tonight we're going to Chris's grandmother's house to see extended family and exchange more gifts. Tomorrow there are more family get-togethers, and then on Friday we'll go up to Roanoke and have our second Christmas Eve, followed by our second Christmas Day on Saturday morning. Somehow, to me, Christmas just has to be in the morning.
Anyway, I hope all of you are having a Merry Christmas and are enjoying some relaxation, good company, and good food!
12.19.2002
I'm fried, so this will be short. Had a good time at the Canes game last night, which ended in a 1-1 tie. Hockey fans can be scary though -- especially the really angry ones who are obviously taking things way too seriously. Chris snapped lots of shots of RRs on the jumbotron both times we played. Maybe eventually some of those shots will make it onto this site, or the RR site.
Got about 4 hours of "Am I gonna wake up on time? Am I gonna wake up on time?" sleep last night before an early call time at the radio station. Now I'm off to unload the truck for the second time today before rehearsal at Meymandi. Sweet tea and Mtn. Dew are my friends.
Got about 4 hours of "Am I gonna wake up on time? Am I gonna wake up on time?" sleep last night before an early call time at the radio station. Now I'm off to unload the truck for the second time today before rehearsal at Meymandi. Sweet tea and Mtn. Dew are my friends.
12.18.2002
Woo-hoo! RRs are at the Hurricanes hockey game tonight... I was over there at lunchtime to help set up and I think this is going to be a lot of fun. Our seats are pretty awesome... we might even be close enough to catch a T-shirt or something. We're going to be ringing on the VIP level (not sitting there, though), where the ticketholders can choose to watch the ice or watch the personal mini TV monitor that's positioned at every seat. Sheesh. Anyway, too bad the game's not televised, but hopefully some good pictures will be taken...
12.16.2002
12.12.2002
12.10.2002
I got an early Christmas gift today at work, sort of a staff appreciation type thing from someone who works with our agency. Some readers of this blog are going to find this quite amusing:
12.09.2002
After staying up late for two nights in a row, I'm having trouble getting to sleep. I just got home about 30 minutes ago from a Raleigh Ringers weekend and I am really tired, but I think I need some time to unwind. It was a busy weekend but a great one in lots of ways. It was good to ring again after having a concert and rehearsal cancelled because of the ice storm, and it was nice to spend time with friends. I can't believe how fast this year has flown by.
12.05.2002
Our power did go out overnight (we're not sure exactly when, although I awoke rather suddenly at 6 am and it was already off by that time), but fortunately it came back on around noon. I think we must be some of the first to get power restored, because everyone else I've talked to is still without. Ahh, the wonders of melty peanut butter on a bagel with hot chocolate to drink...
The trees on the property have taken a beating. Rather than try to tell a story in words, I'll let these pictures speak for themselves. (Hopefully I'll get an album up soon.)
The trees on the property have taken a beating. Rather than try to tell a story in words, I'll let these pictures speak for themselves. (Hopefully I'll get an album up soon.)
12.04.2002
Well, we're all frozen in, and we still have power, for now. I wouldn't be surprised if we lose power overnight though -- we've tried to prepare by doing things that require electricity, like laundry, running the dishwasher, installing The Sims Online (!), and turning up the heat a bit. I seriously doubt either of us will be heading to work at the usual time tomorrow morning. This is fun -- I love winter storms! I've OD'd on weather maps and forecasts today, including one from my man Paul Kocin at the Weather Channel. Once, during a snowstorm, my dad managed to catch 6 different forecasts in a half-hour period -- he's my hero. I'm sure he's keeping a close eye on things up in Roanoke, where most of what they've gotten so far is snow, unlike the mix we've had here.
12.02.2002
