Below are the 17 most recent journal entries recorded in gaffall's LiveJournal:

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Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
8:29 am	Things that have happened. I went over to Ari's for a housewarming party. Luckily, she is fond of plants. Lucky, because that's what I brought. Her house is lovely, and the previous owners left a wall painted with a little-kid-version safari, which I would like to rip straight out and put in /my/ room. We have been playing with John's tablet and enjoying it. I spent most of Saturday driving to/from Akron and dancing there at a Ukrainian festival where they treated us like The Real Deal. The energy was awesome, and I think it showed in our dancing. I was pseudo 'in-charge', although I didn't really do anything... but it went well, so I am happy. I purchased a light plate at the festival, because once upon a time I purchased a light plate at a different event and enjoy looking at it so much, so thought I could replicate that experience. We shall see! Nora came over that night - we played Indigo Prophecy and walked up to the Blvd to get ice cream, nom. The next day, we drove out to Janoski's for breakfast to celebrate Gramma's birthday. I believe she was born in 28, so that would make this one 81, which sounds right to me. I'm very glad to have her. Later, I mulched things with part of the giant pile of mulch that Dave dumped off for me... I don't think I can use it all, and I'm not sure what I will do with it. I'll figure out something. I got tired of carrying buckets of mulch around, though, and went to play Demigod, where I went through a tournament and learned how to play Rook, at least against the computer. Maybe I will eventually play against real live people. Hmm. The other two days of the week so far, we've been going to bed early. Good. Tonight I have quintet rehearsal. Tomorrow, John is tearing carpet out of the two remaining upstairs rooms that require it, and Friday, we will fix it all back up, in time for Saturday, which is 4th of July celebrations. We will be picnicing at our house starting at 3, going downtown to see the fireworks, and returning to get icecream on the blvd. Now, to work! (2 plunks | plink)
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
7:26 pm	The Internets are cursive I tell you this-I am currently writing this entry in cursive on a tablet screen laptop thing which is John's new toy. It understands me surprisingly well. Also, I have drawn a fish. And jewels. And I have not started my Ruby homework. It is due tomorrow I so I had best get cracking. John says, 'Amazing' (8 plunks | plink)
Monday, June 22nd, 2009
7:56 am	decorative (yet utile) cabbage I spent this weekend planting and eating out at various restaurants. My herb bed was full, no room for the lemon thyme and lemon balm that I bought at Janoski's, much less the rosemary and lavender which is currently sprigly on the deck, plus the chocolate mint which Jen gave to me. So I eyed the front of the house, where there are beds with rather terrible soil that were full of weeds and yuck, and then I did something about it. John and Edd and Gilly sat on the porch to keep me company, and it was nice. But when they were all cleaned out and the lemons were in, there was still a lot of space, and I needed a place to plant some red cabbage, so now my front walk is lined with vegetable. In the bed along the front of the house, I also planted my lantana (formerly in a basket), sweet peas, moonflowers, and ruby moon hyacinth beans (non-edible). Then I went on a weeding spree and cleaned up the area by the compost heap where the thistles had been growing and I hadn't had gloves, and started working on transferring some of the old compost heap to the 4-square that needs dirt until I dug up a nest of bees. Then I ran inside and played Sims (funny moment when I exclaim 'I'm pregnant!' - Sim me was). During this time, John was working on the card game he is making and also fixing the deck with Mark - the stairs no longer look like they're going to fall off, thank goodness for pipe clamps! So that was basically my Saturday and Sunday, mixed with a whole bunch of showering (I think my hands are clean now, maybe, though they weren't at many points this weekend) and eating of foods, often on Brookline Blvd. Gosh, are the rootbeer floats at the ice cream store delicious. Barb and Ted had us over for dinner one night. I also bought some new shoes, which are meant for me to go dancing in - they are highheeled and strongly enough strapped that I believe they will stay on my feet. I took them for a trial run to the movie theatre to see The Hangover with Vic and AC, which was hilarious but late, and now I have to do a million work today for the end of the sprint. So that's that! (5 plunks | plink)
Monday, June 15th, 2009
9:22 am	nom dinner Last night, I came home from dropping off gramma's computer (making sure it was all set up and working) and buying some plants at Janoski's big sale to lounge in the big room and discuss whether we wanted to go to the arts festival for chicken on a stick or hang around at home. We discussed this and other things for so long that home became the only option. We sprang into action and made some mad nom hamburgers. I stuffed myself with watermelon. Listen, in that post about the last 3 weeks, I forgot to mention some things. I'm sure I will remember more of them, but the particular one I was thinking of right now is the techie retreat. You may remember the last retreat, which was in February and involved outdoor camping (my tent blew away into the woods at 5 am). This retreat had some similar features and some dissimilar ones: - I didn't camp, but stayed in a dorm. - I did hang out around a campfire and sing with Phil; the fire was indoors - we did a lot of brainstorming - this year, there was a ropes course!! I loved it. - we had an outside speaker. He was... ok. - it was fun and team-buildy. This retreat happened the two days before the MS150 ride, which made it... interesting in terms of exhaustion and deciding where the 'weekend' was. (3 plunks | plink)
Sunday, June 14th, 2009
10:21 am	hello, hello! John and I were thinking about our weekends past. Here are the past some weekends: june 6-7: MS150 may 30-31: John's office moves, we are there all weekend except for a quintet performance and a visit to the emergency room for my toe, which did not prevent me riding. may 23-24: free weekend - I did lots of gardening in the rain. MattLoch and kids came over, and I got fruit rollup smeared ALL over me. Then they took the baby away from me and I had to explain (on the walk home) why I was all red. may 16-17: Pedal Pittsburgh, doing the floor may 9-10: bbq, 50-mile bike ride may 2-3: volunteering, 25-ish mile bike ride april 25-26: john's work crisis april 18-19: birthday weekend. Bike rides totalling 55 miles, dancing event They've been fun, but oh-so busy. And the weeks, of course, are full of work with occasional other things. So when I got sick this week and we had to cancel on going out camping with my parents this weekend (hopefully to do so next weekend!), I was disappointed. But I'm also enjoying having a weekend where I feel mostly well and can do basically nothing. We've cleaned up the house, watched a movie, drunken orange juice. Damien came over with Vinny, Ken, Mattloch last night and we watched UFC. That was crazy, because Damien loves to tell stories. There was also a game of Quelf. Wow, guys, the MS150 was something. I completed it! Completely! I didn't think I could after the first 65 miles of the first day; I was so triumphant for the last 25 miles of the second, even in the little bit of rain. John, unfortunately, didn't get to ride - he was sicky sickerton. (same sickness I got this week, blugh) I think we will do it again next year, hopefully without the sick. Other events: - the garden is very happy - I have made some compost! - I wrote birthday thank yous (last night) - I really enjoyed playing some Spore. - John's hair is cute in the morning - our house is clean and the laundry is done! - we are using Mark's comforter gift from Christmas, ah. - Gilly got bitten by an animal and is now healing well. He is quarantined. We are being more careful of where we stow our trashbags. - our new floor in the big room looks and smells wonderful. Bonzai the kitten (Mark and Kaitlin's) loves to skid about on it. - Nora went to CA to visit Kevin! I want to do that sometime this summer. - Nora had a video and I saw it. Singing bowls. (1 plunk | plink)
Monday, May 18th, 2009
8:57 am	destroyed! and rebuilt So the 60-mile ride around Pittsburgh pretty much destroyed me. I did really well and mostly kept up (except on hills) up until about 45 miles, when it was time to start climbing Mt. Washington. Boy oh geeze. I had nothing left, you know? Maybe I need to practice some hills. Troy Hill (right at the start), I enjoyed conquering, and Riverview park hill was actually pretty fun to go up, since it wasn't too steep. They had bananas and apples and oranges at every stop, which was awesome, as well as free tech support and nurses. Good organization. So I made it to Grandview, and back down, and back up, and back down, and on about the next hill up (South? something avenue? I just couldn't do it anymore. John came and picked me up, since he'd opted for the 50-mile route. So we both went about the same distance, but he finished & I gave up... but he wimped out of the 60-mile and I gave it a shot and failed. Boy, was I destroyed. I rubbed my face and salt crystals fell into my hands. We made it home and I took a bath and SKLOMPED into bed for about an hour and a half, after which we went out to the cheesecake factory for dinner (nom) and then back home for a tired Jean (me) and one episode of Dr. Who ( :) ). I went to bed at, like, 8:30. Very happily. Saturday was pretty good, too. I had that dance performance - Weirton, not Wheeling, sorry - and it was hot as hecksickles, but I made it there and back to find everyone working on the floor in the big room. Rikki and Dan came over to help and got the thankless job of cutting up the cat pee carpet into manage-able chunks (THANKS). Nora and John managed to move everything out of the big room, about which I'm pretty impressed. All of that stuff is now in the dining room (somehow). Luckily, there is a window through which I can feed #2. I mopped the green concrete which turned out to be under the carpet and scrubbed walls and went on an expedition for some supplies... and we got started on the new floor! (laminate wood, which looks pretty awesome, what we've done of it so far.) Later, Drew had a party, which I enjoyed but diligently abandoned in favour of going to sleep early on his bed, since we had to get up for the biking at 6 am. Paul played that one level of N+ FOREVA. 'Graceful arcs, Paul, graceful arcs!' On Friday, I walked home from Eat'n'Park and got a little lost along the way... see, I followed a road that I thought was parallel to another road, but it turns out that they both turned, and it ended up being perpendicular... and really, there's no excuse, but I had a great walk and saw lots of things: - bunny eating and stretching - dude jogging determinedly around and around a block - all sorts of flowers - a little girl on her bike - a dachsund that followed me for a while - siblings playing When I got home, mom and dad and gramma and Nora were there, and they made us dinner (tacos, mm) and then we hung out for a bit, and then Nora, John, and I went to see Star Trek again, whee! Hmm, the rest of the week? I don't know that I remember all that well, but it was probably awesome. I know that one day, I stayed late at work and John came in to Squirrel Hill and we had Dim Sum dinner... I know that I majorly need to do some planting. Today, I feel pretty good for having ridden 50 miles up Pittsburgh's hills. I was thinking of going to get a massage at lunch, but maybe I won't need it? We'll see. Upcoming: mandolin rehearsal tonight steak and crossword tomorrow quintet rehearsal on Wednesday finishing the floor at some point (John and Nora are working on it today) gosh-darned planting needs to happen so badly. (2 plunks | plink)
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
8:41 am	busy weekend (is the title of many of my posts) It seems to be a bit of the story of my life. I went to work like whooPOW on Friday and accomplished a bunch of things, then came home to dinner out and back out to quintet practice (where we were missing one, so it was 4/5ths practice?) and then back home and back out to STAR TREK, where I fangirled like whoa. Oh boy, I feel like they did a good job. I'm excited about going to see it again, but this time, not in the first row of the IMAX. I mean... I was definitely /in/ the movie. Saturday, I woke up relatively early for having been out late to go to a quintet performance which went very well. Lunch with Barb and Ted and John and Edd... shopping with John and Edd. Some repotting, but not an extreme amount, because there was BBQ! at 6 at Melinda's, where there were many people and stories. Kaitlin, Edd, and I left later to go see the Westing Game, which was alright, and came back to listen to Damien telling stories about being hurt, which was hilarious. Also, Fudgie Wudgie. Sunday, we went bike riding basically all day. Mark, John, Tara (from John's work) and I were 11 miles in when Tara's tire popped... Mark and I rode back to the cars, picked them up in the middle of nowhere (or McDonald, you know), took us all to a bike store. We stopped for lunch. So... a couple of hours later, we drove /back/ to where we'd stopped and set out again. We didn't quite make it to Weirton, but we weren't that far away. Mark and I ended up going 47.5 miles... and boy did my butt hurt afterwards. Next weekend is the 60-mile ride for Pedal Pittsburgh. I feel like a biking pro. The rest of the night consisted of spaghetti, thinking up g-names for the kitten, and not doing too much. I played some loco roco. Monday was a day. I was tired and sore (mostly in the shoulders from leaning over so much) but got /some/ stuff done. I made a bus mishap after work and ended up shivering under a 4-foot-square awning on 22nd street while the hail came down. John picked me up for Indian and I reluctantly dragged off to dance class where I actually had a great time and the dancing helped stretch out all of my muscles that needed it. The only thing that really hurts today is my lower back, which is a little stiff. Maybe I need another dance class. Also, the Pens lost, so game 7. upcoming: Steak and Crossword moved to Tuesdays (that's tonight) Nora comes home today! cleaning out the big room this week ripping all of the carpet out this weekend Saturday: dance performance at international festival in Wheeling Sunday: pedal Pittsburgh, 60 miles around Pittsburgh following this route Give mom Mother's Day card at some point pick up birthday outfit at some point. (6 plunks | plink)
Friday, May 8th, 2009
1:44 pm	made it home got to bed at 2 am. Made it to work this morning, mostly on time! Busy weekend approaching: Tonight: quintet practice star trek, hopefully Saturday: some major repotting needs doing. Maybe this day? quintet performance bbq play with Kaitlin Sunday: long bikeride, I hope. maybe more plant things. (3 plunks | plink)
Thursday, May 7th, 2009
7:01 pm	ah, the airport... 9:30 flight now delayed to 11:30... further reports as they happen. I hope to make it home tonight. (5 plunks | plink)
11:34 am	unbummed! I actually unbummed pretty quickly after my last post... I im'd an old LJ friend to whom I hadn't texted in years (or spoken ever), and impulsively arranged to have dinner in New York the next night! That was exciting enough to kick me out of my tiny PMS funk. Training went well on Tuesday (and Wednesday, and is still going well today, but I'm talking about Tuesday), and then I skipped off home, drove out to the train station and parked (more on that later), bought a ticket, and got on the right train (phew) to Grand Central! Man, they need to have an easy-to-read and understand 'how to use this sort of public transportation' manual next to every form of transportation. It's always a little bit of a stressful learning process. I got off at Grand Central, which was very much like it looks in movies or pictures, and looked around the huge echo-ing hall... and found Bill before he found me. We met we walked we saw buildings we talked - about new york - about our lives - about the subway map bit that he developed once upon a time - about stuff! we spun a cube near where doc oc destroyed starbucks we ate at a restaurant on indian row we wandered through the edges of central park we were rained on - a lot - really a lot we subwayed we stopped at his bar and Cinco de Mayo'd a bit what would happen is, we would walk and talk for a bit and see some things, then submerge, ride the subway for a bit, and emerge again in another part of Manhattan that also had shops and people and rain and so many streets everywhere. It seemed like you could follow that pattern for a long time. Bill dropped me off at the train station later, and I struggled not to fall asleep before reaching home. I made it home oh-so-tired and with oh-so-many blisters on my poor footsies. Note to self: even if you don't think you're going to be walking around New York, bring tennis shoes on your next business trip! When I arrived back in Stamford, I walked on hurting feet through the pouring rain to the oh-so-closed-at-midnight garage where I had parked earlier. Oh well. There was a taxi there, and the hotel shuttled me back in the morning, and all was well (if a bit more expensive). Lesson learned for next time: check the garage hours. And I was awake all of yesterday for training, spectacularly enough! John called me in the morning, since it was too late for him when I got in from New York. That was a very nice way to wake up :) I spent the evening checking for my camera again (no go) and reading in the coffee shop at Barnes and Noble (I meant to do work, but I hate paying for internet, just on principle, so I read instead) I ate dinner at PF Chang's, even though we've got it in Pittsburgh, and it was totally wonderful. And today is the last day of training, and then I shall drive off to the enterprise and then the airport, and then I shall be home, and then tomorrow we shall go to see Star Trek (John for the second time. I also have work and a quintet practice tomorrow, but I'm currently taking it one step at a time. (1 plunk | plink)
Monday, May 4th, 2009
8:37 pm	In CT I have done well with the rental car. Even after showing up at Enterprise with an expired license. The clerk handed it back to me with apologies and I sprang into action - and called John, who told me that you can renew your license online. What would I do without him? I lost my camera somewhere :/ I'm bummed that unless the place where I think I lost it calls back saying they have found it after all, that I won't be able to send those pictures I took on cement-mixing day to the people I said I'd send them to. I mean, I can get another camera, but it would be hard to get those pictures again. Training is going well, but it's pretty rainy all the time (I didn't bring a scarf) and there are no plants to watch grow and I'm a little PMSy and you never eat right when you travel, you know? So I don't know. I did get a work thing done today that I'm happy about. I think I probably need to take a shower (I forgot my make-up remover, :/) and listen to some music while reading in bed. It would probably help. Current Mood: bummed (6 plunks | plink)
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009
4:06 pm	owie arms My forearms hurt a bit from mixing cement yesterday. Who knew? I'm sort of regretting that my flight leaves too soon to go back to the short massage place right down the concourse... but that's ok, I got a little bit of work done, sitting here, and I'm happy about that. I watched Terminator last night and learned about 'I'll be back'. Who knew? It was such an 80s movie. John said that when he was a kid (8?) and watching it, that stop motion robotic movement was scary as crap. I also found the PSP but not the drill, both of which I was looking for, although I was looking for the drill more on purpose. This morning, I got up early to eat some of that delicious toast with that delicious jam and that delicious cheese, and also to garden a bit. I enjoyed it outrageously. Now I am waiting for my flight time and for my code to finish building. Gosh, am I glad that this isn't an 18-hour flight, 'cause those are long. Wish me luck in Connecticut and with the rental car! I believe I will do well. (4 plunks | plink)
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009
8:30 pm	Ok, remembering the last week... Ok, so ... um. John's work crisis is mostly resolved. He worked a lot and is glad to have a weekend this weekend. I helped a little, but went bike riding with Kaitlin and Kara on Saturday. I was very sunburnt, but only in one spot on my back where Kaitlin did not fully reach with the sunscreen. I helped Drew move a very little bit and set up his towel rack with edd without using the instructions, which was like doing a fun puzzle. I went to see Chatham Baroque in concert and it was the hottest thing I have ever been to. I snoozed off in my chair over and over again until I went to stand in the back and enjoyed it much more there, although the temptation to dance was strong. I sat at Kiva Han and talked to Rikki. I performed in and listened to and ate excellent German food at a Mandolin Orchestra concert. It was sort of like a father-daughter activity, which was fun. The food was /really/ nom and gave me a craving for rye bread which is yet to be fulfilled, although it has been fed. I had a week of work and occasional gardening. There were also some other things that I enjoyed in there, including Crank2 and Wolverine, during which I found out that apparently I remember almost nothing about X2. Last night, we went bonfiring with Edd. Today, I volunteered for Hands on Pittsburgh and helped to patch a tennis/basketball court, which was something I hadn't done before and sort of cool. Mostly, I felt helpful. I didn't feel happy about not being able to find the place. I was so on time and with it, and then I spent an hour looking for it and was no longer on time. But I stayed a bit late and helped put everything away, and that was helpful and good. Later, John made spectacular spaghetti sauce and we ate some toasted marble rye bread with it. Nom. Today is Drew's birthday! Happy birthday :). We may watch Terminator tonight (since I've never seen it and #4 is coming out soon). We may play Demigod together a bit, which I have been enjoying. I dunno, life has been pretty awesome and all. Spring is a-coming in. I'd like to play LocoRoco, but I keep calling it other names, like Bingy Bog or Zubble Dobble. Tomorrow I am going to Connecticut (Stamford) to do some training. I will, for the first time, drive in a rental car. I must make sure to get the GPS. I don't know if there is any salsa dancing in Stamford, and it looks like the contra dances are all on the weekends, alas. That's all for now, folks. (2 plunks | plink)
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
5:16 pm	dear friends who were planning to come over on Friday night: I'm sorry to report that John and I will be very busy taking care of a work mishap and shan't be available Friday night for fun activities. Please forgive us and come again another week. (plink)
Monday, April 20th, 2009
8:39 am	the remainder of a birthday weekend My activities: - rode my bike -- 25 miles on Saturday morning --- with mom and dad --- beautiful sunshiny weather ---- slight tan ---- no burn --- on the Montour trail -- 30 miles on Sunday morning --- with John and Mark --- all over Pittsburgh ---- Southside ---- Panther Hollow ---- Oakland (mostly Schenley Park) ---- Squirrel Hill ---- the entirety of Beechwood Blvd ---- Penn to 31st St Bridge ---- Washington's Landing ---- North Side ---- Downtown ---- Smithfield back to the Birmingham St Bridge --- new padded shorts! ---- birthday present from Dad --- We did not get rained on. -- afterwards, both days, I required showers and naps - the construction that closes the parkway on the weekends suxxors - had lunner with my family on Saturday -- man, is cornbread with apple butter the best --- and I told Kevin so --- and he was jealous - went to a dancing... event -- on Saturday night -- with Barb and Ted and Mike and Annie -- John is a swing dancer --- who knew? -- I am bad at high heels, still -- I have fun at dancing --- We tried out tango and foxtrot --- foxtrot and swing are both done to 4 beat music, but with swing the emphases are 2 and 4, while they are 1 and 3 with foxtrot. -- I won a door prize! --- it was a gardening basket --- it has all sorts of spectacular gardening goodies. - mandolin practice -- for our upcoming concert -- went very well -- walked about Regent Square admiring gardens beforehand -- read a little more about Lincoln. Am now halfway through the book. - three showers on Saturday. It was a long day. My feelings: - so tired - triumph! I am an amazing bike rider -- not particularly sore! -- although my hand turned semi-permanently numb from holding the handle too long --- it is fading this morning --- I think I need biking gloves -- my bum does not hurt. Hurrah for padded shorts! -- uphills are hard - excited -- I think the MS150 is going to be awesome. - replete -- I enjoyed some gingerbread this morning - messy -- there was not an abundance of time for cleaning up this weekend. -- laundry really needs doing (2 plunks | plink)
Saturday, April 18th, 2009
9:08 am	A spectacular birthday with more celebration to come :) Wow, guys, I knew some people were coming over last night, but I didn't realize I was gonna have a rocking party! Our house was crowded with friends eating, drinking, laughing... We played a new game. Rikki gave me 1 thousand sheep-related presents including 4 framed prints by Ursulav, which I am so happy about. Phoebe was the cuteypie of all cutes. John brought home Costco cupcakes for all. We watched Speedracer (again). I won 30 minutes of Drew in a cardgame and used it on a lovely back massage. My friends got crunk and told me how much they love me. I composted some things :) I wore my spectacular RED shirt YELLOW skirt combo. AC and Victoria made me an amazing birthday card, filled with affirmations and puzzlepieces. We 'watched' the hockey game (Pens won). I stayed up late without being a tired head and was loved all over. John stayed up more later, and now he's not coming on the bikeride this morning :) My friends - thanks for making that a rocking 25th birthday night. I hope you had as much fun as I did. Now, onto the activities of Saturday! I hope 'a nap' is one of them! (9 plunks | plink)
Thursday, April 16th, 2009
8:20 am	Last day of 24! Also, how to play Cinch and a report on my time Sorry I've been so bad at posting - my entire internet activity level has actually gone down. Too much time spent living again. Here are parts of the story. We had super-duper great lasagna and steak on Good Friday when my parents were over. Oh, goodness. Later, we watched Planet Earth on the new TV which John is very excited about having. John and Nora were off that day, which is why they had time to make such spectacular lasagna. Saturday morning, I went on a bikeride with Mark, riding his ridiculously large bike since mine is in the shop. I made really excellent time and felt great about it! I need to do some longer rides soon, but I'm happy about how I've improved on shorter rides. We had a patriotic sing at Gramma's house where the adulter adults said 'but you all know this song' and Nora, John, Kaitlin and I exclaimed 'I've never heard it before in my life!'. I think there is a generational gap somewhere that could be pointed to if you tried. Man, was lunch delicious. We went home to watch the hockey game with folks. AC and Vic came over, and Nora arrived later. Nora and I went shopping for Easter food items, which was a good time - I enjoyed driving my parents' Prius. When we got back, Boyces had arrived as well. I baked some cookies, which were well received, and Nora, Vic and I played Cinch, which is a different sort of trump game where you count points per round instead of sets. It reminded me of playing 500 for endless nights in college. The rules to Cinch, because I know I will otherwise forget them: Deal 9 cards to each player. Bid 1-4, but no suit. The number represents how many of the possible points you think you can win. Winner of the bid announces trump. Everyone throws away any cards not of trump and is dealt up to 6 in the hand. Play proceeds from trump winner. You must follow suit if you can, otherwise normal rules. At end of round, points are distributed. There are 4 possible points, though sometimes only 3 will be in play: - Jack of trump - lowest played card of trump - highest played card of trump - 'game' - 10s are worth 10, jacks 1, queens 2, kings 3, aces 4. Trump doesn't matter. Whoever has the most points gets the 'game' point. Everyone gets points if they made them. The winning bidder gets her positive points if she made her bid; otherwise negative points equal to the amount of the bid. Play to 21. Nora forgot that she bid clubs and was playing as if she bid spades once. We agreed to not count that round :) It was a good night. I waited to go to bed until way too late because people were playing Rockband with great joy and I am aware from past experience that I do not go to sleep well if Rockband is happening. So the next morning, I was a sleepy Jean. I eventually got up! Easter activities included too much watching of movies, a great planting of seeds, a great peeling of potatoes a la Mark, a wonderful boiling of eggs, a spectacular cuddle on the couch. Later, I was taking a bath - Kaitlin came back from her camping trip smelling like campfires and sat and talked to me, which was very nice. I went to bed early. A good and lazy Easter. I think Edd and Brayton appeared at some point, but that may have been earlier in the weekend? A Monday - during which I got a very exciting birthday present (my birthday's tomorrow, woo)! Mom and Dad bought me the composter of my DREAMS, a tumbling one that is supposed to be able to produce a batch of compost from a batch of stuff in 4 weeks under good circumstances (the rainy, cold weather we've been having probably isn't what they were thinking of). John and I put it together in the rain with great joy... at least, on my part. I promptly deposited the asparagus ends, strawberry tops, and potato peelings from the previous day and wandered around the house cleaning with great abandon. I neatened all of my houseplants and deposited their remains either in water (to root) or in the composter (to rot!). The house was oh-so-clean! A Tuesday of great normality. John didn't come home until later (he had some work to do while not everyone was there), so I ate a delicious leftover dinner, finished my book, and was productive. My mom asked me to write in her photo album about my wedding a while ago, and I got around to doing it on Tuesday. That took a long time... but it was wonderful remembering it. I also wrote some thank you notes that I'd been wanting to write for a while and listened to June Tabor with great enjoyment. A Wednesday. We watched Crank in preparation for Friday, when John wants to go see Crank 2. We had Steak (and no crossword) I took a bath to be warm and then wandered around in my giant socks. AC and Victoria were there when I went to bed. I'm afraid I'm not a very good host when I get up so early. A Thursday (today!). John will be home later again. I imagine that I may do some gardening if it continues clear (my arugula came up today!) and enjoy a quiet dinner, maybe go to bed early. Upcoming: Friday: going to see Crank? Maybe I can persuade John to go contradancing instead and go see Crank at Matinee, which thrills me with its cheapness. We'll see! This is my birthday. I will suddenly be 25, which is a square, which I have not been since I was 16. Saturday: bike ride with family for birthday, lunch at Gramma's with cake! I predict Angel Food, as it is my favourite birthday cake and my family is well aware of this. I usually don't end up eating it more than once a year (on my birthday), but when I do, I make up for it by consuming at least 3 slices! Later, a dance... thing? sponsored by Barb and Ted's orchestra. There will be dancing and big band music. I look forward to it! Sunday: Mandolin orchestra practice. Nothing else planned. I hope to go for a long bike ride this day... I should probably tell someone about that. I'm currently reading a biography of Abraham Lincoln. Man, is it interesting. I sort of like comparing my life to his (although it is comparable in almost no ways), thinking 'At this age, when he was splitting 400 rails per day in the wildernesses of Indiana, what was I doing?' Those of you who know me well (and even those of you who do not, but who have read this journal for a while) may be aware of or suspect my general disinvolvement in politics. This is the only sort of politics I have every found myself to be fascinated and involved by - historical. I really admire Lincoln, and am very much enjoying learning about him. I am also currently writing in my garden journal. Boy, is it good and satisfying. (2 plunks | plink)