Catching up ...January 2010

The closing on our new home is scheduled for Monday morning, and I can't seem to find any loose ends that need tying up.  This nervous butt needs to get out of the house.

In the meantime, I thought I'd post a few photos.  Since my late camera's demise, I still try to snap photos here and there, but care less about how they come out.  The camera breaking at a time when we're pinching pennies may have been a good thing.  These pics of January are perfect just as they are.

1/1/11 - For the New Year, we started off in Florida with my parents.

1/1/11 - New Years Eve.  Yes, my parents can party.

 

 And if you have too much fun, you may accidentally break your glow necklace.  If it explodes all over your parents' new car, do not fret.  (Your parents are pretty cool). Plus, you will find out the next day that glow juice loses its glow and will disappear.

   

1/12/11 - We came home to Providence to find snow and then more snow.

 Snow snow snow.

 1/15/11 - Mid-January we visited with Chris' parents and grandma, and had another Christmas!  Such a great time, including a trip to a little market in Brooklyn.

 

1/21/11 - Then, of course, more snow.

 1/29/11 - At the end of January we fell in love with a house.  

Thus ends this brief overview of the tale that is January of 2011.

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sunrise

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green drinks

And we aren't even to FL yet...

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On Barbados

A few things I learned about visiting Barbados:

1. You might see a monkey running free, or a humming bird, lizards, bull frogs, baseball-sized crabs on the beach, or a mongoose--though we never saw the latter.
2. Instant coffee really is an abomination. Next time, pack good coffee.
3. A huge fillet of fresh, grilled swordfish, in a tiny place on the side of the road...$7 (USD), as opposed to Whole Food's $7/lb.
4. Rum in Barbados is 43% alcohol, and watered down to 40% when sold in the US.
5. Putting bitters in rum punch....Interesting.
6. Add an extra day of vacay to both adjust to the heat, and to mentally power down from work-mode.
7. Put smart phones in waterproof bags when going out, in case there is no shelter during the daily 15-minute downpour.
8. Make early arrangements for Chris' job to pay for another trip to Barbados (the one time when work like this pays, literally).

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Barbados

11/19/10.

11/20/10.Chris' work trip, converted into a mini-vacation. Such a gift.

love you barbados

on the road again

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North Hampton Best Weekend Ever

7/3/10.

Long weekend in Northampton, and me with a brand new camera phone (all pics in this post!). A friend recommended the town, and I am grateful for it.

This fall Chris & I will have been together for 9 years, and I don't think we've been on a trip by ourselves since..since... uh. 2004? We're both happy to spend our vacations with our family and friends and wouldn't do it any other way. At the same time, the long weekend reminded me that we have to get away just the two of us, at least once in a while.

Northampton, 7/3/2010.

On Smith College's campus, 7/3/10.

Botanical Gardens at Smith College, 7/4/10.

Crazy succulents.

never ending greenhouses.

an outdoor garden.

campus

Kathy's Diner.

sushi.

Off to fireworks in Springfield MA, 7/4/10.

FL: Then things got Country

Do you know who Tommy Cash is? Well it's Johnny Cash's brother, of course. Tommy Cash had a ton of top 100 hits over the years, and he performed at Siesta Bay, where my parents have a place in FL. He played a number of his brother's hits--and sounded eerily like his brother--as well as a few of his own. "16 Horses" was one of his own (1969 hit) that he performed (youtube video here).
There's nothing odd about Tommy Cash, per se. But when we saw Tommy Cash, who sounded eerily like Johnny Cash, it made us feel like we were in a time warp. Then Tommy invited up a guy named Tugboat Jerry up on stage, to sing a song. That was really odd. I'll let his website speak for my experience of the whole thing: Tugboat Jerry's website (self designed?). Then I came down with a flu and puked like I hadn't puked in years. Then a few days later we went to a "Siesta" in the community where my parents have the place. Chris declared "I feel like I'm in a Salvador Dali painting". A hundred or so people just sitting in lawn chairs, in the freezing cold, congregating for hot dogs and beer, and 50s music. Anyway, it was all good, very fun. But some of it, odd. Bingo was grea

FL: Giganto Shrimp

Ft. Myers FL, 2/28/10(mom's photo above). Early in our Florida visit, we headed down to the docks in Fort Myers to a somewhat hidden place where shrimp are sold right off the boat. The shrimp we purchased were brought in the previous day and were scrumptiously tasty when we ate them later that night.

Mom on the pier (Ft. Myers 2/28/10).

This particular pier was hidden behind a restaurant and fairly hard to find. My aunt Liz gets credit for finding this place -- she received the recommendation from a guy sitting next to her, on her last plane trip home. He was practically a local and could recommend the best place to buy shrimp. The shrimp boat was docked at the very end of the pier and Dad bought a few pounds right from the Captain. I love the idea of eating fresh, locally produced/caught food.

The Captian, packaging up our shrimp. 2/28/10.

FL: Uncle Rick & Liz

We've been heading to FL to visit with my parents every year for the past 5 years or so, by now. It's incredible to think we've been doing this for so long; and yet, when we get down there, we feel incredibly at-home at their place. Despite cooler weather and my getting a stomach virus (I'll spare you the details), this visit was wonderfully rejuvenating.

Uncle Rick on Sanibel Island, 2/28/10

My Uncle Rick and Liz were there a few days before we arrived, so we planned for our trips to overlap. It was great to visit with them both. Liz is a delight and I love being around my uncle Rick's constant (and contagious) laughter. He looks serious in this pictures below, but the first photo captures his personality perfectly.

(my mom's photo - with the date stamp...and the wrong date).

The beaches were loaded with shells this past week and everyone collected unusual ones. I thought it was funny that everyone had their butts up in the air.

Shells on Sanibel, 2/28/10.