Where does the time go?
May. 22nd, 2011 10:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bunchofgrapesWow, was my last update really April 2nd? I can't believe it's been that long. You know what that means?
The Caps made it through the first round of the playoffs, beating the Rangers in 5 games. I took my dad to game 5 and he had a great time. He was never a hockey fan and while I doubt he'll ever turn a game on and watch, he definitely likes to go to Caps games. Good to know next year. Back in March I took my next door neighbor to her first hockey game. She started paying attention to hockey in February 2010. We were shoveling snow and took a break to watch the Caps/Penguins game. She really enjoyed it so when I had the chance, I took her to a game this season. Yesterday I came home to see her mowing the grass in a Caps T-shirt. She told me that for as long as she's lived in this area, the Caps are the first local team she's ever followed. And now she is a huge fan! Yep, I'll be taking her to some games next season too. This is great too because when I'm away, she's always looking after the cats and the house. What better way to say thanks than a hockey game? Oh, yeah, after an exciting 5 game series, the Caps tanked, losing in four to Tampa Bay. I'm hoping Boston advances to the finals now. If nothing else, I'll cheer for PG's team.
At the end of April my cousin and I met up on San Francisco. I'll write a separate post about the trip and meeting![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tos_lover, which was most definitely a highlight!
Just before I left for San Francisco, I bought a new mattress. This is only significant because a) it's made such a difference in my back and b) buying a mattress is almost as bad as buying a car. I knew I wanted a latex foam mattress - my parents have one as does my sister and they still love it, even after several years. Unlike the memory foam after a number of years, latex foam isn't supposed to leave imprints in the mattress (my dad confirms this). My spring mattress still looked great but I'd wake up every morning with a back ache. So after doing some research and hearing the raves from my family, latex foam it was. I wanted the same brand that my sister but only JC Penney and Crate and Barrel (does anyone else always want to call this place Crate and Burial?) carried it. C&B wouldn't take or even move the old mattress and JC Penney only had one left and they wouldn't even deliver so that was a big strike-out. I went back to the internet, did more research, found a Simmons foam latex (last one was Sealy) that was getting very good reviews, and even better, found that it was at a mattress store maybe a mile from me. I called and the woman said if I came in today, she'd give me free delivery and they'd take my old mattress for free as well. What a deal! I was there in less than five and when I left, I had a new mattress as well as this gadget that I really didn't need but was purely because I was in the right mood. The other gadget is a frame that lifts the head or the legs or the middle of the mattress like a hospital bed. I thought it would be great to have when I wanted to watch TV or read in bed and my platform bed frame was perfect for it. I definitely rethought my idea once it was delivered but after using it a couple of times, I was happy I bought it. One thing though: the frame makes the bed really high so I had to buy a little stool so I could easily get into bed. For a while I felt like I was up in the clouds. But man, do I sleep great now!
Yesterday was the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival in Reston. The last two summers I'd go with my parents to the Cherry Creek Art Festival in Denver and the Art Festival in Breckenridge but this year I'm probably not going to CO until late August so no Cherry Creek. The Reston art festival wasn't nearly as big or prestigious in terms of artist like Cherry Creek but it was pretty good. It was a beautiful day, lots of sun, nice cool breeze and not much humidity, and since I went by myself, I could go at my own pace. I went to every booth, took notes at the places I wanted to go back to and then bought stuff. One excellent surprise: I ran across an artist from Cherry Creek who makes handbags. I bought one of his handbags in Denver last year but wished I'd bought a bigger one as well. How excited was I to find him in Reston? I bought a bigger bag and we chatted about Cherry Creek and how exclusive it is for artists. They don't let just anyone in. Another vendor at another booth told me he's been trying to get into Cherry Creek for years and a friend of his had been trying to get in for 18 years. Finally on the 18th try, his friend got in but since he'd been rejected so often, he thought someone was pranking him. All in all, I had a really great time. Of course extra bonus for stopping by Red Velvet on the way out. Those Summertime cupcakes are just too delicious!
Today I experimented with blue agave. My stepmother said she used it as a substitute for sugar in her zucchini bread and it turned out very good. So since I had a couple of overripe bananas I thought I'd give it a try in banana bread. I used the same amount of blue agave as sugar and used wheat flour instead of regular flour and you know, it came out really, really good! I can't wait to try it in other stuff now. So if anyone is looking for a good sugar substitute to use in baking, give organic blue agave a try.
The Caps made it through the first round of the playoffs, beating the Rangers in 5 games. I took my dad to game 5 and he had a great time. He was never a hockey fan and while I doubt he'll ever turn a game on and watch, he definitely likes to go to Caps games. Good to know next year. Back in March I took my next door neighbor to her first hockey game. She started paying attention to hockey in February 2010. We were shoveling snow and took a break to watch the Caps/Penguins game. She really enjoyed it so when I had the chance, I took her to a game this season. Yesterday I came home to see her mowing the grass in a Caps T-shirt. She told me that for as long as she's lived in this area, the Caps are the first local team she's ever followed. And now she is a huge fan! Yep, I'll be taking her to some games next season too. This is great too because when I'm away, she's always looking after the cats and the house. What better way to say thanks than a hockey game? Oh, yeah, after an exciting 5 game series, the Caps tanked, losing in four to Tampa Bay. I'm hoping Boston advances to the finals now. If nothing else, I'll cheer for PG's team.
At the end of April my cousin and I met up on San Francisco. I'll write a separate post about the trip and meeting
tos_lover, which was most definitely a highlight!Just before I left for San Francisco, I bought a new mattress. This is only significant because a) it's made such a difference in my back and b) buying a mattress is almost as bad as buying a car. I knew I wanted a latex foam mattress - my parents have one as does my sister and they still love it, even after several years. Unlike the memory foam after a number of years, latex foam isn't supposed to leave imprints in the mattress (my dad confirms this). My spring mattress still looked great but I'd wake up every morning with a back ache. So after doing some research and hearing the raves from my family, latex foam it was. I wanted the same brand that my sister but only JC Penney and Crate and Barrel (does anyone else always want to call this place Crate and Burial?) carried it. C&B wouldn't take or even move the old mattress and JC Penney only had one left and they wouldn't even deliver so that was a big strike-out. I went back to the internet, did more research, found a Simmons foam latex (last one was Sealy) that was getting very good reviews, and even better, found that it was at a mattress store maybe a mile from me. I called and the woman said if I came in today, she'd give me free delivery and they'd take my old mattress for free as well. What a deal! I was there in less than five and when I left, I had a new mattress as well as this gadget that I really didn't need but was purely because I was in the right mood. The other gadget is a frame that lifts the head or the legs or the middle of the mattress like a hospital bed. I thought it would be great to have when I wanted to watch TV or read in bed and my platform bed frame was perfect for it. I definitely rethought my idea once it was delivered but after using it a couple of times, I was happy I bought it. One thing though: the frame makes the bed really high so I had to buy a little stool so I could easily get into bed. For a while I felt like I was up in the clouds. But man, do I sleep great now!
Yesterday was the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival in Reston. The last two summers I'd go with my parents to the Cherry Creek Art Festival in Denver and the Art Festival in Breckenridge but this year I'm probably not going to CO until late August so no Cherry Creek. The Reston art festival wasn't nearly as big or prestigious in terms of artist like Cherry Creek but it was pretty good. It was a beautiful day, lots of sun, nice cool breeze and not much humidity, and since I went by myself, I could go at my own pace. I went to every booth, took notes at the places I wanted to go back to and then bought stuff. One excellent surprise: I ran across an artist from Cherry Creek who makes handbags. I bought one of his handbags in Denver last year but wished I'd bought a bigger one as well. How excited was I to find him in Reston? I bought a bigger bag and we chatted about Cherry Creek and how exclusive it is for artists. They don't let just anyone in. Another vendor at another booth told me he's been trying to get into Cherry Creek for years and a friend of his had been trying to get in for 18 years. Finally on the 18th try, his friend got in but since he'd been rejected so often, he thought someone was pranking him. All in all, I had a really great time. Of course extra bonus for stopping by Red Velvet on the way out. Those Summertime cupcakes are just too delicious!
Today I experimented with blue agave. My stepmother said she used it as a substitute for sugar in her zucchini bread and it turned out very good. So since I had a couple of overripe bananas I thought I'd give it a try in banana bread. I used the same amount of blue agave as sugar and used wheat flour instead of regular flour and you know, it came out really, really good! I can't wait to try it in other stuff now. So if anyone is looking for a good sugar substitute to use in baking, give organic blue agave a try.
