Sweaty and sore

Well, folks, we've arrived at our new place with most of our possessions, and we're finally no longer hauling anything awkward down or up flights of stairs. Actually, there's still another load to pick up at the old place, but only one load and picking up will happen tomorrow after we clean for the final inspection. I'll be darned if we don't get that security deposit back!

It was a long and sweaty day following multiple long and sweaty days. When Don called to ask us out to dinner tonight around 4pm, I think we both laughed imagining ourselves clean or upright enough to consider a meal in a restaurant. ;-) Instead, we postponed until we have an idea where the towels ended up, and are making due with pilfered internet, in the air conditioning, and some slices of pizza. Isn't that what you're supposed to do the evening you move? That and drink beer, and luckily the previous tenant left her collection of Bud Light behind.

The biggest news of the day, aside from all that, was probably the dirt-farmer truck rental establishment we visited around 8 this morning, only to find solace with Bambi.

Moments like that you remember, "Hey, yeap, I am in Virginia." But it was all worth it, because Ben got to happily drive the Big Rig while listening to an alternative rock radio station and blasting the air conditioning. ;-)

Some More Avemore, Please!

Despite our enthusiasm about moving, there's plenty we'll miss about life on JPA, notably:

1) Pepper, our neighbor's cat, who we erroneously called Midnight until last night when we learned her real identity (an aside: why do we befriend our neighbors as we move out??).

2) Ben working within walking distance of home (his office just moved across town, so that would have ended regardless of our relocation).
3) Front-row seating for many of the town's seedier events.
4) Non-carpeted floors.
5) Extensive kitchen counter space.

But there's a lot to look forward to in our new digs, including this outdoor shower near the "lush rose garden courtyard":

2) The column Ben's proud to have rented:

3) What we're calling the "lima drawer" of our new dining room table (must remember to take a seat at the head of table if J cooks!):

4) Our crazy new neighbors, who appear to be either military or Indian. Nothing to make you feel more like home than a gaggle of saris, a local forensics officer, and buzz cuts. Then there's this across-the-deck neighbor who has TWO dishes and many fake plants.

4) Views of the Blue Ridge and the pool from our porch (don't be too jealous, Don!):

And 5) the balloon that the former tenant left behind. It's from a party her co-workers hosted before her departure, but we'll adopt it as our own just the same. She also left behind popsicles, pickles and beer, more plastic grocery bags than I've ever seen in one small space, chemical cleaning supplies, an inflatable mattress and pump, and a proud collection of scented products that were immediately relocated to the dumpster.

Finally, an unrelated post script: Thanks to Dave for providing a link to someone else's Stew Leonard's obsession... At least one other person out there cares like he should. ;-)

Memorial Day in Virginia

This morning, the Boston Globe published some beautiful photos of Memorial Day celebrations around the country. Our remembrance was localized, though we tried to retain some of the spirit Dave wrote about last year, especially when we saw the Rolling Thunder riders around DC on Sunday.

After some box hauling, we walked through the University of Virginia Confederate Cemetery with both compassion and confusion. The site holds the remains of 1097 Confederate soldiers who died at the Charlottesville General Hospital during the war and were denied admission to Arlington National Cemetery.

The site is inscribed: "Fate denied them Victory, but clothes them in glorious Immortality." Earlier in the day, visitors to the columbarium placed roses on the soldier's graves. For the first time, I finally understood what it meant to say that American soldiers fight for our freedom.

It's hard to fully make sense of that with the wars of my lifetime, but seeing this monument to the peculiar institution and the immortality of the Confederacy, I understood how other soldiers, Union soldiers, did fight for our freedom.

Memorial Day was created in 1868, just following the Civil War, "for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form or ceremony is prescribed, but Posts and comrades will, in their own way, arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit."

Does that apply to the Confederate soldiers, some of whom were also veterans of the War of 1812? Virginia doesn't officially celebrate Confederate Memorial Day, leaving yesterday a day to honor all the war dead. Each time we joke to our Northern friends and family that we live in the Confederacy, we think of the Confederate flags, still manufactured, still purchased by our citizen-neighbors and placed in memorial on gravestones less than two miles from our home or hung lovingly on porches. It feels disingenuous to celebrate the Confederate dead while thousands of unmarked graves and burial sites in this area contain slave remains and receive no flowers, no flags. A peculiar institution to live in, in 2009, so long since the fighting, but not so long since new flags were purchased and new roses were strewn...

Lest we leave everyone believing it was a day of sorrow, we invite you to see our matching tee-shirts, adorned with our NATIONAL flag, the one unifying our old home and new one, reminding us of those who fought to defend our freedom at home and abroad.

And, of course, dessert for the weary. We're saving the flag cake for the 4th of July, so in the meantime, it's was strawberry shortcakes for us. What better way to proclaim our heritage?

Life in the South continues to feel normal yet appalling, day after day. It's a lesson in balance, in moving forward while remembering the past. This morning, serendipitously, I found a link to these great 5th graders from New York, singing choral version of modern songs. They're terrific! And to think what those damn flags would mean to them...

Weekend Round-Up, Part I

Otherwise entitled: What we love about Sweden and oh how we appreciate air conditioning.

Because EdTrends, packing, sweating, and Ikea aren't particularly photogenic (well, I take back the Ikea part, but I was too busy taking measurements, translating from Swedish, and drinking lingonberry soda to take the camera out), we'll focus instead on Saturday's activities. The Monticello Center for Historic Plants, a very cool seed-saving program, hosted an open-house, and we visited for a lecture on botany and empire -- sweet, sweet intellectual stimulation! Nothing like a Saturday morning academic lecture to make you miss graduate school...

Afterward, we wandered around the greenhouses and gardens with Sue, who dared to accompany us on a blogging adventure.

The roses here already hit their peak, but the peonies were in full splendor.

And the lilies, which I associate with the depths of the summer, were already opening underfoot. Ahem, I should say the Limium monadelphum, given that we strolled through the garden immediately following a lecture involving Linnaean binomial nomenclature.

And thanks to a pernicious teenager who drew our attention with her squeals, we saw some baby mockingbirds, open-mouthed and waiting for worms.

Ben got up on a rickety folding chair to take some photos before mama mockingbird started her loud war calls from a tulip poplar nearby. You can just make out a tiny beak in the one below.

Lovely morning in the hills.

Later, Sue served us a terrific lunch in blessed air conditioning, accompanied by grilled pound cake and engaging conversation.

We came home to more work (well, at least I did; I think Ben was "working" through more books about Warren Buffet). After dinner and a walk, we continued what must be Ben's longest Birthday Month celebration EVER by watching (finally) Iron Man:

See how happy those toes are, wiggling about science fiction and comics and a Stan Lee guest appearance? So all the ribbing can finally cease; yes, I watched it, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd feared. But for anyone keeping track, that's TWO major science fiction films I've willingly seen within the month -- either a slow month, or I'm becoming exceptionally kind and accommodating in my old age...

Or maybe it's payback for all that Jon and Kate Plus Eight Ben sat through? (PS: Find out tonight, when we see the season premier of Jon Minus Nine! ;-) I point out readily that it was Ben who reminded me, before 8am, that it was on tonight. So... maybe I was right about being accommodating?)

High King

Thank heavens for the Department of Forestry.
Without their fine efforts, we wouldn't be able to provide you with images such as this:

A nice hike in the evening near the Rivanna...'Nuff said! :)

Fleeting Quirks

While we're on work deadlines and packing our stuff (again!), I thought I'd provide you with a taste of things to come. I've been collecting photos and information for a series of C'ville Quirks entries, including but not limited to 1) the amazing messages written on the cabs around town, 2) the disproportionate local ex-pat Tibetan population, and 3) the surprising amount of sidewalk art / fixation.

Here are a few shots to tide you over until we're clever again:

Outside the 7-11 on Rt. 29, 1pm on a Thursday.

Can you read that?
(I include Ben's Croc for scale and for laughs, and because he is the one who originally noticed this on his walk home from work one afternoon.)

And, finally, an ode to our relocation. This sign is just west of Ben's office on Fontaine Ave., in between some suburban homes and an overpriced gas station. We've driven by it countless times these past few months, and I always meant to walk over and read it. Last night, we finally did. Note, of course, that this sign is an indication that you're entering a Virginia city's limits, which also means you're leaving the comfort of a county. What a freakish quirk of the commonwealth!

Stay tuned for a continuation of these themes, and an unveiling of our new, exciting, AND matching holiday-specific tee-shirts. ;-) We hope everyone has a happy and safe Memorial Day!

Weekend with BD & Fred

We had a great treat this weekend: visitors! Though we were plagued by migraines and rain storms, UVa's graduation (excuse me: final exercises) and questions from tourists, we managed to have a lovely time with old friends. It's the little things, right BD? ;-)

After showing off our apartment Saturday morning, it was time for Spudnuts, one of the thirty-five remaining outposts of the national potato-flour donut chain. After visiting, I can confirm: any time is Spudnuts time, especially if you get there before the donuts run out!

I think Ben agrees.

It was a perfect little dive with a very efficient hostess, hot donuts, and $2 sandwiches. What could be better for the weekend?

I think we shamed Dave with our dueling photography, though. BD has the blogger's eye for photo opportunities. In fact, she's basically the original travel blogger, though she hasn't yet updated to a modern technological delivery system. We're working on her. Dave can write the commentary under your watch, BD, and you can keep planning the trip and snapping the photos! ;-)

Because the intrepid travelers, who have been everywhere, hadn't ever toured Ash Lawn-Highland, we headed up the mountain and learned all about Monroe with a brisk guide.

Monroe, good guy, fifth president, interesting home, yadda yadda; I really liked that tree in the wind and the house on mushroom supports, so indulge a few photos, please.

(The white paint indicates the original Monrovian dwelling, and the yellow illuminates where subsequent owners expanded. But the tree!)


In the bright, sunny, and clear afternoon, our newly sun-sensitive companion Benjamin reminded us to get the heck out of the rays. Can we still be Paid in Sunshine if both of us go from pasty-white to lobster-red in a flash? We might need to reconsider our approach here...

Anyway, it was perfectly fine and breezy, great for the wine tasting happening on the lawn, and good for our picnic at Monticello. Unfortunately, none of us were pithy enough in the moment to counter a tourist who came over to ask about Dave's shirt, which he wore in honor of my recent initiation into the world of The Princess Bride. Poor lady, going around with the last name Montoya and not knowing about the movie...

After a brief afternoon crash and a few too many miles lost in Albermarle County, we met south for dinner at the Devil's Backbone Brewery in Nellysford. It was a fun scene, and the ride down was gorgeous.

We even had nachos and half-pints under the watchful gaze of stuffed animals.

This was all before the Great Storm that opened from the sky just as we got to our cars. It was an adventure crossing the Blue Ridge on the way home through torrential downpours and close lightning strikes, but it was worth it for the good company. We hear that Halk-kar and the not-happy-to-be-referred-to-as-Mrs.-Halk-Kar arrived home safely just in time for the Survivor finale. And good thing! What a show! I still like Tyson, mustache and all, but I think we can all agree that the ending seemed appropriate.

PS: Survivor fans, check out the Ponderosa after-the-show videos. They're really interesting!

Back to another work week, this one filled with deadlines and an ever-slimming countdown to our relocation (not a moment too soon; there were more gunshots outside last night!).

A Sneak Preview

of a charming Saturday in the Virginia sunshine:

Or is it a snake preview? ;-) Yuk, yuk, yuk.

Just a taste of the details to come!

Never a Dull Moment, Take II

T-minus 14 days until our relocation, and we have just one more validating reason to be glad we didn't renew the lease.

Last night, as we took trash out on our way to run errands after dinner, we noticed our neighbors clumped in the parking lot talking. One explained that they were watching a police officer armed with what he called "an assault rifle" on the train tracks below, hunting for a man in a green polo shirt wanted for a nearby shooting. As we drove out of the complex, we saw a K-9 and many officers roaming the street just outside our building, and thought, hmmm, this might be a good evening to linger at CVS.

This morning's newspaper explains what happened here; apparently, IN OUR COMPLEX, two guys got into a scuffle on their balcony, one shot the other and fled, throwing his gun into our complex's laundry room along the way. Good grief!

This is, of course, after the gun shots we've heard across the tracks in Fry Springs late at night throughout the spring... First, we had a flood, then we had a fire, and now we have manslaughter. And we thought Tucson was scary!

So, let's all sing "la la la, we're pretending this isn't happening, la la la" and look at the photos I took while we avoiding our apartment:

Irises illuminated by the flash

And the remains of a doorway behind the pond at UVa.

La la la.

[Edited to Add: I just read in the paper that the shooter was arrested and is being held without bond, while the wounded man is in critical care at the hospital. Still! Good grief!]

Nothin' Doin'

Between packing for our impending relocation across town and preparing for the official Onslaught of the Halk-Kars this weekend, there's not much to report from central Virginia.

We've had a few clear skies between the clouds

while we celebrate May to the fullest

and catch some of Don's contagious birthday week elation.

In rewriting history, I like to think Don is reacting here to the Star Trek movie through some bizarre time warp in which we're still on the deck on Sunday afternoon, but he's a future traveler from another (cold, vast, unknown) dimension sent to tell us how good the movie will be when we see it Tuesday night in Short Pump. Confusing? Yes. ;-) Maybe he's just happy about his birthday? Or the sunshine? Either way, all of the above were Grade A Good Things: Good movie, good sunshine, good birthdays.

Doogie didn't seem to interpret the message about Star Trek the way I did; he was too busy soaking up some of his own birthday rays instead. Gotta get it while you can around here, pup.