Today was just wonderful. Woke up early, let in the housekeeper, got myself together, didn't forget anything. Had a very productive day at work, answered many questions, sent out a new form to staff that will improve service. Had a relaxed, intellectual lunch with RJ at a new Thai place in the Old Town- he's always so interesting to talk to. Came back, weeded through email, then went to celebrate M's birthday with fruit and pastries. Polish apples are so tasty!! Got to say goodbye to N before she took off- will certainly miss her!
Met K after work, had coffee with her in Out of Africa, we talked about summer vacations and looked at pictures, just hung out for a couple hours. Practiced a bit of Polish as well as English. Picked up groceries and kebab on the way home, ate dinner and watched a new movie, chilled out. The house is spotless- just beautiful! Not a bit of dust or dirt anywhere, everything tidy and picked up, bed made, etc. T even tucked Roadkill and Take under the covers, so cute!! Just so wonderful to be in a calm environment again!. ^__^
Now off to bed before my first ever shiatsu massage, after admiring the beautiful moon.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Vacation
Work gave me home leave in June (2 paid days of travel), so I spent three weeks back in CA, visiting family. Really nice trip. Here are the main highlights:
Only brother (3 years younger) got married on the the beach to a fantastic girl. They really are a matched pair, complementing one another. They seem really happy so far, and I hope it continues for many, many years. My dad gave *the* best toast at the reception, like, *ever*. Could have come straight from a Hollywood film it was so perfect. Almost made me cry. :)
Trip to the SD Zoo with my mom and uncle. Haven't been there in years. The pandas were adorable, and I saw a gorgeous spotted leopard cub eating food!
Padres played the Royals at Petco, won 4-2. Really nice game, even better seats- about 12 rows back from the field just between home plate and the visiting dugout. ^__^
Saw two films with my dad, Tree of Life and Super 8. Super 8 was really cute, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear selections by both Górecki and Preisner in Tree of Life.
Many, *many* hours of shopping with my mom. Years ago, I hated doing that, but now it seems to have become one of our favorite bonding activities.
A friend drove down on the last weekend and we went to the Scripps Birch Aquarium. Another place I hadn't been in years- really nice! We had a fun day looking at fish, then had a relaxing dinner catching up over yummy Mexican food. So nice to see her again!
Dinner out with parents and uncle for the parents' 40th wedding anniversary. 40 years.... wow. How time flies!!
Relaxing walk on the beach in Coronado with mom and uncle- saw many live clams digging into the sand and rescued seven live sand dollars! They're pretty- all purple and fuzzy. ^_^
Cooked dinner three times and it turned out really well.
Nice 4th of July gathering with family, friends, neighbors. Good fireworks!
Lazy evenings watching TV with family- I'm really starting to enjoy Bones!
Warm evenings, sunshine, blue skies, dry heat, nice summer weather. Tasty berries and apples from the garden.
Birds! Sooooo many bird experiences!
-- Orioles, finches, doves, hummingbirds flitting around the backyard. One hummingbird landed on me for about 3 seconds!
-- A pair of bluebirds that started nesting in the yard.
-- A Nuthall's woodpecker who kept drinking from the oriole feeder twice a day.
-- Hawks circling over the canyon, looking for lunch.
-- A stealthy Peregrine falcon who came out of nowhere and flew across the yard a couple evenings.
-- Three baby Western kingbirds in a nest in a tree in a parking lot. Mom heard them chirping, but no one else seemed to notice at all- their loss!
-- Dad and I were just finishing a walk around the golf course when a hawk came bursting out of the bushes in front of us with a ground squirrel in his talons. Poor ground squirrel!
First mani/pedi, in honor of the wedding. Turned out to make my feet look quite nice! Found two pair of the comfiest sandals ever, so as soon as the beautician is back from holiday here, I'll re-do it and get them back out. Amazing how much taller just two inches makes you feel!
The sound card in Shigure died on the way over, so I ended up getting two nice new toys- noise-canceling headphones from Heathrow and a new iPod. That was a fun day of shopping with Dad!
I think that's about it for now- at least the main things. It was nice to be home, but it's also nice to be back here. I guess it's lucky that I feel at home in both places!
Only brother (3 years younger) got married on the the beach to a fantastic girl. They really are a matched pair, complementing one another. They seem really happy so far, and I hope it continues for many, many years. My dad gave *the* best toast at the reception, like, *ever*. Could have come straight from a Hollywood film it was so perfect. Almost made me cry. :)
Trip to the SD Zoo with my mom and uncle. Haven't been there in years. The pandas were adorable, and I saw a gorgeous spotted leopard cub eating food!
Padres played the Royals at Petco, won 4-2. Really nice game, even better seats- about 12 rows back from the field just between home plate and the visiting dugout. ^__^
Saw two films with my dad, Tree of Life and Super 8. Super 8 was really cute, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear selections by both Górecki and Preisner in Tree of Life.
Many, *many* hours of shopping with my mom. Years ago, I hated doing that, but now it seems to have become one of our favorite bonding activities.
A friend drove down on the last weekend and we went to the Scripps Birch Aquarium. Another place I hadn't been in years- really nice! We had a fun day looking at fish, then had a relaxing dinner catching up over yummy Mexican food. So nice to see her again!
Dinner out with parents and uncle for the parents' 40th wedding anniversary. 40 years.... wow. How time flies!!
Relaxing walk on the beach in Coronado with mom and uncle- saw many live clams digging into the sand and rescued seven live sand dollars! They're pretty- all purple and fuzzy. ^_^
Cooked dinner three times and it turned out really well.
Nice 4th of July gathering with family, friends, neighbors. Good fireworks!
Lazy evenings watching TV with family- I'm really starting to enjoy Bones!
Warm evenings, sunshine, blue skies, dry heat, nice summer weather. Tasty berries and apples from the garden.
Birds! Sooooo many bird experiences!
-- Orioles, finches, doves, hummingbirds flitting around the backyard. One hummingbird landed on me for about 3 seconds!
-- A pair of bluebirds that started nesting in the yard.
-- A Nuthall's woodpecker who kept drinking from the oriole feeder twice a day.
-- Hawks circling over the canyon, looking for lunch.
-- A stealthy Peregrine falcon who came out of nowhere and flew across the yard a couple evenings.
-- Three baby Western kingbirds in a nest in a tree in a parking lot. Mom heard them chirping, but no one else seemed to notice at all- their loss!
-- Dad and I were just finishing a walk around the golf course when a hawk came bursting out of the bushes in front of us with a ground squirrel in his talons. Poor ground squirrel!
First mani/pedi, in honor of the wedding. Turned out to make my feet look quite nice! Found two pair of the comfiest sandals ever, so as soon as the beautician is back from holiday here, I'll re-do it and get them back out. Amazing how much taller just two inches makes you feel!
The sound card in Shigure died on the way over, so I ended up getting two nice new toys- noise-canceling headphones from Heathrow and a new iPod. That was a fun day of shopping with Dad!
I think that's about it for now- at least the main things. It was nice to be home, but it's also nice to be back here. I guess it's lucky that I feel at home in both places!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
This has really been a great weekend. On Thursday, I went out for beer with P. I wanted a bit of a change, so we went to Praga, the other side of the river. Met at the Poczta at Dw. Wileński, near the zoo, then wandered down to Ząbkowska street. Had a couple of beers at a pub whose name means The Other Side of the Mirror (like Alice in wonderland). Nice- just relaxed outside, talked, mellowed. Definitely needed after a long week! Then headed across the street to Operach Absurda, a very cool place- really eclectic. Had one more beer there, then I had to head back to meet a friend from out of town. It was really a great evening, and we made plans to have Sunday brunch at Karma when I'm back.
Missed the Centrum stop (spacing out) and hurried home from Politechnika. Old habits die hard, I suppose. Met A in the courtyard and we talked in the apt. for several hours, until 3am. I was really glad she was visiting again- had been so long since I'd seen her.
Got a few hours sleep, headed in to the office, got some work done. Japanese was canceled, so I took a cab out to the computer repair store to pick up the computer. GODS! The traffic out to Racławicka was *awful*. Took almost a full hour to get out there- without traffic, I'd say 20 min. tops. But I got there just in time, and the computer was all fixed and ready to go, so that was good.
Took the bus back to the center, headed to K's place. We went to this nifty restaurant called Bezgraniczna (Without End). It was a travel-themed place, postcards, maps, passports, etc. all over the wall, souvenirs and art and things from all over the world. The menu had general categories- salads, soups, starters, entrees, etc. But everything was from a different place- really diverse! I had this delicious spiced shrimp in coconut sauce from a Jamaican recipe, with sweet potato fries. And for dessert, we had corn ice cream! Really, really good!
After dinner, we headed back to her place for an evening of catching up- we hadn't really gotten together for over a month, so it was nice to just relax and chat. Headed back home around 1.
Met her the next morning at Karma at 10:30 and we talked about cafes. She writes entries for a Russian travel blog and wanted to write about all the good cafes we've gone to here. So we made a list and talked about the merits of each- it was a gorgeous day, perfect start to the morning. And the iced Americano was very tasty!
Headed off for a hair appt. at noon. Had planned to just get a little trim and the regular color, but she convinced me to try something new, so of course that took longer. 3.5 hours for hair.... sheesh! But it looked nice when it was done, so it's all good.
Headed up to Świętokrzyska and waited to hear from A- she was out shopping and had mentioned something about maybe going to Zachęta, so I didn't want to be too far away. Got a coffee in W Biegu and chatted with D for a bit before heading back home- she'd changed her mind about the museum. We hung out at home a bit, got ready for the evening, then took the tram down to Puławska to Kuchnia Tbilisi. It had been closed for a long time for remodeling, and then we learned that unfortunately, the older woman who had started the restaurant had passed away. Very sad! But it was now open again, so we enjoyed a lovely, huge dinner of Georgian food and midori-green tarragon lemonade. Wonderful stuff!
Took the tram back to Pl. Zbawiciela and decided to try out the new bakery/wine place, Good Charlotte. It's pretty recent- only open a couple months, right below Plan B. There used to be a grocery store there, but I suspect that the Opera Delikatesy's renovation rendered it sort of obsolete. Charlotte is great! Always packed, day and night, and we could see why. Open, spacious interior, nice patio. Great homemade breads, delicious pastries and coffee. Reminded me of Bread & Cie back home. We sat there and talked some more, about all sorts of things- she's a very insightful, objective, inspiring friend!
After dessert, we took the bus to Pl. Piłsudskiego, then walked down to the new town to try to see this new fountain and light show that everyone had been talking about. They've created nifty fountains down by the river and coordinate the streams of water with lights and music, but since it's a new attraction, everyone is going there, so it was absolutely mobbed. We decided to try again in August, when the novelty had worn off.
Instead, we wandered back the way we came, in search of a suitable place for cocktails. After investigating several possibilities, we eventually ended up at the place on the terrace of Zachęta. It was just a lovely evening, and we sat there and took in everything. A's current city lacks many of the pleasant amenities in Warsaw, so she was quite delighted to be visiting again. For my part, it was just perfect altogether- good friends to talk to, absolutely gorgeous weather, fun outings.... I was really happy.
Closer to midnight, we parted ways for a bit- she wandered around a bit more (and eventually found a farewell party for one of our friends!) and I headed home to talk to D. Really was looking forward to that- we'd been off-line and out of touch for months- a really long time! We managed to get Skype all connected and everything and had a really nice chat. It was a real pleasure to catch up with him again, and I hope we don't have too much of a lapse again. ^_^ A came home in the wee hours of the am, and we talked for a bit before crashing. Altogether a fun day!
Woke up around 9, took the metro out to Marymont, walked around a bit and took some pictures, then decided I had to have coffee. Called Dj, asked if he wanted to come along. He said he'd love to have coffee and we met at Karma a little after 11. Just relaxed and chatted over cappuccinos and Americanos, talked about travels, family, work, a variety of things. Really nice to just have a bit of conversation in the mornings with my coffee!
At 12:30, he went off to an appointment and I headed home. Ate some fruit, watched a video, then took a little nap until A came back at 3. We had tasty Indian food for lunch, then she left for the airport, and I came home. Did a little cleaning, studying and practicing, but otherwise relaxed and just enjoyed the rest of my sunny Sunday.
I think this weekend has really included a little bit of almost everything I truly enjoy about life these days. ^___^
Missed the Centrum stop (spacing out) and hurried home from Politechnika. Old habits die hard, I suppose. Met A in the courtyard and we talked in the apt. for several hours, until 3am. I was really glad she was visiting again- had been so long since I'd seen her.
Got a few hours sleep, headed in to the office, got some work done. Japanese was canceled, so I took a cab out to the computer repair store to pick up the computer. GODS! The traffic out to Racławicka was *awful*. Took almost a full hour to get out there- without traffic, I'd say 20 min. tops. But I got there just in time, and the computer was all fixed and ready to go, so that was good.
Took the bus back to the center, headed to K's place. We went to this nifty restaurant called Bezgraniczna (Without End). It was a travel-themed place, postcards, maps, passports, etc. all over the wall, souvenirs and art and things from all over the world. The menu had general categories- salads, soups, starters, entrees, etc. But everything was from a different place- really diverse! I had this delicious spiced shrimp in coconut sauce from a Jamaican recipe, with sweet potato fries. And for dessert, we had corn ice cream! Really, really good!
After dinner, we headed back to her place for an evening of catching up- we hadn't really gotten together for over a month, so it was nice to just relax and chat. Headed back home around 1.
Met her the next morning at Karma at 10:30 and we talked about cafes. She writes entries for a Russian travel blog and wanted to write about all the good cafes we've gone to here. So we made a list and talked about the merits of each- it was a gorgeous day, perfect start to the morning. And the iced Americano was very tasty!
Headed off for a hair appt. at noon. Had planned to just get a little trim and the regular color, but she convinced me to try something new, so of course that took longer. 3.5 hours for hair.... sheesh! But it looked nice when it was done, so it's all good.
Headed up to Świętokrzyska and waited to hear from A- she was out shopping and had mentioned something about maybe going to Zachęta, so I didn't want to be too far away. Got a coffee in W Biegu and chatted with D for a bit before heading back home- she'd changed her mind about the museum. We hung out at home a bit, got ready for the evening, then took the tram down to Puławska to Kuchnia Tbilisi. It had been closed for a long time for remodeling, and then we learned that unfortunately, the older woman who had started the restaurant had passed away. Very sad! But it was now open again, so we enjoyed a lovely, huge dinner of Georgian food and midori-green tarragon lemonade. Wonderful stuff!
Took the tram back to Pl. Zbawiciela and decided to try out the new bakery/wine place, Good Charlotte. It's pretty recent- only open a couple months, right below Plan B. There used to be a grocery store there, but I suspect that the Opera Delikatesy's renovation rendered it sort of obsolete. Charlotte is great! Always packed, day and night, and we could see why. Open, spacious interior, nice patio. Great homemade breads, delicious pastries and coffee. Reminded me of Bread & Cie back home. We sat there and talked some more, about all sorts of things- she's a very insightful, objective, inspiring friend!
After dessert, we took the bus to Pl. Piłsudskiego, then walked down to the new town to try to see this new fountain and light show that everyone had been talking about. They've created nifty fountains down by the river and coordinate the streams of water with lights and music, but since it's a new attraction, everyone is going there, so it was absolutely mobbed. We decided to try again in August, when the novelty had worn off.
Instead, we wandered back the way we came, in search of a suitable place for cocktails. After investigating several possibilities, we eventually ended up at the place on the terrace of Zachęta. It was just a lovely evening, and we sat there and took in everything. A's current city lacks many of the pleasant amenities in Warsaw, so she was quite delighted to be visiting again. For my part, it was just perfect altogether- good friends to talk to, absolutely gorgeous weather, fun outings.... I was really happy.
Closer to midnight, we parted ways for a bit- she wandered around a bit more (and eventually found a farewell party for one of our friends!) and I headed home to talk to D. Really was looking forward to that- we'd been off-line and out of touch for months- a really long time! We managed to get Skype all connected and everything and had a really nice chat. It was a real pleasure to catch up with him again, and I hope we don't have too much of a lapse again. ^_^ A came home in the wee hours of the am, and we talked for a bit before crashing. Altogether a fun day!
Woke up around 9, took the metro out to Marymont, walked around a bit and took some pictures, then decided I had to have coffee. Called Dj, asked if he wanted to come along. He said he'd love to have coffee and we met at Karma a little after 11. Just relaxed and chatted over cappuccinos and Americanos, talked about travels, family, work, a variety of things. Really nice to just have a bit of conversation in the mornings with my coffee!
At 12:30, he went off to an appointment and I headed home. Ate some fruit, watched a video, then took a little nap until A came back at 3. We had tasty Indian food for lunch, then she left for the airport, and I came home. Did a little cleaning, studying and practicing, but otherwise relaxed and just enjoyed the rest of my sunny Sunday.
I think this weekend has really included a little bit of almost everything I truly enjoy about life these days. ^___^
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)