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November 29, 2006
Where is Orville....
Residence Inn has provided complimentary microwave popcorn for their guests for years nownand I must say I've had a few "popcorn lunches" in my day. I've also had the misfortune of over cooking my microwave popcorn to the point where it's a charred mass with an oder that rivals the longevity of bad fish and the ability to set off a fire alarm two stories down.
That said, I guess I can understand that while this hotel does indeed provide popcorn, they supply a room card with instructions of just how to prepare it once you pick it up at the front desk. I suspect they give you even further instructions on how to prepare it in person...or at the very least keep track of which room has popcorn in case they have to look for the culprits who are burning it....
.....AT 4AM..................resulting in setting off..........
.............. the loudest,most adrenaline inducing, piercing fire alarm in hotel history.................
AT 4AM...................I dare anyone to sleep though that!!
Yeah, it was a good 15 minutes of this noise and ecavuating and milling about before it was announced it was a false alarm. The fire dept would have to reset the elevators though. Nighty night, so sorry for the disturbance.
Wonder if they asked for a new package of popcorn...since, ya know, theirs burned and now they really couldn't sleep.
pppssstt....we didn't get as far as going outside as a lot of the other guests did, it was somewhere in the 20 degree range and if I was going anywhere in my jammies, I was going to damn well make sure it was for real first.
Posted by frani at 10:07 AM | Comments (2)
November 27, 2006
Must remember........
...to detatch windex wash from outside hose and take hose inside for the winter...
Too late.............Oh well.
So we are back in Seattle...it snowed here. Good grief. Our flights were interesting...for lack of printable more appropriate word. We left a near deserted Burlington airport about a half hour late. Circled Newark for an extra half hour. Checked and rechecked our departing gate for Seattle. It changed while we were sitting in "the club"...yup couldn't get much farther away from where we were and still be in the C Terminal. Saw yet again niceness....some man took a middle seat so a couple could sit together. They exsist, people, they really do but I have to admit *I* doubt I will ever be that nice. I slept most of the time...well except when the man with 5 kids in front of me was teasing his daugther with water spillage on the head..her piercing shrieks woke me right up as Dad was saying " A little water never hurt anyone" to which I begged to differ. I don't think I said anything too rude but I got my point across. Since we were still relegated to the back of the "bus", the bathroom breaks are a real thrill with upward of 15 to 30 people acting like ants in the farm and falling into people who are trying to sleep. Ok, we can excuse the guy who passed out..he was overheated or something, although I thought it was rather humorous when the flight attendent told the traveling dr how he should ask the guy some questions to make sure he was really with it. I wonder if he ever got his bathroom visit?
Hhhhmmm....we didn't take the holiday weekend or snow into account when it came to leaving the airport for the hotel. No limos to be had but even if we did arrange for one, we arrived an hour late. Greg's bag was one of the first 3 out the shoot; mine was, ummm, eeerrr NOT. The taxi line was a good 45 minute wait. We crawled into bed at 12:30am...Pacific time...that would be 3:30 am according to my body who really didn't give a rats whatever what time it really was when the alarm went off this morning at 5:38am...some time zone.
All that being said...We do have a nice view overlooking Lake Union this time; I've got my groceries bought for the week;I'm brewing up some Tazo Wild Sweet Orange Tea and all is right in my world, today. Oh yeah, I made some reservations, changed some dr appointments and watched my soap for the first time in a few weeks.
Enjoy your week all.........I'msure I'll be back.
Posted by frani at 05:25 PM | Comments (1)
November 25, 2006
New Adventures of old Knoel
One would think I never give my cats any fresh water. Knoel will drink out of any vase of water and ~Elmo seems to prefer the toilet.
At any rate...we had a great Thanksgiving with lots of fun and food.
Off to Seattle tomorrow
Posted by frani at 09:57 PM | Comments (1)
November 21, 2006
Ahhhhhhhh.....
We're home and spent a few days recuperating.
We have Charmin extra soft bath tissue. Hey, you scoff..spend a few weeks a month at a hotel and you'll appreciate good bathroom tissue too!
We have a Great bed with sheets and blankets that go up to your head.
We have great coffee.
We have snuggily kitties.
We have a comfy new livingroom with fireplace.
We have a 21lb turkey...TG we like leftovers.
Happy Thanksgiving All
Posted by frani at 12:51 PM | Comments (2)
November 16, 2006
I Left my umbrella in Seattle (hotel room)
So here we are again in Seattle. Apparently there are some records to be broken...such as the wettest November on record and it's only mid November AND (drum roll) THE WETTEST MONTH EVER on record is up for grabs. Oh yeah, Seattle, MY kind of town...NOT. I may have mentioned this before but it bears repeating....I HATE RAIN! Rain is wet. Of course I did not go out in it yesterday and have managed to to stay relatively dry when I have been out earlier this week.
So far I've managed to keep myself entertained. I went Grocery shopping and met a fellow blogger from the area for some coffee and chitchat ...Waving at Beth..........
Tuesday I conquered another bus route out to play with my Sister-in-law. Yeah, next visit I'll get to see my big brother; he can pick me up from the bus stop since we keep the same morning hours while my SIL sleeps. We shopped and ate and ended up at her sewing club meeting...neat stuff; almost made me want to take up sewing. Almost.
Speaking of SsIL...my North Carolina SIL wanted to come visit this week and use her airline ticket freebie. Snort...she almost decided to come to Seattle to visit and use her ticket...well geee, WE are here AND she's never been to Seattle. Sounded like a good plan until we started chatting about the time it takes to fly and time changes etc. She'll be visiting in VT in Dec instead. Of course, it wouldn't have been the first time any of us have met up in a strange city. I've visited with Two of my SsIL in Phoenix on more than one occasion. Amazing...what a mobile culture we live in.
Yesterday there was some major storm going on. I could see evidence of strong winds and rain out the windows so I didn't look too often. Once in a while I could hear things hitting the window. hmmm, neat feat since we are on the 7th floor. I stayed in and read my book, did sudokus and searched for Ye Old Navy Fleece as well as other new items in the Kingdom of Loathing. ..and ate and drink coffee. I bought a pound of Peet's coffee at the store to brew in our room rather than partake of the nasty starbucks they brew in the kitchens here at the hotel. I think it's brewed by people who don't drink the stuff...nasty. Yes, I'm spoiled but really, it's nasty coffee here!
Anyway...today I get to play with more friends...eat, drink coffee, generally chichat and laugh some more. Doesn't get much better than that...well unless they were at my house. Tomorrow is pack up day but instead of having to hang out in the hotel lobby all afternoon, Charlotte and I will be attending the gem show...yeah yeah...we'lljust be looking.
..and thus will end another fun filled week in Seattle.
Then it will be time to prepare for Thanksgiving! I suspect I'll still be able to find a fresh turkey in VT when we get home and NOOOOOO, I won't go down the road to some field and pluck one up in spite of their being plentiful. I find them facinating just wandering around on the side of the road. Gobble Gobble.
pppssssttt........!!!Hey the sun is out!!! have a fine day all.
Posted by frani at 11:44 AM | Comments (1)
November 11, 2006
Remembering Our Veterans
In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae, May 1915
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep,
though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Posted by frani at 03:32 PM | Comments (0)
November 09, 2006
.............On Tiny Cat Feet
Hardly.......
Leo came by to tidy up some loose ends last week.
One of the things he needed to do was pour cement for the bottom step of the porch.
Knoel helped.
Leo just had to show us what that cat did to his work.
When Leo asked me if I wanted him to smooth out the footprints, I exclaimed " Oh no! Leave them, it's cool! But let me check with Greg to see what he thinks."
Leo: "Never mind, he already said to leave them."
Hehehehehe......
Posted by frani at 11:52 AM | Comments (4)
November 06, 2006
The one where I explain what I've done lately
The natives are beginning to complain about my lack of blogging...
Ok Ok, Let's see, what HAVE I been doing for the last 2 weeks....
I played Martha Stewart and made this wreath from her magazine:
Actually I made two of them. I gave this one to my SIL, Karen for their new house in VERMONT! Waving at the newest influx of flatlanders. Anyway, they have a proper VT farm house with lots of knooks and crannies and interesting old stuff with the house. I love it in spite of a few places where the windows and sills don't quite meet...might need to attend to that before the snows fly. (We went to visit them yesterday)
Way more information than you want coming up
I moved a gazillion leaves off the lawn and into the woods...some of them tried to escape back onto the lawn. Some made it but that just gives me an excuse to get out my handy dandy leaf blower and send them flying back. It's a contest I tell ya...one I'm ultimately going to lose unless I send them flying over to Williston!
Halloween came and went. We had thriteen people over for dinner the Sat before Halloween. Morgan and Nora made a surprise trip up to visit so that was great...we bought and ate cider donuts. Our guests had 5 children in tow between them (6-16)and the two youngest brought 5 pumpkins from their garden to carve. Of course *I* had to get out my pumpkin I bought to carve as well so we totally trashed the kitchen but had fun:
Nora made this awesome owl one
and I made holes in my pumpkin and filled them with marbles:
We had more than double our last year's trick or treaters Tuesday night...yup, 12 little critters. As a matter of fact, the adults lurking in the shadows outnumbered the kids. I was pleased to see the adults though. Most kids were impressed by my playdoh and poprocks treats. Snort, one little girl was just so facinated by the purple with yellow spots front door she nearly forgot her treats!
Our guests children were comforted by Morgan...yes, he was brought up by crazy people and isn't totally warped by their parents(fathers) going off on tangents on quantum physics or redshift or lake plumne rollovers all the while playing a game or eating dinner...please pass the broccoli...now where was I..oh yes, our friend Albert had an interesting theory... ;-D
So what else have we done...oh yes, we attended an informational meeting put on by the city council and the school board. They made a very nice presentation about where our property tax dollars go (which is all quite obvious if one looks at the lines of their tax bill) which of course absolves them of being at fault because afterall most of our tax money goes to the state to fund schools elsewhere. All that being said, the issue at hand is a ballot item that would change our city charter to allow for the citizens to vote on the new budgets rather than the present which allows for automatic increases based on some formula tied to the grand list without voter approval. We were basically the only ones there in favor of the charter change. Made for an interesting discussion. made me feel old because we were actually accused of not caring because OUR kids were already educated through the system...what about their kids??? HHmm...I remember being in their seat!
Speaking of old...it happened...we lined up at our local Price Chopper grocery store with a lot of other old people and got flu shots last Friday. Good lord, what's next? White belt and shoes? Rolled knee highs? Early bird speacials?
Oh, and did I mention I might have become interested in a game online: Kingdom of Loathing. If you can beat 'em....
Have a fine day all in spite of the fact November is here...dark dreary dank November.
Posted by frani at 08:04 AM | Comments (4)