The end of an era...

So my birthday's tomorrow, and it's got me a little weirded out. Not all angsty like my 25th did ("OMG will I have to act like an adult now?" Thank FSM I got over that idea!) But still, I'm officially entering my Late Thirties, and it does give one pause. Mr.Q seems to think that I'm on the brink of an existential crisis, however, so he's been rather spoiling me for the last week or so.

We went to see John Prine in concert on Friday, which was amazing! His opening act was good, and he...was magical. His energy never let up, and he played for over 2 hours straight - with the biggest, shit-eatingest, ear-to-ear grin on his face for every minute of it. There's something awfully cool about watching somebody who's having that much fun on stage! And he was quite the gentleman - humble, not ego-centric at all - and bloody hilarious. It was (though I hate to say it!) even worth being gouged in service charges.

On the way home from Seattle last weekend, we had discussed the possibility of getting me a new camera for my birthday. I did a little research during the week, and on Saturday, we went out and found a wee (blue!) Sony Cyber-shot that I've been having too much fun with ever since.

Some of my first experiments...

Obligatory cat shot:

Playing with the automatic "Smile Shutter"

More of the tremendously energetic felines (and husband):

Knitting:

And - if I wasn't spoiled enough - Mr.Q gave me these over the weekend, too.

To top things off - I had taken tomorrow off of work, for a day of decadent self-indulgence (which means sleeping in till at least seven o'clock!)...but on the way to work today, I got a call that a water cooler on the top floor had burst, and flooded everything below...so the school was closed for the day. Surprise 4-day weekend!

So I'm back home in my fuzzy robe, figuring out how to download pics from the camera, updating Ravelry pages, and considering an afternoon of knitting & people-watching at the coffee shop. Though the cats may have the right idea....Guess what they're doing?

(Hint: if your guess involves any kind of activity, you're way off base...)

All Aboard!

A late, quick photo-essay of our Thanksgiving weekend train adventure to Seattle...

An early (early!) start:


Each of us doing what we love best (and Mr.Q quite tickled that he could buy a beer before 9:00 a.m.)

Travel Scrabble - Mr.Q's creative use of language not at all related to the pre-9:00 a.m. beer:
Playing tourist...At the Science Fiction Museum (very cool, but not nearly enough Star Wars, and sadly lacking in Dr.Who, Battlestar Galactica, and Firefly)

The Experience Music Project - we both felt it was kind of "meh", but there was a theramin we got to play with. And an upright bass in a giant instrument tree:

Up the Space Needle:


Night view, walking back to the hotel from dinner:

Pike Place in the morning (started my Christmas shopping...too early?)

Finally found a decent cup of coffee, which was surprisingly hard to do in a city that prides itself so much on its java...Uptown Espresso, where I enjoyed a fabulous Caffe Vienna & knat while Mr.Q found (another) record store:

Finally on the way home again....it amused me to watch the engine pulling the train around the corners... Missed having turkey but might just cook one up this weekend. The tuna casserole we had on Monday just didn't cut it. I need a pumpkin pie, too.

(And - my, but we do live in a beautiful corner of the world! Nice to see a little more of it!)

Nom nom nom!

Beef stew in the slow cooker. I could smell it coming down the walk, before I even came inside the house. Made with oodles of fresh organic veg, a hearty splat of tomato paste, and a few generous glugs of red wine. For the complete and total WIN!

That is all. As you were.

Back to Dr.Who and BSJ attempt #2. (Going well enough that I'm a little nervous I missed something!)

Expect the Unexpected

One morning last week, Mr.Q called me from work. "What are we doing tonight?" he asked.

"Nothing, as far as I know. Why?"

"Want to go on a date with me?"

Well, y'all know how much I like spontaneous date nights, so of course I said yes. "Sounds great! Where are we going?"

"I got free tickets to the Giants hockey game tonight!"

Now. Those of you who know me in real life know I enjoy hockey only slightly more than, say, a good root canal. And those who know Mr.Q know that he enjoys it even less. (So much less, in fact, that we once had an argument about whether our hypothetical kids would be allowed to play hockey. I let him know, in no uncertain terms, that if that's what they wanted, they'd play - and I wouldn't be the only parent getting up for a 5:00 am ice time. So there!)

At any rate, this particular idea for a "date night" was highly unusual, but the arena's only 3 blocks from home. I figured, why not? A great opportunity for people-watching, if nothing else! Also, much giggling ensued over the course of the day, which is never a bad thing.

So we ate a quick dinner when we got home, and headed out into the rainy evening for this strange adventure...

Look! There's a Zamboni on the ice behind us! (I am enough of a Canuck to find Zambonis (Zambonii?) entertaining. Though I can't be the only one that thinks the name sounds like a kind of pasta, can I?)


Of course, I brought my knitting:


There was an ESL group sitting below us, having a grand old time. They tried to get a wave going several times, but it died out after our section. It was more fun than I had expected, truth be told.

Though we did only stay for the first period. And came home to this:


Which is pretty much what they're doing right now. Never a dull moment, Chez Quimby!

Now...off to make Attempt #2 at my first Baby Surprise Jacket...EZ may just make my brain melt, but I can see why she is considered the patron saint of my addiction! I already want to make a dozen of these!