So...

Today is my baby brother's 50th birthday and I spent almost $25 dollars on glucosamine tablets, both of which make me feel old.

My hip's been painin' me for a few weeks and after a second person recommended the glucosamine, I listened. The pain makes me remember sleeping on the floor of the youth hostel in Northern Ireland oh so many years ago where the combination of jet lag, stinky duck feather pillow, and hip pain kept me awake so I could enjoy the drunken 4 AM serenades.

Took the back way home from buying my old lady drugs supplements; at one end of the street it was not raining, but at the other end (less than a mile) it was raining Florida hard. If you've ever lived in Florida you know what I'm talking about. The kind of sudden rain that comes on so hard the fastest wiper speed isn't fast enough; you can't see the front of your car. (But you do not pull over, that would admit some sort of weakness.) It rains monsoon hard for about twenty minutes, then stops.

Friday night was extra fun. Our sales director was in town for a couple of work events and we met the bosses at Fullsteam brewery.  Before the bosses arrived we meandered across the street to Motorco because the duck fat tater tot truck (aka Kokyu) was there.

Duck fat tots, Taku (korean bbq taco), sweet potato fries, spicy India slaw  pulled pork slider

We wandered back across the street to Fullsteam and after a beer or two (half pint of cream shandy for me),  we went in search of edibles that were not from a food truck. First stop, Geer Street Garden, but it was packed with a long wait. We popped into Cocoa Cinnamon across the street, but the tiny cheesecakes and other sweet things were not scratching our savory itch.
We continued along Foster Street to Piedmont Restaurant where we found great art, but no small plates (and less than par service). Up Foster another block, turned left on Chapel Hill Street, to Rue Cler, where we found fantastic small plates AND service. Asparagus with Bearnaise, pomme frites (with the same amazing Bearnaise), a slab of Gratin Dauphinois that looked like a piece of cake, kale and mushroom crepe, and salad frisee.

Sated, we sauntered down Rigsbee, stopping for a moment to watch a movie they were showing in Central Park. We had come full circle; back at Fullsteam. Durham at its best.

Happy birthday to my favorite brother. Please stay away from the Motrin.

Sunday, Sunday

I just finished my breakfast of saffron yolked poached eggs and thick center cut bacon from pork raised without antibiotics that cost $1.13 a slice (there were eight slices; I let you do the math). It was delicious (better be) - like eating a slice of pork chop. The jewel-toned eggs were topped off with hollandaise and a sprinkle of hot smoked Spanish paprika. Oscar got to clean the plate.

It's Oregon weather again today, and I'm still not complaining. It's cool and well... pretty fantastic in my book. In April, the heat was turned off, the AC on, then back off, and now, in May, I'm contemplating turning the heat on again. I refuse to put the flannel sheet (too hot blooded for plural flannel), back on the bed or take down the winter clothes - that would surely jinx everything. That reminds me, I need to put clothes in the dryer. BRB.

I don't have to clean today. Did that Friday night before friends came over for some pre-dinner refreshments. Dinner was at Dos Perros, in case you were curious. Sweet potato empanada (spell check says... Pasadena) with chipotle fig sauce. Watery, boring butternut squash soup (disappointingly so). Where were the pepitas? The guacamole was excellent though.
As a side note, if I ever cross over to the dog side and get a female dog, I am so naming her Pepita; it is just too fun to say. No name stealing now.

While following a friend through the UNC campus yesterday on our way to see Iron Man III, we stopped at a light. A young man was waiting to cross Columbia, dressed in butter yellow Bermuda shorts, short sleeved blue and white striped shirt, and tan boating shoes. He was probably 6'2", lean, slightly tan, with thick light brown hair, and the carefully manicured facial stubble that is so popular (and annoying). (It was a long light with no turn on red y'all; lots of observation time.). He looked like a Ralph Lauren ad. I thought about how young he was and how his whole life was ahead of him and just in general wondered what in the hell is it like to be so damned good-looking. King of the world.
As we waited for the movie to start, Erin leaned over and asked if I had noticed the young man at the light. She'd been thinking the same things.

There was no point to that snippet, just an ah youth kind of a thing.

Iron Man III was funny, but about 20 minutes too long, which was about the amount of time Goopy Gwyneth was on screen. Coincidence?

I'm going to go rearrange some furniture and then put it right back the way it was.

Enjoy some Jono McCleery on this gray, drizzly [fantastic] day.

Pajama Day

I hate cleaning when it's cloudy or dreary out. Seems opposite doesn't it? I love to clean when the sun is shining through the cat nose printed windows (obviously I don't do them) on to the freshly steam-cleaned oak floor.

Did some light cleaning today, in spite of it being gray and rainy. Vacuumed, cleaned the stove top with its special cleaner, ran the dishwasher (that hardly qualifies as work), scrubbed out the sinks with baking soda, washed the bacon grease off the tea kettle. (Why do I say tea kettle instead of just kettle?) Tried to fix my wonky silverware drawer. Rolled up the hallway rug for the summer.

Feel like rearranging furniture or something.

Maybe I'll get out the carpet cleaner and work on the cat grass puke stain in the guest bedroom.

But that sounds like too much work for a dreary pajama day.

Baseball, Art, and The Magic of Saltines and Coke

Went to a Durham Bulls game Friday night. The company I work for bought a sky box for five games to entertain clients and friends. (Nice!) The Bulls won AND there were fireworks after the game!

I ate too much popcorn or crack cheese, (what we call the jalapeno pimento cheese concoction made by Susan's husband), or M&Ms or quite possibly all of the above, because I did not feel well when I got home. (only drank water, so couldn't blame on alcohol)

That feeling lingered all night and into morning, so much so that I drove to the store at 7:30 AM to get saltines and a co-cola to settle my stomach; I did not want to miss the Saturday plans.

Steffi and I were driving up to Richmond, VA, Steffi being on her way to Maryland for the month of May for Baby Watch 2013, which will hopefully turn into Helping with Baby in very early May.
With the coke and saltines working their magic (what is that?!), we dropped off Solo (sniff, sniff) and headed up to Virginia.

We met Diane and Susan who drove up separately (they were my ride home) at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and proceeded to have a fine day. We were there to see the Ted Wesselmann "Pop Art" exhibit, but first things first - lunch. Of the two cafes in the museum, we chose Amuse.

Needless to say, I was feeling much better.

There's a burger and blue cheese under the egg.

You say creme caramel, I say flan. Either way, delicious.

From the balcony of the restaurant we could see the Chihuly water garden.
More of that later.

Clandestine photo (name withheld to protect the guilty)

The exhibit was great; enjoyed seeing the evolution of his work.

Another guilty photo (my favorite)

Then we had to send Steffi on her way (more sniff, sniff) - for a whole month!

We wandered through the rest of the museum. They had one of Kehinde Wiley's paintings (discovered him at the 30 Americans exhibit at the NC Museum of Art). This is not the one they had, but this is why I love him.

Another photo by she who shall remain nameless

My favorite gallery in the museum: Art Deco. The jewelry! The pottery! The furniture! 

Brooches of opals the size of baby fists dangling giant gleaming pearls. Chokers with diamonds (meh), garnets, enamel. Buckles in the shape of peacock feathers or dragonflys; horned beetle mirrors. The most glorious swirly drawer pulls; pottery teapots in the shape of sea urchins. Chests and chairs and dressers and desks made from deliciously grained walnut and cherry wood. The Tiffany window (this is not a good representation), lamps, vases, necklaces. Bronze ink wells in the shape of a crab or a woman wrestling with an octopus (okay, that one was a little weird). Diane and Susan left me in there enraptured while they looked at the Impressionists, then we headed outside for a closer look at the Chihuly garden.

Reflection in museum window

Last photo of the day

You know the kind of tired you get after being at the beach all day and you're a little wind/sunburned? That's the kind of tired I was. The grateful-for-good-friends kinda tired. The laughed-so-hard-I-cried kinda tired.

The happy-but-can't-wait-to-get-home kind of tired. 

Since You're Wondering

I'm sure you have been...

The Y-DNA and mtDNA tests have backed up the Ancestry.com test.

From Africa my mother's forebearers (Haplogroup H) marched up through Central Europe over to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Read a BBC article on the mtDNA testing of ancient skeletons here.
I'm betting we are either subclade H1 or H3 - the first and second most common subclades of the H group. Should you wish to learn more, read this.

Determining the subclade is another damn test.

My father's peeps (Haplogroup R1b - most common haplogroup in Western Europe) did much the same; a slightly different route though Central Europe to Denmark, then popped over to the British Isles (more than 80% of  people in the Scottish Highlands, Ireland, and Wales have the R1b marker). Read more here.
As with the mtDNA, the Y-DNAsubclade test is more dollars.

The "uncertain" 2% is still unsolved...

This and That

This: It's chilly out this morning, 46 according to my temp widget. As I write this at 9:37 AM (EDT), I have socks and a robe on. I am NOT complaining (really, I like cooler weather), merely reporting.

And that: The Chapel Hill Library has completed its revamp. Here's our brick:

Photo courtesy of J. G.

This: Yesterday we had a "Grandma Shower" for one of our own awaiting the arrival of her first grandchild. It's a whole new Hallmark card/wrapping paper/gift genre. We should copyright the idea. 

I highly recommend it; why (you may well ask)? 

Well, alcohol (gin slushies!) is allowed, and there's no food restrictions (except gluten, but that's standard practice with us). Best of all, there's no labor length/pain level / episiotomy competitions. (one of the reasons I've boycotted the regular type baby showers for years) 

And that: Planted some cat grass which the cats LOVE like it's candy. 

How do they repay me for planting said grass for them? By puking on the white carpet in the bedroom. 

Warning: graphic content

This: The winter to summer clothes and shoe swap has been completed. I wore these Born Concept shoes pretty much all winter: 

a.k.a. "man shoes"

They're so comfortable I bought two pair (brown and black). Now when I put on other shoes, my feet say "What the hell is going on?!", even to my previously favored Keen shoes.  

Seriously paring down the shoes because someone recently said I had a lot of shoes (26 pair), which in my brain equals "must purge"! 

It's really not a lot of shoes (I know someone who has over 100 pair), when you consider some are dress, some are strictly summer (sandals) or winter (boots). But it did put it into my head that being attached to shoes that are not comfortable or that I didn't wear at least once last year are O.U.T.
See? Even my purge oriented brain needs a reminder from time to time.

And finally, that: We haven't had any music lately. Here's Blue Hawaii "Try to Be":

How In the World

Has it been almost a month since I last posted?! Guess I don't have much to say, unless, of course, you want to hear about DNA results.

Without my mother's antics, I fear I am very dull indeed.

Speaking of Mom, the year anniversary is really an amazing thing; I'm much less prone to spontaneous waterworks. Yesterday I did get a bit teary driving past all the redbuds in bloom along 15/501. She would have said they were pretty about nine hundred times. 

We are having our two days of spring here in NC as evidenced by this:

And this:

The weather this weekend has been perfect - cool in the morning (mid 40's - 50's), 70's in the afternoon. 

The air smells crisp and fresh - sun dried sheets and grass. Yes, lawn mowing season is upon us already. 

Yesterday afternoon, several of us went to funky Ninth Street for a look at Zola Craft Gallery, popped into Vaguely Reminiscent (pink sunglasses!), then walked a few blocks down Iredell Street, (people waving from their cute Craftsmen porches), to a photography exhibit opening at Craven Allen. 

It was crowded and hot in there, but what I saw of the exhibit was great. We sauntered down a few storefronts to The Palace International for some African food. Sat outside, people watching, enjoying great food. 

On the building next door was this bit of graffiti:

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood.