G: Say,
what have we been up to? We're a bit behind. So I'll report all the way
back to Friday the 16th.
Gary
K. got us tickets to see
The
Legwarmers at
The State
Theater in Falls Church VA. Turns out the show wasn't until 10 pm
so we went to eat at the new
Sunflower
beforehand. I was excited but ended up not incredibly impressed with
the food. Some of it was pretty good, some just okay. As it got closer
to time for the doors to open (9:30) we drove to the theater, found
some parking, and made our way without our coats (didn't want to have
to keep track of them inside) to the theater. We found out then that it
had gotten very very cold out. I went inside while Gary was picking up
the tickets, and the lady there asked if I was there for the
Legwarmers, and that they weren't open for that yet. They were still
clearing the house from the last show (a comedian).
So we went back to the car and ate some chocolate I had. John took a
nap. Then we decided we could get closer parking, and we did. We waited
in the car awhile then Gary and I decided to see if they were letting
people in yet. John decided to stay in the car and nap and come in
later once there was no line. We went to the front of the theater and a
line of about 30 people were waiting to get in. So we decided, in order
to get up front like Gary wanted, that we should get in line since they
would probably let people in any moment (it was almost 10pm). I had a
sweater on, but Gary was just wearing a t-shirt and we were freezing!
We kept thinking they had to let us in any minute. But still we waited,
and the line grew longer, and we didn't want to lose our place in line,
since Gary said the Legwarmers usually sell out. I also had to go to
the bathroom really bad, and went and asked at the door if I could use
the bathroom, but they wouldn't let me. I said to Gary at one point,
"I'm, like, totally going to write in my blog, 'State Theater: making
people wait out in the cold and not opening your doors on time = not
cool.'" So, there. I did.
They finally let us in, and we had no problem staking out a spot near
the front. Once the concert finally started, however, we could not hear
the vocals from the front row! The speakers on either side of the stage
were pointing toward the back and missing us completely. The singers
were singing five feet away from us and we couldn't hear them. We could
hear the lead guitarist's guitar very well and he was playing really
well. After a few songs I asked Gary if we could move back so we could
hear better, and he agreed. So we did and then we could hear
everything, although the sound still wasn't that good.
But the band was really good. Many of the patrons dressed up in 80's
clothes, and it seemed that everyone around us got drunk. John found us
during the break. Gary almost got into a fight with a rude drunk guy.
After that we went up to the balcony to watch the rest of the show. The
music was almost unbearably loud up there. Anyway, it was an
interesting night.
But we got home really late and I had to get up early for my shift at
Om Saturday morning. We were planning on going to
Poplar Spring's
Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck with Gary, but when I got home I was just
way too tired. Instead I napped on the couch all afternoon. That
evening we went to Chris Coyle's house for a new kitchen warming. There
was lots of yummy food and nice friends there.
Sunday I went to a Raku workshop most of the day. I raku fired some
ceramic eggs and a couple other things. It takes a long time. We had a
good time though.
I've been playing tennis with Izolda lately, and Wednesday we went out
and bought rackets and tennis balls. Chris Welsh came in that night and
called us from DC to ask if we wanted to meet him in Adams Morgan for
dinner and to see him in a comedy open mic. We said sure, drove down
there, parked in the outrageously expensive parking garage, walked
around until we met up with Chris, and found that the club (the
Rendezvous Lounge) was dark. It was still a bit early, but we didn't
have high hopes. On their website, according to Chris, it says they
have an open mic every Wednesday night. I guess they didn't mean the
Wednesday night before ThanksIndians.
So we walked down the street checking out restaurants to eat at, but
holding off on picking one until we got down to
Asylum, because I knew
they had special vegan fare. So we got there and decided to eat there.
I ordered the grilled salad which was a salad with grilled portobellas
on top (they were delicious), and some vegan tacos to share. Those were
just okay. John got a vegan grilled cheese. The portions were small, so
we ordered another grilled cheese that came wrong, got one right, and
finally left to check that club just in case. They were totally dark,
and it even looked like they might have gone out of business. So we
went home.
Thursday was, of course, ThanksIndians. I'd made the vegan pecan pie
the night before, and started getting the stuffing ready in the
morning. Then we went to the tennis courts and hit the ball around with
Rich and Izolda. Chris caught up to us there later, and took John's
place after he pulled a muscle. Both John and Chris were better than me
their very first time playing tennis. I've only played maybe a dozen
times in my life, years ago, before this last couple of weeks, and
Izolda and I had played 2 or 3 times recently. Still, we've both been
improving by leaps and bounds. We don't play games yet, just
cooperatively try to keep the ball going, but we are getting better at
that. Occasionally we'll hit one just right for a real game and get to
go, "Yesssss!"
After that, we went home and I finished making stuffing, mashed
potatoes, and gravy. Took it all over to Rizolda's; and Chris got
picked up by Leo and went to his family's gathering.
We feasted at Rizolda's on the food I brought, and stuffed mushrooms
and yummy nut loaf made by Rich, and salad, gazpacho, and roasted
vegetables made by Izolda. We stuffed ourselves silly, then I went home
and got Katy, and then we all walked to Dorian and Amethyst's for
dessert.
When we got there we found that they had just had a small house fire -
some sage burning gone awry. There was an impressive swirl of blackened
wall and ceiling. Apparently their fire extinguisher didn't work, but
they'd put it out with water. Later I heard that a tapestry on the
ceiling had burned up completely, and a piece had fallen on Lori!
Amethyst also had vegan pecan pie, and Joe had brought a vegan key lime
pie. Both were delicious, and I made myself overly full again. The dogs
ran around and played and fought, and the rest of us hung around
talking for a few hours. We left there and John, Rich and I went over
to the Looneys. I played
Shut
the Box, and watched poker, but that was it.
I think it was Friday night when we went out to see Beowulf. Saturday
night John and I went to the wedding of Donald DiPaula and Valerie
Fuller. We only knew about one other person there, but we met some nice
people and had a good time. It was at the
Gramercy Mansion in
Baltimore - very nice place.
Donald and Valerie were kind enough to have the caterers make special
vegan food for just us, too! That was sweet and thoughtful of them!
Sunday I went to RnA's for yoga and Izolda came with me. Then I came
home, made my smoothie, and collected John and Chris to go meet RnA and
Rizolda in Silver Spring to see Enchanted at the Majestic. They were
eating at Eggspectations, so we stopped in there briefly to say hi,
then I ran over to DSW to see if they had any more deals on Rocketdogs.
I've been loving the ones I have. I found a black pair in my size on
sale, although they still seem quite overpriced for the quality. They
will probably wear out fast, but I love the look, comfort, and slip on
nature of them. I saw one of my students in a pair, and she said I
could find them at Target and Bare Feet, so I might go looking to see
if I can get them cheaper there.
After the movie, John, Chris and I decided to get dinner at
Mandalay. I seem to
have mixed feelings about it. I usually want to go there, but once I
get there and look at the menu, I get disappointed. I always want to
alter the dishes they offer. Basically I want stuff they make only with
tofu to have lots of vegetables, but they won't do substitutions. Also,
I worry that the food will all be too oily and get my acid reflux
going. I decided to get an eggplant dish, and it was good. But the gram
fritter salad and noodle entree John ordered was really good. So, after
we got there and I looked at the menu, I said, "I don't like this
place." And it had been I who suggested it. But after we ate I said, "I
like this place again."
The
Greenbelt
Festival of Lights is this weekend! Please come to the craft fair
at the community center on Saturday 10 - 5 or Sunday 11 - 4 and see me
(though I won't be there the entire time), my pots for sale, and a
wheel demo at 3pm on Saturday.