One Year of This

No, not the elevator being out; it only feels like that's been a year!

One year ago, I brought home this guy:

Time flies when you're having fun.

Going On a Quest

My fellow Americans: I voted, have you? Please vote. Please!

La la la getting over this cold, la la la elevator still broken, la la la at least the windows are open! Most of this week, in fact. Fresh air rocks after a summer of A/C.

I haven't written about Heated Rivalry here recently, but I am just as obsessed with this amazing romance show now as I was earlier this year. Season two is currently filming, but it's a while until it comes out. So I was delighted to learn that in early November, they're showing all six episodes of season one in movie theaters. The big screen! I can't wait to see it on the big screen. And presumably it will be the well-lit Crave version that they saw in Canada, not the dim-and-moody HBO Max lighting that the Americans, including me, have been complaining about all year. 

On Sunday, November 8, I will be in a movie theater for longer than I have ever been in one day*. I'm pretty sure I've never even done two movies in the same day, and this will be like three of them. Well, the combined run time is almost five hours, so maybe that's two long movies, but they're screening it as episodes 1+2, 3+4, and 5+6, so in my head it feels like three. It's a lot of movie time, is my point.
*Previous record for me has to be seeing Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet, which was four hours and had an intermission.

Even though it's more than two weeks away, I keep thinking about what to wear and what I want to bring. I know I'll want a blanket, because it's usually freezing in theaters. For that matter, a hooded sweatshirt: I have a nice warm Bruins one. 

Then there's the food question. I have to get popcorn for one of them, and to my pleasure, they have announced a commemorative bucket and drink cup:

The first themed concession items announced were cocktails, and that's all well and good but all I want is a Coke, so this is better (bet-ter)(IYKYK).

I checked out the menu, and ooh they have soft pretzels; then maybe for the third one, at the dinner hour, I will get actual food...

I've said it many times before, but I love having something fun to look forward to!

One-Shot for the Trip to New York

Given that I still haven't finished recapping my trip to Massachusetts in May, I decided to do one long post for this NY trip and get it done. (In my defense, that trip was a lot longer and had a much larger cast of characters.) So, away we go!

It turns out that it was window-washing day at the airport. The windows that are wayyy up there.

I got to the airport very early, because that's how I roll, so I had plenty of waiting around time. Which is fine. Eventually I was on the plane, and the nicest thing happened: the seat next to me was empty. This makes a flight at least 42% less awful, especially considering how little leg room there was on this plane. 

There were seatback screens and free wifi, but for most of the trip, I listened to an audiobook (hello, Emma Lion) and knitted. This pattern is super-simple, with increases every 4th row, so all I have to do is keep up with the row count, and knit knit knit.

I was changing planes in Washington-Dulles, and the United Airlines app includes guidance to find your connecting gate. Great! 

Or, well, not so much.

I didn't bring a compass to determine which way was west, and I also don't think in meters! Of course, there were still signs, and people to ask, so it was fine.

The next plane was considerably smaller:

Everyone had to gate-check their roller bags, and the seats were 1 by 2, instead of the 3 by 3 on the previous plane. The seat was also narrower, and I had to ask for a seat belt extender, since my extra weight is mostly all around my middle, and the belt almost fit, but didn't. It actually had slightly better legroom than the one before, though! There was no screen and no wifi, but for such a short flight, no big deal. A bigger deal was that it was hot on the plane, like getting into a car that was parked in the sun for hours, and we were well on our way before we cooled down at all. Thankfully I had on a long-sleeve top over my sleeveless dress, so I could get that off easily, but still, hot.

Our plane was probably the same size as that little one that you can just see behind the big guy. Quite a contrast!

Got some sunset on the way down.

And some big puffy clouds that made me think of the cloud people in James and the Giant Peach (a classic book of my childhood).

The light coming down....

On the ground.

Take a look at how close they parked my rental car to the thing next to it. Or more likely, vice versa, as I actually couldn't get in the driver's door: I had to get in the passenger side and climb over, which was just what I wanted to do at the end of a long travel day.

For the first time, my destination was in the city, where my aunt has rented an apartment, since she's selling the house. It made for a shorter trip! We did some catching up Thursday night, and had a leisurely Friday morning before making the usual pilgrimage to Wegmans. A few things there caught my eye, like this bunch of little bananas:

And these two ales: Pumking and Pumqueen, of course.

Also, what on earth are social tonics? I almost don't want to know.

A few pictures from the apartment, which has lovely details due to being an old building. A transom over a door:

Lovely hardware:

And this charming window in the closet!

On Friday, we had dinner with a friend of my aunt's, and I was very glad to meet her. She's been so helpful to my aunt, who can't drive anymore, and I was sure she would be a nice person, which she was.

Of the weekend days, Saturday was going to be the better weather, so we went off to the Apple Festival. As you can see, the foliage was pretty but not stunning. It happens. We did see a few red or yellow trees, but only while driving, so no photos of those.

As always, the French fries from the fire department booth were stellar.

And I also had some cider later, feeling very seasonal.

As always, fun things abound, like this cute pig.

If you had asked me how many Boston Bruins-themed pieces I would see, I would have said none, maybe one. Instead, here are the two I didn't buy:

(The ones I did buy show up below.)

There was nothing to indicate either of these vendors were thinking of Heated Rivalry, but I am now conditioned to think of the show when I see loons.

We stopped in the house afterward, and my eye was caught by the hardware there, too.

For dinner Saturday, we went to a restaurant nearby, Phoebe's, which was lovely. 

Fresh flowers in a cool glass jar.

A slice of delicious chocolate mousse cake and a latte.

Sunday, our big outing was to Lowe's to pick up some hardware stuff, but of course I have to laugh when I notice something like this. Manly lip balm!

Anyway! Here is the haul from the festival, minus the maple cotton candy that did not last long. On the left is a catnip kicker that will be showing up in photos with Newman; at the top, a bowl holder in Bruins fabric (the vendor said tightly, "My son made me buy that fabric"), next clockwise is a beautiful pottery drinking "glass" with a lip to hold the ice in, then a cork coaster with the Bruins logo, a pretty ring, a rainbow bracelet, and the maple hard candies.

Very happy with all of the above! And on Monday, it was time to head home again.

Looking out the plane window, wondering what were those things on the ground, and were they alive?

Pretty sure flamingos don't hold still that long, and also don't live in Syracuse, so someone just stuck them in the ground, I guess. I have no answers. But you can see they have been mowed around!

Goodbye, Syracuse. This plane wasn't quite as small as the one coming up, 2 seats by 2, but still small.

It struck me as funny that there's a whole separate Hawaii menu on flights that go there.

Hello, Chicago! Nice view over the water as we descended.

The airport had some good details; it was really busy, but at least not totally boring.

Yes, the Field Museum has a booth there, just next to the huge dinosaur model, you can't miss it.

Lights in the tunnel.

Back on the plane (again with an empty seat next to me!), and may I say that when I looked at the category of "classic" movies, these were not the sort I was expecting?

Citizen Kane maybe, but between Grease and Space Jam?

As we were getting closer to home, I noticed the crescent moon visible by the wing.

That was pretty cool.

I was glad to be back in warm weather (NY wasn't awful, but I was layered up), and the drive home went very smoothly.

And then I had to carry my bags up five flights of stairs, no the elevator still isn't fixed, no we don't know when it will be, yes it's awful and I hate it, yes it broke on May 7, yes that is more than five months ago, it sucks. Perhaps as more of the snowbirds start coming for the season, the voices will get louder and something will be done. One can only hope.

The Travails of Travel

Along with good memories and some souvenirs, I got a few other things from this trip:

• A bruise on my right index finger, like directly on the fingerprint. Hurts on everything.
• A sore left elbow. Tweaked an existing mild strain while carrying luggage. Uncomfortable quite often.
• A cold. Yes, so cliche, I got sick coming home. Cough cough cough hack.

So I've been taking it pretty easy, and not pushing myself to, for instance, finish unpacking right away. (It's not like I want to carry the empty suitcase down now anyway.) And someone took that as an opportunity.

Home Safe

Travel really wipes me out! But I'm home and acclimating to everyday life again. 

And someone is very happy about that. 

Live, from New York

I made it safely to New York yesterday, so I’m not in Florida for a few days (“as you know, Bob”), but in case anyone hears about the hurricane and Florida today, I wanted to note for you that it is making landfall at the panhandle, which is roughly an 8-hour drive from home. Florida is big, y’all.

Have some pictures from the plane(s), and I’ll be back here sometime.