Blogged In

Thursday the 28th we headed into Denver with Dave and Melissa to have brunch at Racine’s. We were a little late for the breakfast menu, but they were still serving a couple items so I had the Huevos Rancheros. It was very filling and delicious, and Jill enjoyed her Smokin’ Gouda and Turkey Croissant. After that we headed up to Fort Collins, first to stop at Lambspun for the ladies to get yarn, then walked around downtown a little before heading over to the New Belgium Brewery. We had scheduled a tour online, and had a sample of their Sunshine Wheat while we waited. The tour was fun, I really enjoyed the Dark Heather Saison and Tom’s Beer (the latter brewed with apple and only available at the brewery and around town).

Jill and I changed into nicer clothes and we headed back into town for reservations at Rioja. We started by splitting some appetizers: fresh bacon (cardamom spiced Kurobuta pork belly and Madras curry scented fresh garbanzo bean purée), a flight of artisan cheese (Plin di Capra, Gorgonzola Dolce, Fumaison Brebis), paella gnocchi (rice crusted saffron gnocchi, PEI mussels, Hawaiian blue prawn and calamari) and artichoke tortelloni (goat cheese and artichoke mousse stuffed pasta, artichoke broth). The artichoke tortelloni was my choice and my favorite, great combination. Jill and Melissa wanted middle courses, Melissa had the spinach velouté soup (velvety purée of spinach, roasted squash and parmesan tuile) while Jill tried the warm Brussels sprout salad (roasted delicata squash, pancetta apple vinaigrette and pistachio pistou) which I helped with since it was mostly sprout leaves (not a fan of the boiled kind, but this was good).

For entrees, we got the Muscovy duck breast (with saffron manchego risotto, pistachio pine nut stuffed Medjool dates, saffron almond cracker and spiced citrus jus), Colorado lamb two ways (grilled t-bone and house made lamb merguez sausage), braised Wagyu boneless beef shortrib (with gorgonzola creamed farro, pear arugula salad and candied walnuts) and seared sea scallops (with fennel parsley compote, chamomile beurre blanc and napoleon of: hazelnut phyllo, carrot and parsnip purée). It would be hard to pick a favorite, the lamb t-bone, shortrib and duck were all superb. Dessert was nearly impossible, but the beignets stuffed with sweet goat cheese and black mission fig were recommended, and I did managed to finish one (it was amazing). After dinner Melissa and Jill headed home to pick up Sam from the babysitter and Dave and I headed to the airport to pick up our friend Carl. It took awhile (we were lucky our luggage came out so fast), then we stopped for some supplies on the way back.

Friday Dave drove Carl, Jill and I to Winter Park again (Jill picked it since she’d had a lesson there before and hadn’t seen too much of the mountain). We got in a good couple runs on some of the steeper greens (here’s us at the top of Winter Park mountain):

Melissa and Sam soon showed up, and we all came down and then back up for Sam’s first day at a resort. We skied with them a little, then Carl and I went off by ourselves over most of the territory Dave and I had done there before (although I really enjoyed Bluebell, which we hadn’t tried).

At the end of the day we were still skiing and Jill headed back with Melissa and Sam, and Dave waited at the Cheeky Monk for us. I had a Kwak and since the ladies called to say they were getting takeout, we decided to eat there. I had the fish and chips which was very good, the fries were as good as Granville Moore’s in DC. After dinner we headed back where Dave made Manhattans and we talked into the night.

We got up the earliest of the trip on Saturday as Carl and Dave went off skiing and Melissa and Sam took us to the airport. We got in ok and I had a smoothie from Jamba Juice for breakfast. The flight was fine too, but Dulles was crazy. We got in at 3:30, and the snow was already thick. We had to take the people mover instead of the AeroTrain because we landed in the D terminal, then waited over an hour for all the luggage. We got in the taxi line, moved a little, then the line didn’t move for 30 minutes. At that point, I called our friends Josh and Akaemi, and they were home and came and got us (we owe them the most expensive dinner they want). We got home at 6:30, too late to pick up Illa so we got him today. Today’s been a catching up day, watched a lot of TV and surfed.

Sunday the 24th we got up early and took a cab to Dulles, checked in our luggage (and paid the highest fees I ever have, 4 checked bags on United for $100) and headed through security. Our flight was full but we didn’t have a problem – it was bumpy, but got in early, and turbulence is always more entertaining when a toddler is giving play-by-play (“Up!” “Down!”). We got our luggage and our friend Dave was right there to pick us up.

It was a free day and the middle of the afternoon and he suggested we stop at the Yard House for some food and beer. Jill and I split a Caesar salad to start, then she had a Spicy Chicken Breast sandwich and I had the Cuban Roast Pork Dip. I had samples of a couple beers and the Breckinridge Vanilla Porter and Jill had the Ska Buster brown ale. After lunch we checked out rental gear as Jill didn’t bring her skis (they’re not in good shape), but they were expensive.

We headed up the mountain to Evergreen where Dave lives with his wife, Melissa and their son, Sam, whom we hadn’t met before. We socialized for a while, then Dave made Bolognese sauce and pasta for dinner. Unfortunately I (and Jill to a lesser extent) was suffering from altitude sickness (Evergreen is at 7,220 feet) and hadn’t recognized the symptoms earlier (headache and dehydration) and I didn’t have much of an appetite (I’d also only got 3 hours of sleep the night before). We went to bed right after that.

Monday morning we were feeling much better, but not 100% so we canceled our plans for skiing that day. So we headed towards Denver in separate cars, Dave and I checked out a Mile High Comics location and Jill and Melissa went to a yarn shop (Sam has daycare). We met up at the Wynkoop Brewery where we had lunch. Jill had a salad and a Reuben and I had the ribs. I nursed a Chile beer while I was there (interesting – not spicy but has the taste) and Jill had a Railyard Ale.

After lunch we headed over to the Tattered Cover to look around, then split up again. Dave and I hit the flagship REI store where I picked up a water bottle and belt, then went to Red Rocks. Amazing natural theater – I’ve always wanted to go to a show there, now I want to even more.

That night Dave whipped up a lemon chicken recipe that Melissa sauteed vegetables for. This time we got to enjoy the meal and it was very tasty. We still headed to bed early as we were still tired.

Tuesday was finally the skiing day, and we’d picked Winter Park from Dave’s choices (he has a season pass for two mountains with associated discounts). We stopped in Dumont to pick up skis for Jill, then were at Winter Park within the hour. Jill got a lesson, and Dave and I did one run with her before it started, then wandered off by ourselves.

We skied all over the mountain, including going up to the top of Parsenn Bowl twice, where I had both my favorite run (down Juniper at the bottom) and least favorite run (we were trying for Juniper again, but ended up in the trees for a while). Jill had finished a little while before us and met us in the Starbucks.

We headed back and stopped in Da Kind for soups. I had the garlic leek and the creamy tomato and Jill had the garlic leek and we split a pastrami Reuben, nice and filling. Dave got some more soup for Melissa and we headed back. We played with Sam, then after he went to bed watched 24 (one of their shows) and Burn Notice (new to them).

Wednesday we went to Copper Mountain, the other mountain in Dave’s pass. It took a bit longer to get there, but only a little over an hour. We were soon in our gear and on the slopes. Jill didn’t want to take a lesson, so we skied with her for the first two hours. She’s doing much better, took on a tough, long green first time out. After we parted ways, Dave and I kept going, as high as Union Peak, the tallest place I’ll be this trip at 12,313 feet.

I was tired before Dave was, so he took on the back bowl of Union Peak while I met up with Jill and helped her finish her lunch of chili and hot dog. He wasn’t too much longer, and we headed back to his place with a stop at the supermarket and liquor store. He made a snack of Rochlette cheese that was melted on their wood burning stove and served over pickles, carrots, zucchini and bread, then later on made crepes with asparagus, hot Capicola and blended Swiss cheeses. We had crepes again for dessert: delicious Bananas Foster.

Friday night I got my hair cut on the way home from work, then grilled pork chops. Later we watched TV, including the blow your mind finale of Dollhouse (Whedon fans, if you dropped it, the second season is great).

Saturday I watched a bunch more TV as the DVR was filling up, then we headed out in the afternoon over to the Birchmere with the Jewells and got our line tickets, then went over to Rt’s Restaurant for appetizers. Jill and I split a Cajun Caesar salad (using Creole cornbread for croutons), then I had oysters three ways and she had shrimp and grits.

We got back with plenty of time, got a table for four next to the soundbooth and helped Janice with her onion tangle, then split a pepperoni pizza (they’ve dropped their burgers from the menu). Jake Armerding was not only playing with the band, he got to open this night, had a nice but short set. Eddie From Ohio was of course great, lots of great banter and a nice setlist with some old gems.

I watched one football game (Saints/Cards) before we headed to bed, then Sunday morning watched the Colts/Ravens – since both weren’t close at the end, it was fairly quick to watch them both. In the afternoon I went shopping to find a receiver for my mom to hook up to her new TV, found this. We headed over to her house where she made us waffles and I hooked up all her components (and worked on her computer). When we got back home, we watched the Viking/Cowboys game and 24 (back in a big way), then Jill headed for bed and I watched the Jets/Bolts and the Golden Globes (nice to be able to stay up late and finish everything).

Today Jill wanted to go to Virginia Kitchen for breakfast so we did, I had the Eggs Benedict and she had the Western omelette. She was out after that, and I read newspapers and played some Wii (including my new favorite training regimen). I made taquitos and salad for dinner, then hopped online for the first time all weekend. Now it’s time for Chuck and hour 3 of 24.

We headed over to Dogfish Head on Friday night as a friend from high school was attending a happy hour, and we had a beer and chatted for a bit, then got a table for dinner as the bar was way too crowded. We split a Caesar salad to start, then both had burgers. When we got back I finished off the old and new Dollhouses – really picking up steam.

Saturday we were up early to meet up with the DC Ski Club at Shady Grove Metro, then head up to Ski Liberty. My Christmas gift to Jill was her plane ticket to Denver and ski lessons, and I urged her to take a lesson (the fact that the lessons were cheaper had nothing to do with it – maybe).

By the time we got her resolved (including me going back to the car for her socks) and I finished getting ready, the other folks were nowhere to be found, but that was ok as it was my first time skiing in two years. My form was horrible at first, but memory started returning, and by the time I took a break to meet up with Jill, I was feeling pretty good.

Jill was done after two hours of extensive instruction, but I wasn’t and kept going as she got her knitting out. I had tried most of the green and blue runs by that point (the blacks were moguls and I hate those), so I finished the others then focused on perfecting my favorite run, Sidewinder -> Lower Strata. I was getting sloppy right as time ran out, so that was good.

We hadn’t made plans for the night (and Illa had the dogwalker), so we decided to stop in Frederick on the way back. I want to go to Volt at some point, but we didn’t bring a change of clothes. Instead the first place we spotted after parking was Brewer’s Alley, which was a great choice. We both started with soups, a cheddar ale for me and a gumbo for Jill, went well with our six beer samplers. Next she had a pulled pork sandwich and I had a chili rubbed steak sandwich with a tomato-jalapeno jam that hit the spot. After we got home I watched the end of the Bengals/Jets game and all of the Cowboys/Eagles game – didn’t care about the first one, disappointed by the second.

Today was a lazy day, made breakfast then watched SNL and LOTS, then hopped on the computer for more video editing fun and surfing. Then it was time for football and dinner. The first game I was surprised that the Pats got steamrolled, and the second was the game of the weekend, thought the Packers could come back all the way.

I made pork chops and green beans and heated up mac and cheese for dinner and Tom Sietsema’s favorite quick and easy dessert later (with Splenda instead of sugar and store made whipped cream), nice tasty low sugar dessert. Then we settled in for a nice evening of Chuck – hopefully with all the promos it got some good ratings. I like him as an ass kicking spy, although I wish the second episode hadn’t reference a first season episode.

Jill was working a 12 hour shift on NYE day, and we both knew she wouldn’t have much energy for the evening, so didn’t plan anything. So we ended up doing appetizers for dinner, starting a fire, reading and watching Foo Fighters videos (from their great new collection) until it was time and switched over to NBC for the ball drop.

I never left the house all three days of the weekend except to walk Illa. Friday we both had large piles of paperwork to get through, plus I started organizing my comics for the first time in months. We had pork chops and stuffing from Whole Foods for dinner, then watched a number of Dollhouse episodes in the evening.

Saturday I finished my comics, then worked on my new computer. I finished transferring all files, then started moving over the HD video I’d captured with my new camera. I was in the mood for a big salad for dinner, so I made one with ham and cheese. It was chilly, so I made hot chocolate and we cuddled up on the couch and watched Up for the first time. Great movie, but I expect that from Pixar at this point.

Sunday I watched the last episode of Doctor Who with the tenth doctor (great coda), read newspapers, then worked on the computer until the football game. Jill brought me a spinach calzone from Pomodoro for lunch, very tasty. I suffered through one last game (I just knew they could find a way to lose), then grilled steak for dinner. We watched some of the Sunday ‘toons, then Jill headed to bed and iwas up way too late on the computer again. I cut back on the general surfing over the weekend, hopefully can get a routine going on videos that isn’t so time consuming.

I started off my four day weekend in my usual style by getting vaccinated. No, not really a normal thing, but Safeway in Herndon had gotten supplies of both H1N1 vaccines, and I got the shot and finished my shopping. We had Indian for dinner, than Jill was off for bed and I stayed up reading. Christmas Eve day it was just me and Illa, and we took a long walk in the morning, then I read and watched TV. I made a turkey dinner with all the trimmings that night, and we watched some Christmas specials while we wrapped gifts (the new Phineas And Herb one is quite good).

Christmas wasn’t as rainy as thought at first, so we got over to my mom’s without any problem. We brought appetizers to add to hers and helped prepare them. It was us, Mom, Dad, Sharon, and Sharon’s friend Kathy (whom we’d met at Sharon’s move out party), and the appetizers were the bulk of the meal, though we sat down for scallops and salad. Everyone liked their gifts – my big one was the new Beatles box set. I got Mom’s computer up to date, next problem is figuring out to merge in the new TV we got her to her current setup.

Saturday Jill was working, so once again Illa and I spent the early part of the day together. I’d wanted to go see Avatar that morning, but it sold out before I bought tix, so I bought one for the next morning. Jill got off work on time to come home and change, then we headed out to meet my family at Marcel’s, a French restaurant. They have a very flexible three course meal, and that’s what we did. I started with the duck confit ravioli, then a main course of lamb tenderloins in phyllo dough, finishing with a roasted pear with cream cheese ice cream, all delicious. Jill had halibut with mashed potatoes, bison with a sauce made with the same merlot she was drinking, and a cheese course with an aged goat cheese and bread.

After dinner we headed over to the Kennedy Center to see Young Frankenstein. I was psyched as the touring cast includes two of the Broadway leads, and it was as hilarious as I was hoping. Be warned it is from the mind of Mel Brooks, so includes some risque humor, but even my mom seemed to survive unscathed.

Today I went to see Avatar first thing. Director James Cameron said it showed best in IMAX 3D, so I headed over to Alexandria and got one of the last seats in the middle. Many reviews have harped on the story being cliched, and while true, you don’t think of it until later. The movie itself is a quantum leap in effects, making it feel like it wasn’t done in front of a green screen. I think looking back it will be seen as much a challenge to other filmmakers as the first Matrix was in 1999. For dinner I grilled burgers and baked sweet potato fries while watching the new Doctor Who, then watched the Skins game after dinner (argh) and read the paper.

Late, but we’ve been crazy busy. Friday morning we drove up to BWI where I made possibly the best decision of the year by deciding to pay the extra money to park in the daily garage. There wasn’t much of a line and we were soon at the gate, but we soon got to experience something that’d never happened to us before: being asked to get off the plane. It wasn’t just us, though, everyone had to leave as the plane had a mechanical problem (previously those problems had been resolved one way or the other before we boarded). The good thing about being at a hub is they’ve got plenty of planes, and we got into Hartford only a little over an hour late.

We rented a car and headed up to Jill’s mom’s house in Holyoke, visited upstairs with Gram for a bit until I started nodding off. I guess 90 minutes of sleep the night before wasn’t cutting it, and we went downstairs and I napped for a bit. Jill was hungry and we drove over to Northampton and had lunch at Sylvester’s, where she had the black bean soup and I had the jalapeno cheese soup and a half of a roast beef, both decent. After lunch we went our separate ways to shop, as I wanted to spend some time in my favorite store. No one was home when we got back, so I had time to nap a little more.

That night Jill’s mom Sue took us over to her sister Melissa’s house, where she babysat the nieces and nephews while we went out with Melissa and her husband Dominic to Spoleto. They had a $20 three course menu, and we took full advantage. Jill started with soup while I had the Spicy Caesar Salad which was a regular Caesar with squirts of Sriracha, wonderful. I had the Mixed Grill for an entree, a nicely sized selection of meats, while she had the Penne Papillote, served in parchment. For dessert I had the cheesecake and she had the no sugar added cherry turnover, delicious. It was still early by the time we finished and we headed over to the bar at The Pizza Shoppe, where Dominic is a regular, to hang for a while and we may have overconsumed a bit.

Saturday we slept in a bit, then Jill’s sister Robin joined us and we went up to their father’s parents’ house and spent an afternoon with them, their dad and their aunt Dede. We exchanged gifts (I’d obtained some Eric Clapton/Jeff Beck tix for Jill’s dad) and chatted for a long time. When we got back to Holyoke, I worked for a while on loading some music into the phone Jill’s niece was getting soon, turned out to be more work than I’d thought. My sister Sharon arrived in the early evening and soon Sue made dinner for all of us, tasty shrimp scampi and asparagus. We worked on more gift stuff and watched TV after dinner.

Sunday we woke up to only 2″ of snow, nothing close to the two feet they had gotten back in Virginia. Sue made us a big breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon and French Toast. We tried to go to Jill’s nephew’s basketball game in the afternoon but got stuck in traffic on the highway and turned around after the game finished, stopping so I could get some accessories for the phone I was working on and some groceries for the evening ahead. Everyone showed up for an early dinner of pork roast, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes and green beans. Afterwards the kids opened their gifts first (and we told them of our upcoming trip to Orlando), then we opened ours, some nice Blu-rays, and this fabulous painting of Illa by Gram.

When Jill was running errands Saturday, she called me from the liqour store and asked if I wanted anything. I asked for the Samuel Adams Winter Classics and told her to buy a bottle of Utopias if they had one. She called me back a minute later and asked me if I was sure, since it was $189. I was sure, since I’ve heard of sellouts in areas where it’s priced at $250. So Sunday night I opened it and passed tastes around. I think I was the only one who really enjoyed it – it’s closer to a cognac than a beer. Almost everyone left to go to Bright Nights, Dave and I were left to watch sports and chat. Later on the ladies returned to watch “White Christmas”, almost finishing it.

Monday we saw Sharon off, then headed over to Melissa’s house as she had an appointment in bureaucracy hell and no one to watch Ava, my niece and goddaughter. I didn’t mind too much, as I hadn’t spent too much time with her. We watched videos including two I hadn’t seen – Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas was cute, but too advanced for Ava as we only watched 30 minutes (and maybe I’m coming to it too late, I like my Muppets more frantic). It was amusing to finally see the Jetsons episode where they perform Eep Opp Ork Ah-Ah as I know the cover of it by the Violent Femmes well from incessantly playing the covers of Saturday morning cartoons when I had the record store. We also took a walk around the neighborhood and played some hide and seek.

Sue took a break from work and picked up Melissa and dropped her off, then we followed her into Springfield. We had lunch at Chef Waynes’s Big Mamou, a BYOB Cajun restaurant. Jill had the Gumbo of the Day while I tried the Thunder Thighs Jerked, a spicy Nawlins take on Buffalo wings. I had the Big Mamou, a delicious special with fried chicken and crawfish while Jill enjoyed the New Orleans Red Beans. We were way too full for dessert (and I didn’t eat again until midnight). We headed back and packed, then headed to the airport (with a brief detour in East Granby to see where Jill lived). No problem with our plane this time, just delayed coming from BWI.

The trip back was fine, but BWI was incredibly crowded due to the snow cancellations. We got our bags and got out to the car where I knew my decision to park in the garage was a good one by viewing the cars outside. The trip home was ok, no delays, and soon we were in our parking lot, where it took us nearly three hours to shovel out my space, Jill’s car and our steps. We only had time for a snack and a beer before falling asleep.

Tonight’s holiday concert was Winterbloom with Antje Duvekot, Anne Heaton, Meg Hutchinson & Natalia Zukerman at Jammin’ Java. Their new EP is a really good mix of originals and traditional classics, and the show was them in the round trading songs, both ones from the EP and their own albums. It was very enjoyable, but we’d both had a long day and tomorrow is even longer, so we left after the first set.

Leftovers (in no particular order):
Anne Heaton – Crystallize
Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers – A (With Love)
Carbon Leaf – Miss Hollywood
Matthew Sweet – Byrdgirl
One EskimO – Hometime
Beth Patterson – Red Giant
Dream Theater – Wither
Ellis Paul – Annalee
thenewno2 – Yomp
Assembly Of Dust – All That I Am Now
emmet swimming – Waving At Cars
Lentic – Burn
Lucero – What Are You Willing To Lose
Rusted Root – Suspicious Minds
The Bittersweets – Goodnight, San Francisco
Kelleigh McKenzie – O Mother
Miranda Lambert – I Just Really Miss You
Alice In Chains – Lesson Learned
Rachael Yamagata – Sidedish Friend
Matt and Kim – Lessons Learned
Benjy Ferree – Fear
Porcupine Tree – Remember Me Lover
Slaid Cleaves – Cry
Antje Duvekot – Vertigo
Alberta Cross – Taking Control
Alternate Routes – All That I See
Meg Hutchinson – Ready
Sister Hazel – Take A Bow
Collective Soul – You
Caroline Herring – Tales of the Islander

Friday night I was pretty beat. I’d only gotten three hours of sleep the night before between going grocery shopping, making dinner, making chili for a cookoff at work (unfortunately didn’t win or place) and finalizing my Artists To Watch CD. I had to get up early so as to get home early for an appointment for Illa, and after that I made the salad for dinner and zoned out on the couch reading papers and comics and watching concerts until Jill came home. I grilled filet mignon and baked some sweet potato fries, then we did some cleaning. I had to get my new computer going as my old wouldn’t burn CDs anymore, but it didn’t take too long to do all the audio CDs.

Saturday morning I had the HOA walkthrough we’d had to postpone due to the snow last week. I got my section done quickly, then returned home to vacuum and clean. Later I headed out to Costco, Target and Total Wine to pick up food and drinks for the party and took a quick shower once I got back. We managed to finish everything before the guests showed, better than usual. We got almost 20 people over the course of the night, and the party went well, saw folks we hadn’t seen in a while and had lots of food and drinks that we didn’t come close to finishing.

Sunday we headed over to Arena Stage’s temporary home in Crystal City to see GrooveLily’s musical Striking 12. We’d seen them do a couple songs from it the last time we saw them, but this was the first time they’d done the full musical in our area, it was really good. We ran into Luke Brindley and Storm afterwords, then headed over to Best Buns Bread Co (they make the bread for Sweetwater Tavern) and I had a salami and havarti sandwich and Jill had some of their corn chowder, both good.

Jill headed out again when we got home, and I watched the Skins game (finally a win, although the team wasn’t that great) then I heated up some leftovers and we watched the rest of Alice as we’d watched the first half earlier in the week and thought it was pretty good as well as the Sunday ‘toons (Simpsons was really good this week).