Girls Weekend Journal

What the heck is this, you might ask?? This is Kathi in some sort of head gear that was at one of the "import" stores I spoke of in yesterday's post. The gal who was working the store told us that, to her knowledge, no one had every actually put the thing on before. This, of course, was something that Kathi just couldn't let be, sooooo, she became the first person on the planet to actually put this thing on her head. When I mentioned that I MUST have a picture of this, the gal working in the store told me that, actually, no one was allowed to take photos in the store. WHAT???? Why the heck not? I seriously doubt that any of our friends are going to want to run home and knit one of these things for themselves. This "thing" looked the same, front and back, as in, there were eye holes and a mouth hole on both sides. Anyway, Kathi and I backed into a corner, and I took this photo, without the giveaway flash, because we just couldn't pass up the oppor...

The second floor is our home away from home on this trip. Isn't this just the cutest little jailhouse you've ever seen??? We decided last night that we wanted to participate in a cool movie/eats combo deal that the little movie theater and two of the restaurants in town have teamed up to offer. There are 2 packages. One is dinner and a movie for $20 and the other is brunch and a movie for $15. Quite a deal, huh? The one movie theater in town is called T he Art Theater and the two restaurants are the Sunrise Cafe and Winds Cafe (which, you know if you have been reading this blog at all up to here, we have become quite fond of because they have fantastic, funky food!) The theater has the newest Michael Moore movie, Capitalism: A Love Story, up on its marquis, but we noticed that an art movie titled David and Fatima is playing there on Sunday at 12:30pm. We decided brunch at Winds Cafe followed by the art movie would be a good way to start ou r day. Alas, we arrived for b...

Ok, today we are determined to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors here because there are, at least, three park areas within 15 minutes or so from here to hike in and the leaves are absolutely beautiful here. So, after sleeping in until 9 or so we decided that once the temperature warmed up a bit (at 9 am, it was only 36 degrees outside) we would venture out to John Bryan State park to take a hike. While waiting for the temp to warm up we browsed our e-mail, scrapped a little, journaled a little, talked a lot and just kind of generally hung out together. After listening to a bit of the Cathedral versus Brother Rice football game that Ridley was cheering at in Detroit, Michigan (Cathedral scored the first touchdown in the first 15 minutes) we headed out. Once in the park, we found a trail head , parked and set off down a path that runs parallel to Clifton Gorge which was carved out by the Little Miami River. We hiked for about an hour and a half and took a number of pictures of...

By the way, that apple?? Still sits whole looking pretty as a picture!! Friday morning. We slept in until about 8:30... a luxury for both of us (although 8:30 here is 5:30 Oregon time!) and after having some coffee, browsing our e-mails and waiting for it to warm up outside (kind of a gray day), we headed downstairs and outside. Bob (our "landlord") was downstairs doing some work on the downstairs of the jail.....apparently it is being converted into the administrative office for his wife's veterinary business. His wife's holistic veterinary practice, that its. Like she does animal acupuncture and treats them with Chinese herbs. Hmmmm ..... Anyway, we were in search of a grocery store this morning, so Bob offered to give us a quick tour of the town in his ice-cream cone topped golf cart, the main part of town being only a block away and covering about a 5 square block area. We were also in search of a cup of coffee and breakfast and after our tour, (by now it wa...

All flights went smoothly and well. I read my current book (The Gargoyle) on both flights. That was nice......I rarely get or take that kind of uninterrupted time to read. When I got off of the plane in Dayton, the televisions were running a live news story about a giant, homemade, helium-filled balloon that had somehow escaped the top of the house that it had been tethered to and was careening wildly over rural Colorado. What made this story news, was that it was believed that the 6 year old son of the man who made the balloon was INSIDE the balloon as it floated out of control. There were military helicopters and other aircraft following it so that when it landed they could get to the boy quickly, because there wasn't really anything else they could do. Turned out that the boy was NOT in the balloon after all (THANK GOD) and was, instead, hiding in a cardboard box in an attic at home because his Dad "had yelled at him and scared him" while they were on top of the ...

So…. I have an apple in my coat pocket to atone for the sin of the chocolate croissant that I indulged in upon arrival at the airport this morning along with my usual morning mocha. But the question is….will I eat it? (What is it about vacation that makes me feel like I can push my usual boundaries out a bit? Ok, more than a bit, a LOT. I eat things that I would normally NEVER allow myself to eat, I spend money on indulgences that I would normally NEVER allow myself to spend money on and I allow myself to lounge around and do NOTHING while on vacation. This phenomenon, particularly the spending money portion of it, is something that my husband has certainly become attuned to. He KNOWS that the best time to ask me if he can make a somewhat expensive and usually unnecessary purchase is while on vacation. Am I the only one who experiences this phenomenon? I would be interested to know. I suspect, or maybe I just hope, that I am not!!) I realized last night as I was changing into m...

A tank full of gas. A wallet full of cash. A bellyful of Jamba Juice Pumpkin Smash. I am on my way to Girls Weekend number twelve! I have a goofy smile on my face and a light feeling in my heart. I cannot hear the call of the washer, dryer, vacuum, broom, mop, kitchen, husband or kids. I'm not saying I don't love them all, that I won't miss them (well maybe I won't miss the washer, dryer, vacuum, broom, mop or kitchen too much), but nothing makes me feel freer than these few days away from it all with my best friend, Kathi. We will eat funky food at funky restaurants, we will scrapbook, we will drink wine and talk into the wee hours of the morning. We will walk the streets of the unfamiliar place that was chosen for this Girls Weekend and see and do and absorb as much of its uniqueness as we can in the time we have. We will learn new things and reminisce about old ones. We will feel refreshed at the end of our time together and be better to the people we love...