Dorothy spent the weekend in Oz
Dec. 7th, 2004 04:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
celticdragonflyFinally after much chaos back here at home, and taking care of a sick baby, I am posting about my marvelous weekend vacation in Atlanta.
Oh, I had the most amazingly wonderful weekend.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
selenite is a marvelous man, he took care of all three kids so I could have a weekend away. This was not only my first overnight ever away from Jamie, but my first ever away from MAGGIE. And I needed it. It was also my first flight since 2000. The flight went okay, and so did the train ride up to joyeuse13's neighborhood. I worked on knitting Jamie's Yule stocking during both. We shall see if it gets done or not.
Aaron picked me up from the train station. He had to go to a PhD defense that afternoon, so I had several hours of utter relaxation, knitting, watching a movie, just ahhhhh peace and quiet. It was lovely.
Then he came back and got stuff together for carolling. Joy and Aaron are in the DeKalb Choral Guild, and they had a gig doing carolling in Victorian outfits in the lobby for a reception prior to the start of The Christmas Carol at the Atlanta arts center, I forget its proper name. We met up with Joy there, she came from work. They both looked spiffy. I got to help play roadie with Joy's stuff, and ghost around and take pictures. I enjoyed that, and the music - although there kept being more and more crowd, and more and more noise, until I had no chance to hear them at all, really. Pity. What I did hear sounded GOOD, and left me really wanting to hear more. And the people doing food for the reception were offering us stuff afterwards, and I had two little cups of this AMAZINGLY tasty sweet onion soup. Little did I know that this was only the beginning of the Fantastic Food Experiences of the weekend.
We headed back north on the train. The original plan was to go contra dancing, but it was decided that we were too tired out. We were also hungry, so they took me to a really nice Chinese place. I don't normally eat Chinese food, but was willing to try since they were willing to help me find stuff I could eat. Aaron and I split orders because we were dithering over the same choice. The fried fish was good, I even ate some of the crab rangoon, and the Hong Kong style filet mignon was INCREDIBLE. I discovered I like green tea ice cream.
Saturday I had arranged to meet with a lady who makes corsets who lives north of Atlanta. Her list of measurements needed had baffled me, so best to meet up with her since I was close by. We met her at a costuming shop in Atlanta she works with. After measuring me, she took Joy and I on a tour of their back rooms and interesting stock, which was fun. Joy met one of her choir people there returning a Victorian carolling outfit, too. Then we had lunch at a nearby Italian place, with marvelous chicken parmesan.
Then we went to the Center for Puppetry Arts. WOW. This is where Joy volunteered as an extra in their Experimental Puppetry Theater show last summer. (Her stories of Sumerian Puppet Sex are SO well worth reading. It's even more fun to hear and see her tell them in person.) We took a behind the scenes tour which was really fascinating and cool, and then wandered the museum. I really enjoyed that. When Karl and I are in town before GaFilk, I want to see if we can catch a show there during the day. The phoenix in the museum is amazing.
We'd hoped to meetsambear and technomom for coffee afterwards, but they weren't feeling up to it. Oh well, hopefully next time.
Continuing in the theme of Wining and Dining Laura to Utterly Spoil Her, we went to The Melting Pot fondue restaurant for dinner. Oh MY! Oh. Yum yum yum yum yum. They have the most amazingly good house salad dressing, turned out to be a honey mustard - I'm not normally into that, but ooh, that one was so tasty. I bought a bottle to bring home to Karl. Cheese fondue, cooking-meat-in-fondue, amazing stuff. The steak, the chicken, the unexpected amazingly good salmon. Tasty sauces. Fantastic company and conversation. Oooh. We didn't have time or room for dessert; perhaps we can do that another time.
We went to a concert by the Three Weird Sisters at a local pagan bookstore. Fun place, although I felt bad in that incense and a couple of store cats, while pleasant ambiance for me, are not great for Aaron's continued breathing. I got to meetcuriousmay9 and Brian (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
siliconchef) and his wife Suzan. That was marvelous. So was the music. In addition to the 3 ladies, they had various gentlemen that are part of their families playing with them - on bass, guitar, saxophone, and trumpet. That was very enjoyable. Afterwards everyone went to a nearby restaurant and brewery. It would have been more fun without the adjacent private party playing loud obnoxious music, but the conversations were really enjoyable anyway. I had rich flourless chocolate cake with ice cream. (You gotta know there was going to be more FOOD description!)
Sunday was a quieter day, lots of chatting and looking at shared pictures and such. (Oh, I got to see their wedding album and hear the stories this weekend! I liked that.) Joy and I went off to a local flea market/antiques place and had great fun wandering and looking at things. I got myself a wooden lapdesk/writing desk thingy, with flowers and such painted on it, pretty - opens up to have a space for stationery and for pens. I like writing occasional paper letters, and I like having pretty stationery, I must get more soon. We managed to fit it in my suitcase. I'd seen a "spinning wheel" early on that I identified as something made to look interestingly "rustic" that never was a spinning wheel, really. But then in a back corner I came across an actual walking wheel. It had been a real one, and was just missing the head/spindle part. (I may have the terminology wrong, I mostly know bobbin wheels.) It had a sorta functioning tension adjustment, even. (Look! Here's a demo of how one was used. Cool. ) I got to explain to Joy how one of those was used, and was feeling a bit smug that yes, I can identify the difference between the real thing and the decorative imitation. That was probably the oldest thing there. But as Joy said, "what a pity it wouldn't fit in your luggage".
Train and plane home again Sunday evening. It was a wonderful weekend. But it was also good to be home again to Karl and the babies. Thanks so much to the Lantermans for hosting me and showing me such a wonderfully good time.
Oh, I had the most amazingly wonderful weekend.
selenite is a marvelous man, he took care of all three kids so I could have a weekend away. This was not only my first overnight ever away from Jamie, but my first ever away from MAGGIE. And I needed it. It was also my first flight since 2000. The flight went okay, and so did the train ride up to joyeuse13's neighborhood. I worked on knitting Jamie's Yule stocking during both. We shall see if it gets done or not. Aaron picked me up from the train station. He had to go to a PhD defense that afternoon, so I had several hours of utter relaxation, knitting, watching a movie, just ahhhhh peace and quiet. It was lovely.
Then he came back and got stuff together for carolling. Joy and Aaron are in the DeKalb Choral Guild, and they had a gig doing carolling in Victorian outfits in the lobby for a reception prior to the start of The Christmas Carol at the Atlanta arts center, I forget its proper name. We met up with Joy there, she came from work. They both looked spiffy. I got to help play roadie with Joy's stuff, and ghost around and take pictures. I enjoyed that, and the music - although there kept being more and more crowd, and more and more noise, until I had no chance to hear them at all, really. Pity. What I did hear sounded GOOD, and left me really wanting to hear more. And the people doing food for the reception were offering us stuff afterwards, and I had two little cups of this AMAZINGLY tasty sweet onion soup. Little did I know that this was only the beginning of the Fantastic Food Experiences of the weekend.
We headed back north on the train. The original plan was to go contra dancing, but it was decided that we were too tired out. We were also hungry, so they took me to a really nice Chinese place. I don't normally eat Chinese food, but was willing to try since they were willing to help me find stuff I could eat. Aaron and I split orders because we were dithering over the same choice. The fried fish was good, I even ate some of the crab rangoon, and the Hong Kong style filet mignon was INCREDIBLE. I discovered I like green tea ice cream.
Saturday I had arranged to meet with a lady who makes corsets who lives north of Atlanta. Her list of measurements needed had baffled me, so best to meet up with her since I was close by. We met her at a costuming shop in Atlanta she works with. After measuring me, she took Joy and I on a tour of their back rooms and interesting stock, which was fun. Joy met one of her choir people there returning a Victorian carolling outfit, too. Then we had lunch at a nearby Italian place, with marvelous chicken parmesan.
Then we went to the Center for Puppetry Arts. WOW. This is where Joy volunteered as an extra in their Experimental Puppetry Theater show last summer. (Her stories of Sumerian Puppet Sex are SO well worth reading. It's even more fun to hear and see her tell them in person.) We took a behind the scenes tour which was really fascinating and cool, and then wandered the museum. I really enjoyed that. When Karl and I are in town before GaFilk, I want to see if we can catch a show there during the day. The phoenix in the museum is amazing.
We'd hoped to meet
sambear and technomom for coffee afterwards, but they weren't feeling up to it. Oh well, hopefully next time. Continuing in the theme of Wining and Dining Laura to Utterly Spoil Her, we went to The Melting Pot fondue restaurant for dinner. Oh MY! Oh. Yum yum yum yum yum. They have the most amazingly good house salad dressing, turned out to be a honey mustard - I'm not normally into that, but ooh, that one was so tasty. I bought a bottle to bring home to Karl. Cheese fondue, cooking-meat-in-fondue, amazing stuff. The steak, the chicken, the unexpected amazingly good salmon. Tasty sauces. Fantastic company and conversation. Oooh. We didn't have time or room for dessert; perhaps we can do that another time.
We went to a concert by the Three Weird Sisters at a local pagan bookstore. Fun place, although I felt bad in that incense and a couple of store cats, while pleasant ambiance for me, are not great for Aaron's continued breathing. I got to meet
curiousmay9 and Brian (siliconchef) and his wife Suzan. That was marvelous. So was the music. In addition to the 3 ladies, they had various gentlemen that are part of their families playing with them - on bass, guitar, saxophone, and trumpet. That was very enjoyable. Afterwards everyone went to a nearby restaurant and brewery. It would have been more fun without the adjacent private party playing loud obnoxious music, but the conversations were really enjoyable anyway. I had rich flourless chocolate cake with ice cream. (You gotta know there was going to be more FOOD description!)Sunday was a quieter day, lots of chatting and looking at shared pictures and such. (Oh, I got to see their wedding album and hear the stories this weekend! I liked that.) Joy and I went off to a local flea market/antiques place and had great fun wandering and looking at things. I got myself a wooden lapdesk/writing desk thingy, with flowers and such painted on it, pretty - opens up to have a space for stationery and for pens. I like writing occasional paper letters, and I like having pretty stationery, I must get more soon. We managed to fit it in my suitcase. I'd seen a "spinning wheel" early on that I identified as something made to look interestingly "rustic" that never was a spinning wheel, really. But then in a back corner I came across an actual walking wheel. It had been a real one, and was just missing the head/spindle part. (I may have the terminology wrong, I mostly know bobbin wheels.) It had a sorta functioning tension adjustment, even. (Look! Here's a demo of how one was used. Cool. ) I got to explain to Joy how one of those was used, and was feeling a bit smug that yes, I can identify the difference between the real thing and the decorative imitation. That was probably the oldest thing there. But as Joy said, "what a pity it wouldn't fit in your luggage".
Train and plane home again Sunday evening. It was a wonderful weekend. But it was also good to be home again to Karl and the babies. Thanks so much to the Lantermans for hosting me and showing me such a wonderfully good time.
