A WEEKEND WITH FRIENDS

I have told variations of this story in other posts, but for several years now I have been going to the opera with a group of friends.  We met at a British shop I found myself working at, where I went for lunch one day and was offered a job.  I had the right accent I suppose. As most often happens when I get out of my comfort zone, I had to be talked into it. My sister was visiting at the time and I had taken her to lunch.  She told me I would be mad to say no, that if she could she would take the job.  So after listening to her off and on for a week, we went back for another lunch and when asked again, this time I said yes. I talked with the owner for twenty minutes or so, and by the end of it I agreed to start in a few days after my sister had gone home, with the proviso that this would be a trial run.  I ended up staying for several years and I met these ladies.  The shop eventually closed but our friendship has remained, and we all have a love for opera.  

We saw La Traviata last Saturday. We go to our local theater and watch a live televised performance from the New York Metropolitan Opera House.  Beautiful!  However, I fell asleep during the first act. The chairs are like a lazy-boy, where the head rest goes down and the foot rest comes up.  Listening to the music and in the darkened theater, already feeling very sleepy from the night before, I have occasionally been lulled into a comfortable snooze.  I am not alone as at one time or another we occasionally hear a few snores from our fellow opera lovers out in the darkness.  Those lazy-boys you know?

We came back home and my friends stayed the night.  We have dinner, a couple of glasses of wine, and chat until one to two o'clock in the morning, always looking at the clock in surprise and invariably saying where did the time go?  (Gregg leaves us hours earlier to go watch a game upstairs).  This has been a pattern for a whole lot of years, once a month during opera season, sometimes twice, and in the summer months we go do other things.

As it isn't long before the holidays, one of my friends, the lady in the red sweater brought a Christmas Pudding and set it alight.  It was a fine ending to a very nice meal (the main course being cooked by Gregg after we got home from the opera).

Our friend was told by her culinary friend to use Vodka to set the pudding alight, because it gives a more vibrant flame.  Holly leaves and berries from her garden to go on top, and a delicious rum butter to serve with it.  It was all delicious and a very pretty show.

So, there you go, that was our weekend.  A good time with friends is always a gift isn't it?

Thanks for stopping by.

  

DAD'S BIRTHDAY AND LAST POST FROM WILLIAMSBURG...

It would have been my Dad's 102nd birthday today.  He passed away 25 years ago and in some ways, as those of us who have lost loved ones feel, it is as though he is still here.  He was a 30 year career police officer, spending the duration of WWII in the navy, and one of his ships was the HMS Jamaica.  Dad was well liked by many, knew no strangers and loved by us, so Happy Birthday Dad, you will always be missed.

When we woke up and looked outside, there was a thin layer of snow on the ground.  It is going to snow for another two hours, and then will turn into rain, which should take care of the snow, hopefully!

Last post from Williamsburg

 There are only a few photos to finish off our trip.  I didn't take any to share of our family as I know they value their privacy and I respect that.  Suffice to say we had a wonderful time, and are looking forward to our next get-together, hopefully before Christmas.

I was surprised to see flowers still blooming.

Not knowing the restaurants in the area very well, you never know what to expect.  But I looked on Yelp, put a few basic requirements in the search engine, and they showed several places.  Cochon met all our needs.  It also had excellent reviews so we arranged to meet our family there.

It is located in Williamsburg but not downtown, only a short drive though.  Not a large place at all, which was fine by us.  There was a largish party just leaving and a few tables taken for the time we were there, and a few people arriving.  It was a popular place.  We chose the lunch hour so that we could all get home in the daylight.  It is open from 11.30 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. for lunch, and from 5.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m. for dinner.  We made sure to make a reservation.  You can see the days and hours of operation on their contact page. 

It had friendly service and great food and I would recommend it to anyone.

Gregg had a pork barbecue sandwich with French fries, and I had a salad which came with two mini crabcakes.  

After a lovely long lunch chatting, we said goodbye and started our journey back north, in good weather this time. The sun was out the whole way. This isn't our house, just a neighborhood we drove through along the way.  I loved how the sun made those golden leaves glow as it was going down.  We got home well before dark.

That's all from Williamsburg for this trip.  I hope we get back before Christmas.

Thank you all very much for following along and I hope the rest of your week is a great one.

A TRIP TO WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA

Last Friday we headed south to meet family in Williamsburg.  It was a very rainy day and all the way down it poured.

and poured...

and poured.

The traffic was heavy on the freeway and we decided to take one of the much less traveled roads that we haven't driven on in ten years.  Usually we take another back road but our GPS gave us this route.  It took us by the paper mill in West Point (Virginia).  A shipyard was built here in 1917 and the paper mill a year later.  If anyone is interested in histories of these towns, you can read up on this one here.

The nearer we got to Williamsburg, we had a place for lunch planned and had skipped breakfast as we intended to stop fairly early for our first meal.  We haven't been in over a year.  It is called Pierce's Pitt BBQ and it is always a busy place.  

Gregg took this photo of the restaurant  as we were leaving.  It is nothing fancy but its reputation has always been a very good one, and their food is consistently tasty.  We have eaten here many times over the years, not frequently as it is too far from home, but whenever we have had to drive by we more often than not stop on our journey south.  It is a welcome stop, especially so when you come inside after traveling in heavy rain on a cold day.

Here I had a little photo fun turning this into an artsy piece from a photo Gregg took of me mid-bite!  She looks like someone who has been staying away from bread and fried food for the last three months, true!  Gregg wanted to send a photo to son to let him know where we were - he is a big fan of Pierce's too.  Son asked via text if I had ordered the sweet potato fries, his favorite. I had forgotten all about them but the regular fries were delicious and hot, just the way I like them. We each had a pork barbecue sandwich and shared the fries.  Their portions are always more than enough for two people, and we didn't have to bother with another big meal that day.

It was still raining when we left but we weren't that far from our hotel, and we were soon in our room.  It was a bit disappointing that we had to postpone our walk around Williamsburg, as the rain became even heavier, and we decided to have a quiet afternoon.  We went downstairs for happy hour later on and had a cocktail.  We spent our time in conversation with the person who made our drinks, and we shared a plate of mozzarella sticks.  After another while we went back upstairs and had an early night.  Thankfully the weather promised to be much better the next day, when we were going to meet up with family.

I will continue our trip to Williamsburg in my next post.

PALM WARBLER

This is an old photograph and one I shared before years ago.  I haven't taken any photos over the last few days, so am going back into my archives.  We found this little bird in the Everglades in Florida.  I had never seen one quite like it before.  The original photo was in regular color.  This one I played with again years ago, and I came across it recently in a folder.

You can see his true coloring and find out more about him here.

I hope your week is going well.  We visited friends for a sit-down chat and a cup of tea.  It was lovely!  These moments in a day are part of those treasures I enjoy.  

Rain is headed this way over the weekend. I hope where you are the weather will be sunny and warm.  I find myself heading for a hot drink more and more, so that I can feel toasty while I warm my hands around the tea cup.  Small pleasures, great treasures, true.

I won't be posting over the weekend.  Enjoy whatever you are doing and take good care of yourselves.  I will be here on Monday with a new recipe.

DUCKS AND GULLS

Sharing a few duck photos from our holiday in May.  I don't think I have shared these particular ones before.  

Margaret at Birding For Pleasure

gave me an ID on these pretties.  They are Gadwall ducks.  Thank you Margaret, much appreciated.

A Red-neck Grebe

Mew Gull

Our weather has turned colder.  For the first time today I felt the need to wear a coat.  I have been in sweaters for the last few days.  A lovely day but breezy.

We had company from out of town this week, one was family and the other old friends, and happily our son dropped by.  Great to see them all.

I have caught up on housework and letter writing, errand runs.  Nothing too exciting but it has been a pleasant week.  I am going to catch up on my blogging, but first I am putting the kettle on for a cup of tea.  I made banana bread earlier on and a slice will pair nicely.

Have a great week everyone.

TERRA COTTA ARMY EXHIBIT - OUR VISIT LAST JANUARY (2018)

The Legacy of the First Emporer of China

After my extended blog break, I had forgotten all about the time we visited the Terra Cotta Army.  It was being exhibited at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. 

We had heard of the exhibit and one day in January, we decided to drive the two hours to Richmond.   There is information at this link.  We intended to go back but unfortunately it ended in March.

A nearby information sign gave me the following information:

"Chariot No. 1 with Horses (replica)

Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Bronze, pigment"

"Excavated from Pit of Bronze Chariots, Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum, 1980

Emporor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum, MMYL007"

"Drawn by four horses, this painted bronze chariot is a replica of one of two chariots excavated in 1980 and thought to represent the First Emporor's royal convoy.  The carriage is intricately cast and painted with floral and geometric designs, and the horses are adorned with elaborate bridle components."

"At the reins, underneath a tall parasol, stands a charioteer with a long sword, a shield, crossbow and quiver are mounted onto the carriage walls for additional protection."

At this link I found the following information.

"First discovered in 1974 by farmers in China, an underground army of nearly 8,000 life-size terracotta figures is known as one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century.  Discovered one mile east of the known burial site of the First Emperor of China (r.221-210 BC), or Qin Shihuang, the terracotta army was created to accompany the emperor to the afterlife."

Armored General

Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC)

Earthenware

Middle Ranking Officer

Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC)

Earthenware

Armored Infrantryman

Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC)

Earthenware

Civil Official

Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC)

Earthenware

Standing Archer

Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC)

Earthenware

Kneeling Archer

Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC)

Earthenware

Armored Charioteer

Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC)

Earthenware

The following collages are of the exhibits we saw before we went in to see the Terra Cotta Army.

This was a miniature tucked into a planter outside.    

Also, I found another blog today (I wrote this post on May 2nd, 2018) called Southern Virginia Mom, and she also has a post about the Terra Cotta Army with interesting information.  You can find her post and great photos here.

Another blog called Living the Seasons, with a post on the army can be found here.

I hope you have enjoyed our glimpse of this extraordinary exhibit.