Lake Tobesofkee

Today Korra and I drove south for about an hour and a half to spend the day with two of my college friends and their kids. We swam, rode on (and behind) the boat, and ate pizza. 

Bad Storms

We've had a very rainy June and particularly bad storms the past few days. Yesterday afternoon we enjoyed a few hours at the pool with friends and then went home to have dinner. A storm moved in with crazy wind and really heavy rain. Not long after, the street below our balcony was completely flooded- water was up over both sidewalks and when cars drove through it was almost above their tires. I'm really thankful we're on the second floor and that our complex has such good drainage. The water was nearly gone within an hour of the rain stopping.  We still have thunderstorms in the forecast for the next 4 days. 

3 Weeks Left

I just realized that 5 weeks of my summer break has already passed and I only have 3 weeks left.  Korra still has 5 weeks left.  The summer has flown by and been enjoyable, and while I'd be happy to have more, I'm not upset to go back to a job I really love.

Same Name

When I left yoga on Monday, I reached into the cubby to grab my shoes and sunglasses.  It wasn't until I got home and took off the sunglasses and realized they weren't mine.  When I went to yoga again yesterday, I brought the sunglasses in the hope that whoever they belonged to would also bring mine back.  There is another woman in the class whose name is Kathryn- spelled exactly the same way as mine- which we chatted about last week. Turns out, both Kathryns tossed our very similar sunglasses in the same cubby on Monday and she also didn't realize she had the wrong sunglasses until she got home.  

Last night I went to pick up the pizza I had ordered.  When I told them my name, they handed me one small box.  I told them I ordered 2 large pizzas so this wasn't mine- also the name on it was Katie D and I'm Katie B.  They couldn't find my order, so started to make my pizzas.  After about 5 minutes, a guy walks in carrying 2 large pizzas.  He's speaking in Spanish but I catch "nombre incorrecto."  Using my barely intermediate Spanish, I figure it out and we swap pizzas.  This is the second time someone has taken my to-go food order because of the same name (not to mention the handful of near misses because I was there to double check).  Such is the life of someone with a popular name.  

Peak summer

I've reached the pinnacle of my summer self. I'm up at 6:30, listening to an audiobook, drinking coffee, and working on a jigsaw puzzle.  My plans today include a walk to the grocery store and library, a yoga class, a nap, a dip in the pool, and dinner and board games with some friends. 

Heatwave

It's 9:30 pm and still 89 degrees.

Family Weekend Recap

 We had such a nice time with my family in Boone. We talked and laughed, roasted s’mores, played in the river and kayaked, went to breweries and played board games, cooked and ate, played Mario Kart and took naps. 

Nate’s Chainsaw

Tshirt Exchange

After dinner last night, we had a family "ridiculous Tshirt exchange."  Everyone drew a name a few months ago and then searched thrift stores (or the internet) for a silly shirt. The search was as fun as the exchange… and here is the result:

Boone

Yesterday we drove to Boone, NC to meet up with my family at a house we've rented. On the 5 hour drive up we stopped for fireworks in South Carolina (Nate has an uncle reputation to live up to after all). The area is beautiful, the house is big enough for all 15 of us, and I'm looking forward to a long weekend of time together. 

Not Playdates

Korra had a friend over on Monday (they went swimming, ate dinner and then went climbing) and another friend over today (mostly played Sims together and shared YouTube videos).  Trying to facilitate time with friends over the summer but now that Korra is nearly 13, I'm not allowed to call them playdates anymore. 

Farm Chores and Puzzling

This morning Korra and I went up to my school to work on the farm for a few hours. Korra loved weeding and can't wait to go back. She also grabbed 16 books from my library so it was a pretty great morning for her. 

This evening we did speed puzzling with Meaghan and Robert and it was the absolute worst puzzle I've ever done. Not only was most of the puzzle white, all the pieces were the same shape and it was never really clear if they were in the right spot. We usually finish the 500 piece puzzle in about an hour. After 2 hours we were only a little over halfway done and decided to give up. One team finally finished after almost 3 hours. Thankfully the company was good. 

Allergy Injections

Got my first round of allergy injections today. I'll get 3 shots, twice a week for the next 4 months, then once a week after that. After the  first shot, I started to feel queasy and hot- something that in usually only fell when I'm getting blood drawn- and had to sit down and drink water. Apparently my vasovagal reaction has increased to include shots now that I'm getting 6 of them a week. So annoying. 

No Kings and Juneteenth

This morning Korra and I walked a mile and a half to Liberty Plaza across the street from the state capitol for a No Kings rally. They were giving out wristbands to keep count- there were 5,000 people in the plaza before the speeches started. 

It was hot, but really amazing to see so many people and hear so many speakers standing up for our country. After about an hour, we decided to leave so we could make it to the Juneteenth parade. We gave our wristbands to some of the thousands of people waiting outside the plaza. 

We were able to get a great spot at the beginning of the parade route, near our house, and in the shade to watch the parade with our neighbors. 

After the parade we attempted to go swimming with friends, but the minute we had our suits and sunscreen on, a thunderstorm rolled in. It's been raining hard and often- sometimes 2 big downpours a day, 4 or 5 days in a row- with a similar forecast for next week. Of course, as soon as we gave up waiting the storm out and decided to go to dinner, it stopped. At least we had excellent company no matter the weather. 

Mammogram

Round 2 of being topless for a less-than-fun reason: annual mammogram. (The first was my allergy test). 

Thankfully I found a clinic much closer to home, with free parking.  It was super fast too- less than 30 minutes from when I walked in until I walked out. AND, it's in the same complex as Korra's climbing gym so I'm taking a yoga class while I'm here. 

Flying Phone

On my bike ride home from the Botanical Gardens, I hit a bump and my phone flew out of its holder, bounced onto the road (Ponce de Leon) and onto the sidewalk. Thanks to an amazing case and some serious luck, my phone was unharmed!  Unfortunately, I didn't notice that my driver's license and credit card that were in my phone case were missing until after I'd been home for a few hours. We went back to the spot my phone went flying and some very nice landscaping guys had found my ID, but my credit card was no where to be found. While it's inconvenient to cancel it, it's certainly better than having to get a new phone or new license. 

Botanical Gardens

This morning I rode my bike to the Botanical Gardens to meet 2 teacher friends. We spent 3 hours enjoying all the wonders the garden has to offer as well as each other's company. 

Farm Chores

This morning I spent a couple hours at the school farm pulling weeds and harvesting beans and blueberries. 

I spent the afternoon taking a glorious two hour nap. 

Delay after delay

Our flight was repeatedly delayed. Ended up being over 2 and a half hours delayed. It was 2am when we landed. Then we had to get from terminal E to baggage claim (the plane train was on a reduced schedule) and get our bag and walk to rideshare and wait over 20 minutes for a very expensive Lyft. We finally got home at 3:30. I slept for 3 hours and then got up to drive to Charlotte (4 hours each way) to get Korra.  I'm really tired. 

Boston with Friends

It rained so much yesterday but we still managed to make the most of it with our friends. We spent some time at the library and then at a mall (there was a brewery in the mall!) We were even able to get to the subway station without going outside- though the short walk from our stop to the Thai place we went to for dinner left us all soaked. After dinner we went back to Boston Public Market for ice cream and then hung out in our hotel room telling stories. 

We met for breakfast this morning before parting ways. 

Nate and I went to see the Van Gogh exhibit at the MFA, had lunch at Trillium, and then walked along the harbor and back into the North End to get an Italian sandwich to eat at the airport for dinner. We successfully navigated the Silver Line in the first try and arrived at the airport without incident- unless you count that our flight has been delayed by an hour. Fingers crossed it doesn't get any later because we were already dreading arriving home so late, waiting for our checked bag, getting a Lyft home, and still getting up for work (Nate) and an 8 hour drive (me) tomorrow morning. 

So much walking

Both today and yesterday, we walked around 20,000 steps while exploring the city. Today we went to even more bookstores, the Boston Public Library, a bunch of historical locations such as the site of the US's first public school, the molasses flood, and Louisa May Alcott's house, plus walked across the Harvard Bridge, along the harbor, and the Charles River Esplanade. Our friends who live in New Hampshire arrived this evening and we had dinner with them and now we're finally settling into it our hotel room to watch a movie and eat the cannolis we bought in Little Italy earlier today. 

90 degrees

We've made it back to Boston where the high today was 90 degrees (10 degrees hotter than it is in Atlanta today!)  We dropped our bags of at the hotel and then went for a walk through the Boston Commons, stopping at a few bookstores and enjoying looking around the city, and then getting a beer at Sam Addams (Nate) and an ice cream (me) at Boston Public Market). 

Cooling down at our hotel going out to dinner at an Irish pub. 

Sunrise

Being this far east, the sun rises at 5:05 am. That's insanely early and is one more reason why I'm wide awake by 6am. 

Whale Watching

Yesterday was our 20th wedding anniversary and I just realized we didn't take a nice picture together. Typical. 

We started the day with a whale watching tour!  During our 3 hours on the water, we saw 2 humpback whales (we got to watch each for a while).  Just like candlepin bowling, I was quite a bit more entertained than Nate but he was a good sport. After we are our lunch from a Lebanese bakery on our balcony, I took a little nap and then we went up to the rooftop to read (and I finally got to enjoy some time in the hot tub). 

We had dinner at the hotel's restaurant, went on a little after dinner walk, and then watched a movie in bed with snacks. 

We talked a lot today about our best meals we've eaten, trips we've taken, what we would have done differently, how we've changed. We agree it's been a good 20 years and decided to keep going together. 

Candlepin Bowling

This morning I walked over to Mom's Kitchen for giant cinnamon rolls (which they cut in half and put on the griddle with butter before adding frosting) and then read with my coffee on the balcony. 

When Nate got up, we first walked towards Half Moon Bay but couldn't get all the way there because they were actively filming a scene for an upcoming Apple TV show based on the Widow's Bay books. Then we walked through the downtown, stopping to shop and to get delicious sandwiches at Virgilio's Bakery. Afterwards we went up to the hotel's rooftop pool/bar to sit in comfy chairs and read. Next we borrowed the hotel's bikes and rode over to Cape Ann Bowling. We bowled 3 games of candlepin and I absolutely loved it (it's like ski-ball!). 

Next up: dinner and then (hopefully) some time in the rooftop hot tub!

Gloucester

After our pleasant flight to Boston, we struggled to find the right bus to get us to the train station. We knew we wanted the silver line but didn't realize there were 3 silver lines that ran similar but not quite the same routes. We rode both of the wrong lines over the course of an hour (we went back to the airport once and to the World Trade Center station three times) before finally arriving where we intended. Thankfully, the train pulled up only 2 minutes after we got there and the hour long ride to Gloucester was uneventful, smooth, and inexplicably free. 

By the time we walked the half mile from the train stop to the hotel we were rather hungry and tired, but had impressively both stayed pretty calm and in good humor during the bus debacle. We went to a little shop nearby for a late dinner where the owner/cook wax super friendly and the food was made fresh (if a little uninspired).

This morning I walked next door to Mom's Kitchen to get giant cinnamon rolls (they cut them in half and put them on the griddle with butter before drizzling frosting all over them). Enjoying one with coffee and reading on the balcony while Nate gets a little more sleep. 

Row 1

Nate and I are currently enjoying our extra legroom, wifi, and complementary snacks and drinks (a margarita before we'd even reaching cruising altitude!). And while we are still in the air, we got the news that our apartment lease has been renewed for another year with only a $35/month increase!  We were worried about that since during our previous 2 year lease the homeowner has had to replace the HVAC, hot water heater, fridge, floors, washer, and dryer. Once we get it signed I can ask about the new blinds we need.

We should arrive in Boston in the next hour and then (because we're in the first row!) we'll be quickly of the plane and headed to the train to Gloucester!

Korra Transfer

We drove up to my parents' yesterday to meet up work my sister's family.  Today Nate and I drove back home while Korra went with her cousins. We had a nice little visit and Korra is going to have such a fun week.