The Zoo over Ambuscade Street

Erik and I were watching Gungrave last night when he casually said "oh, by the way, your mother called." My cell phone, that is, and left a message - usually not a good sign. It was around 8PM at this point.

The message was from Terry, and went something like this: "We might be up that way tonight, and were looking for a place to hang our hats. It's a little after 5 right now, give us a call back." Shiver - it's about a three hour drive from there to here with traffic, and my house...was not in a state that I would be willing to have my parents see. I, with quite exaggerated calm, called them back on Terry's cell phone (since my mom is even worse than I am about using her cell phone). Reprieve! They decided to drive up to DC today instead of last night.

Then, a little bit before 1 today, my phone beeped at me, telling me I had a message, again from Terry, asking if I wanted to meet them for lunch in Fredericksburg. How nice of my phone to not ring and then wait half an hour to beep at me. I called them right as they were placing their order, and at their insistence headed out to meet them. I said it would take about a half-hour...because under normal Saturday traffic conditions, it does.

Sigh - never underestimate the power of VA Route 3 to muck up plans. I made it there twenty minutes after I had told them I would, and they had already eaten. But, they decided on dessert, so they ate that while I ate lunch. Good times.

My house is currently Much Cleaner, because they finally decided to go to an apple orchard about an hour north of Culpeper to pick some apples. They have 40 different varieties, including...honey crisp. I suspect that honey crisp apples right off the tree would be beyond marvelous.

So - they might be here tonight, they might not. But today was unexpectedly fun - I always like seeing them, because my family is awesome. Strange, but entertaining.

Oh - and Bridezilla has decided to host Thanksgiving this year. Suckers! I think she's still bitter about last year...and about my kitchen table, because she's wierd like that. Part of me wants to go just so I can show up with my own takeout container and leave with all of their leftover turkey, but that would be mean. Plus, I doubt her turkey would be anywhere near as awesome as mine, because mine just kicked so much ass, and she's not the greatest of cooks.

Currently watching the first disc of The Pallisters, which thus far is fairly engaging, but boasts the most gorgeous costumes - so much so that it's distracting. I'm sad that men's Victorian fashion is no longer the style of choice. *drools* Oh, and the little straw french hood things with veils? Love it! I need an excuse to have a lovely Victorian gown...if we do the Dickens Christmas thing next year as our fundraiser, rather than this year's rather ordinary Gala, that might be my excuse. Melissa has experience doing Victorian gowns, and I already know her price on men's frock coats is pretty damn resonable...

I must must must have Upstairs, Downstairs and The Pallisters on DVD.

From A Guide to Tea by Chris Cason, page 51:

They say that "time heals all wounds." However, it also makes teas turn bitter. The rule of thumb is 5 minutes for most black teas - any longer, and they'll taste as bad as coffee.

*snickers* This book is seriously down on teabags, and I admit he makes some good points. However - there are a very few teas where I much prefer the sort I currently have in teabags to the loose variety, like my beloved Benchley Apricot tea. The Adagio apricot tea is good, but...not quite as good.

Interesting book, though - and it was free, which is my favorite sort.

Still trying to find an excuse to have a Victorian gown...although that would require a Victorian corset, and I much prefer the Elizabethan sort. Or even an Edwardian one...I wouldn't mind an Edwardian gown, either, although I'd need to lose some weight since they're rather less forgiving of large hips than big-skirted gowns are.