The Big Catch-Up Post! And Ticks!

[kelly_chambliss]

Wow, has it really been over a month since I last posted? I very much fear so. What with final exams and graduation and going to visit my brother in the House of No Internet and packing up to spend the summer in NYC, May is always crazy for me -- precious little time for fannish fun. For instance, every year I swear I am going to participate in hp_may_madness, and every year I fail to submit so much as a single entry.

But. . .all the grading, ceremony-ing, packing, and traveling has been completed, and now I am lazing about in NYC while Partner is at work. It's very chilly, damp, and cloudy in NY today, which is a-okay by me; it will be a simmering hot hell soon enough.

So what have I been up to? Here's the litany, broken down into easy-to-skip chronological chunks:

May in Rural Hamlet

Graduation Saturday turned out to be just as cold and rainy as it is today in NYC, so we had to move the ceremony indoors. This happens less frequently than you would think; usually we manage a pretty outdoor event. But I don't really mind a chilly day; it's the 80-degree ones that are the killers. Sitting for two hours in the broiling sun in heavy robes is not something they have to worry about at Hogwarts.

Then two days after graduation, I received a visit from the incomparable therealsnape and her husband Lord S. We had a marvelous time full of delicious food and drink (TRS made a dandy spaghetti carbonara) and a lot of area tours. You know how there are always fun things to do in your region that you never actually do until people visit from out of town? That's what happened here. I saw all sorts of local things I've never gotten around to on my own.

Two days after TRS and Lord S left, I had a bunch of home repairs done. I always schedule these non-emergency items for May, when there is a chance of decent weather for outdoor chores like gutter-cleaning, and I can be around. I also did a bunch of other fun things like dental visits and mammograms. And I cleaned and sorted my office (always a disaster after a year of school). And I put the house to rights. Given my completist, OCD nature, I get anxious if I go away for long periods without having my spaces in order.

The House of No Internet and Points Local

Finally I was ready to hit the road to my brother's house. After packing the car and putting my garbage can in the basement (because one year, the neighbors used it all summer and left it full of maggoty trash), I locked the door for the last time this summer and took to the highway.

I had a fine time with the family. The weather continued weird (94 degrees on the day I arrived; 55 degrees two days later), but we coped. Among the fun things:

--My brother and sister and I took one of our day-trips driving around to antique malls and odd little towns and supermarkets (my whole family adores looking around in supermarkets).

--I had a delicious Indian lunch and loads of laughs with the delightful shadowycat and albalark. We finished the visit with sinfully-rich ice cream at a local parlor. I had "toasted hazelnut" and "dark roast coffee" . . .mmmmm. Lark and Shadowycat, it was a total pleasure!

--On our way home from Trader Joe's just at sunset on a partially-rainy day, my brother and I saw an absolutely stupendous rainbow. We could see the entire arc of it from east to west; the colors were beyond vibrant at the ends and were still sharp and clear in the middle. We stopped to take pictures of it; several other people in the parking lot were doing the same. It really was a once-in-a-decade sight.

--My BFF (since sixth grade) is in a choral ensemble. I got to hear their annual concert.

--We had a very nice cook-out at my brother's. . .lots of family members and my BFF and cheeseburgers and slaw.

New York City and Points North

After nearly a week at my brother's, I set out for NYC. The trip was long but mercifully uneventful. (Note to self: never again arrive in the city at 5:00 p.m. Not unless you want to add another two hours to your travel time under the heading of "insane traffic.")

Young Man is back home after spending a semester abroad in Copenhagen (which he adored). So we're all a happy family again, and here is some of the stuff going on:

--One balmy evening, we went for a long walk and fetched up at this fascinating ice cream shop, Ice and Vice. It could become a vice indeed, because I am nuts about ice cream and would happily eat here every day. Just take a look at those flavors! "Tea Dance" and "Shade" were great, and you can bet I'm going back if they ever have flower flavors again.

--The Film Forum is one of my favorite movie theatres ever; they regularly host new indie films and wonderful revivals. This summer, they are doing an Ernst Lubitsch festival, and I am beside myself with glee. Look at that line-up of rarely-seen silents! I am going to attend every single film, even if it means seeing three a day. I won't get this chance again.

(And I am going to buy my tickets early. Once when I was pretty new to Film Forum, they hosted a "Pola Negri Night." I left for the theatre only about 15 minutes before showtime, since I figured that the audience would be comprised of those folks who had actually heard of Pola Negri. . .so say, six people. Silly me. The place was packed; I had to wait in a "stand-by" line and barely managed to get one of the last seats available -- in the very unpleasant front row. So this time, I'll assume that Lubitsch and Negri fans, not to mention devotees of Lilyan Tashman [whom I've always wanted to see] will be mobbing the theatre, and I'll get there way in advance.)

--For Memorial Day weekend, we went to Connecticut. I was stupid enough to get off the couch and actually take a walk in the countryside, for which I was rewarded in the form of a giant tick that burrowed its way deep into my flesh. Disgusting -- and ample evidence that I am not meant to leave the house.

Now that the holiday weekend is over, I'll draw up a schedule for academic work, and I want to get back to fandom, too. Look for a fannish post soon.