Transportation Hell

Today I was supposed to fly up to Bellingham, WA for work, but first I had to go into the office in SF. I started the day by dragging my suitcase to the bus stop and then carting it to work with me via bus and muni train. All in all, it wasn't that bad (thank god for wheels - they truly are a marvelous invention). I was supposed to leave work to catch BART at 12:45, and around 12:30pm I found out that my flight between Seattle and Bellingham was cancelled due to snow, and the rental car company was inquiring if I still wanted the car since Washington State was putting out a warning to stay off the roads if possible. Apparently the poor Seattle-ites who went to the Seahawks game last night were still trying to get home this morning.

I decided that I would fly to Seattle anyway and then take a bus up to Bellingham, so I dragged my suitcase, and my new computer case (also with wheels) to the BART station and hopped on. (When will wheels be developed that work on stairs?) While on BART I had the brilliant thought to call my customer in Bellingham to make sure they would even be open tomorrow. She confirmed that they were, but expressed concern that I was still coming. We decided that if it was okay with my company I could support her testing requirements over the phone rather then in person tomorrow. By the time I got to the airport, and dragged the bags through the BART turnstile (when will they make BART exits that accommodate bags with wheels?) I was pretty sure that I would not be traveling today. Fortunately my company agreed with me and I made all the calls to postpone my trip.

But I still had to get home. The original plan was to have Mr. Mingle pick me up when I returned home Thursday night - I hadn't intended to come straight home today. Dragged the bags back through the turnstile, back onto BART, to go to the stop nearest my home. The escalator at the station was working but at the top I dragged the heaviest of the two bags over my heal while trying to avoid a petitioner at the top. ouch. (when will they make wheels that are foolproof?)

Now I had to take the first of two busses to get home - the total mileage was maybe 2 miles. Not that far, but too far to drag the bags. Fortunately I got on the first bus immediately and got a seat. The lady driver was one of the surliest, but no harm done and I got off a mile later. Dragged my bags across the street and waited for the second bus. And waited.. and waited. Finally it came and I dragged the bags onto the bus and grabbed the first seat I could.

It was after we started moving that I realized the man to my left was full blown crazy. He started cussing and swearing and talking about all the things he could/should/would if he could do to women. It was as if his angry speaking intensified with the speed of the bus. The faster we went, the crazier he was. When we stopped he was quiet so another unsuspecting soul would sit down. I had to laugh internally when I realized the woman who was sitting directly across from him, seemingly on the other end of his tirade, was blind. The poor woman - I've never seen a blind person move so quickly when her stop came. My bags and I got off a few stops later and tried to wade through little kids waiting to get on. (when will they make wheels that go over kids?) As the bus pulled away, I looked up to see the mother and kids sit down directly across from Mr. Crazy. Those poor, poor children...they may be scarred for a long while.

Two and half hours after leaving work, I was home again and the good news is - I got home earlier then I would on a regular work day - so I have time to blog about it!

A Mingle First

In all my life, I can never remember a time when we had the Christmas tree up and decorated any earlier then a week or two before Christmas. I knew that there were families out there who started decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving, but frankly, I thought they were a little crazy…

This year however, after hosting Thanksgiving at our house, Mr. Mingle and I were overcome with the holiday spirit. It started off when Mr. Mingle spent all day shopping downtown on the busiest shopping day of the year (I unfortunately had to work) and it didn’t push him over the edge. Instead, the two of us went back downtown the following day as well and bought some ornaments.

You see, this is the first year that we can actually have a full-size tree in our house, and we were very excited to put it up. We bought our tree last night, and as I write this blog now, it is already up and decorated!

I supposed if you also think, as I once did, that to decorate so soon is just plain crazy, then so be it. I will enjoy one full month of Christmas spirit, sipping spiked egg-nog, singing Christmas carols at the top of my lungs, and trying to put reindeer antlers on the cats. Of course, that is until we actually go away for Christmas, this year to Hawaii, where I doubt I’ll see much in the way of Christmas trees. Maybe Santa pulling a sleigh led by dolphins, but somehow, it’s just not the same.

I'll keep trying until Mini looks happy about it

Christmas 2004

Our old tree is one and half feet tall. Our new tree is over 6 feet!

A Mingle Thanksgiving

For the first time ever, Mr. Mingle and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house. We are happy to finally have a home that is big enough to entertain, and were excited to test it out. We started cooking two days in advance, and I’m pleased to be able to tell you that it was a success!

Ten people in all came (plus one more non-eater – Little Baby Sniffy), but only eight stayed for the full meal. Step-sis and beau Mackus had to leave early to have dinner at her mom’s house. Rounding out the rest of the crew were Mom and J, Uncle D and Cousin G, and Sniffy, Hubby and little E.

We started everyone off with some Thanksgiving punch made with fresh squeezed OJ, grapefruit juice… lightly spiked with Cognac. For appetizers we made sweet potato bruschetta, and mom brought some olives over for a little extra.

The turkey was ready around 2:00 and after that, it was time to stuff ourselves silly! Everyone had seconds so I took this as a positive sign that the food was yummy. Mr. Mingle and I got our recipes from Food and Wine Magazine, AllRecipes.com, epicurious.com and williamssonoma.com. We were happy with how everything turned out, and aside from lots of chopping and preparation ahead of time, they were fairly easy recipes. The “Country-Bread Stuffing with Parmesan, Raisins and Pine-Nuts” was the overwhelming favorite of the whole meal. I would happily recommend all of the recipes below if you are interested in making a Thanksgiving meal of your own.

The Mingle Thanksgiving Menu
Citrus-Cinnamon Punch
Sweet Potato Bruschetta
Classic Roasted Turkey
Country-Bread Stuffing with Parmesan, Raisins and Pine-Nuts
Holiday ONLY Mashed Potatoes (Because they are too fattening for regular consumption)
Spicy Cranberry Chutney (My personal favorite)
Peas (Thanks to Mom)
Salad (Thanks to Sniffy)
Pumpkin Pie
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (Thanks again to Mom)

We were blessed with beautiful weather too, as it was clear and crisp. The perfect temperature for walking off the meal by traipsing up to the top of the hill and taking in a view of the city. At the pace we travelled I doubt we knocked off any calories, but it sure felt good to go for a walk after eating so much!

The Chefs are relieved their first turkey turned out

Mingle and family enjoying the view

A Surprising Success

This past month has been a very busy one. I've already mentioned that work is hectic, and Mr. Mingle is in a play, but I have also been busy planning a surprise 60th birthday for my dad (Pop). I first got the idea to throw it only 6 weeks ago, so my party planning skills were kicked into high gear immediately. I originally thought it would be easy after planning my wedding last year... I still don't think anything is as involved as planning a wedding... however this party still proved challenging. I immediately began trying to find addresses of Pop's old friends which was difficult considering I couldn't ask the main man directly and my step mom doesn't share the same address book. Not to mention she was in Hawaii for two weeks with Pop during the initial planning stages so she was pretty much out of contact.

I enlisted my aunt to get me some addresses, but that took a few weeks, so in the meantime I went on an internet search. I found one of Pop's old coworkers and called him up, which fortunately turned out to be the right connection. After flubbing through the initial conversation with his wife, "Hi, I'm Mingle, I used to be Smith's daughter..." "You used to be Smith's daugher, but you aren't anymore?" she quickly replied.. "no, ha ha, I'm still Smith's daugher, but now I'm Mingle..." she gave me addresses of other old coworkers so I sent those invites out.

I then searched through old emails from Pop, to see if there was anyone on the CC list who I could contact. This proved fruitful for a few gentleman from Pop's other life. "Hi", I would write, "I don't know who you are, but I found your address on an email from my dad, would you like to come to his party?"

Invitations went out to about 50, and 30 were expected. Then the other plans started...many calls with the stepmom and aunt both of whom I don't speak to on a regular basis. "yes, yes" says Mingle, "I did consider buying food..." "yes, I did invite my family", "Yes, I am getting alcohol..." I found myself repeating many conversations over and over, because in my mind, I had everything planned and under control and just needed others to bring a few items. The others thought I was not buying anything and went out and bought over and above what we needed. ("Yes, yes I did bring plates (read: I'm not an idiot, please leave me alone)". During the last two weeks stepmom called even more, "Hey Mingle, I invited so and so's mom....Hey Mingle, my son is bringing his 3 friends - they know Smith....Hey Mingle, I invited the gardner and the tenants..." I was kind of waiting for the postman and garbage man to show up, but alas they must not have run into my stepmom in time. Finally, I realized that 50 would most likely be the number. Some would come, but not respond, some would respond but not come, and some would just show up. So, about two weeks ago anytime someone asked, "how many people are coming?" I'd just respond - "Oh, about 50". Sure enough... it was right.

My mother, who is the last person I wanted to ask to help me (because she is no longer married to my father), realized the state of panic and stress I was in about 2 weeks ago and went out and bought all the decorations for me. I can't say thank you enough. Pop's friends picked up the key to the Senior Center (that's where we through the party - GREAT irony) and came to help me set up. They also led the cleaning brigade at the end of the party, and had almost everything done, (along with Fossie the mopper) before I needed to lift a finger. This was the first time I have thrown a party where I didn't have to do the cleaning. Grateful doesn't even begin to explain what I felt tonight.

But, the best part, was seeing how pleased Pop was. He has been Mr. Grumpy McGrumpigus leading up to his 60th birthday. He's been down, and a sour puss, and just resisting the whole idea of getting older. But tonight, for the first time in a few months, he was happy. Happy, touched and genuinely surprised. And that made all the planning worth it.

Head Above Water

Hi! Long time no blog!

I must say that the worst thing about getting a job that keeps me busy is not having the time to blog. After JWTLV left the company I got her clients which quadrupled my workload (not hard to do when you only start with 1 client) and sent me traveling.

Shortly after Mr. Mingle and I moved into our new house in the city we were barely around to be able to enjoy it. He's been busy rehearsing for his play (Our Town) which opened last Saturday, and I had to go to Chicago and Phoenix for work, and then perform my duties as a marching instructor on the weekends.

But the good news is, when we are home - we love the house! It's so great not to have any neighbors below or above, and we have our own backyard, garage and laundry room. Oh, and did I mention that our front yard has a picket fence? Yep! But don't let our lush lawn in the front yard fool you - it's just astroturf. A short walk up the hill from our house gives us a grand view of SF which we enjoyed for the first time last weekend when JP was in town for a visit. But, I can't keep talking about the house without giving props to Mini, because without her, we could have never unpacked.

The Start of Unpacking

Helping Mom Put Things On the High Cabinet Shelves

Tired After a Long Day's Work

Thanks to Mini we were able to take a walk and enjoy JP's visit

Mr. Mingle and JP