YES!  I have family members in Virginia!  HOORAY!

My cousin Kirk, his wife Amna and their daughter Sarah are only 30 minutes away!  Adam and I went over to their place in Winchester today.  They’re living in a great big house, just the three of them.  It’s gorgeous!  Built in the 1700’s with more rooms that I can count on one hand.  They’ve been Nomads lately, moving from California to Georgia, to London and back, then forth again, and landed smack dab in Virginia.  I’m so happy!

Amna made this amazing home made “Chicken Soup with a Kick” as Kirk called it.  It was spicy with curry and had a sort of Indian cuisine taste to it.  It was fantastic!  She had also made a fresh cucumber and tomato salad and home made hummus.  I was in food heaven.

The five of us… and Mr. Giles… went to the Potomac River near Harper’s Ferry today.  It was gorgeous, though the leaves have pretty much already gone out in a blaze of orange, red, and yellow.  We parked just off 340 and took a little hike down the mountain to the river bank.  Kirk, with Sarah in his arms, jumped across rocks and ventured pretty far out.  They also climbed above the waterfall near by.  Sarah found a dead minnow, a seashell, and some leaves the size of baby elephant ears which she’ll take to Show and Tell tomorrow.  And Mr. Giles had a big old time rustling in all the leaves and digging a hole in the sand.  We had a really fun day.

[Show as slideshow]

Enjoy this little video I made!

My house is so clean you can lick my carpet.

Yes.  I’ve, without cognitive thought, uttered these words aloud before.  I’m a sick, sick person.  Regardless of my oral disability, my house is clean.  The never ending job of picking up after yourself and scrubbing everything in sight is finished for the week, until Adam dirties another pile of dishes.

I drove out to Front Royal yesterday to visit Juliet, Brandon and baby Brandon.  I took 50 most of the way over and it was one of the most beautiful drives I’ve taken in a while.  The drive through West Virginia was lovely, the road curving around each mountain and the clouds settling down on the mountain’s tops.  But on the way from Leesburg to Front Royal there were small towns crowded with antique shops and people out window shopping, enjoying the sunny day.  I saw amazing homes that could well be centuries old, spread out across fields and forests, hills and side streets.  Every mile was eye candy and pink lemonade for a thirsty suburban soul.

Adam and I are both extremists.  Though Adam may not enjoy living in a city’s center as much as I would, in a penthouse with wall to wall windows and a view to die for, we both have a passion for the country.  I don’t mean those overstuffed palatial homes on 5 acres of land that used to sell for $6 million and are now begging to be sold at $3 million.  I mean the wild, 20 acre, no neighbors for miles, trees and fields abound kind of country.  Adam’s parent’s Farmhouse for instance.  It’s secluded and quiet.  It’s a happy, lived in place where the chores never end and there’s fun to be had in each.  That’s what I want some day.  Peace.  Wide open spaces where my dog(s) can run free and peace.

Of course that will only come about when FiOS is available in the middle of nowhere.  Adam couldn’t live or work without his superior Internet connection.  And I think that’s fine.  Hell, I don’t think I could get by for very long without an Internet connection myself.  A few months maybe.  I’ve done it before and didn’t really miss it.  But then, I wouldn’t be updating this blog and my life would only be interesting to myself.  Heh.  I imagine that this is already true. 

Also, Thai Food.  I couldn’t live without mouth watering Thai Food for too long.  The country may not always offer convenience, however most communities are at least within 30 miles of a grocer.  Convenience is one thing.  Culture is something entirely different.  Major cities and the skirting suburbs often offer a melting pot of cultures.  This means a myriad of food to choose from, besides the interesting traditions and history that surrounds.  Food!  Thai, Greek, Indian, true Japanese and Chinese, Middle Eastern, real Mexican and more.  I love food.  I’ve never been a picky eater and I enjoy the different textures and tastes of cultural food.  I doubt I’ll find that in Podunk, VA.  I suppose we make sacrifices for our ideal home, but being exiled from exotic food may be taking it too far.