Roller Derby

This spring, one of my dear friends told me that she has was interested in Roller Derby. This summer, she told me that she was going to try out for the team and that she made the "you get to practice with us" "team." She seemed to really enjoy it and invited people out to watch a match last Saturday.

Since I had no idea what this Roller Derby was, we decided to go and check out what our friend was so interested in. So, in Roller Derby, the women skated around a track. There was one person who could get points by passing members of the other team. Another person set the pace for the rest of the skaters. Basically, it was contact roller skating around a track. It was really fast moving and has a lot of rules about how you can block and such and at any given time, there were usually at least 2 people in the penalty area. I didn't really understand all the nuances but it was quite impressive to see these women's skating abilities. It is something that we'll definitely be doing again and maybe we'll even get to see our friend out on the track...

Seasons Changing

Lately, I have noticed many subtle signs that autumn is upon us and summer is a mere memory (although a good one). The mornings and evenings are cool and crisp even though the days have still been warm. I left work at 7:00 PM yesterday and it was dark! Part of that was a storm coming but it is definitely getting dark sooner and the light is fading. Earlier this week, I was looking around at the trees as I drove home and some of them are changing. I really enjoy this part of the year because it is so pretty. I just hope that the leaves are changing more and are pretty 2 week from Saturday. :)

T minus 1 and counting

Thursday was one month before the wedding! We are now less than one month out. People keep asking me if I'm excited and I really don't know. I don't like that every spare/down minute, I am thinking about what needs to be done. We have a long "to do" list that is getting managed but it is still longer than I would like. I am really glad that we are here to do these things because it would be hard to do some of this stuff from a few thousand miles away.

Recently, we have gotten a lot done. I have tried on my dress and had a fitting (hopefully the only one), one of my bridesmaids got fit at the same time and the others have appointments for fittings. We have booked the rehearsal dinner location. Today we did a few reception decorations. I also finished one of the bridesmaids' shawls and am about 1/4 the way done with the second. I still need to weave in ends and block the third one that is done but that shouldn't take long...

Anyway, soon, we will be married and off to New Zealand! I'm so glad that John is researching and planning the honeymoon! Actually, he has been amazing through the whole process and has been doing more work that I have been for the wedding planning/tasks.

So, am I excited? I guess so. I am more in awe that we are getting married in less than a month! I don't think it will really sink in until I walk down the isle and see all the people in the church there for us.

So far behind...

So 2 weeks ago today was my birthday. To honor the day, a group of friends went to a beer garden for dinner and drinks and just enjoying the nice summery weather. On Sunday, I got many presents from John. He took me to a lovely dinner at an Italian restaurant that I had always wanted to try but thought was too expensive. We had a lovely dinner and a lovely bottle of champagne.

This year, I got some wonderful presents. John got me two knitting books, a couple of New Zealand books, and wine from our favorite winery in Italy. The wine took some research because it is not easily available here. We got it easily in Dublin, but here, not available because it is a small cooperative of growers. Anyway, he did his research and found a place in the area that could order it and made it happen. It also just so happened that the wine was from the year that we went to the Italian Alps and saw the winery! The day after my birthday, I made a nice dinner and we enjoyed some wine in the Waterford wine glasses my parents gave us as a wedding present.

John's sisters were also good to me. One sister got me a chocolate cookbook. Another got me a gift basket of fruit English Muffins, coffee, and and jam. We are enjoying it a lot.

So, all in all, it was a lovely day. :)

Just what I needed

Since we moved back, J and I have been trying to schedule a weekend together. Well, yesterday, I took the train up to see her. I decided to take the train because it was only an hour (versus an hour and a half drive) and it was close to the price of driving, and I could knit on the train, so it was an easy decision for me.

Anyway, I got up to where J lives yesterday afternoon and neither of us had eaten, so we settled in, J walked her dog, and then walked to get some late lunch/early dinner. We headed a restaurant on the river, didn't get service, and headed inside. We had good food, a bit of conversation and then back to her house. We were both exhausted so she made cookies and we just hung out the rest of the night and went to bed early.

Today, we got up, went swimming and relaxed in the hot tub, and then went to brunch. After brunch, we hung out on the roof top terrace of the building until it was time for me to head back home. All in all, it was a very relaxing girly weekend, just what I think we both needed.