Sunday dinner

It's been awhile since I've cooked (or attended, for that matter) a Sunday dinner. I went all out - a roast chicken (which christened my new stoneware baking dish), rice, vegetables, and fruit with crumb topping.

I've figured out why I don't do the Sunday dinner thing all that often, too. The dishes. My kitchen looks like someone had a nervous breakdown in it. It's a tiny kitchen, though. One dish out of place makes the whole room look cluttered. Maybe if I had a bigger kitchen, I'd cook more.

museum recommendation

I took Mom and Steve to the National Museum of the American Indian (http://www.nmai.si.edu/) today. I liked the look of the building - it's fairly new, but it looks like rough stone that's been shaped by the elements for thousands of years. It's hard to believe that the DC area was once wetlands.

It's a huge building - four stories, spacious and well lit inside, though most of the light is coming from outside.

We were clever and decided to start at the top floor and work our way down. Each of the exhibit rooms has smaller circular sections packed with artifacts - clothes, pottery, blankets, headdresses, jewelry, art. Some rooms have TVs playing mini-documentaries on a continuous loop. It's almost sensory overload.

I've read that the museum received an overwhelming number of donations from tribes all across the country and down into South America. Conversely, the museum acquired pieces that tribes had lost years, and even centuries, ago, and amazingly, gave the pieces back to the tribes.

My favorite room had walls that were painted to look like clouds. In the center of the room, there was a low altar made of walking staffs, and stones and hats and feathers, all lying on a large red cloth. There were several flat-screen TVs on the walls, each showing images with narration. The voice of the narrator was hypnotic - he spoke clearly, but softly. He talked about Christianity, children, the weather, spirits, war.

We came out of the building a bit dazed and just in time for a quick downpour. I'll definitely go back.

new day, new job

Not only was there a birthday to be had this past week, but a new job title to take on as well. I went from Medical Editor to Medical Writer, and I even got a little pay raise with it too, which I wasn't expecting. I've dabbled in writing medical stuff, now it's time to jump in entirely. I'm looking forward to learning instead of teaching for a change.

party on the farm

Mary Jo and Buck hosted the family reunion/triple birthday party. Not only am I 30 this month, but Valerie turned 40 in April, and Dad will be 50 in June. Reason enough to celebrate, and with five cakes, no less. Ty and Joe took turns singing karaoke - Ty had his cowboy hat on and kept checking himself out in the window reflection. Joe kept his non-mic hand in his pocket - visions of a country-singing cousins duo appear in my head. A little girl who I think belongs to one of my cousins-that-I-don't-know-well was toting around one of the barn cats. The cat was taking it mightly well, though when it managed to finally get away from her, it looked exhausted and not a little irritated.

Val made me wear a princess crown all day. Buck barbequed everything in sight. Lots of pictures were taken, and I hope I get to see them.

"...like my head against a board"

We wandered around wine country today. It might be a bit of a surprise to some that Ohio even has wine country. It happens to be mixed up with bits of Amish country too, but we were definitely in it for the wine. I had some ice wine at one very-dim-inside place. I can't figure out why it's so popular. It was like drinking really sugary syrup with alcohol in it. The bottle was pretty though - very thin and made of frosty glass. My favorite winery was the converted church. The pews were set up back to back, with tables in between sets of pews. I made friends with the owners' long-haired German shepard. She had rust-colored eyes and was quite at home with everyone.

At lunch, Karen surprised me with a birthday cake, which unfortunately I couldn't eat, owing to the gluten allergy, of which she was unaware. I felt bad about that. Everyone else seemed to enjoy the cake though.

driving with Mom

I'm actually taking a vacation. I hardly ever do that - I feel guilty not being at work, and I cringe at the thought of what will pile up on my desk while I am away. However, it is my 30th birthday weekend, and that calls for some time away from the office.

Mom and Steve came all the way from Australia for my birthday. We drove up to Ohio today in a white mini-van. We were supposed to get a regular car, but due to the Preakness weekend, the rental place was out of the cars we had reserved. This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode in which Jerry is puzzled as to why the car he reserved isn't at the rental place - I now fully understand his sentiments.

We had a good time driving up. I did most of the driving, though I felt alarmingly like a soccer mom in the mini-van. It gives one a feeling of foreboding. We listened to part of the fifth Harry Potter book on CD, and we had packed the usual water and fruit and also dark chocolate, which I find more and more comforting on these little jaunts. We are also toting two birthday cakes, one of which is gluten-free, so that I can eat it and not regret it. Mom and Steve are fun to travel with, if nothing else than to listen to their banter. Mom tends to call Steve "Mr. Cameron" like in Jane Austen novels.

The trip up to Ohio doesn't seem as long as I remember from our summer trips when I was a kid (sometimes in an un-air conditioned vehicle with plastic seats). It used to take eight hours, and now it takes about six, which I suppose one can attribute to road construction and increased speed limits and fewer bathroom breaks. I love driving through the mountains in Pennsylvania. Being a suburbs girl, I don't often get to see that kind of as-far-as-the-eye-can-see picturesque scenery of trees and towns tucked in valleys and open space.

So I will be 30 in two days - a prospect I find only slightly alarming, as opposed to downright terrifying. I think I have accomplished a fair amount, though I have a bit of a nagging feeling that "I should have done more by now." I'm not certain what "more" is yet. I suppose I should take this 30th year to find out.