How awesome is this? “Where The Wild Things Are” was totally my favorite book back when I was a kid. Sure it was one of those alternative meaning types of books, but it was still good. We are going to have to put this on our movie list.
We did it. We really did it. For the first time in our lives, we didn’t exchange Christmas gifts. It was a bold (and more difficult than expected) move, but one that we thought we needed to do.
If you haven’t noticed, the exchanging of Christmas gifts has…well, lost something throughout the years. I notice it more and more as time goes on. Throughout each year, we seem to take quite good care of ourselves, which leaves little to be desired towards the holiday seasons. Instead of falling into the cyclical trap again this year, we decided that it would be best to enjoy a relaxing evening together. No presents, no stress, no guilt. All we wanted was to go someplace nice for a quiet dinner to talk amongst ourselves.
That is exactly what we did.
Last night, I decided to make this one of those really long posts. When I woke up this morning, I felt the same way. There really is so much to write. As I sit now typing away, I think I am going to cut it short. The reason I am going to do this is because I have quite a few pictures, and I don’t really want to dilute my message; the message about our dinner. Perhaps I will discuss our trip through Southbury, Woodbury and Washington another day. I’ll still include the few photos I took of those areas in this post though.
Okay, so we took off around 4PM for our 6PM reservation at the Mayflower Inn in Washington, CT. Washington, CT is probably most famous for the Mayflower Inn and the Gunnery. The Gunnery is a private 9-12 private school and is located across the street from the Mayflower. When I look at the area on Live Maps, I always confuse the two, because of the similar architecture of their main buildings.
The ride was pretty non-eventful getting out of the Hartford area. One thing I did notice was a ski mountain that I never knew existed. It’s right next to where 691 intersects with Interstate 84. I’ll have to find out the name to that one. We made it through Waterbury and got off the Southbury (Rt.6) exit.
Now, this drives Laura absolutely nuts. A long time ago, we drove over to Southbury, CT to check out a motorcycle I thought I wanted to buy. It was dark outside, but the location has been festering in my mind ever since. The area was really nice and I wouldn’t mind seeing it again. We drove around a bit last night, but I could tell that I was boring my lady, so I stopped the search. This all happened on our way back, so we were probably more interested in getting one the highway anyway.
Either way, the Southbury, Woodbury, Washington area is really fun to drive through. Woodbury is antique central and offers those great sidewalks that sit back from the road. It’s a great walking town and is truly New England. It sort of reminds me of Ridgefield, CT. Washington is situated so far back in the woods, it actually hard to find. If you are wealthy and privacy is your middle name, Washington is your town.
We have been to Washington many times, but have never taken Washington Road from Woodbury to get there. Let me tell you, it was quite the trip. At one point, I didn’t think the mountain we were climbing would ever end. It doesn’t matter which way you get there (from New Milford, Brookfield, New Preston or Woodbury), you are bound to drive through some pretty tight roads. The darkness of winter doesn’t help much. The good part about the trip is that when you finally arrive, it is usually a pleasant surprise. It never gets old and there is always something new to discover.
We pulled in the parking lot of the Mayflower Inn at about 5:20PM. I snagged a sweet parking spot right up front and we climbed out of the car to head inside. The first thing I did once we got out of the car was to pull out the camera. I took a quick shot of the walkway going up to the spa.
Mayflower Inn walkway
What’s very nice about the Mayflower is the service. I don’t think we have ever been there and haven’t had the front door opened for us. Although, all of the “Hello”s, “Merry Christmas”s and “Can I get you something”s puts me a little on edge. It is really very welcoming, but being the home town boy that I am, I am just used to doing it myself. It’s still hard for me to let anyone do anything for me, even if it is their job.
Since we were a bit early, we decided to head straight for the library. I mentioned my love for the library in one of my previous posts. I’m not sure what it is exactly, but I’m sure the fireplace, warm colors and cozy seat below the large window helps. I took a few pictures of it, since I knew you would be just dying to see what I am talking about.
Mayflower Inn library
My favorite seat - under the window
Me, looking all spiffy
Looking in the library from the porch
Mayflower Inn library
It felt great to relax in there for a little while. The best part was that no one in the entire inn came into the library when we were there, before and after dinner.
After checking out some books for a few minutes, we wandered over to the bar area, where we ordered a Samuel Adams Oatmeal Stout and a Victory Donnybrook Stout. I liked the Outmeal Stout, while Laura enjoyed the Victory Stout. That may have been because those are the ones we chose.
We sat and talked for a while and decided to do a little exploring. We got up and walked out to the porch. It’s a bit odd walking around on a completely heated porch in the middle of winter, but really cool at the same time. The inn encased the entire porch in double paned glass to keep it heated and cooled year round. There were tables and chairs set up for the entire span.
Mayflower Inn porch
Mayflower Inn porch
After we wandered around for a little while, I decided to go back up front to grab a few quick shots. Dinner was about to begin, so I had to put the camera away. Here is what I got.
Mayflower Inn lobby, staircase and Christmas tree
Room leading to the library
Mayflower Inn staircase and Christmas tree
Sitting and relaxing room
Okay, I got that out of the way, so we were ready for dinner. We walked in the to main dining room and sat at our usual table. It’s the one in the right, rear corner. During the day, you can look out the window at the garden. At night time, you face the seats so you are looking at the rest of the dining room.
I am not going to say much about dinner, except the fact that it was delicious. The only complaint that I had is that I couldn’t have another…everything. The dessert was especially annoying to finish. I kept scraping the plate with my spoon in an effort to get every last bit. It was good. It’s rare to find food that good, it really is.
About an hour and a half later, we left the dinging room to head back to the library. Once we got back in, Laura spent her time browsing the walls for some good books to flip through. My eyes kept wandering around to see how the fireplace worked and how everything was put together. At one point, I picked up a few books myself. I found a set of really neat books called, “The Historians’ History of the World.” These books were very thick and very ancient. By ancient, I mean 100 years, not a million. I decided that someone should buy me the set of these; they looked very interesting. It would make for some good bed-time reading.
If you’ll notice, I didn’t drink a glass of Scotch. That might be because I haven’t found my flavor yet or because I didn’t want to smell like a bottle of liquor while driving down the road. Either are good excuses.
After a while, we decided it was time to head up to Washington and take a little tour. We got in the car and made a right out of the parking lot. We made it to the top of the hill and didn’t see a soul. It’s a very quiet and well behaved town on Christmas night, I suppose. We made a quick left, when I thought we should turn around. As I was turning, I looked to my left and saw an enormous church. I had to take a picture of it, so you would see what I am talking about.
The First Congregational Church, Washington, CT
Now, this is a serious church. They aren’t messing around. This is like the “center of town” church. I thought it looked really cool, especially being that is was Christmas night.
We continued down the hill to pass the entrance to the Gunnery…
The Gunnery, Washington, CT
After that, we made a few wrong turns, but eventually made it back out to the main road.
I’m almost done, but there is one other photo I took that is pretty neat. On the way back, we passed by the Woodbury Ski Area. Now, you know me and I can’t pass up an opportunity to take a picture of something so lit up as this. Here is a shot of some night time skiing.
Woodbury Ski Area
Well, there aren’t many people skiing, but I am sure you can imagine what it would be like if there was.
That’s my Chirstmas post. I hope you liked it as much as we liked living it. Till next time…
A long, long time ago, a gift was given to me by my mother. Now, I know what you are thinking…sometimes “mother” gifts make too much sense. Many times, as kids, we receive needed things like clothes, tools or even food. I always did like the food. You know, the stuff I didn’t really eat the rest of the year?
Kids usually like bicycles and toys. I feel guilty every time I send my nieces and nephews a check in the mail, but the way I think about it is that one day they will appreciate the money more than the toy that is sitting up in the attic or in the garage. Yeah, someday…like the day they are looking through the Barron’s college book before their freshman year.
Back to the gift that was given to me, and really, this was one of my favorite gifts. It was the “The Chronicles of Narnia” book set, written by C. S. Lewis. The set consisted of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy, The Magician’s Nephew and The Last Battle.
I think I was a little older when I received the set, so the books made much more sense to me than if I had read them when I was younger. Actually, I think I did read them when I was younger, but forgot about them. See what I am talking about?
Like so many other fans of C.S. Lewis out there, I like the first book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the best…by far. The reason for this was the magic and mystery of it all. All of the books are fairly short, but the first one left many of us wondering about places like Narnia. It captivated the imagination.
The remaining books read much more like regular stories. It wasn’t like the TV show “Lost,” where the mystery remains throughout the entire series and is continuous, it was much more like Harry Potter, where each book (or movie) was each and unto their own.
Either way, I love the set and I always enjoy reading or watching anything that has to do with Narnia. For that reason, we recently sat down to watch the movie, Prince Caspian. I liked it so much, I thought I would give it a little review of it here.
Okay, I am going to give two ratings, one for what the movie is and one for what the movie could have been.
What the movie is – 10
What the movie could have been – 4
Let me explain.
This movie was really great. When I sat down on the couch and got comfortable, I was quite excited. When things began, I was stunned at how vivid the graphics were and how clear the picture was. The actual plot was good, but I already knew what happened from reading the book. The soundtrack was awesome. It had all the makings of something like “Lord of the Rings.” Well, at least it could have had the makings of that trilogy.
The reason I gave such a low second score is because I wish the makers of this movie explored a whole lot more. There were ample opportunities to do so.
Now, I know the rules…those who make the movie need to follow the book. There are probably negotiated guidelines to follow. I just think this movie had the chance to be made into something like a trilogy like the one I mentioned above. Half the movie could have been spent on the kids sitting in the train station and the other half could have been spent exploring the White Witch. These were areas that didn’t get very much attention at all.
About half way through this movie, I felt as though things were being rushed. There were parts where the creators could have really analyzed what was happening, but instead, they kinds of glossed over them. I don’t blame them because the show had to come to an end at some point, but I feel many important details weren’t appreciated.
Overall, I am not sure I can offer any suggestions to better the movie as it stands. I just wish there was more of it, and I guess that’s not such a bad thing.
I just wanted to let you know that I am now on CD 7, out of 8. These, of course, are the CDs that Laura got me for my birthday…the “Learn Spanish Behind the Wheel” ones.
I would probably guess that I am at the second year level. Now, I (me) am not at that level, but the CDs are. I am planning on finishing these up and then listening to them again. They are proving to be really good. I think I want to listen to as much as I can, and then start reading a Spanish textbook that Laura has on a shelf.
After that, I plan on becoming an interpreter.
I am almost finished with my second audiobook, “The Traveller” by John Twelve Hawks.
For some reason, the title of this book is spelled, “The Traveler” on Wikipedia, but the cover of the book has it spelled, “The Traveller.” Odd, isn’t it?
This audiobook started off kind of slowly. I was used to the other one I was listening to, which was all nature-like. This one was much darker and more wrapped in suspense. I have to say, it is coming along nicely. It has heated up quite a bit and I look forward to getting in the car. The audiobook has five CDs and I am on the fifth. I am hoping to have it finished by the end of my ride home from work today. Once this is finished, I am going to start learning Spanish while driving. I have the whole kit. This should be good. The only problem is that I have no one to practice on. I have to practice in order to maintain my Spanishness. I will have to figure that one out.
Ahhh…my first audio book. I don’t know how Laura finds these things, but she does.
I like to think of her sitting at her computer, very studiously analyzing and contemplating my psyche. “Who is Jay?” she would ask herself. “What makes this guy tick?” In actuality, she probably sees what is popular that day on Amazon, but we try not to think about that.
I can’t get over the clarity of the new stereo I installed in my car today. Just a moment ago, I walked outside, across the driveway to it. I sat down in the driver’s seat and turned the key. The radio came on so I could hear 95.5 WPLJ, down in the city. I changed the channel to 100.3 Z100. It’s remarkable how clear the radio receives the signal. My old one never did that.
I opened the package of the audio book, “Wandering Home – A Long Walk Across America’s Most Hopeful Landscape: Vermont’s Champlain Valley and New York’s Adirondacks,” by Bill McKibben. I really didn’t know what to expect. My mother has been raving about audiobooks ever since she lived back in my home town. I think they helped make her drive everyday to work in Danbury a little bit easier. She used to say, “My car can steer itself on the trip to work. That’s how used to it I am.” I think she really believed that at times. Well, when she told the story, she sounded very convincing.
I pushed the CD in the brand new slot. Everything is so shiny. The radio stopped and the CD started. A very faint, but clean guitar sound started. It got louder, and then a very soothing voice, that introduced himself as the author, Bill McKibben, began to speak. I though, “Ooh, this is going to be good. I listened for a few minutes and turned the key back, so the sound stopped. I didn’t want to ruin the first part of the story during a time when I wasn’t focusing on it. I turned the key forward, so the CD turned on again. Yup, it picked up right where it left off. This was going to work out fine.
So what’s the story about? Well, Bill’s website tells it like this…
“The acclaimed author of The End of Nature takes a three-week walk from his current home in Vermont to his former home in the Adirondacks and reflects on the deep hope he finds in the two landscapes.”
That’s not all, you can read the rest here.
As you can see, I am quite excited about using my frontal lobe even more than I currently am. It is going to be nice to break out of the mold of NPR and bad local radio. Yeah, it’s going to be nice.
I opened my birthday present early.
My mother emailed me a few days (or weeks) ago and told me that I should be receiving a box from Amazon. She told me not to open it, and I didn’t…until last night. I was so proud of myself too. I even called her up just to tell her that I didn’t open it.
The box was just looking at me. It was kind of like that box of donuts looking at Mickey from all the way up there on the counter. What am I…a robot? I have feelings. Of course I am going to open the box!!! I felt like this venue would be the best way to break the news to my mother. I am a horrible person.
Anyway, for some time now, I have been aware that I have not been using my frontal lobe. It is kind of like mush. This has been hindering my thought process and decision making. The lack of activity, I suspect, is due to my lack of reading and continued education. I am nowhere near the level I used to be. I even have trouble writing these days.
Good thing I opened my birthday present early. It was just in the nick of time. In the box, I found two very interesting books. The first one is a thick paperback entitled, “1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die.” I started reading this last night. It felt very good up there in my frontal lobe. I am not sure if it was from reading the book or the thirty push ups I did. Yeah, that’s right.
What’s interesting about this book is that the author, Patricia Schultz, grew up in Beacon, NY. She even mentions Walnut Street. I thought that was pretty cool, since I eat lunch in Beacon quite a bit.
I read the first few sections…right now, we are in Connecticut, somewhere near the Connecticut River. It seems like a very interesting book and it feels very good to sit on the couch and read.
The second book is entitled, “The World Without Us,” written by Alan Weisman. I haven’t read anything in this book yet, but I am sure it will be good. If my mother ordered it from Amazon, she surely read the reviews. That’s just the way she rolls.
Anyway, since I opened my present early, it might be a good idea to get me something else that I can open on my actual birthday. Ok, just think about it.
And finally, THANK YOU!!! The gift was very thoughtful. Also, don’t feel too bad, I opened Stephanie’s gift early too.
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TYSM I read this one and decided to try it out on my ACER (See, its not always HP with the problems)...