In Which I Catch Up (Part III)
Hunting, hunting, and more hunting; holiday parties, and more.
Hunting Week, November 21-27th, 2011
After a sleepless night Will and I woke up at 4 am, got dressed in our fancy new duds, and drove back to the farm. We loaded our guns, walked up the old road into the forest together in the dark but for our headlamps, bid each other farewell, and headed to our spots. It was overcast out, but on the warm side, and I walked through the woods in complete darkness. I'd never walked through the woods alone before and felt pricks of irrational fear that I couldn't entirely banish, but I was greatly comforted by the fact that I was carrying a high-powered hunting rifle with a bullet in the chamber and four more in the clip.
I settled against a tree when it was still completely dark, and over the next few hours I got to watch the pure magic of the sky lightening just a little in the east, the forest taking shape around me, the hollow below me fill with fog, and then a red, cloudy dawn. There was never really a sunrise, but the morning came, and snug against my tree I watched two fawns for several hours eat and eventually lay down right below me. I heard a buck walking and snorting behind me and even saw him (a spike buck) reflected in the glass of my scope. Eventually at around 10:00 I walked up to join Will (the fawns lept us and ran away when I stepped away from the tree) and then we joined Rod and granddad along the road. As we were walking down toward the gate a 6 or 8 point buck chasing a doe crashed down over the ridge into the flat right next to us, and Rod shot at him. He staggered, Rod shot again, and then he ran off over the ridge. We waited a while, but then it started raining hard, and when we came up to the blood trail it melted away on the leaves before our eyes.
Rodney and I walked around on the 20 and out to Riddle, and the rest of the day was spent doing a few other drives before we all settled in for the evening. I sat about where I'd shot my deer last year but only saw a few deer running past in the distance. We had a good supper and headed back to Annapolis to go to work on Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Thursday we slept in, took a walk around the town in the warm sunshine, and then headed lazily up to my grandmother's to help set up the dining room for dinner. We feasted, cleaned up, and then drove up to WV, where we got ready for bed and more hunting.
Friday and Saturday were warm and clear - long days spent getting up early, returning home for a nap at mid-day, and then going back out. I saw plenty of deer but didn't have any shots I liked at deer of a decent size, except for one doe up on the Little Ridge at dusk on Friday - I pointed my gun at her, pulled the trigger, and the reload my grandfather had given me jammed. The noise of racking the slide to get the bullet out startled her, and she ran off into the gathering darkness. I cursed my luck and vowed never to use my grandfather's reloads again.
On Saturday Will got his first doe in the evening, hunting from Bill's treestand. He shot her through the liver. I helped him drag her back to the car and load her into the trunk of our Effete Liberal Toyota Matrix. Despite putting a tarp down we got a little blood on the carpet on the drive to Grandad's. Grandad congratulated Will and took us to Kurt Mong the butcher, paying for the processing and buying us two pounds of fresh pork sausage to celebrate. We returned grandad his gun, packed our things, said goodbye to my parents and grandparents, and headed to NoVA to spend the night with Will's parents.
Sunday morning we went to church and once in the parking lot discovered a blood stain on the bumper of Will's car. Whups... that afternoon we had a belated Thanksgiving dinner with Will's parents and then returned home, having had a very satisfying week.
Saturday, December 3: We'd headed up to WV after work on Friday and spent Saturday hunting for squirrels in the morning - I got a tasty, fat fox squirrel - and deer in the evening, before returning back to Annapolis. On the way back we stopped for a treat - a burger at Roy Rogers in Frederick, and picked up a few things from a halal butcher and Pakistani grocery store.
Sunday, December 4: That evening we had our parents, grandmom J, and my brother over for a nice dinner. Will made piccadilla with rice and fried eggs, served with a salad of greens. Will's parents brought bread, and my mom brought a delicious bread pudding for dessert. The table looked lovely set in china and silver again.
Thursday, December 8-Saturday, December 10: Alexandra arrived from California that evening and was feted by us by staying up late to talk and eat - business as usual.
On Friday the lecture was the Symposium that Alexandra had helped translate and stage, and after having an appropriate glass of wine beforehand we all trooped over with her to watch it. Despite some serious last-minute problems it was magnificent - funny, well-staged, well-cast, and thoughtful. Alexandra was well-congratulated, along with the rest of the production.
We stayed up until 4 am Saturday and finally collapsed in bed to let Alexandra get ready to go to BWI at 5. After sleeping in and taking a long walk around town on a warm winter day to buy gifts Will and I put on our fancy duds and headed over to help MF run her annual big holiday party for the Eastport Parade of Lights. Once again we kept the wine flowing, the food platters full, the trash cans clean, and the place neat, and in between bouts of work we hob nobbed with our old friends in Annapolis society, who were delighted to find us married, living on Market Street, and well-employed. At the end of the night we relaxed with MF's date, an ex-Congressman, and talked about the civil war. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and we were well paid to boot. The best way to learn how to entertain like a rich person is to run rich people's parties for them for practice.
Sunday, December 9 - After going to church Will and I were joined by my mother, who drove us around to clip bits of trees and then helped us decorate the house with greenery. I made garlands of arbor vitae boughs to drape on the porch rail with branches of holly berries tucked above and clumps of magnolia leaves tied on each drape, which looked lovely. We bought a swag to go over the door. Inside I made another arbor vitae and holly garland to hang on the bannister, and I decorated it with bows, lights, and a bag of golden ornament balls I'd gotten from the Lutheran Mission Society for $3. I put a garland over the dining room lintel, put miniature pointsettias from TJs on the table, plugged the Christmas bannister lights in, and admired the effect. Classy, cheap, and quick. That evening I made spicy kofta curry venison meatballs for dinner.
Monday, December 10 - After madrigal choir practice I hoofed it back to the Archives for the staff holiday party, snagging the last of my meatballs - apparently people weren't that horrified at eating venison; the pot was empty by the end of the meal. I got a rather nice calender (to give to my grandparents) at the White Elephant.
Tuesday, December 11 - Collegium was at 7, with Madrigal Choir up first. I think we sang well - I certainly had fun learning the songs we did, two tunes from Archbishop Parker's Psalter and Palestrina's "Nigra sum sed formosa" (with a killer tenor opening!). After intermission I stayed to hear Primum Mobile and then skipped out to Harry Browne's for a beer with my housemate Will, Eric, and the newly-moved in Jonathan. I returned to St John's for the carol sing and a little of the dance before returning home, happy and full of the joy of the season. Mr Creighton had sung Green Grow the Rushes O, and now it was Advent.
Wednesday, December 14 - At the Folger I was invited to the LoC conservation lab's Christmas party, which was Hawaaian themed and delicious, and then after work I drove up to Myron's and we headed up to the Wharf Rat for the chanty sing. I sewed button holes, squeaked out Come Take a Trip in My Airship, and enjoyed the decor and atmosphere - of all the buildings the chanties take place in it's my absolute favorite.
Thursday, December 15 - Again, a late day - I stayed for the Guild of Book Workers' holiday party and caught the last bus home. But there was lots of tasty food! I stopped by Back Creek Books on the walk home and bought Will his Christmas gift.
Saturday, December 17 and Sunday, December 18th - I forgot Will's birthday so I snuck out of the house to the antique stores and got him a Victorian ruby and gold tie pin, and a vintage black shell cufflink and stud set in the original box. I felt like a good girlfriend.
That evening we went into DC for Ben and Maxine's party, where we saw Ali Schwab, along with a host of other Johnnies. We left early with Eric and Kristin to go to Ben and Alex's solstice party in NoVA, which was a lot of fun. We had lunch with Will's parents on Sunday and then headed home to go to the gym and wrap Christmas gifts.
I made gift bags out of Trader Joe's paper bags that were winter-patterned, and wrapped gifts with a roll of Christmas wrapping paper I found in the basement. For my Archives coworkers I made individual gifts:
-a purse filled with a wooden box and a pill box, both filled with tiny figures, sea shells, and jewelry pendants.
-gourmet teas and chocolates
-a necklace with an oyster shell hanging from it
I gave most of my Folger coworkers homemade bags with chocolates in them, except for Christina, who got tea.
Monday, December 19: eye doctor appointments to get new every-day and sunglasses.
Tuesday, December 20 - gave my Archives coworkers their gifts. That evening was the Open Path office party at their brand new office near the mall. Fancy food, the Johnnies and older people were nicely dressed while Will's other coworkers were rather more casual, and a live swing band as usual. We danced, talked, and had a good time.
Wednesday, December 21 - gave my Folger coworkers their gifts, and went to dinner for my uncle and dad in Rockville.
Friday, December 23 - I had the day off work and used it to spend the day with a friend. That evening I headed back to Annapolis to help Will host our holiday party - a small affair of a few friends and good conversation that went on into the small hours of the night.
Saturday, December 24 - one of our characteristic big breakfasts of pancakes, eggs, and pork sausage with our friends, and then a quiet afternoon. That evening Will and I drove down to Bernie's for Wisiglia dinner and hung out with that side of the family and ate lots of pierogies and borscht. We went to midnight mass at St Anne's (nice, but it felt really generic and blah - it was the first time I hadn't been in a Catholic church on Christmas eve in possibly ever and was too tasteful by half - none of that slightly dorky Catholicness) and happily went to bed.
Hunting Week, November 21-27th, 2011
After a sleepless night Will and I woke up at 4 am, got dressed in our fancy new duds, and drove back to the farm. We loaded our guns, walked up the old road into the forest together in the dark but for our headlamps, bid each other farewell, and headed to our spots. It was overcast out, but on the warm side, and I walked through the woods in complete darkness. I'd never walked through the woods alone before and felt pricks of irrational fear that I couldn't entirely banish, but I was greatly comforted by the fact that I was carrying a high-powered hunting rifle with a bullet in the chamber and four more in the clip.
I settled against a tree when it was still completely dark, and over the next few hours I got to watch the pure magic of the sky lightening just a little in the east, the forest taking shape around me, the hollow below me fill with fog, and then a red, cloudy dawn. There was never really a sunrise, but the morning came, and snug against my tree I watched two fawns for several hours eat and eventually lay down right below me. I heard a buck walking and snorting behind me and even saw him (a spike buck) reflected in the glass of my scope. Eventually at around 10:00 I walked up to join Will (the fawns lept us and ran away when I stepped away from the tree) and then we joined Rod and granddad along the road. As we were walking down toward the gate a 6 or 8 point buck chasing a doe crashed down over the ridge into the flat right next to us, and Rod shot at him. He staggered, Rod shot again, and then he ran off over the ridge. We waited a while, but then it started raining hard, and when we came up to the blood trail it melted away on the leaves before our eyes.
Rodney and I walked around on the 20 and out to Riddle, and the rest of the day was spent doing a few other drives before we all settled in for the evening. I sat about where I'd shot my deer last year but only saw a few deer running past in the distance. We had a good supper and headed back to Annapolis to go to work on Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Thursday we slept in, took a walk around the town in the warm sunshine, and then headed lazily up to my grandmother's to help set up the dining room for dinner. We feasted, cleaned up, and then drove up to WV, where we got ready for bed and more hunting.
Friday and Saturday were warm and clear - long days spent getting up early, returning home for a nap at mid-day, and then going back out. I saw plenty of deer but didn't have any shots I liked at deer of a decent size, except for one doe up on the Little Ridge at dusk on Friday - I pointed my gun at her, pulled the trigger, and the reload my grandfather had given me jammed. The noise of racking the slide to get the bullet out startled her, and she ran off into the gathering darkness. I cursed my luck and vowed never to use my grandfather's reloads again.
On Saturday Will got his first doe in the evening, hunting from Bill's treestand. He shot her through the liver. I helped him drag her back to the car and load her into the trunk of our Effete Liberal Toyota Matrix. Despite putting a tarp down we got a little blood on the carpet on the drive to Grandad's. Grandad congratulated Will and took us to Kurt Mong the butcher, paying for the processing and buying us two pounds of fresh pork sausage to celebrate. We returned grandad his gun, packed our things, said goodbye to my parents and grandparents, and headed to NoVA to spend the night with Will's parents.
Sunday morning we went to church and once in the parking lot discovered a blood stain on the bumper of Will's car. Whups... that afternoon we had a belated Thanksgiving dinner with Will's parents and then returned home, having had a very satisfying week.
Saturday, December 3: We'd headed up to WV after work on Friday and spent Saturday hunting for squirrels in the morning - I got a tasty, fat fox squirrel - and deer in the evening, before returning back to Annapolis. On the way back we stopped for a treat - a burger at Roy Rogers in Frederick, and picked up a few things from a halal butcher and Pakistani grocery store.
Sunday, December 4: That evening we had our parents, grandmom J, and my brother over for a nice dinner. Will made piccadilla with rice and fried eggs, served with a salad of greens. Will's parents brought bread, and my mom brought a delicious bread pudding for dessert. The table looked lovely set in china and silver again.
Thursday, December 8-Saturday, December 10: Alexandra arrived from California that evening and was feted by us by staying up late to talk and eat - business as usual.
On Friday the lecture was the Symposium that Alexandra had helped translate and stage, and after having an appropriate glass of wine beforehand we all trooped over with her to watch it. Despite some serious last-minute problems it was magnificent - funny, well-staged, well-cast, and thoughtful. Alexandra was well-congratulated, along with the rest of the production.
We stayed up until 4 am Saturday and finally collapsed in bed to let Alexandra get ready to go to BWI at 5. After sleeping in and taking a long walk around town on a warm winter day to buy gifts Will and I put on our fancy duds and headed over to help MF run her annual big holiday party for the Eastport Parade of Lights. Once again we kept the wine flowing, the food platters full, the trash cans clean, and the place neat, and in between bouts of work we hob nobbed with our old friends in Annapolis society, who were delighted to find us married, living on Market Street, and well-employed. At the end of the night we relaxed with MF's date, an ex-Congressman, and talked about the civil war. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and we were well paid to boot. The best way to learn how to entertain like a rich person is to run rich people's parties for them for practice.
Sunday, December 9 - After going to church Will and I were joined by my mother, who drove us around to clip bits of trees and then helped us decorate the house with greenery. I made garlands of arbor vitae boughs to drape on the porch rail with branches of holly berries tucked above and clumps of magnolia leaves tied on each drape, which looked lovely. We bought a swag to go over the door. Inside I made another arbor vitae and holly garland to hang on the bannister, and I decorated it with bows, lights, and a bag of golden ornament balls I'd gotten from the Lutheran Mission Society for $3. I put a garland over the dining room lintel, put miniature pointsettias from TJs on the table, plugged the Christmas bannister lights in, and admired the effect. Classy, cheap, and quick. That evening I made spicy kofta curry venison meatballs for dinner.
Monday, December 10 - After madrigal choir practice I hoofed it back to the Archives for the staff holiday party, snagging the last of my meatballs - apparently people weren't that horrified at eating venison; the pot was empty by the end of the meal. I got a rather nice calender (to give to my grandparents) at the White Elephant.
Tuesday, December 11 - Collegium was at 7, with Madrigal Choir up first. I think we sang well - I certainly had fun learning the songs we did, two tunes from Archbishop Parker's Psalter and Palestrina's "Nigra sum sed formosa" (with a killer tenor opening!). After intermission I stayed to hear Primum Mobile and then skipped out to Harry Browne's for a beer with my housemate Will, Eric, and the newly-moved in Jonathan. I returned to St John's for the carol sing and a little of the dance before returning home, happy and full of the joy of the season. Mr Creighton had sung Green Grow the Rushes O, and now it was Advent.
Wednesday, December 14 - At the Folger I was invited to the LoC conservation lab's Christmas party, which was Hawaaian themed and delicious, and then after work I drove up to Myron's and we headed up to the Wharf Rat for the chanty sing. I sewed button holes, squeaked out Come Take a Trip in My Airship, and enjoyed the decor and atmosphere - of all the buildings the chanties take place in it's my absolute favorite.
Thursday, December 15 - Again, a late day - I stayed for the Guild of Book Workers' holiday party and caught the last bus home. But there was lots of tasty food! I stopped by Back Creek Books on the walk home and bought Will his Christmas gift.
Saturday, December 17 and Sunday, December 18th - I forgot Will's birthday so I snuck out of the house to the antique stores and got him a Victorian ruby and gold tie pin, and a vintage black shell cufflink and stud set in the original box. I felt like a good girlfriend.
That evening we went into DC for Ben and Maxine's party, where we saw Ali Schwab, along with a host of other Johnnies. We left early with Eric and Kristin to go to Ben and Alex's solstice party in NoVA, which was a lot of fun. We had lunch with Will's parents on Sunday and then headed home to go to the gym and wrap Christmas gifts.
I made gift bags out of Trader Joe's paper bags that were winter-patterned, and wrapped gifts with a roll of Christmas wrapping paper I found in the basement. For my Archives coworkers I made individual gifts:
-a purse filled with a wooden box and a pill box, both filled with tiny figures, sea shells, and jewelry pendants.
-gourmet teas and chocolates
-a necklace with an oyster shell hanging from it
I gave most of my Folger coworkers homemade bags with chocolates in them, except for Christina, who got tea.
Monday, December 19: eye doctor appointments to get new every-day and sunglasses.
Tuesday, December 20 - gave my Archives coworkers their gifts. That evening was the Open Path office party at their brand new office near the mall. Fancy food, the Johnnies and older people were nicely dressed while Will's other coworkers were rather more casual, and a live swing band as usual. We danced, talked, and had a good time.
Wednesday, December 21 - gave my Folger coworkers their gifts, and went to dinner for my uncle and dad in Rockville.
Friday, December 23 - I had the day off work and used it to spend the day with a friend. That evening I headed back to Annapolis to help Will host our holiday party - a small affair of a few friends and good conversation that went on into the small hours of the night.
Saturday, December 24 - one of our characteristic big breakfasts of pancakes, eggs, and pork sausage with our friends, and then a quiet afternoon. That evening Will and I drove down to Bernie's for Wisiglia dinner and hung out with that side of the family and ate lots of pierogies and borscht. We went to midnight mass at St Anne's (nice, but it felt really generic and blah - it was the first time I hadn't been in a Catholic church on Christmas eve in possibly ever and was too tasteful by half - none of that slightly dorky Catholicness) and happily went to bed.