Disappointed

This post will probably be boring for most people but I wanted to write it for my own records. :)

So a couple of weekends ago I was supposed to go to Richmond. I've lived in Virginia for 15 years and I've never been to the capitol of the state. Back in July, I had decided it was about time that I made a visit to Richmond. 

I bought train tickets to get me there and back. I booked a hotel. I did research and made an itinerary that I was excited about. I was going to arrive early on a Saturday morning and then return home Sunday evening.

But a couple of weeks before the trip, my right leg started giving me issues. Once it started hurting, I was really careful with my leg and was trying to do what I could to help it feel better. I hoped that it would feel better by the time my trip came along. 

The week before my trip, I still had hope that I could go even with my hurt leg. I debated with myself so much that week whether or not it was wise for me to go. Even after looking up the weather for that weekend, I still thought I would go. (It said that it was going to rain starting Saturday evening and all day Sunday because of a hurricane in the Atlantic.) 

Finally two days before I was supposed to go, I decided not to go. I was so disappointed. I was really looking forward to going to Richmond.  

In the end, though, I think it was best that I didn't go. My leg is still not better and I think that going on the trip would have made it worse. But it was still disappointing at the time though.

Thankfully, I had booked a flexible hotel reservation so I was able to cancel my hotel with no penalty. I also was able to cancel my train tickets and get a refund. Basically I only ended up losing $12 for a museum ticket that I needed to buy in advance.

I guess I tell this story because sometimes plans change and it can be disappointing. But in the end it will be okay, even if it's hard at the moment. 

Also as an aside, I am going to the doctor next week to have them examine it and see what they can tell me.

Woodlawn and Pope-Leighey House

Ever since I've visited Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob in Pennsylvania a couple of years ago, I've had a desire to visit his house in Alexandria. You can read about my trip to Pennsylvania, if you click here.

When I was looking up the Pope-Leighey House in Alexandria, another house tour came up too, Woodlawn.

Woodlawn is a historical house completed in 1805 where the nephew of George Washington lived and is close to Mount Vernon (where George Washington lived). Back in the day when there were no trees, you could actually see Mount Vernon from Woodlawn. The first tour we took was of Woodlawn. Then we walked to Frank Lloyd Wright's Pope-Leighey house. 

Woodlawn was first occupied by Major Lawrence Lewis (nephew of George Washington) and his wife Eleanor Custis Lewis. 

What a pretty entryway of Woodlawn!

I liked this bed!

And this one too!

 

I'm glad Rachel could join me on this little field trip!

A small exhibit in Woodlawn. Lawrence and Eleanor's son eventually sold Woodlawn to some Quaker families.

Look at this very intricate quilt made by some Quakers. 

Hopefully you can zoom in on the sign and learn a little more about the quilt. 

There is a lot of history at Woodlawn but I will not go into it all here, but it was an interesting tour and I'm glad to have learned about it. 

After the Woodlawn tour, Rachel and I walked to the Pope-Leighey house. This house was originally in Falls Church but was moved to the Woodlawn property in Alexandria to prevent it from being destroyed (I'll talk more about this later in the post). 

When I first saw this house, it immediately reminded me of the other houses I've seen of his. It is definitely Frank Lloyd Wright style. 

I liked the designs of these windows and it reminded me of Kentuck Knob. 

This house is only 1200 square feet. Loren and Charlotte Pope had the home built but they did not have a very big budget so it challenged Wright to make a more modest sized home. Eventually, the Pope's sold the house to Robert and Marjorie Leighey. 

At some point the house was going to be destroyed in order to build a portion of I-66. But Marjorie Leighey did not want that to happen so she brought it to the attention of higher up people in hopes of them wanting to help save the house too. Marjorie was successful in her plan and the house was moved to Alexandria.

I loved the built in shelves in the living area and the lighting from all of the windows!

Other tour participants listening to the tour guide talk about the house!

The dining room!

A view of the living area from the dining room. 

This was in the office! Look at all of those windows.

 

The kids bedroom!

I liked these built in shelves in the kids bedroom right when you entered the room.

The primary bedroom!

The other wall of the primary bedroom! 

The kitchen! Our tour guide said Wright clearly must not have worked in a kitchen much because the way he designed them was not very functional.

The front door of the Pope-Leighey house. 

I am glad I was able to visit Woodlawn and Frank Lloyd Wright's Pope-Leighey house and learn some history about both!

Randomness

This year has been a bit of a stressful year. I feel like I haven't been able to get out and do as much stuff as I normally do. The move consumed so many months of the year (or at least it seemed that way) and now I have a leg injury...that it's been a little rough.

Below are some pictures of various things in my life that I wanted to share. 

I like to go on walks as much as possible. This was a time I went a slightly different route and found a nice trail back in August.

My nephew, L, graduated from high school this year and is now at a university in Idaho. I visited him before he flew to Idaho to start his next new adventure. 

Can I just say how crazy it is to see my nieces and nephews grow up so fast?!

I have more pictures than I'd like to admit of Ash on my phone. :)

My friends and I had a small gathering last month where we brought photos of ourselves as children and showed them to each other. It was fun to see what we all looked liked as kids and to see if we still look the same now. :)

I like this photo of me on a random Sunday morning. 
 

I've been having issues with my right knee. It sucks because I can't walk normally because of it. It's been very discouraging, but I've been trying to do what I can to help it feel better.

One Friday night earlier this month I went with some friends to see a show at National Theatre in downtown D.C. I went in with zero expectations and ended up enjoying it! It was cute and funny and the performers were excellent!

The friends I saw Maybe Happy Ending with.

I hope you all are having a nice autumn time!

Goodreads

I like to read books. I also like to keep track of the books I've read. I have a spreadsheet with the books I've read but I also like to keep track on Goodreads (for the connections with friends on there). 

I've used Goodreads for years even though I've had one big issue with them. They have never had the capability to rate a book with 1/2 stars. I even wrote an email to Goodreads years ago asking if they'd ever add 1/2 stars. They said no. That has always annoyed me but I kept on using them anyway. So whenever I have a book that I thought was 3.5 stars (let's say), I would rate it 3 stars and then write in a review 3.5 stars.

But this week, Goodreads FINALLY added 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 stars!!! I think they got enough complaints from their users that they gave in. For some reason when I saw the news about it, I was so happy! 

It's about time they got up with the times. 🤣 (I know there are multiple other book tracking apps that already have that capability). 

And I have now gone back and re-rated the books that I had with half stars with the half stars. Yay!

Do you use Goodreads, another app, or a spreadsheet (or something similar) to keep track of the books you've read (or maybe you don't keep track at all)?

If you're a reader, I hope you have lots of happy reading time!

Dad

Even though these pictures are from last month, I wanted to get them posted here on my blog.

It's been four years since my dad died. My family and I do something every year on Dad's birthday in memory of him. We usually end up going to Taco Bell because Dad loved Taco Bell. This year was no exception.

All of my siblings, my mom and I went to Taco Bell (where ever we live) on Dad's birthday. Below are the pictures of us eating our Taco Bell in our respective home states. 

Me in VA!

My Taco Bell meal!

Mom, Nate and Heather at Dad's grave in UT!

Lara, Glen, Adam and Tia in UT!

Kristina and Tom and kiddos in CA!

Peter didn't get a selfie but he did go to Taco Bell in VA!

Matt and Karey's kiddos in MD!

Matt and A in MD!

Tim in VA!

Dad and Mom on a Japan/Alaska cruise in 2018. 

I will forever be grateful for my Dad and all that he and Mom taught me growing up. They helped me to become the person I am today. I miss you Dad. 

Ice Cream

Can I just say I can't believe it's almost September?! Sometimes I'm just amazed at how fast time flies. Summer is almost over. Crazy! 

For a tribute to almost end of summer, I feel like sharing some of my favorite ice cream flavors. I love ice cream and I've found some go to flavors over the years!

I keep a list on my phone of the ones I've tried and the rating I give them. All of the ones I name in this post are the ones I've given 10/10 stars. 

Ben and Jerry's

Milk and Cookies

Americone Dream

Dairy Queen

S'mores blizzard

Royal Reese's Fluffernutter blizzard

Oreo Hot Cocoa blizzard

Jeni's

Brambleberry Crisp

Bruster's 

White Raspberry Truffle

Key Lime Pie

Cinnamon

Deep Dish Apple Pie

Rita's Italian Ice

Blendini with Key Lime Italian Ice, vanilla custard, and pie chips mix

Blendini with Grape (Nerds) Italian Ice, vanilla custard and Nerds mix

I hope you all have had a good summer!

What are your favorite ice cream flavors? Which one should I try next?

Haircut!

My sister, H, has become my official hair cutter. Since H lives in Utah and I live in Virginia, I only get my hair cut every couple of years. I do see H almost every year, but I just don't always need a haircut when I see her.

 I desperately needed a haircut this time around.

My hair had gotten quite long, but I felt like the ends weren't so great. 

Before the haircut.

After the haircut.

 

My hair straightened after my haircut!

I like my haircut and I feel like my hair looks healthier now. Thanks H for cutting my hair!