Big Adventure: happy long weekend to me!

I have the next five days off work!! I've got my first book club later today and then my friends Katie and Kallie from home are stopping here for a few days on their road trip cross country. It will be exciting to hang out with someone other than Keegan!
I gave my phone number to a girl from work so that we could maybe do something fun (like knit) outside of Para. So nerve wracking.

This past weekend Keegan had a really bad cold but that didn't stop us from doing fun things!

we went to the final Fridays After 5, and got some yummy pizza and gelato :))) many chins

snuck into the seated area! The band that was playing was super fun and Keegan's dad says they have been playing these shows since he went to UVA!

On Saturday we went to the farmers market which, luckily for us, will be continuing every weekend through December. It was pouring rain on and off, I of course, left the umbrella in the car because it was clear when we parked. As soon as we got there the skies opened up and we got drenched.

I got a mini pie to stay warm in the rain! The Pie Guy (http://www.thepieguy.org) has these food stands around- there's one in the Downtown Mall, one on UVA campus, and one comes to the farmer's market. There are lots of options, I got the Snakebite which is a green curry with veggies and chicken.

Y'all can have your pumpkin spice lattes and butternut squash pastas, I am holding on to peach season as hard as I can.

After the farmer's market we went to the C'ville Pride Festival which was in the park right next to the library (obviously I went in and got out 5 new books as well).

the view from inside the library

new shirt!

It was really fun to see a side of Charlottesville that I do not normally interact with aka the non-UVA side. I was excited to move away from Woods Hole and live in a place that was more diverse and interesting culturally. Nope. All I see all day long is rich preppy white kids. Not that they're not great in their own way, but I got my fill in high school. One of the only things I miss about Mount Holyoke is all the different people I saw every day. At the fest I saw a whole new side of the city!

Speaking of missing MoHo, I miss the safety (or perceived safety that I lived in). As a young woman, I really do not like men as a group in general. I think that this is a city thing, but also probably because I am in the South, but most men here feel like they have the right to say whatever they want to me. Sometimes it's pleasant, like when a elderly man asks me how I am doing today, but most often it is creepy and makes me uncomfortable. I often find myself taking longer walking routes to avoid walking past groups of men. I also notice this at home now that I think about it, like crossing to the other side of the road to avoid all the guys sitting on the wall across from the post office, or entering through the side door of MBL at lunch time. The Male Gaze, so oppressive.

In related news, there is a missing UVA student,

http://m.roanoke.com/news/virginia/charlottesville-police-looking-for-missing-u-va-student/article_fa7df5eb-0f59-5ff5-95ad-68737fa35a21.html?mode=jqm

I can watch the state police search the railroad tracks from work. SO sad and scary, sometimes I hate being female in this world.

On a HAPPIER note, I have been eating a lot of great things. There's a yummy dumpling place right next to where I work called Marco & Luca (http://www.yelp.com/biz/marco-and-luca-charlottesville-2)

hilarious name if you're from my neighborhood

I've fallen in love with biscuits (less so with gravy, though it is growing on me)

We have this nifty set up with Pigeon Hole, a breakfast and lunch place near work, where they get free coffee drinks and we get free food :)))))))))

I stopped by the other day and for biscuits with jam and orange butter and a side of bacon. yum city!

new coffee art at work

the old man who lives near Para grows tomatoes behind the store. When I complimented him on them, he gave me some!! They are super ripe, riper than I like to eat plain, so I am making a soup or sauce with them right now, we'll see how it turns out.

needed a late night (9 pm is late for me) steak and cheese after I picked Keegan up from a review session yesterday

Where i got my sandwich! I'll have to try they're friend chicken sometime, I hear it's great.

Our apartment is still coming along, I am teaching Keegan about chores and picking up after himself. Mom, I apologize for everything. I am turning into you. I say the exact same things to Keegan about leaving his dried oat and yogurt bowl in the sink that you said to me. And when we have discussions about doing laundry and putting it away instead of leaving it in the dryer for me to take care of, I can picture you and Lucy. Again, sorry….