it's only when
Jun. 14th, 2010 10:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lauralhReg's parents are visiting his sister in Santa Barbara, as she is on house arrest with an ankle bracelet (Just Like LiLo!) for getting 3 DUIs in 2 years. Although the last one was thrown out when the arresting officer didn't show up on account of being dead. Ahem. Anyway, we decided to take a mini-vacation at the old ancestral home. And I do mean "mini", as in we got there Sunday and are at work right now.
Still, it was fun. Their freezer and pantry is packed with food (although one would be advised to check expiration dates before starting any kind of imbibing, since this family could be shown on Hoarders - or satirized by Sedaris) so I made steak, salad, and then combined the two for a wrap. Apparently they'd bought a Trader Joe's Baklava Sampler Tray within the past 6 months, so that was dessert. And then we played with the fancy cable TV package. Since HD rules the airwaves we can't even watch broadcast at home, so that was kind of fun. Still confused about the whole On Demand thing, though.
The house was originally a ranch house, but when his dad started making bank about 15 years ago they added on. So there's a sun room upstairs, and cacti within, and it was pretty warm in general upstairs where the good kitchen is. Fortunately we'd brought my mini fan so we didn't die.
Besides keeping fruit and other food items well past eat-by dates, Reg's mom is stuck in the late 20th Century diet mentality. Meaning there's a lot of low-fat items around. I'm currently in the eat whatever you want in small amounts mentality, so it was slightly annoying to have to put nonfat milk in my coffee. Also annoying, they don't really drink coffee so much, so all they have is a 1970s percolator. Reg got the directions from his mom, but it was just awful. I explained that these things use water at too high a temperature, like old style diners and McDonald's and other places with traditionally bad coffee. (Although the worst of the joints make the coffee extra strong then water it down. Awesome.)
Before all that we walked around Tradition Lake, a pretty wimpy sort of hike, walk really, I should say. It was crowded enough in the lot, but we only met about 5 people on the trail. It was a warm day but the forest was shady and cool enough that I put on my hoodie for the first mile or so. Reg took a video of a chipmunk that was tame enough to stand still till we were clearly not going to feed it. The sun came out just as we came to the railroad grade trail section with no overhead cover, but we were heading east so it wasn't too bad. Probably got to around 75F, I was comfy in a long sleeve hiking shirt and shorts.
Still, it was fun. Their freezer and pantry is packed with food (although one would be advised to check expiration dates before starting any kind of imbibing, since this family could be shown on Hoarders - or satirized by Sedaris) so I made steak, salad, and then combined the two for a wrap. Apparently they'd bought a Trader Joe's Baklava Sampler Tray within the past 6 months, so that was dessert. And then we played with the fancy cable TV package. Since HD rules the airwaves we can't even watch broadcast at home, so that was kind of fun. Still confused about the whole On Demand thing, though.
The house was originally a ranch house, but when his dad started making bank about 15 years ago they added on. So there's a sun room upstairs, and cacti within, and it was pretty warm in general upstairs where the good kitchen is. Fortunately we'd brought my mini fan so we didn't die.
Besides keeping fruit and other food items well past eat-by dates, Reg's mom is stuck in the late 20th Century diet mentality. Meaning there's a lot of low-fat items around. I'm currently in the eat whatever you want in small amounts mentality, so it was slightly annoying to have to put nonfat milk in my coffee. Also annoying, they don't really drink coffee so much, so all they have is a 1970s percolator. Reg got the directions from his mom, but it was just awful. I explained that these things use water at too high a temperature, like old style diners and McDonald's and other places with traditionally bad coffee. (Although the worst of the joints make the coffee extra strong then water it down. Awesome.)
Before all that we walked around Tradition Lake, a pretty wimpy sort of hike, walk really, I should say. It was crowded enough in the lot, but we only met about 5 people on the trail. It was a warm day but the forest was shady and cool enough that I put on my hoodie for the first mile or so. Reg took a video of a chipmunk that was tame enough to stand still till we were clearly not going to feed it. The sun came out just as we came to the railroad grade trail section with no overhead cover, but we were heading east so it wasn't too bad. Probably got to around 75F, I was comfy in a long sleeve hiking shirt and shorts.
