I don't mind the rat race but I could do with a little more cheese.

The second con, of a sort, over the first weekend of August was BrickFair at the Dulles Expo Center where the beau and I oohed and aahed and coveted many lovely Lego structures. I'm kicking myself for not taking any photographs because the fantasy castles and Steampunk cities on display were so gorgeous and the memories of them are fading too quickly. One vignette that I do remember featured the Haunted House set that I have with the addition of a full fence, cemetery, and spooky trees. I can totally do that! But Hyrule Castle, the Ewok village, the Steampunk city in the clouds, and the Pharaoh's tomb... They were so intricate and whimsical. I'll definitely have to take photos next year.

Biking: Hubbyfink and I hit the trail Sunday afternoon and wound up riding to Kerry & Jill's house in Reston. The east-bound trip was pretty easy with bright sunshine, temps in the mid-50s F, and a light tailwind. The west-bound trip home was a slog with a 23mph headwind. Oof. With that kind of wind, coasting is almost impossible. We took turns as each other's wind break and had to make several rest stops to catch our breath and stretch complaining leg muscles. I'd normally be disappointed that a mere 17 mile ride took so much out of us, but eight miles of resistance makes up for the lack of distance.

Lego: Completed the "Barrel Escape" set from the Hobbit series Saturday evening. I have just one more set to assemble: "Goblin King Battle". At that point, I'll have the full set of dwarves and can set up little vignettes including the full Unexpected Gathering. Also that point, we'll be out of Lego sets to assemble until the additional Lord of the Rings sets come out this year. Hubbyfink may tear into the Star Wars sets, though. I knew we'd go nuts if we starting getting sets.

Also? How can my spell checker not recognize "dwarves"?

Home organization: FINALLY put away the ornaments and Christmas tree. Oof. I dislike leaving Christmas decor out past Epiphany but, between taking advantage of being outside on warm sunny days and illness/malaise in between, neither of us had the motivation to attack the tree. (We did pull down the outside decor on Epiphany, though.) The living room looks so much better being put back to rights.

Non-standard: Hubbyfink and I took Monday off and toured the "Revealing the African Presence in Renaissance Europe" exhibit at the Walters Museum in Baltimore. It was a fascinating exhibit and showcased artwork I'd never before seen. I felt a sense of wonder and of shame at the same time, and am very glad that I got a chance to see the exhibit.

A lot of Lego, to be honest.

Hubbyfink got me hooked with the Monster Fighters line in October, maybe September, and I have succumbed to the siren call of little plastic blocks. Actually, it's not fair to blame this on Scott since I already had a Lego minifig habit thanks to Think Geek. However, I had stayed away from the sets because, as I stated repeatedly, that way lies madness. I am now fully down that mad rabbit hole.

October was full of finishing the Monster Fighter sets culminating with the Haunted House, my birthday gift from Hubbyfink. I worked on it over the weekend before Thanksgiving, and just over thirteen hours later it was complete.

( Won't you step inside? )

So, that's the house. I'll post photos of Lord Vampyre's Castle and of my newest obsession: The Hobbit.

It started with a couple of Lego mini figures from Think Geek and has grown into ( something more... )