I got a Ford Escape Hybrid in February - just in time to help with these insanely high gas prices. Actually, I believe gas prices are too low and gas taxes could be raised to help pay for public transportation, but that’s another topic

I really love this vehicle. It’s fun to drive, I can see the road better, since I’m at the same height as most other vehicles on the road, and I love the mileage So far, it looks like I’m getting around 34 mpg. My commute to work is mostly stop-and-go traffic up to and through a tunnel, where three lanes of traffic funnel down to one through the tunnel. Then it’s city driving for about 3 miles to the office. So it’s perfect for this car. I used to fill up every week or so. Now it’s every 2-3 weeks Love it.

I also got a new license plate to go with my new ride. I have to give Donna, the graphic designer in my office, credit for part of the idea - her plate says DES9R, and I took the 9 to do mine btw, I also designed the license plate holder, as a fundraiser item for the local League of Women Voters. Cool, eh?

On Saturday, May 13, I went to the Gosport Arts Festival in downtown Portsmouth (geeze, they really could use a new Web site). It was an absolutely gorgeous day - temperature in the ’70s, sunny, breezy - perfect. And since Dan was out of town on a kayaking trip, I got to take my time and check out the art to my heart’s content (and the limit of my legs ).

At one point, I stopped to take some photos of a glass display - like a bird, I’m attracted to sparkling things, and the deep colors of the glass were beautiful in the sun.

The artist, Steven Whorl of Classic Glass Studios in Palmdale, FL and Abell, MD, was at first not happy that I was taking photos of his work - understandable, since I had neglected to ask permission first. I apologized and explained that I only do photography, not glasswork, and said I would put a pic on my blog, so here it is.

Then I bought a ring and promptly lost it the next day It was a pinkie ring made of silver with an oval-shaped piece of paua (aka abalone) shell. The artist said it was from Australia, but the few minutes of Googling I did indicates it comes from New Zealand. His dealer is probably in Australia. Anyway, it’s really pretty, and I’m really disappointed I lost it. Good thing it only cost $20.

Then I had a lemonade and a barbecue sandwich from this place - they don’t seem to have a name. It was very good - chopped in relatively large pieces, lots of slaw, hot sauce and BBQ sauce on the side. They also have something that I haven’t seen before - a BBQ Sundae. I guess that’s for the low-carb crowd (which thankfully seems to be dropping in numbers these days, but that’s another post). It was barbecue served in a plastic sundae cup with baked beans and cole slaw on top. Sounded good, but I like my carbs, thankyouverymuch

Finally, to restore my energy, I stopped at the Daily Grind for a mocha caffe. btw, if you’re in the market for a 200-year-old Federal-style building in a bustling small-town downtown, with a successful coffee shop on the first floor (the business is owned by someone else) and three floors of custom-finished living space above, the building is for sale. Contact the owners, Tim and Shannon Woodland, for details. Just a little plug for some friends

I went with Dan and some friends to an herb sale recently, at the Fred Heutte Center in Norfolk. There were lots of booths of garden-related stuff to buy (as if I need more stuff), and I came across these women selling this gorgeous jewelry: Moonrise Jewelry.

They have necklaces made with real orchids encased in resin and buy their supplies the Fair Trade way. Very cool. I haven’t bought anything yet, but my birthday is coming up (hint, hint) …

On Tuesday, Barbara and I went to dinner at A.W. Shucks, a local seafood restaurant we had not been to before. We think it’s a great value - good food at good prices with good service. It seemed to be very popular, too. They don’t have a Web site, though. But here’s what we had:

• Barbara: fish ‘n chips. The fish was tilapia; looked good and the fries were great You get two sides - the other one she ordered (as did I) was the tomato-feta salad. What a great idea! It was a hit with both of us.
• Kim: fried shrimp, with mashed potatoes and tomato-feta salad. The shrimp were a bit overdone, and I would have preferred a traditional cocktail sauce. It came with a slightly spicy, thin sauce that was okay, but I guess I’m a bit of a traditionalist about some things