Halloween

Halloween in DC is such a cute and fun time. People camp out on their porches with wine and, sometimes, their laptops, and spend the whole evening socializing and handing out candy. Some streets are busier than others and by now we know which ones are which so we can strategize our walk for optimal kid cuteness.

After a quick wander we headed back to J's to toast our pumpkin seeds. J did all the carving (he says *I* am the grouchy pumpkin!) and I got all the seeds. Not a bad deal.

Um, good luck?

Last night I was unchaining my scooter after a meeting when three slightly intoxicated people approached and asked me which direction to the White House.

I was at 6th St & Indiana Ave .... a good 10-12 blocks from the White House... but they insisted that they had "a bone to pick with Obama."

So I pointed them to Pennsylvania Ave and wished them luck.

What you wanna bet they ended up disappointed with their endeavor?

Rough Game

I got invited to the Red Wings game by someone who has great seats - lower bowl, right on the red line. He has season tickets and was generous enough to take me to the only DC showdown between the Capitals and the Red Wings this season.

Both teams were undefeated (after six games) going in so it was bound to be a disappointment for whoever lost. Unfortunately, the Wings lost, and lost big. But it was still great fun to be there and I took a few interesting pictures.

My apologies for the over-representation of number five... I never know when he'll retire so I need to photograph him when I have the chance!

Home Again

I'm so thankful to be home and in one place for the next few months. I do have a few small trips planned but they're all by car and most only one or two nights.

Between Allison's wedding reception, the trip to Italy, and the trip to Miami I am about done being on an airplane for the forseeable future! I'm also a bit desperate for a regular routine without a lot of anticipation about travel logistics, expenses, and deadlines.

I like quiet and boring. I just rarely have it.

A Week in Miami

I'm heading to Miami on business next week and J is tagging along. Unfortunately American Airlines massively screwed up his flight (mine was arranged by the conference event planners) so he will be arriving approximately seven hours before me. Ugh. Thank goodness for airport restaurants - I wouldn't even begrudge him a noon glass of beer!

My speech isn't until Friday which is kind of nice but in a way I wish I were getting it over with.

I probably won't be blogging much from Florida but I'll be sure to post some photos when I get back.

Tornado!

I feel like I'm back in the midwest where tornado watches and warnings were regular occurences. But nope, I'm in Washington DC watching a massive storm system with funnel clouds move across northern Virginia towards us.

The cats are slinking around, low to the ground, trying to find their hiding places. I haven't seen Elena in a while but Natasha can't figure out what to do with herself. She probably got pushed out of the prime space by Lanie. Every cat for herself, I guess.

Nice Day

I had the day off today in honor of someone who didn't actually land in America, but oh well. I'll take it. J is in Florida working so I really did have the day to myself!




I started out by sleeping in until the luxurious hour of 8am. Then I went for a lovely run from home around the Tidal Basin. It was a little longer than I've been doing so the final stretch was a struggle but it felt good in the end. I got to see the new Martin Luther King, Jr memorial which faces the Jefferson Memorial and got buzzed by Marine One (the presidential helicopter) which was a little scary.

Then I met up with a girlfriend for some coffee and a muffin on Pennsylvania Ave. It was great to have some real catch-up time as opposed to the few minutes here and there we usually have.

Now it's almost evening and I'm just going to do some reading, get organized for tomorrow, maybe take a short walk before dinner this evening. It's been a nice day off!

A Nice Ride

This has been a picture perfect weekend. The best weather in DC is in the fall - it becomes sunny and cool and dry and the absolute best conditions for running. In order to be outside as much as possible J and I decided to take our traditional weekend roadtrip on our two-wheelers.

Can you tell which one belongs to which of us?

It's easy to avoid the freeway if you go north out of the city. There are some great winding two-lane roads with very little traffic and lots of nice little coffee shops along the way.

We made our way about 20 miles up to Great Falls and took a nice four-mile run along the canal trail before heading back the same way. The weather was perfect for a ride and there were hardly any cars on the road!

I tried!!

The Washington Monument sustained some damage from the freak earthquake we had a few months ago. (Relatedly the news obtained the security video from inside the monument when the quake hit, and it's terrifying!).

In order to survey the damage inspectors have been rapelling down the sides. The other day I took a jog down there to see for myself, but apparently they have finished up. Oh well, I tried!

Here are some photos I pulled off the web. The news anchors have been interviewing the inspectors, many of who have brought their family down to the site because it's such a unique opportunity!

Cold and Dreary!

It got cold fast - overnight! And rainy too. Our grand plans to go apple-picking and hiking on Saturday were rained out, but we took advantage of the farm's own market and came away with lots of sweet peppers, tomatoes, pumpkin-cranberry loaf, an eggplant, and a jug of apple cider.

On the way home we found a great little Salvadoran place for lunch (I love pupusas). The whole experience was great - we were the only people there and the owner herself waited on us with her two young (and attentive!) daughters in tow.

I had chicken tacos and a pupusa and J had the winner of the afternoon - cubes of pork lightly fried with a plantain-garlic-spice mixture lightly fried. It was a great find!

I think we have one more warm-up coming this week before it starts getting cold for good. It's never too cold in this house what with two cats constantly on top of me (especially in bed... which is amazingly toasty...) but I have the flannel sheets in the dryer anyway and all ready for tonight!