Kitchen Renovation

I live in a great building. It's about 200 years old and was originally built to serve as a convent. All the units are small but spacious - enough for one person (a nun) to live and study. The building precedes the Capitol but my unit has a great view of the Dome and, in winter, of the Washington Monument.

Living in an old building has its challenges, and one of those is that, well, it's old. Before I bought it the prior owner did some renovations and not all of them succeded. The bathroom and floors are great; the windows and kitchen need a lot of help.

The granite countertops and appliances are nice and new but it seems like the contractors just kind of forgot to finish the rest. There's a large gaping hole in the wall under the sink to the extent that all the pipes are visible. Also the cabinets weren't cut correctly and have lots of 'mistakes' in them - mis-measured cuts and drilled holes in the wood for the handles were just kind of left there.

Plus, the cabinets are ugly.

I originally hired a contractor to fix the hole under the sink but he gave me a quote for new cabinets (all new, not resurfaced) that I just couldn't pass up. So, the contents of my kitchen are currently in my living room and the guys arrive tomorrow to begin the replacement.

Once this is done it will be the end of the major improvements I'll have to do. One thing about owning a home, though, you can always find more projects....

Stay tuned for pics and updates!

Photo Project - January (1): Pairs

As part of my new year's resolutions I have designed a photography project for myself. The point is simply to keeping shooting all year round and to take more risks. I generally don't like to take a photograph unless I am relatively sure it will turn out well. But I want to get better at being creative; I also want to take advantage of what DC has to offer in terms of photographic opportunity. There are tons of street fairs, festivals, people-watching opportunities.

So each month has two categories. One for the first half of the month and one for the second. The categories are general and open to interpretation. They're just to be used as guides.

I went for a walk this afternoon to work on my first category - Pairs. I saw a nice pair of benches in the shadow of the Capitol.

A little ways past I came to the Capitol reflecting pools which was filled with ducks and seagulls. I found these two lovebirds and think they definitely count as a pair!


Since I was down on the Mall already I decided to a) stop by a museum I'd never been in before and b) take the suggestion of my dad and his wife to see Andy Warhol's exhibit called Shadows. On the way out I noticed this pair of nuns sharing a snack at the Hirshhorn Gallery cafe. I'm not really comfortable taking candid photos overtly so that's why this one looks like more of a snapshop than a photograph - I left the camera hanging around my neck and shot without aiming!

Next Up: Modernism. Stay tuned!

Hard Sell At the Bank (Part Two)

This isn't really a hard sell just another bank thing that's annoying me lately. The chatter. And it's not the tellers' fault. From the continuity between employees I can tell they've been trained to do this, but really, I don't want banter. I just want my quarters or my cashier's check and to go home.

I can tell I'm not the only one. When people are running errands they're distracted. They have a lot on their mind.

I was next in line and could over-hear the conversation between a teller and the man in front of me.

Man: I'd like to deposit this into xyz account.
Teller: Okay, is this your account?
Man: No, the account is for someone else.
Teller: You didn't lose a bet did you?
Man: I didn't what?
Teller: Did you lose a bet?
Man:
Teller: I only ask because last week someone came in with a deposit for a third-party account and he had lost a bet and was paying it off.
Man (confused): Oh.
Teller: Anyway, you didn't lose a bet did you?
Man: I... no...?

I mean, I get it. They're trying to pass the time while they do their entries on the computer, but people are just not into banter at the bank. I know I'm not (especially when I think the teller is gearing up for Hard Sell Part One).

I wish I could get quarters out of the ATM!

Hard Sell at the Bank (Part One)

I've noticed something new in the past few months - the hard sell at the bank. I hate it.

This is how it usually starts:

Teller: Everything going okay with all your accounts?
Me: Yep!
Teller: Finding everything you need online and happy with your savings APY?
Me: Yep!
Teller: Do you own or rent your home?

Ughhh..... here it comes.

Me: I own.
Teller: May I ask what your interest rate is?

At this point I don't want to continue the conversation. Not only am I happy with my rate but I am not interested in refinancing even if a lower rate were available.

Me: 5%
Teller:

See? I know it's a good rate. They usually can't match it. I just hate the whole build-up to the offer. You can't cut them off mid-conversation and refuse an offer they haven't made yet (rude!) but it makes me anxious to know that the offer is coming.

Just give me my two rolls of quarters so I can go do my laundry!

$ocks

In the scheme of things running is a relatively inexpensive form of exercise. Past purchasing a couple sets of good quality wicking gear (which really should last for years) and purchasing shoes every 5-6 months there aren't many associated costs. You don't need expensive equipment or any monthly memberships. Just lace up your shoes and go!

Running has its own set of logistical issues, however. It does weird things to the body. Blisters, side stitches, digestive issues, planning what to eat so the stomach will be empty at running time, route planning, dealing with cars/dogs/creeps. And there are one or two hidden expenses that I just hate but I've found, over the years, are necessary.

One of those is socks. Good quality, thin, wicking socks. Not the kind you can just grab at TJMaxx for $3/pack, but a product you have to make a special trip to the running store to buy for $10/pair. Ugh! But it really is necessary. Once you drop $90 on a good pair of shoes (which is absolutely necessary for enjoyment of the sport) it just doesn't make sense to put anything cheap between shoe and skin.

And so, all my socks being threadbare, I am coming to grips with spending $20 on two pairs of socks to wear while running. But my blister-free feet will thank me.

Happy New Year

So it's 2012 already. Yikes! Time flies.

We rang in the new year in a tiny cabin at Douthat State Park in Virginia. The weekend was spent touring the area, spending time by the fireplace, reading. For dinner we cracked open the last bottle of Chianti that we brought back from Italy; J noticed that the cork was dated September 10, 2011, which was the day we left for our trip! Almost like the wine was bottled just for us.


This photo was taken at Mountain View Cemetary in Clifton Forge, VA. Shooting cemetaries is hard but sometimes you get lucky. One of the interesting features of this photograph was completely accidental - the tower way in the background that provides some distance perspective. I didn't notice it until the post-processing stage but I think it adds an element of vastness to the image.


The day was frustratingly cloudy. The sky, treeless mountains, and river all seemed to be the same color. This was taken while standing on a rickety footbridge suspended by wire and swaying in the breeze.

While driving we stopped by the Hot Spring waterfall in Hot Spring, VA. Again, no contrast between sky and elements but the falls were quite pretty.

Finally a little bit of color peeking out from between the clouds!

Resolutions!

Man, I love resolution time so much!

Let's see: this is what I posted this time last year.

1. Stop interrupting people. This is a terrible habit.

2. Pay off 15k of my student loans. At that point I hope to just knock the remainder off with my savings.

3. Develop a consistent running regimen. I don't care so much about mileage volume but consistency is key.

4. Follow my simple Bible in one year plan. Already started.

So how did I do? Let's go through them one by one.

1. I still have a problem interrupting people but I have been trying to be a better listener and corral my eagerness in conversation. You would have to ask my friends or significant other whether I have improved.

2. Not quite 15k but close enough to 10k last year that I'm happy... and also slowing down a little in order to beef up my savings.

3. Done and done!

4. Welp, that one didn't work out so well.

How am I resolving to improve myself this year?

1. Cash flow a kitchen upgrade and then add 5k to liquid savings as well as at least 3k to my Roth IRA.

2. Read more for pleasure. This may or may not include getting involved in my church book club.

3. Become more involed with my family. I have a nephew now as well as a baby cousin just down the street. I want to spend more time with them and really get involved in being an aunt!

I think I'm going to start with those. Basic and attainable. I hope!

National Arboretum

One of my favorite places in DC is the National Arboretum. Located in the hood and not near the metro, this place is almost never visited by tourists and rarely by in-towners either. There are amazing gardens and walking trails, a bonsai collection featuring some trees almost 1,000 years old, and the old Capitol columns that were left there and forgotten about during a renovation of the East Wing a long time ago.

It's one of our go-to places for a weekend run... hilly and scenic, you can do as little as three-miles or as many times around as you need to make your distance goal.

We took my father and his wife there yesterday for a short jaunt around the grounds before dinner on their last night in town. The sun was going down but I captured a few of the classic scenes: a bench from the Assian collection and the columns themselves.

Rainbow!

My father and his wife are in town for a visit and on their way home from a museum texted to let me know that an enormous rainbow popped up over Pennsylvania Ave!

I could see it from my window but I wanted to get a head start on one of my new year's resolutions, which is to take more photographs, so I ran outside in my bare feet and snapped a quick picture from my front porch.

Too bad the rainbow didn't arc over the Capitol dome! Oh well.

Was it worth standing on a soaking wet driveway with no shoes to get this shot?

HI MATT

Thanks for catching up on my posts :) I am going to be ready to blog starting in the new year. I have a 12-month photography project that I will be sharing here and hoping to have a bit more of a social life/a bit more to talk about.

Hardware Store Hero!

I have a topcase on the back of my scooter that's great for storage but not very well manufactured. This is not my scooter but this is what one looks like:

The topcase has been an ordeal from the start. At first it wasn't installed properly and almost came off completely while I was riding! Also, one of the hinge pins that attaches the lid to the base walked off, so not only was the whole case about to come off my scooter but the lid could have been pried right off my a motivated thief.

J, my Main Hero, took the thing back to the dealer for a reinstall but a few days ago I noticed that the same hinge pin had fallen out. So I get a terrible rattle whenever I ride over uneven pavement and the whole thing just feels unstable.

I went to the hardware store yesterday to see if I could get a nail and some crazy glue but the hardware store man had some other ideas. So I brought my scooter to the store today and he spent a good 20 minutes carting different sizes of nails and screws in and out of the store until he found the right one. Once he started he was absolutely determined to help me finish the project and get the hinge fixed! His fix has made my case even more secure than it was when I first bought it. There's absolutely no rattle and the lid fits tightly on the base.

The cost of the screw was a whopping $0.45 but I tipped the guy $5 for his dedication. He was very surprised and very thankful, but he really, really helped me out. Let's here it for nice guys at the hardware store!

Cats are weird

My cat Elena is the queen of finding the most perfect, cozy, tucked in spot to nap. She will also often fall asleep smack in the middle of the hardwood floor. Doesn't make sense!

Tourists and their photos!

I spend a lot of time on the National Mall, usually while running but often to visit a museum exhibit or a friend. And I see a lot of tourists and tourists take a lot of photos. Quite often I will turn around once I'm behind the photographer and see what they're shooting. Sometimes I just have to laugh! All of the great photo ops - monuments, the Capitol, the sculptures, the gardens - sometimes people just take pictures of themselves standing in front of nothing!

Today I was running and noticed someone taking an odd photo - sure enough, when I got past them, I saw that the person in the photo was just standing in front of a tree. If they had turned a little to their left and had the photographer move over just a little, they could have had the Capitol in the background! Why wouldn't they want that? Maybe they're arbor enthusiasts but... I doubt it.

People are strange!

Harper's Ferry

We love taking long drives on the weekends and one of our favorite destinations is West Virginia. By freeway Harper's Ferry is only about an hour and a half's drive - very reasonable especially considering what you get when you arrive! An amazing trail network that runs along the rushing Shenandoah River, a charming historic town full of cute shops and used bookstores, gorgeous mountain backdrops.

We parked behind the main strip and ran about 4 miles along the river, out and back. The day was perfect - sunny and cool. I've run about 15 miles in three days, which is great. I always take advantage of the fall and winter to start adding some length to my distances.

Facebook is bad for my blog

I've noticed that when I have something to say I'm more inclined to go to Facebook than the good old blog. Part of this might be the give-and-take found in reply comments... which, I admit, are staisfying. And considering I have no idea whether anyone is reading this blog anymore it just seems more rewarding to use Facebook to record my observations.

But then, Facebook makes one lazy. In one sentence I feel I can adequately say what it probably ought to take a whole blog post to delve into.

Lately I have Facebooked on the following topics:

Food
Running
Travel
Random obsevations
Sports
Photography

I haven't blogged hardly at all.

I miss blogging and I want to revive IaJtbH... maybe that will be my resolution. We all know how much I love new year's resolutions!

Tentative Thanksgiving Menu!

Most people who know me know that I really dislike Thanksgiving food. Turkey, stuffing, bread, green beans, cranberry sauce... blech. One of the best Thanksgiving meals I ever had featured baked salmon as a main course with a quinoa and pumpkin seed salad and pumpkin soup to finish.

But J, being a Southern boy, really appreciates the more traditional menu and I'm very thankful that he's willing to depart in order to make me happy. This year our Thanksgiving menu will be inspired by our trip to Italy this past September. We fell in love with black truffles and brought some (in various forms) home with us.

So the first course will be fresh ravioli with black truffle pesto. For the main course we will roast a duck and make some wild rice on the side. We'll also crack open one of the bottles of wine we brought back from the Casanova winery. For dessert we're keeping it simple - hot brownie with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge.

Yum! Now just to let the days tick by.

Proud of myself

I haven't had much blogging inspiration lately but I pushed myself on a run today and it was well worth the effort. After a later-than-usual night last night and a tough day at work, I got myself dressed and out the door for a one but my motivation wavered after a block. It would have been so easy to just turn back, but I convinced myself to go just a bit further and ended up doing a full 35-minutes around the neighborhood.

At the time I suppose I just didn't feel like it but now that I'm finished I'm very glad I powered through. I have to constantly remind myself that I love how I feel when I'm finished running and hate how I feel when I quit.

It's starting to get dark really early (4:11pm and already dusky) but I like dark, cold winter evenings. I find it easier to get settled down and read when it's dark outside as opposed to when the sun is shining at 8pm.

Up next - J and I have begun discussing Thanksgiving... I don't like traditional food so it's always a challenge to figure out an interesting menu that will satisfy the both of us. But this year we have some provisions from our trip to Italy that should enhance the meal quite nicely.

Stay tuned!

Catoctin Mountain

One of the things that we love about living in DC is how easy it is to get out of the city center and into almost total wilderness. In just an hour or two we can be at the bay, the moutains, deep woods, wineries, battlefields, and more.

We love to take long drives on the weekend and either explore areas by hiking or running. We've made our way through most of the national parks and forests in the tri-state area though by no means have we explored every trail.

Today we drove up to Catoctin Mountain to see the fall colors. Most people go to Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah but it can get crowded and there's plenty of countryside in Maryland and West Virigina to see the changing leaves.

Catoctin Mountain is in northern Maryland very close to Camp David. We took a short but hilly hike. The weather is perfect for being outside, and although I think we missed the real peak leaf color season, the landscape was still beautiful.

Good Stock-Up Run!

This week Harris Teeter is having a "Super Double" promotion where they are doubling coupons under $2 in value. Usually HT only doubles a coupon if it's under a dollar but about every six weeks they do Super Doubles and I'm able to get some really rock-bottom prices.

Harris Teeter also has electronic coupons that come off when you scan your club card (in addition to whatever club card discount is being offered that week) - and those combine with paper coupons. So these prices are unusal but GREAT and I stocked up on some stuff.

(2) Blue Diamond almonds $3.49 (for both) - $1 coupon which doubled = $1.49 for two cans of almonds
(1) Celestial Seasonings tea on sale for $2.50 - $1 coupon which doubled = $0.50
(1) Satin Care shave gel on sale for $2.49 - $1 coupon which doubled = $0.49
(1) Tampax pearl tampons $3.99 - $1 coupon which doubled - $1 electronic coupon = $0.99
(3) Garnier Fructis shampoo/conditioner on sale for $2.99 - $1 coupons which doubled = $0.99 each
(2) Bayer Low Dose aspirin $5.98 for two - $1 coupons which doubled = $1.98 for two aspirins
(1) DayQuil $7.49 - $1 coupon which doubled - $1 electronic coupon = $3.49
------------------------------------------------
TOTAL AFTER COUPONS = $17.43
COUPONS TENDERED (store savings, store electronic coupons, paper coupons) = $29.66

As the cashier had started ringing up my stuff this guy started to get in line and saw me holding coupons and made an exasperated sigh and switched lines, well that line was apparently really slow because I zipped right through and was leaving register when I saw him jump back over to my line. Ha! Not all coupon users are crazy people! Trust me I want to get out of there as quickly and painlessly as you do!

Pretentious Ice Cream!

As I try to wind down from a really hectic ten (plus) days, I decided to treat myself to a small carton of Haagen Dazs vanilla-chocolate chip. It's delicious, but the side panel is hysterically pretentious:

Flavor Top Notes: floral, deeply bourbon notes of fine Madagascar vanilla.
Flavor Finish Notes: dark and delicious chocolate chips

First - I didn't realize that 'notes' could be 'bourbon.' Silly me, I always thought that bourbon was a noun and not an adjective.

Second - finish notes? Doesn't that imply aftertaste? The chocolate chips are all mixed in, the chocolate taste is right there in each bite. This is ice cream, not wine people!