I stopped into my local running store on Saturday to find they were doing the packet pick-up for a 10k on Sunday to benefit prostate cancer research. Spur of the moment, my husband and I decided to sign up and run the next day. It was a great day for a race, just a light sprinkle and much cooler than it's been on the East Coast in weeks. The course was fun and I finished 12th in my division! Pretty good for my first 10k. There is one benefit to getting older...
Went to see a small collection of prints by Edvard Munch at the National Gallery the other day. I just love this space!
When my husband first moved to DC (back when he was just my bf, not my husband) he rented a tiny room with shaggy blue carpet and a threadbare bedspread in a musty old house, with an eccentric, and mildly racist landlord, P, who had two black standard poodles. When I would come to visit, we were at a loss for what to eat. The kitchen was pretty much off limits. One, because it was filthy and hadn't been remodeled, or possibly cleaned, since the house was built in say, 1879. And two, and more importantly, because of the chance of an awkward encounter with the landlord. Or the Poodles. And since we were in upper NW DC and car-less, we might as well have been in suburban Kansas with the dearth of food options at our disposal.
So we would walk more than a mile up the hill to Whole Foods and get salads from the salad bar and a pint of ice cream. Then we'd take it back to the house, race up the stairs to avoid uncomfortable chit-chat with P and the Poodles, and have a picnic on the bed beneath the ugly oil painting of a ship being lost at sea.
Last Friday we had salads from Whole Foods for old times sake. Only this time we drove the Volvo Zip Car to the Whole Foods near our house, strolled around buying other organic goodies, and came back to the privacy of our own apartment to enjoy our feast. How times have changed.
Just finished reading this book, and wow, what an ending. I'll definitely be thinking about this story for awhile and pondering what parts of it were true and what were the author's imagination. Always a wonder when you're reading historical fiction. Sadly, the conclusion was a fact even if I really wished it hadn't turned out that way.
Reading the book reminded me that earlier this summer I visited a local Frank Lloyd Wright house here in Virginia, the Pope-Leighy House. Dubbed Usonian by Frank, these houses were what he envisioned for the "everyman." Slated to be demolished to make way for Route 66, the house was saved and moved to the current site. The exterior of the house does not impress, at first. But the minute you enter and sit down in the living space, you feel like you're wrapped in a warm sock surrounded by nature. A cocoon.
There is no doubt Frank was eccentric. A true artist. He didn't believe in closets. Or screens. And he called the tiny kitchen with no cabinets "the workspace." The house has no engineering or insulation. Also, he felt the carport should not have a car parked in it. It was only for dropping off and unloading and then parking elsewhere—so as not to throw off the aesthetic of the house. And if you lived in one of Frank's houses you could bet he might show up at any moment to visit. So don't leave the car parked out front or risk his wrath!
But the house was beautiful and really does have the effect he wanted. I'd live in one, if I could do without the closets. Which I really couldn't. Isn't it a shame that this didn't catch on and instead the landscape is covered in McMansions?
B is out of town, so thought it would be a great time to break out the pint coozy I got last year in Vermont. How fun is this? Spoon: check! Coozy: check! Just add a pint of your favorite flavor!
Positive: The coozy covers the fat content on the label and your hand doesn't get cold.
Negative: The coozy covers the fat content on the label and your hand doesn't get cold. So you just keep eating and eating and regret it in the morning.
Last weekend, I met up with some friends for brunch at Ted's Bulletin, a new diner on Capitol Hill. The breakfast was so-so, just fried eggs and bacon in too much butter, but ohmigosh, the homemade pop tarts and s'more milkshakes were delish. (Yes, I had a milkshake at breakfast.) The pop tarts in particular were light and flaky with fresh strawberry jam filling, layered with creamy frosting, and a generous coating of fresh rainbow jimmies. Not the most well rounded healthy breakfast, I know, but definitely worth going back for.
Photos from here: Ted's Bulletin.
Indian Moonshine. I was pretty sure we were going to go blind from drinking this (literally). I barely took a sip. We had to leave the cap unscrewed, lest the bottle explode...
Monochromatic feast. Incidentally I'm wearing a shirt that matches my meal. Helpful when eating without utensils.
South Indian lunch:
Buhkara. The only time I ate meat in India. Okay, the only time except for the notorious chicken sandwich which gave me Delhi Belly and made me give up meat for six weeks. (Not so hard after being a vegetarian for 18 years.)
I do have to say the Indian desserts were not to my taste. Here are three gelatinous confections.
Reading the book reminded me that earlier this summer I visited a local Frank Lloyd Wright house here in Virginia, the Pope-Leighy House. Dubbed Usonian by Frank, these houses were what he envisioned for the "everyman." Slated to be demolished to make way for Route 66, the house was saved and moved to the current site. The exterior of the house does not impress, at first. But the minute you enter and sit down in the living space, you feel like you're wrapped in a warm sock surrounded by nature. A cocoon.
Positive: The coozy covers the fat content on the label and your hand doesn't get cold.
