Pesto Pasta

Ever wonder what to do with that left over half jar of pesto after making the "pizza" chicken?

Kay introduced us to pesto pasta. 1/2 jar pesto. 1/2 package spaghetti boiled 11 minutes and rinsed in cold water. Stir in the pesto before completely cool. Add 3/4 cup finely grated fresh parmesan cheese and fresh ground pepper.

Add as many sliced grape tomatoes as you like for color. Toss and serve. Wow. We are going to have to make this for church.

Might-a Missed One

I finished the scrap-bag quilted wall hanging, called ocean just before company arrived.

And if the fifth named hurricane this season (Earl) reaches the East Coast as forecast now for Thursday, it will bring rip tides and high winds. These could be waves in disarray.

Actually, I was just using up some scraps of fabric I had, so don't read too much into it.

It is pinned to the guest bedroom wall and amazingly goes very well with greens of the baby tumbling blocks quilt on the bed.

I was at work today while Kay toured museums. Tomorrow she and Neil are doing the Washington Monument and Holocaust Museum then home for pesto chicken. mmm

Why Kay Came

We were sitting under the trees in the shade most of the time on the right, about 1/4 out from the Lincoln Memorial....way up there. Still our best view was of a jumbo-tron across the reflecting pool.

Kay and I went down to the Glenn Beck Restoring Honor speeches this morning. Estimates were there were 499,998 others that joined us.

Everyone we talked to was friendly and all asked how far we had come.

We have other on the ground pictures if you need some emailed.

Guests Are In The House!

Kay and I went to kindergarten together, and elementary school, and junior high school, and high school, and college! We even lived together after college for a year in Hawaii.

But I came back and got a Master's degree on the mainland, and she stayed and got married and still lives there.

We hardly ever get to see each other in person, so the next few days are an wonderful treat. We never run out of things to say. And can we set each other giggling and laughing.

Fios

The post card said, if Fios were in your neighborhood, would you consider trying it? I had heard the Washington Reps for the phone company say what a quantum leap in speed Vios was, but it was so new, it wasn't everywhere.

What the heck. I mailed it in. That was a year ago. Today I came home and found my yard was full of bands of orange, yellow and red stripes all along the curve!

Could this be Fios coming to dig my yard up? Shouldn't there be full disclosure on the post cards - Warning, saying yes could result in serious disruption to your fine display of grass.

And by the way, this is the third time I have typed this because the comcast is acting up tonight. Maybe Fios won't be so bad!

The Last Hurrah

Mostly the clematis bloom in the spring - and reach the top of the mail box -- you can just see the number two signaling our house number. But this is the end of August. I can see the spent blossom ends that look like green balls, but nested among them is what I will call the last hurrah. There is a full clematis blossom and just below it one more to unfurl, probably by tomorrow.

It must be all the rain that has fooled this plant into thinking there is a second growing season. Even my husband was remarking that we don't have that dried out, desicated look of August this year. The grass is still spring green.

The crickets are chirping though, so I know we are approaching Fall and the football season.

How You Can Tell Company Is Coming

My daughter will tell you the very last thing I like to do is housework. So when faced with a free weekend (except for the school volunteer work) before guests arrived, you knew I should be cleaning.

So my natural instinct was to go outside and weed some flower beds. This little project took me five hours - all the weeds are gone, the recylcing will pick up those four bagsful on Thursday, and mulch is laid down for the Fall.

So how much house keeping got done? Zero. I figured I still had four days until Friday. It is now Tuesday, and I have this great urge to work on my current quilt, delaying yet again the required preparation for company. Such is my life governed by my daughter's observations.

Patchwork Lawn

We have had so much rain, I wanted to take a picture of one of the dividends. The fried rectangle of replacement sod that was installed while we were traveling on Fourth of July weekend, has almost completely revived.

Granted it is a darker green -- we may need to find out which kind of grass seed that sod came from and sprinkle some around the perimeter so it matches, or perhaps it is fertilized and our lawn is in a less fertilized zone right now? Who knows.

We are just glad to see the green after the big shallow dip was repaired - yeah, even land when I mow.

Coyote

I was out in the garden this morning at 6am and weeded and mulched the Clark-side triangle bed. Took 5 hours - that tells you how neglected my flower beds are.

I came in and called Mom and as I walked back into the kitchen still on the phone, this fellow was sitting in my back yard. When I opened the door, he stood up and walked to the garden by the red flowers.

Good thing he waited to come out until I was inside!

Mojito Mango

The Washington DC schools start Monday so we were part of the all volunteer crew doing beautification.

We got up way early and arrived about 8:11am down at Murch Elementary, which has 594 students and class sizes are 45!

I got assigned to the butterfly garden - thank goodness Martta had taught me about the milk weed plant for Monarch butterflies. The chief gardner was so strict, Neil took his shovel and headed to the school sign which had a weed filled bed and five flats of pansies to plant.

Hot work, but gratifying. We came home and made two batches of Mango tea. You find the secret ingredient by the Tom Collins mixes at the grocery store. Make tea and pour some of this in. Very easy to drink along the lines of Georgia Brown's peach tea, but not as sweet.

Just Not Me

This isn't the final order, but here is a layout of the quilt I am making based on the quilt class I took on Tuesday, Ocean.

I like the colors and I like keeping the two units separated to get better color management. The teacher felt the two sub-units of the "block" should be stitched at once, so I did that in class for the three units I made, but it was rigid for color flexibility. So I took them apart again when I got home. : )

Added my own interpretation - yes, you can have the lightest on the outside ring, etc. And tried three different borders, light, royal and dark blue. Dark wins. Why aren't we surprised?

It will be a wall hanging. Maybe for the church silent auction this Fall. Just not my style for hanging on my walls.

The Last Fair Picture

We went into the baby animal barn and the first pen had baby pigs. There were eight in the pen and this one was not playing with his siblings. Instead, he was focused entirely on the food.

While we watched, he climbed into the food dish to get closer - first two, then all four legs. I went around to get a shot from the side and by this time, he was so comfortable, he sat on the side of the dish and continued to eat.

Perhaps the others edged him out when the meal was first served, but he stayed the longest at the dining trough and got totally "in" to eating.

Mother Can Paint This

When I saw this photograph at the fair, the first thought that crossed my mind was mother could paint this.

It is so restful. Mom was raised on the West Coast of Washington State in Renton and had lots of boats and water nearby.

Her children were raised on a semi-arid plateau, the irrigated Yakima Valley.

Still this child likes the water scenes, so it must be a genetic feature from my mom.

Cardinal In Winter

I mostly took pictures without flash at the photography exhibit at the fair, except when I would forget.

This is a much more stunning shot of the picture because the flash merged into the lighting of the original photograph. I really like this shot. The one without the flash looks drab by comparison.

Short post because I am off to a sewing class, first time in maybe four years. The Baltimore Album year long class did me in for a while.

The Fair and The Rain

Neil judges photographs for the Montgomery County Fairgrounds. We usually go to see all the entries and to look at the quilts. But this year it was raining, quite steadily and most of the day.

We checked in with mom. Do you go to the fair in the rain? Answer, yes. You plan a fair day and whether it is raining or not, that is the day you go. I loved this old fire engine from DC and it was wet.

Got this cute picture in the Old Timers section of the Indian statue. More pictures tomorrow.

Alternate Persona

Someone in our house keeps the lawn mowed, plants the annuals, clears out the spent daisies and sometimes gets ahead of the weeds.

Known as Farmer Jane, she is completely covered from head to toe for protection from mosquitos but also from the sun. It was cloudy this particular Saturday and now it is Sunday and raining.

So, sometimes, she works in a nick of time to get the lawn cut, but it is always at least one hour of walking.

Back In The Zone

Since my daughter "made me" go to Weight Watchers back in the late nineties, I have tried to stay in the free status zone. With Weight Watchers, you choose a goal weight and then maintain it. Maintainance is harder because of the freedom of not being on a "diet".

When you are at your goal weight for a few weeks, you graduate from the program into the Lifetime Status. This allows you to weigh in once a month (or more if you need incentive to lose a few pounds) without cost, and you can be two pounds above or two pounds (or more) below and still not pay.

Today I was not just in the Weight Watcher goal zone, I was in my personal goal zone (7 pounds lower than WW) of weighing nearly what I weighed when I got married about forty years ago. The way I do that is IPF. What is the Item, How Big is the Portion and How Often Do I Eat It? It is true you can eat anything, but not very much of some things. And if you have lots of fiber, you can add an occasional piece of cheesecake.

Happy Birthday, Jack !

Jack, here you are at just three months old. Not even one year old. None of us has changed since then, but look how tall you are today. You are taller than your dad's belt and that is standing on the floor! In this picture you weren't even as tall as his shirt.

Six years old, half way to twelve, almost a teen-ager.

Back then you were much smaller and we marvel at the miracle of you every day.

Much love,

Grandpa and Gramee

Another Favorite

Oil on canvas, 1844
The Coleman Sisters
Thomas Sully
American, 1783-1872

Gift of William C. Freeman 1947.9.3

And I found their names today on google and wrote them down, but the paper must still be on my desk at the office. I remember the youngest was named Margaret. So perhaps we are related. : )

Sarah, Isabel and Margaret

Norms

I am posting this particular picture from the German Collection at the National Gallery of Art because I really liked it, and to tell you how I ran out of camera battery. Daniel suggested that each time we took a picture of something we liked, we should also take a picture of the label so we would remember what we had seen.

"Edward VI as a Child. Oil on panel, probably 1538. Hans Holbein, the Younger. German, 1497/1498-1543 from the Andrew Mellon Collection 1937-1964." He was right.

That is a good idea. But it means two pictures per painting and in the end it drains the phone battery!

My second point is to suggest that mothers of infants are really lucky today for dressing children. When Edward was dressed children wore miniature adult clothing. How complicated!

Our Next House

After the Washington Monument tour, we went to the Gallery of Art. Neil suggested we might have an atrium like this in our next house. And we ran into one of our church friends who had moved six years ago and was now living in Oklahoma! ps we walked 8 miles according to Neil's pedometer.

I was taking pictures of the columns and ceiling on his right and this tall slim fellow was walking by looking looking left, when I stopped him short asking, "Brad?"

He and Neil had both taken each other in - Neil was sitting on the bench along the outer wall and that is where Brad's scanning focus was, but both said when I got them together, they did think they were looking at someone they knew, but intellectually knew that wasn't possible, so kept that neutral look through you get when you are faced with thousands of strangers in close proximity studying great works of art with you. You don't focus on people's faces, you only see the paintings.

We got his new address and email. He retired one year ago and they had moved four months ago. Now we are all caught up and back in touch. Our German guests thought the encounter quite extraordinary!

Arlington Cemetery

We all tried to make do with the information we had as this picture depicts. Managed to see the campus at Georgetown - lots of construction, lots of typical brick college classrooms, no schloss (castle like structures).

Drove all around the Kennedy Center and Watergate but kept missing key entry points. Finally headed to the office and took the opportunity to park in the bus zone at Lafayette Park so they could walk across and get a picture of the White House. They had to dash back at the end because a bus was tooting his horn reminding us we were in his space.

On to the office to get the map of DC. Yes, I forgot it on Friday. Got pictures of the Chinatown gate and were able to get back to the Kennedy Center. Parked in the drop off zone, we had two cars because all the cars seat five not six, and managed not to get scolded or ticketed.

Completely missed the Iwo Jima monument by turning around too soon. Never mind. We went to Arlington Cemetery first. Parked in the garage and promptly got out snacks with no place to eat so set up on the side walk. As we were doing this, the guard walked by and continued going - went all the way to the end apparently - and on his return when we were 1/4 into eating a quick bite of crackers, cheese and apples and a cold soda, he stopped to say, we were not able to see the signs posted everywhere on the grass, but there were absolutely no picnics at the memorial. Hmmm. Then he said the fine was $500. We cleaned up fast and were lucky he was in a generous mood!

Very hot walking up hill, but we saw the Kennedy gravesite, Bobby's grave, the newest in their family - Ted Kennedy's grave, the Arlington House (Lee Mansion - no furniture due to restoration), and the Women In The Military museum. Got back to the car and found Iwo Jima this time, and since it was 6pm by the time we finished, headed back home to pick up the lemon meringue pie and head to Sullivans. Carrs, Pastor Steve and the six of us had backyard barbeque until it got dark. We then moved inside to review the pictures from the previous trip - and except for a different shirt, Steve was at his same barbeque station. Everything was absolutely scrumptious. And Lesa has another new chocolate cobbler like desert done in the microwave and with slightly different ingredients. Also amazing. I'll get the recipe!

If It Is Sunday, It Is Omelets

We started out early with omelets by specialist cook, Neil Howard. We are waiting patiently.

Off to church for 10am service then they will have Mexican food - not a frequent sight in Germany. Chipoltle for lunch.

Bonnie and Emil's at 1pm and by 2pm or so a driving frenzy of photo opportunities. Main walking will be seeing Arlington Cemetery, then back by 7pm for BBQ at Sullivan's.

Tomorrow is a full day of touring.

Be Careful Where You Put Things

When we first moved here from the West Coast, the neighbors invited us to a "crab feast". Nina asked, "how many should I order for you." We both answered, "one is enough". She just laughed and said, "I'll get a dozen." We just shook our heads.

That weekend we discovered the Chesapeake Bay blue crabs. What a lot of work. But with the local seasoning (which we discovered years later makes excellent french fry "salt") and good friends, the time flies by.

A year later Lily and Walt visited, so we took them to the most famous local joint, "the cracked claw". The tablecloths were brown wrapping paper. I will never forget Lily's jaw dropping as an arm came in from behind her and upended a big pan of crabs right on the table. Needless to say, if you are from the West Coast and only know dungeness crab, it is an alternate universe.

She picked up a bumper sticker, but those never grace our cars, so we stuck it on my weed collector. Now it is 25 years later. The sticker is where we first put it and the Cracked Claw is now merged with Peter Pan Inn up in Urbana because they put a highway intersection where the old shanty crab shack was. No wonder people have a hard time downsizing. Things come into the house, they get put some place, and they stay there for years! Accumulation, but good memories too.

Singapore National Day

August 5th, remember that date. It floats through the week each year, but it is always the day of celebration at the Singapore Embassy, one of the best attended receptions in town because Amb. Chan sets a really good table!

This is the 45th anniversary of Statehood and the 20th anniversary of closer strategic defense and military ties.

The pictures I took inside were either dark or blurry (I am still learning how to use my iPhone as a camera). But I did stop outside to get one of the shields on the brick retaining wall as I walked up to the event at International Place.

Did I say we had pouring down rain the two hours before?

My boss lives in Northern Virginia and an old oak tree limb was sent right through his sun room. The 125 year old oak in the backyard, fell roots up across the power line so they were without power. But it wasn't just his tree, two other same-size trees were leveled on top of the lines too. They were the target of a severe downdraft with winds at 70 mph. The foot thick trees didn't bend, they snapped under the force. Quite a storm.

Remembering Dates

The years go by indiscriminately. I felt I had not had my sewing machine "cleaned" last year, but maybe it was two summers ago, but no. Three years. Oops. Isn't that supposed to be annual?

Took my babee in for cleaning - takes ten days. My sewing room looks so empty without it. But I love my little niche with my blue ribbons, the picture of Berg Eltz, plenty of light, every tool within reach, oh, and this year, a shopping bag one of the quilters couldn't remember where she found it, but saved for me....All About Jane.

So I go to claim the machine and pay an arm and a leg, and casually ask the new clerk I haven't seen before, but about my age, "how often do you clean your sewing machine?" "I've had it cleaned twice in ....twenty years." Shock and awe.

I probably won't wait that long, but I discovered an alternate use for the Outlook Address Book. Under Sewing Machine, for the company name, I put down I had it cleaned in the summer of 2010. No more faulty memory either.

Already?

It is August already and the long promised company will soon be here. Guests from Germany the first weekend and from Hawaii on the last weekend.

It will be like taking a vacation in place. We will get to sleep in our own beds, but will see the monuments through fresh eyes.

This is my favorite screen saver at the moment, the two grandchildren heading to the pool for a swimming lesson.

The tractor is John Deere green, but the old brand is Oliver Super 44. Close enough to remind me of the third cutting of alfalpha. Those were the days.

Chicken Out Closes

Just one after another of our long time tenants are disappearing. They never ask our permission or give us warning. One day we drive by and the tell tale signs of departure are apparent.

In this case, no more neon sign, just the outline of the etched name remains and a solitary paper in the window, Retail Space For Lease.

No more marinated rotisserie chicken - remember how we used to divide the quarter pounder white deal with brocolli, Martta?

Personal Recognizance

I graduated to a real gym in Martta's pursuit of my personal fitness in November 2008. For the same price as me alone for Curves (gym light according to Miss Martta), I could join at the family level and Neil could have full access too - as long as we paid the membership for three years up front. Did that.

I think we went once together.

I go all the time. But this Saturday took the cake.

I am just saying goodbye, wondering whether I would make my Weight Watchers monthly weigh in for free, or if the overactive fork would do me in, when the attendant - and I don't even know her name - said, "Excuse me. Where is your husband?" I must have done a double take. I didn't even know she knew there was a Mr. me. "I never see him. Does he need help to get here? I would be glad to give him a personal call telling him to get out of bed, and get in here!" LOL all the way to WW.

Laundered Levi's

These are discarded laundry samples of the bottoms of men's golf shorts - sturdy fabric and enough variety in color to make a charity quilt - given to me by my friend at Levi. They were headed to the trash bin when I volunteered, there might be enough for one of our church quilts.

All a person has to do is cut the tracking labels off (six clips of the plastic fasteners); cut off the hemmed bottom while making sure you can squeeze a 9" square out of the result; and then accumulate 63.

Takes a while. Now to wait for a long winter weekend to assemble. It's light now, so I need to go out and weed. Working on the front because we have company coming next weekend.