Company Dinner

First dinner - homemade macaroni with the last 1/2 bag from my stash, fresh spinach, Asian salad and fresh Sour Dough Bread!

Linda is here for the weekend and now Neil is calling the steaks are ready. Time for chow on night two.

Go see RED, the movie with Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman. Hillarious and great continuity. All the famous actors did well.

Few Things More Gratifying...

than planting grass seed in the Fall.

We had a depression in the lowest part of the back yard which stayed wet longer and longer and became more impossible to mow through, eventually turning to standing water like a bog.

We hired someone to lift the sod, add new dirt and put down sod, but they came the day before we left for Fourth of July vacation during the hottest part of the year. Portions of the sodded grass died.

I finally got the grass seed two weeks ago, scratched the dirt/dead sod, stirred the seeds around and went on to the next bare spot. I quickly tired of that approach and just put the seed on top of most of the remaining patches.

Here we are two weeks later and the first part I worked up has bloomed famously (frothy lighter green in foreground), the other bare parts still have the seed sitting on top, not even the birds have found it.

11:03 pm

Linda arrived at National a little earlier than I expected and was a good enough sport to catch the Metro to my station. We met up on the lower level and came home. Dinner at Laredo Grill, then watched the Pelican Brief.

She had given me men's short samples - one leg, multiple colors and a load of them during a previous visit to San Francisco. I brought them home and cut them into the 9" squares for the church charity quilts.

We started to arrange the colors. Just 63 possibilities. We'll keep working on the layout and then will sew and donate to the Quilters.

Time stamp is because I almost ran out of time to get this date. I have blogged almost a year and I still have to make an entry each day, or I lose the date as a heading.

Union Noise

The unions are getting ready for Halloween. This large inflated mouse is on the back of a truck, illegally parked in a loading zone, and unfortunately you can't see the driver has raised the hood and appears to be looking at a vehicle that can't move, therefore doesn't deserve a ticket.

It did catch my eye, but the noise did much earlier. A block away I could hear the drums, whistles and reggae sounds to people answering chants. They are more like music than words, but the idea is to protest nonunion carpenters working at any given site in DC. Northern Virginia is a right to work state and sometimes those companies win work in DC.

The unions hire the street people to march during lunch hour so the show and noise are over at 1pm.

Fall Color

These are the yellows I thought would come out in the full fountain picture from yesterday, but it was 10am and too gray, or the water was too opague.

We have had the yellows for about a week and we had our first frost this week, so now the fiery orange and red colors are coming out.

About a third of the leaves are still green, so we will need another frost to catch their attention and remind them, this is the time for fall color and falling off the trees. Summer is over!

Taken from the fourth deck of the metro parking garage, my typical parking space with my new life balance schedule.

Freedom Plaza Fountain

I had a meeting at Commerce this morning so walked over.

It was supposed to be partly sunny and if that had been the case, you would have seen all the tree leaves behind the fountain would have been bright yellow. Additionally, in the lower right, through the water, you can see Treasury - flag on top.

This is looking up Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House and that is the gate at Treasury we entered for the White House tour.

This fountain, in the DaVinci Lost Symbol book mentioning Freedom Plaza, was fully working today, a rare occurence. Sorry the sun was not shining as promised. The real rain comes tomorrow.

Not So Fast

Well, fiddle-dee-dee. I came in from weeding in the backyard thinking I would clean up and get into house clothes for the day, and look what I found. Our newly installed shower curtain had slid to the top of the tub.

You can see this temporary rod only has rubber endings. I will have to look on the Do-It-Yourself Network on the computer to see how to secure the holders.

I think it will involve a molly bolt, a rubber housing and a strategic screw into/through the rubber end points reminding them not to shear off and fall to the floor. Sigh....

New Neighbors

The new neighbors are back from China. I didn't even know Natasha sold her house until I ran into her at Weight Watchers, a couple of weeks later.

The couple across the street got a divorce and they had to sell their house. It was on the market three weeks and then the sign was down. In these hard times, we thought they couldn't sell it.

Turns out they sold it to a young couple who promptly went to China for six weeks. Now Martta and I know why, the moon festival, like our Thanksgiving, a holiday to celebrate blessings and family.

We will take some Snickerdoodles over later this afternoon and say welcome.

He is mowing his lawn for the first time with his toddler "helping". He mows up the hill and the toddler runs ahead. Then before he can back up the toddler is back at the curb waiting to beat his dad to the top again. Fun to watch.

No More Mold

No more shower doors which were trapping mold in the innards of their moving parts, multiplying and growing out into the shower as fast as we could keep it clean. We will get a single rod from Ferguson's later (you had to order it and wait) to match the brushed nickel towel bars.

And you can't tell by the picture with the sun coming solidly in the backyard window that the tiles are neutral cream (not yellow gold), the shower curtain matches the cream in the curtains, and the overall result is a bigger looking bathroom.

I will need to get a red rug. The green rug that has gone along with the pictures of the light houses now seems odd man out. Red on the floor will tie everything together again.

Nice job, Neil!

Early Voting

I know they talk about "vote early, vote often" in some States of this union, but clearly the voting pamphlet that arrived at our house only wants us to vote once in Maryland. But you can vote by three options: absentee ballot, early or on the actual election day.

"Early" starts tonight and lines up perfectly with date night, so we are off to Taco Bell in Germantown and on to the polling place. If it is crowded tonight, we will go later in the weekend.

What luxury early voting brings - going when it is convenient for our schedules!

Lighter Than Air

I am taking an exercise class and the teacher noticed that my tennis shoes were sliding forward when I had my feet planted forward and was sitting on the big exercise ball or pushing against the wall.

Not good. I could fall down.

Would it be a problem if you bought new shoes?

I guess not. I have had the pair I had on for four years. I guess it was time.

Found some that have nitrogen in the sole - see the dots - it looks like it is trying to get out - but regardless of the rhetoric, they do feel light and seem to push back when I walk, positively cushion-y.

Transcribing

I keep getting asked, "tell me about your China trip," but I just tell people, "wait, I am typing my journal. Then I will add some pictures and publish to the Kindle feature: self-publishing."

And tonight with no meetings on my calendar, I am sitting here typing my notes. I filled the notebook and turned it upside down and came back from the other side. Quite a bit left to do.

I am still on day one.

Stop laughing. I am a serious journal writer. I am on typing page five. I keep remembering things I didn't write down.

I'll let you know when I start adding pictures. By the way, my daughter is already done posting all her pictures and writing titles on her blog, so this will be like an instant replay when it is done.

Donna Won

Donna won the fall colored table runner, and I forgot my camera. It was easy but had a good range of oranges, browns, greens - fall batiks.

We talked about the Chinese cooking class and I told them I would share the recipes. This is one of my favorites.

We have a scrappy quilt homework assignment with a four patch and a rectangle. I will work it up and take a picture later this week.

They liked all my projects for the youth auction.

The Lone Star State of Texas

A couple of years ago the kids both moved to Austin, TX. A city that has live music, a river, the capitol, high tech, the university, and plenty of people - this is no podunk junction.

I am partial to the weather having grown up on a semi-arid, desert plateau.

I'd like to have a house in Texas some day.

Until then, this bird house with the lone star above the doorway is a reminder of a life time goal. It is supposed to be outside, but I can see it best right here on the family room floor beneath the amazing quilt that Helen transformed into a museum piece, the Baltimore Blues.

It is a cozy feeling to watch the news and see the house just sitting there patiently waiting for change.

a.k.a. H O T E L

This is a hotel in Pingyao, near our favorite restaurant at street number 73. We saw caucasian tourists coming out in numbers, so it is an organized tour location and must hold more than our bed and breakfast.

We've been asked about our speaking no Chinese and still going to China. Was that hard?

You can see by this sign that English is found to help Americans get around. In this case, "Eating Drinking Staying". Why they didn't settle for the shorter and more comprehensive word (Hotel) made for fun discoveries in how the English would appear.

All Three Done

This is very hard to see, even worse on the other side with all the red, green and white. I finished quilting and binding the tree skirt Judi was given at a yardsale in Oregon.

I used the stash pink that has been hanging around for years on the back, making it reversible, if you plan on having a pink Christmas one year.

I outlined the large triangles at the top, then densely quilted random whirly-gigs in the red middle band and for the white apple piece near the bottom, I had descending triangles.

Operative word: done in time for the youth auction.

Miss Caroline

Not your ordinary three year old, our Miss Caroline. She likes dresses and lucky for this Gramee, she finally said, "okay. Let's try this one on."

It was her China gift and it did fit to perfection. Here she shows off her shapely legs!

It may have been disappointing at first to see a dress in a package, especially when compared to a frog that brother Jack got that sounded like a frog in the wild, but eventually, she came around to the smooth, silky, beautiful Asian dress which all pretty girls should have in their wardrobe!

She looks like a model. Save this picture!

Frogs For the Boys

This handsome little carved wonder carries its own miniature baseball bat, which when extracted and rubbed along the back, imitates the noise a frog would make in the great outdoors. It does take some skill because the best sound comes when you hold just the back legs. It takes about two seconds to become an expert.

It is addictive to do. I got one for Neil and one for Jack.

Miss Carolina, loving dresses, did not get a frog.

My New Best Friends

We had business guests from China in for meetings in Frederick, but I showed them Washington, DC on Sunday, their free day.

We started by walking all around the White House and taking pictures. Then on to the Vietnam Memorial, the Korean Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial, after a short stop at the Einstein statue and taking pictures of the State Department.

On to the Roosevelt Memorial, up to the reflecting pool at the Capitol, and a few crossed the street to take pictures of the Indian museum. We had tickets for the top of the Washington Monument, then down the back lawn (shown here with the Lincoln memorial in the background) to the World War II Memorial and a short picnic lunch.

Then it was off to the National Gallery of Art and the Air and Space Museum, the Pentagon Memorial, Arlington and the Iwo Jima Memorial. Whew! What great walkers. We didn't miss much and were very glad to sit down to steak dinner at Ruth Chris Steak House before they left for their next hotel in Frederick.

Dine Like An Empress

Fangshan Restaurant is a Time-Honored Restaurant, national Special Grade Restaurant and a Five-Starred restaurant features for its royal style dishes.

Located at the building of Yilan Hall and Daoning Palace, which were built during Qianlong Reign of Qing Dynasty in Beihai Park, boasting a history of over 80 years. Fangshan Restaurant was established by some royal chef's from the roayal kitchen in 1925.

The name "Fangshan" means to prepare dishes in the style of royal kitchen.

You are always welcome to Fangshan restuarant to enjoy our tasteful and nutritious dishes, especially our Man-Han Banquet, which embodies royal cuisine.

Your suggestions as for our service and dishes are very much appreciated.

And did I say it was over loaded with gold paint? And those are wooden carvings on the far wall. We had them on our side of the room too.

Had Martta found the dim sum page, we would not have eaten what we did. Missed it.

Quilt Designs

This was a window in one of the Suzhou gardens in China. The base of the windows were as elaborately carved, but darker. The pattern against the light from the windows showed up best.

We took lots of pictures like this, which have gone to the contemplative part of my brain. Some day in the future, I will make a quilt and be able to trace it back to this picture which inspired the new design.

You never know what will strike the fancy in the future. We covered our bases by taking 2500 pictures between us.

Touring DC

I toured DC with 12 Chinese business guests and we covered lots, including two memorials I had not been to: the Korean Memorial and the Pentagon Memorial.

I had heard there was water under the benches representing the 184 killed when the plane crashed into the Pentagon, but as you approach the field, it is all light gravel and looks like a desert.

But as you approach each widely set bench, there is a name on the leading edged, this one is Bernard Brown's, and underneath running water. It jets from left to right in this picture. The ripples in the sun create a shimmer on each bench arm.

We covered twice as much on the agenda because we kept adding things. Time for bed!

Praying Mantis

I was mowing the lawn in front today and noticed a praying mantis drinking the nectar of the yellow Chrysanthemum. Bottoms up.

I ran up to get the camera and he noticed how close I was. The expression I captured runs along the lines of "pardon me, are you getting too close to my dinner?"

Notice his usually all green body, like the under wing just showing, has turned brown to match the fall folliage. No wonder they are called praying mantis, for that is what the "what's going on here" position seems to imitate.

As soon as I put the camera back in the house and returned to the mower, he was bottoms up again sipping the nectar as if our interlude had not happened.

I found a second smaller mantis in the back in the middle of the grass when I was mowing the back yard. I stopped and caught him and remembering the favorite place in the front, placed him on the backyard mum, yes, it is also bright yellow. He also set about eating the moment he hit this sweet spot.

The Humble Administrator's Garden

Martta and I both have shots of the number of people visiting the Lingering Garden in Suzhou as they crossed a zigzag bridge during a light rain.

This was a day trip out of Shanghai and we returned just in time to catch the maglev train to the airport and catch our flight to Beijing.

The rain stopped by the time we reached the Humble Administrator's Garden later that day after a traffic jam on a street in between that just was like a sideways caterpillar - you could only move forward as one car inched past you freeing a little day light.

Fall Table Runner

This is the quilt group homework this month - three segments of a longer table runner.

One of the easiest requirements to complete, it meant sewing eight straight lines - ten minutes max.

And the lady who gave the unfinished fabric for the tree skirt wrote that since I did all the work, I should keep it. I will put it in the church silent auction to benefit the youth at the end of the month.

Beautiful day in town today - 75 and sunny. Same forecast for the next three days. Hooray. The beautiful Fall has arrived.

388.1

I had client meetings in Lynchburg, VA today. The office was right on main street, three blocks from the river walk and a fountain. 388.1 is the number of roundtrip miles.

I ate at the Main Street Market, which had grocery type snacks on the right side of the store, but also was a cafe on the left. I was a single, so the young man escorting customers to seats thought I should give the bar a try.

I had a nice waitress and when I asked about the Duet, she explained you can choose from any two of all the items listed. I chose tuna salad and hummus with pita chips.

It was delicious and filling, and yes, I had it with coffee. What does the inside of the cup say? "Our Love Just Keeps Growing" says Daisy Duck speaking to Donald, the figures on the outside of the cup.

A drive that reminded me of all the times we drove to Virginia Tech. Southern Virginia is full of hills, rocks, trees and winding country roads. The weather cooperated too, no rain until I hit 66 on the way home.

Finished The Tree Skirt

Well, sort of, I finished piecing the top. Turned out pretty nice. Now I have to get backing material because I don't have enough fabric left after rearranging the what's left pieces I was given.

I have some batting I can use and then the instructions say, "machine quilt. You might want to take a class before you start."

No time for that. Heading down to Southern Virginia for a client meeting tomorrow. Weather is cool, but no precipitation expected, so it should be an easy drive down and back.

I will be thinking of quilting designs the whole way down.

I Won the Drawing at Quilt Group

This is a study in pastels using jelly roll strips. Mimi brought it over saying I had won the drawing at the big quilt group. Amazing.

It will turn out three feet square, so I will label it a baby blanket, and donate it to the silent auction later this month at church to support youth activities.

A nice start to the week.

And I finished the quilting homework. More on that tomorrow night.

Chinese Cooking Class

Looking a little startled that we would be given a big cleaver to prepare little finger-sized egg plant, Jane gets ready for something she has never had before, a cooking class. She travelled half way around the world to partake. The first morning we were in Beijing, Martta had signed us up for a Chinese cooking class.

The owner has been doing this for five years. She has eight students a day, six days a week. And she is good.

Tim and Brandy from San Francisco are in the background and you can just see a bit of Savaughn. Her husband Mark and she are working in the UAE, but from Ireland. We also had an Italian student from the university and a lady from Mongolia.

You start the six hour class by going to the market and buying the ingredients. This includes what to look for and what to overlook as you purchase. Back in the class, we had a half hour lecture on the differences in soy sauce, vinegar and white wine.

Nevertheless we managed to cook/eat five dishes. Some were for demonstration only, but we did make two full recipes, the pepper steak and the eggplant.

We had instructions. I have my glasses on because they were in a smaller font. Here is some miscellaneous information about the first lecture. I did check my soy and vinegar bottles at home and it is very hard to see any acid content. The one I found (rice vinegar) only had 4, so I plan to go shopping. I am sure you must have the right acidity to repeat the meal.

Neil and I will both be trying to replicate the egg plant and pepper beef today without a wok but with good intentions.

Christmas Tree Skirt

Let's see. I started out by solving two five star sudoku's, went to the gym, went to Weight Watchers, mowed my lawn, sprayed some thistles, attended a board meeting, did some laundry, a little grocery shopping, oh, and started a tree skirt that Judi had sent my way.

This is a charity effort, finishing something started in 1993 and tucked away. It looked complete until I got the fabric out. She must have had some pieces already sewn by her sewing machine which got disgarded in her recent move. So the Red's are two colors, but similar in tone and I had to add the bright white at the top of the skirt. Fun to do.

Amazing how much time a person has when she is not walking ten to fifteen miles a day taking in the sights of a foreign country.

When The Sun Shines

Friday night we always go out for Date Night dinner. Tonight was no exception, but as I was checking for car keys, I looked out into the back yard. Could that be an out of season daisy?

Amazing. Tons of rain, mild weather still and a double treat bloom, whose bretheran have long since faded at the end of June.

It looked especially bright in the late afternoon sun.