Weekend in DC

If you've never been there, you should make every effort

to go to Washington DC while the cherry blossoms are blooming.

We went, along with a few thousand of our closest friends.

Well, actually, there were just 6 of us.

But everywhere we went, everyone else went too.

Or so it seemed.

As usual, Jessica and Brian were great tour guides.

It's very handy to have family who live and work in tourist spots!

About to be married Kevin and Katie found a heart shaped cherry tree.

Hey! What are you two doing back there?

It was a drizzly day, so as the cherry blossoms fell, they stuck to everything.

I wish I had a picture of the car at the Metro Station that was plastered with blossoms.

From a distance, it looked like it was covered with pink snow.

Speaking of the Metro Station, it was Katie's first experience with it.

Let's just say she does not envy Brian's daily hour commute by subway.

I have a fascination with tree trunks.

Cherry blossoms nestled among the roots is an added bonus.

These trees are the oldest of the ones planted next to the Tidal Basin.

The very ones that were presented to Washington by the Japanese

as a gesture of friendship and goodwill on March 27, 1912.

According to our tour guide Brian, the trees normally only live for 50 years.

These trees are celebrating their 100th birthday!

We've toured DC on clear days, in perfect weather.

But even on a cloudy, rainy day, the Washington Monument is breathtaking.

Since we have all seen DC before,

and since it was raining,

and since our thousands of friends were taking in the sights,

we decided to skip most of the monuments on this trip.

But Jessica and Brian did want us to see the Old Post Office.

Or rather, they wanted us to go up 315 feet into the Clock Tower.

They said the only other place to get that view of DC is the Washington Monument.

But it is currently closed due to damage from last summers earthquake.

Because it was rainy, the view wasn't clear.

But the Lincoln Memorial was still impressive.

And how cool is it to look down the street and see our nation's Capitol?

Anytime you're in DC, expect to walk.

And walk.

And walk.

They took us to a restaurant that Brian said was a quarter mile or so away.

Uh huh.

We know a quarter mile, and that dear Brian was no quarter mile.

But anyway....it was fun.

And so was the Natural History Museum.

And the American History Museum

where we saw this poor guy with his aching back.

We know just how you feel good sir.

DC is truly a wonderful place to visit.

Every American should try to see it at least once.

There's so much to see and do!

You could spend weeks trying to see it all.

And it's all free for the viewing!

Birds Took Over the Grill

I was sitting at our dining table this morning, looking out at the deck. I noticed several birds kept landing on the deck railing, but that's nothing new since there are trees close to the deck.

But then, one of the birds landed on the grill, and walked into the hole on the end of the grill cover. It turned right around and walked back out. A few seconds later though, another bird did the same thing. But....it did NOT walk back out.

Uh Oh.

I went out to investigate. Bird poo around the grill. Bits of grass and straw underneath it.

And when I opened the cover............

Uh Oh. That's not good.

Well...I guess for the birds it was great. Not so much for us.

I stepped inside the house, and looked back out a couple minutes later.

And what did I see?

It certainly didn't take Billy long to catch the scent!

Isn't funny how photos show something very clearly that you don't notice in real life? We may have had a mild winter, but it must have been hard on the grill. Look at all that rust on the edge! Where did that come from? No wonder the birds took over, they think it's no longer usable!



Gearing up for summer

The three men of the house (well, 2 different houses, on the same property) may not look busy, but their minds are racing. It's going to be a busy summer...

• a hog barn under construction as we speak
• a machinery shed to be built
• steers to be bought and pastured
• lots of smaller projects to be tackled

and oh yeah............

• Kevin's wedding right in the middle of it.

Better get busy boys!!!



Bundles of books

Old books are so cool. To read of course, but also just for looks.

A couple years ago, I picked up several old books at an auction, and I started bundling them together using homespun fabric. Usually, I'd make the bundle a stack of 3 old books.

I've sold lots of these bundles - a few people have looked carefully at the titles because they intended to take the bundle apart and read them. Most have bought them just for the looks though. I carefully bundle them by size, color, texture etc. until I have a pleasing combination.

Then, I started seeing bundles of books online, with the covers torn off. WHAT? I was appalled. Well, ok, that's an exaggeration, but I didn't care for it. It seemed so destructive.

So, what did I do?



I joined the crowd.

If everyone else jumped off a cliff, would I do it to? Hmmm.

I chose books whose covers weren't anything special. And I have to admit, I kind of like the look now.

We were in a Restoration Hardware store in Tyson's Corner, VA a couple weeks ago. LOVE that store! So much eye candy! So many ideas!

But the prices! Oh my! Let's just say, I didn't pick anything up but ideas.

And guess what we saw there? Yep! Bundles of books without covers! Tied together with just a piece of twine.

I went a little fancier on mine, sticking with the fabric.

Just keeping up with the big boys, but at a much lower price!

Silverware Signs

Instead of playing with my food, I started playing with silverware.....

Old barnwood + Old silverware = New sign.

Fun stuff!