Day 244: For love of country

DC is so full of monuments and memorials it is hard to keep track. I know I haven't seen them all, but today I added a new one when I finally saw the World War I memorial for the DC residents who fought. I've been meaning to check it out and after visiting the Air and Space Museum, Jefferson and World War II Memorials, Joey and I checked this one out before heading home.
A very specific, very neglected monument, but beautiful nonetheless. And it's no surprise that I feel a particular pull toward this, as its Grecian design is quite like a certain other beloved structure.

Day 243: Quack quack

Busy, busy day full of walking and eating and melting and DC sights! The day started out with the official new thing of the day, my surprise for Joey, a Duck tour of DC. I've seen these around the city and thought they would be tourist-rific. I have been waiting for a willing victim to visit so I could subject them to cheesy tour guides and gawking DCists on the sidewalk.
It took us around downtown, and then directly into the Potomac for a little river cruise. And it ended with complimentary quackers, which we wasted no time putting to use.
But the fun didn't stop there. We saw the Japanese WWII Memorial, had lunch, saw the Navy Memorial, and then set off for the National Archives, Joey's first visit. I was very excited this time to see the Treaty of Paris, which officially goes on view in October.
We made a quick stop by the White House to call on George and Laura, and then headed for the Nats v. Braves game, my first Nats game at night.
I should be happy they won, but you can't undo 15 years of vicariously cheering for them through the brother. It was still a good game though, even though we narrowly missed death by a scary fast line drive.

Day 242: Churchwell Kids Take DC (Or Alexandria, to start)

And the long weekend is here! And with it, so is the little brother, who came into town for the Nats game and some sight seeing. I picked him up from the train station, first time meeting someone instead of someone meeting me. Then I showed him Old Town Alexandria, where I worked, which he seemed to enjoy. Start of what I think will be a busy, but good weekend.

Carolina kids with the Wright Brothers plane at the Air and Space Museum on Sunday.

Day 241: Getting some culture

Long week, but luckily, it will end in a long weekend. Sadly, however, Labor Day means summer is officially on the way out, which means friends are arriving, friends are leaving, things are changing. Yuck. But today I made one last grasp before the change starts, and went to a free performance at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Elizabeth and I saw Bilja Krstic and Bistrik Orchestra, from the Balkans.
It was my first visit to the Kennedy Center, which was beautiful, and the orchestra was great. Good mix of instruments and some a cappella. And since Elizabeth took Serbian at UNC, I even got to understand some of what they were saying.

Lots of flags:Ooh, shiny.

Day 240: Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme

It's that time of the month again, book club time! Tonite we met at the lovely Rosemary's Thyme Bistro, which I have been wanting to try. We had a great waiter and good happy hour specials. Not a special, but very good, was the pide, which I tried, despite never having heard of it and only thinking about it for a minute. (I'm very picky and indecisive, this is big.) It was basically a flat bread boat full of feta and sausage and tomato goodness. So so good.

Day 239: Flagged for removal

Since we now have our much-desired and seriously fought for apartment, the roomie and I should be done with the apartments wanted section on Craig's List. Haha. Somehow we got sucked in to helping our landlord find a tenant for the downstairs apartment, and spent far too long posting an ad. Why so long? Because our posts kept getting rejected because they were flagged for being discriminatory. I've never been accused of discrimination before. Yeah, I don't know, apparently requesting a professional with a job and a credit report is discriminatory. Who knew?

Day 238: Free brie!

I am one of those people that grocery stores had in mind when they designed the "2 for 1" or "buy 4 get .25 free" deals. I rarely ever stop to consider if I really do need four bottles of olive oil or if that pizza brand might just be on sale for a reason. All I see is "SALE" and suddenly I'm dragging home bags of pop-tarts and laundry detergent. But, I saved $19 at Harris Teeter today! Officially, that is, as I have to add in an additional $4.77 because they didn't ring up my brie, so I got free brie! I was going over my receipt when I got home because there was a problem with my VIC card and I wanted to make sure I got all my deals, when I didn't see the brie, currently chilling in my fridge, on there. Thus, my first brie splurge in a year, and it was free!

Day 237: "Trust me just this once - you are the opposite of ordinary." (Edward, Twilight)

The more popular and bandwagon-y something becomes, the less likely I am to try it. I didn't start reading HP until the fourth book was already out. It took me years to admit Brad Pitt was hot. I still haven't seen Napoleon Dynamite. And I just now read and finished a book in the "Twilight" series. It was an impulse buy at the register when I went to get my Michael Phelps Sports Illustrated. I'm not a big fantasy person, and the only vampires I've ever been interested in live in Sunnydale, but I gave it a shot. The story is interesting and has me frantically reading to find out what happens, even though I strongly dislike her writing style. But I'm almost done with the second, so I guess it can't be too bad.

ETA: I HATE THEM. I still haven't even found the right words as to how much I dislike the message, the story, the characters, the writing, etc.

Day 236: Law of the land

So far the prime perk of my new place has been the location. I knew I was not very happy with life in the suburb-like Arlington, but I had forgotten how much I missed the city until I got here. And today I walked from my apartment to Capitol Hill, past the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court, which I had somehow never passed before. I've seen pretty much all of the important buildings here after this one, even though its beauty was slightly marred by the scaffolding, not that I should have been surprised.

Sadly, no sign of my favorite justice, Ruth Bader G. I also later read in front of the Capitol, which has far lusher grass than I've been able to find elsewhere, and obviously, a stunning view.

Day 235: Bonnie Vila

Despite my perpetual state of clumsiness, I am actually quite handy when it comes to building things. I became the master of Ikea furniture after my job in London, and all those 14 moves over the years required a good deal of varying furniture too. So with my tools from Daddy and my good friend Elizabeth, we built a bookcase and entertainment center, my first entertainment center, I believe, which now holds the first drawers I've ever built. So far, so good.
Please no comment on the differing shades of wood, I was very upset when I realized this. And yes, the roommate and I have a lot of movies, including every romantic comedy and horror movie ever made. Guess which set belongs to who(m).