Gameday

The exciting stuff first....it was game day. We spent Sunday arvo at the baseball watching the Nats get beaten 5-1 by the Miami Marlins. The crowd was 36,000 which Deb and I noted as the number of people who watched the PM debate at home last week - is that funny or disappointing? The weather was cool but the wind was cold. Apparently summer does still happen here?  We had good seats up high, they were cheap but still very good. Went with friends and just had a great time. Deb's now got her hat and we enjoyed a few hot doggies.

My friend likes the star batter called Bryce Harper - he was voted MVP (most valuable player for those non-sporty types) last year unanimously which has never been done I think. Only 23 years old and he's been playing for Nats since a young bloke. But I have to say, he's struck out and done nothing of greatness each time I've been so I'm yet to see him in fine form. Maybe I'm jinxing him?

The things that go on with the game are quite incredible. The pitcher ball speed is usually 90+mph = that's fast !! The umpire wears a suit-like uniform. If there's a good batter up and the bases are loaded or a run might be scored, the pitcher decides to throw 'balls' intentionally so the batter can't hit them. The batter stands there leaning on his bat, and the pitcher throws direct to the catcher. So batter walks after 4 balls and limits the moves on the diamond. Pretty cheeky I thought, bit like bowling underarm in cricket.

The kids LOVE the game. They always have give-aways and the kids are such devoted little fans. Very cute as they all dressed in their gear and bring their little catchers mit so they can catch a flyball should one fly off the bat into the crowd. Not me, I'd probably get hit in the bloody head cause I looked away for a minute.

The metro train to/from the game is packed but everyone gets along well enough. 

This week has been quite long and busy. I did some temp work and will do again this week. Wow, it has just knocked my routine out and I felt quite disorganised. The extra $$ will be helpful for travel adventures. 

We bought a cheap rowing machine on Amazon to help burn those calories. Below is the before and after shots. My little bat cave is filling with toys - but hard working toys !! 

 

Funny thing...saw a sexy shiny advertisement brochure in the hairdresser...it was called Ruff Plastic Surgery. I looked twice - the surgeon was called Ken Ruff so that's his name. Not quite promoting the standard you might want with plastic surgery !  

I was talking to another Aussie at work, she tells me Ben and Jerry's ice cream is from Vermont. I didn't know this. She was the queen of ice cream it seems so she knows her stuff. So I caught the bus home that day and in the bus shelter was this sign...my god, I was drooling a the ad. 

The one in the picture is vanilla with choc chips, caramel ice cream with a thick caramel core and coconut through it. It looks devine. So now I have to find this and scratch my ice cream itch. Better take a handful of lactose tablets first.

We plan to travel up to Vermont and Maine later so we will definitely be checking out Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory.

Deb took Cricket for a huge run yesterday. They went along the creek line and ended up doing around 11kms. Cricket LOVED it. He just runs, and runs, and runs, and runs...and you get the drift. Gotta love this little selfie effort. He's currently asleep next to me on the floor, snoring. Such a lovely little boy. Normally it's Macey but she'll be out with Deb. 

We have a smorgersboard of concerts we can go to. I am trying to get tix to see Aretha Franklin in August. Paul McCartner is coming, Bob Dillan, Boy George, Cyndi Lauper, Chicago...and a long list of others. 

Been busy at night planning an upcoming road trip with our friend - we'll call her bike-stand-girl - she's visiting in a few months and we are off on a trip to the south. 

Okey dokes, no more to tell for now. I need a hot shower and an early night. 

Working cramps my lifestyle

I'm doing some Temp Work for the next few weeks and wow, it's just cramping my lifestyle !! No naps, no Greys Anatomy, no internet...but I"m getting good pocket money to help pay for our travel adventures. So, the blog has been quiet cause I'm working. Stay with me though, I will maintain at least one blog a week if not my usual two.

 

Tabouli

The rain finally stopped today, it's been a week. How will we cope in snow? Not many walks with the dogs and we've all got a little cabin fever.

I went and saw the Batman V Superman movie and loved it. There is a monthly movie morning group so I joined them and it was good to meet new people. 

I had my haircut too but had a different girl to last time due to last minute change of appts. She took ages but did ok. I feel quite scalped but it will grow back as always. My usual hairdresser said hello and asked how I was settling in - had I gone to the local shopping mall. I said no,not yet. She said, very casually, oh you must go, but not today cause there's just been a shooting there !! My jaw dropped and I said what? I came home and yep, the news was plastered with it. A guy shot a few people the day before and that day too. They caught him, a police officer I think, sounded domestic violence related. I think the people killed were bystanders. Christ, this place is crazy. 

We went to a garden party at Deb's 'boss' house. It was great to see it and despite the weeks of planning that she was involved in and the week of wet weather, it was a very good afternoon of party pies, hotdogs and sausages. I met the house chef and she was a cracker with a great sense of cheeky humour. We popped in to say goodbye and she said here, take some leftovers. We said no, but she said yes, there's heaps and I've got plenty of tabouli, lesbians love tabouli !! We laughed - since when? So we have a big bag of tabouli in our fridge with mini quiches.

Cricket and Deb went for their Saturday morning long run. It's the quickest pace Deb runs each week. They run 10k and Cricket is just not puffed at all. I do my own run and then walk Mace afterwards. We met Deb so did a family walk together. Cricket was off doing his steeplechase in the forest as if hadn't just run 10k. We are thinking of getting a little GPS tag on his collar given we lost him briefly last week. 

It's Mother's Day today. My mum passed away quite a while ago. I think of her every day and am thankful for the life she gave me in order to ensure I could enjoy the life I have now. While she loved Volvos, Collingwood and country music, she was still the best mother a kid could have. 

I saw this picture on Facebook and it kinda fits me pretty well. 

Driving in DC is - bloody frustrating to say the least. The roads are poorly maintained, potholes are just bigger than big and dodging turning cars or cars double parked - is an obstacle course. If you take the inside lane, you get cars stopped and waiting to turn left. If you take the outside lane you get cars double-parked to...grab a coffee, pick up someone, talk on their phone on maybe just park there cause they can ! So it's lefty righty lefty righty all the way. So all this just upsets the flow of traffic, creates dodging and jostling, constant beeping of horns and delays. 

I start my two weeks of Temp Work tomorrow. Will be shock to me and the dogs - no company for them all day and me having to work a full day. But, I'm very excited to be near some coffee places that sell good coffee. I think my body has gone cold turkey long enough.

It's raining again...

It's just forecast for rain for days and days and days. However, while it's not raining all day, the weather is overcast, dreary and scattered with thunderstorms. The dogs get dirty and wet on their walks and I gave them their first bath the other day. Lovely but that was not what they thought !

I've been spending my time this week planning our upcoming weekend to Florida. I am very excited...we are going to visit Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Centre. It's a place that you need several days and visits but we can only do one afternoon so we'll do the best we can. I would love to see a rocket launch but not so lucky, apparently one is due a few days after we leave.

I have scored some temp work at Deb's work, for the next two weeks. The $$ will come in very handy. It will help pay for our travel adventures and the new work pants I have to buy since I've busted out of my old ones - unless I want to look like I'm trying to wear a leotard for the gym. Looks like I'm on to Plan C now since Plan's A and B no longer fit :o

We got a little Weber bbq with our furniture allowance and I set it up today. It takes a little gas cannister rather than a bottle but I"m sure I can hook a hose to a big bottle somehow - will go to the bbq shop and ask them how. I also made some pizza dough tonight - I really miss the pizza oven so I made a pizza in the normal oven. Turned out ok and I think I would prefer that then spending $50 on takeaway pizza. I think I can cook pizza in the weber too so I'll give that a crack later. I am also going to try and make some pasta - will wait for a long, quiet and boring day for that. I love my pasta - I'm sure I have Italian heritage ;)

I've been going to a supermarket called Wholefoods. They are a big chain that specialise in fresh and organic food. The meat and veg is fresh and lovely. They also have food bars where you can pick salads and hot foods for lunch or dinner. It's bloody yummy. You pay by the weight of your dish.  I couldn't resist today so I bought some Ethiopian beef curry thing and a chickpea dish.  I loved it !!

I've been keenly following the baseball. I'm learning how to read the scoresheets and statistics. I'm hoping to get to a game in two weeks on a Sunday afternoon with my new mate!

I've been riding on the trainer with the Zwift game. The graphics are incredible - check out the picture. I've got a little 'bat cave' in the basement which is where the bikes and tools are. We're getting a rowing machine soon so it will be cardio-city here soon. Bit bloody hot down there but I can open a window for some air. But, a fan will be needed I think.

I'm gradually increasing my running - now up to 3k's. It feels great to run but I've lost so much run fitness after 3 years of nothing.

I'm off to the movies tomorrow with other spouses. It should be a good chance to meet others and venture over to the other side of town.

Massive news here is that Trump is now the expected Republican nominee. The others have dropped out so it's pretty much his. If Hillary keeps winning, she will be the democratic nominee. What an interesting election process that will be.

A cute pic of Macey Moo to finish. She's a lovely girl :) 

Friends

It was a weekend of Aussie friends. A former work friend who's been here for 3 years invited us around for arvo tea on Saturday and it was fantastic to catch up with her and her family. Very easy to pick the house, there was a huge Aussie flag on the front porch. It felt the most 'at home' since we've been here. I look forward to staying in touch with them. 

On Sunday we brunch'd with another friend visiting. Again, lovely to see a familiar face and catchup on gossip and Australian news. 

It was raining most of the weekend but we managed a walk with the dogs. We briefly lost Cricket in the big forest yesterday. He and Macey run off chasing squirrels and anything that moves but they usually come back when called. Something grabbed Cricket's attention and he was off, gone. Shit, we called and called and whistled and called. He runs so damn quick. We couldn't hear him so we just called and split up. After about 5 minutes he appeared in the opposite direction. Thank bloody god for that - I totally crapped myself. I roused on him but not sure he won't do it again !! 

 

Cricket has decided the chair at our entrance is a good sleeping spot. How could we deny him. He loves that little spot. And he loves a long stretchy tug rope we got from Belco Pets (best pet store in Canb). Macey and him play for ages with it. Deb likes to tuck it in her pants like a tail and walk around to tease Cricky. The pic above shows her washing the dishes and baiting Cricky to grab it. 

We shuffled a few drawers around and sorted our clothes out a bit more. I had a box to finally unpack (I forgot about it) and look what I found in a bag. I think it's time for Batman to make an appearance. 

I ordered a TV screen to hook up my computer. I've joined this cycling game program called Zwift in order to get some training done on the wind trainer. I wanted to see the big screen - it arrived today so I will be down riding/playing this week. Hopefully start to work off those kilos gained over the past few years of injury.

We also got a new baby Weber bbq. I brought ours over but I couldn't seem to get reliable advice about whether a US gas bottle would connect to an Aust gas regulator safely. Decided not to take the risk and get one here. Looking forward to a some bbq steaks now especially with summer coming (apparently?).

Baseball

Woo bloody hoo !!  I went to my first baseball game here in DC. This is my second game ever with the first being to Yankee Stadium last year on our holiday. I committed to supporting New York Yankees but, Washington Nationals 'Nats' are the local team so I have to follow the home team. Besides, there are two baseball leagues in the US and the Yankees are in the other league so I will never get to see them. The best of each league playoff at the end for the series though. So, the Yankees will keep a soft spot and be my second team but, for now, it's the Nats !! Today, they played the Philadelphia Phillies.

I went with a mate who's here enjoying the 'good time' like me and it was great. The day was raining and the game start was delayed. But it stopped raining and just stayed cold. I was very excited to get my hat - everyone has a hat ! It's amazing the number of people who come to the game - do they not work?

Everyone gets the train (metro) there and you just follow the crowd of red hats. I love the buzz in the air both before and after the game with everyone on the train. I learnt a lot about the game and was yelling and waiting to catch a flyball should one come screaming our way. Plenty of flyballs but none for us. Was praying one wouldn't hit me in the head. 

 

The game opens with the US national anthem and as always, I was left with goose bumps. They are sooooo patriotic here and rightly so.  There is all kinds of entertainment and never a dull moment. At Nats stadium, they have the racing Presidents. You can see them in the pictures above. At some stage in the game, they come onto the field and a have a running race - it's quite funny. And apparently, at EVERY ball game, in the seventh innings, they do the 7th Inning Stretch.  The seventh-inning stretch is a tradition that takes place between the halves of the seventh inning of a game – in the middle of the seventh inning. Fans generally stand up and stretch out their arms and legs and sometimes walk around. It is a popular time to get a late-game snack as well. Also vendors end alcohol sales after the last out of the seventh inning. The stretch also serves as a short break for the players. Most ballparks in professional baseball mark this point of the game by playing the crowd sing-along song 'Take me out to the Ball Game' (courtesy of wiki). The words show on the big screen and loudly we sign along. It was great.

I had to get a hotdog and it was good. There was every kind of food stand you could think of - mexican, burgers, dogs, pretzels, popcorn, crab cakes, pizza and the beer.

So the game was good. It moved at a good pace but it was zero-all until the 9th innings when the Phillies got 3 runs and the Nats couldn't score. So we lost ! For info, there is never a draw so if nobody scores after 9 innings, I think both teams keep playing until one team scores. Sometimes, this could take hours. Today's game took about 4 hours which is average.

I now have to research some terminology as there are so many names for the different ways to pitch a ball - fastball, slider, sinker, curveball and knuckle curve just to name a few. The staff guy at our seating area noticed my Aussie accent. He then tells me he loved Dundee and that he really loved Steve Irwin. He also says he loved Miss Fishers Mysteries. I never heard of it and said are you sure it's Australian - he reassured me that it was. I have since checked and now know which show it is. Later when I came back from another break he said hey again, you're the Australian, by the way I love Ian Thorpe too, we love Ian Thorpe here. He was so funny.

Well, that's about all the excitement for my mid-week post. Oh except, Trump had a big success at the latest primaries on Tues so he is getting very close to securing the Republican nomination - O-M-G !

 

Lest We Forget

Somme Battlefields outside Paris - Memorial

It's ANZAC Day tomorrow but we have been following the tributes back home. We are not going to the service tomorrow and it is not a holiday here of course. There is a dawn service and a gunfire breakfast being held but we missed the chance to make the list - maybe next year. Never the less, no matter where in the world we are, we always call Australia home and always ALWAYS always remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our beautiful Australia. 

We visited the Somme Battlefields in 2012 and words cannot express the deep sadness, horror and pride we felt as we saw the battlefield, where 1000's of soldiers lost their lives. Lest We Forget. 



Yet another quiet few days so not an exciting blog post. We had a big day out today on the bikes - it was a super day outside and everyone else thought so too. We rode about 40k on the Georgetown Branch Trail and hooked up with the Capital Crescent Trail to ride into Georgetown. It is bike path ALL the way. These trails are old rail lines that have been removed and converted into walking/bike trails. Just amazing. I plan to ride this trail during the weeks for some training outside. However, there are some adventures to plan as there is another trail call the Cheasapeake & Ohio trail which runs from DC to the south for about 100 mile. So, I'll start planning, get the backpack sorted and head off on some long rides during the week. Lookout for some photos and updates in the months ahead. 

 

The scenery along the ride is beautiful - it's hard to believe you are in a big city like DC. As you approach DC and the Potomac river, you are spoilt for views.

 

We visited a shop in Georgetown called Pie Sisters who are well known for their sweet pies. They do have 3 savoury pies. They looked fantastic but we only had a chicken pie today. Definitely be going back to try those sweet pies - apple, banana cream, coconut cream, peach, blueberry, chocolate cream, strawberry...and they looked very home made. 

Came home and took the dogs for a walk. We are trying to teach Cricket that he can swim. I plonked him in the water today and he madly paddled out. Slow progress but hopefully he'll jump in himself before too long. 

And we saw three chipmunks today - OMG. Such tiny little things and very cute. They were on the lawns as we walked up the street. We thought they were baby squirrels but nope, they were little chipmunks. I wonder if they will pop up on our lawns. Dogs will go k-razzeeee.

We visited a dog sitter yesterday. This is booming business in DC - the US is incredibly pet friendly. The couple were lovely, have lots of experience from their lab rescue days and LOVE dogs. They loved Macey and Cricket so it looks like we have a place for them to stay when we travel. They have a lovely 12 yo black lab too and he's in good shape. So the three dogs will have a great time together. 

And a few pics to finish. My two kitchen supervisors keeping an eye on my cooking operations. And a very cool bike with a dual bike-stand. This is a special photo for our dear friend - aka 'bikestandgirl'. You're bike's never too cool for a bike stand !!

Oh yeah, and we stopped by a bike shop on the way home which is the one I plan to visit. A guy stops outside, locks his bike and believe it or not, he's got this thick long beaver tail hanging off the back of his jeans. We desperately wanted a photo but it didn't seem right. So he wanders off into the shop with this bloody brown tail hanging off his bum. The things you see right !!