Haircuts and Magpies

Finally, we got haircuts. I'm a bald badger but it will grow back. We'll go back again so it looks like my audition for Chewbacca roles are no longer a destiny. Have to share Deb's funny story though....

Got a haircut today. The hairdresser's attempt at small talk was hilarious. She asked if I found the food here different. I said there is a lot more places that sell hamburgers and hot dogs, she said "that's right, you Australians eat magpies don't you"? What the, um, 'no' I said that's a native bird. She said, my friend has an Australian boyfriend and he said he eats magpies all the time. It's a type of pie. Oh, I said, you mean meat pies! Phew!!!

I'm actually drooling looking at the meat pie...I must learn to make some. I'm sure it will be a real treat at Deb's work.

Up early this morning for a run in the city. Here's my show and tell pics.

  

I know, you're sick of white house photos but, it was a rare opportunity with no crowds. The other pic is a police motorbike - it's a Harley Davidson. No wonder these guys look cool on their bikes. It reminds me of the cop TV show back in the 70s called Chips - the California Highway Patrol. Man, those guys were hot in their tight pants. Anyway, the police were out early because there is a big nuclear security summit this week and every man his dog are in town. There are street closures and lots of police presence.

We went to our first movie the other day - Eye in The Sky. Good movie, worth watching. There are two cinemas nearby. One is like Palace Electric at home with a bar and stuff inside. The other is like the Hoyts cinema. I am hoping to see the Batman movie tomorrow. Scary though as we came out of the cinema to news reports that a gunman had been shot at Capitol Hill. He was shooting near the visitor centre. Not sure of his reason but I don't think anyone was killed thankfully.

I'm pleased to report that one of our postcards arrived at home to the kids next door. We got a photo of two very happy little vegemites. It has taken about 6 weeks to get there so hopefully the others will now reach the other lucky people we sent them too.

Well, going to make a banana cake for the folks across the road to say thanks for their little welcome treats the other week (and to return their container). I'm also lined up to make a Philly cream cheesecake slice on Friday for D's work. Here's a nice pic to finish the post. The dogs love sun baking and the morning sun is gorgeous in the lounge. Lovely Macey !!

Cherry Blossom Easter

It's that special time of year - Cherry Blossom Festival time. They are quite pretty and draw crowds from everywhere. This festival commemorates the gift of the Japanese cherry tree on 27 Mar 1912 from the Mayor of Tokoyo city to the city of Washington. He donated the trees in an effort to enhance the growing friendship between the US and Japan and also celebrate the continued close relationship between the two nations. Thanks to wiki for that !

We rode our bikes into the city and got amongst the mass of people wandering around - it was chockers. We've never seen this many people here before so wonder if this is a sign of tourist season coming. We can ride our bikes on a bike path most of the way into the city. The first section is on road but, the road is closed to cars on weekend so we get a car-free ride into the city. A very scenic ride too, about an hour each way.

Deb took Cricket for their first run together. I was worried that he wasn't used to it and to be careful with him. They ran for 8k and Cricket pulled the whole way. He didn't puff at all. Poor Deb fell onto the lounge when she got home but Cricket, he backed up with walk with me and Macey. Yep, he's definitely a working dog. No need to take it easy on him apparently.

 

Every Easter gives me special memories, especially of my sister who is no longer with us. When I was a small kid, I woke one morning to find paw prints in the dirt outside our back door, something like the picture on the left. OMG, for about one minute, I was in a trance, a shock...the Easter Bunny IS REAL, these are HIS prints. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world. And then I realised they were put there by my lovely big sister - it was a nice thing, and I never forgot it. Many years later, my sisters and I did the same thing to my young niece and she too, had that brief special moment where the Easter Bunny was real. Happy Easter to all the believers out there. 

Our Easter Sunday was uneventful. We were both pretty tired from the big day out yesterday and had a lazy day at home. I did some quick food shopping and it was incredible that there was not one Easter egg in the supermarket. I've seen them in other shops and think there were a few in the past week or so, but today it was completely empty of choc eggs. So Deb ended up with a Kit-Kat for Easter ! I hope you all had a lovely Easter with family and friends.

Sunrise Pics

Here's some pics Deb took this morning on her run. I can't run that far yet to see it, so when I grow up (ie. get more fitter) I look forward to seeing this. I just get to see the buses coming and going around the White House square as I can only run around that little block for now. She picks me up on the way back.

Washington Monument - from Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial- from WWII Memorial

And here's me at breakfast after the run - feeling thrilled to be up that early hour. We've found a little place at a hotel near Deb's work. Looks like this will be the brekky spot so you FIT girls will feel quite comfortable here when you visit - apart from the good coffee which is like finding a sossy roll !!

We left the dogs inside when we went running cause it was a bit cool this morning. Now Cricket, as a former rescue, is a scavenger and we learnt the hard way at home a few times. But we're not adjusted to the new house and new routine so this is what I came home to - whilst I locked all the food away, I forgot to put the bin outside. I'm sure Macey was right in there with him too. Little buggers !! 

Cricket's Morning Picnic

The cherry blossoms are out in full bloom and it's the festival this weekend. They are quite pretty really. And Deb drove home today for the first time. Only got beeped at once. People here LOVE their car horns. They are constantly beeping and frankly, I don't know what for half the time. Such horny people :o  Have a safe Easter everyone - I wonder if Easter bunny will find us here?

Quiet week

Sorry the blog has been quiet this week - nothing much of interest to report. The week started very cold so it was nice to be indoors but it's a warm end of week and sunny outside. Great for walking but Macey, has strained her front leg. She's doing better now but was limping badly early in the week. We took her to the vet for a check anyway but she is fine - just needs rest. I don't know how to enforce rest when her and Cricket carry on like pork chops when they play. They are both getting cabin fever as I've not walked them for a few days.

Good news, our lounge arrived today so we're not sitting on the floor anymore.

I'm getting used to the cable TV selections but there still never seems to be anything substantial to watch. Here's an idea of what's on now:

Jambu Footwear, Copper Chef, New Shark Rocket Vacuum, Daniel Boone, Tai Chi Master, Jewelry Breakfast Club, Women's Extreme Wrestling, CIZE Dance Workout, Prostrate Problems - Get Relief and of course there's the favourites of NCIS, Law and Order, The Price is Right, Sesame Street and morning trash shows. 

It's Easter this weekend as you know. While Deb's has the 4 day holiday, it's not in the US. The weather looks good so we are planning to get around on the bikes and check out a museum or two. Should have more to blog about then.

Banana Cake

No St. Patrick's Day action for me but, I know you are dying to know that today I baked my first banana cake here in the US. It took me longer to find the ingredients in the shop then it did to actually make it. A nice lady in the shop helped me understand the butter (it's all labelled sweet cream butter) - but it's just butter. Anyway, using my new zippy kitchen aid mix master thing, it was made in a jiffy. The icing is not quiet the same tho, not as cream-cheesy I reckon - I even used Kraft Philly. Deb will take it to work tomorrow to start earning brownie point credits :0

I made my first loaf of bread too and it was superb. Best bread we've eaten here. The bread here is just sweet and quite yucky really. I'll have a crack at hot cross buns on the weekend but I never mastered it at home so not expecting miracles here. I couldn't find mixed peel anywhere? So looks like I'll have to cut up the dried fruit manually or...to my dear Tupperware lady friend...I might try that choppy choppy slicer thing I got. It did onions good so maybe it will do the dried fruit for me? Will let you know how I go.

Griswald's Car ?

Took this photo of a car at the supermarket. I laughed - I wondered if it was the Griswald's car. (You older folk who remember Chevy Chase and the Vacation series of movies will get this). Sadly, no Griswalds in the shops.

Meeting some lovely people when out walking with the dogs. I never knew people at home to be so friendly. The dogs go crazy when they meet new dogs and it's great watching them run and play and then come home and collapse totally shagged. They are both on the watch for squirrels now and there were a few out this morning with a death wish. Cricket is doing well on his Zyrtec tablets - coughing and sneezing has settled.

I have named our front verandah (porch) the 'loading dock'. Everyday something arrives in a box which usually means hours of assembly work on the 'production line' = the front doorway entrance area. My fingers are getting sore spots from the screwdrivers and allen keys and I think I'm getting Popeye arms.We are only waiting on the lounge and bedroom suite which still may be a few weeks.

Loading Dock and Assembly Line

Chewbacca

Now I like my hair short as you know. Moving to a new city is all about finding new things; a doctor, a dentist and a hairdresser. We have yet to find a new hairdresser and it's been about 8 weeks since my last haircut. Given I get a haircut every 4 weeks, you can imagine I'm getting a fair mop on top. If I don't get my hair cut soon, I'll be able to audition for Chewbacca in the next Star Wars movie.

We're going running again in the morning at dark o'clock (before work). Given my long term hip injury, it's killing me to run too far but I'm enjoying it, especially in a new place. Can't wait to ride the bike on the weekend. We're also out for dinner tomorrow night with a visiting friend. And a useless bit of trivia, my hot song at the moment is 'Make Me Like You' by Gwen Stefani. Must be time I get the guitar out too and start strumming again. Time for a cup of tea, a piece of banana cake and a few more episodes of Blacklist. 

Finding a Running Track

 We enjoyed a full weekend - resting, driving, exploring and more unpacking. Deb has a long weekend in lieu of Canberra Day at  home. We started the weekend at the vet. All is ok. Cricket has always had a little irregular smokers cough but it has been quite bad and persistent the past few days. And he's been sneezing. He's been checked at home and the thought is that he has sensitive airways - poor little darlin. But, it's spring here and the pollen is out. The vet gave him a clean bill of health - she was very impressed with his low heart rate and said he must be very fit !! Anyway, she thinks it's just like hay fever - so we are giving him antihistamines - good ol Zyrtec. He has not coughed since yesterday so that's great. Looks like Cricket and I will share antihistamines every spring! By the way, the vet is a full on hospital, 24hr service and quite large. It's not too far away so I'm glad help is nearby. We have also signed up for pet insurance as pet care is very expensive.

We decided to have a late lunch at this All American Diner at our local suburb. This will be a place to eat when you all visit - maybe you could try the liver and onions special !! They make these fantastic milkshakes and while I can't drink them, they look fantastic. There is nothing healthy but hey, a superhero has to live a little. Deb decided to empty the coin from her wallet - she doesn't use coin so it just builds which is why the kids next door at home love her. We had a money lesson - cents, dimes, quarters...not sure if that will now make her spend them rather than notes. Anyway, the homeless guy outside received a nice handful of coin in his cup. 

I look like my sister !!

What coin is this ??

  

I finally put the bikes together and it feels nice to see wheels again. Hopefully we'll go for a ride tomorrow to this cafe/market thing nearby and check it out - please god, let there be decent coffee there. Also forgot to mention that I met the mailman this week. I had the front door open as I was assembling furniture in the entrance area - Cricket was on the verandah keeping watch as he does best. I hear this man yell 'hello' from across the road. It was the mailman. I yelled hello back but it was like a mexican standoff across the street. I then realised he was worried about the big scary black dog. I yelled out 'they won't hurt you' and he yelled back 'that's what they all say'. Fair enough. So I put Cricket inside and went down the steps to get the mail. He said his name was Claude - I asked him to repeat again - he said 'my name is Claude, as in Jean Claude Van Dam'. OMG, I laughed and I said hello, my name is Merryl, as in Meryl Streep. He laughed - probably thinking we were both so ridiculous to pick filmstars we look nothing like. So he gave me the run down on the mail delivery which was good to know. 

Rained overnight but it was clear for us to explore the forest with the dogs. Can't believe how lucky we are to have this at our doorstep. They always meet other dogs and have a great play. Cricket is becoming very aware of squirrels too so we have to keep a close eye on him. 

Washington Monument

We went into the city to explore the running options for Deb. We walked around National Mall - which is a massive grassland that is popular during the warmer months for exercise, kite flying and anything outdoors really. it's between Washington Monument and Capitol Hill. From wiki - The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and the first American president. 

The interesting thing is that when you see it up close, you will notice a different shading of the marble about one third up. This is because construction was stopped for 20 years due to lack of funds and the civil war. When it restarted, the marble was from a different source to the initial structure. It was started in 1848 and finished in 1884 with the break from 1854 - 1877. It stands out in the landscape too with its 50 US flags at the bottom - one for each state. Wiki has an interesting read on this monument including when, for 10 hours in Dec 1982, the monument and eight tourists were held hostage by a nuclear arms protestor claiming to have explosives in a van he drove to the monument's base. 

St. Patricks Day parade

Selfie - White House in far background

Happy Birthday Big Sister xx

 We took a walk around the White House grounds and the St. Patricks Day parade was in full swing. Last year we only saw the rear of the White House but this time, we got to walk around the front area and took some nice photos with the cherry blossoms in bloom. It's my sister's birthday at home so we gave her a FaceTime (like Skype) call to wish her happy birthday from the White House. It was still a bit early for her but she was surprised with the view we gave her. 

We had the displeasure of passing a guy (twice) walking around for hours with a placard saying No Same Sex Marriage. Seriously? Let me just say it was a guy who should know how hard it is to gain acceptance yet here he is discriminating others. We very nearly asked him to get a photo with him. Moron !!

We saw this memorial last year on Deb's birthday visit.  This photo is from the WWII memorial - quite a significant memorial of course. There is a huge wall of gold stars - each star represents 100 people who died or remain missing in the war. This plaque tells the dreadful loss of life.

When you visit, you will enjoy a walk around the memorial path to see these important but sad reminders of our history. Or maybe you could take a segway tour and stack it like I did the other week :o

It was raining by the end of the walk around so we were drenched - no umbrellas !! Where's a Starbucks when you need one? We finally found one and took shelter. 

Deb got some driving practice today, she did well. We both hate being passengers now. It's a tight squeeze into our garage so it will be a miracle if we don't clip our side mirrors a few times before we go. Took the dogs for a drive tonight to get some takeaway. They love going for a ride. We went to Bethesda and it was full of restaurants and cafes. Wow, looks like that's the place to get to know - and soon.

 

And on a final note, Oreo's. I've never had one until now. It was an anti-climax. It's just like a good ol' chocolate delta cream biscuit. It's ok but I would have maple syrup cookies anyday. I haven't tried Hershey's chocolate yet - we keep buying the Cadbury's even though it's UK chocolate. And our bread maker, Dyson vac and toasted sandwich maker arrived today. Guess what I'm doing this week ??

First Squirrel

The dogs saw their first squirrel today in the back yard. I heard them spinning feet and taking off and wondered what was going on. And then I saw a squirrel scampering along the fence toward the back trees. Cricket was off like a flash but it was too quick for him. Macey and Cricket were all frisky and I'm sure they were thinking that was the fastest 'cat' they ever saw !!

Had a few days at home which was good. Feeling really tired and need to catchup on sleep. The weather has been lovely and warm and the dogs love walking in the forest park. Everyone is so dog friendly.

We go into daylight savings this weekend, go ahead one hour. Deb also has Monday off for Canberra day so it will be a nice 3 days off. 

The election process is gaining momentum and Trump is certainly gaining popularity. If only being President was as easy as being the company owner - things don't happen that easy but people seem to think he will do anything he wants as simple as that. He's having a rally tonight in Chicago and there are lots of protestors, it's looking ugly. 

We went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner the other night. This place is a big restaurant chain with a massive menu and the biggest choice of cheesecakes you could imagine. So visitors, this will be on your list of places to eat when you come here.

I'm hoping to put the bikes together this weekend. We also want to try get into the memorial area in the city and do some walking and exploring. The cherry blossoms are starting to bloom too. I'm continuing to churn my way through the Blacklist series and Grey's Anatomy keeps me company as I potter around the house during the day. I never watched it before - it's not a bad show. I'm glad it's Friday, it's been a long week and I'm looking forward to the weekend.  

Hunting and Gathering

 The last few days seem to be full of furniture assembly and, hunting and gathering = food shopping. The dogs are amazed at the things I bring home. Today, my big find was a beef sausage. It's not like the snags we have at home, but you cook it on a bbq or frypan and it tasted ok. The dogs thought so too. I also found the closest thing to custard powder. It was called Jello so I would never have found this without a tip from the food handbook from Deb's work. It was very very sweet but it's better than nothing. And the big surprise is deodorant. You can't buy aerosols - it's all roll-on. We have a problem Houston !!

Forgot to mention that 4 deer ran through the street the other day. They stopped on the neighbours lawn and then ran off. Deb and I were stunned. Apparently they run past quite often. 

My next problem to solve is how to use the parking meters. It's the simple things in life that are just so different. They have a coin slot on them but, it says no coins on the screen. You have to login somewhere and use your phone to pay the meter. 

 

The weather has been beautiful. Cricket enjoys the sun and likes to sit out on the grass or on the verandah in the afternoon. The forecast is great for the rest of the week so I think I might crack open the bike boxes and get them ready for the weekend. Not much else to report. 

Settling into home

BEFORE shot

 Things are now much better than the week that was, and we spent the weekend unpacking, shopping, exploring and putting things together. The dogs have settled in nicely and can you believe they have jet lag !! Seriously, they have been waking up about 2am and jumping all over the bed being little buggers - this is normally their breakfast routine. They won't settle for about 2 hours. But they sleep late in the morning and through the day a bit more than normal. They better get into routine bloody quick cause this 2am business is a pain - but a bit cute at the same time.

Our neighbour across the road popped over to say hello yesterday. Her young daughter had baked little jam drop things for us too. It was nice to meet people and I'll do the rounds in the next week or so. The people in the shops are also really friendly and helpful. 

We have our internet connected and cable TV so we've been getting used to the new technology, US style. Deb's got us connected to all kinds of stuff through the 'smart' TV so she's in heaven.

Thank god it's finished shot

I ventured off to Safeway supermarket yesterday. It takes me AGES to do the shopping. Just looking for things and looking at the mass of crap that is on the shelves. You can't buy beef sausages - they consider a beef sausage a hot dog sausage. The butcher reckons I need to go to a proper butcher but I'm not convinced. 

Today I ventured to Target to get some home stuff and I cannot find a bloody ironing board. I've been to 3 shops and no such thing? I ended up ordering one on Amazon. And the Target had supermarket in it. One minute I was in sheets and towels, and then I was in milk and frozen foods. Crikey, it was a 2 level complex and I had to take my trolley up the elevator. 

My driving is improving. Still veer onto the left around corners sometimes but generally doing fine. They tend to like putting stop signs on all four corners at intersections. However, it's not a give-way to left or right thing but rather, first to arrive is first to go. So it's like this polite one at a time process. I quite like it but there are so many stop signs that I miss them sometimes (oops).

We had lamb cutlets and veg for dinner. It tasted fabulous and nice to eat something home cooked. The dogs are loving the nearby forest park for their walks - what a wonderland to roam around. I think we will be spend a lot of time in their walking, running or biking. Speaking of which, I will have to unpack the bikes this week. The weather will be in the 20's so it might be time for shorties :o