Beginning to look like Xmas

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas….well it has for about a month really!! I’ve really enjoyed the Xmas spirit over here, it’s cold, hot chocolate is perfect, the lights and decorations are fantastic and the feeling is just like a Hallmark movie. Not to mention, out come those silly Xmas sweaters. Can’t see us wearing them when we get back home!!

After the disappointment of stopping flying, I found a way to fill my spare time by volunteering in the kitchen at a homeless shelter. The Embassy has chosen this shelter to support this Xmas by donating food and clothes. It is called Christ House and is a medical respite for homeless men. While they provide a medical clinic to walk-ins, they are a small medical facility with beds for about 40 men to recover after surgery in hospital. These men are homeless and not able to care for themselves properly after surgery given they are homeless so the House takes them in, cares for them and also helps them to tackle the underlying problems of their homelessness.

So I have been volunteering 2-3 shifts a week in the kitchen to help with both preparation and service of the lunch meals.  Each shift is about 2-3 hours long and very easy work under the guidance of staff chefs. The staff and patients are super friendly and extremely grateful of a volunteer’s time. In the kitchen, I have made sandwiches, cut meat, vegetables and cornbread and stacked foods in the fridge of pantry. I have served meals to the patients and staff who eat in the dining room and meals are prepared for about 60 people. Christ House relies heavily on food support programs and donations so meals are planned based on what food is on hand at the time. It’s interesting to see how creative the chefs get - this is great experience for me. Meals are generally simple as the patients are not accustomed to fancy food such as mushrooms, avocados or artisan breads. But the meals are nutritious and really tasty – you can trust me on that. My friend Aussie Bob encouraged me in my first year to volunteer for a shelter but I never did. I will continue to volunteer through January until we leave but I’m sorry I only got started now. 

The Chicken Whisperer. We took a wander around the city again to see the big blue rooster called Hahn/Cock sculpted by a German artist. It’s a sculpture of a giant blue cockerel. Initially displayed in London’s Trafalgar Square in 2013, it was moved to DC National Gallery of Art in 2016. It stands 4.7m high and there is a second version in Minneapolis. It was absolutely freezing that day and we met our friends A&PH again for a city wander and lunch. They walked us to the rooster and left us to get our photos. Deb once again took some great shots and even caught the Capitol in the background. I’m not sure if it looked as tall as I expected but the photos certainly show me as a midget. The photo of the black post is outside the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church near the Embassy – this is where Abraham Lincoln would hitch his horse while he attended mass. The church has a stained glass window with Lincoln and the pew that Lincoln family rented (as a way to donate money to the church). Love these history pieces.

The Embassy kids Xmas party was held and once again, catered for the party. This was my third time so I followed my usual menu of sausage rolls, little sandwiches, chicken nuggets, cookies, cake and fairy bread. The plates were left empty and the sausage rolls flew off the plate. I managed to sit on Santa’s chair and check out the pressies before the little ones arrived.

We also attended the annual Xmas party for our American friends (I look at them as our adopted family now). They have been so wonderful to us. We went last year and it was nice to be welcomed again by familiar faces. Our friend made gingerbread cookies and if you look carefully, she made some kangaroos which was very sweet. I got asked to bring a pavlova again as it was popular last year. The key event of the party is Dirty Santa – you know the game where everyone brings a present and one by one, you pick a present. If you don’t like it, you steal someone elses, who then steals someone else’s and so on goes the game. There is always a mix of funny gifts, nice chocs or wine or some gift that keeps getting returned each year as a dud gift. Well, this year I got a small doll of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Most Aussies won’t know her but she is a US Supreme Court Justice. She’s 84 and an icon over here. She has fought for equality all her life and is highly regarded in every way. There is a movie coming out about her life on Xmas Day called ‘On The Basis of Sex’. Make sure you see it !!  Anyway, I got the doll and well, it was THE gift of the night. It got stolen from me but I managed to get it back. Phew. I had to watch her all night cause she was definitely going to end up in someone’s bag if I wasn’t careful. I said she was coming home to Australia and will sit on my shelf with all my Batman figures – she is a superhero after all. 

My goal each year is to see the National Xmas Tree at the White House. We had a nice dinner with our friends and wandered down to see the lights. It's a beautiful tree but I love the big train set around the base of the tree. Biggest I've ever seen and the trains are moving all over the place. Then there is one smaller tree (about 6ft) for each state and territory. It is decorated by a school or organisation from that state. It's nice to see the different ornaments on the tree that are unique to each state. Deb took some lovely photos with the Washington monument in the background in one direction, and the White House in another photo. 

And here is Santa on his surfboard with the kangaroo's on top of the Embassy.

The dogs are progressing through their vet appointments as part of the process to go home. I have paid the final payment for the travel (Visa card is on fire) and have their flights booked. For now, they are blissfully unaware that they are leaving on a big plane and continue to enjoy their daily adventures in the forest with the squirrels.

The next blog update will be at Xmas and we are hoping and wishing for snow. Until then, enjoy the last few days of Xmas carols and shopping and, we'll see you after the big man has been. 

 

 

Our DC Memories Book

As we approach the end of our time here in DC, it's been incredible to reflect on our experiences. Our photo folder is chock full of fabulous memories and it's hard to select a few to highlight the moments. Deb has made a book of our memories of DC and it's beautiful. You'll have to see it when we get home but I managed to screen print the pages and make a slideshow to give you a sneak preview. You'll need a big screen rather than phone and the pics are a little blurry, sorry. The book of course, is crystal clear. 

So have a look and enjoy the sound of Chaka Khan and I'm Every Woman.

Highs and Lows

The past month has been full of ups and downs, highs and lows. My niece finished her holiday with me with a final week of checking out the museums and sights around DC. We were pretty tired by this stage but she managed to see the Air and Space Museum, George Washington’s Mt. Vernon and a trip to Gettysburg. Sadly it just rained at Gettysburg but we got to see a lot and she enjoyed the civil war history experience.  We enjoyed a night out with our good friends A&PH at Hill Country BBQ in the city as she wanted to eat BBQ. As always, a night of BBQ means a meat coma and she enjoyed trying ribs for the first time. 

Marine Corp Marathon - MCM (42.2 km / 26.2 mile). The MCM is one of the largest and considered the best marathon in the mid-Atlantic. It is organised by the men and women of the US Marine Corp and is the largest marathon in the world that doesn’t offer prize money, instead celebrating the honour, courage and commitment of all finishers. The day of the Marine Corp Marathon arrived and it was my moment of truth and fear. Entry to this race is a lottery and I had wanted to do this since my first year. I got my entry by running one of the qualifier races back in March which was limited to 3000 entries. It was a 17.75 km race to celebrate the birth year of the Marines 1775. Completing this race gave me automatic entry to the MCM so that was step one. I trained for 6 months but like many who have been down this path, it was not the perfect training I had hoped for. I tore my calf muscle mid year which cost two months of training and it was difficult to catch up the missed training and do the longer training distances in the last two months. I was behind the eight ball but a good friend suggested that I start the race and run for as far/long as I could. I would at least experience the atmosphere which is race is known to be amazing for. So I persisted with the training as best I could and got myself to the start line early that morning of Sunday 28 Oct with about 30,000 other runners. Let's see how far I can go.

The race was definitely an experience. I had heard so much about it from other runners. The crowd was huge, loud and rows deep along the whole route. I’ve never seen so many spectators for an event. There was a band of some sort at nearly every mile and I was surrounded by runners for the first 15km. It was just busy, busy and busy. People had signs, rang bells and cheered like we were at a rock concert. The route was fabulous, through Arlington, Georgetown, the memorials, the Capital and the museums.

The blue mile is at mile 12 which marks the half way point of the race (21km). This mile is along a quiet stretch by the Potomac river and there are no spectators on this section. The mile is lined with posters about every 3m of a fallen soldier. This was a dreadfully sad, emotional and inspirational part of the race. I was able to see the face, read the name, the age and the year the soldier died. It was terrible to see such young ages, men, women, all services. By this point in the race, you are tired, hurting and wanting to stop. But looking at these brave faces who have fallen and given the ultimate sacrifice….well this was what keeps you putting one foot in front of the other. I have nothing to complain about and everything to be grateful for. So I kept moving to push through the back half of the race.

My friends A&PH said they might try come by to cheer me on so I was looking hard amongst the crowds to see them. I figured they’d be at a certain point but it was just going to be a miracle to see them, as it would for them to see me amongst the mass of runners. But, at mile 17 (around 27km) I heard them yell my name. They were next to the Washington Monument. It was an excellent chance to stop for a few minutes, grab a hug and some words of encouragement. I was definitely struggling by this stage. I figured I could make it to 30k but the final 10 or so kilometers would be the toughest part. So I pushed through, walking and running and hoping I didn’t pull a muscle somewhere. The crowd continued to be strong and while the runners had thinned out, there were still a lot of runners pushing those last miles out. I made it to the finish line in front of the Marine Corp Memorial (also known as known as Iowa Jima memorial). There were marines waiting to congratulate you and put the medal around your neck. I was holding back tears and was super happy to see that Marine and the medal. I moved onwards and was overwhelmed with happiness and relief. I called Deb who was home with my niece and just cried. She had been following my progress with my Garmin tracker so she knew I finished but I called to cry and tell her I was alive anyway. It was crazy at the finish as expected and the only way home was to catch the train. Deb picked me up at the station and I went home a very happy and relieved Batman. 

 

End of Flying. So after the high of finishing the marathon, I said goodbye to my niece and put the kid on the plane for the long journey home. The job ahead was to focus on my flying and work towards finishing my license. To cut to the chase, after a few lessons I decided to stop my flying lessons because I figured I just didn’t have enough time to finish before going home. It was a difficult decision to make but it was the right one to make. I have completed more than 90% of the required hours and training but the work required to finish the exams and prepare for the checkride (final flying test) was just not achievable.  The weather continued to cancel lessons on me and was adding stress to try and cram the lessons in. I would only be wasting time and money to continue here because I will have to repeat some flying at home to demonstrate my skills. So no more flying for me here. I am totally disappointed and while I haven’t failed, it feels like I’m quitting. So, it’s over for now but I plan to continue flying at home and get my license in Australia. On the plus side though, my friend AH is on the final stages of his flying and on track to get his license. Hopefully he will get it before I leave and we can fly down to North Carolina to First Flight which is where the Wright Brothers flew the first plane flight.

Thanksgiving. We enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving with our American friends. It is a really nice feeling this time of year as Americans do everything and anything to be with family for this precious time of year. It was a big family gathering at our friends and we enjoyed a deep fried turkey, ham and all the trimmings. 

Deb was excited to have a big bowl of mashed potato and we loved passing the food plates around the table – we explained to our friends that this is what we see in the movies. They thought we were weird!! Now that deep fried turkey, I was hesitant but I’d heard good things from many people over the years. As you can see in the photo, the turkey is deep fried in a big can of hot oil. I could feel my arteries thumping just looking at it. But, it was actually really moist and quite tasty. It was a great day with our friends and I will miss the Thanksgiving experience. 

 

Macey. To cap off a month of highs and lows, Macey gave us an awful scare. She was dribbling badly one Sunday morning and was not able to eat her breakfast. She was not her happy piggy little self. We took her straight up to the vet who found she had something red and inflamed under her tongue. She also had a high temperature. They kept for the day and night giving her the care she needed. The next day was Monday and the surgery team took a biopsy of the red ulceration. It wasn’t a mass as such but the odds of it being cancer was still possible. We wouldn’t get the results back for a few days but we brought her home that night. She was terribly groggy from the sedation and was likely pretty sore in the mouth. We are 9 weeks from coming home and it was just not an option for her to have cancer of any sort. Macey is 10 now and we are very aware her years ahead are precious. She took a good day or so to return to herself and Deb and I were both really worried about what the results might be. The call finally came on the Wednesday and it was good news. She had cut herself somehow (probably chewing a stick) and the cut had got inflamed and nasty. Her breath has been horrendous but it was not cancer. We were so relieved and I was honestly preparing for bad news. I don’t know how or what we might had to have done had the results been different. So while she dodged this scare, I had to take her straight back to the vet for a urinary check and yes, she’s got herself a little infection again. She is prone to them poor little girl. So she’s been on a routine of tablets for pain and infection and should be able to start eating harder foods soon. Poor Macey Moo Moo.

Ben's Chilli Bowl. Our good friends A&PH took us for a wander through their city backyard - around the U Street area. We enjoyed lunch at the famous Ben's Chilli Bowl. Wiki tells me that Ben's Chili Bowl is a landmark restaurant in Washington, D.C., located in U Street, next to Lincoln Theatre, in the Shaw neighbourhood of northwest D.C. It is known locally for its chili dogs, half-smokes, and milkshakes, and has been an integral part of the neighbourhood's history since its founding in 1958. 

Just to be clear, half smokes are not smokes as we Aussies would say, they are half smoked sausages. Bit like a mild spicy hotdog frank. The chilli is mild, is like a meat and bean stew mix that you spread on top of your dog.

 

Going Home. We are now into the Xmas season and the lights are going up everywhere. It’s so pretty and I will definitely miss this time of year. I want to go and see the National Xmas Tree at the White House and I’ve got some cooking tasks over the next few weeks. We have been busy organising our return travels and removals which is no easy feat. The dogs will have their second vet appointment (of four) next week and I will start packing up the bikes and moving things around in preparation for the removal. For those of you wondering, we will return in February. I have enrolled in TAFE to do my chef course and am very excited to start my new adventure - the week after we arrive. So with 8 weeks to go, we have Xmas and hopefully some more snow to enjoy. Hopefully there will be more highs ahead as I don’t think I can endure anything more of the lows like we felt this month.

And here are some of Deb's cool photos as she polishes her photography skills. Some are from Shenandoah National Park after the leaves had fallen and some are from just around there corner here. Plus the others are from our U Street wander with our friends.

 

Nashville - The Grand Ole Opry

This blog finishes up our time in Nashville, the great Music City. The highlight would have to be our trip to the Grand Ole Opry to see a live country show. For the ‘town mice’ amongst you, the Opry is the most famous country music stage in the world. This is where YOU make it as a country and western singer. The Opry started back in 1925 where the live show was broadcast live on radio WSM 650. The show moved to various locations but most notably is the famous Ryman Auditorium from 1943-1974 and now the Grand Ole Opry House – all in Nashville. We toured the Ryman earlier in the day and it’s a beautiful old tabernacle that really made Nashville the home of country music. Everyone and anyone has performed at the Ryman – the acoustics are one of the best in the world. When the Ryman became too old, they moved to the current location where a circle of the Ryman wooden floor has been inserted into the Grand Ole Opry House floor – to ensure the Opry history continues. There are shows several times a week and it seems they are all live recordings, as ours was on the night. The announcer would come on between performers and read advertisements just like the old days – it was awesome. There were about 6 performers during our 2 hour show of which I had only heard of Charlie Daniels who is about to turn 82 !! He finished his set with the classic Devil Went Down to Georgia fiddle song. Bloody incredible.

Under that big hat is Charlie Daniels

The kid (my niece) loved every second and we both wore our country gear to look the part. My mum was a strong influence in our music interests and country was one of the genres she imparted on us. I did think of her a lot during the show and I wish she could have been there with us. 

Another Uber Story. The show finished around 1130pm and there were more people than taxis/ubers so we were standing around a while waiting for our drivers. One group of older blokes were funny…waiting for Jerry. They kept looking for the Honda and saying Jerry, is this Jerry….no, not Jerry. This went on for like 10 minutes and at one point, a guy drove past slowly with a woman in the front seat and they said Jerry, no, unless it’s Jerry and his wife!!  I kept thinking of that meerkat youtube thing where the meerkat keeps saying Allen, Allen, Allen, Allen…it was just funny hearing them saying Jerry, Jerry, Jerry. In the end, Jerry arrived for them. Anyway, our uber finally arrived too. He was south American, about 50ish and had a cool Latin accent and he was funny. It was a 20 minute drive back to our hotel and all we talked about was country music. He had not been to the Opry but really wanted to see Shania Twain recently…but it was $250 a ticket. He really likes Shania and puts on her CD which was already loaded in the car - so this guy was definitely a fan. Good grief, here we go I thought. The kid is swaying in the front seat to the song and the Uber guy is telling us how much he likes her music. Eventually he said everyone can sing her songs, she's easy to impersonate. He reckons they all sing her songs up town in the bars. So he puts on 'Still the One'.... and says c’mon lets sing it, you can do it. So here we all were, cranking out Shania Twain for the last few minutes of the ride….. 

Looks like we made it, Look how far we've come my baby
....You're still the one I run to
The on that I belong to
You're still the one I want for life
(You're still the one)
You're still the one I love

I can't even say there was any alcohol involved so it was pure karaoke style. And the uber guy is in full vocal mode with his deep Latin accent. We got out of the car at our hotel and say bye, he winds the windows down and turns the volume up loud driving away still singing. Man we laughed our way inside and it ended a fabulous night. 

We spent our last day doing the trolley tour around Nashville and toured the American Music Hall of Fame. I didn’t do this last time I was here so was glad to see it this time around. This museum was all about the musicians (behind the scenes people) who support artists in making songs. This included the record studios, sound engineers, musicians, backup singers, producers…I’d never heard of any of them really but it was fascinating to read all about the people who’ve made the music. There were lots of memorabilia and stories to read. There was a section on the Grammy’s and Jimmy Hendrix. I was glad to see this museum as I love music and it’s fantastic to see so much history in one place. 

 

One interesting stop on the trolley tour is the Parthenon – an exact replica of the Greek Parthenon including the huge statue of Athena inside. This is the most weird thing in Nashville. Nashville is known as the ‘Athens of the South’. By the 1850s, Nashville had already earned the nickname of the “Athens of the South” by having established numerous higher education institutions; it was the first American southern city to establish a public school system. By the end of the century, Nashville would see Fisk University, St. Cecilia Academy, Montgomery Bell Academy, Meharry Medical College, Belmont University, and Vanderbilt University all open their doors. So I get the concept but I still think it’s the weirdest thing to find in the Music City.

We couldn't leave Nashville without trying the famous Hattie B's Hot Chicken. Holy shit, it was cluckin' hot. Neither of us like hot and spicy so this was not a place we should be dining at. But, we lined up outside and found ourselves with a plate of fried chicken, baked beans, potato salad and mac'n'cheese. We ordered the weakest heat but still, the kid was sweating bullets after her first bite. She really is quite soft when it comes to hot food ;o   I have a little bit more hair on my tongue so it was bearable for me. I"m not into deep fried food much so while it was nicer then KFC, I couldn't eat this stuff often or eat too much of it. Regardless, we can tick off this food stop on our list. By the way, check out the levels of heat....I cannot imagine how bloody hot the 'Shut the Cluck Up' is !!!

 

And one final funny joke from our trolley driver today.

What has 132 legs and 8 teeth?

The front row of a Garth Brooks concert ........baaaahhhhaaaahhaaaaa !!