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 !!

 

Home Made Meatpie

Geez, not much to report blog fans. The big excitement here is that our bedroom suite finally arrived so we can at last pack away our clothes and finish the final few boxes. The garage is chockers with boxes after a house full of furniture has been bought. I will organise a trash man to come collect and take it away. 

My wind trainer for the bike arrived today so I am now going to be a Zwift'er and get riding online with all the other global riders. This is a pretty impressive 'game' or cycling training program. There is much to learn but so long as my legs are spinning, I can take as long as I want to learn how to 'play'. Thanks to some of my mates at home for their help in getting me started and telling me about this new virtual world of cycling. In the real world though, there are some nice long trails (not single track unfortunately) that go into the city area. It's about 20km I think. One is an old railway line that's been made suitable for hiking and riding. Anyway, I plan to jump onto that near home and ride into the city and back. This will be a good way to train outside on the mtb although I am missing the normal mtb trails of home. There is lots of history and things to look at along the way so we should have a great summer of exploring on our bikes.

I spent today cooking. I made another banana cake for the neighbour across the road - they were away on holidays last time so that cake went to work instead. So I've made another - I'm sure their home now but I don't want to have made a second one to no avail. Plus I made a weetbix slice for Deb's work. And I also had another crack at meat pies. Much better effort this time. Same recipe but tweaked a bit, and I had puff pastry on top.  Check out the photos. 

 

The forest near us is turning into a big green jungle. I try walk the dogs everyday and they get such a good run in there. With the warmer weather, we tend to stop at the creek crossings and the dogs like to splash in the water. Macey got a swim today in a small waterhole. Cricket's not a keen swimmer so he tends to grab to the stick off Macey as she leaves the water - a nice little tug of war follows.

 

You've not doubt heard that Trump smashed the New York primary. It's going to be a very ugly Republican convention in June as he just might get the required half of delegates to get the Rep nomination to run for Pres. The Rep Party is really not sure what to do. Clinton seems to be set to get the delegate numbers and therefore be the Democratic nomination. I'm quite enjoying the politics here although the election at home has also got us interested...and worried.

A birthday

It's that time of year again, Deb's birthday. We were here in DC last year also as part of her surprise birthday holiday. We never imagined being here again...and living here. She was enjoying loads of birthday wishes yesterday on Facebook as we are well behind in the timezone so it was an early start for her. The weather today was fabulous, a few pressies were unwrapped and we took in a movie followed by a lovely wander in the forest with the dogs. 

It's been a busy weekend. We went the Eastern Markets yesterday morning for a tour by one of the local work staff. More great weather and we will definitely be going back to get some fabulous meat, veg and local crafts. I left slightly early to meet a  former work friend (one of the chooks) visiting so we spent the rest of the day together shopping, eating and catching up.

Almost a sossy roll :0

Flavoured pickles !!

There is a cafe at home that makes the BEST tollhouse cookies. I've tried to recreate this sweet treat and Nestle recipes are the most popular. Well voila, check out the shop we stumbled across when out shopping. I didn't buy any but I know where to go back to. 

And a story to finish to share an embarrassing moment. I bought Deb a Swatch watch for her birthday. When it arrived (through Amazon) I noticed it had stopped - damn, must be a flat battery. So I took it to a battery kiosk yesterday and asked could they replace the battery. The young fella looked at it, back, front, back again and said,it doesn't have a battery! What?? He said no, it doesn't need a battery. He was gently shaking it and it was working - see, it's ok now. It's a mechanical watch and it maintains time so long as you wear it every few days. I was quite embarrassed. He was smiling and my friend was just laughing. Anyway...later on we were at the kiosk next the battery guy. He saw me as he walked past and with a big cheeky smile he says, ' how's the battery workin' out for ya?'. My friend was in hysterics and I just laughed.  

Spring is coming.

 

White House Tour

We were very lucky to take an unguided tour of the East Wing of the White House. This was an organised tour by Deb's work and does not occur very often. The East Wing is the social, dining, reception and library area of the house. It has loads of history, lots of photos, paintings and artefacts. The rooms are still used (I think) as the signs says 'is' rather than 'was' used for things. They must be used when tours are not in progress. There is a red room, blue room, green room and the colours are pretty much that in those rooms.

I love Lincoln

   

The White House is the oldest public building in DC. Every President except George Washington has conducted the government of the nation here. President Madison was the first President to move into the White House in 1814. I also realised today that the Irish Pub we like in the city, James Hoban's, was named after the Irish architect who designed the White House. 

Great JFK

Reception Room

State Dining Room - seats about 140

North Entrance (our exit)

Last night we went to the opening night of the DC International Film Festival where 'The Dressmaker' was playing. It doesn't show here until Sept. The movie was sponsored by the Embassy thus some free tix were handed around. The Ambassador also introduced the movie. This was the third time we've seen this movie. And while there were laughs from the audience at our Aussie humour, there were only a few quiet giggles from the Aussies when dunny-bum got mentioned and  the iced-vo-vo made an appearance. There was after-party too and lots of great socialising was done.

If you've not seen the movie, you must see it - fabulous !!!