Prevailing Winds
last update: 03/30 @ 16:19

According to our now three cranes, the prevailing winds are coming from the left (north).

I’m not sure that’s really how it works, but they do seem to all be generally pointed the same way while they are at rest.

We’re waiting to see if three will be the full compliment. So far it does not look like they are building any more crane platforms; maybe three will be enough.

Pair, sort of
last update: 03/28 @ 13:53

The second big, red crane is ready to go now. We’re feeling a little nervous looking out the back door at the two crane arms that seem to loom over the backyard.

That pine tree in the middle of this picture is the one above the treehouse platform Robert and I built a decade ago.

Oh, and there is now a big, yellow crane just across King Street — maybe they will grab the bridge by both ends and tug :)

Two Dollar Photo
last update: 03/24 @ 11:39

Actually, I paid $2.25 to pop onto the metro platform for this.

Now the big, red crane is building a medium, red crane. This is not helpful for doing regular chores. They keep doing cool things in the backyard (our backyard is behind the first K in Kokosing on the right-hand crane).

Maybe that new crane will turn out to be the same size, but now, it’s a bit smaller than the first red crane that grew back there.

And yes, this is an update for “you know who” in the comments to the earlier post.

Spring has sprung
last update: 03/21 @ 13:17

Alexandria may not have the tidal basin or UW’s quad (see halfway down this page) for cherry blossoms, but we do have some.

This is on the grounds of the GW Masonic Memorial, where I wandered by it today on a stroll in the beautiful, spring weather.

It takes a crane …
last update: 03/20 @ 17:15

… to build a crane.

Hard to see from our backyard, but the work on replacing the train bridges is getting serious. They cleared all the trees and brush from the siding and now the heavy equipment is moving in.

We thought the excavator and bulldozer were the heavy equipment — they were just preparing a solid platform for the big, red crane.

But to get the big, red crane in place, they brought it in in pieces and have been spending the last few days putting it together (with its little brother, the white crane).

It’s been fascinating to watch.

The view from the train station, looking across King Street is a bit better.

I think they finished this afternoon and the white crane has moved on now.

Still cold!
last update: 01/31 @ 17:44

Sarah decided today was the day to check out the ice on river.

While it was about 20 degrees it was not windy.

Tomorrow we’re due for gusts to 35mph or so — making windchills that are formally wicked cold.

Today was cold, but we were well bundled.

And while we walk by pretty much every time we head down to the river, today we went inside an open house for the Alexandria Seaport Foundation. (Not pictured, their building is just to the left and a little ways back from the old propeller in the photo on the right.)

We know them as the wooden boat builders on the waterfront. (Before it got too cold, they were working on “Dave” outside.)

They seem like very nice folks and Alexandria is fortunate to have that resource (which we knew nothing about before today).

I suspect we’ll stay hunkered down at home tomorrow — and send warm thoughts to family further south where the next snowstorm is hitting.

Thank you Sarah for the nudge to get outside, and for asking if I got a shot of the Capitol — that spurred me to take off my gloves (again) and put on the longer lens so it might be visible.

(Now I need to pay more attention to the level in the viewfinder so that the photos are straighter.)

(For those with a long memory — we did not get out the canoe today.)

Snow and Ice
last update: 01/29 @ 11:57

Last Sunday we got dumped on. I didn’t measure but I esitmate about 6 inches of snow then maybe a quarter inch of sleet, freezing rain and ice.

This was the view when I work up Sunday morning.

That was all snow and not too bad to shovel; though there was a fair amount.

As I was making a second pass shoveling, I felt the sleet falling and hoped that would be short lived.

Fortunately, Sarah decided to stay an extra day with Michelle in Long Island. They stretched out the Michelle’s birthday celebration for another day.

I shoveled and hacked at the ice a bit on Monday and made some progress. But in some spots, the solid ice is just too thick to really make an impact.

I did consider getting a bigger hammer — I thought the firewood splitting maul would work well — but I worried about the concrete and brick underneath the ice.

And I discovered a new injury: I managed to bruise the bottom of my foot by stomping on the shovel so much to break up the ice. It’s not painful but is a bit swollen, which makes walking and standing feel like there is something under my foot.

Sarah made it home Monday evening, reporting the roads were fine pretty much the whole way to the beltway. That’s as far north as the ice got.

We hacked out a parking place for her and then enjoyed beef stew (my other Monday project) in our cozy home.

The forecast says highs in the 20s for the next several days, maybe another round of snow (I really hope no ice) this weekend and then “warming” to the mid 30s next week.

In the meantime, I felt for the birds and refilled our feeder.

I really miss precedented times
last update: 01/11 @ 17:06

Sarah and I added our voices and faces to this afternoon’s anti-ICE protest in Alexandria (again). It really is appalling to see what can happen in our country. I wish I felt like there was more I could control about the actions our government is taking; supporting and voting (for sane politicians who seem to understand the Constitution) does not seem like enough.

Christmas photos
last update: 01/10 @ 14:08

We had a trip right after Christmas (more on that later) and so I’m a bit late in posting Christmas photos. It was a very nice, mellow, family-focused holiday in Alexandria. More photos in the trips section.

Local Rally
last update: 09/01 @ 11:19

Pretty good turnout for our local Melt ICE rally this morning.

And it was educational: we didn’t realize our sheriff was voluntarily collaborating with ICE. We have an election coming up in a couple months now…

Happy Birthday Alexandria!!!
last update: 07/12 @ 22:21

Alexandria always puts on a good show.

And for the 276th birthday, they kept up the tradition.

It was pretty hot so we decided on Casa Rosada gelato and watching from the Masonic Memorial rather than walking down to the river.

The show as great.

And the crowd was pretty fun.

There seemed to be a full 4th grade class there.

And there was a lot of “hut, hut, hutting” up and down the steps before the fireworks.

I expect there will be some heavy sleeping 4th graders tonight.

And Sarah and I were very happy for the very short walk home.

Sometime soon the heat and humidity will give us a break.

I hope.

Quick Robert Visit
last update: 06/12 @ 15:35

Robert’s home!!!

With an internship lined up for the summer, in addition to working for the Tempest/Cascades and Lumen Field, we’re getting a Robert visit in while we can. He’s now a senior!!!

Crazy!

We took advantage of the visit for an early father’s day and I’m fortunate to have several cool gifts:

• new music: Colter Wall; I’m liking his Imaginary Appalachia
• Blazin’ Raisen hot sauce (I’ve not tried yet)
• Dilettante’s chocolate (always a tasty treat)
• A Bird Buddy bird feeder with camera (as you can see).

While he was here, Robert had chance to try his hand at a Metro Speedrun:

The goal is to see how fast you can get through every metro station.

His time (see below), just over 8 hours, is very respectable. The ways to get faster, 7:34 is the current record, involve starting at the ideal station (Greenbelt, in Maryland) at the idea time to catch an express transfer bus between the suburban Maryland stations.

If you have questions, he’ll gladly clue you in :)

Pocket joined him for the first leg on her way in to work. And I joined for the first few stations just because :) I can now say I’ve been to the Franconia / Springfield and Huntington stations.

Ask Robert for his Insta Story for more details.

We like our mayor
last update: 06/06 @ 23:34

We remain really happy with our new mayor, Alyia Gaskins. We were very happy with Justin Wilson as well; both work really hard.

I was glad to be able to hear Alyia and the other speakers at the common sense gun rally at the market square today.

Lot’s of good reasons to better control gun onwership in this country.

It’s like this see…
last update: 05/14 @ 20:33

… The forecast made it sound like a rainy day today. With Sarah not having any meetings and me being, well, retired, we took advantage of where we live and metroed in to the American History Museum. It had been almost a full Robert lifetime since we’d been :)

As we headed back to the metro we stopped for a bite and bit of tea from Teaism and we got a call from Robert. He has the chance for extra credit if he can produce an illustrated map of where sewage flows.

He gets normal credit for an illustrated map of the flow from his dorm in Seattle to Seattle’s waste water treatment facility at Discovery Point.

But he was wondering if his parents could take a few photos for him to work on an Alexandria map. Like Hooff’s Run where storm water flows through Alexandria.

The forecast was wrong, it was not rainy and we were on our way back home anyway so …

… we learned that the waste water plant we thought treated our water actually doesn’t. That is for Arlington and Alexandria has it’s own treatment plant, which is getting substantially upgraded (thanks our and our neighbors waste water bills).

And we found this cool public art noting how Alexandria was exepcted to be (and was, for a while) a major shipping port (in the cities early days). With lots of traffic to Hispaniola, Barbados, Jamaica and Bermuda (I may have to go back and re-read that to be sure I’ve remembered that correctly).

We never would have stumbled upon that globe with it’s bit of history if we’d not been on the little expedition for Robert this afternoon.

Got out the sleds…
last update: 01/06 @ 17:41

We’re likely to be down to one after this season. This green one is going strong; our red/orange boogie-board style is showing it’s age, sadly.

This one is clearly much faster and tracks further.

And, as you see from Sarah’s expression, is really fun!

Snowy Day
last update: 01/06 @ 11:57

We’re in a little bit of a lull in today’s snow.

But it’s the most we’ve had in years already.

I’m sorry Robert’s now here to enjoy it.

Sarah and I have date to go sledding later this afternoon.

Christmas notes
last update: 01/04 @ 13:55

More photos and a few more details of our Christmas are in the Vacations Section (even though we stayed in Alexandria).

Happy New Year!!!
last update: 01/01 @ 13:24

We enjoyed celebrating the New Year with Will’s family. The tradition of a countdown and balloon drop around 9:30 is great for the younger generation and helps to bridge the time to midnight for those staying up.

And then we headed to the Masonic Memorial to watch Alexandria’s excellent fireworks show.

It was pretty odd for it be so warm, low 50s, but that gets corrected in a few days. Oddly, just after Robert heads back to Seattle, the temps are due to dive down to daytime highs around 35.

So we’ll enjoy the warmth while we can.

New this year, there was this interesting ice sculpture by the steps. I don’t known anything about it.

Not new this year, ate our 12 grapes under the table, we swept our troubles off the front and back porches, and ran around the house 3 times with a bit of luggage.

We should be all set for good luck for the year.

Yellow and Blue
last update: 12/27 @ 14:07

Nice day for a walk around Alexandria.

And I liked the way the Cherry Blossom’s wheel looked framed within the back deck of one of the Potomac Water Taxis.

I guess it was the variety of yellows and oranges that drew my attention.

I happened to bring my “real” camera, so these are not cellphone photos. I wish I’d thought to try to use that as well to compare the two.

On the way back up Cameron Street, I liked the neighborhood’s endorsement of their Scottish heritage.

I stayed in for the Scottish Walk this year, but Sarah was out to represent the SFA. One of this years we’ll catch up with the McNaughton clan.

It’s beginning to look a lot like…
last update: 12/15 @ 18:53

…Christmas!!! Of Course!

Tonight, with a bit of cold rain here and sleet and snow around us, we lit the first fire of the season.

Seems like a perfect evening for it.

We picked up a tree yesterday (always fun to say no thanks to the offer of help tying it on the car: “we’ll just carry it home”).

And then we decorated it during the Commanders football game.

It’s great to have Robert home for the holidays.

He flew back Friday evening (unfortunately with an ear infection).

We were all glad the local Christmas tree patch (benefiting the Alexandria City Police Youth Camp) still had plenty of nice trees yesterday.

It’s most fun if we all three get to pick out our tree.

And that ensures someone (Sarah) will be available to take a picture as we walk the tree home.

This time we met a family with a toddler on our walk back; it was fun to hear the “Are they carrying a Christmas tree?” as we walked by.

Now we’ll need to add some presents under the tree over the next few days of general relaxation.

Well… Relaxation for Robert and I, Sarah joins the Library of Congress Federal Research Division on Monday!

Good reminder…
last update: 11/21 @ 11:57

I know our NC family and friends learned this with hurricane Helene: running water is modern luxury that is way too easy to take for granted.

Our water company is working on lead pipe remediation; it sounds like it will be a long term project. Our service line was scheduled for today.

I’m guessing having a ditch across the road may impact leaf, trash and recycling collection. More modern luxuries it’s good to remember to be thankful for.

Bonus points: I think the digging is complete and no impact the recently installed fiber line!

Happy Birthday Alexandria!!!
last update: 07/13 @ 22:27

It was a little hot and steamy out, but a lovely display.

And it’s hard to beat being able to walk down the waterfront to see the fireworks up close.

This time we were in Founders Park, just downstream from the stage and bigger crowds.

That seemed to work out well; but I would have paid for cold bottle of water if there had been any vendors around.

He’s Back!!!
last update: 06/16 @ 12:25

Classes over, Robert came home to Alexandria.

Sadly, not for the summer.

But for a very nice week-long break.

We had fun hanging out together.

And it was great that his trip happened to coincide with Father’s day (thank you for the Bluetooth meat thermometer which I’m sure to start using soon).

We even had a rematch of the Catan game with Pocket; Robert won.

But he’s headed back to Seattle for the summer.

He has some more work with the Ultimate Frisbee teams there, and is hoping to line up another summer job as Frisbee still leaves most of his time free.

Sarah and I really enjoyed having Robert back in the house and were sorry to see him go. But he truly is adulting well.

Christmas photos
last update: 01/03 @ 15:05

Sadly for us, Robert had to go back to school. We had a lot of fun while he was here and I expect we’ll start plotting our next trip out that way soon.

There are some more photos in the vacations section.

Happy 2024!!!
last update: 01/01 @ 00:51

Hoping for a GREAT year!

It was fantastic to have Robert join us for the fireworks, grapes under the table, sweeping the porches and running around the house.

You know, the usual :)

Also very nice to be invited to Will, Rob, Christine and Cassie’s house for their balloon drop party.

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