I Voted

I kept meaning to vote early, but it didn't happen. So this morning I showed up at our new polling place, the Chinese Community Church at 5th & I.


The poll workers (and there were LOTS of them) did a great job and even though the line was long, people were in good spirits. People from a nearby coffee shop were also selling coffee for $2 a cup to people in line.
I was especially happy since I got to jump to the front of the line after a short time, because of where my last name falls in the alphabet. I got there around 9 and was on my way to work by 9:25.

And it is SO great to have a polling place that is only a few blocks' walk rather than having to schlep over to the other side of the Library of Congress, as in days of yore. Thanks again to the DNA, Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells, and everyone else that worked to get us a polling place of our own!

Hooray for Real for the CityVista Safeway!

I walked to and from the new CityVista Safeway at 5th between K and L yesterday. It was, overall, a very pleasant experience. The store was roomy and clean, and people working there, including a security guard, greeted me with a friendly smile and a "Hi, how are you doing?" It was certainly a very cheerful grocery experience!

Generally, the Safeway was well-stocked; the produce was in good shape, they had crusty bread, and there was a good selection of wines and flowers. There seemed to have been a run on veggie burgers - there were signs for where the Boca and Gardenburgers should have been but there were only a few left. I also wish they carried Amy's veggie burgers (they did have many other Amy's frozen products).

The couple of downsides: First, there were only a couple of cashiers working, so even though there weren't that many people in line it took a while to get through. Second, I wish it were just a LITTLE closer to me - or that all the sidewalks en route were well-paved! Walking there and back requires going over some hideous sidewalk potholes and unpaved areas that you probably wouldn't notice on foot, but when you're pushing a granny cart, your wheels and suspension take a beating! I thought I actually lost a wheel at one point.

Oh well. Such are the hazards of the road! :) Again, overall, it was a very pleasant experience. Welcome, CityVista Safeway. I'm glad you're here!

Hooray for the 5th & K Safeway!

I'm sorry to miss the grand opening of the Safeway at CityVista, up at 5th & K. I am, though, SO excited to be able to shop there when I get back from Chicago! Hooray! The day has finally arrived! Now if we could just fill that would-be-Balducci's space in my building........

My Kind of Town - Mostly

I am currently on a business trip to Chicago, which is an awesome city, and I'm loving it.....except for all the smokers on the street wherever I go. What is up with this? Yes, Chicago enacted a smokefree law not too long ago, as we in DC have - and as NYC has, as Massachusetts has, etc. You could say the smokers have all been forced out onto the streets, so it just seems like more people are smoking, but I don't think that explains it. I don't see such large numbers of people smoking on the street in any of the other now-smokefree jurisdictions. What's up with this, Chicago? The cold Chicago winter shouldn't set in for quite a while, so it's not like people are huddling next to the fire from their cigarette lighters to keep warm. Hmmm........

Help! I'm trapped in a blog-posting factory

Just kidding. I'm here! I'm alive! I've just been busy and, from time to time, travelling.

My Attempt to See the Cherry Blossoms On the Last Day of the Festival

...was mostly foiled. Okay, I knew I was taking a chance waiting this long to walk over to the Tidal Basin, but I couldn't help it - I've been out of town for work for most of the Cherry Blossom Festival (side note: I hear that even while I was gone the weather wasn't very good and so blossom-watching was not as pleasant as it might otherwise have been). Today was pretty nice - pleasantly warm out and intensely sunny for much of my jaunt, though intermittent rain showers and the marauding tourist hordes complicated things a bit. Alas, the cherry blossoms were almost all gone already. Still, I had a nice walk, and here are some of the things I saw on the journey.

I started by walking through the National Gallery's Sculpture Garden. The fountain is on - spring is here!


There were Japanese drum and dance groups performing on Freedom Plaza (near the White House/Treasury/Commerce/Ronald Reagan Building/etc.).

My Attempt to Go to the Newseum On Opening Day

......was foiled. Today was the grand public opening of the Newseum, the journalism-themed museum formerly located in Rosslyn. (FYI, the Washington Post has an interesting article on the Newseum's role in the continuing renaissance of the area now called Penn Quarter.)

Today admission was free - after this, it'll cost you a crazy $20 per adult to get in. That is definitely more expensive than any other museum I can recall ever going to (not even counting the free ones!). Is it worth it? I can't yet tell you, because I couldn't get in. The line, which seemed not to be moving at all, extended east on Pennsylvania Avenue past the Canadian Embassy.

It seemed a perfect time to finally visit the Canadian Embassy, which has a small art gallery inside. So I did. No lines, wonderful air conditioning, and cool architecture. Again, the space is quite small, but the art was interesting (Canadian paintings and some sculptures/masks).

And when I got out, it seemed the line still hadn't moved.

Butterfly Garden at the Natural History Museum

Last weekend, I went to the new butterfly garden at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. It's pretty cool - you walk through a (smallish) enclosed space and come thisclose to butterflies, who fly around you and even alight on you (so you have to be checked out in a little vestibule area before you leave, to make sure you're not carrying out any members of the exhibit).




Be forewarned: to approximate the butterflies' natural habitat, it is VERY hot and humid in there - a thermometer registered nearly 87 degrees when I was in there, but the humidity is what really gets me. The perspiration-beaded Smithsonian docents were wearing sweatbands. We all needed some of those too.

This is a permanent exhibit - the only permanent exhibit at the Smithsonian you have to pay to see (apparently b/c they have to keep flying butterflies in, b/c they only live a couple of weeks). Tickets are $6 adults, $5 children 12 and under, though everyone gets in free on Tuesdays. Right now, the crowds are pretty crazy, so you may need to reserve tickets online, like I did (though the fees for doing so bring the price up to $9.50). I still had to wait in line for about 10 minutes past my scheduled time, but that was on Presidents' Day, with the touring crowds especially huge.

Then, to cool off, you can explore the rest of the museum, including the courtyard that holds the famous woolly mammoth. Oh, wait, or is that an elephant? That animal does not look particularly woolly. Well, anyway, you can explore this courtyard.

Take that, groundhog!

Despite this year's Groundhog Day prediction that wintry weather will last another 6 weeks (is it just me or does that stupid groundhog make the same prediction EVERY year?), this weekend's weather was fabulous. I hope you all got out there and enjoyed it!

Stephen Colbert Portrait @ National Portrait Gallery

The National Portrait Gallery is exhibiting this picture of humorist Stephen Colbert for the next 6 weeks. It's just outside the section of presidents' portraits, at the bathroom entrance above the drinking fountain. DCist offers additional commentary and a link to a Colbert episode about it here. This (lovely, springy) afternoon, it seemed like the most popular exhibit at the NPG! LOL

Watching the Airplanes at National Airport

I spent some relaxing time this afternoon watching planes land at Washington National Airport. There's a little sort of alcove where you can do this on the walkway between the new/main terminal and the old/ghetto terminal (which I actually like b/c it's small and usually uncrowded). It's just before you reach the old/ghetto terminal. It's outside security, so anyone can go there and hang out. And today I discovered they've added a bunch of rocking chairs! How very exciting! So I just sat there rocking for quite a while.

On the same walkway but nearer the new/main terminal, there is also a bigger area to sit and watch planes. There's an exhibit hall there too, with information about the history of the airport and such. But no rocking chairs!
And you can enjoy the nice view on the way home, too, out the windows of the Yellow Line across the Potomac.

It's 68 degrees out!

Not to be confused with 98 Degrees, the weather today is quite delightful, I must say. This is January weather I can live with!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all! Enjoy the rest of 2007, and I will see you in the New Year!

ISO Someone Able to Use Its/It's Correctly

What is on the homepage of Washingtonpost.com right now? A link to a video about Giant opening a supermarket in Ward 8. What's the headline? "Giant Opens It's Doors to Southeast."

As if it weren't bad enough that I have to pass that stupid sign on the Lansburgh every day that advertises "Renting At It's Finest" .......and read a zillion blog postings and comments from otherwise-well-educated yuppies showing that they apparently skipped kindergarten English class..................now I have to be the one to point out to the WASHINGTON FREAKING POST that they're using "it's" incorrectly?

I give up.

First Snow of the Season!

Looking out my downstairs windows into the courtyard, I saw this and was like, "Oh, cool, someone put up a Christmas tree on the table on their patio!" But closer inspection revealed it was really their table umbrella, just covered in snow. Ha!

Black Friday Shopping In Penn Quarter & Environs

Getting ready to go out shopping today? Maybe you're already done for the day, having shown up for the 4 a.m. doorbuster specials somewhere. Well, yay for you! For those with shopping still left to do, here are some suggestions for retail opportunities close to home.

National Gallery of Art Gift Shops - There are at least 3 shops in the NGA, by my count - the huge one in the old West building, the smaller one in the modern East building, and the bookstore-ish one that you pass through as you walk through the passageway and dining facility between the two buildings. The huge one has prints, postcards, tote bags, home decor, and zillions of other things. Exhibition catalogues are available in all three. This is seriously one of the best places for holiday shopping around, at least if you're shopping for people into art or gifts that are "uniquely D.C."

National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian American Art Museum Gift Shop - Somewhat small, but always packed with things I want. The shop sells prints of some of the works in the collection, including that famous George Washington portrait.

Pua Naturally - Interesting quasi-hippie/Santa Fe/South American/etc.-esque clothing and gift options. The vibe is fair-trade bohemian (but not cheap bohemian - I guess this is what happens to prices when you pay people more than 10 cents a week to sew clothing and make jewelry). They have cool handmade tissue paper/gift wrap. I have some! (7th Street just south of D, next to the florist)

Bed Bath & Beyond - Besides (or beyond) the usual towels, mirrors, pillows and such, our local BB&B has tons of other cool prospective gifts like upscale china and crystal, and salon-brand hairstyling products - including blowdryers and flatirons - from brands like Solano and Chi. Note that BB&B has a nice selection of picture frames too, but the best values in this category are the big collage frames and inexpensive clip frames. For the metal and wood frames, I generally think Macy's is a better value. There, you can usually find those individual silver frames on perpetual sale for like $9.99. (7th Street NW b/w G and H)

City Sports/Urban Outfitters/Ann Taylor Loft/Comfort One Shoes/Etc./Etc. - In addition to BB&B, its neighboring stores offer further shopping options. (7th Street NW b/w G and H)

Teaism Tea Shop - Next to the Teaism restaurant, the tea shop sells cool gifts like teas, tea accessories, books and such. (8th Street NW just north of D)

Smithsonian Gift Shops - Standouts, IMHO, include the one in the basement of African Art and the one in Air & Space. You can also shop the Smithsonian store online, though there's not complete overlap between what's online and and what's available in person.

That tourist haven at 10th & E - Across from Ford's Theatre, you know which place I'm talking about. It's as bright in there as high noon even when it's pitch black out. Well, it's a good source for kitschy DC souvenirs like snowglobes and spoons. There are also many DC postcards.

Utrecht - Cool art supplies fill this downtown store. That reminds me, I need more kneaded erasers. I love those things. They're not only good for art projects, they're great for getting marks off my flat-painted walls. And playing with! (1250 I Street NW)

National Building Museum Gift Shop - Thanks to DCRay for the reminder! - One of the coolest gift shops ever in one of the coolest buildings around. There are too many tempting things in this gift shop - posters, gadgets, all manner of gifty things related to architecture and design and Washington, D.C. (4th & F Street NW)

Now go out there and boost the economy!

Happy Thanksgiving, Penn Quarter!

It's 71 degrees out and sunny and lovely!
The streets are rather quiet, though joggers and buses and some strolling people come by now and then.

I am thankful for many Penn-Quarter-themed things today.

I'm thankful I own an awesome condo in an awesome neighborhood and have a minuscule commute to work.

I'm thankful for the work of the Downtown Neighborhood Association. Ably led by Miles Groves, the DNA puts us in touch with the-powers-that-be and others to get our voices heard as a neighborhood.

I'm thankful that my Advisory Neighborhood Commission is NOT the psychotic-dysfunctional one.

I'm thankful it's so nice and warm so I can have all my windows open with the sun and springy breezes pouring in.

I'm thankful I know the difference between "its" and "it's." That sign on the Lansburgh always drives me crazy!

I'm thankful that Teaism has brought back its curried lentil soup. At last!

I'm thankful that the sketchy McDonald's on 7th (in the Verizon Center) will be closing for "renovations." Hopefully the sketchy people who congregate around the McDonald's will also be closed for renovation.

I'm thankful that I live like two blocks from the National Gallery, so I can just walk over there and check out the Edward Hopper show before I have to start cooking Thanksgiving dinner. (I keep wanting to say Dennis Hopper. Edward Hopper.)

Which is what I intend to do right now. So - Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Have a wonderful holiday and I'll blog to you soon.

It's a beautiful day in our neighborhood

...a beautiful day to go to work! Yes, I had to go in to the office today. But don't feel sad for me. Feel happy that I am feeling so much better that I can once again venture out into the world with a song in my heart and a spring in my step! Hooray!

"If you have something to say, say it to my face" - Every single cast member on The Real World

I ventured out to Legal Sea Foods just now to get some takeout. I need sustenance while I recover from the bacterial assault Streptococcus is waging on my left tonsil. On the walk back, I passed two sketchy guys who were walking very slowly. As I walked ahead of them, one said: "She skksjiehfuehsjnbwhwny!" or something like that - it was unintelligible beyond "She," because while I believe he was speaking English, he was speaking it very drawl-y and maybe slang-y. The guy he was with laughed and was like, "Yeah, nwhhewehgwbsgwqqosw!"

Now, maybe you'll say it was just the lingering fever interfering with my cognitive abilities. But this has happened before, when I've been perfectly tonsillitis-free. Sometimes I confront sketchy people that say sketchy stuff to me on the street and tell them to quit. But how am I supposed to take it to that level when I can't understand what they're saying, so I can't tell whether they're even talking about me?

Maybe these two guys were saying, "Wow, she walks quickly and elegantly, for someone flushed and sweaty with fever!" Maybe they were saying, "She certainly knows how to choose a good restaurant for take-out!" Maybe they were talking about the National Portrait Gallery. Maybe they were insulting my mother! How was I to tell?

So please, all you sketchy and would-be-sketchy people out there that are thinking of talking about me on the street, please at least take the time and care to enunciate enough so I can tell what, if anything, you're saying about me. Thanks!

Tonsillitis Yet Again

Amoxicillin is my friend. My grossly swollen left tonsil, apparently, is not.

I'm home right now, convalescing. If anyone wants the contact info for a good ENT office, just email me. I love the place I go to. They're near Farragut North/Farragut West. They get me in on a moment's notice and are very nice and good and other adjectives that I'd be able to think of were I not delirious with fever.

Hey, I hadn't put my contact lenses in yet

An email exchange with a friend this morning:

ME: A plog I contribute to used "it's" incorrectly in a post recently. :( COME ON PEOPLE! If we can't even get it's/its straight, how are we supposed to solve more serious problems in the world??????????????????????????????????????????? I despair for humanity!!!!!!!

FRIEND: What's a plog?

Washington Design Center Sample Sale - This Friday and Saturday (10/26-10/27)

The Washington Design Center is having a big sale - "Treasure Hunt: The Luxury Sample Sale" - tomorrow and Saturday (October 26 and 27). Participating showrooms include two of my obsessions, Brunschwig & Fils and Scalamandre.

It's open to the public, though non-designers have to pay $5 to get in.

It's located right atop the Federal Center SW Metro station, which is just a 1-mile walk for Penn Quarterites if it's nice out (Saturday may be sunny).

Get out there and furnish those PQ apartments!

Ghetto CVS, I Hardly Knew Ye

O Ghetto CVS, you've closed (till 2010) and I didn't even get to say goodbye. No more will I be able to stand in line for 3 hours, as if waiting in a Cold-War-era line for the one bowl of kasha being served that day. No more can I savor the delight of wondering whether I can make it in and out with a jug of Tide and some toothpaste without being caught in some crosstown "beef." No more will I be able to peruse your selection of shower gels and moisturizers behind their locked bullet-proof glass dividers like fine jewels in a ghetto Smithsonian. Farewell to disturbed and unstable people holding the door open for me - and then yelling at me as I walk through. Why is that part of the deal?

So, so, so, so many good times.

"Hi - um, I want to buy some shower gel? But it's locked up. Can you unlock it for me?"
The clerk thought for a minute. "Hang on." He walked toward the pharmacy area.
He came back a few minutes later. "Um, the guy who has the key went home? And he took the key with him. He's not coming back till tomorrow."

D.C. Taxis Will Change from Zones to Meters

The Washington Post reports today that the D.C. taxicab fare system will change from the infamous zone scheme to a meter scheme. No timeframe yet.

Potato Valley Cafe

The Potato Valley Cafe is finally open in my building. Yay! It's just to the east of the Clara Barton condo entrance, at 614 E Street NW. I tried their food for the first time tonight, ordering the "Vegetarian Curry" potato. It was somewhat pricey ($7.25) - well, I suppose it's on the Teaism level - but quite tasty.

Actually, I ate it so quickly I didn't take a photo of it. Well, just imagine a big baked potato nestled in paper, steaming as you unwrap it, split open and heaped full of all kinds of vegetables - corn, cucumbers, peppers, onions, lettuce - and a yellow curry-like substance. (It was not spicy - more mustard-y.)

The menu starts out with the vegetarian combinations, which I appreciate. You can also create your own potato by choosing from a list of toppings.

The cafe is open till 7pm Monday through Saturday, and has seating for about 8 (in tables of 2).

Check it out!

Please Sign Petition to Bring Whole Foods to Penn Quarter!

Could it be true - that, before long, I could be living directly above a Whole Foods??

Douglas Development is in talks with Whole Foods to bring a WF to the should-have-been-Balducci's space in my building (the Clara Barton/Lafayette space on 7th near E Street). The Downtown Neighborhood Association has put up a petition that they will present to Whole Foods. I know, our hearts have been broken waaaayy too many times on the grocery front, but if anyone can pull this off, it's Doug Jemal.

Here's a link to the petition - please sign!

I Love the DC Circulator

I'm so glad you're here, DC Circulator! You take us all around town for only a dollar, and we can pay with our Smartrip cards, and your buses come frequently (you say every 10 minutes, which is not always true, but you still come frequently, so thanks) and all 3 of your loops are accessible and useful for Penn Quarter residents. Thank you!

Here are the 3 Circulator routes. Note that the Circulator has taken over the Foggy Bottom-Georgetown route that the Magical Blue Bus (the "Georgetown Metro Connection") used to run. So if you're expecting to catch the shuttle bus from Foggy Bottom to Gtown, you need to walk up to Pennsylvania Ave. to get it. No more Magical Blue Bus right outside the station. You've probably figured that out by now, but I just thought I'd point it out anyway. At least catching the bus on Penn gives you redundancy - if the 30 series Metrobus comes first, you can catch that. Anyway, here are the 3 loops.

- SW Waterfront-Convention Center Loop
- Georgetown-Union Station Loop
- Smithsonian-National Gallery of Art Loop

Washington National Opera's "Welcome to Opera" Concert This Friday

Hurry! Washington National Opera is having a special "Welcome to Opera" concert this Friday, October 5, at the Kennedy Center. I believe they're performing excerpts from various operas.

As an opera lover and annual subscriber to the WNO season, I can attest that the WNO puts on excellent performances....and that opera tickets are normally very expensive. So this is a great chance to see opera at a hugely reduced price. Tickets are only $25! ($50 if you want to upgrade to a box seat, which are very good seats, or "VIP Orchestra" seats - personally, I prefer to sit a bit higher up for the opera and not sit on the floor, but chacun a son gout.)

The Kennedy Center is an easy walk from the Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro stop. There is a free (and bright red) shuttle van that will take you from the Metro to the Kennedy Center, but unless the weather is bad, it's nice to walk. It's an easy drive from PQ (west on Constitution, right on Virginia Ave.), though parking in the Kennedy Center garage is a flat $16.

The Kennedy Center offers a detailed list of directions/info here, including info on the shuttle bus.

DC Car Free Day Tomorrow

WMATA.com notes that tomorrow (Tuesday, September 18) will be the first DC Car Free Day:

"Over 1500 cities around the world hold car free events, including many in the United States. Excessive driving is devastating to the air and water. It generates noise pollution, isolates people and overtakes city streets making those on foot a second class citizen. On September 18th, let's all pledge to leave our cars at home and reconnect with the city and the people. Whether you take the bus with your neighbors, walk to lunch or dinner, or organize a bike ride or walking tour in your neighborhood, there are many ways to participate. Encourage your friends and coworkers to take the car free challenge. For more information and an online pledge page, please visit www.carfreedc.info ."

Of course, for many of us, especially in Penn Quarter, every day is Car Free Day!

It was such beautiful weather this weekend!

This is my favorite weather. Temps in the 70s, low humidity, bright blue sky, a few puffy clouds.....OK, so yesterday's howling winds were a little brisk at times, but overall, it was a gorgeous weekend.

Downtown Neighborhood Association Gets a New Website; DNA and ANC6C Meetings

The DNA has a new website - yay! Check it out. And come to this month's meeting tomorrow (Tuesday, September 11) at 7pm, at the usual locale, the Naval Heritage Center. The special guests will be DC Council At-Large Member Phil Mendelson and Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) Chief Investigator Johnnie Jackson.

Note that this overlaps with our ANC 6C * meeting at NPR (635 Mass Ave) that night - the ANC meeting is scheduled from 7pm-9pm.


*P.S. Our ANC is not the crazy one.

National Portrait Gallery Gives Us Our Sidewalk Back!

I know - I can hardly believe it myself. After like 10 (zillion) years of having the west side of 7th Street N.W. between F and G Streets blocked off by National Portrait Gallery construction, the sidewalk is open again! At least I think it is. I may have been hallucinating. Is this all a dream?