I Still Love Rock and Roll

This past weekend was one of my favorite local events - Celebrate Fairfax - the fair. It was wicked hot and we felt like we could easily melt in the sun but Stinkerbelle and I went anyway. DQ and hubbo couldn't join us because DQ's recital rehearsals ran all through the afternoon.

Here you see Stink on her favorite ride of the day - the swings. Can you blame her? I bet that it must've felt amazing to have the wind shooshing by here as the swings flew around and around. Another big hit for us was the booth set up by the Water Authority. Every year they offer a different cup or water bottle (free) that they cheerfully fill and fill again with ice and water all through the day. We were very good customers.


There were all kinds of things to see. In the Sci-Tech tent Stinkerbelle learned about robots and successfully completed the egg drop without cracking hers. All of the municipal agencies have booths to convey information and tchotckes. We were very good at collecting the stuff. Squeeze balls, frisbees, pencils, flashlights and more. You name it - we hauled it home.

There was lots of other entertainment. There was a laser light show which had the extra benefit of being inside the air conditioned building. There were shows for children and this guy who was playing with fire. It was all great fun and kept us super busy.

One of the highlights of the fair are the bands. These guys are called Bowling For Soup and they were a lot of fun. I felt kind of bad for them because they played during the heat of the day. They had a big hit a few years ago with a sog called 1985 but so much of their stuff is great. It's upbeat with clever lyrics. They tend to banter back and forth a lot - juvenile but in a good way.

The biggest band playing the fair this year was Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Remember them? The chick at the pizza counter had no clue. I felt old. Anyway, they rocked the house despite the lightning that was flashing in the distance. Hubbo and DQ finally arrived just as their set started and we all enjoyed the show. I took much better pictures than this but not of the whole band.


How was your weekend?

My DC - Week 20

Last weekend, walking through DC, we passed by the Department of Justice and saw this statue of Nathan Hale. We all stopped for moment to debate what famous thing he said. I am very proud to report that I knew the right answer. Yes, I am still smarter than a 6th grader - but not by much.



I also saw pretty flowers around the corner. Aren't the colors great?



This weekend will be another very busy one but in a completely different way. There will be cheering of small softball players, funnel cakes, good music, and more awards heaped upon my children. Naturally I will be there to document it all even as my daughters beg me to please, please, please put the camera away!

Have a great weekend!

The Garden Report 2008

Thank you all so much for your nice comments about my "K". It's so nice when a project that's been with you for so long is finally unveiled and appreciated.

This year I had high hopes for my garden. We were going to tear out a large and annoying ewe to enlarge our garden space and then we were going to create retaining walls to define the bed better and plant a fabulous variety of heirloom veggies and flowers started from seeds we bought last year at Monticello. We did have the ewe removed and I lined up my slave labor to assist with my big Mothers Day project for 2008 and then the rains came. And they never stopped. Finally, I ran out to the local garden store, grabbed a few little plants, stuck them in the ground between downpours and considered myself lucky. Better luck next year.

Above you can see my herbs. These were all planted last year and they are thriving and providing us with delightful scents and flavorful foods. Fromt front to back we have lavender, savory, rosemary, and sage. Here's something new... cantaloupe . I grew these last year too but I had a small problem determining when it was ripe enough to pick. This year my goal is to pick it and eat it before it rots on the vine.

The cantaloupe is a slow starter but there are other plants that are off to a fast and very promising start. Like my zucchini and my green peppers. Not only are those flowers pretty - they're a sign of yummy things to come.

There's a newcomer in the garden this summer too. Tomatoes! I didn't get any last year because I don't like fresh tomatoes but this year I planted them because I hope to make sauce and cook with them.