DC Again
Cris and I are in DC for the long weekend visiting Peter. We have been walking quite a lot and eating well. Today was a visit to Tortilla Cafe near Eastern Market which was amazing and cheap. / I haven’t been inspired to shoot much, but the light was nice today and it is pleasant to see roses still blooming in October.
It is odd to see the public parts of the federal government closed up (not that you could get up these steps when there is no government shut-down). I used to spend quite a bit of time shooting here, and for a time anyone could walk right up to the top. Times change; what can you do?
That thing happened again.
At the end of the day yesterday Cristine was having trouble with her hearing aid and asked me to take a look at it. I didn’t need the battery which she had removed, and as I tossed it towards her, it landed on Peter’s duvet in this upright position. As I have posted before here and here, I have always seen this as something very positive and almost mystical. It always makes me happy, and for some odd reason instills in me a sense being connected to a world of wonder and mystery. (Peter would say I am “waxing a bit poetic” here but I am prone to do that once in a while.)
DC in August
Cris and I took the train from New Haven to DC on Monday. She has a couple of days of consulting and I get to hang out with Peter.
This tiny restaurant is near to the Van Ness metro station and has been closed since Peter moved to the neighborhood. I really like the retro feel of the facade, and with the building permit in the window you know it will change soon.
I have always enjoyed shooting in underground stations. I like the movement of the trains during long exposures.
I will often stop after exiting the giant escalator at Dupont Circle to look down on cars that are passing below.
Peter was working the Nationals game last night so Cris and I showed up at around 6:00 to get tickets. The Nats are struggling this year and with playoff hopes low, they are selling seats for $5.00! $5.00; unbelievable. We got a couple of great seats in section 402 and saw a really good game with a win over the Marlins. My current favorite pitcher, Ross Ohlendorf, was on the mound and his old school wind-up is unique. You can get a look at it here. / Every time Wilson Ramos came up to bat, some guy behind me started chanting Hu go Cha vez, Hu go Cha vez. (There is a Venezuelan connection; only in DC can you hear something like this at a ball game.)
It was beautiful night, and between innings it was nice to look around at some of the architectural features of the park. Cris noticed these lights just above us and pointed them out to me.
We are off to the Lincoln Memorial in a bit to see if we can see the President speak in honor of the 50th anniversary of the MLK “I have a dream” speech. Could be interesting.
The Full English
I don’t post about food very often, but I feel like doing so today.
This weekend marks the start of the English Premiership season, and Peter and I follow our respective teams (Manchester United and Fulham) faithfully. We texted back and forth yesterday during the Fulham and United wins. He has an amazing mind for the game and when I asked him about Darren Bent, who is new to Fulham, this is what I got as a response.
So anyway, it is a lot of fun for us. Pete doesn’t eat a lot of the stuff that I like, but he likes to live vicariously through me. For the past few weeks he has been telling me that I need to have the “full English” sometime this weekend. So I cooked one up this morning and it was one of the best. I’m not too bothered about not having mushrooms, but everything else is there, including the fried bread, and the English Heinz beans. If figure I’ll be OK if I limit myself to two or three of these a year.
Pearl 1 July, 2001 – 2 August, 2013
Pearly died here at the house this past Friday morning just after 8.00.
There are no words to express how sad we are.
Pennsylvania License Plate
My parents were pretty straight-forward people for the most part, but they did something together in their later years that was very amusing to me . When the state of Pennsylvania changed the format of license plates sometime in the early 1990s, my folks were forced to give up a plate number that they had had for ages. They were really unhappy about this so instead of having a new random number assigned to them, they opted to pay for a vanity plate with their old number on it. I am sure it was a small victory as these things go, but it meant a lot to them. After my mom died and we sold their car, I took the plate off and kept it as a reminder of their spirit and sense of playfulness. It is on the door of my studio and brings a smile to my face whenever I look at it.
Washington Nationals
Cristine and I are visiting Peter in DC for the weekend. Pete is working as a “fan ambassador” for the Nationals. His job is to welcome people into the park and help them with any questions that they might have. So if you go to a game, chances are good that he will be around the center field entrance just inside the main gate. Look him up! He is a great guy and would love to chat. / The Nats are having a rough season this year and last night was emblematic of how things are going for them. A difficult loss in 10 innings. Everyone was moving very slowly on a hot summer’s night and the game lasted over 4 hours. It was a sell out and the only tickets Cris and I could get were standing room. But at $15.00 a real deal. Peter got us comp tickets for Monday’s game vs the Pirates and we are looking forward to having actual seats.
Meadville, PA
I am in Meadville sitting in a Tim Horton’s. It is the only open café with WIFI and I wanted to do a quick post before I head out of town.
My dad died in 2007 and in memorial to his time teaching at Allegheny College the family decided to plant a tree on the campus. I wanted to check on it to see how it was faring and was happy to see that it is in good shape.
My sister Karen knows a lot about trees and gardens and she suggested a Winter King. Here’s a link describing it and it seems an apt choice. (It is cool that the link goes to Penn State’s Extension program as dad got his doctorate in German Literature there.) I especially like how the bark peels off; it kind of reminds me of a sycamore which is a tree I also like. I have been thinking about a long post about my dad which I hope to get to in the next few months. He was a very interesting guy.
Block Island Again
We are back out on Block Island visiting our friends Scott and Lisa. They are so nice to include us in their vacation. The ferry crossing yesterday was quite rough and kind of fun on the rolling waves.
Cris and I went for a nice bike ride to the North end of the island this morning and then came back and played cribbage. I love this little travel board. It was my gramma Krieghoff’s and it is so sweet. I especially like the Michigan Abrasive Company playing cards that came with it. / Back home tomorrow. Before we left I tried to set up an “out of the office” auto-reply in my mail program and it totally buggered things up. Some of you received a ton of email from me with the announcement. Sorry; I disabled it as soon as I realized what was happening. / Happy Fourth of July to you Americans who follow this site.
Penguin Books
I’ve been thinking of my late parents quite a bit recently. The photograph is of my father’s family. They moved from Cornwall in the UK to Central City, Colorado where I believe this shot was taken. Dad turned me on to the Scottish writer John Buchan, and I have a large collection of his books; mostly hardbacks, but a few in these lovely old Penguin editions. These beautiful art deco bookends are marked “Genuine Rocky Mountain Alabaster” and come from Kohlberg’s / Denver, which I assume is or was some sort of a shop.
Pearl had some pretty heavy duty surgery on Tuesday. She had a large mast cell tumor on her side and it really needed to come off. Our wonderful vet Deb Lichtenberg thought it was a good thing to do, and we are glad we went through with it. The recovery has been going well so far. Off to get the temporary drain removed this afternoon and then another ten days before the stitches come out. I took this shot a few days before the operation. We never let her up on the furniture until about a year ago, but hey, she’s 12 and we want her happy.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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