Heard: "People on whose couches I've been crashing" edition

I've spent many--if not most--of the last eight weekends, on the road.  To Tennessee for my mom's (surprise) 60th birthday. To Boston for my friend's (surprise) 30th birthday. To Philadelphia to visit a friend who recently moved there. To New York with my cousins. Etc etc etc.

Consequently, I have lots of pictures to share, and lots of excellent food to tell you about.  But in the meantime, please enjoy these bon mots from my travels.

[In Philly, I had packed two pairs of boots, both of which I had worn while sight-seeing over the course of several days. On the last evening, as we sat watching the Oscars, Ryan noticed my rather ancient slippers, which are cable-knit with ties at the ankles.]

Ryan: You brought three pairs of boots?!

Me: These are slippers.

R: Three pairs!

H: They're slippers!

R: And they have those... bonbons.

H: .... You mean pom poms?

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[In Boston last weekend, I stayed with my old roommate Jay (who I have quoted at length in the past) and his girlfriend, Heather. After many years of resisting, Jay is reading Harry Potter, having burned through six of the seven books in just a few months. As is common among those who are late converts to this kind of cultural obsession, he has MANY THOUGHTS about the books and wants to talk about them. A lot. This is relevant to the conversation that follows, which will probably make zero sense if you are unfamiliar with the finer points of Harry Potter.]

Me: What's your wifi password?

Heather, from the other room: Hold on, I want to hear you explain this to her.

Me: Which network is it? [scans list of networks] "Sirius"?

Jay: [guilty look]

Me: Of course it is.

J: Okay, so if you needed the password, what would you SAY?

Me: ... Alohomora? What's the spell for "open"?

J: Say you need the password to COME to you?

Me: Oh, good lord. "Accio...Internet?"

J: [triumphantly] Capital A, capital I!

Just call me Picabo Street

I'm going skiing on Saturday for the first time, along with three friends. All but one of us are beginners, and to hear us talk, you'd think we were headed for the Olympic runs at Lake Placid. So, behold....

Things We Have Actually Said While Discussing Our Upcoming Ski Trip

"As long as we all make it out without any broken bones, I'll consider it a successful day!" 
"Really? THAT's the measure of success we're using?"

"How much should I expect to fall down?"

"....What do I wear?"

"Difficulty-wise, is this much like ice skating? Because I'm TERRIBLE at ice skating."

"Everybody remember to bring your health insurance card."


Seriously, though, I'm excited. We're taking a lesson and then attempting the easy trails, so I'm confident we'll have a great time and a lot of laughs. Learning to ski also happens to be a Life List item, so I'll be documenting it. Details to come!

Three things

1. The weather people are predicting snow tomorrow, except that they've changed their minds six times in the last eight hours about how much. Predictions run the gamut from freezing rain to six inches or more, which probably means that we see an hour of light flurries that don't hit the ground but still cause evening traffic to snarl beyond explanation. That's the way it goes in Washington. 

Personally, I've been waiting for snow since November, preferably a repeat of Snowpocalypse 2010. I'll be wearing my new snow boots tomorrow, come flurry or snowstorm. 

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2. I'm getting excited for the spring, which is booking up with a number of short little weekend trips. Notably, two of awesome cousins invited me to join them for a weekend in New York City in March. Neither of them have ever been there, and since I'm just a short train ride away and know my way around decently well (and am ALWAYS looking for an excuse to go to NYC), I'm excited to tag along. None of us have traveled together before, and since we only really see each other at family holiday events (once a year, twice if there's a wedding), it'll be a great chance to spend some rare quality time together. 

We're still in the early stages of planning, so tell me--what would you do (and more importantly, where would you EAT) if you were visiting the city for the first time? 

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3. That post about Holly and Lucky the other day might not have been the best idea, because now I cannot stop looking at pictures of dogs. My family's dogs. My friends' dogs. Your dogs. Strangers' dogs. Doesn't matter. But I stare at puppy pictures on Instagram for HOURS. Help.

2012 Catch-up: Atlantic/Pacific

A lot of things happened in 2012, particularly in the latter half of the year, and I barely wrote about any of it! So for the next few days (weeks?) I'm going to catch up on a few of the stuff I missed last year--and clean off my camera card while I'm at it.  Happy New Year, all! 

August was a weird month. 

I was off swimming in this during our annual family vacation... 

Edisto Island, SC

...and the next week I was dipping my toes in this: 

Holly and Lucky

We had an unusual Christmas this year.

For one thing, it was the first without my sister, who was spending her first Christmas with her husband's family. But even that was sort of forgotten, because this will forever be remembered as The Christmas We Unexpectedly Acquired Two Dogs.

Let me back up.

A hurricane's a comin'!

So. A hurricane is approaching Washington (and basically everyone in the mid-Atlantic). Perhaps you've heard?

I'm ready, I guess. Water reserves obtained. Assorted flashlights and lanterns and my End Of The World Box* freshly battery-ed up and ready to go. Non-perishables in the pantry.  AC unit removed from the window. Car stowed in a hotel parking garage down the street (and costing me a small fortune, though obviously far less than it would cost to replace a windshield or something). A 900-page book to finish and a stack of unread magazines at the ready.

*The End Of The World Box (not its real name) is this all-in-one contraption that includes a radio, tiny TV, LED lantern, siren, and who knows what else, given to me by my mother SEVEN YEARS ago and not used since except, occasionally, to listen to 'Wait Wait Don't Tell Me' on Saturday morning.

Last night, we sat outside eating frozen yogurt, staring at the sky. It's an odd feeling, just sitting around waiting for something to happen. Since we've been expecting the (HISTORIC! UNPRECEDENTED! HUGE IN DIAMETER!) storm for days, we've all had time to prepare (obviously a good thing), but also time to panic (for those who are prone to such things) or fluctuate between varying degrees of malaise and mild concern (me). My area of town almost NEVER loses power (during snowstorms or whatever), but I'm sure no one will be spared this time. (At least it's not 95 degrees and humid, or mid-January and freezing!)

In the 11 years I've lived in DC, I've experienced both Hurricane Isabel in 2003 and last summer's derecho, so I'm trying to reconcile this with those experiences. But Isabel was during college, when I was young and oblivious and living in the dorms, and the derecho last summer--while extremely destructive--only lasted a few hours. This is going to be different.

So, here I sit, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Let's get this over with. Stay safe, ya'll.

An open letter to tourists visiting Washington, DC

Dear visitors,

Hello! Welcome to Washington. I hope you enjoy your stay. 

DC is a wonderful place to experience with kids. My parents brought my sister and me to Washington for the first time when we were in elementary school. We had a fabulous time, and I even decided to attend college here and make it my home after graduation. That said, while I think it's awesome that you and your three hellions adorable children have decided to visit my beloved city, allow me to offer you some words of wisdom that will keep me from wanting to kick your ass make your trip more enjoyable.

DC's subway system is great. If your kids are anywhere like I was at their age, they'll find it more entertaining than most of the actual museums and monuments. You'll want to take it everywhere. But when you do, please, listen to the announcements. When the train operator says "doors closing," he's not kidding! They're closing! They're not like elevator doors that will re-open if you (or your backpack or stroller or your child's head--seriously, I've seen it) is in the way! GET OUT OF THE WAY. And, for pete's sake, don't try to hold the doors open. Know why? Because you will break them! This is a surefire way to get a train full of riders REALLY pissed at you, because they will offload the entire train and make everyone wait until a new train arrives. And guess what? When that new train arrives, it will be EVEN MORE FULL than before because now there are TWO trains-worth of people on it. So, please: don't block the doors. It's not hard.

Once you've gotten safely onto the train--congratulations!--and the doors have closed without incident, please HOLD ON. Don't be too cool for school or too good for the handrails, because inevitably YOU will be that jackass who loses his balance and falls over when the train starts moving, landing in the lap of the lady next to you or knocking over 15 other passengers who are just trying to read The Economist or Fifty Shades of Grey on their Kindles. The handrails are there for a reason. We are all using them. You should, too. And hold onto your kids (and make THEM hold the rails), lest they go flying across the car and whack their heads on an armrest or something. Just hold on. Please.

Mazel tov! You've made it to your destination. Now that you've disembarked, make your way out of the station. The Metro station agents are happy to give you directions if you're unsure which exit to use. Inevitably, you'll take an escalator to get up to ground level. But for the love of all that is holy, people, when you get to the top of the escalator, DO NOT JUST STAND THERE! Look, I'm sorry for getting all caps-lock-y about this, but HELLO. There are five hundred people right behind you. You are blocking ALL OF THEM. MOVE YO'SELF OUT OF THE WAY. We understand that you may need to consult a map/iPhone/sign/the North Star to figure out which direction you need to walk to get to the Air and Space Museum or the nearest Starbucks (or, in my neighborhood, the National Zoo). But must you do it directly at the top of the escalator? No. Your iPhone will work just as well if you move six feet to the side. 

Please, don't let this scare you away from using the Metro. It's a great resource that is by far the best way to see the sights. All that we, the residents of DC and the surrounding suburbs, ask is that you use some common sense. There are 700,000-some people just trying to get to work without incident. We're happy you're here, and we'll happily point you in the right direction or recommend a restaurant. We think it's wonderful that your children have the opportunity to visit such a culturally-rich place. We love DC, and we want you to as well. 

Cordially,

Hannah