vasa ride
planned to ride the 56-mile option this year, but then the weather turned wet (snow, sleet) and I adjusted accordingly. rode my bike to the metro, tried to exit at foggy bottom but couldn't find the elevator (is there one?), metro'd back to rosslyn, biked to the house of sweden just in time for the start of the 15-miler, signed the waiver, grabbed some handwarmers and caught up with the group of a dozen or so other hardy riders. the shorter route was a tour of stadiums and dc neighborhoods I've never seen. didn't stop long enough to activate the handwarmers, but I stayed fairly warm. after the hot blueberry soup (my motivation for leaving the house), I headed back to the rosslyn station, then rode home.

coming up
usbg open house
uop comes to town
march birthdays
wild goose chase prep
rollerderby

wii
sticking with it. surprisingly an effective workout that I've been able to keep up for a month. the 90 second plank is my new nemesis. I will prevail, but I must admit I just had the hardest time remembering how to spell nemesis.

CAPS 2009
game on! no entries yet, but I expect there will be some pretties in there in no time.

libraries
so my neighborhood library is under construction indefinitely, so I've had to explore others in the area. the online hold system is really helpful, if I can find the building holding my hold. I've tried the one in great falls and the one near tysons so far. nothing special.

concierge
got a bit turned around looking for the scrabble meetup at pentagon city. ended up getting fine directions to noodles & co. from the concierge of a swanky hotel after folks on the street and at the mall "information" desk let me down.

amazing race
just got around to watching this one. I like it. would love to try it. rooting for the mother/son and father/son teams

turkey run park
usually when I hit this quiet park I'm there with the random guys parked in the lot and maybe one or two other hikers. the other day when I got there I found a full parking lot. I headed to the next lot and it was mostly empty. there was some sort of group trying to break a hiking in DC record for the most participants. it wrecked the trail. sloppy mud and logjams of hikers. everyone we met were amazed that daisy was still white. little do they know, she's scotchguarded.

cribbage
went to a meetup in crystal city and we played our first ever 8-way match. fun, a different kind of challenge.

congrats
keith and LB

inauguration
oh yeah, there was that day back in january when we stood shoulder to shoulder on the mall to celebrate democracy and all that. good times.

possum
they really do play dead.

noticed
my showy orchis attracted a tennessee painter...my purple meadow rue appeared in a old farmer's almanac piece on rain gardens...dcist picked up one of my inauguration shots

dc rollergirls
what a fun show! I was surprised by the crowd at the dc armory. for my first time in the audience, I chose a front-row seat instead of sitting around the outside of the track. those ladies (and fellows - there was a co-ed exhibition match) kick some roller butt. can't wait to see the cousins in a bout someday. thinking about heading to the east coast extravaganza in philly in the spring.

oscars showcase
picked the tysons theater this year. closer to home for dog walking. another great movie marathon - all 5 best-pictures nominees in a row with unlimited popcorn. I had only seen "milk" and had hoped to walk the dog then, but it appeared first in the lineup. then watched "the reader" and "benjamin button." bill had given me great directions on when to step out during "button" and not miss anything good - it's when they say they're heading off to war. I got back and brad pitt was goodlooking again. then we watched "slumdog" and "frost/nixon" how I'd rank them (best last): button, frost/nixon, reader, milk, slumdog.

celebrity sighting
when I was on the mall shooting pre-inauguration hubbub, I heard bruce singing and wasn't quite sure whether the boss was live or memorex. turns out he was at the lincoln memorial practicing for the "we are one" concert the next day.

skiing
my plans to ski it up this winter were derailed by warm weather, but not before I had a chance to try whitetail. it's a bit above my skills, but I enjoyed the slopes I could do.

ticks
already found two walking on the dog. easy to see against white.

glasses
remember those coke glasses we had long ago? I found smaller versions for 25 cents each.

tasty
tried a new recipe - chicken samosas - and mastered it after a few tries. yum

seen/heard/read
"before the devil
knows you're dead" ***
"still life with woodpecker" ***
"look both ways" ***
"transsiberian" ***
"just after sunset"
"lives of others"
"zodiac"
"fear X"
"rats"
***recommended ***