A Perfect Day in Washington DC

Yesterday was a perfect day here in the District.  It started off with the family (Mike, Debbie and 3 of the boys) coming over the night before and joining us for dinner, along with Katy's cousin, John Higgins.

The next day, Mike, Debbie and Josh got up at 5 AM to go volunteer for the Cherry Blossom run.  The rest of us slept in a little, but at 6:30 AM we go up (Paul, Katy and the other two grandsons, Ryan and Kyle) to go for a walk down to see the cherry blossom trees.  We were joined by our neighbor Nancy and her daughter, Joselyn.

A brisk walk took us down to the Tidal Basin just as the race was starting.  We saw a bit of the race and some of the trees (which were still not in full bloom) as we walked over to the Jefferson Memorial and then back around the basin.  A quick Metro ride home took us to Le Pain Quotidien for breakfast.  Nothing is better than a hot cup of coffee, fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, and a salmon and chives omelet after a long, invigorating walk.  Katy discovered a new bread spread called "Speculous" with cinnamon in it that was just wonderful.

After that it was back home.  Ryan and Kyle left first and then the others swung by just to catch their breath heading home.  After lunch, we went into the backyard and started a fun few hours of clean-up.  It's always a great day when we open up the back yard, pull out the outdoor furniture, hang all the art and bring the fern out from indoors.  It says "spring is here" like nothing else.  And the weather warmed up perfectly -- I did most of my dragging and lifting in a t-shirt.

The day ended as well as it had begun.  Dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants, Zest was, as always, just cozy.  We both had the Kale salad with butternut squash.  Katy's catfish and Paul's duck were well-prepared.  Add a glass of wine each and what could be better?

Only one thing -- finishing the night with the last episode of the BBC's Sherlock, season two.  If you haven't seen the show, go get the DVDs now.  We can't wait for Season Three this Fall.

Cooking for Passover

Katy's first effort at Sephardic Leek Patties

Kyle Kunzer turns 12

Bobbie's 85th

We gathered today to celebrate Bobbie Rosenzweig's 85th birthday.  Here is a photo of the birthday girl, blowing out her candles and below is a photo of the 4 cousins -- Paul, his brother Jim, and cousin's Rick and Scott.

We were joined by most of the Frishman family, most of the Kunzers, and Bobbie's old friends Rube and Joan Miller.  A joyous time was had by all.

More Great Music -- In Manassas

Grandsons  Kyle (5th Grade) and Aaron (12th Grade) both played in the Manassas All-City band concert on Wednesday night.  It was a pleasure to listen too for proud grandparents.  In one of these clips Kyle's band plays a bit of Beethoven's 9th.  If you look just to the left of the conductor you can imagine that you see Kyle playing his trumpet.  In the other clip Aaron's band plays "Into the Storm."  Aaron is the rightmost of the two tubas.

Adventures in Wisconsin

Typically, our family gathers every summer for a vacation. Usually we go to the beach -- it's a good thing we didn't this year as our normal schedule would have had us trying to go to Hatteras just around the time that Hurricane Irene hit. That would have been a wipe-out for sure.

So, to our good fortune, we didn't go to the beach this year. Instead, we took advantage of the fact that we were spending 6 months in Chicago to go up to Door County, Wisconsin -- to the little 1-street village of Fish Creek. We we joined this year by Paul & Natalia and their two girls, along with Mike & Debbie and their four boys. Brother John Blenner and his son Jeff made it up for 1/2 the week too, so it was quite a pleasant gathering.

We arrived on a Saturday and stayed in a set of condos at one end of the village (Paul & Natalia were at the other end in a hotel known as the White Gull). The rooms were pleasant with a small pool out back for everyone to swim in. The biggest flaw was that there was no flat ground -- hence our family obsession with the game of Core Hole (a/k/a "Bags") was somewhat frustrated. It is hard to throw on a hill!

That having been said, Fish Creek had much to offer. On various days we did a long 12-mile hike into the Peninsula State Park and an equally long (though somewhat less grueling) bike ride on the trail. Other grand activities included a day at the beach (where Paul, Debbie and grandson Aaron went sailing) and a day playing golf (for those who like that).

By far the highlight of the week (much of which was devoted to the arduous practice of laying about and talking) was the sunset. Fish Creek is known for its western facing beach across Lake Michigan and every evening crowds would gather to watch the sun go down into the lake. On clear days it was a beautiful sight to behold and well worth the trip.

The other highlight of the week was the food -- particularly that at the White Gull. One evening we went for a traditional Fish Boil, a cooking experience that is a pyrotechnic delight. To be honest we expected the fish served to be bland -- but it was far from that. The method of cooking created quite a firm, yet tender piece of fish meat that we just loved. Add in fresh cherry pie (Door County is known for its cherries) and the meal was great.

Equally good, if not better, was the breakfast at the white gull. Great muffins, wonderful coffee, good eggs and bacon. If breakfast is the favorite meal, this was a favorite place to have it.

Of course, the real highlights are just being together with family. Perhaps next time we can go in winter and see what it is like to do cross-country skiing.

The Day After Christmas

Our grandchildren came over for Christmas dinner last night. We had a wonderful dinner (thank you Katy) of Turkey, stuffing, veggies and the like. Debbie brought along the world-famous Hooshay (which, if you've never had, is just wonderful) and we spent a warm evening in the house in front of the fire opening Xmas presents. I think the hit of the evening was Aaron's new Rock Band 3 for Wii.

The kids spend the evening in a sleepover. This morning, Paul got up early and went to the gym with grandson Kyle, whose only wish on his 1oth birthday was, oddly enough, to go with grandpa to the gym and work out. Who knew? And who could say no?

After a breakfast of eggs and pancakes we went down to the National Botanical Garden. There is nothing like going into the jungle in the midst of a coming snow storm. And the place was packed! Everyone had come to see the trains and the orchids. As you can see the family had a good time.