News and Updates

Van Changes

Taylor and her mom had some good ideas about changing the bed platform in her van.

And today we had the time and perfect weather for those updates.

It was a very fun and very different project for me: no straight lines and no 90 degree corners.

But I think we did a good job on it.

It’s solidly attached (I even suggested the “seat belt” which would only come into play in an accident) and it fits the mattress well.

And leaves plenty of space for gear below it.

Taylor’s wide angle photo makes it look bigger than it is, but we used all the space available.

Aussie Visit

Taylor is living the van life and we managed to get on her itinerary for a few days.

Her mom Nanette flew in Tuesday for a planned road trip together.

Life got a little complicated and they had to take off earlier than planned and the adventure is a bit different. But I expect it will still be entertaining.

We’re expecting to see them back this way before Nanette’s flight back in a few weeks.

And we’re looking forward to hearing all about where they have been this time.

Cardinal!

We’ve had cardinals at the regular feeder since forever. And they also seem to be happy to clean up seed spilled on the porch.

So I thought they would take to the Bird Buddy.

But I think this is the first time one of our cardinals has popped by for a snack.

Now, I’m waiting for the woodpecker to do the same. I did see it on the bird buddy a while back but the camera didn’t trip and I was too slow to get the live camera working.

Chilly water on the Potomac

With the snow and cold temperatures, I wasn’t sure I’d find a nice day to get on the river this month. This morning was pretty rainy but the forecasters promised the rain would move out and the sun might make an appearance.

I’m glad they were right. It was about 55, air temperature. The water was clearly much colder. Not frozen where I was but the back channel was frozen and there were small icebergs floating down the river.

Along with some other debris: sticks, branches, logs. It’s been a long time since I’ve see the river at 4.6 feet. Clearly there was a lot of debris to flush downstream.

And did I mention there were little ice bergs floating around? Also there was a lot of ice pretty much across the river down by Georgetown.

Not that I was going to go in that direction at all, sadly not anytime soon. The huge sewage spill is starting to get under control, but I expect it will be a while before the river from Lock 10 downstream is safe for recreation.

The C&O canal, below, was also ice covered, but I’m confident not thick enough to skate on. I know folks have taken advantage of the ice since the big storm to skate there — but not today; maybe not again this winter.

I owe my PTO colleagues thanks again: one retirement present was an NRS gift certificate — suggested by Sarah :) — which I used for splash pants. That made the one little breaking wave that washed over the bow much nicer — no shock of freezing water on my legs (through the polypro pants).

I’m pretty confident March will have at least a day or two this nice or nicer so I expect to see more of Angler’s Inn.

Christmas!!!

Sarah and I tried out packrafts last summer in Seattle since they are more of a thing out west than around here.

And clearly we liked them: pretty nice paddle feel, known to do pretty well in whitewater and the real selling point: crazy light. (Perhaps at the expense of more needed maintenance and less long a working lifespan). But I felt better about longevity after talking with the guy in Seattle we rented from. He’s been happy with the boats he has; they get a fair amount of use and he’s comfortable renting them out.

So we ordered a couple for Christmas presents. They were due at the end of January. But then the snow hit…

…For the last two weeks, UPS has been saying they are loaded on truck every morning, out for delivery and then delayed by weather.

Alexandria’s streets have been pretty fine for at least the last week so we’re not sure what the hold up was. But now, they are here.

And we just need to patient for some nicer boating weather so we can get them out of the living room :)

Happy Engagement Anniversary!

We had a very nice, celebratory dinner last night at Josephine’s.

They even brought out a sparkler candle to help us celebrate.

I am super lucky to get to spend my life with Sarah, we’ve had so much fun with more to come!

A good read…

Sarah and I were in the George Washington Day Parade yesterday.

She found out about a group that carries a copy of the Declaration of Independence on several (45) banners. I know it was 45 banners because I was carrying #45 which was the final bit and the signatures.

We had time before the parade started, as we were waiting for our group to gather, to look up the Declaration, which I’m sure I’ve not read in a long time.

It’s a good read, especially now. And that made me look up the Constitution as well.

Also a good read for the current times (admittedly, a longer read). In a tour of the Archives last year, Sarah was reading it noting all the sections the current administration seems to be violating.

Here’s to hoping they both come back into force soon.

Single Blind

Panzer is not really food focused.

While Sarah was in New York late last month, she talked with some of the pet professionals in that orbit of friends and came home with a recommendation for a different cat food.

Panzer did not seem to immediately take to the new food. So we conducted an experiment. Realizing he can’t read, we didn’t need to hide the labels :)

flavor	ounces eaten
beef *	1.3
turkey *	1.2
chicken *	0.65
chicken in broth	0.3
chicken salmon	0.15
tuna mackeral	0.0

So now we know. Well… we know what he preferred for the two meals when we tested three flavors. He does seem to shift his preferences around over time. But we have no strong evidence to shift the food we buy: the top three (with *) are all the Fancy Feast we’ve been feeding him all his life — which could influence the results.

Doting pet parent? Maybe!

Great Show!

Sarah found the chance to support the Alvin Ailey Dance Group when they decided to move their show from the Kennedy Center due to the current administration’s illegal takeover. Last Thursday, we caught them at the Warner Theater without supporting that takeover.

It was a great show that we really enjoyed. And a nice trip to DC before the latest round of polar air came to town (16 degrees last night).

Highly recommended if you have the chance to catch their tour.

Still cold!

Sarah decided today was the day to check out the ice on river.

While it was about 20 degrees it was not windy.

Tomorrow we’re due for gusts to 35mph or so — making windchills that are formally wicked cold.

Today was cold, but we were well bundled.

And while we walk by pretty much every time we head down to the river, today we went inside an open house for the Alexandria Seaport Foundation. (Not pictured, their building is just to the left and a little ways back from the old propeller in the photo on the right.)

We know them as the wooden boat builders on the waterfront. (Before it got too cold, they were working on “Dave” outside.)

They seem like very nice folks and Alexandria is fortunate to have that resource (which we knew nothing about before today).

I suspect we’ll stay hunkered down at home tomorrow — and send warm thoughts to family further south where the next snowstorm is hitting.

Thank you Sarah for the nudge to get outside, and for asking if I got a shot of the Capitol — that spurred me to take off my gloves (again) and put on the longer lens so it might be visible.

(Now I need to pay more attention to the level in the viewfinder so that the photos are straighter.)

(For those with a long memory — we did not get out the canoe today.)