Halfway visitors and other pictures

Pat and Patti visited DC this week. Great to see Halfway friends and have they chance to show you a little bit of my DC. You'll have to come back when the Nationals are playing Pat and we can have the full neighborhood tour and go to a game. This time around we me at the National Portrait Gallery (it has a great atrium which is open in the evenings and a good place to meet in Chinatown), had chicken dinner at Nando's Peri-Peri, and then Pat and Patti visited my apartment on Sunday for a late lunch of arugula salad with candied pecans, split pea soup, and brownies (see the recipe for that in the last post).

The remnants of lunch

Sarah and Pat at the Waterfront plaza

Intrepid travelers Patti and Pat (with the new Sky House apartment in the background)

This morning I went on a very chilly run with Kori--it was 0 degrees C when we left. (Yes I often have to do the conversion but 0 is easy...that's freezing, the same as 32 F.) I did end up with an 11 mile run in two hours this morning though so a good workout despite the cold.

Yesterday Elizabeth and I biked to the Arboretum. It was cold and gusty then too! I guess spring isn't really here yet, although the plum blossoms are giving it a good try.

A lovely pale flowering plum.

This one is so vivid! The cherries don't get this bright.

Here's a full tree.

And here's a view of the sunny day. You can't see the cold wind though!

Elizabeth liked this sign. It looks like it's been there a while.

And for Erin I found goat milk (pasteurized) for sale at Eastern Market. It's pretty good and not goaty. 

Speaking of Eastern Market, I'm glad my favorite weekend fruit seller (the Pennsylvania orchard that sets out a table full of samples of all of their different apples) still has Gold Rush apples. They are so good! I sent Pat and Patti off with two golden apples for their train ride tomorrow.

And this is a reminder for myself. Since I finished off the last block of feta I want to remember that the Keswick Creamery feta cheese (aged at least 60 days) is really good. I found it at the Tacoma Park farmers market several Sundays ago. 

Remember this cheese maker

And their feta cheese in particular