Goodbye 2020

 And good riddance.

I took the afternoon to run out the year.

Halfway through my 13.96 miles.

And end of the day real eggnog thanks to the Smitten Kitchen recipe.

Christmas in the New Apartment

Here's my 2020 Christmas tree:

And please note my new ornament which basically sums up 2020. I hope I can find a gilded vaccine syringe for next year. 

It is possible to fill a roll of yeast dough with cranberry sauce. Messy, but possible.

To be honest it was basically a pan full of bread and jam... delicious bread and jam. 

I walked past one of the new apartment buildings at the riverfront by the baseball stadium tonight and I'm quite impressed by the dedication of the residents of this corner to their lights and decorations. Poor restaurants with the tents and outdoor bubbles, trying to keep their business alive. I understand the motivation, but I certainly won't be eating at a restaurant myself anytime soon. 

My main entertainment continues to be running both by myself and with Kori. I'm maintaining around 30 miles a week so I'll be ready for the real races, whenever they can restart. 

November 7

 

Putting up my flag. It’s not very big, but look in the background. That’s the Washington Monument.

Happy Halloween

Well this year for Halloween I decided to dress as a person who just ran a virtual Marine Corps Marathon during a global pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus. Oddly specific for a Halloween costume I know, but I think it has possibilities. 

Oh wait, that actually all happened.

I ran my second MCM in 4 hours and 14 minutes today, average pace of 9:42 per mile. We had great weather for it too, unlike last year’s epic deluge. Of course that is one advantage of picking your own day! Nicole was the one-woman cheering squad while Kori and I ran our legs off. For only having a vague route plan (basically amounting to “run laps around Hains Point and stop when the Garmin says 26.2”) we managed to finish at nearly the same time and very close to Nicole’s base.

I’m lucky that I still got to enjoy the monuments on my solo run.

That’s my last race for 2020. Everything has been deferred to next year. Actually the MCM was too (we chose to do the virtual option anyway) so I’m automatically signed up for next year’s marathon already. 

More Cherry Blossoms - March 21

Because there is no such thing as too many lovely cherry blossoms! There were people out, after all I was running the Haines Point and Tidal Basin loop too, but it was nothing like the usual peak cherry crowds. Park policy had one of the main roads blocked which was doubtless also reducing the number of people in the immediate Tidal Basin area. 

Saturday Morning - March 21

The coronavirus pandemic and social distancing inspires me to reach out to friends and family in other ways. I've been calling family more and I'm inspired to share photos of what I'm seeing in DC. You'll probably see more posts and photos from me for a while. 

Social distancing line for the farm stand next to Waterfront this station. Michael, Joan,and Chris from Sandy Bottom Acres sells eggs, meat, and goat milk soap from their farm in Virginia.

Flags and cherries in front of the Greenleaf Rec Center. 

The Capitol from South Capitol Street.

No paper goods in stock at all at Harris Teeter.

But you can have all of the soda and pop that you want.

I made a loaf of Eli's Sourdough Bread.

Cherry Blossom Pictures - March 19

Here's a batch of cherry blossom photos from Thursday evening. During this coronavirus pandemic I'm lucky to live near the Tidal Basin cherry blossoms. I can walk or run past them every evening while maintaining outdoor social distancing. 

How to eat popcorn

Like this:

Also it should be kettle corn. Here’s a recipe, sort of.

Mix together:
3 T popcorn kernels
2 T white sugar
1/8 t fine salt

Heat a medium saucepan with a tight lid to medium temperature. It all depends on your stove, unfortunately. The temperature is the most critical part so expect to burn a couple of batches as you figure it out.

Set a large heatproof bowl on the counter.

Pour 1.5 T oil into saucepan. It’s already hot, remember, so it should smoke a little but not too much. Add the popcorn and sugar mix. Put on the lid. Swirl the contents of the saucepan by lifting off the burner and rotating (horizontally). Hold the lid on with your other hand. Return to heat. Repeat this every 10-20 seconds until popping stops, 1-4 minutes. Dump the contents of saucepan into large bowl. Resist the urge to touch immediately.

Run some water into saucepan and immediately put the lid on to trap the steam and start melting the stuck sugar. If you got the temperature right there will be very little stuck or burned sugar. If you went too hot or too long it might burn more. Wash saucepan throughly and dry before making a second batch. Remember to preheat the pan.you can vary the sugar ratio or mix in spices too.

Eat right away. Popcorn gets soggy in the District. It tastes best when eaten with Japanese chopsticks.