Sunday, July 30, 2006

Dirty under my fingernails

I spent a wonderful morning at the CSA (community supported agriculture) I have a share in this summer. Stoney Lonesome Farm is out in Gainsville, VA, about a 50 minute drive from DC. Part of having a share is volunteering some time at the farm.

Today I picked cherry tomatoes, harvested potatoes (what a kick that was), cleaned potatoes, and cleaned onions for the share-holders picking up today. And I met some really nice, down-to-Earth, normal people that I think are so hard to find in this area.

I came home sweaty, dirty, sunburned, tired, and feeling great. It was so satisfying to see all the work we did in the morning come together in just a few hours and become food for the share-holders to pick up this afternoon.

Now I will have an even greater appreciation for the farm and what goes into the beautiful vegetables, herbs, and flowers that I pick up every Thursday in Northwest.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

I'm out $3.57

Where does a girl get a good croissant in NW DC?

Used to be Firehook, in Dupont Circle. But what they called a croissant the other day is what I would call a roll. I was crushed because I used to rely on Firehook for my monthly fix.

After that $1.49 disappointment, I tried Marvelous Market today, on Conn. It sure looked like a croissant. But it was hard, chewy, and very bread-like in the center. Ugh. And this was a $2.08 disappointment!

Maybe because it's so hot right now, it's hard to keep the butter hard in the production.

And then there's the bitchy suburbanite driving the Jaguar who almost hit me because she didn't think the red light applied to her. I love yelling at drivers. It always startles them when a ped makes eye-contact and calls them out. It's very funny, try it someday.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Ready

to be grossed out?

Here starts my quarterly bashing of business travel and the airlines.


Have you noticed this new trend of people bringing their pets on board, in a carry-on, stuck under the seat infront of them? I find it pushes the limits of personal boundaries. What happens if someone in the row, or the plane for that matter, is allergic to dogs and/or cats. There is no escaping that recirculated air. I find it crosses a line.


I was on a flight many months ago with a couple who brought Fido on board. They were sitting in the exit row and the flight attendant told them, after realizing that they had a dog (why didn’t she already know!!), that they could not sit in the exit row. Made sense to me. In the event of an emergency, their attention is most likely going to be saving Fido, not their fellow passengers. They started arguing w/the flight attendant who put up w/their crap for about 20 seconds when she threatened to throw them off the plane.


I LOVE when flight attendants stand up to unruly passengers with an overblown sense of entitlement.

On Monday I was on a flight to Anaheim, Calif. I got to my aisle seat to find the woman in the middle seat fanning her crotch. Granted it was hot on the plane, but I was perplexed. A few minutes later I realize she had a dog down there when she pulled a small porcelain dish out of her seat pocket, filled it with water, and let Fido have a drink.

Ugh, this is not happening.

Then she realizes that doggy did not drink all of the water.

What does she do? We are ready to take off.

So she drinks it.

I will give you a minute to realize what you just read.

I nearly gagged. Could not believe my eyes.

OMG

And mid-flight, she did it again.

I wonder what awaits me on my way home.