Party Weekend

This weekend Mary and I stayed home in Alexandria.  My company's - my day job - annual holiday party, which is always pretty great and this year was no disappointment, since it was held at the National Press Club Building on 14th Street Northwest.

Mary and I decided to make an in-town getaway of the party this year, so I booked a last minute stay at the W Hotel near there.  I probably have a blog post or two that mentions the POV Rooftop Lounge at the top of this hotel - after the holiday party we've headed up there to continue the fun a few times.

We didn't indulge quite as extensively this time, but we had a great evening anyway.  The Press Club facility is great - dinner was excellent, open bar, band, etc. - all great.  Plus we had these themed name tags for all the guests in order to help everyone introduce themselves.

This was a pretty big year for me, as I am celebrating my 5th anniversary with the company, and there was some nice pre-game recognition for that.  My anniversary coincides with the party every year, since that first week when I actually boarded a plane to DFW on my first day!  Also making it special was that a couple of my team members were getting awards for their achievements this year.

Mary wanted to take a walk around the neighborhood in the morning before we checked out.  I tagged along, despite feeling a little bit under the weather, as we went over to the National Christmas Tree, and then had a look at the White House for the last time while the Obamas are there.  It seems like a long time since the 2008 Inauguration...and we pretty much stayed away during the Bush years, so it may be a while before I have a chance to take pictures like these again.

I haven't often been around to the Mall side of the White House, so this was the first time I had a good look at the famous White House Kitchen Garden.  There is a long history of having a garden like this on the grounds, although not every first family does it.  Michelle Obama used the garden as part of her campaign to promote nutrition, a topic which has begun surprisingly political (and means it's very likely the probable next occupant of the White House will have nothing to do with the garden).

After our walk around the area there, we ended up on Pennsylvania Avenue, where they are working on the grand stands for the next inauguration.  I'll close today's post with that thought - that change is ahead, but hope is not lost.

Coming full circle back to the holiday party - my fifth with this company.  I am especially lucky to have landed where I am, and I'm looking forward to my work this next year.  We have some great things ahead, even as the opening of Hawksbill Brewing Company will also happen in parallel.

That's going to make for a busy 2017!

Love a Tree

See, Mary and I weren't going to have a tree this year.  I started my new job during the first week of December with a road trip, and we thought that our schedules this year just weren't going to allow us this little diversion.

A few years ago our neighbor told us that he had a family property in Wisconsin that he'd managed to keep in agricultural use - growing Christmas trees.  He's what my friend David calls a "weekend warrior" - he runs the farm absentee-style, doing everything during periodic visits.  In his case, that involves week-long trips at various times of the year, culminating with a two-week  trip around Thanksgiving when the trees are harvested and distributed to his various local retail outlets out yonder.

Except that as a favor he brings back about a dozen for the neighbors here on our street.  I figure that this small reserve actually pays for the road trip back and forth, which I have to admit I admire.  As often as not, at this time of year, his trip is made that much more difficult by early winter storms.

So as I mentioned, we weren't getting a tree.  When our neighbor came calling for tree orders, we declined.  When he got back, he found that he had an extra...and he offered us another chance.  Beset by second thoughts, we made room for it - an 8.5 footer, which is esconced in the dining room.  It's shown here behind the dining room table, set for Mary's annual holiday tea for her Wellesley alumni friends.

Yep, we are sure enjoying it.

Bottles and cans - clap your hands!

I've posted about my home brewing friends at Beaver Run Brewery before - since I did, the home brewing community is coming out of the woodwork. There is a whole lot of interest.

On 1/1, Mary and I had our traditional open house in Alexandria. It really is a wonderful opportunity to catch up with the neighbors here, as well as old friends from past work - for Mary that includes Skidmore Owings Merrill and the National Building Museum, for me, Berlin, Jacobs, and Booz Allen, among others.

This year, Stan (who was in Berlin with me way back) and his wife Beate dropped by. Stan just bottled an IPA, and brought a growler along. It's about a week away from being finished, and I've stored in the basement. The problem with a growler is, you have to finish it once it's opened. What to do?

Also, our friends Bill and Barb showed up - Bill went to the same program as I did at USC, and did the road trip with me this summer. He did some holiday bottling as well - this recession ale is the product. "It's good for what ales you!" he says. Also hidden away in the sixpack are some "high volume" Belgians.

Excuse the lame attempt at a glamor shot with the holiday lights. But, like the dude says, "careful man, there's a beverage here!" Thanks guys!

Luray Holiday Update

Here's another quick post about a couple of the local businesses in Luray, and their holiday decorations.

First shot here is this street scene that I can't get enough of - part of what makes the town special is the ever present backdrop of the Shenandoah National Park. Down Main Street here you can see the decorations. This is taken in front of a new place called West Main Cafe - great deli sandwiches (URL to come, watch for a comment on this entry).

Second, we have the Apple Cottage, which offers organics and therapies. The owner is very knowledgeable. The little organic garden space in front is actually a teaching garden.

Last one is 58 West Cafe - a coffee house that also offers high speed wireless (where I check email in town if I am on a laptop). Nice place, with a very low key (non Starbucks) atmosphere!

As promised, here are the URLs:

http://applecottagefoods.com/

http://www.58westcafe.com/

Here's the West Main Market URL - posting as an update.

http://westmainmarket.com/

Jordan Hollow's Literary Christmas Eve Dinner

Mary and I had a fine evening at Jordan Hollow last year and long ago made plans to return this year, if things turned out that way. We missed being with family this year, but it turned out that we were well taken care of at the inn. We made reservations for 7:30 - I knew I'd be working until noon, at least, so we needed just a little extra time in case of traffic (which there was) and in case we got away later than 3pm (which we did).

We were right on time for the reservation - here is the entry to the farm house inn there on the property. We were greated by a number of barn cats as we walked up. This fuzzy one was quiet, but a few of them were quite vocal in welcoming us.

On the way to the inn, we stopped off quickly at the cabin to drop off the dogs. There was a message from Jordan Hollow, they'd planned to close at 8pm, so if we were going to be late, we wouldn't likely find them open. We later learned that we were the only reservation; however they stayed open for us and we really had a great evening there.

The chef, Jarret, was our server as well as the menu designer and preparer. He'd taken inspiration from a number of sources for this meal - O'Henry, Dickens, Seuss, among them. We sat in the wood paneled room of the original cabin, shown here in these photos.

After we sat down, we started with some beverages; Mary had a peppermint martini, and I had the house red, a cab this evening.

Inspired by "The Gift of the Maggi" - the appetizer was a selection of cheeses. Next up, a Dickensian "cockaleeky soup" - with chicken, root vegetables, and leeks. And the main course - roast goose, Mary's choice, and roast beast, my choice. Finishing up was the choice of rice or figgy pudding - Mary chose the figgy pudding, which was flambe'd at the table!

All in all we were treated well and had a great evening there. I'm sure that any visitor would receive the same hospitality we did, but the sense we got of their commitment really impressed.

Happy Holidays to you

Friends, we're taking a few days off to enjoy the holidays at the cabin and relax a bit. Whatever your plans, Mary and I wish you a happy and safe time.

This is the 300th post on the blog. It's a good time to pause and reflect on all of the wonderful experiences we've had since we bought the cabin in August 2007.

We hope you can join us sometime soon.

We'll catch you on the flip side next week. All the best!

Holidays at Uncle D's

I have been thinking for a long time about getting a spa set up at Hawksbill Cabin. I’ve been leaning towards a wood-fired one; there are so many downed trees on the acre and a half that I don’t think I would ever despair of fuel. So as I was walking around downtown Luray last Saturday, enjoying the decorations, I spied a very festive décor in Uncle D’s and stopped in…before I talk about the spa…here are some photos of the tree they set up in the store.

They were quite busy in the store, which has been the normal situation for them since opening. This time, they were fielding calls from the local counties and municipalities about new swimming pool regulations that went into effect last week.

Turns out that Uncle D’s is an authority on developments of this sort, and they are working on planning retrofits that will bring many of the area pools into compliance with the new codes by Spring. They were just wrapping up some coordination with a professional association on getting some training set up for local building inspectors.

Here’s a close up of the tree at Uncle D’s…those are no ordinary ornaments! It’s a bunch of sharks. Danger!

Luray's Outdoor Enthusiast Entreprenuers

With all the outdoor activities available in Luray - the SNP so close, the Hawksbill Greenway, the river, and all the trails in the GW National Forest - it's no big surprise that there are a number of gear stores there. I've mentioned Evergreen Outfitters a number of times in the blog - Howard and Andy were among the first people we met in town, even before we thought of buying the Hawskbill Cabin - but there are two other stores nearby, basically cornering the main intersection in town.

They are all within easy walking distance of each other, a concept that in urban economics and development circles is called a 100 % corner (you also encounter it when car dealerships take up shop in a concentrated area in suburban regions). Not to go all urban planning on you here (urban planners, feel free to comment), but this arrangement typically leads to symbiotic advantages for the businesses. We suspect that it's good planning in this case, stemming from the Luray Downtown Initiative, but there is some luck in having three outdoor enthusiast entreprenuers around, too.

Besides Evergreen Outfitters, there are Hawksbill Bicycles and Appalachian Outdoor Adventures. The phone cam being what it is, here are some photos of their storefronts, decorated for the holidays. The bike shop shows up in the clickthrough ads on the right sometimes, but here are the websites:

http://www.hawksbillbicycles.com/

http://www.appalachianoutdoorsadventures.com/

http://www.evergreenoutfitters.com/

Like Howard says: Thrive Outside!

Who's Your Best Friend

My friend Chris spied our next concert:

English Beat at the Birchmere in February...

Here's the Birchmere calendar site: http://birchmere.com/calendar/calendar_list.cfm

Here the Beat site: http://www.myspace.com/officialbeatspace

<---And that's a holiday greeting from their MySpace page....

Something New

We've added an embedded video of Billy Idol singing "Jingle Bell Rock" in the right hand column --->. Due to layout constraints, the framing isn't the best. If you're desperate to get the big picture, click on that element and it will give you a new frame.

The King, The Fish, and The Pickle - Tree Trimmin' 2

We have a neighbor in Alexandria that has a tree farm in Wisconsin. During the year he heads out a week at a time to do the pruning and all the associated (hard) work getting ready for this time of year. He very kindly included us on the list of folks here in DC who receive one of these wonderful trees - he picks out the perfect one each year.


We have a preference for Fraser Fir (the Cadillac of Christmas trees), and this year we have a 7-footer that fits nicely in our special spot in the dining room. Here is a photo of the finished product, just completed on Friday night (it has been a very busy December so far - as validated by no entries from the cabin in a couple of weeks).

As a reminder of the special place we have out in the Shenandoah Valley, this tree has some ornaments in common. I am fond of the little soldiers and other uniformed characters from the ballet "The Nutcracker" - these date to my time drinking gluhwine in the little Christmas Markets in Germany - and we have a number of series of these, most recently from the little store in New Market. Here is the king, we also have a couple of soldiers and a policeman.

Here is our little trout, there is also one on the tree at the cabin. Somewhere on both trees there is also a large mouth bass.

Last ornament photo - the Alexandria pickle. There is a German tradition to hang a pickle on the tree. It's supposed to be the last ornament up, and usually that's the case for us, although it seems we get a few new ones during the season every year, and they go right up. The rest of the story on this tradition is that the first child to find the pickle ornament gets a treat - during the New Year's Open House every child who finds it gets a cookie.

We're missing some weekends at the cabin - would like to have seen the full moon the other night from out there, outside of the DC area's light pollution.

Scottish Walk, Part 2

The Scottish Walk parade is actually part of the fund raising activities for the Compagna Center in Alexandria, which is a child literacy advocate. They run a number of programs that are intended to help prepare kids for success in school.

In addition to the parade, the center has a Christmas Market in town on Scottish Walk weekend. This year, the market was held in the Masonic Memorial - even though we live only five blocks from this monument, the opportunity to go inside is very rare, so we decided to go to the market after the parade.

The building honors George Washington, and there are some unique exhibits about him there, including this bust.

The rest of the ground floor meeting rooms were used for the Christmas Market - here are some views. Not viewable here are the etchings and artwork of other Masonic facilities that line these hallways. The Masons had an extensive building program centered more or less on the turn of the 20th Century - many of those incredible buildings are documented here.

Also, outside, there was an herbal cuttings area. They were sold out as we were leaving, but during the parade, many of the marchers were wearing bouquets of heather, obtained from here.

Alexandria's Scottish Walk

Alexandria's holiday festivities include the annual Scottish Walk - a parade that Mary and I have been going to now for 10 years.

The city's part of this is quite a tradition, and we have our own observances, too. Here are some Scottish Guards - they stop every few blocks and fire their muskets.

Drum and Pipe bands from all over the Mid-Atlantic region come in to march, and many family organization with Scottish connections are there. Also, a few dog rescue groups get together - scotties, westies, deer hound, and collies were among the groups this year, but no border collies...we've never seen more than one or two, and they've usually been "accessories" for the others.

We also get the politicians. Below, I've got a shot of Brian Moran, candidate for governor here, and Alexandria's mayor, Bill Euille, who always marches in a kilt! I understand we missed Mark Warner this year; he was always here when he was governor. John Warner didn't march but in the past he was always there in appropriate garb. I didn't hear whether Tim Kaine was in the parade this year.

Some marching bands below.

Last one, for the last couple of years, our friends Kathy and Brendan have been joining us. And we adjoin to the Pita House afterwards to warm up with some great Lebanese food.

A Little Holiday Cheer in New Market

Last year we spent the holidays at the Hawksbill Cabin, and we had occasion to drive over to New Market where we visited this little store, full of Christmas decorations. So on Saturday, after the stop at Southern Kitchen, we went there instead of the caverns - it was getting late in the afternoon and we needed to get back to Alexandria that evening.

This little store is chock-full of every kind of ornament and holiday display. Those little lighted buildings that people set up into panoramas fill the first room. I never realized that there are four or five specialties in this category. Between the Hawthorne Village and Department 58, you could spend your life's savings on this stuff!

The other room is focused on tree ornaments - I think there are some photos in last year's post about this too - but I really enjoy traditional "Nutcracker" ornaments. Below are the new ones my mother gave us this year (thanks Mom) and will hang on the Alexandria tree.

After we wrapped up our stop, it was back to the cabin to close up, and then on to Alexandria...where speaking of holiday cheer, I got to watch the USC - Notre Dame game, contentedly.

Tree Trimmin'

The cabin's holiday tree is up...we put it up on Saturday morning with mom's help. Last weekend we rearranged the living room for the season and put up the outdoor decorations. So this week for the inside decorations.

Here's the tree:

And here are two new ornaments for the year - it's a tradition to add a few every year, and this year's are special: a large mouth bass and a brook trout.

Hosta-farians

There is plenty to post after the three-day weekend at the Hawksbill Cabin. We had an excellent time despite not making the trek to the Home Depot in H-burg. As an alternative, we actually hiked in the Shenandoah National Park - a two-part post will follow about that.






The Hostas are in bloom right now at the cabin, and today I want to post a couple of images of them at Mary's request. These plants are scattered throughout the gardens near the house, and thrive there in the partial sun.




The first image above is up the hill in the backyard, near an old tree stump. This is clay soil that nothing else grows in, but the hosta there holds its own. Also, this garden patch in the backyard has a profusion of blooms this year, and is paired up with three large rhododendrums that are also blooming right now. There are so many flowers, the bees are audible inside through the open windows.

Here is a view near the driveway, in a small garden patch that also has several spring blooming bulb plants and a lilac. In the background you can see one of two bee balm plantings - there will be a follow-up post on this flower later in the week.

In this final hosta image, here are some plants along the east side of the house. This was taken from the end of the brick terrace near the new steps to the pool. Because of the shade over here and the steepness of the hill, there is a great breeze and it stays very cool - probably five degrees cooler than elsewhere in the yard, as I discovered yesterday while reading out there.

Also, at one point in the morning, I heard a loud buzz. I thought it was a big bee, but as I turned to take a look there was a humming bird working over the hostas blooms here in this area.

One photo I did not capture yesterday is of the hosta "specimen garden" that we have beneath the apple tree in the front yard. An earlier post highlighted deer damage in this area (http://hawksbillcabin.blogspot.com/2008/04/deer-damage.html) but you would never notice it now. I will try to get a photo next weekend if we go out.

Thinking about the Fourth of July

I was perusing Altercation yesterday (you can check the link over there on the right for the blog link to the Media Matters blog) when one of the contributors discussed his favorite holidays. An excerpt of the Bateman quote there:

“…the jubilation of the Fourth. And jubilation it should be, friends. Jubilation and awe. Jubilation for the success of the experiment we began in self-rule 232 years ago. Awe for the beauty and power of the words, the courage of the signers, and the audacity of all those who converted a declaration into a reality between 1775 and 1783.”

And I would add, awe for the power of the Constitution, which has withstood all sorts of threats over 220-plus years, and especially during these last eight years.

The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday, and although we didn’t do it this year, we usually decorate up the Alexandria house as shown in the photos. This year some of the bunting and banners are going up at the cabin, by the way.

I like all those images in the Mellancamp songs. I love a hot dog on a sunny summer day. I love to fire up the grill when it starts to cool off in the early evenings of summer. I love fireworks. The Fourth makes me think about parking on a runway on a Navy base when I was a kid, waiting for the fireworks.

I love being in a special place with friends on this day. I love the sense of community that we get to share on this one day. And I feel really close to these things when we visit the little cabin in the Shenandoah Valley.

Our country makes a promise to everyone that things can be better. This year that is what we are going to celebrate at the Hawksbill Cabin – that the country is going to return to that promise very soon.

And a special thanks to those who serve now to protect this promise. I look forward to a day very soon when we can celebrate with you back here at home...and I hope that it could be as soon as January 21, 2009!

New Year Thoughts

Here we are at the start of a new year – 2008. A happy and prosperous one to everybody! This year will be one of exciting change, and hopefully, full of positive developments for each of us as the result!

An old friend recently commented that the Hawksbill Cabin reminded him of the Tor House, poet Robinson Jeffers’ home in Carmel, California. Jeffers died in 1962, and was deemed a controversial artist in poetry circles. I’ve always found the strong natural images in his work to be inspiring, so taking a moment to reflect on some favorite Jeffers poems is a fine way to start 2008.

This one is from a volume I picked up in Big Sur a few years ago, Robinson Jeffers: Selected Poems

Return

A little too abstract, a little too wise,
It is time for us to kiss the earth again,
It is time to let the leaves rain from the skies,
Let the rich life run to the roots again.
I will go down to the lovely Sur Rivers
And dip my arms in them up to the shoulders.
I will find my accounting where the alder leaf quivers
In the ocean wind over the river boulders.
I will touch things and things and no more thoughts,
That breed like mouthless May-flies darkening the sky,
The insect clouds that blind our passionate hawks
So that they cannot strike, hardly can fly.
Things are the hawk’s food, and noble is the mountain,
Oh noble
Pico Blanco, steep sea-wave of marble.

Christmas Day Hike

We’ve been waiting for the chance to explore the little stream that runs by here, which shows on the maps as Beaver Run. It comes from the south, up in the foothills, gathers a few little tributaries, and then cuts through the hollow across the road, and brushes by our property on the way to Jordon Hollow Farm Inn, and then somewhere over there joins the Hawksbill Creek.

Mary and I went down to the edge of the property by the little pump house and poked through to the stream. On our side of the road the flow is mostly shallow and ripples over rocky spots, but I was pleased to find some pools that are deep enough to shelter trout…I’ll need an expert opinion on this, because the stream is not stocked, although Hawksbill Creek is, and some of them could make their way up here.

As we walked back into the fens and wash areas, there were old sapling stumps where beavers have gnawed them down, so the name is legitimate, but there aren’t any fresh signs of activity from the rodents. Also, we found a small waterfall, which is probably too far away from the house for us to hear it, although we do hear the stream on still nights.

We got into the back areas where the stream borders on the farm, directly under the bluff on the adjoining half acre behind us, and found that part of the stream diverts and fills a cow pond back there.

Another highlight beyond the adventure – incidentally, we were never more than a quarter mile from the house during this excursion. We found a previous version of the house sign, which had been discarded and replaced by the current one. It was blue, in a color that we’ve seen inside the house, and nicely lettered in way that made it clear it had been done by the artist who built the place. Mary decided we should retrieve it and brought it back – we’ll hang it in a suitable place somewhere, probably on the garage or the shed.