Why Reunions Should Happen in the Winter.

Jason was chastising me for having so many good pictures on my camera that have not been blogged! I find that I have spent about every long weekend since we got married "rearranging" things in our spare room closet, in hopes that if the boxes are all just so I wil be able to fit more in there. I have actually had a little success this weekend, and now, for the first time since moving in here, I have a clean desk. Perfect from which to blog.

Anyway. Last weekend Winter moved back in as a blizzard. I welcomed him in New York City, where I and three of my Oxford friends traipsed through over two feet of snow on our way to diners...and coffee shops...and restaurants...and pubs as we settled in for what turned out to be a long weekend of conversation. Five years after we spent 3 months living in close, Victorian quarters while studying abroad, they can still ask just the right questions and gently pull at all the right corks and stoppers to get my soul pouring out. Can it be possible that I hadn't seen them since 2002? What an amazing time we had!

The biggest treat was the extra day we all had, as we literally got snowed in in NYC. Though the trip back to DC was a nightmare, it was WELL worth it for the extra time...and laughs...and topics to discuss...

Cheering the Opening Act

Last night Jason and I tried to reclaim our youth by sitting among the junior high crowd at the David Crowder Band/Third Day concert. It was the first concert of the tour and way fun. I actually love Third Day and had wanted to see them in concert for a while, but I will admit that it has been a struggle over the past two days to get the latest Crowder CD out of my car CD player (where it has been since I gave it to Jason for Christmas) so that I could catch up on Third Day's tunes. I have a deep and abiding love for DCB, and the 45-minute opening act was not nearly enough to quench my need for some live David Crowder tunes. I could write an entire entry, speech, or exegetical essay on the profound impact that the latest David Crowder Band CD has had on my life, but I will save it. For now, I will simply quote my brother: "thedavidcrowderbandisreallysweet."

That said, we did NOT leave after the climactic opening act, and Third Day was grrrrreat. My favorite part, of course, was when Jason was the only person in the whole audience who knew the words to "Consuming Fire," as most of the crowd had not been alive when the song was originally recorded...and when Third Day did the Nazarene College Circuit back in 1998. We spent the first 30 minutes of waiting motionless to get out of the parking lot reminiscing about seeing Audio Adrenaline, Newsboys, Smitty, and P.O.D. (if you catch that reference let me know) back in the day...when we were the age of the rest of our co-concert goers.

I can't say I didn't groan (hoarsely) when I pulled my sad old body out of bed this morning, but it was way worth it. Rock on. (And go buy the David Crowder Band CD.)
missy

The Archives

On his way back to Ohio from his month in Florida, my brother Justin "passed by" to drop off the beach chairs we bought in Tampa, and to visit the National Archives. His previous attempts to see the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were frustrated by ongoing renovations which closed the archives for several years. I set him up with an 8th floor reception room tour at the State Dept., and Missy got him a tour of the Supreme Court. It was great to have him drop by and hang out with us, if only for a short time. Those chairs will come in handy for a possible beach trip this summer.

Entertaining

Playing hosts this weekend, we ambitiously scheduled a dinner party for Saturday night and a Superbowl party on Sunday evening (overly ambitious, we know). Missy invited two co-workers (Solara and April) from her office with their significant others on Saturday. I prepared a classic lasagna with crock-pot/homemade pasta sauce, Missy used the breadmaker to crank out some rolls, and our guests provided salad and drinks. It was a perfect evening for food, fun, and laughter, despite the fact that we spent most of the day cleaning house (and installing new light fixtures in the hallway, recently damaged by the flood - see previous entry).

On Sunday, we invited three couples from our Sunday School class to watch the big game on my new plasma HDTV. Caleb's wife was out of town, so he brought their new pup Bullet instead (Note: the invitation for the pup was cautiously extended, and does not suggest we have altered our strict intolerance for pets). Missy and I took up competing allegiances (Seattle and Pittsburgh, respectively) -- but we enjoyed the game nonetheless. We served my [correction: Kim's] famous chili (both a spicy and non-spicy version), cornbread, a veggie platter, fruit pizza (a Johnson specialty), and home brewed iced tea. Our guests provided additional munchies. We had a great time with the crowd -- chatting about life, sports, and SNL -- squeezed into our cosy furniture (see photo).

We have become real entertainers. Missy is a fabulous host. We share the cooking responsiblities. And I get to write the blog. All of which works out great!

It's Raining Inside

The sound of water cascading inside the walls, and the rumble of diesel-powered trucks. That's what Missy and I heard in the wee hours of the morning on Wednesday. Turns out our neighbor on the 3rd floor (2 floors above us) fell and "broke" her toilet, then managed to lock herself out of her apartment, whilst her bathroom flooded. The EMTs on the scene patched her up (something close to 50 stitches) and the firemen had to come and break her door down in order to turn the water off. In the meantime, water had soaked through the apartment above us, draining through our ceiling light fixture. We were informed to drill holes in our ceiling to let the water drain out into buckets, which we did. The water drained out for over an hour, leaving unsightly water stain marks (see photo). The full verdict of the damage is yet to be seen (as the drywall dries out), but we seemed to dodge the bullet on this one. There will need to be some wall patchwork, but our beautifully custom-built cherry kitchen remains unscathed.

Tragedy averted.