Change of Seasons

Yes, it has been a few weeks since my last blog. Two reasons, I have been super busy and my computer needed a little space cleared out. It is not easy storing all my literary genius on a pixie sized laptop computer.

Halloween weekend was a bit of a let down. No trick or treaters for the first time in years. I felt homesick for Arizona and wishing I was sitting on my driveway with a glass of wine passing out candy to the small fry in the neighborhood.  I also felt sad to miss the autism walk with my grandson Sam, on the 31st.

We found a farmers market nearby that weekend and wouldn't you know, the last one of the season. I don't think Tom has gotten over the 20 dollar organic spiced honey I talked him into-but it sure is tasty! We also got some delicious jumbo Virginia apples, so good. 







Beautiful Colors at Sullivan Place

  


We had planned a driving trip through the Shenandoah Valley to see the Autumn leaves, but changed the plan to accommodate church and an eye Dr. appointment. Instead, we went for a Fall walk along the Potomac river near Mt. Vernon.  The leaves were beginning to change and it was a beautiful day for a walk. I thought I was so fancy in my hemp tennis shoes. I had forgotten that the last time I had worn them they had rubbed blisters on my heels.  This time I skipped the blisters and went right to the raw spots, needless to say the walk was cut short.



Canadian Geese on the Potomac


We have actually had a reprieve from really cold temperatures so far this fall. I have stocked up on mittens, scarves and warm shoes in case we have a replay of the unfortunate winter of 2009-10. The leaves are falling on the landscape at Sullivan
Place and it really nice to have a change of season. 

Okay, now I am getting really irritated. I have more trouble trying to flip my pictures and I think I will just let this last one go- you will have to tilt your heads my peeps-sorry.




Right after Halloween weekend, I got started with my French cooking classes and volunteer work.  I am concurrently working on my French cooking blog and will have my last class next week, November 30th.

 I spend all day Wednesday at the USO at Fort Belvoir ,entertaining the troops- just kidding- I work on special holiday projects such as numbering turkey gift cards and assembling mailings.  This will be a short term volunteer project that will end Dec 15th.  The folks there are really nice and do wonderful things for all branches of the active duty military and their families. They are a little cramped in their present  antiquated office  and the first day there I saw the disrepair first hand.  I actually got locked in a bathroom stall there and noticed I was not the first victim, as the door hardware was pulling away from the drywall. What to do?  Sacrifice my dignity by pounding on the wall, or crawl under?   After a few more fruitless attempts to strong arm my way out- I gave up and crawled under the stall. Thanks goodness for my yoga classes- not too bad . I felt pretty clever and spry.  No one had missed me for 20 minutes and I might still be there today if not for my quick thinking!   The link below  is for the DC Metro USO. The need for a little extra holiday help is great ,so help if you can:
http://www.usometrodc.org/
                                                                                                                                                                                  

I have also started volunteering at United Community Ministries which serves parts of Fairfax county with basic needs, food, shelter, medicines, etc.  I will be helping out at the front desk  from time to time and what ever else needs doing. My first day I worked on a large scale mailing with three 20 something young women whose lives have taken a very different turn from my own.

Here is a link to this great organization: http://www.ucmagency.org/

Tom and I also started a new yoga class through a local hospital group. Our yoga teacher is very skilled at relaxing the group, so much so that there is a woman who immediately falls asleep during the shivasana every week!  She actually snores and I feel she should be poked. However, our teacher always says "Be a silent witness to any and all sounds you hear". I don't know what the proper etiquette is, but I would give her a quick nudge if I could. Our teacher appears unlikely at first glance to be teaching yoga. She wears regular street clothes and doesn't participate in class except to demonstrate a new posture.  She is surprising agile and strong- you shouldn't judge a book........  It has been good enough, but we are ready for more challenging classes and will probably shell out the necessary money to attend classes at Little River Yoga in January. We really miss our Calming Body Effects yoga studio back in Mesa.

Tom is out of town for Thanksgiving week for work. I am looking forward to having my daughter Kelsey here for the holiday weekend! Although life is quite different for me here and I can't honestly say I love apartment living- I do try to start each day with a thankful heart for all the new experiences here in Metro DC.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

Cram it!

That's right- cram it!  This is what we do every weekend  trying to fit in as many fun activities as possible. This past weekend was especially busy. We were fortunate enough to have lovely fall weather and it was a great weekend  to be out and about.

On Friday, we decided to get TIVO! I have been pestering Tom to get a DVR since we first got here. Tom is usually in bed at 8:30 or 9:00 every night for the sake of his work schedule. Being an unemployed night owl, I have been falling asleep in front of the TV for too many nights. After all, I need to see all my entertainment candy on E! and Bravo. Saturday Night Live, The Event  and the anticipation of the new Conan O'Brien show were enough bait to convince Tom  to make the purchase. Instant Netflix availability is great, something I got hooked on babysitting for Sam (after he was in bed of course!)  We have had the usual challenges getting the TIVO set up, but we are doing okay with the set-up. Maybe we should get a TIVO for dummies book- I'm pretty sure there is one.

We went to the movie theatre for the first time since arriving in Virginia and enjoyed The Hereafter, with Matt Damon and directed by Clint Eastwood.  I highly recommend this movie. After the movie, we enjoyed a great dinner at the King Street Blues restaurant.  http://www.kingstreetblues.com/    delicious!

On Saturday, we finally made it to our first Smithsonian museum  :
The National Museum of the American Indian.

View of the National Museum of the American Indian.

 What a beautiful place!  The exhibits are exceptional and so many well preserved artifacts. A highlight was the introductory multi-visual  movie in the Lewali theatre on the 4th floor.  The movie is projected a a faux rock, ceiling and eye level screen simultaneously.  The young man who was in the theatre was very nice and professional, but I couldn't help but notice he was monkeying with some sort of electronic device(presumably texting) during the movie. Well you can't really find fault with him for that- I would go berserk watching the same 14 minute movie for a full work shift.

 There are two exhibits on that floor: Our universes (Native beliefs) and Our Peoples (Native history). I wish we had taken a free 45 minute tour and will plan to do that in the future as I am sure we will be returning with visitors.

Larger than life, or Tom Thumb?

The 3rd floor has a contemporary art exhibit. There are two museum stores and the wonderful Mitsitam  Native Foods Cafe. We had such a great expensive lunch. I had a chocolate and corn tamale, blue cornbread, spicy lentils and the best coconut macaroon I have ever had. Tom chose a pulled buffalo sandwich and a yummy Boysenberry tart. The cafe was crowded- a serve yourself type of deal with choices from several regional food areas. If you visit, treat yourself to this experience and do the food courts at the other Smithsonian's! I am planning to get the new cookbook due out in November- I must make these lentils.

Examples of shelters on the museum grounds.

We decided to go a few blocks away to get a quick look at the National Air and Space Museum
http://www.nasm.si.edu/

The museums close at 5:30 daily so time is of the essence. It was really thrilling to see space capsules, airplanes and rockets.  Another trip will be planned in the future- this one has an IMAX theatre and a food court- more commercial than the American Indian museum.  By the way, admission to all the Smithsonian's is free- a great bonus, especially when you can take your time to see them.

The Spirit of St. Louis

After a quick look we hustled back on the Metro to head home before the afternoon crush on the Metro. The downtown stops are quite crowded on the weekends as there are always multiple activities happening on the Mall.  Thank goodness things haven't gone this far though! Check out this link for a youtube video on cramming people into the subway in Japan!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0A9-oUoMug

On Sunday after church, we decided to go to Mt. Vernon for lunch-Tom's excellent idea!  We have been trying to get to Mt. Vernon for several weeks but don't find the time to do so. We had a delicious lunch at the restaurant- served by waiters in knee britches- awesome!  The food was very good and affordable for lunch. Dinner is more expensive but would be fun for a special occasion.


http://www.mountvernon.org/

Believe it or not George Washington's home has a food court- what!?   There are two gift stores and some really nice things there. I was coveting the beautiful Martha Washington pink tea sets. This is just the kind of place my friend Linda H would love. I will be sure to take her when she comes for a visit! I really wanted to get a hatchet filled with cherry sours candy, but instead got some great Martha W. note cards.


We will be going back when we have the time to see things properly- I plan to go with my daughter Kelsey when she comes for a visit for Thanksgiving weekend, According to the website- Mt. Vernon will be awash in all it's colonial Christmas glory and I hear they pull Martha out of the freezer and she makes personal appearances during the festive season! 

Nancy with a large bust...of the President

We

Tom, pretending he is an heir to the Washington plantation.

 Well, we had another fun-filled weekend with lot's of food and wondrous sights. Now to plan for Halloween weekend.......

This is not working!



My new "job"

 I am taking the year off from work!!  This promise was used as bait by Tom to get me to move here. Little does he know, I would have come anyway.  I have been employed full time since 1992-before that I worked either part or full time, even as a mom with four small kids. I am not saying this to make anyone fell badly for me, but after a few really hard years in my life I am looking forward to life on my own schedule.

I swear to you that I was rarely asked by new acquaintances what I did for a living, until now......Everyone I meet asks  me what I do for work and "whatever will you do to keep busy?" I have thought of telling a whopper and saying I was a big shot political lobbyist- but my flip flops and jeans would surely give me away.  I have worked as an occupational therapy assistant since 1979 and a massage therapist since 2003.
I have enjoyed both vocations-but I am ready for some Nancy time!

I spent the summer vacation packing things to move here, but my biggest project was assembling the necessary tools for my new hobby-scrap booking. Hobby Lobby and Michael's are surely bereft without my weekly visits with my 40% off coupons.

My list of scrapbooks to complete:
1. Nancy and Tom's love story via the war in Iraq
2. Nancy and Tom's wedding album
3. Tom's family pictures
4. Nancy's family pictures
5. Holly and Nancy's trip to France in 2000-OMG!
6. Travel album, including Kelsey, Nancy and Holly's sailing trip to the British Virgin Islands-2004  and Taylor, Ryan and Nancy's mission trip to Mexico in 1999-OMG x2!
7. Grandson Sam's scrapbook
8. Tom's Police scrapbook
9. Tom's Army scrapbook

Yes, for those of you who remember my first blog- the mini van was crammed full of these artifacts. We just finished moving several of the plastic tubs up to the storage unit on the third floor and I got to thinking that I hadn't even started this new hobby yet.

You may be asking yourself, what on earth has she been doing for the past 7 1/2 weeks?!  Well, I have been getting our apartment ship-shape as CEO of the Dryden habitat. I actually like to think of myself as Tom's personal assistant- so it really is like having a full time job. I need to research all the fun activities we plan to get to this year. you might remember the hours of intense research and Internet searching I had to do to find the perfect grocery store!  Searching for a yoga class has been another Herculean task- but somebody has to do it

I have signed up for a French cooking class at the Plum Center for adult education, just up the road which starts in November. In December I am taking a class on cooking a traditional Italian holiday brunch. I also want to try more vegetarian cooking and I enjoy making dinner every night for such an appreciative spouse.

I am looking into volunteer opportunities with the USO at Ft. Belvoir and perhaps some tutoring through the United Christian Ministries affiliated with my new church. We start a new yoga class on Oct 19th offered through Innova Health Care and plan to take drop in classes at the fort-schedules permitting. I will need to find some continuing education classes to renew my massage license next July and I have several home study courses to complete for my OT license renewal. 

What do I do on a typical day? I fritter away plenty of time on the computer and enjoy every minute of it. Usually, I will have my computer streaming the broadcast from KEZ-999 in Phoenix as I listen to the Beth and Friends morning show.  I blog when the mood strikes me and I must be in the mood, since this is my second one in 24 hours. After checking my email-taking special note of the Groupon offering of the day, I read the Washington Post.

By this time I have taken Sandy out once or twice.  I have taken to wearing a baseball cap and usually will stuff my PJ's into my jeans to head outside. This summer in Phoenix, I would often wear my nightgown or Capri Jim-Jams to the mailbox to collect the mail. Tom was appalled by this, but I explained that it was too hot to be out, so no one would see me and I felt my clothing could pass for summer sportswear.

I do enjoy my TV- but remember fondly,the flat screen and DVR back home.  I will surf my favorite guilty pleasures, E!, HGTV, BRAVO, and yes sometimes QVC...........I also enjoy listening to NPR in the afternoon, looking forward to my 3:00 fix of Fresh Air.

I muster up my resolve to do my Pilates or Yoga DVD's before showering and collecting the mail. While down at the mail, I pick up my complimentary green tea or coffee in the lobby. I know it sounds rough, but I will keep forging ahead.

August 16, 2008

I am always caught up on laundry, the dishes are clean and this is all good. I am not crabby after a tough day at the salt mines and the requisite commute. Honestly, I don't think I have had one day here so far that I have felt bored with nothing to do. It is amazing how fast the days fly by . I feel as though I am perpetually on intersession vacation from my school job-yahoo!  When we return to AZ I will probably work at least part time- but for now I am enjoying my new life.

A New Branch On My Family Tree

The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never even introduce yourself to, had life not done it for you.  ~Kendall Hailey, The Day I Became an Autodidact


Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family.  Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.  ~Jane Howard


Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts.  ~Author Unknown

Drydens' all: Tom, Elizabeth, Cathy, Margaret and Len

As hard as divorce is, you may get an unexpected bonus if you are fortunate enough to find your true love the second time around. You get a whole new set of in-laws  in your life. And, if you have not burned bridges behind you, the first set of in-laws remain as your family and friends as well. 

Lucky me!  I have the best of both worlds- an extended family that branches out in a ripple effect as I add new relatives and keep my originals . I have truly been blessed in my life to have a wonderful "family of origin" and a superb "nuclear family", four lovely children, a son-in-law, daughter -in -law and beautiful grandson. I also have an honorary son Michael, via Ryne. (my son-in-law).

We spent the Columbus Day weekend in New Jersey with Tom's brother Len and  family.  I had spent a short amount of time with the family a few years ago at a family wedding and Len was a guest at Casa de Dryden when he was in town on work related business.  I was looking forward to spending time with the family and getting to know them better. I also got to see Tom Sr. whom I had last seen Thanksgiving 2009 in Mesa. Tom's mother Dottie passed away before Tom and I married and although I did not know her long, she was a pleasure to be around-smart, sweet-natured and proud of her family.



Tom Sr, me, Tom Jr.  under an unfortunate sign!



My lovable father-in-law

"Papa" dancing to Lawrence Welk with granddaughter Elizabeth

We had a fun weekend with brisk walks, exceptional food ,great company and sight-seeing. My sister-in-law Cathy is a fantastic cook and we enjoyed her signature BBQ ribs on Saturday night-delicious. I do regret missing out on the chicken and dumplings on Sunday, but we had to get back to our Sandy. Cathy is tall and slender- a figure to envy (if you were inclined that way-ha ha). She puts me in mind of my daughter Kelsey who is also a tall drink of water.



Cathy and Len on our trip to New Hope Pennsylvania and Lambertville NJ



Len, Tom's brother is a wise cracker and I enjoy his sense of humor. We couldn't have asked for more hospitable hosts and we even enjoyed time in the hot tub under the clear, starry sky. Len is a real family man who shows love and pride to his family.

Margaret and Elizabeth are my new nieces and they couldn't have been more sweet and open. Wonderful young ladies. Mom and Dad, you are definitely doing something right!

Elizabeth, Tom and Margaret

We couldn't have asked for a better day for sightseeing in the Delaware River Valley on Saturday. I must say, my preconceived notions of New Jersey were wrong. In my mind's eye, it is all industrial and urban. The Flemington area is absolutely beautiful- peaceful, picturesque and full of wide open spaces and clear blue skies. It truly is the Garden State-enjoyed the fresh corn and tomatoes.

We enjoyed the sights of shopping ,restaurants and striking vintage homes. People are gearing up for Halloween and it was fun to spend time in an area where there actually is a Fall season! In Arizona, we are happy to greet the first day of cool (80 degrees) in October, if we are lucky.

We had a delicious lunch at the Black Bass Hotel- http://www.blackbasshotel.com/
I continue on my quest to find the best crab cakes. So far the winner is the marina  on Chesapeake Bay.

Lunch was great -a beautiful place

Happy diners at the Black Bass

Flag flying on a bridge over the Delaware River

We enjoyed seeing Baltimore and Philadelphia on our way to NJ and back. Very smooth sailing with the help of the GPS and some insider directions from Len. The only gripe I have is the backed up traffic waiting to queue up at the toll gates. It was another wonderful weekend for  us and thanks to Len and Cathy for a great time. Len, I will win you over-I predict you will be my biggest blog fan....

Arlington Cemetery

It is cold out tonight when I take Sandy out for her final walk of the day. Tom is in bed as he has to get up very early for work. The change in weather reminds me that it was some time ago that Tom and I visited Arlington Cemetery for the first time. I better get this blog finished before I forget the events of that day.

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/visitor_information/index.htm

We took the Metro to Arlington Cemetery which is one of the stops on the blue line (our line). There are a lot of rules in DC Metro, but I haven't seen more than the ones at Arlington.  It is heavily staffed with security guards and you will get a scolding if you walk where you aren't supposed to be-even if by mistake. There are not the usual trappings of a tourist stop with souvenirs and and refreshments.  Everyone is expected to behave and show the respect due this place.

Entrance to Arlington Cemetery

We decided to take  tourmobile sightseeing tram for our first visit. The grounds are immense and I cannot imagine walking throughout the cemetery without wheels of some sort. The tour guides were very good and we switched tour guides frequently as you are free to board and re board at the designated stops. it is nice that you can take your time and not feel rushed. There are specific rules about lining up to re-board...lots of rules.

Tom had visited Arlington several times previously, and was anxious to see the changing of the guard ceremony again. He said he had never heard the guards speak, but the day we were there-"Young Lady- get back behind the rail!-Thank you!" Holy crow, everybody jumped and no, the young lady was not me. That little kid will probably always remember this incident.



Tomb of the Unknown Soldier



The ceremony is awe inspiring and I marvel at the well-behaved crowd. Decorum is not optional.


The history dating back to the Civil War is right there in front of your eyes-amazing.

Tomb of the unknowns civil war era

View of the Washington Monument

We made a stop at the Arlington House-also known as the Custis-Lee Mansion which is being refurbished and having  air conditioning and other modern amenities added .I assume this is to preserve the structure. The furniture had been cleared out and there wasn't much to see this time around.

View of theCustis- Lee House

The burial sites of the Kennedy family were my primary aim. I can still remember seeing Mrs. Kennedy lighting the eternal flame on JFK's grave, it made quite an impression, even as a third grader. It seemed to me that the whole world came to a standstill for a few days.

Ted Kennedy

Robert Kennedy

http://www.inetours.com/DC/photos/JFK-gravesite.html


The above link has a nice picture of the JFK eternal flame.

Photo of JFK's funeral in the visitors center

Unfortunately, I did not get a good picture of President Kennedy's burial site and the eternal flame. His wife Jacqueline is buried next to him as well as his infant son who died due to prematurity. I will have to get a good picture on my next trip. It is absolutely stunning to see in person.




Visitor center

We saw a motorcycle escort for a funeral procession. The families are allowed as much privacy as possible in this public place. From time to time we could hear Taps being played and 21 gun salutes as we toured. As I write this today, the Supreme Court is hearing arguments on the right to demonstrate at Military funerals. I think the following article speaks for itself.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/06/AR2010100600276.html

Funeral escorts show their respects

 A trip to the Women's memorial building is a must. It is also on the grounds of Arlington. They have a nice gift shop and I have to show you my latest purchase:

I am a blank slate!

My handsome husband Tom

As much as I would love to write about Tom's job here, I am not at liberty to do so. My blogs will have to be about our personal lives in Metro DC.  I hope to become a more knowledgeable Army wife in the future.By years' end I would love to be able to rattle off the acronyms of the military and find my way around  Fort Belvoir. One thing is for sure, I couldn't be more proud to be an Army wife.                

Weekend on the Water

It has been my good fortune to have some of my friends in my life for the long term. Susan, Barbara, Kari, Tracy, Cindy and Linda come to mind. These are friends that I can always reconnect easily with, through separations of time and distance.

My friend Kari and I finally got together this past weekend. We got to know each other in Sandy Oregon when our children went to the same school.  We have both been through hard divorces and happy second marriages. I haven't seen Kari too often through the years since moving to AZ, but we always seem to pick right up where we last left off. It really is a small world, we are now living less than 30 minutes apart.

On Friday, let's just say Tom and I both had a bit of cabin fever....My good friend Kari knew I needed some fun and time out of the apartment. I was invited to dinner with Kari and her husband J.R. A delicious meal with good company and I felt much better. Tom was out with the boys and I left him a note saying I was out playing pinball. (If you have seen the classic movie Anatomy of a Murder, you will get my reference).

On Saturday- we went sailing with Kari and JR on their beautiful boat on the Chesapeake Bay. The weather was incredible. JR is a skilled pilot ( I think that is an acceptable term) with Kari as his spunky and vigilant crew. It was so relaxing and peaceful on the water.
 Of course, we had to have some problems getting to the marina or it just wouldn't be a Dryden  adventure weekend. The marina was called Herrington Harbour. I thought I was so clever to change the state to Maryland ,but for some reason I couldn't get the marina to come up on the GPS. I figure it was some sort of sabotage but it might have had something to do with the fact that I was typing in Harrington (our street address) instead of Herrington. The trip there took us on a circuitous route, lasting nearly two hours-OMG!  The ride home was bout 40 minutes thanks to following our new friends Roger and Sue, much better.
We had dinner at a restaurant at the marina and I got to try authentic Maryland crab cakes- yum yum!

Thank you so much to our friends Kari and JR- looking forward to more fun in the coming year.

http://www.herringtonharbour.com/

Kari and Nancy

Kari, Tom and Nancy on Cheasapeake Bay

As nice as Saturday was, Sunday was the opposite, overcast and sprinkling rain on and off throughout the day. We had planned to go to Mount Vernon on Sunday- but discovered that it would be closing at 5:00. The Winter schedules are starting at the tourist venues now. Because I am lazy and prefer 11:00 church- we missed out on Mt. Vernon. I had a great idea- how about a  twilight riverboat cruise on the Potomac?
Great idea, except the weather took a turn for the worse that afternoon. We went ahead with our plans- only God knows why.... Could it have been my determination to use up our Entertainment Book coupons before they expired? well possibly.

We drove to Old Town Alexandria's pier to catch the boat. We had time for a quick snack before the boat returned from it's round trip from Georgetown. A member of the crew welcomed us aboard with no enthusiasm whatsoever. A grey day with grey moods I suppose. The boat is constantly making round trips down the same stretch of the Potomac with the same canned narrative coming over the loudspeakers. I suppose I would be somewhat downcast as well, if I were him.

The captain was just coming out of the head when we boarded and we couldn't help but notice the Redskins game was on a tiny TV on the bridge. Are there no limits to this Redskin mania?!  There was a grand total of 6 of us on the boat- not exactly a sell-out crowd. If the weather had been nice we could have sat up top and really enjoyed the view. My inside pictures of the sights did not turn out due to the splotchy windows, darn it.

After leaving the pier, the "concession stand" opened and a teenage boy fetched a tin box from the bridge and manned his post at the popcorn machine. He was hunched over a paperback book as he had little to do, but I do believe he sold at least two bags of popcorn. Beer, wine and pop were available, and I am guessing that they were stowed in an ice chest nearby.

Tom, anticipating the opening of the concession stand.

I did get to see the monuments illuminated- they were beautiful , even in the cold, wet weather.  We saw the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and Kennedy Center.My pictures are of poor quality- but you will probably get the idea.The pictures were taken on the stern. We figured out pretty quickly, that standing in the front of the boat was a good way to get slapped in the face by windy raindrops-duh! 



Georgetown Pier



Looking a little waterlogged on the deck.

Lincoln Memorial

We will try this again in the spring- a dinner cruise boat would be nice. I have lots of time to find a coupon...