It’s not that I haven’t been having fun. The contrary, in fact, is true; I think it’s that I’ve been having too much fun and I find myself too tired (and hot, frankly) to blog at the end of the day.
We’ve rewatched the Harry Potter movies in preparation for tomorrow night’s debut of Order of the Phoenix. We have tickets for Wednesday evening at the Uptown, a single-screen theater with a balcony (where we hope to sit), so it was imperative that we finish up this evening.
Tonight, we ate in front of the tv by candlelight — a cold dinner of mozzarella, purple basil, and tomato; baguette, goat cheese, and tomato; ambrosia; and iced tea and beer. It was lovely.
Saturday, while Rudi rode a crazy mountainous bike ride, I stayed inside, knitting, reading, and watching Venus Williams’ victory at Wimbledon. Late in the evening, after discovering that it had finally cooled down to a more reasonable 75 degrees, we ventured out to a local restaurant for a nightcap of s’mores (the local celebration of Grey Kitten’s 33rd birthday (on 07/07/07) out in San Diego).
And Sunday, after tramping through the farmers’ market (corn on the cob!) and watching a terrific men’s tennis match between Federer and Nadal, we met up with our friend John and headed down to the Mall for the final day of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. This year’s highlighted regions/cultures were: the Mekong River (which runs through China, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia) cultures, the roots of Virginia, and Northern Ireland. Should you ever get the chance to attend this event (which runs the last week of June and the first week of July), it is really a fantastic way to get glimpses of culture and food and craft from places you might never get to see. The highlight of our time Sunday afternoon had to be the “Cookin’ Cleric,” a down-home Presbyterian minister who walked us through making scones (p. 14-15) the way his mother made them. He was chatty and the experience was similar to what it would be if you sat down in someone’s kitchen to learn an old family recipe (if, of course, their kitchen were outside and 95 degrees and filled with bleachers and microphones and assistants). It was hot as blazes, but it was nice to spend some time with John, whom we hadn’t seen in a month or so, and to take advantage of one of the great free resources D.C. has to offer.