Prague Castle

Guest post by Heather Acord.

Day 3 brings the four of us to the highest point in the city -- Prazsky Hrad. We spent a lot of time in St Vitus's Cathedral, a beautiful example of true Gothic architecture. The homage to St Wenceslas was clear - as was the importance of Charles IV to European history and its documentation. The Castle grounds include the Royal Palace, a convent, a basilica and an adorable little street where the castle guards once lived. These picturesque cottages fell into disrepair and at one point housed poor artisans and poets, including Kafka in the early 1900's. Jeanette's research on the best restaurants in the city comes to fruition once again with a Thai hot spot called Arezenal. Then we headed to a jazz joint off the Old Town Square, U Stari Pani, where we heard a fantastic Czech band Mache Banko Quintet. If you get the opportunity, travel with the Mosick-Irwin duo - they don't disappoint!!

Prague : Fall 2007

The Cast :

Dave and Jeanette (you know us, you love us)

Jeff and Heather (we know them , we love them , the best travel partners ever ....wooohooo!!!)

The Flight : Nice and easy thanks to Tylenol PM and melatonin. Dave looked insane , dressed in his pajamas (Hip hop style track suit) and earplugs , eyemask and neck pillow.

Day 1 : We get dropped of at our apartment building, which much to our suprise was not the Gorgeous , two separate penthouse apartments we had carefully selected after scouring the internets for weeks. Instead , we got a single dingy apartment with two bedrooms and one tiny bathroom and a windowless kitchen. I wont even discuss the bedding. Gross!!

I know , when did we become such snobs?

Well it all worked out, sort of. Jeff and heather moved to a separate apartment down the street,which was so nasty they ended up moving out againt to a nice hotel .

We Stayed in the two bedroom with the gross bedding.

Day 1 (continued)

We had lunch at an amazing Vegetarian Restaurant ( props to Jeanette for all her research!). The most charming thing was that on the menu was the policy : All monks and enlightened ones eat free

Fantastico!!

We spent most of the day dealing with the apartment issues and walking around this stunningly beautiful City. We had a delicious dinner at an Indonesian restaurant and went to bed

DAY 2 :

Let the fun begin !

Travelling with friends is so much fun. At home our lives are so busy and we often end up feeling isolated from our friends and family. Jeff and Heather are two of our closest friends , but we really only see them every month or so at home. It's so refreshing to eat every meal with them and really connect.

We started the day at a beautiful and stlyish cofee shop with croissants, espreso and a cup of molten dark chocolate

and the eating frenzy continues

we head a fantastic brunch at a super hip vegetarian hot spot, where we drank lots of espresso and had one our usual long discussins of current fiscal policy, peak oil , and the coming economic collapse.

Jeff suggested we start the trip off by going to the prague history museum , to put the rest of our sightseeing in some historical perspective

we had a great time at the museum and learned alot, but we left with alot of unanswered questions.

Wikipedia, here we come

more walking , looking, eating

Conratulations Mory and Ildi

.....and a hearty welcome to their beautiful new baby boy Lucas “Luke” Aron Watkins.

Jen and I are so excited that our great friends Mory and Ildi have just had their first child. Luke was born at 9:12am on Saturday, June 9^th, 2007. Weighing in at just about 8 lbs Luke started his life outside of Ildi's tummy by scaring the bejezus out of his parents! he was spitting up a lot of amniotic fluid and ended up being moved to he neonatal intensive care unit at Georgetown University Hospital. Thankfully, the doctors determined everything was okay and after a long harrowing day, the family got to go home.

We cant wait to go see the little guy and be the first to introduce him to the wonderful world of tofu.

Stop Me if You've Heard This One Before

I know I'm probably wearing out your patience for all things garden and farm-related, but let me just post this one last piece on produce. The garlic scape. Have you ever heard of it? I hadn't until it showed up in our weekly CSA share. I turned to Google to figure out how to cook it (cut into 2 inch pieces, parboil for 2 minutes and saute or stir fry with other vegetables, or make it into a delightful sounding pesto). It's absolutely delicious. Like addictively delicious. I'm still thinking about it's light garlic flavor and asparagus-like texture. If you're lucky enough to run into it at the farmer's market this time of year, don't pass it up.

It being the weekend, we connected with friends over brunch both yesterday and today. Michelle and Jason, who just got married and recently returned from their honeymoon in Costa Rica, got an earful about our kooked-out investment strategy (the sky is falling so you best buy gold, and start hording whisky and soap to trade once the conventional economy collapses). The conversation was a little lighter this morning with Lyndon, Dea and their new bebeh Roland (or Rolli, as they prefer to call him). Well, actually, I take that back. We did a lot of complaining about the current state of medicine. Dea got screwed by the hospital where she gave birth as she ran a low fever after Rolli's birth. They wouldn't release her until it came down. After a number of days she insisted they let her go, and sure enough, as soon as she got home the fever disappeared. I confessed to them that I haven't set foot in a doctor's office for over 4 years (no, not even for a pelvic or any other routine exam) because I'm convinced you increase your chances of getting sick by visiting the doctor. When I told that to my family recently the news was met with shock and horror. Dea and Lyndon seemed to understand.

This week's daydreams: Rick Steves' interview with the author of Vagabonding and The Amateur Traveler's Chris Christensen's feature on a family of 6 who are just finishing up a year-long around the world tour made me think "could Dave and I take off for a year and travel? Who would take care of Vinny?" :: Biodynamics - when is the California Bay Area not at the forefront of extreme food trends? :: PayPlay - 1,300,000+ indie music tracks.

Caffeine Blues

So, I am on day 5 with no caffeine, and I am losing the will to live.

Many of you know about my long term, love/hate relationship with coffee. It's been a complicated affair, an emotional roller coaster if you will, and recently I finally decided to end it.

Moderation has never really been "my thing," and my most recent coffee binge left me feeling depressed and exhausted. I began a weaning off process by using caffeine pills, and decreasing my daily dosage over a two week period.

And then I had to say goodbye.

So here I am, a little more of a curmudgeon than usual, of course Jen says its just my usual cranky self.

Oh well, one day at a time.

What Bounty

Dave and I have been host these past few days to my mom Fran and sister Katy. Vinny the cat and I have been in heaven. Mom plays Vinny constantly and even let her out in the backyard one afternoon. (We quickly put an end to that, however, as Vinny has a habit of jumping the fence and disappearing for days. She can't be trusted outside). We've already seen 2 movies (Once and Waitress - both really fantastic), gone to the gym everyday, visited the US Botanical Gardens on a hellishly hot day, eaten brunch at local restaurants, including the absolutely delicious Belga Cafe on 8th Street, picked up our weekly share at the CSA Clagett Farm, and done a little work at our own vegetable plot at the Kings Court Community Garden. I even put my mom to work pulling weeds in the back yard (what a daughter, huh?).

And I'm happy to report that Dave and I have been harvesting vegetables from our little plot like maniacs. The radishes, mesclun, mustard greens and broccoli rabe (really best eaten very very young) were delicious!

Good stuff: If I were a real artist this is the kind of stuff I'd hope to produce :: Housewares company that made Vinny's incredibly fasionable, and earth-friendly, new bowl :: New band finds of the month The Bird and the Bee and The Frames.

Planticide?

There's something so satisfying about watching a seed you've planted sprout and turn into a plant. However, pulling those same plants that I've nurtured all season out of the ground to eat has taken me some time getting used to. I just couldn't get my head around it last summer and ended up picking most of my crops way too late - past the point where they tasted good, in fact. I vow to be ruthless this year.

Recognize the plants above, mom? It's the mesclun mix you bought me for Xmas last year. I've got the broccoli rabe in the next square, too. Everything's coming up this year, even the edamame seedlings I planted indoors. Better get those out into the garden this weekend, actually.

This week's discoveries: Gardening for the hip and female, You Grow Girl :: If only I could convince Dave, chickens in our backyard would be a great way to turn kitchen scraps into fertilizer :: Much better than the vermiculture set up (worms) we've got going right now :: Exactly the kind of drawing lessons I need - kid level!!!

It's Like Living in the Stone Age

If you've talked to us recently you've heard us complain that our Internet access has been spotty for the past three weeks or so. Ever since we had Dave's sister, brother in law, two nieces and mom stay we've been plagued by our phone and Internet service cutting out (that made it sound like the two things had something to do with each other - they didn't, just a sad coincidence). Dave spent weeks trying to get the Verizon guy to show up, but even when we thought all was fixed we're still having problems. We're scared to death it's the wiring inside the house, which means, let's face it, we'll probably never get this resolved. It's destined to go the way of the leaky ceiling in our bedroom (still leaking after five years and $20,000 spent on a new roof), the broken and jagged tile in the laundry room (don't venture in with bare feet - it's dark in there because the light's broken), one third of the way done curtain hanging project (jesus, can't we just pay someone to install these things for us?) and the bags of left over dirt from the landscaping project started right after I moved in.

And we don't even have kids to blame for our home repair negligence.

Don't you want to see what I bought recently? The perfect electronics back pack slash workout bag. Now I can carry twice as much gear on the plane :: Shockingly expensive sheets that are high thread count yet confusingly scratchy :: A stylish three ring binder to hold my journaling stuff for our upcoming Prague trip :: Moleskine's new city notebook the Prague edition - how effing cool is this???

Back by Popular Demand

Many apologies, folks. I'm not sure what caused that long, unscheduled hiatus. Alien abduction? Amnesia? Ennui? In any case, we promise to be better (thanks for your encouraging words mom, Michelle and Mory!)

After a long drawn out winter, spring seems to have come and gone and the last couple of weekends have been spent laboring in our gardens - both ornamental and vegetable. (I say we, but really I mean me - Dave's just not that into putting his hands in dirt). The seedlings have already started sprouting and we're looking forward to a bumper crop of radishes, edamame, mustard greens, carrots, mesclun, broccoli rabe, green beens and sugar snap peas. Apparently, none of the cruciferous varieties want to grow here, which is why my brussel sprouts, cabbage and broccoli went no where last fall.

We seem to be on some kind of fresh vegetable bacchanalia because we also joined a local CSA, Clagett Farm, and will start receiving our weekly produce share in the next couple weeks (the extended cold slowed growth down a bit). If you've got a CSA in your area why aren't you a member!? There's nothing like eating organic fruits and vegetables picked fresh that day. And the concept is something we all should be supporting: farms that are a part of and supported by the community so that we might all eat local and preserve open space (boo sprawly development!). It's the right thing to do, people!!!

Here's some other stuff on my mind lately: Home exchange, the alternative to high priced hotels :: Video of an artist flipping through his beautiful sketch travel journal :: Peak Oil, it's the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine).

Hawaiian highlights

Tuesday and Wednesday Hawaiian highlights

1. Overall new levels of relaxation have been achieved.
2. Another hike up the mountain
3. Ten mile mountain bike ride left family members in severe ass pain
4. While watching the sunrise over the ocean, we saw whales swimming.
5. We shared our new favorite swimming spot with Hawaiian monk seals

Hawaiian Haiku

Hawaiian sunrise
Morning gym and midday hike
Evening barbecue

Ok, This Doesn't Suck

A fun filled, action packed first day. I finally got to meet Lou! (Katy’s fiancé) They have been together for a few years, but somehow our paths have never crossed. Of course (like all members of our family ☺) Lou is smart , funny and cool, and I felt like I already knew him because of how much I heard from Jen and Katy.

After a leisurely morning, Jen, Katy, and I headed off to Costco to buy a week’s worth of supplies for the nine of us. We made the fatal error of not eating before we went in, and before long we were filling our cart with cheesecake and chocolate chip cookie dough.

After picking up the rest of the family at the airport, we headed to our vacation home Mokuleia Beach House: http://www.vrbo.com/46020

This place rocks!!! Today’s catchphrase: “Ok, this Doesn’t suck”

Good Morning Hawaii

Today is the first day of our Hawaii family vacation! So far , besides the 15 hour grueling travel day, the big events have been Jen stealing all the covers in the bed last night and "accidentally” pouring a cup of water in my suitcase this morning. Needless to say we started the day off with a good hearty laugh.

WOOOOHOOOO VACATION !!!!!!!!

The Catchphrase of the trip so far has been “don’t make me cut you,“ which was used countless times during the ten long hours of airplane travel.

We arrived at Katy’s beautiful Home on the south eastern tip of Oahu last night. Katy had prepared us a fantastic dinner of brown rice, fresh steamed vegetables and savory sauce (just like in our favorite Hermosa beach restaurant, “The Spot“.)

WOOOOOOHOOOO KATY !!!

Today we will pick up the rest of the family and the fun will continue.

More to come……….

The "C" Word

Dave and I just learned a close friend has cancer. The news affected me very deeply. Our friend is in his mid 30's and follows a healthy lifestyle. Definitely not someone you'd think would be faced with a life-threatening illness. Beyond bringing up the dreaded reality of my own mortality, I feel incredibly sad that he's going through this alone, as he has no family living near him and is in between girlfriends.

Of course I checked Dave's testis immediately just to make sure he didn't have cancer, too.

Capital R, Art

Finally got around to doing a little art this weekend. I'm crap at it, but the process seems to be soothing regardless of how lame the outcome is. I still have hopes that I'll learn how to draw one day. Maybe I'll be one of those retired folks who take life drawing classes!

Weekend Wrap Up

We had another fun filled, action packed, crime fighting, jet setting weekend! (Mild embellishment for the Internets). Friday started off with a bang as we tried a new Asian fusion restaurant in our neighborhood. Tofu and vegetables...that's what I'm talkin about!! OK...now it gets really sad...we were in bed by 8:30 pm!

LOSERS !!!!

Saturday we met our friends Kate, Patrick, and their son Luc for breakfast. They informed us they would be moving back to Costa Rica within the year. This conversation was very emotionally charged for us, as we will miss them, and we have also talked at length about packing it all in and moving to some tropical paradise (like Hermosa beach!!!)

Later that afternoon we met our great friend Mory (of Mory and Ildy Fame) at the national archives to watch the free showing of Academy Award nominated animated short films. They were all wonderfull. We thought it was sad that more people do not get to see them.

Saturday night I had a gig at Sala thai and Jen stayed on the family couch with the family cat.

Sunday I had my regular brunch gig. This week my friend Lyle played with me. He is a great saxophone player and a great guy (see the video above). He is also quite the ladies man. He did this gig with me a couple of months ago, and the waitresses have not stopped talking about him so I threw them a bone this week and brought them the beefcake.

The weekend ended with a bang as we watched the academy awards at our friends Mory and Ildy's house. We played the "oscar game" where each person guesses the winners in each category. Jen won!!!! It was great fun. We got to meet Ildy's mom, who was wonderful, and we love spending time with Mory and Ildy who have become really cherished friends...But we were all up way past our bedtimes!!

Cat and Belly Fat

It's true - our cat Sasha Vinny is fat. She was 18 pounds when we adopted her and we had all kinds of good intentions to get her weight down to something healthier. But she had other plans, and a relentless will. At first we slavishly adhered to a 3/4 can of cat food total a day rule, with no dry food left out for in between meals snacking. This cat eats every morsel put down in front of her as fast as she can. But her constant harassing (including knocking things off surfaces and pulling down drapes) led Dave to devise a strategy of throwing crunches all around the house for her to chase. Alas, the extra exercise keeps her mind occupied - apparently boredom is an impetus for cats to overeat - but it has not resulted in any weight loss. Well, at least our drapes and knick knacks are safe.

The stuff: Sweet bilingual (French and English) crafty arty blog :: Today on the way back machine, a vintage news segment on something called the "Internet." Think it'll catch on? :: Hilarious blog from a disgruntled/raunchy English teacher in Japan :: List of 52 habits that reduce stress, only 10% of which I'll ever develop :: Gift ideas for those metrosexuals and politically incorrects on your list.

Espresso

We've started an espresso-at-3pm tradition at the office. Now I'm totally dependent on that shot of caffeine (however small, since I take mine decaf), and cookie. I used to never drink coffee, and suddenly in my 40's I'm having two coffee drinks a day. Oh, I've tried to switch to tea, it being the hip drink right now. But it's just not as satisfying. Not even close.

At least I'm not as bad as Dave, who's on no doze caffeine maintenance treatment. No joke. He takes two no doze pills each morning instead of a cup of coffee. He'll have to explain how this works, though. I'm not sure I get it.

Here're the goods: Blogger obsessed with Japanese street artists (I think that's what they're calling graffiti artists these days) :: Coming to a street near you, three wheel, tilting, plug-in hybrid vehicle :: Chimps learn to wield spears (ugh. even more reason to hate monkeys) :: How many trees do I have to plant to offset commercial airflight? :: Looking for a little DIY crafting to wile away the time this weekend? Check out this, and this and this :: And then sell what you made here.

Three Day Weekend = Endless Breakfasts

Well that was a holiday weekend o' fun. Saturday: breakfast with Caren, Tony and Bill McColl (Bread & Chocolate - great food, terrible service), and then again on Monday with Lyndon and Dea (new crepe place around the corner). Dinner with Kathleen, Mike, Michelle and Jason at Woodlands (Best South Indian vegetarian in the area, IMHO) Saturday night before heading over to Bill McColl's for a belated Burn's Night party, where we were forced to affect Scottish accents, badly I might add. Worked out each day and since I'll take a break tomorrow did some interval training on the bike (Thanks Katy and Lou for the advice!). And of course shopping, as memorialized by Dave's video below. Tomorrow, it's back to work, I'm afraid.

OK, here's today's candy: People will blog on just about anything :: What was the point of "Waiting for Godot" and what does this Flickr set have to do with it? :: You wish your desk looked like this :: File under "why didn't I think of this?," Urban Curators cull art from decay :: Cute dog a day via Love, Charlie.

Saturday With My Wife

Here is my latest foray into the world of cinema. It is a short film called " Saturday With My Wife "

Movies, Movies, Movies

As Promised I have posted some movies......both of these movies were shot with my mac laptop and edited in iMovie. this movie is a short film entitled " Cat In The Lap " .......I think the name says it all



This movie is the first installment of my online jazz guitar practice journal called " The Webshed" ( the name is a wordplay on the term woodshed , which is a slang term for practicing music)



more to come .......

Snow. That. Won't. Melt.

Maybe you've heard. It's really cold on the east coast. There's never been a colder winter. Never. To keep ourselves going, Dave and I are dreaming of Hawaii, where we'll be in one month, give or take, with my family. It's 76 degrees there.

Some other things keeping my mind off the God awful cold: Escher's staircase made out of legos :: Solar Panel Pyramid Scheme :: Pattern Language, as applied to Wiki development :: A new social networking website for activists :: Getting Things Done software for the Mac :: One Tip a Day, "What will you learn today?" :: "Series of Tubes" Senator attempting to ban social networking sites from the schools and libraries.

Long Weekend

Its a long weekend ( presidents day ) and Jen , Vinny and I have all sorts of plans! going to the gym ,Movies , breakfast with friends, dinner with friends.......oh yes and spending time at home with Vinny.

I have been having fun with my new computer ( Mac ) , and especially the video program IMOVIE......I hope to have some fun videos to share very soon

"What Did We Do Before the Internets?"

I suspect there are few people in the West who don't ask themselves that at least once a day. How great that websites and services like Wikipedia, Flickr, del.icio.us, TripAdvisor, Gmail and YouTube exist? (Notice I left MySpace off the list - yuck). Oh, I guess you could argue we used to spend a lot more time engaging each other directly, as opposed to letting technology mediate our relationships. I'll give you that. Reading and writing posts on a blog, for example, isn't much of a replacement for face to face interaction. But when you, your family and friends are spread all over the planet, this is probably be the best we've got. So. Glad you're here. Thanks for visiting. Come back again soon!