We had much too busy of a weekend to wander down into the actual craziness that took place on the National Mall, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t notice all the visitors anyways. Multiple rallies collided on Saturday to “Restore Honor” and “Reclaim the Dream” under the likes of Glenn Beck and the Reverend Al Sharpton. Unfortunately, we didn’t spot any celebrities in town while we were out and about, but we did see plenty of American-flag-themed paraphernalia, and sometimes that’s all you need.

This guy has been hanging out on my window at work for two days now. Is this a lucky sign? I wonder if he’ll just stay for good in this mantis home on the window pane for good. Or maybe just for the weekend…

   
Who doesn’t love the sound of a banjo being plucked? I was lucky enough to catch the end of our neighbor’s front stoop banjo serenade yesterday on my way in from walking Bowser. Made me want to have a good ol’ hoedown right there on the street, but I did somehow refrain.
   
It put me in such a good mood though, that I’m going to give away an 8×10 print in honor of loving banjos. All you have to do is leave a comment, and we’ll pick someone at random to win a copy of this pic in the mail. It was taken almost a year ago at the end of the Tweed Ride in DC. You have until the end of this week to leave a message!
   

Cleaning out some of my digital photo albums and found some things I'm not sure I've shared...

My favorite snack! Toasted English Muffin with extra crunch peanut butter, sliced banana and a drizzle of Tupelo honey. Bliss. Let it warm up for a minute so the honey and peanut butter get all sorts of gooey.

A week or two ago my book club met to discuss To Kill A Mockingbird. We went to a newer restaurant in DC's Eastern Market neighborhood, that totally jived with the time period of the book! The food was good, the atmosphere great and the discussion enlightening. While I was deciding what to order, someone in the restaurant ordered something with bacon. That was it. I had to have bacon. My order was a tasty sloppy joe and I asked them to top it with bacon. And they did! Naughty. Good!

This was an almost tasty meal. Chicken braised in white wine. The braising liquid was cooked down into a nice sauce. I served the chicken with regular old frozen corn (hadn't been to the market that week!) And Tater Tot Hashbrowns. I cooked frozen tater tots in the skillet, with onions, until they fell apart and browned nicely. I always forget how much oil those frozen nuggets have in them---without the extra added when I was cooking them. They were greasy and gave me a belly ache. But I liked the idea of using them as a quick substitute for a potato, of which I had none.

Mmmm, breakfast! I can't remember the name of this place, but it's next to the Uptown movie theatre in DC. Breakfast cereals! This mix was Cheerios (regular and honey nut), Grape Nuts, sliced almonds and pecans, plus a dash of cinnamon. I love cereal, but I don't eat it very often. This was very satisfying and filling!

…nowhere. yet…?

If there’s one thing I can appreciate, it’s organized wires. Kudos to these people for the nice coil and tape. I can’t stand having a jumble of cords and cables all over the place, especially if they’re in plain view. It was killing me when our Comcast guy installed brand new wires, with an extra 55 feet of cable (and a new hole in the mortar), when there were already at least 2 different hookups going into our house. It should at least be part of their job to remove the old ones. ahhkk visual clutter! On the other hand, it does make it harder for your neighbor to just attach a splitter and steal your cable, because there are multiple decoy wires. ah ha! Maybe that’s part of the plan. But anyways, organization people. That’s what I’m talking about.

Clearly, it’s a slow day here.

At the end of last season, a whole bunch of you filled out a vendor questionnaire for the Market. One of the questions you answered was "If we organized a raffle to benefit a local charity, would you be willing to donate a piece of your artwork?

Well, a whopping 100% of you who completed the poll answered YES to that question. So, let's we made it happen in May with Homeward trails! Our charity of choice for September is Arlington's own,

ARLINGTON RESCUE ANIAML LEAGUE

I'm sensing a pattern here! Since 1944, the Animal Welfa

re League of Arlington has been committed to the humane treatment of animals and to the promotion of animal welfare. The League:

- provides temporary care and refuge for homeless and suffering animals;

- places animals in loving, responsible homes;

- provides animal control services to Arlington County;

- educates the public and provides a wide variety of community services.

So, whataya say we hold a raffle for Arlington Animal Rescue League on September 11th? They'll hang out with us, share some information and host a raffle, where all ticket sales

will benefit their organization.

Crafty September-sellers: If you would like to donate a small item (no more than $20) to the raffle on September, please contact Jessica at Jessica@iloveballston.com or call me at (202) 536-9714 for more info. This is completely voluntary, folks. But if you decide to donate a little something, I bet the karma critters will bless you from above. And I'll give you a hug.

Thanks everyone!

   
A new type of siding spotted in the Mt. Vernon Square area… You could probably play putt-putt on your house with this setup.
   

   
A new type of siding spotted in the Mt. Vernon Square area… You could probably play putt-putt on your house with this setup.