Drums of Africa

My dear old friend (and semi-sister :) ) Beri Shaffer is beating me to Uganda this Fall! I just added her blog to my blog roll -- check it out here. She will be volunteering with an orphanage called Amani Baby Cottage (is that right, Ber?). Given my charge to go to Uganda it's pretty neat to see how God is commissioning others as well. Something must be happening there... so excited for Beri that she will be a part of it!

Remembering Tony Snow

Tony Snow's funeral was yesterday at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Immaculate Conception in DC. It was open to the public - which seems enormously appropriate given what kind of guy Tony was. The President gave remarks - here are my favorite excerpts:

In a life that was far too brief, he amassed a rare record of accomplishment. He applied his gifted mind to many fields: as a columnist, newspaper editor, TV anchor, radio host, and musician. He had the sometimes challenging distinction of working for two Presidents named Bush. As a speechwriter in my Dad's administration, Tony tried to translate the President's policies into English. As a spokesman in my administration, Tony tried to translate my English into English.

Tony Snow, the professional, is a hard act to follow. Tony Snow, the man, is simply irreplaceable. Everyone who worked with him quickly grew to love him. We will always remember his wry sense of humor and abundant goodness. We'll also remember he was just a lot of fun. After all, he played six different musical instruments and was a proud member of a band called Beats Working. He may be one of the few people in history to have jammed on the South Lawn of the White House and with Jethro Tull.

The day Tony was born was also the day that many of his fellow Catholics pay tribute to Saint Justin. Justin was also a gifted thinker and writer, and a powerful witness for the Christian faith. Because of his beliefs, he suffered many times of trial, and in the year 165 A.D. he was arrested. Before he received a sentence of death, he was asked: "If you are killed, do you suppose you will go to heaven?" Justin replied: "I do not suppose it, but I know and am fully persuaded of it." Tony Snow knew that, as well. That brought him great peace. When talking about the struggle he waged so admirably, he said that no matter how bad times may sometimes seem, "God doesn't promise tomorrow, he does promise eternity." And so today we send this man of faith and character and joy on his final journey. Tony Snow has left the City of Washington for the City of God. May he find eternal rest in the arms of his Savior. And may the Author of all creation watch over his family and all those who loved him, admired him, and will always cherish his memory.

At the time Tony Snow started his second stint at the White House in May 2006, I was finishing up my internship with Mrs. Cheney. I remember how excited people were to have him; how fresh he looked on the podium. I always thought he was so handsome and dapper (a Jon Shaffer or Tim Ganey if you will :) ). About a week into his arrival, I was standing in the doorway of EEOB 200 on my way to do an errand and as I bounced out into the hallway I nearly walked straight into him. I recognized him immediately as he looked up and we exchanged apologies for our near-collision. I took advantage of the opportunity to welcome him to the White House to which he replied with a chuckle and a "Thank you, damn good to be here." (That's one of four "almost ran into" stories that I'll never forget from that internship).

At the politicals rally in February 2007, Tony warmed up the crowed at DAR before Mrs. Bush and the President came out. His enthusiasm and energy matched his reputation. I was definitely NOT prepared, though, for him making the Cabinet Members START THE WAVE in Constitution Hall. He was like - let's go guys! David and I were like OH my gosh our bosses are starting the wave. It was seriously priceless.

I remember seeing him on TV or at an event after the cancer had aged his hair and stolen some of the color from his face. Still, I didn't know he was so close to the end, so waking up to a text from David last Saturday with the news was pretty shocking. However peripherally, I'll remember him well... shuffling down the white and black checkered drafty EEOB hallway in his pink button down with rolled up sleeves and glasses on the tip of his nose pouring over a memo. Youthfully bright eyed, smiling.

Elvira

Animal Vegetable Miracle

I just finished the final pages of "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle : A Year of Food Life" by Barbara Kingsolver. Kingsolver is a novelist probably most known for "The Poisonwood Bible" but AVM reads more like a memoir. The premise is this - Kingsolver's family moved from their home in Arizona to a farm in southern Appalachia where they resolve to eat only what they can grow themselves or buy locally for a year.

The book touches on many topics and ideas ranging from what to do with a billion zucchinis in July to Turkey sex to making your own cheese to challenges faced by small farms. The big picture idea is we as a culture have gotten so far away from where our food is coming from - we don't know who is growing it or how and where it's grown. So much so that the idea of something being "in season" is irrelevant since we can just import the off-season strawberries from Chile or California. Kingsolver makes the point that aside from the health benefits of eating sustainably grown local food, by buying local we effectively use our consumer power to cut out our share of the gas being used to fly in bananas in from Central America or oranges from Florida.



Sewn into the main text of the book are "focus on issue" boxes from Kingsolver's partner Steven Hopp and essays/recipes from her oldest daughter Camille. They give kind of a how-to or commissioning to readers to get involved in some of the topics they discuss. One that I really grabbed onto is CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture). I have friends in DC who have done this kind of co-op with the local farmers before, but I didn't really understand how they did it or who it was through. Local Harvest is a web page that you can use to plug in your zip code and a bunch of farms in your area who participate in CSAs pop up for your perusal. I found Orchard Country Farms through that and contacted them about possibly signing up for what's left of summer. Typically CSAs run from about May through October, so given it's July I am behind the curve :). Nonetheless, I got a quick response from Gregg and Louise Keckler (owners of Orchard Country) saying they have room and I can still sign up for the two remaining 8-week sessions they have available this season.

The way it works is this -- you can sign up for one, some, or all of the sessions throughout the season as a shareholder. You can either sign up for a large share (for about 3-4 people) or small share (1-2 people) and the cost for a small share ends up being $170for the 8-weeks, so just over $20 a week. The farm is in Gardners, PA but there are a few pick-up spots around DC you can pick your bounty up each week. For me, I chose the Department of Transportation Farmer's Market on Tuesday. I met Gregg and his son Oliver when I picked up this week -- I didn't have much time to chat so I'm hoping I can get a better sense of their heartbeat next time. So they give you a cooler of your fruits and veggies for the week that you bring back the next week and voila! Community supported agriculture. This week I got: apricots, cling peaches, black raspberries, blueberries, swiss chard, zucchini, summer squash, green beans, sweet onion, and eggs. For $20 bucks? And supporting local small businesses? And getting the best of the best? I mean... that's a deal no matter how you shake it.

I know, I know... so hippy dippy of me right? I don't think so actually. What's more empowering than knowing exactly where my money is going? Or supporting hard work by good people? And getting an excellent product? What is the downside of making consumer decisions that work for me and don't compromise the environment? As I started thinking about organic or local foods and supporting the vendors who sell them (including our great organic market on Pennsylvania Ave SE), it's not so much that I feel different physically, but there is really something to be said about it just being good for the soul. I know the guys at the organic market - they're nice. They make me feel appreciated and helped (unlike the guy at Safeway on 14th SE who literally made me count the products in my basket to make sure I was under the "limit" last week - are you kidding me?). I started talking more to the vendors at Eastern Market. I look forward to getting to know Gregg and Louise. By buying local food, I appreciate tenfold its colors, shapes, flavors. By investing in my community, I feel more a part of it. More to come.

Dr. Granville Moore's

Last week I went to Dr. Granville Moore's Belgian Beer and Gastropub with Shane and Sweeting. What a neighborhood diamond in the rough is that place! I was about to say neighborhood secret but it's definitely NOT a secret since the buzz about it started going around DC and then the Food Network show "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" definitely fueled that fire. Shane, Sweeting and I went on a Wednesday night around 8:30pm - not dinner primetime, right? Wrong. We had to put our names in and went down the street for a drink to wait for the guy to call us when our table was ready. There wasn't much room to stand and wait in the restaurant and it was rainy/hot outside so it's nice they are willing to call. Anyway here's the story... the restaurant is located in the former doctor's offices of Dr. Granville Moore who apparently did a lot of pro-bono work and was widely respected in the H St. community. They gutted the place and kept the name and the really cool part is they didn't go back and refinish anything. The decor is exposed brick and half painted walls... pipes in the ceiling. It has a LOT of character to say the least!


Our very attractive flirtatious waiter was knowledgeable and pointed us in the right direction around the huge imported belgian beer list. The main fixture of the food menu is the Moules (mussles) which you can order in about 6-8 different ways. The frites and dips are popular too. I highly highly recommend this place - I'm telling you, the Atlas district is taking off thanks to awesome finds like this one. I'm a little concerned that they are not quite equipped to handle their increasing popularity, but those kinks will be ironed out in time. I for one will definitely be back!

Deep Thoughts at the Gas Station

8:18am this morning I pulled up to Sunoco and started pumping the $4.21/gallon gas in my car. I noticed the "up to 10% ethanol in this gas" sticker; very new and shiny against the chipping paint and pealing graphics on the pump. When I first got my car in January, it cost $40 to fill up my tank. Now I am hitting around $53. So I'm standing there pondering how the 10% ethanol is eroding the rubber tubing of my car motor but it's good for the environment and pursuit of independence from foreign oil so I'm ok with that trade off. I think about how $13 extra dollars a tank due to rising gas prices should in no way be referred to as a national crisis worthy of releasing the SPR. I'm thinking this as a dreadlocked beanie hatted dude filling up his delivery truck turns to me and says - "The people in this country need to stop complaining about these gas prices. Shut your mouths, fill up your tank of gas, and go to work. Go to the store with the money you make from work and get your cereal and milk. You think other people around the world have that luxury of going to the store for their cereal and milk? NO! They're standing in long lines for their one bowl a day of U.N.-provided oatmeal." I was like... whoa! Amen, brother! A voice of reason from an unexpected source. Deep thoughts at the gas station this morning.

Fourth of July

My favorite holiday EVER (and my niece's birthday... Happy 5th Bday Hannah!). I had gotten in from Wisconsin pretty late on Thursday night, but got up bright and early at about 5am on Friday to drive out to Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia to attend the annual 4th of July Naturalization Ceremony on the back lawn. President Bush was invited to give the keynote speech for the ceremony and since Erin was doing press advance for the event and snagged me and her family great VIP seats, I couldn't pass it up :). I got there just before 8:30am per what I THOUGHT were my instructions but as it turned out 8:30am was like the drop dead cutoff to get a shuttle up to the event. So all the Monticello people were like... nope, sorry, secret service cut it off. I was like just you wait Monticello people! Erin Brady pulls through and about five minutes later a lady comes down and says "get in the bus!" Sweet.

Erin in action...

The event was so awesome. We were third row VIP section right behind Secretary Don Evans and next to the group of 72 people who were becoming citizens that day. There were probably 1200 people on the lawn in total... flags, red white and blue, a really great patriotic band, and gorgeous weather. There are always chills before the President comes out for a speech and this was of course no different.


So to have him there welcoming the new citizens on our Nation's birthday.. to be looking at all of their different skin colors and clothes and ages... and thinking about how each of them have a story about getting here and going through everything they did to become Americans... it chokes me up. It really does.


Citizens taking the oath...

Despite a rain downpour and second guess or two while in line, a bunch of us got to go to the White House for fireworks that night! It was pretty neat, I'm not going to lie. I have lived in DC for six years now and this is my FIRST 4th of July in the city so it was definitely cool to be at the White House for it. We ate ice cream and trolled for souvenirs (the 4th of July at the WH cups were hot on the market) and showed Keylin and Marco the Oval Office and Rose Garden, etc. I thought Marco was going to faint when the President came out on the balcony and everyone sang Happy Birthday. Fun to be able to share something like that with our Venezuelan friends!

Side note -- David captured the perfect picture of what it looks like when Patrick and I are being what he calls "excluge" haha. We just get in these intense conversations and they are NOT for interlopers! What else can I say?!


I love July 4th. It's picnics and sun and flags and songs and BBQs and patriotic. It's a holiday completely independent of consumerism, materialism, or family angst (which I am lucky enough to say is always at a very minimum with my family but think it worth mentioning since so many holidays are dreaded because of it). Instead it's a reminder of who we are and where we came from, it's a celebration of that history and future, and it's just plain fun. I'm cheesily proud to be an American and am totally secure in that.

Behind!

I'm behind in blogging -- working on catching up! In the meantime... how cute is this picture!? I want the one on the far right.

Madison

Ah the long awaited Madison trip. Let me see if I can run through it and do it justice!

Bobby, Patrick, and I met up at National on Thursday evening after work, celebrated with a beer at that gross little Sam Adams Pub in Terminal A, had a short delay, and took off. We found out David was probably not going to make it to WI that night so we were concerned about rental car and coordination, etc. So as Patrick and I were frantically on our blackberry/iphone trying to figure out bus schedules and what-ifs, Bobby calmly continued reading his paper, glancing up only to say "it will work itself out." YEAH Boober... if people work it out FOR you!

We got to Milwaukee and drove to Madison without David since he got stuck in Cleveland for the night. We snuck up on Linda (Patrick's mom) and then surprised everyone else at Christy's, the bar next to Linda and Craig's house. We caught up pretty fast and sang and danced and talked until late... a very fun way to kick off the weekend!

Friday morning we got up and took a "putt-putt" out on the lake. Linda and Craig live on Lake Waubesa and it was SO beautiful and relaxing to wake up to such a great location. We picked up David from the airport and ended up spending most of the day at the Union at UW-Madison playing cards with Patrick's dad Bill. My favorite picture of a disgruntled David for losing like five times in a row...

Had dinner that night at Patrick's favorite Madison restaurant called The Old Fashioned. Cheese curds, Spotted Cow, and even a hamburger with egg on it. Weird! Awesome. We went out in Madison with Patrick's brother Cory and a bunch of his friends that night. Somehow in the course of the night David convinced all of us to leave our crowded, loud, FUN bar we were at to go to some bar called Woof where we were literally the only people in the place. Not sure how that happened but whatever... it was fun anyway!

Saturday we put on our Little Vito and the Torpedoes custom t-shirts (thanks to Cory!) and headed out to Rhythm and Booms. We had to wait out a thunderstorm for a little while in the cars, but then the sun came out and the rest of the day was awesome.


See if you can figure out the back of Patrick's shirt (don't feel bad if you can't... it took Aunt Flo like a thousand tries)


Rhythm and Booms is an annual July 4th event where they set up a big stage in a park and have bands come and play along with a fireworks show. We had the BEST time! Tons of ladder golf and sun bathing during the first few bands (one of which was a great Beatles cover band... totally my kind of thing!) and then VERY aggressive dancing and singing when Craig's band Little Vito and the Torpedoes played. They were so good! I knew they were going to be, but seriously they were great. Craig is amazing on the guitar and Joanna has a bad mammajamma voice. I half-joked that I found my wedding band!

Sunday we had brunch with Bill and then headed back to Linda and Craigs for the main event... the CORN TOSS TOURNAMENT! Linda set up a huge tent in the yard and made a bunch of food and a ton of friends and family came over to play. I was paired with Patrick and we of course crushed Team David and Flo, but ended up losing after that.

Team David and Flo...

None of that mattered though BECAUSE I had started the day by telling Patrick my "Wisconsin Fantasy" -- make all three bean bags in the hole in one turn. It was going to be epic. It was going to be monumental. It was going to be difficult and take a lot of focus. And I kid you not... my Wisconsin Fantasy came true. Total moment of crowning glory. I was so excited.

Game faces from the side lines!!! Patrick's oldest brother Josh and his wife (new bff) Stef are on the left...

Corn Toss tournament ended but the night went on and on... talks on the back porch, more informal corn toss games, dancing to "DC music," card playing. I should include that Bobby took this year's "Lake Waubesa's Next Top Model" title and was crowned appropriately. Too fun! Can't wait for next year.
The rest of the week was great... very relaxing. Enjoyed the lake and dominoes with the family and bike riding and playing the crazy bugs slots with Flo. The best and most unexpected part of the week though was getting to go to Milwaukee Summerfest with Flo and Linda before I left! It was CRAZY! Summerfest is like 14 days of nonstop music in downtown Milwaukee. There are about 6 big stages along with tons of booths and food and drinks right on Lake Michigan. It's only 10 bucks to get in for the day and you can just wander from stage to stage to see people play. We spent a long time watching this great cover band in one of the tents but the total highlight was going to Creedence Clearwater Revisited. Linda elbowed our way to about the third row and it was just SO great. They played absolutely everything... Proud Mary, Grapevine, Fortunate Son, Suzie Q, Green River, Bad Moon Rising, Lodi, Down on the Corner, Have You Ever Seen the Rain, Travelin' Band, Lookin' Out My Back Door, Who'll Stop the Rain, Long As I Can See the Light... EVERYTHING!

The week was just perfect. I can't say enough for how much I loved meeting all of Patrick's family and friends and how welcoming and giving they all are. I owe Linda and Craig a huge thanks for opening their home and spending time feeding and cleaning up after us! Bill is always so generous with us and has arguably fed me more this year than my own parents have :). I learned a lot about Patrick and put so many names with faces. I don't know how, but the trip exceeded expectations. It's refreshing to be reminded that every family is so different from the next but love is a big enough thing to cover all the unique complexities. Pretty remarkable.