Today, I was supposed to to go on a tour of the monuments with the Penn Design DC group. I actually had been looking forward to this. I allowed plenty of time to get there. I even got there early and had time to go to Starbucks. I sauntered over to Franklin Square where we were going to meet. We were going to meet at the Franklin statue because of Penn's connection with Franklin. Uh, except, where was the Franklin statue? There was none. Alas, there were no Penn Design alumni to be found, only a bunch of homeless people hanging out in the shade. Crap! I had the place wrong and now I was running perilously close to being late. I frantically called my brother and had him look up the email that had the directions. The group was meeting at the Franklin statue at 12th and Pennsylvania! (To give you a sense of direction, I was at about 13th and K).
So, by the time I got to the Franklin statue that I never knew existed (it's in front of the Post Office Pavilion in case you're curious) and I looked suspicious to the 2 groups of friends there as I circled them trying to determine if they were on the tour or not. They weren't. It was pretty clear I missed them. But, I saw another person who clearly missed them too...and it just so happened it was a classmate, Pri. So, we spent the next hour just catching up.
After that, I decided to walk to "somewhere" to kill some time between then and 5:30 mass at St. Matthews. I decided to go to the National Portrait Gallery which is having an exhibit from the British Portrait Gallery. I did however stop midway to have some ice cream at Giffords. Flavor: Peanut Butter Cookies and Cream...delicious.
The exhibit was pretty good. It had quite a few of my favorite British writers/artists featured, such as good ol' Bill Shakespeare. I highly suggest it! The normal collection is also very good, and the remodel made the facility really nice. Plus, you can't beat the price: free!
I made it to church barely in time. (Okay, late). Afterward, I decided to get groceries. The grocery situation in my house was getting pretty grim. I still didn't want to go, but did. I went to Whole Foods, which was supposed to make the shopping experience better, but it was, as expected, chaotic. I made the mistake of getting a normal cart (versus a basket or the cart that is essentially two baskets on top of each other). Not much room for maneuverability.
The funniest part was the very irate man who was standing with another man at the customer service desk. Apparently, he felt that this other man was purposely following him. Seeing the employees trying to placate him was pretty amusing, as was the fact that the place was packed, making it very likely that one would run into people and seem to be following them if one were to pay attention to that sort of thing.
I managed to get my groceries without being accused of stalking or other major incident. I went home and enjoyed the crab cakes and a corn and cilantro fritter I bought.
Okay, if my Sunday hasn't bored you enough, read on for Saturday! I spent the day with Erin, which was fun. We had breakfast at Corner Bakery (killer oatmeal with cranberries, currants, and nuts), hit Target for some needed supplies (I bought 4 oxyclean clean spray aways...they are heaven sent and hard to find), and took her dog Ferris to swim in the creek and then for a walk on the Capital Crescent Trail.
I also watched 3.5 netflix movies this weekend (2 of mine, 1.5 of Erin's). I got Walk the Line and La Dolce Vita. I really liked Walk the Line. Aside from loving Johnny Cash's music, I found the story really fascinating and the acting great (oh, and Joaquin Phoenix is hot which doesn't hurt). La Dolce Vita was spurred by my Fellini experience a few weeks ago at Leslie's. It was beautiful--the scenery and the craftsmanship. But, was it really enjoyable? I wouldn't say that. I wanted so much to understand it, so I started to go all English major on it...but that doesn't make for a fun "escape." The movies of Erin's that we watched weren't escapes either. Rabbit Proof Fence is about Australian aborigines who were taken from their mother and escape to return to her. It was engrossing, but somewhat depressing. Both of us were rather tired when we got to A Long Engagement, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have really liked it. I had a difficult time getting into the story, and it really shouldn't have been a difficult story to get into--a woman supposedly loses her fiance in World War I, but thinks he could still be alive...should be fairly captivating. Finished only half of that.
Well, there you have it! My weekend in a nutshell!
Unfortunately, as she does not yet have teeth, little Charlotte couldn't help us eat the bounty of food we had. I made two savory dishes with Pilsbury Crescents--reuben crescent wraps (I believe the original name for them was "Crusty Reuben Bites.") and the same thing as a veggie version with Roasted Red Peppers, Goat Cheese, and Fontina Cheese. 
It was great to have everyone over for one last hurrah, especially before taking down the Christmas decorations. I was thinking maybe next time (because I want there to be a next time) I may do an open house, because while I LOVE having all my friends over, I could fit even more if they were spaced out. Maybe I should give timed tickets, like a museum! LOL.
