mattie g

These both sound fantastic. There's nothing like traditional ethnic foods for big holidays! This year, I'm planning to make my mom's gołąbki (go-WAWMP-kee) for the first time ever, as well as my grandmother's cheese babka. Might go ahead and find some fresh kielbasa to go with it, but will only do that if we end up having some friends over. I'm incredibly excited about gołąbki, as my mom is the only person in the family who still makes it from scratch, and I've been dying to get my hands dirty making it for years!

Looking like temps will be generally in the 60s over the next week. Mark me down as all in for that kind of spring weather. Should be a great weekend to tend to the yard!

I love outside work and I love long days with short nights. I love tending to my garden and swimming and late-evening happy hours outside. Winter is fun until about January 20, which is about when you know that the winter will suck, then you just deal with it until the days get longer and warmer. I’m not a fan of March weather, but I am a fan of what it portends. Bring it.

I wouldn’t call one or two days of 10 degrees above normal a torch, especially when the next couple weeks looks seasonable to cool.

Good stuff! Once the ball got rolling, Fairfax County has really done a great job in ramping up capacity. When I got my second shot last week (Inova Fairfax), I was asked one of the people working there how many people they were processing per week. He said about 4000 - 25000+ per week in the whole county - but that there's a new facility about to come on line in Alexandria in preparation for the J&J vaccine that would be bigger than any of the other facilities in the county. It's really impressive how they crank people through the process. I feel so incredibly lucky to have been able to get it already, but it's really hard to describe the feeling of going through the process. It's a combination of elation and humility and awe at being part of a historical vaccination event - it brings home the (shitty) reality of being on this earth during a truly global pandemic.

I blame the results of the election.

When I was just down in HHI, the loblolly pines were putting off more pollen that I've ever seen in my life. The lagoons were covered in a thick layer of green - looked like mid-summer algae blooms - but as soon as it rained it all got knocked into the water. Luckily we didn't suffer from that pollen at all though, or else it could have been brutal.

Thanks! We're really excited. Definitely the biggest home improvement project we've undertaken since we moved here almost 12 years ago! I'll take before and after photos for those interested!

Provided the down payment on Tuesday. Contractor submitted the permit paperwork yesterday, and we're hoping to begin work within the next 10 days with an eye to being complete by the middle of May. To go with the porch, we'll have a new walkway laid down, as well as getting a new roof and gutters, along with a french drain installed on the uphill side of our house next to our carport. The lawn in that area holds standing water after even a moderate rain and has probably contributed to the sagging of our carport towards that side. We may eventually get the footers replaced to lift the carport up a bit, but there are no structural integrity issues as of now.

Hopefully my allergies will let up a bit with the pollen getting knocked out of the air with this rain. Just get me through maple pollen season and I'll be a happy man.

<puke emoji>

Just admit it...you'd much rather read about the Kardashians.

We work so much faster when we're not in the office because our network sucks.

I felt some mist on my face when I walked outside earlier. Does that count?

Don’t let the small details get in the way. The world has been so lucky in this pandemic since children are so much less at risk than they are/have been to other viruses and pandemics. I simply can’t imagine the horror (especially as a parent of two young kids) if kids had been just as susceptible as the general population to contracting, suffering from, and spreading COVID.

Maples are already out in force around here. Those few days in the 60s and 70s coaxed them out. Happens at around the same time every year.

So...like the rest of the previous “threats” this winter?

I just closed the Pivotal tab that I've had open on my browser for the last couple months.

There would be a +5C warm nose at 850.

Thanks! Our cul-de-sac (13 homes) is the same. We moved in 11 years ago as a couple with no kids, and nestled among a bunch of homeowners who had been here since the early 70s. Most of those folks have moved on in one way or another, and we now have a bunch of young families here with a load of kids from ages 2 to 10. To be able to sit out there and keep an eye on things will be great, as will just going out there with a beer on a summer evening or a cup of coffee on a cool fall morning. Using a FireTV (or another such system) is such an easy solution to watching a TV outdoors. When we mentioned the TV to our contractor, he said to just be sure to talk to the cable company to get things wired up before they started construction. We had a little laugh when he said that.

That's a line item in the plan.

My whole family is a snotty wreck right now.

Good idea on the weatherproof cover. We're thankful that we live in a safe neighborhood, so it probably wouldn't be an issue, but the general idea is to keep from drawing any unwanted attention since a TV may well be visible to passersby since it'll be out in the front of the house. We're probably being paranoid about that, but I'll do whatever I can to reduce "targets of opportunity." If it turns out that it wouldn't be visible, then I wouldn't mind leaving it out there, taking your advice on the weatherproof cover!

I've always felt the same. We had a super small porch (and small house, to be fair) when I was growing up, but I loved sitting on it. I've also ALWAYS wanted a big Victorian wraparound porch like you describe. We have a small deck and a patio out back, but we've been talking about a front porch for a long time. We live on a cul-de-sac with a bunch of other younger families, so it'll be great to sit on the porch while the kids play. It'll be a deep and fairly wide deck, so missus g is planning on some nice, big furniture out there. Also, the front of the house faces NNE, so we'll be out of the prevailing wind (so important in winter) and won't get roasted by the blazing late-afternoon sun in the summer. Pretty good deal all around. I also want to add a place for a TV out there that will just be connected via a FireTV - probably something small enough to move out there whenever the mood strikes to watch something, then bring inside in the evening.

Potted up three each of all my tomato seedlings and four of my jalapeños. Finally transplanted into bigger pots my indoor basil, cilantro, and parsley. These are more of an experiment/practice since I’d like to be able to have fresh herbs all winter long. Need to make some room on the heating mats before I can start anything else, so I can already foresee picking up a couple more mats and another lamp to keep up with everything.