Memorial Day

Today we watched the Memorial Day parade, and ate icecreams at the Dock in downtown Annapolis. Very enjoyable. I don't think everywhere has Memorial Day parades, but Annapolis does, maybe because they have the Naval Academy band freely available.
Quick refresher - Memorial day - unofficial start to the Patriotic American Summer. Day to remember service men/women who have died serving their country. Who officially started it is cloudy, but was officially called Decoration Day, because that is the day the graves of the civil war dead were Decorated, with the date set to take advantage of springtime flowers. Not officially expanded to include all American war dead until after WW1. It probably started with the Civil War dead because the amount of Americans dead in the Civil War is more than 600,000, more than the total combined of all the other wars America has been in. The explanation I can find (www.civilwar.org) is the combination of new technology with old-fashioned tactics.

Cleaning out the basement

I wish I had taken a before photo. I obviously didn't expect these results. We have grown into the basement gradually - so it took us a while to realise the beauty of having the extra storage space down stairs for all the weird stuff, like tools, and the seasonal stuff (sleds, salt, snow shovel, water table, christmas tree holder, you get the drift), and the craft supplies, which are constantly being used, or tidied and recycled.
I realised we had just gradually filled up all the space, instead of thinking about it. So we pulled everything out, got rid of more craft stuff, and boxes, and various things we had misguidedly kept, and put it all back in, and it fits so beautifully that the whole place makes me feel settled when I walk in.
Funny thing, I had seen Americans cleaning out the basement on TV, and read about it in various cleaning methods, but never fully understood. I think it must be a bit like cleaning out the garage in Australia.

Commissioning Week (Navy Graduation)

We went to a friends house to watch the Blue Angels fly over. They were a bit off centre and I didn't react fast enough with the camera...
But I also got a photo on the way home, of the bomb squad trailer out the back, complete with explosion chamber. (high security, Secretary of Defense doing speech I think)

Blue Angel Airshow and Picnic

We wagged school and work today, and went and watched the Blue Angel airshow after having a picnic on some grass at the marina where a friend keeps their boat (and lives on  it over summer!).
As usual, the photos do not do the skills justice. In some instances, they could have been flying in a double bed, they were so close to each other. Other times, two were upside down and two were right way up, or they were nearly vertical but flying horizontal at just above a stall.

Arranging Plates

This is probably not new, and I'm really not sure that the boys noticed, but maybe it is a sign of having a bit of emotional energy to have fun with my kids - but arranging plates in a design? It sort of gave me a sense of achievement. They ate their salad, and the baby refused to eat his fish...

Blue Angels are back!

It has finally stopped raining, just in time for Commissioning Week and the Blue Angels air show...
It doesn't show well, but the dots in the middle that look like flies are four Blue Angels just before they flew over the bus stop. So exciting.

More gourmet

This is an empty plate, but what was eaten on it was: carrots and balsamic vinegar, and capsicum and peanut butter. I may have mentioned the peanut butter and capsicum before, but the carrots and balsamic vinegar are new. It is an amazing way to get raw vegetables into a four year old.

Memorial Day

The flags are coming out, another sign that we are approaching Memorial Day, and the unofficial start of summer (but public school is in for another 2 weeks after that...).

Table and Chairs for our Deck!

The Van has once again come through, this time to pick up a table, 6 chairs and an umbrella for our deck. Hopefully it will stop raining, and we can sit outside a bit. Spring is very wet so far.

The new bike

Pulled the new bike out for its first run today, just a short trip to the park and back after Mr 4 was in bed. The sun doesn't set until 8.15pm today, we are definitely into summer! Lots of kids are playing in the common area out the back of our place right now (8pm) but our boys are already in bed (and asleep, in the case of Mr 4). The early mornings and the punishing pace during the day tend to equal a tired child in the evening.

Delegates and Superdelegates in the Democrat Party

During the primaries, voters vote for delegates, who then directly elect the Presidential Candidate in July at the party convention.

It sounds sort of simple, except sometimes the delegate vote is non binding (ie, can be ignored by the party, and the delegates can vote for whomever they please once they get to the convention), and sometimes it is binding, but it depends on state laws and other things.

Superdelegates (soft delegates) are Democratic Party leaders who are free to support any candidate at any time up to the convention (presumably after they vote they can't change their mind). These are members of the senate, the house of reps, state governors, members of the Democratic National Committee etc. The final count of superdelegates is not known until the convention, because it depends on deaths, people quitting, people being voted out of office etc in the interim.

Hard delegates (pledged delegates) are awarded to each state by a formula that takes into account the proportion of votes the Democratic nominee got in the last three election cycles, and the number of electoral votes each state has in the US Electoral College. There are 4,051 of these this year. Which, I have been told, means that states that vote more democrat get more delegates, and therefore more say in who gets through to the Presidential Election.

It all seems to add up to not really knowing the result until that party convention.

Washington DC

This was the last scheduled sunshiney day while our latest visitors were here, so we went to DC. We ended up on the hop on hop off bus again, which is surprisingly good, although a bit expensive to do regularly, but if you want informative information and a good overview of an area too big to walk, I recommend it.
Today, we specifically saw the front of the White House, complete with weird protests and huge security presence...And I've thought up our next little adventure, this time in Federal Triangle, which we haven't seen a lot of. The boys remembered an icecream and a play in a little grassy corner we found...
Secondary adventure was coming back to New Carrollton and finding that the car had been rifled through. I'm not sure I locked the car on the way out. But it turns out we don't keep anything valuable in our car except the pile of quarters to use in parking meters. They didn't even take the flares (if you find your car rifled, and the emergency flares are gone, it was me, I definitely think they're worth stealing).
We spent the evening having another crab feast at Mikes on the water, which was a great way to finish the day.

Woodwind Sailboat

So yeah, I went out on a proper sail boat, with the sails up and no motor, on a windy Sunday afternoon... This is a tour that operates out of Annapolis, and sails up the Severn River, then out into the Chesapeake Bay for 2 hours.
I'm not the best sailor, and the boat did tip a bit, and I had to sit there relaxed and calm looking while I reassured the children, who weren't particularly comfortable (but survived, and in the case of Mr 4, after trying out the toilets 3 times, going halves in a can of sprite, and eating a packet of choc chip biscuits, FELL ASLEEP). It was a beautiful day for sailing, and more than made up for our wet tour of Baltimore Harbor the previous afternoon. We are hoping to do this again, soon.

Baltimore Harbor

When we booked a cruise in Baltimore Harbor, we knew it was also due to rain about the time the cruise started... but decided just to do it. The skies opened up with 'good rain' about 5 mins after getting underway, so it was a very damp tour. The boys were entertained with popcorn and some sort of gummy lollies by one visitor, and hubby and I stood on the small back covered porch with the other visitor, and admired all the views in reverse (we had packed light rain coats). This, is the Domino sugar factory, which is a landmark and still works as a domino sugar factory (the other side had a ship parked getting loaded. 

WAES fun run

I am so glad we entered this (we being Mr 6 and hubby, as I am past jogging). It was a 1 mile fun run, just around the school grounds, with a genuine balloon arch at the end (plus American Flag, you can't forget that) to run through. I wasn't sure how Mr 6 would go. We had gone on a practice run on each of the two previous weekends, but that was all of the preparation we did. As it turns out, he is a little competitive, and ran the whole way, significantly faster than in the practices! It was lots of fun.

Union Station, DC

Last time we were here, there was a huge construction zone in the middle of the station as they were taking out the restaurant area in the middle. Hubby went to pick up some visitors and found it finished! So one can get a real appreciation of the beauty of the space now.

No training wheels

Finally got the training wheels off. He can just about do it, except he is convinced he is going to fall. We the adults in the family have now bought a bike as well, in preparation for the day (pretty much now) when we can't keep up on foot with dignity behind the two boys on bikes. We also bought a bracket to carry bikes on the back of the van, in preparation for getting further afield with bikes.

Mothers Day

We found the chocolate croissants in Trader Joes... so special breakfast! And two excited children who worked out mum would share the chocolate covered almonds. They're looking forward to Father's Day.

Crab feast II

This one involved crawfish as well, and they were cooked just heavenly. The weather didn't come through (it has rained for about two weeks now), so it was indoors, which was different, but workable. Here are the remains of the crawfish.

Strawberry Picking!!

 

This farm opened at the beginning of June. We finally got out there today, which was brilliant, as we had two functions on the weekend where we were going to take a big bowl of strawberries. We picked 13 pounds of strawberries. Four people picking can make some progress in half an hour!
Fun fact - normal looking strawberries were pollinated by bees, the ones that look like they're trying to grow feet etc, self pollinated!

Tipping at the hairdresser

Got a haircut on Wednesday, and was reminded again of what a delicate operation tipping is.
I actually sat in the car before going in and lined up my dollars - two bundles, one for the shampoo lady, one for the hair stylist. But when I should be tipping the shampoo lady is still a mystery, as it is quite difficult to clutch money in your hand as you recline for a shampoo, and although it was in my bag in my purse, it was in my bag in my purse, and she sends you off with dripping hair without any real opportunity to stop and rifle through the bag for the purse.
Key thing about tipping - it is meant to be sort of subtle - you act like you're not doing it, they act like they're surprised and pleased, rather than it sort of being expected. So, I think you're aiming to be just sort of slipping them some notes, and they sort of say thank you, but there is definitely no big conversation about it.
Back to the shampoo lady - this was the first time I had thought about it before hand, but I'm starting to wonder if I should have the money in my pocket ready to grasp as I sit up from the basin (rather than in my bag in my purse).
Then there is the hairdresser - they prefer the tips in cash, but are happy to put it on the card (but it creates complications when making sure each stylist gets her tips). I have seen one person just leave money on the bench below the mirror, but I decided to give it to her at the counter when I paid, which sort of worked, except that I'm still a little hazy on how much she is going to charge me, and the tip I think is meant to be about 15-20%, probably really 20%. I am not good at standing there at 7.30pm working out 20% in my head, without actually looking like I'm working out 20%. And, to be honest, I feel awkward slipping the money across the counter - I worry about the tip being too small, and looking ungrateful, as this stylist really is a good one for me, but I also worry about being too generous, and going broke trying to look like I have buckets of money and can tip generously all the time (I don't, I can't).
More complication - while I was having my shampoo done, one of the stylists gave the shampoo lady part of her tip, because the customer hadn't tipped the shampoo lady directly. So, could I just give one tip and assume the stylist will share?
I think tipping at the hairsalon is worse than anywhere else, because you have a personal, repeated relationship with this person.

Irises

These are the only irises I have seen in America so far, they don't seem so popular here. It is a bit of a blast from the past to be seeing them, having grown up with a garden full of them (thanks dad!).

Trump for president

So yes, Trump is the now the last nominee still standing on the Republican side. Hubby had confidently predicted that he would drop out after a couple of months, because he was after publicity for a book recently published.
I am having trouble getting an opinion out of people, because I think they're just as shocked as the rest of the world. We are living in interesting times, it turns out!

Dogwoods

If there are ever references to dogwood trees flowering in literature (I remember a few) - I think this is one. They are really beautiful. The flowers seem to be suspended in mid air. They are less flashy than the cherry blossoms, and longer lasting.

Slow cooker roast

Before cooking

After cooking - cutting the meat. lovely lot of juice still in cooker, to be spooned over meat, with carrots and celery and mushrooms and herbs in it.

Had an unusual Sunday evening, where family biblestudy wasn't on, so decided to take on a slow cooker roast (rather than a casserole, which has rather hit the argument list for dinners these days).
What an eye opener!! Tasted fantastic, kids ate it (eventually, with tomato sauce...) and had fresh veggies on the side. We think we'll get two meals out of it.