March... Madness?

Wow. I never anticipated that when I titled this post "March Madness" that the month of March would actually be quite so crazy! And ironically - there was no March Madness this year since the world is in the clutches of the Coronavirus pandemic. There is a bit of madness; I suppose, but no sports to speak of at all! I know people joked about January lasting forever - but it really does feel like March was extra long! 

Anticipations 

Opening Day - I am still looking forward to Opening Day but I'm not sure when that will be or if I'll still have tickets for that game. *sigh* As of Thursday, March 12th the MLB suspended Spring Training and postponed the Opening Day of baseball by two weeks and as of the week of March 16th, the start of the season had been pushed back... so who knows if the tickets that we have for the Opening Day at Nationals Park will be honored or not?

Adult Easter Egg Hunt - Weirdly enough, I haven't seen anything about this being cancelled yet but I feel like surely we won't be gathering in groups of way more than 10 people (100+) to drink wine and search for eggs. I guess we shall see... although since as this month ends, the state of Virginia is under a "stay at home" order through June 10th - I think they'll have to cancel. Right?

Books I Read

On the Bright Side by Melanie Shankle - This book was a light and entertaining read and offered uplifting words alongside spiritual wisdom, all with plenty of humor sprinkled in! I have read all of Melanie's books and every single one is a delight! This one came along at an especially good time since I think we all need to be reminded to look for the bright side in our present situation.

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett - This was a book I listened to on Audible (it's read by Tom Hanks) and I'm not sure that I really loved it. It wasn't bad by any means but it just didn't seem to have much of a plot beyond following two siblings lives from early childhood through late adulthood. It was fine and it was fine to listen to while I was working, but I don't know that I'd recommend it.

The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo - I listened to this one on Audible in less than 24 hours; it chronicles the path of a relationship between two people who meet on September 11th and how their lives flow for the next 10 years. I have to say... I didn't love this book so much. It mostly made me feel a bit sad... *sigh*

Books on the Shelf

I have something like...10-12 books that I have on the shelf to read between now and whenever I finish them all, ha-ha! I bought a few of them a while back and six additional books (yikes!) the second to last week of March when I saw the quarantine situation was about to get real!

I'm also halfway through The Wondering Years by Knox McCoy... so I'll update that one once I've finished it! 

Movies of the Month

Emma - Oh my goodness, this movie was such a delightful surprise! I didn't expect to laugh quite so much as I did while I was watching this and the touching moments were just as wonderful as the amusing moments. I think this adaption of Emma might have pushed this Jane Austen story to the top of the list for me... as far as Jane Austen's books are concerned. Definitely go see this - it's excellent!

Onward - This was the last movie I saw in the theaters before COVID-19 and it's effects starting shutting the world down in earnest. As much of a Disney nerd as I am, it seems fitting that the last movie I'd see in theaters for a while would be courtesy of Disney... This movie was humorous and touching and had that Disney magic that we've all come to expect from a Disney film! It wouldn't go down as one of my favorite Disney/Pixar offerings but I absolutely enjoyed it and will definitely add it to my home collection!

*Emma is now available to rent online (has been available since March 20th) and Onward will be available via Disney+ on April 3rd!

Must See TV

The Stranger - This was honestly just something I stumbled on while perusing Netflix but it was SO good! It's suspenseful and thrilling and with only eight episodes, it's also a really quick watch! If you like crime dramas, suspense and the twists and turns that can come with a mystery - I'd definitely check this one out! It's excellent!

I'm still watching the fifth season of Outlander (of course) and the most important thing about season five so far (to me) is the addition of Adso the Cat... but since I touched on that show last month, I'll share about something a little different this month!

Westworld - The third season of Westworld started earlier this month and has felt like a completely different show... and I can't decide if I like that or don't... It's still so intriguing and just draws me in. I've seen where this might be the final season, so if that's the case, I'm hoping they will wrap everything up in a satisfying way. The show is still so well written, acted and the twists and turns are always fabulous! 

I'm also still watching Home Town and that show just tickles me to no end - mostly because so many of the people on the show remind me of people I grew up with!

Schitt's Creek - The final season of this delightful little show has been...hit or miss for me. Most of the episodes have been a hit, just because I love the characters on this show but a couple of the episodes haven't quite been my favorites. Besides that, I will always love this show and I can't wait to see how the two part finale wraps up the Rose family and their story! 

The two part finale begins tonight - and then it will just be Schitt's Creek reruns for the rest of eternity. *sigh* It's been fun! 

Tasty Treats

Well - quarantine and all, there was still some really delicious food this month! The start of the month brought a delicious chicken dish at a local Mexican spot that had queso and mango salsa on grilled chicken breasts and it was so extremely tasty! My Mom also whipped up some Key Lime Pie cups that were Weight Watchers friendly... and also tasted divine!

We did take out from Nana's Irish Pub and I had their delicious chicken pot pie... and we also had a tasty chicken pot pie from Costco, since we have to try out new things! We did take out from Regions 117 and I had the Burger of the Week, which was a Wagyu beef burger with Pancetta, Cheddar Cheese and BBQ sauce - it was SO GOOD. Last but definitely not least - I picked up some Palmetto Cheese Pimento & Cheese and I've been having some really lovely grilled cheeses! 

Tunes & Talks 

Culpable - Y'all, this podcast just sort of took over everything I was listening to at the beginning of March because... it is about a murder that was covered up as a suicide in the town I grew up in! It's wild to listen to a podcast and know the people and places that they are discussing... just wild! And it also proves what I've been thinking for a while now - Meridian is rotten to the core.

I've also been plowing through episodes of The Big Boo Cast, The Popcast with Knox & Jamie, Lore and Nationals Talk. I've been listening to some soundscapes courtesy of the Atmosphere app and of course, my favorite soundtracks are always on rotation and include Game of Thrones, Westworld and anything from Disney.

Quarantine Chronicles

It's Monday again... another Monday; my first Monday working from home. My knuckles are starting to get that scratchy feeling that tells me that my hand-washing to lotion ratio isn't quite balancing out and the clothes in the laundry tell me I haven't really worn "real" clothes in a full week. *sigh* 

 

The work days don't necessarily bleed into the weekends but when my desk is only fifteen steps from my bedroom - it does make things seem a lot more "together" than I think I realized. Oh well. such is the world we are living in right now. I am doing the best I can to make the best of the whole thing...

Friday night, after I got off work (ha-ha), I hooked Watson to his leash and we set off to make the walk from our home over to Regions 117. We did curbside pick-up for dinner and I decided that since I needed to get in some exercise before dinner, I'd walk with Watson to the restaurant and when my parents came to pick up the food - we'd ride back with them. It was a good walk and it felt good to stretch my legs after sitting at a desk almost all day.

The curbside pick-up from Regions was excellent and we watched the movie Yesterday for some Friday night entertainment before getting sucked into Aerial Britain: Northern England.... and then getting sucked into some reading before bed! Saturday morning couldn't quite decide whether it wanted to be rainy and cold... or sunny and warm - either way, after coffee and exercise I actually put on real clothes and I felt like a human being! It was wild! 

After having some lunch, we drove over to West Virginia and popped in to see some friend for a little bit of a birthday celebration. There was no cake, no balloons and we sat poised on one end of the deck and they sat all the way at the other end - but we visited for about an hour and Evelyn got to open her presents. No hugs, no hopping onto the trampoline to join the little people - I even had to snap my selfie from six feet away. What a world we are currently in...

 

The rest of Saturday was pretty... dull? Is that right, I don't know. When we got home, I began the process of cleaning out my closet before whipping up a pot of Chicken Tortilla soup for dinner, alongside some big fat salads. After dinner and a bubble bath, I got sucked into a show called Log Cabin Living - I'd love to live in a log cabin, but the style I like it a lot less rustic and a lot more...mansion-like? I don't know, ha-ha! 

Sunday dawned cloudy and cool but after coffee, breakfast and church online, the sun came out and the clouds cleared away to reveal an absolutely splendid afternoon! We headed over to the Third Battle of Winchester site, which I've never been to but a friend recommended as an outdoor alternative. The site has 4-5 miles of trails, all ready to be explored!

 

 

 

 

We stuck mostly to the gravel paths but at one point we veered off into a field to inspect some cannons and the ruined foundation of an old cabin. There were weeds...or flowers...depending on how you want to view them - but I was glad to snap pictures because I was just thrilled to see the sunshine and the signs of Spring all around!

Down a portion of the trail was a little wooden foot path that crossed the Redbud Run, a little stream that was trickling along at quite a good pace. We paused to sit and take in the breeze coming off the little stream and my Dad offered to lower my dog down to the stream to get a drink - but I declined, ha-ha! Something told me that Watson wouldn't appreciate his harness being used for lowering him into the stream! 

  

 

After we returned to the car, we took the scenic route home and I got some pictures of the canola fields with bright yellow blooms pointing high to the sky. The weather was so nice that when we got home, I decided to eat my supper on the deck and then ended up lying across the storage table and staring into the clouds. 

The rest of the evening was spent watching the newest episode of Outlander, taking a bubble bath and just being a little bit lazy. It was a good weekend - although the announcement that the social distancing measures will be in place until at least the end of April was a little sad. I suppose I'll be doing quarantine chronicles for a while still... 

Cherry Blossoms

The Cherry Blossoms surrounding the Tidal Basin and decorating the National Mall are just one of the things that immediately come to mind as "quintessential DC" and when I moved to Northern Virginia in 2014, I had somewhat grand plans that I'd make my way into DC every year to see them!

 

 

 

 

Obviously my goal of coming to see the cherry blossoms every year hasn't quite manifested but that's alright. I've seen them three times in the six years that I've lived in Northern Virginia, so that seems like a pretty good ratio. This year was one of the earlier peak blooms - the dates for peak bloom were predicted to be March 19 - 23 and they stuck to that prediction and peaked on Friday the 20th!

 

A lesser known gem in the DC area, right alongside the Tidal Basin and the Cherry Blossoms is the Tulip Library - and it usually blooms around the same time as the blossoms! I've seen more blooms before, but the tulips that were peeking out this year were no less gorgeous! 

 

  

 

Seeing the blooms this year was something I went back and forth over in my mind. It just didn't seem like a great idea but then I talked to a friend on Twitter who had been and she assured me it was very uncrowded and really posed no issue. That helped with some of my anxiety about the whole thing but then I kid you not - I woke up panicked about it on Saturday and we changed our plans.

 

 

Saturday actually turned out pretty cold and gray - so we found other things to do. Once I discovered the cherry blossoms at Nationals Park on Saturday night, it was decided that we'd go see those - no people but still, perfect blooms. When we finished there on Sunday and had grabbed our sandwiches to-go from Potbelly, my parents said since we were so close - it made no sense to not go peek at the Tidal Basin.

   

The Tidal Basin was certainly the least crowded that I've ever seen it. I suppose that's no surprise. Everyone that was strolling around and viewing the blooms was keeping their distance - no one got too close to anyone else or tried to shove people out of the way for pictures (I've seen it - more than once) - so it was really easy to see the blooms without people being all in your space.

   

We took our time looking at the blooms - being aware of people around us and making sure not to crowd anyone or get to close to anyone. Again, it was pretty easy to do because other people were also doing the same thing. We chose not to walk the entire path around the Tidal Basin - no need to overdo it or anything, right?

  

All the roads near the Tidal Basin were closed, so we ended up parking near the Spy Museum and walking over - which was nice because the weather was good and it never hurts to get in some extra steps here and there. We were also across from the Smithsonian Castle and the garden there were in bloom, so I couldn't resist a picture or two of those blooms!

 

So - there you have it. We went to see the Cherry Blossoms and if I'm being honest, there is a part of me that's still a little conflicted about it, but like my Mom said "it's over and done with - so you need to let that feeling go." I'm glad I got to see them - they are stunning every year and this year was no exception. 

And - just for posterity's sake - a final picture that I snapped attached to the gates of the Smithsonian Castle....

What a time to be alive - am I right? We are certainly experiencing something completely....new and different. *sigh*