It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dS0UOy7PeQ&feature=related

This week was quite quiet apart from Wednesday morning when I fell down the basement stairs. What with me bouncing down the wooden stairs and then howling in pain Helen had no problem waking up and getting out of bed. I'm still suffering from the bruising but luckily no bones were broken and I won't be riding my bike for a while.

We picked up our Christmas tree this week and decided to go for a different style tree which looks a bit like cousin It from the Addams family. The drawback is that it is difficult to hang decorations (or chocolates) from the branches, but is is very pretty.

I took the opportunity to buy the last (I hope) Christmas presents this weekend, so with the tree up it should only be a case of delivering the last few presents, buying some stocking fillers and eating some mince pies before Christmas morning.

This weekend we popped round the corner to a party at Charles, Alex and Edward's house. It was great to meet a different group of people, even if a lot of them were pongos, and indeed such a varied group of people since I've been here, Brits, Aussies, Americans and French! The drink was great and the food was delicious especially the various pies, cakes and biscuits; I'm hoping that Alex will foist off some of the leftovers on Helen next time she goes round. It seemed that everybody had brought at least one child and it was quite hectic at times with children of various energy levels ran, crawled or sat around the house; my favourite (other than Edward of course) was Hector who was totally unfazed by all the activity around him and moved from crawling to guiding a push-a-long in patient circuits of the living room, dining room and kitchen.

Despite surviving the recent wet weather one of our sump pumps has failed and we are having to use our submersible pump to pump water from the defunct sump to the working one. This is working so far, I just hope this spell of relatively dry weather lasts!

Thanksgiving

The big news is that after baking a pumpkin pie, making pumpkin soup and giving a bag of pumpkin flesh to a friend we have now run out of pumpkin!

I took thanksgiving week off to recharge my batteries and use some leave up. I had a lazy time playing on the computer, editing videos and uploading them to YouTube. For my birthday we went to the cinema and then to one of our favourite restaurants for dinner and proper beer.

On Thanksgiving day we got up early for Helen to run in a 10k event and then after freshening up at home we went into DC. Unfortunately pretty much everything in DC closed but we did manage to find lunch at Baja Fresh a Mexican takeaway. After lunch we went to the National Geographic Museum for the terracotta army exhibition which was smaller than I was expecting but sill remarkable and impressive. In the evening we had our own version of Thanksgiving dinner and collapsed on the sofa after our busy day.

This week just gone saw me abandoning Helen and heading back to the UK for a few days. I didn't manage to get any decent rest on the plane or during the week I was away and on top of that I had the beginning of a cold. On the bright side though I managed to see Judy and the kids for one evening which although brief was fun. We exchanged Christmas presents and I got to see Paul do his karate although I think I may have been a bit of a distraction.

As I type this it has started snowing but is yet too damp and warm to pitch on the swamp.

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Always Leaf Them Laughing

This week was very quiet as well as being quite cold and in the later part of the week a north wind blew in a storm front which made going out quite unpleasant. I did manage to undertake some maintenance on the bikes including re-wrapping the handlebars on Helen's road bike which has been bugging me for a while and sorting out a few issues with a friend's bike. I even got some fuses for the step up transformer which meant I could charge up the serious bike lights.

Cycling home along the bike path in the dark has been quite fun for me this week as the leaves on the path are slippery with the rain and with leaves either side of the path it is all to easy to ride off the path onto the muddy grass which you thought was part of the path. To make matters worse I have to contend with the lights of the oncoming cars shining in my eyes as the road is to the right of the bike path causing me to ride very slowly and sometimes even having to stop to avoid riding straight into a tree. Helen has also been having trouble with the leaves so it's not just me. The good news though is that this years colours for running or walking in the dark are the same as last year's; I'm not sure whether it is black or dark blue because I normally only see them fleetingly, but I'll be sure to ask when I hit somebody.

Wednesday was Veterans Day which meant a day off for me and I didn't get up to much on the day but I did go out with some friends from the office for a bite to eat and a few beers on the evening before. The evening shot by so by the time I got off the Metro it was quite late and even though I did slip half-a-crown into the bus driver's hand and begged him to be the 1230 to Mount Vernon he declined and I had to catch a taxi home.

In an amazing effort we managed to go out for the second Friday in a row! We drove into DC to see the Japanese drum group Yamato which was an amazingly powerful and occasionally humorous physical performance. I can't begin to describe what the performance was like but you will find a very small taster here.

On Saturday I got stuck in to pulling together all the boarding footage for the last couple of years and posted a couple of short films to Facebook and YouTube (Considerable Relief and Surprising Adventures) and then later in the evening we watched another lacklustre performance by England, this time against Argentina.

There is still plenty of pumpkin left in the freezer!

November

Bobby Kennedy
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

We eventually finished off the few loose bits of candy left over from Halloween but there are still two big bags left which we will probably donate to Ben and Kitty to share with their friends the next time we see them. Speaking of leftovers, we still have plenty of pumpkin flesh left because most recipes involving pumpkin only require a small amount so even making the delicious pumpkin pie and pumpkin ice cream the forecast ahead is definitely ... pumpkin.

We managed to get out of the house quite a few times this week!

On Tuesday we went to see Rebecca Loebe, supported by Raina Rose at her CD Release Show at a club in Arlington and it was good to see them again although the set was too short. We stayed to hear a couple of songs from the next group and managed to get home at a reasonable hour for a school night.

On Friday Helen picked me up from work and we went to the cinema to see Men Who Stare At Goats which was absolutely brilliant and apart from the last couple of minutes very unlike a normal Hollywood effort, but then it was produced by BBC films.

On Saturday we caught the Metro to Arlington Cemetery and strolled around in the most glorious weather for November and visited the Kennedy Graves, Arlington House and the Tomb of the Unknowns. Afterwards we headed into DC for breakfast and a stroll around the west wing of the National Gallery of Art for a few hours, wandering in and out of lots of interconnected rooms. We needed to have a decent lunch after all the walking so found a microbrewery in which to recoup; and I wish I had a few more beers to help numb the pain of watching England and Wales get beaten by Australia and New Zealand respectively.

Halloween

Potter's Field
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

Helen and I have mostly been eating pumpkin.

OK, so it's not that bad, even with me carving four large pumpkins Helen has been using her imagination and we have had spicy pumpkin soup, pumpkin risotto, pumpkin cakelets, pumpkin stew, pumpkin cake and there is plenty of pumpkin left in the freezer plus Helen bought me pumpkin beer again this year. I had to go to Pittsfield, MA this week for a meeting and I'm already jonesing for pumpkin products, especially good old pumpkin pie. Hmmm, pumpkin ice cream anyone?

Talking of pumpkin beer, how is it that most american beer is cold tasteless fizz yet they produce some wonderful beers and have imaginative, wonderfully tasty creations like that; in fact the beer is from the fabulous Dogfishhead Brewery, possibly the greatest thing to come out of Delaware. The same goes for cheese and bread and most of the supermarket offerings, whilst cheap, are bland and textureless. Indeed if you want to buy something that isn't crammed with high fructose corn syrup, etc. you have to pay a premium and sometimes search long and hard to find it in the first place.

So the front lawn is still decorated with fresh graves, the pumpkins are still carved and on display and half of the candy is gone. We didn't have as may trick or treaters as we had last year, probably due to the rain, but they had some wonderful costumes and called on us until quite late in the evening.

The trip winds down

Helen and Sylvie
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

After the worst breakfast of the trip, the eggs were that bad I couldn't get close to finishing them, we pootled a short way down the road to Mt Rushmore which is a unique, impressive and literally monumental ... well, monument. We only had a short while to spend there as we had to get to the airport, but it was cold and apart from looking around the small museum and meeting one of the original workers and of course visiting the gift shop there wasn't a huge amount to do. I was disappointed that the nature trail was closed but we did see a couple of the big fluffy goats on the way out; the pictures are on Helen's camera.

All that was left of the trip was filling up the petrol tank, taking the car through the car wash and checking in at the airport. One thing I found out to my cost going through security in Rapid City is that snow globes are weapons of terror and not allowed in cabin baggage even if you put them in a plastic bag to be screened separately, sorry Lawrie that was your Christmas present!

Sitting in the departure lounge we were submitted to almost unrelenting news coverage of the boy in the balloon aftermath; oddly enough the news item on the official who refused to marry a mixed race couple was only given five minutes. Helen and I will certainly not miss the often trivial and nearly always speculative journalism on American TV and is looking forward to some good old BBC investigative journalism; I'm also looking forward to decent documentaries that don't over-dramatise, even most original BBC programmes are americanised.

Helen, who was flying on to Portland for the GSA a while later, saw Sylvie and I off as we flew back to what turned out to be a wet and cold Virginia.

Saturday morning was nice and relaxed and the only urgent task was to go shopping for veggies and milk for us and peanuts for the sqrls. Then in the late afternoon I drove Sylvie around the idiot hell that is the beltway, even worse in the wet, to Dulles airport to catch her flight home.

Devil's Tower

Devil's Tower
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

Next morning we got up early, packed our bags and grabbed breakfast before heading on the last long road stage, 540 miles from Jackson to Deadwood. The weather was threatening rain as we pulled out of Jackson and we had not gone more than ten miles when we spotted three moose, probably the same ones from the day before, as well as more Elk. The rain caught up with us as we climbed into the mountains and just as I'd got used to driving in the snow again we hit a big set of roadworks that took away the road as well so when we weren't driving in snow we were driving on mud; fun. We eventually came across some stationary traffic and the couple in front let us know a lorry had spun out ahead; they were travelling together in convoy with one driving a car and one towing a horse box and they were great fun! First off they kindly offered us some Oreo cookies and then they had a quick snowball fight which we elected to avoid by staying in the car.

When the blockage was removed we headed off only to stop again in Dubois to top up the petrol tank and check out the giant jackalope and jackalope museum, a major source of revenue in Dubois. We stopped again some distance down the road for lunch at the Crazy Woman Restaurant in Ten Sleep (great place name) before finally arriving at Devil's tower in yet another new state, South Dakota. The Devil's Tower, which was featured in the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, was very impressive and difficult to capture in a photograph but I must say that the black tailed prairie dogs in the grounds stole the show for us. The prairie dogs were not concerned by our presence at all and just continued grazing, yipping and greeting each other, in fact the only time they got upset was when a mule deer and calf trotted through their manor.

After a well deserved ice cream and in the failing light we headed off to our overnight stop in Deadwood. Being low on petrol we tried to find the local filling station which was very local and so unobtrusive we drove straight past it and had to ask directions to get back to it. Finally and very tired we arrived in the infamous Deadwood for a well deserved dinner and even more welcome bed.

Chocolate Moose

Chocolate Moose
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

It was odd being in such a famous ski area as Jackson and not be boarding, but the weather was slightly warmer and the rain had eased up.

We made the most of not having a long day ahead of us nor an early start by having a late breakfast and then driving over the mountains, via the post office (stamps for Sylvie) and Staples (SD card reader for Helen), to Idaho where we failed to by any potato related products whatsoever. On our return to Jackson I stayed at the hotel to edit and upload photographs whilst Helen and Sylvie went to the visitor centre before a light lunch.

In the afternoon we met up with the Teton Science School to go on a Wildlife Expedition. We had to wait for a larger vehicle because there were two more people than they had expected, so after a short delay we headed out of town past the National Elk Refuge; there weren't any elk in the refuge because they only gather there for the rut and calving.

Somebody spotted a coyote and as we were heading back up the road to get a proper look we saw a group of three moose standing in a thicket. There were quite a long way away but we were able to use the spotting scopes provided to get a good view of them and in the poor light I pushed my camera as far as it would go to get a half decent photograph.

After watching the moose we drove further up the road and saw lots of pronghorn which look a lot like antelope hence the reference in Home on the Range! We also saw loads of bison, but they were so yesterday we weren't that interested although our guide was very knowledgeable and we did learn a lot about animal behaviour. En-route we stopped at an old Mormon settlement which was very picturesque in the dying light with the Grand Tetons in the background; Helen got some really good photographs.

We drove into Teton National Park to look for bears, but we only saw elk although hearing the stags bugle was very interesting. I did see something small and furry run across a gap possibly a marmot but mostly we saw elk.

Yellowstone

Beehive Geyser
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

Friday saw Helen, Sylvie and myself fly from Virginia to Bozeman, Montana via a very cold and snowy Minneapolis/St Paul. Bozeman was none too balmy but was small enough for us to get in to the car and on the road very quickly. A short while later we rolled into Gardiner, past the local Elk to check into our hotel and then play hunt the restaurant. I know it was out of season, but so many places
were shut and the one place we found had very little to eat for me, even less as the ravioli was off.

We woke the next morning to a wonderful snow covered scene and gingerly headed into Yellowstone National Park where the ranger on the gate, after giving us the peak information pack, told me she didn't want me to run off the road or to hear about me over the park radio. Having European driving skills and common sense we proceeded into the park. The first feature, the cascades, was frozen despite being fed by hot springs as the water forming the steps was very shallow and with the snow still falling it was like strolling though a winter wonderland.

As we pushed on further, stopping occasionally to walk to see geysers, mud pots and sulphur pools the snow eased up and the roads and skies cleared up with only occasional snow and rain. We also saw plenty of elk and so many bison; in fact we stopped in the midst of one herd and were mere feet away from them and were concerned when they sudenly stampeded.

After a lunch stop we moved on to the Yellowstone Grand Canyon before arriving at Old Faithful. Our arrival was well timed as we only had to wait ten minutes for Old Faithful to perform and then minutes later the Beehive Geyser, which was much larger, erupted.

We managed to stop at another couple of geyser basins as the sun started dropping in the sky. Helen and I walked into the Midway Geyser Basin which was very steamy and spooky as we walked through huge clouds of vapour which left me incapacitated when my glasses fogged up.

Eventually and after chatting with a female flagman, being escorted through a very long set of roadworks and avoiding suicidal elk running across the road in the dark we made it to Jackson.

A bit more hectic

Sylvie arrived last week and Helen took some time off to do all the touristy things like going to DC, Alexandria and Shenandoah. I also took Friday off so we could travel to Salisbury in the furthest reaches of Maryland where Helen and I were going to ride in the Seagull Century. The Century is an annual 100 mile rambling ride from Salisbury university to the coast.

Because the ride started from 0700 we had to get up, get ready and check out of the hotel before dawn which was a real drag but necessary because the town was heaving with traffic. After a quick head stop we rolled our bikes onto the road and then along the road a bit to get away from the crowd; it's not just cars that cause chaos. There were bikes across the road, groups sat in the middle of the road as well as people pulling away without looking. The lack of cycling ability or road sense goes further as we saw at all the rest stops and I was almost taken out a few times; the correlation with cars also carries over into cornering ability which you would have thought is easier.

There was some serious drizzle but the weather was warm and the sun did shine through eventually even though the rain did not totally disappear. The course did not involve too many junctions and most of the roads were very quiet although there were a couple of busy ones. The rest stops were well run and there was plenty of food and drink to replenish the energy reserves and even banana bread at the seaside stop. We even had priority over the traffic at most junctions and the police were great at stopping the traffic so we could roll through. On the way back from the coast we turned onto the wind which had picked up and mad life a little harder but did not stop us from rolling back into town albeit very weary.

We had a wash up and change in the car and picked Sylvie up from the hotel where she had been stuck all day and headed off home via Denny's for something substantial for dinner. Once home we unloaded the bikes, showered and headed back out to treat Sylvie with a visit to Tiffany's for some live bluegrass. I'm not sure if it was the beer, but I certainly perked up and although we didn't last until 0100 we did make it through two sets before retiring for the night.

We're now sat in Reagan National airport waiting for our flight to Montana, delayed due to snow in Minneapolis, for our next road trip so expect some decent pictures from Yellowstone.

In the meantime, and in way of apology for the lack of pictures recently, here's a video for you - Sweet Million

All quiet on the western front

Coming to get ya!
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

We enjoyed a few quiet days at home after our hectic road trip before Catherine jetted back to the UK and university life. After Kitty left the temperature plummeted causing us to switch from cooling to heating, but this soon changed on the first day of Autumn as we got hit by a rise in temperatures but now it is quite pleasant.

We've been really boring and other than an evening baby sitting for some friends it has been really quiet, although we we not at all quiet when we babysat.

We did kick things up a notch this Friday when we went to the Birchmere to see the Bacon Brothers in concert. The support act Rebecca Loebe & Raina Rose were a folk duo, had no support and played acoustic guitars as well as a washtub. Their voices were amazing and complemented each other perfectly - check out a video of them - Rebecca & Raina - Clean

Kevin Bacon was definitely the star of the show for most of the audience and he certainly seemed very at ease and had great stage presence but he whole band worked together well and certainly rocked.

The Birchmere is certainly a great venue as you get given a number when you arrive and then they call people through to the music hall where you choose a table and order and eat your dinner whilst waiting for the show to start.

We rounded things off wonderfully by going for a pootle on the fixies over to the National Harbour in the lovely weather today.

Rock and Roll

Rock flow
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

Leaving New York and en-route to Pennsylvania we drove down Ringing Rocks Road and into Ringing Rocks State Park to play with some ringing rocks. The rain did ease up enough for us to get out of the car and clamber into the middle of the rock park. Some of the rocks rang like they were hollow when hit with another stone which was quite remarkable.

After our detour we continued on to a stormy Allentown to catch the Time Trial Team which was difficult to get to due to the road closures. We took refuge in a microbrewery for lunch and were able to see the teams pass by and get out in time for the last three to set off and finish. After some last minute shopping for warmer cycling kit we headed off to yet another hotel to try and get a food night sleep before our 100 kilometers ride the next day.

The next day dawned grey and wet and Helen and I left Kitty in Souderton as we pedaled around the hilly winding lanes of Pennsylvania. The rain did stop on occasions but not for long and we were thoroughly soaked and tired at the end of the 100k but we did finish. After lunch we enjoyed watching the professional riders, who had ridden the same course as us, complete eleven laps of Souderton to add another 100k just for good measures.

The next day was absolutely gorgeous and perfect for the criterium at Doylestown and perfect for recovering from the day before. Kitty and Helen bought cupcakes and nibbled them whilst we watched the pros zip past. Then after lunch we pootled back home for a well deserved rest.

Windy night in New York

Windy night
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

The bad weather eventually caught up with us in New York but not after a few days sightseeing; and oh my did we pack the sightseeing in!

We went to Wall Street and saw the New York Stock Exchange and the Brass Bull; then we went to Staten Island on the Ferry and saw the Statue of Liberty. Then after lunch we went to Macy's, Grand Central Station and to see the UN.

The next day Helen did some work in the Hotel room and Kitty and I saw Kim Cattrall filming near Central Park, played on the Big Piano in FAO Schwarz, had tour of Radio City Music Hall, then we saw the Little Owl (used for the exterior shots of Central Perk in Friends) and Katz Deli (that scene from when Harry Met Sally). After lunch we went up the Empire State Building and finished of the day by going to the Paley Center for Media (formerly the Museum of Television & Radio) which was not at all what we expected but we did get to see some good programmes there before heading back to Helen and dinner.

On our last day we spent a huge amount of time at the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art ) which was well worth the visit and the lunch there, although pricey, was very good. Later that afternoon we walked up to and through Central Park, where we bumped into Shia LaBeouf filming Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, to the Guggenheim. Unfortunately we didn't have the time or the energy to go around the Guggenheim but we caught a cab back downtown to have a light dinner and watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Then we summoned the energy to drag ourselves up to the Rockefeller Center Observation Deck for a wet and windy view of the New York nighttime skyline and then back to the hotel.

Flying the Flag

Flying the Flag
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

We just finished our East coast odyssey and it's good to be home to recharge our batteries. Helen should be more tired than Kitty or I as she ran the Virginia Beach half marathon which started at 0700 and the 0 stands for "Oh my god it's early!".

The day before we went to the Virginia Living Museum where we saw native Virginian animals and we got to play with a rat snake and then relaxed in the hotel after trolling round the area to find a decent restaurant that was actually open.

After the run, and after she had finished her beer, Kitty and I drove Helen back to the hotel in a surrey (a our wheeler bike) that didn't have a fringe in top ... and we even took the brake off.
For once the wind was right and we flew our stunt kite which we got pretty good at and ended up taking out another kite and an inattentive seagull.

On the Monday we decamped to New York City in the remains of a tropical storm and decided to avoid the holiday traffic and take the path less travelled via the Cape May Lewes Ferry taking in Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey in the process. Incidentally New Jersey was so named because Sir John Berkley and Sir George Carteret received a royal charter for a colony in the new land and named this colony for the island of Jersey in the English Channel. Carteret had been born on Jersey and had spent several years as Lieutenant Governor of the island.

On the Road Again

Nom nom nom
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

On the road again

Helen came back from her trip to the UK bearing chocolate and was relieved to see that Kitty and I had managed to survive without regressing to a primitive state or being overrun by wildlife; we even managed to eat healthily and only had pizza twice. Helen did a lot of travelling and visiting in the UK as well as working and attending her school reunion.

One result of the a/c failure is that we found out the real culprit responsible for the theft of the bird seed from the feeder and knocking the feeder down; I have formally apologized to and made reparation to the squirrels. With the windows open at night in an attempt to keep the temperature down I heard the bird feeder rattling so I popped downstairs with a torch (not the flaming variety)
and saw a raccoon loitering with intent. Apparently the raccoon had been climbing up the pole past the squirrel baffle, which explains why I found the pole on the ground a few times as well as the baffle disassembled. We started bringing the bird feeder in at night and leaving marshmallows out for the raccoon until one night when Kitty and I were sat on the sofa watching a film we heard a chomping and smacking of lips behind us and saw a young raccoon gobbling up it's supper. The raccoon is still a bit nervous of us but has been venturing almost within arms reach when we have seen it.

Setanta for one reason or another have decided not to show the Lions rugby tour to South Africa online and as we went for an online subscription and dumped the TV package I had to resort to a devious way of watching the matches. For the test matches I found a few sites that were providing live streams, which were not the best quality but good enough to see what was going on and probably not entirely legal but very interesting listening to the Afrikaans commentary. I also found a UK TV file sharing site from which I was able to download better quality footage as well as the midweek matches.

Whilst we're on the subject of legally dubious viewing over the internet, we've also found a way of viewing UK programmes available via the BBC iPlayer even if it can be a bit slow on occasions.

To celebrate US Independence day on 4th of July we watched the final Lions test match and I did my manly duty by having a barbecue in the back yard. We did rebel by grilling vegetables and veggie burgers as well as having a jug or two of Pimms; take that America! In the evening we watched the first day of the Tour de France (TDF); oh yes, three weeks of cycling coverage! I do feel a bit for Kitty as she's been forced to watch the rugby, been forced to learn about professional cycling and watch the Giro as well as three live bike races; we've even made her compete in the TDF fantasy cycling competition.

After a few days back together it is my turn to go on the road again. It's only to Massachusetts and for four days though.

Finally a great piece of news; we have a new niece! Well, she's not exactly brand new out of the box as it were, but she is new to us. Her name is Rhiannon she is seventeen and is Rob's daughter. Sadly we've only recently had contact with her and she did not get to meet Rob but we're looking forward to meeting her.

Livin' on the Edge

Home Brew
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

Livin' on the edge - video

On Thursday, Helen left to visit friends and family in the UK and Guernsey leaving Dad & I finding ways to occupy ourselves this weekend. At the top of our list was the production of our first home brew. Root beer home brew, that is! So, on Saturday, thanks to a Make Your Own Root Beer kit that Dad got for Christmas, our first batch of Root Beer (aka "Strange Brew" and "Squirrel's Brew") has been made and is currently fermenting its way to glory. We'll be sure to update the blog with the taste test results when the time comes.

We decided that we'd start off Sunday slowly to save our energy for the evening's events and so after a chilled morning, we ventured to a nearby spot where we'd seen groundhogs a couple of weeks before. We set up camp and did manage to get a few photos but the groundhogs weren't really up for putting on a show and kept diving back into the undergrowth so we soon moved on to the park. There, we went kite-flying for the first time this summer and even though the wind wasn't very consistent, we soon got the hang of it (even if I did manage to get the kite stuck in a tree at one point) and managed to impress some of the local children.

That evening, we set off to the Nissan Pavilion to go and see ZZ Top and Aerosmith in concert. We arrived a few minutes into ZZ Top's set but still managed to catch some songs that we recognised and were impressed by their performance (and their beards!). However, it must be said that the highlight of the evening was most definitely the headliner. Aerosmith were awesome and full of energy from beginning to end. How the people in front of us managed to stay seated for the majority of the set we will never know. I still can't believe I've seen Aerosmith live - I think I may be in shock.

Who'll stop the rain

Back Yard
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIPan-rEQJA

As you can see we've had a drop or two of rain. Unfortunately whilst I was away in Long Island there was a huge storm leaving Helen & Kitty to deal with an inundation of the basement which tripped out half the electrics and put the air conditioning a/c and hot water out of action. It took a week to get an engineer in to fix the a/c, but as he didn't bother to sort out the hot water I had to do it or face more time with cold showers, brrrrr. Helen was lucky to be away at a conference so she had the power of hot water and cool air after suffering with us for a couple of days, I also had some respite at work but poor Kitty suffered all week.

Then, a week after the last inundation and a day after restoring the home comforts we had a ten minute downpour which went straight through the saturated soil, taking enough soil to help block the drain, built up a three foot reservoir behind the basement door and started pouring around the door jamb. Luckily we heard the water pouring through and Helen womanned the brush in the basement sweeping water into the sumps and I unblocked the drain standing thigh deep in murky water. The fuze box shorted again but the water didn't get to the a/c or boiler this time.

You can see the waterlogged back yard but what you can't see is the six foot hole made by the streaming water washing soil through the stairwell wall into the drain. I filled the hole with rocks topped of with soil and under instruction from the landlord blocked the drains into the stairwell with test plugs. So far so well ...

Kitty and I have spent most of our time hunting for hidden biscuits, watching wildlife and viewing classic films. This weekend we're hoping to go to Alexandria, mountain biking and off to a concert.

Music to watch girls go by

Women's start
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

For the past three weekends we've been going to watch bike races, first in Baltimore and then nearer home in Arlington and also watching the Giro d'Italia on the TV; quite an introduction to the sport for Kitty.

In fact this Sunday Helen and I rode in a public event ably supported by Kitty's cheering and photography. The day started cool and damp but soon warmed up and the crews cleared the standing water off the closed course. It was great not only riding without having to stop but riding with people who, mainly, could comport themselves on a bike. I managed to complete eight laps for 62 miles with cramping muscles at the end and Helen, who was stopped from doing her last lap, did 55 miles.

Afterwards we watched the real riders toil in the hot sun whilst we enjoyed all manner of delicious food and then wearily wended our way home to feast upon a Chinese meal with lashings of beer and wine.

Normal service ...

will be resumed shortly.






















It's hard to believe that the last post we made was in mid February. Our snowboarding holiday was very cold, very tiring and loads of fun and we've got plenty of pictures from all the resorts that our flexible pass allowed us to visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/11463478@N00/collections/72157614033013110/.
The weather has been all over the place and although the cold weather looks to be behind us the rain does not and although the basement has only flooded once the swamp and the squirrels are still very soggy.

Kitty is now in country and after much chasing has got some voluntary work sorted out; Helen has had an interview for a job back in the UK and I am just plodding along.Back soon with an update and hopefully something from the other contributors ...

This is how I feel

How much is that doggy in the window?
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d33b1vE2MYY

After a day at home I caught a plane to cold and wet Florida; admittedly it was warmer than Alexandria, but definitely not the weather I associate with that part of the USA.

Then after flying back and spending another day at hime we flew to Colorado and drove to Boulder for a couple of days while Helen did some work at the university. I did some walking and had my first go on a velodrome which was scary.

We then drove on to Breckenridge for some snowboarding and have had a day of snow and a couple of days of sun. We're getting a bit bored of this mountain now and will probably head somewhere else tomorrow.

I really could do with a good night's sleep and good slope conditions to help me feel better.

Crossroads

The Crossroads
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd60nI4sa9A

We've just recovered from our 200 mile Elvis pilgrimage , did I say recovered, possibly in a week or so.

On Saturday we drove down to Memphis after experiencing the joy of Cracker Barrel restaurant en-route! The next day we rolled out of bed and walked down through a deserted Memphis to a deserted Beale Street for breakfast and then visited Sun records and the Museum of Rock and Soul and then a great evening in Rum Boogie listening to The Plantation Allstars.

Monday was a big day for us; all we did was visit Graceland. We got VIP passes and because it wasn't very busy we had the place pretty much to ourselves/ It would take too long for me to write about all the jumpsuits, gold records, planes, rooms and cheeseburgers but I will say I was very impressed.

On Tuesday we popped across the Misssississississsississpi to Arkansas for breakfast (at Waffle House) and then went to the Stax museum. Afterwards some locals drove into the back of our car and we drove into the 'hood before calling the police. We recovered from our ordeal by going to a Soul Food restaurant. In the evening we went to BB Kings Blues Club and saw a pop band ...

On Wednesday we went to the Civil Rights Museum and I hung out and took some pictures. We then drove down to the crossroads and then to Elvis Presley's birthplace in Tupelo. We eventually arrived in Nashville and I went to bed while Jo and Helen went to the bar!

On Thursday we went round the Country and Western Hall of fame and then a tour of RCA studio B (where Elvis recorded half of his records). In the evening we hit some bars and saw two and a bit bands.

After a bit of a lie in on Friday we took on the task of driving home and got back to a snowy/icy Stratford Landing about 2130!

Ice Ice Baby

Along the road
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxN_pbMOFk0

Well. it's back to work for us both now, my first job was to book travel for my meeting in Florida; oh warmer weather!

We headed up to Wisp for some snowboarding, it was a long journey but it was cold and we were expecting precipitation. The conditions were great and we got a few runs in even if it was very cold and then the freezing rain arived. Not quite the precipitation we were after and certainly didn't enjoy the icy lift seats or extremely slick conditions at the top of the mountain. Luckily the slopes were OK and it was fun getting coated in ice. The journey home was fun as the ice kept accumulating on the car and when we stopped for petrol there was over a centimetre of ice we had to get rid of; fortunately the ice melted of the car by the time we got home.

The temperatures stayed low for the rest of the week; very low, so much so my sweat froze on my glasses to and from work which was tough.

Joey arrived in time for Helen's birthday and we had a lovely evening eating cake and drinking and chatting. On Sunday we went to the Inauguration "We Are One" concert and "saw" Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Usher Raymond IV, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, will.i.am, and Stevie Wonder. As well as Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah and Denzel Washington reading historical passages!

Then on Monday we took Joey to Whitetail for some snowboarding in lovely snow showers; it was hard going for Joey but she did well for her first effort. We had some good runs down the mountain and then had a very relaxed evening. Then on Tuesday we caught the Metro into town for a little thing called the Presidential Inauguration, it was damn cold, but I'm glad we made the effort. Helen and Joey ventured into the crowd while I chilled, and I mean chilled, by the Lincoln Memorial. Listening to the speeches I thought it was apt I should be standing by the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King made his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

After all the speeches were over we walked up to the Zoo to see all the animals that weren't there because they were in bed because it was so cold and they we joined lots of people on the Metro for the ride home.

Peace!

The New Year

Cat tails
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a84TmrJpBCw

We've had a quiet time between Christmas and New Year's day watching movies and playing board games. We did venture out of the house for a short bike ride with Kitty and went into DC to see the Shakespeare Theatre Company's brilliant production of Twelfth Night. We managed to offset any culture gained by playing Raving Rabbids TV party and watching Bolt in 3d at the cinema.

We went round to Roger and Lynn's on New Year's eve and didn't get to bed until about 5 in the morning. We did have great fun playing Sculptorades, Crokinole, table football as well as some quiz games and even finding time to eat and drink.

Helen has become addicted to Wii fit and has unlocked all the exercises and games, I'm lagging a bit but hope to be back on the programme once I get back to work.

In the new year we went to the American History museum, which didn't seem to have many exhibits and at least one factual error; they had Barack Obama on a list of US presidents even though he won't be inaugurated until 20 Jan.

After that we went back to the theatre to join a discussion on the production of Twelfth Night. We did contribute to the discussion even though the other participants may not have understood what we were saying. We kept up the cultural theme by going to the Hard Times Cafe for Chili and then to Tiffany's Tavern to introduce Kitty to the experience that is live Bluegrass. To recover we went to Denny's for breakfast and then walked round Huntley Meadows Park to see if we could spot any beavers. We did see half a dozen deer, some squirrels and signs of beavers, but no beavers.

Monday was Kitty's last day in the US and I took her to see our chiropractor who spent 90 minutes adjusting her spine and it must have done her good as she looked quite different afterward. Then after a casual lunch and one last slice of Christmas Cake we drove Kitty out to Dulles airport and watched her through security. Then the last thing to do was take down the decorations :o(