Moving On Up

I just bought my own domain name, got a web host (Bluehost), and downloaded Wordpress.  Nothing is live yet, but stand by!  Exciting things to come!

Mad Cold

 Here in the Hollow this morning we saw temps at a miserable 1 degree with wind chills far lower.  The school system closed schools today, so Little Bird got a day off on her 8th birthday!  She got ice cream for breakfast, we baked a cake, and now she and her sister are in the shower getting ready for their spa day mani/pedi session.

Meanwhile, Harpers Ferry National Park is reporting that it's "cold enough to freeze a mouse" at -2 degrees!  Here's their status from earlier:
"Historic reports of bad winters are common in this area. In February 1914, local Harpers Ferry papers reported a rooster was found frozen. In 1926, the Shenandoah River was reported to be black. The 1926 reporter was told by residents that the river turns black before a freeze. (Sources: Farmers Advocate & Virginia Free Press)"

According to the news, this paralyzing chill is due to the Polar Vortex's taking a dip to the South.  Well, go back, Vortex - go back!  (Rumor has it that she is; Saturday will be a balmy 61!)  

As I write this, I've just found out that the Mad Dog (click for former blog post) is on fire.  More later.    

Edited to add these pictures that were posted at Washington Co.Md Fire Calls (Facebook page) 

Winter Trees

Winter Trees

by William Carlos Williams
~~

All the complicated details

of the attiring and

the disattiring are completed!

A liquid moon

moves gently among

the long branches.

Thus having prepared their buds

against a sure winter

the wise trees

stand sleeping in the cold. 

 It is just too cold, too wet, and too icy in the Hollow today.  G is smoking us out of the house, though, by lighting the wood stove for the first time this season.  I'd like to say that the girls and I sitting back, eating chili, and reading poetry, but that would be a flat out lie.  They are playing Roblox, turning their noses up at my chili, and asking for ice cream instead.  And so it goes.   

Visiting "Our" Tree

Between Christmas and New Years, we decided to celebrate Little Bird's 8th birthday a little early by heading down to Tyson's Corner for a quick stay in a hotel with a pool.  We got a great price ($89) for a room with the fun of witnessing hundreds of teenage girls swarm at their first meet-and-greet with Youtube icons.  Joy.  (Actually, it was hilarious to see them scream and run at any supposed sighting.)  Before we checked into our room, we spent some time over at the mall at the American Girl store so that their dolls could get their hair done and ears pierced ($60 for the whole deal - not terrible, but G couldn't believe it).  Then, we headed down to the quintessential tweener heaven so that both girls could get their own ears pierced!  The youngest went first and didn't flinch; then big sis went and didn't do too badly either.


Since Tyson's Corner is only about 22 minutes from DC and the weather was a lovely 50 degrees (for December), we decided to head downtown to get some grub and see the National Christmas Tree.

Although we likely could have found street parking had we looked longer, we decided to park under the famous Willard -- $17 for the first two hours; $21 after that.  This may seem exorbitant, but one should expect at least that much in DC - and this was valet!  We made our way upstairs to the Willard lobby - wow.  They really know how to celebrate the holiday!  There was a beautiful Christmas tree in the lobby and decorations galore.  G asked why we didn't stay there . . . I asked if he had an additional four hunny for the night . . . He was satisfied with my choice.

We walked north to see if we could get a table at the Old Ebbitt Grill, but even at 3:30 on a Saturday, there was an hour wait.  Another time.  The place was packed and the Nutcrackers outside were getting their fair share of photo ops.  The girls were too grumpy to stand still long enough for me to get their pic, so we headed even farther north and found Woodward Table on the corner of H and 15th.  Since we were there between lunch and dinner, we had to settle for the bar menu, but they had a great kids' menu, nonetheless, and G and I really enjoyed our meals of a huge burger and crab/artichoke pizza.  (SG had a huge kid's steak/fries and Sylv had yummy cheese pizza.)  The price was a bit on the high side - again, expected, but we really enjoyed our streetside seats and the beautiful decor. 
After linner, we headed southeast to the White House.  The crowds on the street were incredible!  So many out to enjoy the weather, I suppose.  We walked up to find our "first" protest - Iraqi-Americans protesting Maliki for a recent bombing/civilian slaughter.  

The girls were captivated with the chanting, signs, and flags.  It was very moving.  We got some pix right in front of the place (G commented on how he couldn't believe how close we were allowed to be), then we headed west and south again to make our way to the tree.  The crowds increased as we made our way down to a surprisingly small evergreen surrounded by gates and train sets.

 We walked up to the innermost gate at about 4:50 p.m. and the lights came on just a few minutes later.  It was kind of magical to be right there at that moment, and the crowd ooh'ed and ah'ed right on cue. 

The girls tried to throw pennies into the circling trains, and we found our Maryland tree on the outskirts.  The quarter-scaffolded Washington Monument stood stoically to the south against the mellow sunset sky.  We headed back to our parking garage before it got too dark.  We awed at how the Willard's outside decorations were almost as beautiful as inside. 

Five Generations

     While home on Winter Break, I had the chance to scan a few of Grandma's pictures.  These two were especially fun to view.  This first one is of me at about seven months (guessing) and my great-great grandmother - Pearl Selena Astlin Beall (around age 86 - died the following year).  
     This is what was written about her in Grandma's binder: "She was a good person, easy-going, a hard worker, very compassionate, and she treated everyone well. She was tall and thin, with black hair and blue eyes. She raised her family in the lock house at Lock 25, where there was no electric or running water. The house consisted of a kitchen and living room on the first floor and two bedrooms on the second. There was a cookstove in the kitchen and a woodstove in the living room. She washed the family's clothes in a big tub with scrub board and ironed them with a flat iron, which was warmed on the wood stove, that she used to cook the meals. There was no refrigerator but there was an ice box. The water was fetched in a bucket from the well across the road. Meals that could be stretched to feed nine people were served -- fish, potatoes, beans, biscuits, and cornbread. In the winter, there was always a pot of soup on the cookstove. Life was not easy for the ladies of her time. None of the children were born in a hospital -- they were delivered at home by Aunt Polly (the black mid-wife that lived up the road) and the local doctor."

     This next picture is of five generations of Beall-Poole-Null women.  That's me around 9 months old on Pearl's lap again -- Her daughter, my great-grandmother Edna Mildred Beall (she's around age 67 here) - Her daughter, my grandmother Helen Elizabeth Poole (around age 45 here), and my mother Judy Louise (around age 19 here).