Maggie in DC!

Unfortunately, there are no photos to prove this, but it's true. The only photos from her trip are these, which are from the US Botanic Garden. The garden is a nice respite from the bustling city, however the outdoor area is small and underwhelming (but free!), particularly if compared to the Missouri Botanical Garden.

I took a day off from work for a nice 3 day weekend that included a dinner out for Maggie's birthday, walks through Georgetown (including cupcakes from Baked & Wired) and Eastern Market, a visit to the National Portrait Gallery, and general hangin' out. The highlight (in addition to Maggie's presence) for me was the Newseum - a little pricey, but well worth it.

Other St. Louisans in the area recently were Sue Waterman for a wedding and Jenny Reid for a conference - great to see them both!

Pat Learns Zip Lining

I meant to upload a video from the Costa Rica trip awhile back...

Spring time gives 7Reids a new look!

I know that this blog never really "took off", but I've decided to recommit myself to at least putting out there what's going on in my neck of the woods. I'd love to hear/see what's going on with others (yes, I could call or email (which I haven't been doing well), but this is a little more inclusive and "at your leisure"), but I also understand that blogs aren't for everyone. Whether it's a funny video, photo, article, or news from you - I welcome the contributions.

I'm hoping that spring is here for good, but I also say that as the temperature continues to drop today, with a low in the 30's expected for tonight (though we used our window AC unit last night!). But I think it's official (not counting the calendars that have told us it's spring) because the National Cherry Blossom Festival has been going on for the past week and a half and concludes this coming weekend. Kevin and I took a stroll around the Tidal Basin and the Mall area last weekend on a sunny day, which was packed due to the lack of consistently nice weather since this festival began. I hear it's always crowded during the blooming, but I think everyone was also waiting for a nice day. Nice to see, but I think I'm good.




A new development that I'm looking forward to is a recent sign-up for a CSA (community supported agriculture). While working on the farm last summer, a major focus of our time was harvesting for their weekly CSA (along with the many, many, many hours of weeding). Eating a lot of fresh, local produce (or maybe more importantly, not being able to eat as fresh of produce since then) has reminded me that I think it's important, if you have the means and motivation to participate. The season doesn't start until June for the farm I selected, so I'll let you know how it goes. Which will hopefully be awesome...