Cherry Blossoms

Let’s start off with a belated picture from Micah’s first seder:

After the seders last week, we were expecting some family time on Friday. Elliot’s parents, Steven, Jodi, Stephanie and Brian joined us Friday for breakfast. I made matzah brie, which is basically french toast made with matzah. You soak the matzah to soften it, mix some eggs through, then fry it up. You can serve it “savory” (with salt and/or cheese) or go the sweet route (cinnamon, sugar, syrup, chocolate . . . whatever floats your boat). I made a big giant vat of matzah brie, we put all the different toppings on the table, and we had a lovely breakfast. We were expecting Elliot’s other brother, Daniel, his wife Jody, and their son Ethan to join us on Friday. They called to say they would be here in an hour, so we waited. And waited. And waited. 1 1/2 hours later, they called to say they wouldn’t be joining us. We still don’t understand exactly what happened.

Once we got the green light, we stopped waiting, and took off to tour the area. It is a beautiful time of year here, with all the cherry blossom trees in bloom, so off to Kenwood we went! Kenwood is one of the oldest and prettiest neighborhoods in the air, and every street is lined with cherry blossom trees. We went to wander around and enjoy nature.

After touring Kenwood, we decided to take Roberta (Elliot’s mother) shopping for a new pair of shoes, so off to DSW we went. We all managed to buy a few pairs of shoes. When we came back, we enjoyed a late lunch of egg salad and matzah pizza. We relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon, and around 6, my friend Tammy (and I was previously chastised for using the word “old” to describe our friendship) from college arrived to join us! (Long story short . . . I didn’t realize my in-laws planned to stay through until Saturday, so I invited Tammy down on Friday and their visits overlapped). Despite this little scheduling blip, we had a lovely dinner together – Tammy joined right in and we enjoyed leftovers from the previous night.

Saturday morning, my in-laws returned for lunch before their drive back home. I made tuna salad, we cooked up a few more matzah pizzas, and a “secret” family recipe that we call matzkes (it is basically a special sweet cheese mixture that you spread on the matzah and bake). My family matzkes were a hit! The family departed for home, but not before Poppy Ira had a chance to hang out with Micah:
After our family left, Tammy and I decided to go back to Kenwood. After a long, exhausting day, we spent a quiet evening at home. Elliot made fish and veggies for dinner (not that I ate the fish – I’m a vegetarian). Sunday, Tammy and I decided to adventure a bit – we took the metro downtown, checked out the cherry blossoms along the tidal basin (unfortunately, we were a few days too late – the cherry blossoms had passed their peak, and we saw tons of green foliage instead of pink flowers). After a short walk (the wind was blowing so hard that we were worried about Micah and cut the walk short . . . that is our story, and I am sticking to it!), we went to the American History Museum. It was the first time I had been since it was renovated.

We had a wonderful day, and Micah enjoyed his first trip downtown and first museum visit. We returned home around 5, and Tammy decided to head back home.

All in all, a wonderful weekend!

Every so often, something reminds me how much I love DC. This past week, it was the cherry blossoms in bloom. This area is absolutely BEAUTIFUL in the Spring. I was heading downtown to a meeting last week, and decided to drive down Rock Creek Parkway and take the back roads around the Tidal Basin to hop on Independence Ave and then cut over to 12th Street to get to the Department of Education. On a normal day, as every local Washingtonian knows, this back-road route is always the fastest way through town. Except when the cherry blossoms are in bloom (or some other major event is happening on the mall). Well, last week was the start of the Cherry Blossom Festival – and one of the most bone-headed times to drive through the Tidal Basin. As is par for the course with me, I was totally oblivious to the date and the time of year, and I drove right into the heart of the Cherry Blossom Festival without even a thought.

And yet . . . I’m so glad I did it! I drove through just early enough in the day that the traffic was heavy, but not gridlocked. The trees were in full bloom, and the drive was stunningly gorgeous. I love how the beautiful cherry blossom trees frame the monuments. The city comes alive with the pink-tinged accents. I rolled down my windows and enjoyed the warm weather and beautiful scents from the trees. I couldn’t stop beaming. When I lived in New York, the world was always grey . . . the sidewalks, the buildings, everything. I used to feel “color deprived” living there – I never saw signs of nature (and living down in the village, the trek up to Central Park was just too much). I remember coming home in the spring, and flying over the monuments to land, and seeing the cherry blossoms. I remember driving down the cherry blossom lined street to my parents’ house on the way back from the airport and just beaming with sheer joy to see such magnificence and beauty, and I remember how the colors just jumped out at me – it was as if I had stepped out of a black-and-white photo and into color. There is something so elegantly joyous about cherry blossom trees . . . and magnolias . . . and this time of year, nearly every street and neighborhood is painted pink. Hundreds and hundreds of shades of pink. There is the soft almost white pink from some varieties of trees, and the truly rich girly-girl pink of other trees, and the bright hot-pink that the magnolias bring to the mix. Add in a splash of hydrangea and azalea, and well . . . we are living in a pink Spring wonderland.

Today as we drove out to Hyattsville for an art exhibit, we enjoyed even more spring beauty. Every day, I have been looking forward to my morning walks with Nugget, just so I can see how many more trees are now in bloom. This is my favorite time of year, and there is no better place to enjoy Spring than in Washington, DC. It reminds me how lucky we are to live here.

My friend Tammy is coming down for a visit this weekend, and I can’t wait to show off Washington in bloom. It will also be Micah’s first trip on the metro, and I’m so excited to wander around the monuments with him. I truly love DC – it is fast-paced when you need, slow and lazy and suburban at the same time, full of culture and opportunities and politics and energy, and in 20 minutes you can be in the middle of the country, or enjoying picking your own berries at a local farm. I hope one day Micah appreciates this crazy place as much as I do!