tree planting with Casey Trees, originally uploaded by zannect.

Back when I was researching DC, I heard about an organization called Casey Trees. Their mission is to restore the tree canopy of Washington. Apparently DC used to be called the City of Trees, but during the 1960s and 70s, the city lost 65% of the tree cover due to neglect. In 1999, a philanthropist named Betty Brown Casey gave a generous donation to start the organization. Since 2001 they have planted over 7,000 trees. The organization leads tree walks, teaches classes, gives high school kids summer jobs, and helps DC residents plant trees. It's really cool. They will help homeowners pick the right trees for their land, and help them plant the trees; they'll help community groups green their neighborhood; and they assist the city with planting and care of city trees. Last week I took a two-evening class about trees, and then Saturday morning I went with a group to plant 30 trees in Oxon Run park in SE DC. The training means that I can assist and help organize new volunteers at tree plantings that are held every weekend in the spring and the fall.

I planted two trees with a small group of other people. It was quite a lot of fun! We planted white swamp oak (above), sweet gum trees, and a few others. It was a gorgeous spring day and spending the morning outside with a visible end result was really satisfying. The other volunteers and the staff were an eclectic group of really nice folks, a mix of long-time DC residents, other newcomers, and an intern from Finland. I'll be volunteering with Casey Trees throughout the spring planting season, and then I hope to again in the fall.

Growing up as I did in a much more rural area, and in a house with a yard full of amazing trees, I've always felt like there was something missing in the cities I've lived in. One of my major complaints about NYC was how much I missed being around trees. It's really neat to be helping plant trees in my new city, and it makes me so much more aware of the trees that are already here.

ps--I took that photo with my camera! The quality is much better than I expected.

Awesomest chair of awesomeness, originally uploaded by zannect.

February, usually my longest and draggiest and least favorite month, has zoomed by. I can't believe it's over! As of yesterday, I've lived in DC for an entire month, and last Friday completed both my first calendar month on the job and the first time I've worked a full five-day work week since June.

I've spent February working, figuring out what I'm doing at work, buried in snow (and work), figuring out my new city (especially the buses), nesting, and spending lots of time with the Schipandegan family and with Hilary. Yay! Above is a sneak preview of my new apartment--this chair is my first nice furniture purchase ever (i.e., not Ikea) and I love it. When I get the pictures hung on my walls I'll post a photo tour; overwise I'm mostly settled in except for a few small odds and ends.

The other big news is that I've acquired some roommates. They are refusing to pay any rent, but they're so cute they get away with it.

Yes, it's true, I now have custody of the cats. They're quite good company and it's nice to have them around again.

Fallen branch, originally uploaded by zannect.

You might have heard it snowed here in DC. It doesn't snow very much around here, so 25 inches is a BIG DEAL, aka "crippling", "historic", "obliterating", and "paralyzing" (all direct quotes from various major news sources). It started around 10am on Friday and didn't stop till after 5pm on Saturday. I went to the grocery store on Friday afternoon and it was like the end of the world: bare shelves, especially in the produce and meat sections (no garlic!!!), people stockpiling milk and wine like there wouldn't be any more produced ever again, and lines to rival the Park Slope Food Coop the day before Thanksgiving. I was able to get plenty of food and even had some nice conversations with other people waiting in line. I got pretty stir-crazy by Saturday afternoon and went out for a walk (lots of pictures here) and saw some pretty crazy stuff: a snow plow that was stuck; a tow truck that was stuck with a driver attempting to pull himself out by hooking onto a fire hydrant; dozens of people sledding and having snow ball fights; people skiing down the middle of U Street; and some very, very happy dogs. I was fortunate not to lose power, so I spent my weekend cooking, putting together furniture, and relaxing. So much for my last batch of errands to finish off my apartment! Those will have to wait till next week, assuming we ever dig out. I got out of work early on Friday, and I'm hoping I'll make it to work tomorrow, but there's a decent chance we'll have a snow day, if the city can't dig out enough to make it possible to commute.

Here's a video of a tow truck attempting to rescue the plow:

I'm sure they got out eventually, but by then I was cold so I didn't stick around to see. Today it's gloriously sunny so I'm heading out for another walk to see how things look today.

Welcome to DC indeed!

Updated at 4pm: I just took another walk and came back with more photos! Lots of buried cars, and sadly, many broken and completely downed trees.

Huge fallen tree:

It's really pretty:

I can't tell what's happening here:

New apartment, originally uploaded by zannect.

The last three weeks have been pretty busy. I interviewed for, was offered, and accepted a new job, based in Washington, DC. I went back down to DC to find an apartment, via a family weekend in New Jersey and NYC. I came back to Massachusetts and packed up all my stuff, and shipped it off today via FedEx Ground and USPS Media Mail. Wednesday, very early, I get on a train and relocate to DC! I'll start my new job on February 1, which should give me just enough time to get my stuff, go to Ikea and buy a bunch of furniture, and unpack and set up my new place. It's all been a whirlwind, and I can't quite believe that in 48 hours, I'll be living in my new apartment in a brand new city. I'll miss Massachusetts, but I'm sure I'll be back here some day. In the meantime, it's very exciting!

Happy New Year! I spent New Year's in NYC and it was one of those fantastic trips full of good food, visiting some of my favorite places, amazing coffee, and wonderful times with old & new friends. I had one of those perfect New York moments that makes me miss living there; late one night I was taking a cab home from Brooklyn, it was snowing, and as we went over the Williamsburg Bridge and up First Ave through the East Village the Jay-Z/Alicia Keys song "Empire State of Mind" came on the cab's radio.

1. Apple pie, 2. Pesto, mozzarella, mushroom pizza, 3. Amazing sundae at Bi-Rite, 4. pad thai, 5. tuna, 6. fruit, 7. Macchiato at Ritual, 8. eel, salad, pickles, 9. soba noodles

2009 was a really stellar year for food, mostly because of my trip to Asia. In no particular order, here are my top twelve meals/foods of 2009 (because I can't narrow it down to ten!):

1. Dinner with my brother at Zuni Cafe in San Francisco. We had the most perfect heirloom tomato soup, shoe string fries (my favorite!), and parmesan risotto. Delicious.
2. The chocolate ice cream, whipped cream, salt, and olive oil sundae I shared with my brother at Bi-Rite Creamery in San Francisco.
3. My birthday dinner (the tasting menu) at Craigie on Main, in Cambridge.
4. The giant pile of homemade pizza and pie from Pi Day.
5. Pad Thai from a street vendor in Chiang Mai.
6. Sushi at Daiwa Sushi in Tokyo. This might be my single top culinary experience of my life, let alone my year.
7. Khao soi (curry noodles) from a street vendor in Chiang Mai.
8. Coconut ice cream (in a freshly opened coconut, drenched in condensed milk and covered with some sort of sweet crunchy thing) from a street vendor, again in Chiang Mai.
9. Mangosteens. Oh, glorious magosteens, why are you not available in the US?
10. Fresh ramen in Tokyo. Amazing. I'll never eat the packaged stuff again.
11: Fresh bread drenched in butter made by the master chefs/monks at Tassajara.
12. High tea at the Chedi Hotel in Chiang Mai.

There were some not-so-stellar food moments, too, like the hot peppers in Thailand that I think burned an actual hole in my tongue, and the fried toad skin, which I intended to try but couldn't bear to put in my mouth. Overall, however, 2009 was one of the best food years I've ever had! For comparison, here's 2008 and 2007.

Christmas tree at the Supreme Court, originally uploaded by zannect.

Merry Christmas, if you celebrate! So, I went to Washington, DC, a couple of weeks ago for job-hunting purposes and I had some time to do touristy things. Here are a bunch of photos. (I got ready for an interview in the bathroom at the Supreme Court. Hey, it's the People's House, isn't it? Or is that the White House?) Anyways, this was the Christmas tree at the Supreme Court. I don't think that's doing much for the whole separation of church and state thing we are supposed to have, so on that level I find it kind of offensive, but I can't deny it was pretty.

It's been pretty quiet around here lately! I spend a lot of my time either looking for a job or cooking things like this or this or this. So, some photos for you.

Long walk in Hadley, on one of the last warm days of the year:

And just a few days later, we had the first snow fall:

It's already snowed six more inches since then.

And I went to NY for Thanksgiving and met the new sheep at Spook Rock Farms:

(The one in the yellow shirt is my uncle.)

Tomorrow I'm planning to go hear this guy speak. I sort of hope he talks about this. Ick!

Last weekend I went down to DC for one of my favorite meals of the year, Frank and Kristen's 13th Annual Pre-Thanksgiving. Luckily Baby Shipegan did not arrive early and interrupt the festivities. As usual, Frank made a delicious dinner: (left) chestnut soup, (center, clockwise from top) mac & cheese, brussel sprouts, spicy corn, mashed sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and turkey and gravy, and (right) apple and pumpkin pie, Indian pudding, and homemade whipped cream!

Thanks Kristen and Frank for another wonderful weekend!

Today I drove up to the Montague Bookmill, one of my three favorite bookstores in the world. It's a great used bookstore in a 1842 gristmill on the bank of the Sawmill River. The tagline of the store is "books you don't need in a place you can't find" and yes, I did get lost on the way, but only because I was coming from a different direction than usual. It's a beautiful old building with lots of interesting books and cozy chairs in the sun and big old windows with beautiful views and creaky floors. Also there is a wonderful record store and there is good coffee and food. All it needs is some cats hanging around, and then it would be really be perfection.

There are two restaurants there; I've never eaten at the Night Kitchen but it is supposed to be amazing (and has a wonderful name!). One of these days I'll get there. I've had lunch a few times at the Lady Killigrew Cafe and it's quite delicious. They have great coffee. Here the view from the table where I ate lunch (outside, because it was unseasonable 70 degrees today!):

There have been lots of changes around here lately, most of which I won't get into in the interests of keeping my private life off the internet, but one major change is that I now have a CAR. I have never in my whole life had a car before. Here's my new car:

I kinda like it!