February started off very strong. I headed over to Falls Church early on the 1st to enjoy shopping for bargain CDs at CD Cellar and dinner at Mad Fox (again, this time at the bar). Then I went into DC to see the legendary Robert Plant ably backed by Patty Griffin and Buddy Miller. As much as I enjoyed the new songs and the Zep classics, the thrill was finally seeing him do “Tall Cool One” live (my fifth time seeing him, but never seeing him solo).
On the 6th we were invited to the Jewell’s annual Super Bowl party. I made tortilla encrusted wings and we got there a little before kickoff. A good game, decent commercials, great food and friends – what more could you ask for?
Wednesday the 9th we saw The Greencards at the Barns. We’d seen them at the Austin City Limits festival and Jill really liked them, and it was their first Barns appearance. They’re now a four piece, and had a tight, fun show with tunes from all their CDs, including one about to be released.
Saturday the 12th was Jill’s company party, decidedly lower key than last year. But the Hilton Garden Inn was very nice, and the food was decent, and the folks we sat with were fun. And Jill brought home decorations from the white elephant swap.
The next day I went to a comic book show for the first time in at least a decade. I had two reasons to go, a) I missed ordering a number of comic books during the move, and b) I might rent a table at one soon to try and get rid of the ones I don’t want faster (selling on eBay is very time intensive). What I didn’t expect was the deals they have on graphic novels and collections – next time I’ll have a list of what I need.
We hadn’t made plans for Valentine’s Day because of Jill’s schedule, but she ended up being free that night. She wanted Indian food, so we went to Angeethi for dinner. They had a very tasty 5 course special, I really enjoyed the tandoori lamb.
Friday the 18th it actually got above 70 and Lake Thoreau finished thawing. I planned for it and went to work early so I could get home by 4:30 and sit out on the deck with the paper and the dog. I really missed being able to sit outside during the winter, can’t wait for springtime.
I had a LivingSocial deal for Eventide that was about to expire, so we ran some errands in Falls Church and ended up in Clarendon for dinner on Saturday. We were early and sat at the bar first, then went upstairs. We started off with salads, then split the lobster risotto fritters. I had the pork tenderloin and Jill had the stuffed chicken, then split the fabulous apple pie for dessert.
Thursday the 24th we took the Jewell’s daughter Olivia out as an early graduation present. We had tapas at La Tasca in DC, then went across the street to the Verizon Center to see Lady Gaga. She puts on an intriguing mix of a Broadway show and a concert, but it was a lot of fun (and the ladies enjoyed it).
Saturday the 26th was Josh’s birthday party, and the first non-murder mystery. This year he opted for a game night instead, and it went over so well almost no one left until midnight. We played Trivial Pursuit, Apples To Apples and Cranium, and it was so much fun we’ll probably host another one soon.
On Sunday the 27th we closed out the month with a concert double header. First we went over to the Old Brogue were we enjoyed fish and chips while catching Beth Patterson‘s early show (very funny as usual, plus front row seats). Then back the other way to Jammin’ Java to see Natalia Zukerman perform with Garrison Starr (even better when Jay Nash joined them on guitar).
