Saturday the 2nd I headed out in my kayak to meet up with other volunteers to clean up Lake Thoreau. 3+ hours later, and with two bulging sacks of trash, I was done. Jill and I took Nina to the Herndon Festival, sitting with the Jewells and Bettis and watching Honor By August and Liz Longley. Sunday, I was back at the fest all day starting with an Irish breakfast at O’Sullivans with the Jewells. Jill and Nina came for Delta Rae, then Sue and Dave joined us for Red Molly (Nina loved watching the kids roll down the hill). Sue and Dave headed home the next day.
Friday the 8th the great new Rush album arrived and Nina and I listened to it. The next day was long and tiring – it included an early trip to the farmer’s market, Nina losing her fear of grass and two baths. Thursday the 14th Mom cam over to babysit and Jill and I headed over to to Wolf Trap. I was very grateful for the new pedestrian bridge, as Bonnie Raitt was sold out and we had to park at the Barns. Great show, and she came out during Mavis Staples’ set for a duet of “Will The Circle Be Unbroken”.
Friday the 15th I had a great early Father’s Day with Dad. He met me at Merriweather Post Pavilion in the early afternoon, where we waited in line, then went in and watched them soundcheck. Playing the hits was nice, but I really enjoyed them adding new lyrics to “Isn’t It Time” off their surprisingly great new CD. We got a photo op after that (and I was scolded for speaking to them), then left backstage and got lobster rolls from The Lobster Truck (been waiting to try them, good as advertised). The concert itself was fabulous, can’t think how the remaining five could have done it any better.
Saturday the 16th we took Nina to the Taste of Reston, where we enjoyed some tasty food and Jill named the pub we’ll have to open for fellow parents: The Bib and Business. Later that day, we celebrated Olivia’s graduation with a party at Stuart’s dad’s, where Nina showed a voracious appetite for mac and cheese. Sunday we celebrated Father’s Day with brunch at Bilbo Baggins and frolicking in the riverside park. Wednesday the 20th Jill and Nina met me at work, and we went out to lunch at Eggspectation where I had some tasty crepes and Nina made a righteous mess (my tip amount has increased).
Sunday the 25th we had a lovely time at the wedding of Eric and Ami, it was great seeing Billy again and everyone said how nicely behaved Nina was. Good thing they didn’t see her subsequent total meltdown on our way home. It was extremely hot the following weekend, happily it held off long enough for killer sets by Josh Ritter and Brandi Carlile at Wolf Trap Thursday the 28th, including a jaw dropping cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Brandi. I’ve been wanting to see them both for a while, so glad they were both worth the wait.
Friday the 29th I was leaving the house to get groceries around 10PM. Jill asked if I knew there was a storm coming, but I didn’t think it was a big deal since we get thunderstorms all the time. I didn’t have any indication anything was going on until I was in the freezer aisle at Safeway and the lights flickered and went out (it would make an excellent storm shelter, never heard anything). They came on seconds later, but by then we were being urged to check out. I saw my the radar on my phone the storm was almost over, but very heavy. I waited a couple minutes, then got in my car and drove home. The first indication it was a different type of storm was all the branches on the road, then when I got home Nina was awake (first time she’s ever woken because of weather) and Illa (and Jill) were panicked. Turns out it was a derecho (not something I ever remember seeing), but we suffered no damage and never lost power. Good thing as I started cooking for hours, and we had a dinner party planned the next day (details in next entry, but leaving out Nina enjoying her first piece of toast).
