Nine and a Half Weeks in DC

The weeks have flown by since my knee surgery on February 26th, and I’m cushioned between week 9 and week 10 right now. I flew to Washington, DC to be with my Dad and his wife Sally on April 23rd, and have been enjoying the tempo of their home and life, which includes three civilized meals daily and afternoons of reading or working on Stave puzzles. We have done three of those since I’ve been here. This was my favorite so far, the theme being baseball. Other afternoons we might have visitors who come to talk about Dad’s and Sally’s rich lifelong involvement in family planning or in Sally’s collecting of Munch lithographs.

Mornings bring Dad and me to either the Rock Creek golf course, currently undergoing a major renovation, for nine holes or the St. John’s College High School upper track, where we walk a few loops and Dad shoots wiffle golf balls. On the course, I am the golf cart chauffeur and score keeper and we have been enjoying the beautiful weather and the golf which to listen to Dad is subpar (but not in a good way.) But he and his friends have fun and I enjoy being with them.

You can see from the photos below that the course is in need of some love. The last time I was here, they were removing all the trees and brush from between the holes and more major changes loom but the course is very forgiving of the 65-year-old Ms. Toad and her wild ride from hole to hole.

The knee is coming along. I left my heating pad at home which was unfortunate but once I packed all the straps and balls and things I needed in my carry on luggage, I was worried that they would think I was packing a bomb with the heating pad so I left it at home. I’m doing my exercises religiously while here in DC and icing with my little ice pack. I’m feeling stronger every day and with the stairs in the house, that’s good practice. Feeling positive.

I had a great dinner out with my cousins, Julie and Sara at Mele Bistro, which I highly recommend. We ate outside because the weather was beautiful. The menu is huge and extensive and perfect. The owner loves Sara and came over to schmooze with her; I had difficulty understanding what he was saying – something about a beautiful moment at the gas pump – I have to say, it is a beautiful moment at the gas pump here because the price of gas is in the mid $3 range, not in the mid $5 range like it was when I left LA. But I don’t think that’s what he was talking about. I was just sorry their sister Amy couldn’t have been with us. It was a lovely evening. Thank you, Ladies!

I’ll be home Thursday, just in time for resuming my reservoir walks, and reconnecting with friends and getting to see some theatre and music and women’s soccer, too. Ain’t Los Angeles grand that we have so many options for entertainment?

I have been working steadily on my book. I received the proofs for the interior and cover over the weekend and read through it again, making some small editorial changes. I had a wonderful marketing meeting with Eric Saxon from Archway Publishing who was very encouraging. It is an exciting and invigorating process and I will have more news soon.