That was pretty much our weekend. Friday night, we headed over to Sweetpea‘s for a Halloween party she and her neighbor were throwing. Rudi went as a lobbyist and I went as a feminist Red Riding Hood. Thanks to our friend John who said he was dressing up when he called to coordinate transportation; otherwise, we would have just gone as ourselves. It’s amazing what you can come up with in an hour!

Saturday we got some old electronics out of the Burrow in D.C.’s biannual electronic/hazardous waste recycling. We just missed it in the spring, so it was a great relief to have these things out of the apartment. Then we headed over to Virginia to hang out with our friend Pat and his son Jack and bottle some root beer that Sweetpea and I brewed last month. In case you were wondering, brewing beer is much more fun for a three year-old than bottling is. I head back next weekend to do more of both, so expect a more robust report then.

We had to mop up a little water before we left Saturday morning, but we were lucky in that three straight days of rain didn’t cause any big headaches. I suppose this is why our apartment decor includes a kickboard of towels, though. We’ve learned finally after all these years!

Today I hit the farmers’ market earlyish, intending to spend my day productively. I filled my basket with lots of seasonal goodies and got a lead on a terrific-tasting turnip soup. Rudi and I headed back to the Burrow and ate breakfast, and then I promptly fell asleep for the whole afternoon. I roused myself around 3:30 and we moseyed around the neighborhood, stopping to check out the new music releases and to buy some warm drinks. We took them up to Malcolm X (aka Meridian Hill) Park to listen to the drum circle. The park was clearly created with the area’s original millionaires in mind and is ornate with fountains and benches and a Beaux Arts design. Today, it has truly become D.C.’s people’s park and is where you definitely find a cross-cut of the District’s society. In the spring, you find Latinos playing soccer and on Sunday afternoons like today there’s an amazing drum circle with all sorts of percussion instrumentalists taking part. Definitely authentic D.C.

And last night and tonight we spent as we’ve spent many nights this month — watching the Red Sox play on tv. After a shaky league championship, they came out and dominated the world series, winning in the bare minimum four games. The last time the Sox won, I was in a lonely hotel room in Michigan watching from bed and missing the celebration that would have taken place back in New England. Tonight at least I was home with Rudi who, as a Sox fan, was a delight to watch when that last out was clinched.

We celebrated their victory with tea and freshly baked apple crisp. Winning tastes sweet indeed.