It's Cherry Blossom Time: A Festivus for the Rest of Us!

The Cherry Blossom Festival is a yearly delight for those of us who worship long, balmy days, tender new foliage, the year's first flowers, and all the other glories of spring...

Unfortunately (for us, that is) this delight is a bit tainted by crushing crowds of camera-toting tourists, but they've got a right to be here, too, I guess ;-) (Especially that lovely man who took such a good photo of Chris and I under a canopy of cherry blossoms--Thank you!)

Today we went down to the Tidal Basin and spent some time on the water in one of the paddle-boats. Under scudding clouds, with warm breezes ruffling the water, we floated and listened to live trad-jazz (our favorite) being played by a band in front of the Jefferson Memorial.
Then we wandered up the mall, camera in hand, playing tourist for a while (when in Rome, right?), and found a nice shady bench by the carousel in front of the Smithsonian "Castle." Chris went to pick up some H2O while I chatted with a very nice couple from Mississippi. The husband wore a hat that read "WWII Veteran" (he was Navy, but I didn't notice the name of his ship), so I assumed they'd been to the fabulous WWII Memorial during their stay.

When they continued on their way to the Metro, Chris pulled out his iPod and I...well, you know...(That's "Orchid Sock" #2 on the needles. And yes, I've spent a little time out in the sun this past week!)

We found a little stuffed monkey under the bench. We both felt really sorry for the little child out there who lost his or her new friend :-( We waited and waited, but no one came back for him. So we decided to give him a good home amongst the other 50+ monks who live in our--ahem!--library (read: hallway).

Then we went out for Chinese food and came home to take a nap. All in all, it was a perfect day with mon cheri. XOXO

It's Cherry Blossom Time: A Festivus for the Rest of Us!