Month: August 2006

I can’t let the tomatoes get too red on the vine or the birds will start pecking at them.
The squirrels, I have decided, are stealing my and my neighbor’s tomatoes because their old food source is gone. There was a huge mulberry tree in the alley, but the people who owned it chopped it down. It was a big producer, and now it is gone and the squirrels need to eat. I have let fruit get ripe on the cherry tomato vine in hopes that the rodents go for the smaller tomatoes and leave the big ones alone.
It has been a rough year for the tomatoes.
The chard is fine. Growing, looking good, tasting good.
The beans are ok too. Unfortunately, I haven’t been much in the mood for beans.
The impatiens that I grew from seed are exploding. They are taken over the hanging basket that holds a dying pansy.
The squash is a loss. I am losing them to squash borers, again. I don’t think I will grew them again.
Although it is hot, there is a salad that is still working for me after all the others have bolted and are inedible, arugula. A handful of arugula, chopped up, throw in some tuna and avocado with a lime garlic dressing, good stuff. When it cools down again, I may use some left over seed to grow more salad.
The edible lawn is so-so. The Greek oregano spreads out nicely and suffered mowing well. I can’t say the same for some thymes. The tarragon did not like foot traffic and died. The mint, the weed that it is, is of course flourishing and wandering into parts it should not. The mini-mint expands but then dies back on its own, so I am not too concern with it getting out of control.

This weekend I noticed someone put up the banner (poorly shown in this picture) reading “Free Our Library”. Which must be a protest about the fence, which essentially closes the unoffical homeless summer camp that had been on the library premises. It cannot be a statement about the library itself as it has been closed for so long I don’t remember when it did close.
Also it is not really a library anymore. It is a ‘library’ building, but without a librarian with an ALA approved MLS, it is just a badly run bookstore with no coffee. It does us no good to free the building if it isn’t going to be a functional library. That’s what the community needs is a functional library. Good lord only knows when that will be.

Well now I have seen my crawlspace between the roof and the ceiling. Not the whole thing, just a hole placed in my ceiling with me looking up at the underside of the roof. I have been informed about what the contractors saw.
The crawlspace is just big enough for an overweight raccoon to hold a dance party, which Ricky the Raccoon has done. But for regular sized contractors it is not enough space to crawl in, making me question if “crawlspace” is the right word. I suspected as much since seeing the exposed ceiling in another house further along the row.
The contractor told me that there is no rot. Yay! However, previous renovators have been screwing around up there and not all the little beams go all the way. And some beams are split, but that’s no problem because that can be fixed.
Next. Make holes in wall. Hunt down structural engineer.

Vegetate is participating in Restaurant Week August 15th-20th for Dinner from 6pm-10pm.

Restaurant week is an event sponsored by the the Restaurant Association of Metropolitian Washington and the Washington DC Convention & Tourism Corporation. The event requires that participating restaurants offer a three-course meal for $30.06 per person (tax and gratuity not included). We are also offering a complimentary fresh squeezed juice with your meal.

Due to size and staff limitations, Vegetate will only offer our Restaurant Week Menu (see below) from Tuesday through Sunday, except Sunday Brunch (Sundays 11am-2:30pm).

Fresh-Squeezed Juices (complimentary)

Homemade Ginger Ale
Strawberry Lemonade
Limeade

First Course
Herb Risotto Croquettes with parmesan & tomato jam
Organic Melon and Habernero Soup with cilantro crema (vegan)
Heirloom Tomatoes with olive oil, balsamic, basil & grilled bread (vegan)

Second Course
Goat Cheese Tart with sun-dried tomatoes and roasted corn & arugula salad
Sesame Crusted Tofu with quino and gingered organic pea shoots (vegan)
Roasted Zucchini and White Beans on a corn grit crust with organic collards (vegan)

Dessert
Ice Cream Sandwich molasses cookies with Tahitian vanilla gelato
Warm Chocolate Cake (vegan) with sorbet or gelato
Local Peaches with vanilla vinegar over Blackberry Sorbet (vegan)

Labor Day

Vegetate will be closed Sunday, September 3rd through Tuesday, September 5th.

Fall Hours

After the Labor Day Holiday Vegetate will begin its new Fall hours:
Wednesday through Saturday 6pm-10pm
Sunday Brunch from 11am-4pm

Don’t forget every Thursday from 6pm-8pm all starters are half-priced.
Sincerely,

– Jennifer & Dominic

|—————————————-|
| THE |
| Regular Yearly Picnic |
| of the |
| Blagden Alley |
| and |
| Naylor Court |
| Peoples |
| |
| Saturday, August 26, 2006 |
| Historical, Brick-Paved |
| Naylor Court |
| 6:00pm-9:00pm |
| (See map in newsletter) |
| |
| REAL SOON NOW! |
|—————————————-|

Even though there is no Yard Sale preceding the event, there is still
a serious Rummage Sale (is that too mid-western?), or,
if you drive a Volvo with FONZ sticker, “Flea Market”, at

The Immaculate Conception Catholic Church,
Eighth and O Streets, NW, in the school cafeteria.
(If in doubt, stand in front of the church. You will see signs.)
Date: Saturday, August 19, 2006
Time: 9:00 am to 4:00pm
Call 202-332-8888 to reserve a table ($20).
Call Sherri Kimbel at 202-462-0884 with other questions

The Post announced where some of the crime prevention cameras are going. One at the 400 block of O Street, is close to the borders of the TC, but not in it. Come on, we want one. Just one. Okay, maybe two.
Reading DCist it seems Georgetown wants a camera too. Not to be disrespectful, but call back when you have an open air drug market and street hos.

A friend of mine sent me a link regarding a report about violence and alcohol outlets. In some places, like wealthy neighborhoods, a lot of bars are not a problem. But in unstable poorer neighborhoods, a lot of bars are a problem.
Speaking of, Jim Berry, our fearless leader, said something along the lines that actual bodies challenging liquor licenses need to appear at the ABC hearings. Jim is welcomed to comment on this to clarify (or send a short 5-10 sentence email).

I have researched and thought about the whole solar panel thing and my roof is so small and does not have a full days’ sun that the amount of power I would produce would be minimal. Part of me is thinking I could produce more power with a bike generator. Now if I were in Florida, I might be able to do something, but no. I have a small rowhouse, in the middle of a long row, in Washington, DC, with little roof space.
I would probably do more by cutting down on my energy use than trying to up my energy production. It reminds me of personal finance advice where it doesn’t matter if your income doubles if your spending outpaces it. Same goes a bit for energy use. The goal will be to reduce my energy consumption. Maybe I’ll look into small solar things. I don’t want to be a pioneer in this arena. It would be nice to talk to someone with the same square footage and with similar conditions, who has lived with the solar (panels/ water heater) for a while.
Last weekend I had a quick chat with someone from an eco design firm and it was mentioned that more can be done with just replacing energy inefficient things in the house. The example given was a homeowner wanted new insulation which would save something like (I forgot the exact number given) 10-30%, yet just replacing the old furnace would save 60%.
I’ll keep y’all informed about any energy efficient/ eco-friendly stuff I find.

Update: Meeting notes are at the super secret site. Yes the password is confusing (reminder: “this meeting never happened”). Regulars know what it is. Email me in the next few days (’cause next week I’ll just ignore you) if you don’t.

I may or may not go into more detail when/if I do the abrv. BACA meeting minutes, but something came up. Several weeks ago, probably over a month ago, a resident was attacked and robbed by someone on a bike, possibly a young AfAm male with dreadlocks, sending the resident to hospital. The resident victim is an immigrant with limited English skills. The police failed to take care of this matter. It took the efforts of his American neighbors to try to find some justice. The matter should have been taken care of by the MPD’s specialized units for particular immigrant/ ethnic groups. American neighbors had to cut through the inertia of the police just to find a little help.
Whatever your problems with immigration, legal or otherwise, this is wrong. There is no open season on ESL immigrants and there never should be.
Actually, the crimes by young men on bikes needs to stop. Immigrants haven’t been the only victims, people have been attacked and harassed up in the Eckington areas as well. The criminals perpetrating these crimes have no excuse, and those who make excuses for them are just as bad.

Comments: The webmistress will delete what she decides is wrong and not to her liking regardless if you ID yourself or not.

More from the 1870ish to 1880ish DC tax assessment maps. These I believe are on microfilm at the MLK library’s Washingtonia Div.
Note the large plots. In 1880 square 519 was home to a florist’s greenhouse. Remember this was the edge of town.