Lampshade Economics

Last weekend I purchased a lampshade at Target (said of course with the ridiculous yuppie pronunciation). Simple, functional and turns out slightly damaged when I got it home.

So I returned to Target to exchange it for a new one. No problem. In and out in no time.

The catch.

The original shade was purchased in Virginia. The exchange happened in the District.

It cost me 15 cents more to exchange the shade in D.C.  because of the difference in tax rates. Plus the $1.50 in parking (no free surface lots in Columbia Heights). Of course, I started compounding this cost differential in my head on a variety of things we purchase on a regular basis and was not pleased. Ouch.

And yes, this is where all my Virginia friends can remind me that this is why people move across the river.

Departure Ritual

In some ways this post is a public service announcement to help those with dogs appreciate that, while their dog may be crazy, he/she is not this crazy.

Before leaving the house the following checklist must be completed:

-Remove all pillows from bedroom
-Remove all bits of miscellaneous clothing from room
-Ensure all items are put away fully in the bathroom
-Open only lower shutters on one wall of windows
-Turn on iPod with classical music loop
-Turn on tabletop fan for extra cooling and additional white noise
-Make sure the bed is fully made
-Lock clothing closet door in bedroom
-Pull bathroom door closed
-Leave out sacrificial rug for shredding
-Call and if necessary bribe dog into said room
-Provide treat and or pets for jumping up and settling on bed
-Back out of room slowly
-Lock all THREE locks on exterior of bedroom door
-Exit house quickly and with minimal noise

Yeah, and this is the better version that doesn't involve having to dope up our dog on (vet provided) tranquilizers that are so strong they would knock a human out for days. He actually doesn't howl or bark when we're gone now, a vast improvement.

So we've reached a workable (ha!) solution that the dog is settling into the new place, nine months on, that seems to do the trick. Of course we've had to literally put a lock on our closet door inside the room because he has eaten enough of my work clothes now that I'm starting to think he's commenting on my shopping choices.

We have also replaced the door handle to our room at least seven times. Why you ask? Because he literally crushes the inside knob of the door handle over a series of weeks with his teeth and jaw. Mind you, he's not a chewer of other things though. Oh and we have bite marks on no less than three shutters on the windows in the room, but at least they aren't blinds. We've left (jinx) those days behind us. And we have a pile of small IKEA rugs that we go through every few months as he randomly shreds one while we're gone, purposely left out for him to do so (vet recommended). Way cheaper than the 8 x 10 he worked his way through in the first two months we moved in.

And he's gone through no less than five, easily more dog beds/blankets that sit on his actually indestructible kuranda dog bed. And yet his trusty plush companion Jack, is still in tact through it all.

Of course if there's a thunderstorm a sudden drop in barometric pressure, all bets are off and we are likely to return home to a huge mess that takes on various levels of "I cannot believe I got home first and have to clean this up."

He's eight now. We've had him since he was about 1.5 or so. We're not sure who's crazier at this point. Us or him. We talked to the gypsies, they won't take him. So, we decided to keep him.

Slipping into Summer

Late afternoon as I dipped my toes in the large fountain at the National Gallery Sculpture Park, I closed my eyes to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin, the murmur of people around me and the first notes from the live jazz band drift across the courtyard. This (to me) is Washington in summer. 

There's just something about slipping off your work shoes.

There are a few spots I love to escape to and in the often punishing summer months of our fair city, this is one of them. The cornice of the Archives building in full view, but it's shadow just out of reach. Glimpses of Calder, Paine, Bourgeois appear and fade from view amidst the tightly trimmed boxwood.

Starting a weekend out here seems almost perfect. For as much as I love having the garden almost to myself earlier in the week. Jazz in the Garden brings out melted Washingtonians in droves to perch on blankets and cast aside blazers, to linger over a glass of well queued for wine or sangria. Every piece of grass and pavement is transformed into a private party of friends and new acquaintances.

Taking It All In

Artist Alexa Meade photographs her portrait.

About a month ago, I declared I was selfishly taking the rest of 2012 for me and that if the world wouldn't mind I was just going to enjoy things I wanted to do for awhile and perhaps sit down long enough to enjoy a properly chilled cocktail. (DH very graciously smiled and said, "whatever makes you happy.")

So I've been carving out more time to catch up on the art scene in city and last night I headed over to the National Portrait Gallery to catch their Portraits After 5: Camera-Ready Color organized as a part of their exhibition In Vibrant Color: Vintage Celebrity Portraits from the Harry Warnecke Studio.

Full color and absence of color.

Local DC Artist Alexa Meade created two live portraits that you could interact with and, well they could interact with you. The very definition of ephemeral, these two-hour paintings, merged portraiture, sculpture and photography without missing a beat. To see the work documented on her site is engaging, to see it live is spellbinding. The whole point was to document yourself with the work. To physically interact with the painting.

 It was great to see so many people out to see the spectacle and even better to see people (usually tourists) just happen upon it and get completely drawn in. Bravo to the curators and educators at the Portrait Gallery for finding a great way to bring portraiture to life in a fun and unexpected way, and promoting a local artist to boot. An art hat trick.

Taking in the crowd and canvases at the Kogod Courtyard.

Mexico City Corn

Since migrating from the Midwest there have been no shortage of jokes about my knowledge and love of corn being a direct result of the fact I grew up near corn fields. Yes, that's right, all heartland expats share a secret society of knowledge about this starchy vegetable. So imagine my surprise when I bit into my first ear of the season at Standard the other week and my mind was blown.

I'm not a purist when it comes to how you prepare corn. (Although I will say, why boil it when you can grill it?) But this was a new spicy, delectable preparation: Mexico City Style Corn on the Cob. Holy blessed street food.

I was hot to trot for a recipe to try and reproduce this new veggie champion. Common ingredients across recipes included chili pepper, cayenne pepper, mayo, lime, cheese (Parmesan vs. Cotija), black pepper.  Beyond that the variations included sour cream or butter, garlic, cilantro. Some are also very specific about leaving the husks on as handles or not. If you do, just soak them in advance so you don't smoke up your grill.

The version I ended up using, I would make a couple tweaks to next time. I would use the cotija instead of the parm. It really is different enough to matter; I would add a  little cheese on top after slathering the corn; and add a little more heat to the mix with an extra shake of cayenne. This version is from Cook's Illustrated.


1/4 cup regular or light mayonnaise

3 tablespoons sour cream

3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves

1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)

3/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 teaspoons juice from 1 lime

1 ounce Pecorino Romano cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)

4 teaspoons vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/4 teaspoon table salt

6 large ears corn, husks and silk removed 

While grill is heating, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, cilantro, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder, black pepper, cayenne (if using), lime juice, and cheese in large bowl; set aside. In second large bowl, combine oil, salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon chili powder; add corn and toss until coated evenly.

Grill corn, turning occasionally, until lightly charred on all sides, 7 to 12 minutes total. Remove from grill and place in bowl with mayonnaise mixture; toss to coat evenly. Serve immediately.

Art Escape

Baseballs by Lutz Bacher @ The Whitney Biennial.

After reading the New York Times review of the Whitney Biennial I began to plot plan a trip to the city to see the show. This quickly evolved into a "how many galleries can I possibly see in one trip" sort of exercise. It was at that moment DH opted to abstain from the experience or "36 hours of art" as I conceived of it. Stepping off the train with the prospect of nothing but art, dinner and drinks with friends, and whatever else I could fit in for almost two whole days was awesome.

Note: I've waited so long to post this that the Biennial is now closed, but I had such a fun time I'm posting it anyway. Sorry.

Excellent meals with lovely friends and family were had at the Beacon Kitchen Counter and Maze by Gordon Ramsay at the London. Two delicious midtown finds that I can take no credit for tracking down. Thanks SH. Celebrating my delightful cousin's college graduation over dinner and drinks was great fun, made me feel very old, and I am very proud of her.

Great shows were seen at MAD,  including Swept Away. Yes, that is what you think it is and yes, I do think it's art. It had this lovely quiet quality about it and reminded me of a great presentation the conservation department at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art did a few years back about dust vs. dirt on a Deborah Butterfield piece. Fascinating.

The Biennial itself was interesting, but I fear I either missed out on the most life altering of the installation pieces, or I would have benefited from the curator's insight. That being said there were three artists I really enjoyed. Lutz Bacher, Elaine Reichek, and Nick Mauss. Baseballs by Bacher was strangely captivating. Perhaps it was the audio loop that crackled in the background combined with the dusty lighting, but the purposeful abandonment of the installation was intriguing nonetheless.

The multiple works by Reichek exploring Ariadne's thread made my inner mythology geek totally smile and the use of thread to explore a thread, well, I thought it was well done. Mauss's piece Concern, Crush, Desire, 2011 held the most interest for me over his other work. It may have been more about how it manipulated the space and created multiple viewpoints into the exhibition itself, but interesting all the same.

Mark Tansey, The Innocent Eye Test.

Muse in the Ancient Galleries.

Rain kept me from seeing Tom Saraceno's Cloud City installation on the roof at the Met, but I lingered in the Ancient galleries among the marble statutes I have always loved; enjoyed Oceanic galleries for the first time; backtracked out of the mob scene that was the Schiaparelli and Prada show (OMG); wandered through the modern galleries and then slipped out to go see the Neue Gallery.

An old colleague gave me a peak of the Guggenheim (which is closed on such a random day of the week), and the little bit of the John Chamberlain sculpture show I saw (mid deinstallation) was really interesting and reminded me how much broader his body of work is. There are several prints by him in the Kogod collection, so I had a slightly geek-out moment when I saw the same prints for sale as posters in the gift shop.

The last stop was to see the Cindy Sherman show at MoMA. I completely agree with a friend's assessment that I wish there had a been a broader representation of her work, but all in all a very worthwhile show. Because how can you not enjoy a whole installation of her portraits.

I can't wait to go back this Fall, the list has already started. Sorry DH.