Papers & Homework

Can you think of a better way to start a Sunday than stopping by Pane d'Amore for a hot cross bun? Had never seen them there before - maybe I just missed them - but it's a true sign that spring is here. From there I went to Aldrich's for the Sunday papers. Aldrich's as a small gourmet grocery & it's Washington's oldest grocery store. It was first opened in 1895 at the corner of Lawrence & Tyler. Aldrich's burned in 2003 which was a huge loss for all of PT - but the Uptown area in particular since it's the hub of the Uptown community - until it was rebuilt in 2005. Nancy tells me that people used to walk over to Aldrich's in the morning in their robes with their empty coffee cups. They seem to have stopped that, but how would I know? I'm not an early bird! People of all ages love Aldrich's - and their soups, salad bar, TAMALES (yes, and they're almost as good as Mrs. Leal's!), cookies (yes, lots of them, I fear!), produce and beer & wine, most with a focus on being local or organic, have been my mainstay since arriving. I hear their sushi is faboulous as well. I have a small kitchenette where I'm staying but the oven set off the smoke alarm (no, I didn't burn anything that day!) so that's my excuse for not cooking other than breakfast (that, and having a TINY shallow "bar sink" to wash everything in). Upstairs at Aldrich's is a coffee/tea bar, a branch bank & an open area where you're lucky to ever find a seat. It's THE gathering space! When they rebuilt, they added condos above and a mini-storage in the basement. One stop shopping! I met a wonderful "southerner" - Rose - who works at Aldrich's and she's keeping up with the house's progress as well - on foot! Aldrich's is only 2 blocks from 523 and I anticipate that it will always be my place to run in for needed supplies. 7-11 it's not!

Have plowed through alot of "homework" again this weekend and am now about to finish the last of what I assigned myself. It will be great to have it all on paper & theoretically FINDABLE. We'll see about that...

Hope you've had a great weekend!