Corner View : End of your street

I was originally thinking, "There's not anything at the end of my street" and then I thought, "Well actually, the street ends because the Pentagon's right there!" So there you have it-- at the end of my street is the five-sided building that houses all sorts of government, intelligence, military excitement. I know that often when I drive by it, my cell phone calls get dropped as my signal goes nil. When I drive under their bridges, which are just a few feet wide (20', tops?) that cross the highway, my FM radio loses its signal as well. I couldn't actually find what all is in there, but I did discover what a pentagonal prism is along with a heptahedron, if you're nerdy enough to be interested :)

Check out what's at the end of streets around the world!

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad,

caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t., jeannette, outi, ritva, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow
shoes,
mister e, janis, kari, jgy, skymring, elizabeth, allison, lise, cate, otli, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, nicola, vanessa, britta, april, b, kyndale, samantha, kristina, goldensunfamily, sophie, janet, mcgillicutty, aimee, sunnymama, britta, juanita, inna, daan, myrtille, cris, ibb, jodi, gillian, travelingmama

athena, pienduzz, kelleyn,
demara, mus, ninja, guusje, di, sammi, theresa, cherry b, victoria, kathryn , lisa, liza, juliette, mulot, anne, lucy, leonor, elizabeth, helene, dominique, shokoofeh, cole, jenna, podane, grey-lemon, line, nihal, urbaNiche, inner toddler, puna, lucylaine, adrienne, emily, lynn, skywriting, eliane, the wanderer´s daughter, carole, anna, dorit, kenza, sherry, conny, susan, l´atelier, elis, kamana, anne, rosamaría, marinik, elisabelle, victoria, malo, the yellow door paperie,
tikjewit, juniper, ocean girl,
emily, marcie, annabel, andrea, valerie, karin, michelle, merel, pia, soisses, angie, adèle, latisha, mlle paradis, 24 ruel, cacahuete, wander chow, debra, linnea and emily, barbara, emily, maryline, tally, therese, nadine

Corner View : Collections

Today's corner view topic is Collections, courtesy of francesca.

The things I seem to collect best include books and flip flops. Yes, flip flops. It never had an intentional start, but seems everywhere I've worked since then that's had an opportunity to be around coworkers casually, they've suggested I have a pair in every color. That's not true-- I don't have yellow or orange :)


For more worldly collections, check out:

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad,

caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t., jeannette, outi, ritva, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow
shoes,
mister e, janis, kari, jgy, skymring, elizabeth, allison, lise, cate, otli, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, nicola, vanessa, britta, april, b, kyndale, samantha, kristina, goldensunfamily, sophie, janet, mcgillicutty, aimee, sunnymama, britta, juanita, inna, daan, myrtille, cris, ibb, jodi, gillian, travelingmama

athena, pienduzz, kelleyn,
demara, mus, ninja, guusje, di, sammi, theresa, cherry b, victoria, kathryn , lisa, liza, juliette, mulot, anne, lucy, leonor, elizabeth, helene, dominique, shokoofeh, cole, jenna, podane, grey-lemon, line, nihal, urbaNiche, inner toddler, puna, lucylaine, adrienne, emily, lynn, skywriting, eliane, the wanderer´s daughter, carole, anna, dorit, kenza, sherry, conny, susan, l´atelier, elis, kamana, anne, rosamaría, marinik, elisabelle, victoria, malo, the yellow door paperie,
tikjewit, juniper, ocean girl,
emily, marcie, annabel, andrea, valerie, karin, michelle, merel, pia, soisses, angie, adèle, latisha, mlle paradis, 24 ruel, cacahuete, wander chow, debra, linnea and emily, barbara, emily, maryline, tally, therese, nadine

Vegetarian Pasta

I'm not a vegetarian-- I tried once and realized how ever-present meat is and that I didn't think I had the willpower. I no longer want to be one, either-- too many of those I know seem to have simple injuries that wind up being a bigger deal, hair doesn't always look healthy, and just little things that may have nothing to do with their diet but I've connected them in my brain. I do, however, love vegetables and have made a decent effort to get 3-5 servings of them and/or fruits daily. All of this is unnecessary info to introduce a simple pasta one-dish meal I created tonight and thought the menu variety-seeker in you might enjoy. Add some sausage or chicken if you aren't a vegetarian and want that extra protein. It's delicious, needs no butter or extra anything, it tastes restaurant quality, and the hardest part was probably cutting the olives! More recent recipes coming soon, but in the meantime, enjoy :)

Penne, Tomato, Mozzarrella Salad (8 servings)
1 - 16oz pkg penne pasta
1/4 C olive oil (perhaps from the fresh olives you use later)
1 sm-med size bunch chopped green onions
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 C quartered cherry tomatoes
salt, pepper, other seasoning to taste
5oz mozzarella cheese, diced pretty small (so they don't melt easily)
1/2 C grated Parmesan
4oz fresh basil
12 large black olives, quartered (halved if you like the salty taste)

Optional:
1 C zucchini, or other fresh green you like, quartered
1/2 C mushrooms

Cook pasta in large pot until just tender (put a hint of rosemary in for a fresher flavor). Drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil in small saucepan. Add green onions and cook, stir occasionally, 2-3 min. Stir in garlic and cook for 2 min. Add pasta, tomatoes, zucchini, and seasoning and cook over low heat to warm through. Stir in mozzarella and Parmesan (you probably want to turn off heat here so the mozzarella doesn't melt together into a blob :). Coarsely tear basil leaves and add to pasta with olives. Serve immediately. Wash it down with a nice pinot grigio, or a glass of milk.

376 calories, 15.3g fat, 15mg cholesterol per serving

Corner View : Fountains

Hello! I'm back! I've been on school hiatus-- final projects, papers, presentations, and then exams... I went back home for a couple of days, which is where I found this theme's fountain, and then over to Atlanta, up to New York, and back here.

The fountain below was at Michabelle Inn in Hammond, Louisiana, where a friend of mine got married this past weekend. Hammond is a small town and has plenty of little charms like this!

I'm looking forward to catching back up with you all now that I'll be around again :) To see fountains from around the world, check out:

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad,

caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t., jeannette, outi, ritva, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow
shoes, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, skymring, elizabeth, allison, lise, cate, crescent moon, erin, otli, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, nicola, vanessa, britta, april, b, kyndale, samantha, kristina, goldensunfamily, sophie, janet, mcgillicutty, aimee, sunnymama, britta, juanita, inna, daan, myrtille, cris, ibb, jodi, gillian, travelingmama

athena, pienduzz, kelleyn,
demara, mus, ninja, guusje, di, sammi, theresa, cherry b, victoria, kathryn , lisa, liza, juliette, mulot, anne, lucy, leonor, elizabeth, helene, dominique, shokoofeh, cole, jenna, podane, grey-lemon, line, nihal, urbaNiche, inner toddler, puna, lucylaine, adrienne, emily, lynn, skywriting, eliane, the wanderer´s daughter, carole, anna, dorit, kenza, sherry, conny, susan, l´atelier, elis, kamana, anne, rosamaría, marinik, elisabelle, victoria, malo, the yellow door paperie,
tikjewit, juniper, ocean girl,
emily, monica, marcie, annabel, andrea, valerie, karin, michelle, merel, pia, soisses, angie, adèle, latisha, mlle paradis, 24 ruel, cacahuete, wander chow, debra, linnea and emily, barbara

Denim Day, April 21

Sorry, Corner Viewers, I'm out of the loop! I know you're all posting about Earth Day on 4/21, but it seems this is also worthy of attention while I have a quick second to launch a post. I'll be back with CV after finals are over and all the balls I'm juggling have become more manageable! Thanks-- can't wait to see what I've missed while I've had my nose in the books :)

Denim Day for Sexual Assault Awareness. By wearing jeans on Denim Day, April 21, you

• send a message to survivors that you support them in their healing
• commit to become more educated about sexual assault
• break the silence surrounding sexual violence

Why wear denim? In 1999 the Italian High Court overturned a rape conviction because the victim was wearing tight jeans at the time of the assault. The justices stated that the victim must have helped the attacker remove her jeans, from which they inferred consent. People worldwide were outraged, and wearing jeans on this anniversary became a symbol of protest against erroneous and destructive attitudes about sexual violence. You can also support survivors by making a donation to benefit the D.C. Rape Crisis Center online at www.dcrcc.org

Cherries Blossoming!

It's cherry blossom season here in DC! It's absolutely beautiful-- the weather reminds me of Hawaii: 70s, sunny, breezy, and lovely flora everywhere. Easter weekend began the 75th Cherry Blossom Festival, which includes a 10 mile run, fireworks, and all kinds of other excitement. While I have heaps of things to prep for coming up this week, I made myself tear away for lunch with friends and some bloom peeping for a little while. We won't be in DC forever (I don't think), and next year's peak days to view the flowers may not have such cooperation from Mother Nature. This is, after all, one of the unique things to see in DC and it's only available for ~2 weeks each year.

Corner View : Spring

My apologies for missing last week's CV-- school had me more than inundated, but I have a brief reprieve.

This week's theme is Spring. For folks in the DC area, this often means cherry blossoms (the source of my blog moniker, in case you hadn't noticed :) The original 3,000 trees were a gift from Tokyo's mayor in the early 20th Century (and we gave them dogwoods in return two years later) to symbolize the friendship between our countries. The symbolism is interesting, especially as it continues to flourish in several ways. The trees are supposed to be in full bloom this coming weekend (the season lasts less than two weeks) and I hope to be able to get out and enjoy the scenery. Check back for more photos after Easter Sunday, April 4th!


To see what spring looks like in other parts of the world, check out:

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad,

caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t., jeannette, outi, ritva, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow
shoes,
mister e, janis, kari, jgy, skymring, elizabeth, allison, lise, cate, crescent moon, erin, otli, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, nicola, vanessa, britta, april, b, kyndale, samantha, kristina, goldensunfamily, sophie, janet, mcgillicutty, aimee, sunnymama, britta, juanita, inna, daan, myrtille, cris, ibb, jodi, gillian, travelingmama

athena, pienduzz, kelleyn,
demara, mus, ninja, guusje, di, sammi, theresa, cherry b, victoria, kathryn , lisa, liza, juliette, mulot, anne, lucy, leonor, elizabeth, helene, dominique, shokoofeh, cole, jenna, podane, grey-lemon, line, nihal, urbaNiche, inner toddler, puna, lucylaine, adrienne, emily, lynn, skywriting, eliane, the wanderer´s daughter, carole, anna, dorit, kenza, sherry, conny, susan, l´atelier, elis, kamana, anne, rosamaría, marinik, elisabelle, victoria, malo, the yellow door paperie,
tikjewit, juniper, ocean girl,
emily, monica, marcie, annabel, andrea, valerie, karin, michelle, merel, pia, soisses, angie, adèle, latisha, mlle paradis, 24 ruel, cacahuete, wander chow