ajmatt blog

We’ve had a beautiful fall here in the D.C. area. While it usually seems like leaves are red one day and gone the next, the fall colors have stayed at their peak for weeks.
Earlier this month, I dragged Matt out of the house, forcing him to take a break from his midterms and get some [...]

I’ve been blog tagged for the first time. Seven interesting things about myself? That’s a daunting task. I’ll start with my party-game standard.
1. I grew up without a TV, which means I have a pop culture gap that spans the 1980’s and 1990’s. I started paying attention to pop culture around 2003, and now have [...]

When the news is to depressing to bear, where does one turn? To the past, naturally. While surveying my LibraryThing account, I noticed I’ve recently toured: the plague years, frontier life, and the Great Depression. For free entertainment that will lift your spirits, head to your local library and pick up:
Company of Liars by Karen [...]

Yesterday I did one of those things that residents of the D.C. metro area never do: I went to a free local event. And kicked myself yet again, because it takes 30 minutes to get from my front door to the National Mall. 30 minutes! That includes driving to the metro, parking for free (all [...]

Okay, that’s a negative title. I should say that this remodel went exceptionally fast, and for that I feel lucky. Had Matt and I done this on our own, we would still be tearing up floor and ripping at wallpaper.
There are those few things that hang on. Painting. A vent piece. A freezer door that [...]

There’s a hole in the wall…

What—you wanted pretty photos of Easter Island? Not a chance!
In our infinite wisdom, Matt and I (unanimously, without debate) scheduled our kitchen remodel to start 44 hours after returning home from vacation. (A return trip that included 3 flights, 4 airports, and an 8-hour layover.) Did we fully consider the [...]

Matt and I like Santiago. It is beautiful, ringed with mountains, and mild and green even in the dead of winter. I would love to live here, if only to wake up to mountains every morning and eat at a different Chilean restaurant every night.
Santiago is typically used by tourists as a jumping off [...]

Matt and I are midway through a five-hour stop at the Toronto Airport. “Didn’t they mention they were headed south?” you might ask. “Why fly through Canada?” It’s a good question—and one the customs agent asked.
We are headed to Chile, but stopping through Toronto was not much longer and much cheaper than flying through [...]

Finally, evidence that ajmatt kitchen is getting a facelift. Last night Matt and I moved halfway out of our kitchen, and we had our ugly kitchen wallpaper removed today.

On the plus side, we have already doubled our counter space, and I think the primer is a big improvement. [I'm tired; is this whole post [...]

It’s been a busy month, quite social for the introverted ajmatt blog, as evidenced by our lack of posts.
Last Sunday I went hiking with my friend Lisa in Shenandoah National Park. The park entrance is about an hour outside of DC, and our hike was at mile marker 19, about 20 miles south of the [...]