Fugaku sanjurokkei: Kanagawaoki namiura
A full morning and afternoon, today. I got up early, to the sounds of a crew of painters working on my porch. The owner wanted to get rid of the chipped, pink look and replace it with a fresh coat of battleship grey. It looks much better. I checked to make sure the painters didn't need anything, then I went and got a rechargeable electric weedwhacker and a full propane tank. Tools are always cool, and the propane means I can start grilling out on the porch.
On the way back from the big hardware store, I got my oil changed (thrilling!) and stopped by the farmers' market (exhilirating). I scored some free-range ground beef, fresh pasta, and a loaf of some kick-ass fresh bread.
The weedwhacker needs to be charged, but it had enough juice for me to take it for a test drive. Now, about 1/4 of my fenceline looks presentable. I don't especially enjoy lawn and garden work. But weedwhacking is pretty sweet. Almost as good as chainsawing.
After lunch, I metroed in to the Freer-Sackler gallery for the Hokusai exhibit. It's only around for another week, so those of you in the area should take the time to check it out while you can. It's great - lots of historical and biographical background, as well as explanations for why individual pieces had significance. I was struck by how modern much of his work is. Some of it reminded me of Audobon's ornithological illustrations. Other pieces were reminiscent of Art Deco illustrations; I thought of the Normandie poster by Adolphe Mouron Cassandre (I had to look that up, though). The economical use of lines, and colors that fade as you move away from the bold lines. And they even have a copy of his most famous woodcut print, "The Great Wave" from 36 Views of Mount Fuji. I've got a poster of it in my living room, but seeing the real thing for myself was a treat. Many of his works feature boats in them, so I spent a lot of my time trying to piece together the details of their design.
Photography isn't allowed in the exhibit, but I took some ok shots from the neigbhorhood on the way to the Metro, and some from the Mall.
Some kind of rose, I think; The bright pink is striking, but the smell is also quite nice - like raspberries.
They really wanted that window. An interesting solution.
A beautiful day at the Smithsonian Castle
The Dome of the National Museum of Natural History
Ah, Metro. Some of the best looking stations of any subway system I've ever seen. 
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