SUNDAY-3/22/26 TO SATURDAY-4/28/26

Weather forecast for this week, from Tuesday, 3-31/26 to Saturday, 4/4/26.

Sunday, March 22nd, 2026: I have written a blog post about Gregg's second birthday celebration with our son and daughter-in-law, so don't have much to add on that. I will share a couple of photos of those beautifully frosted window partitions and the old-fashioned wall lamps.  I loved those!

On each side of the photo below you can see the horse brasses which seem to be a standard fixture in the old pubs. I was curious so looked them up online. I remembered some of it but not all. Originally, they were used to decorate the harnesses of heavy working horses, such as Shire and Clydesdale horses, during the 19th and early 20th centuries. I believe they may still do that for special events. Earlier than that, when these were introduced in the 18th century, they were believed to be amulets that protected horses from "evil spirits" and the "evil eye". Designs like stars, suns and crescents were common "lucky" symbols". Going back to the Romans, they also used similar amulets on their horses, but I don't think the two stories are related. A great read of their history can be seen at this link if curious.

This week has been one of those weeks for me and I didn't write anything down so all this is off the cuff.  

Monday, March 23rd, 2026: it sprinkled. I woke up shivering. It went down to 32 ° F. - 0 °C that night. We didn't have the heat on because the house had felt relatively warm that day. We didn't go out.

Tuesday, March 24th, 2026: we went over to Wegmans for a shingles shot for me and a tetanus shot for Gregg. Nice pharmacist again, we've had him before. No problem with the shingles shot except for a sore arm for a few days. Gregg had no problem. I didn't feel any flu-like symptoms we were told about, and he didn't either when he had his. He is all sorted out now as his was done last month, the last one being a couple of months ago. I still need a shingles booster in two months, and also need a tetanus shot which I will get next week sometime. These were recommended by my doctor on the last visit. After we were finished in the pharmacy, we walked around the store and bought a few items. 

We did go to Walney for a quick visit to see if the daffodils were blooming. I didn't want to miss them. There are little pink flags blooming also. They must be getting ready to replant or dig up old ones.

Wednesday, March 25th, 2026: Gregg and son went over to Annapolis today. I elected to stay home. They sent me photos and this is one of them. It depicts Alex Haley, a life-size bronze statue and a prominent landmark in Annapolis. The memorial honors the arrival of Alex Haley's ancestor Kunte Kinte at the Annapolis City Dock in the 1760s. The sculpture, designed by Ed Dwight, shows author Alex Haley reading to three children, symbolizing the passing of history to future generations. You can see it at the head of Annapolis Harbor if ever you are in the area and would like to take a look. I remember watching the miniseries Roots back in 1977.

Thursday, March 26th, 2026: today was a get up and go day when we took son to Baltimore/Washington International Thursgood Marshal Airport (BWI). We had a couple of hours sleep and set the alarm for 1.00 a.m. We picked son up and thankfully they don't live too far away. I took 4 soft pillows and two throw-rugs and settled down in the back for the one hour plus road trip. It would have taken a lot longer if it weren't for the time, hardly any traffic and thankfully it was easy going.

 

Son drove there. They were both bright and perky chatting away in the front, me not so much. I slept for 20 minutes. It was an enjoyable drive, and we always welcome something that gets us out of our routine.  

By-bye to son and off back home we went. We were almost home when Gregg said, I think our local McDonalds is 24 hours, I'm hungry, let's go have a breakfast. I looked at him and said something like you've got to be kidding right? No, he wasn't. Fortunately, not that far from home by this time. He said, take a picture. I took a picture. What can I say? I absolutely could not focus!

We rolled into the drivethru. Their main building was closed. I was still trying to offer him pancakes that I could make when we got home. No, the only place he wanted to go to when he walked through the door, was straight to bed. Okay, so there we were at 4.30 to 4.45 a.m., in the parking lot having a car picnic a little earlier than we normally do. There was a van in the other lane (in the drivethru) giving us a mildly curious look and I gave him an equally mildly curious look back. Didn't even offer my usual cheery smile as he looked away. He was tired too no doubt. And yes, when we got home, we went straight to bed and slept in a lot later than usual. Son called five hours later letting us know he had arrived and that he had had a good flight. 

Towards the end of the day we drove over to Walney Pond. This is where we saw that vehicle with the lovely southwestern art. I didn't take too many photos, but we spotted these two very large fish swimming nearby. There was a young man fishing on the other side and he was after these. 

Canny fish knew where he was though and kept well away and hidden under the wooden walkway that goes over one end of the pond. We watched this mini drama unfold, and as soon as the young man moved to the other end of the pond, these two came out and started swimming in plain view.  Fishing is allowed here, though I had no idea there were fish this big. They were at least three feet long.

It was a very pretty sky and we enjoyed our visit, even though it was shorter than normal.

Very quiet, there was the young man and a couple sitting on a bench on the other side. They yelled across to the young man, pointing to location of the fish, but no sooner he moved their way, they went where he had been a few minutes earlier. It certainly was interesting to watch. 

The turtles were sunning themselves on a new man-made island. We looked at them for a few minutes but decided it was time to leave.

Friday, March 27th, 2026: it was a grey day, we didn't do much and stayed home.

Saturday, March 28th, 2026: cauliflower and cabbage stir-fry. The only reason I remembered this is I asked Gregg what he had written in his end-of-the-day log, to give me a memory jog. This was all he wrote and my memory apparently is still asleep on its way to Baltimore.  

I hope to do a better job next week.

Thanks for looking and

have a great day. 

I hope your sun is shining.

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - GREGG'S SECOND BIRTHDAY MEAL AT THE HAWK AND GRIFFIN 3/22/26

Today I am only going to write about Gregg's second birthday meal. This is one where happily our daughter-in-law was able to join us. I will write the other days for the week and publish it this Tuesday, the 31st.

Sunday, March 22nd, 2026: it was the Birthday Boy's celebration-2 today (actual birthday being on the 18th), but first son came over for his Sunday morning visit and left three hours later to pick up his Sweetie. 

That afternoon we arrived at the restaurant at a busy time, and couldn't find a parking spot at first. It turned out that the football match was on (soccer), and this was a big draw. Gregg squeezed into a spot right next to the fish and chip van. I didn't realize they had one and judging from the phone number on its side, it could be rented out. 

Gregg left to see if he could find a table, as reservations were for 10 people only they said but as he had to wait, I think this is the reason we were able to reserve one for the four of us - just guessing here. They told him the game had just finished and people would be leaving by the dozen. No sooner had he told me that, then parking spaces started opening up and we were able to slip into a closer spot. We had arranged to meet with our kiddos here. No sooner had we parked the second time, they rolled into a spot a couple of places from ours. Perfect timing! 

Hawk and Griffin is our closest British Pub that we go to, again not often but have enjoyed previous visits since its opening in June 2021. It is a great place to take company. The staff is always pleasant which is a big factor when deciding if we are going to revisit anywhere. Fortunately, it is very rare that we are not satisfied with either food or service or restaurant. Both are excellent at the Hawk and Griffin. The link to their website is here. 

A picture taken in 1877 of a group of recruiting sergeants hoping to recruit young men for the army. The explanation I found here, notes that they were outside a pub somewhere in London. 

The owner also has another place not too far up the road, The Pure Pasty Company, and that place opened in 2010. You may remember my posts about our Cornish Pasty car picnics in the parking lot over the years. Their pasties are a 10 out of 10, authentic. The owner is originally British and his claim to fame is being the first American bakery to win at the World Pasty Championships in Cornwall, England. 

We settled into our booth, no waiting as we were seated straight away. We started looking at the menu while having a good chat. It is always fun to be with our son and daughter-in-law, and we love their great sense of humor. Case in point this photo when son was teasing his mother, interestingly pointing to items in the menu. I actually remembered my reading glasses so didn't really need any help, but he insisted, pointing to the items he thought I would like, saw my eyes narrow and I looked up as he burst out laughing. I didn't teach him that just in case you were curious. And I wouldn't have put this in except that I love those teasing, happy expressions on their faces. I was trying not to burst out laughing as I rolled my eyes and shook my head in mock horror, while trying to take their photo. Looked at Gregg who also had a twinkle in his eye. Then I got back to what I wanted to order. They always keep us laughing when we're with them, these two.

I told him he was a naughty boy. Not really, all in good fun.

I've never tried Guinness but son seemed to enjoy. His Sweetie and I had a Pimm's Royale...

which was prosecco and strawberry. My Sweetie rarely has an alcoholic drink and was very happy with his coca cola. What he was eager to try was the fried bread which was offered as an appetizer. We all shared a piece. It was excellent, not greasy at all. He used to love having this when he was on an exchange tour with the Royal Navy in England, and whenever we went back, would order a full English breakfast and fried bread was always part of that. I don't know how they fry their bread or what they cook it in. I would love to ask next time we go in. Probably a trade secret though.

Our son remembered the Scotch Eggs from our last visit, which we also shared. They were as delicious as we remembered them.

Our daughter-in-law ordered the cottage pie and the three of us had the same thing, fish and chips which you can just make out in this photo. Again, all excellent and absolutely no calories!!! Today at least!

Lastly, and I can't believe we didn't take a photo, we ordered two Sticky Toffee Puddings, they shared theirs and so did we. If you ever get the chance to order one, and I'm sure our British friends know what I am talking about, please do. Ours came with a scoop of ice cream. You can check out a recipe I found here if curious. It has the closest look to ours.

Anyhow, I will leave you with their motto, which has become one of my favorites.

"There are no strangers here, just friends you haven't met yet." 

There you go, there will be a little more on the pub next Tuesday, along with the other days we have experienced this past week. 

Thanks for dropping in and 

I hope you all have a great day!

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - LUNCH AT THE HAWK AND GRIFFIN - 9/24/24

Okay, so I like to say in the beginning of my restaurant posts, far and few between they may be, that the Hawk and Griffin is closed on Tuesdays. This is just in case I get any visitors who live not so far away and who would like to go there after reading this. Their days and times can be found here.

I am starting off today with the lunch we had at our British-style pub/restaurant in Vienna, Virginia. As mentioned at the end of my post here, our son had had car issues and we loaned him ours for a couple of days. When he brought it back we drove over to the Hawk and Griffin where he treated us to a wonderful lunch. These are the photos we took.

We passed by the Snug. According to this link, a "snug was a small private room or area, typically with access to the bar and a frosted glass window above head height. Customers in the snug paid a higher price for beer and nobody could look in and see the drinkers. 

Not only did wealthy visitors use these rooms, but also patrons who preferred not to be seen in the public bar. Ladies often enjoyed a private drink in the snug in a time when many frowned on women visiting a pub. The local police officer might nip in for a quiet pint, the parish priest for his evening whisky, or sweethearts for a secret rendezvous. 

Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) have surveyed the 50,000 pubs in Britain and they believe that there are very few pubs that still have classic snugs. These are on a historic interiors list in order that they can be preserved." This is a small part of what I read, the rest goes on to tell you all about pubs.

 And look who is heading to the snug? You might have noticed him in the window above us in the second photo.

We were seated at a booth just across from the bar.

We didn't think about it but we arrived about a hour after the main lunch hour, and apart from someone sitting at the bar, and two ladies in the booth behind us, that was it for customers.

We ordered Scotch Eggs as an appetizer. Scotch Eggs were originally called Scotties and when I was a child we occasionally had them for tea. They made great picnic food for our Sunday drives in the countryside. I was very surprised to learn that they were originally covered in fish paste, not sausage meat. The write-up said they were invented in 1738 by a London department store called Fortnum and Mason of Picadilly. The first printed recipe that could be found was in Maria Rundell's "A New System of Domestic Cookery, published in 1809. There's a little more to the story here. Ours were very good and came with a mustard dipping sauce. I found a YouTube recipe for making Scotch Eggs at this link.

We all ordered the Fish and Chips, which were also excellent.Mine came with Mushy Peas. The boys didn't order this, not their cup of tea, but I grew up with them so there you go, and with Fish and Chips they go hand-in-hand. Another memory from childhood, my sister and I were always set the task of walking to our local 'chippy' - fish and chip shop - to buy the Friday meal of Fish and Chips, carefully wrapped up in parchment-like white paper pockets, and wrapped in sheets of newspaper. It's a sweet memory now.  We were allowed to snitch a couple of chips on the way home, but not more than one or two each my Mum would tell us. I am not sure if this is still the case, but we could also get bangers (sausages) that were battered, and also thick slices of potato, also battered, called Scallops. The last time we had fried Fish and Chips was when Gregg and I came here a year ago. We cook a more healthier version now at home, says I wistfully, smiling as I say this, not a batter crumb in sight! You can guess how much of a treat this was, yes even the mushy peas. The thought of pureed peas does not do anything for my two dears and fair enough, it would be a boring old world if we all liked the same thing. I seem to remember Mum telling me that many times and I seem to be saying it more and more these days.For dessert it was Sticky Toffee Pudding. Brad and I ordered one each and I took mine home for later that night. "Sticky toffee pudding is known as sticky date pudding in Australia and New Zealand (any of our Australian and New Zeland friends out there, is this right?) It is a British dessert consisting of a moist sponge cake made with finely chopped dates covered in a toffee sauce and often served with a vanilla custard or vanilla ice-cream. It is considered a British classic by various culinary experts. Traditionally we served all our sponge-like desserts and pies with what we called English Custard, or Creme Anglais as the French say, and there's a recipe here.The information on this iconic dessert was found here and is as follows: "The origins of a sticky toffee pudding are disputed. Owners of several pubs, including the Gait Inn, Millington, East Riding of Yorkshire laid claim in 1907, and the Udny Arms Hotel in Newburgh, Aberdeenshire claimed to have invented it in the1960s. The pudding was popularized in the 1970s by Francis Coulson and Robert Lee, who developed and served it at the Sharrow Bay Country House Hotel in Cumbria. The food critic Simon Hopkinson said Coulson told him he received the recipe from a Patricia Martin of Claughton in Lancashire, and that Martin had received it from Canadian Airforce Officers who lodged at her hotel during the Second World War. A take home version to heat, either in the oven or microwave, was developed in 1989 by the owners of the Village Shop in Cartmel, Cumbria. Their dish became popular and by the late 1990s was being sold in supermarkets across the UK. The dish is now widely available from multiple manufacturers to bake at home." And there you go, now we know. I have added links all through this post which will take you to more information on various topics, various places. I do this because I often go there myself. I enjoy going back and having my refresher remember-ers. 

Caught son mid-bite! Sorry son!

The next few photos are of the menu. You can enlarge to get better detail in all these photos.

Almost forgot our drinks. Gregg had his usual, a coca-cola. Brad had a beer and I a cider. The last time I had one of these was also the last time we were at the Hawk and Griffin. It was delicious, very refreshing.

The last few photos are of this and that.

I can highly recommend this place for a fun meal, the staff are friendly and the food is excellent. If you find yourself in the area their address is 435 Maple Avenue W., Vienna, VA 22180, and their phone number is 703 261 6707. Their website is at this link. I get nothing for this free advertising. I just like to sing the praises of places I have been to and have, as in this case, been before.  It was also a wonderful time with my family and I look forward to the next gathering when our sweet daughter-in-law can join us.

Thanks for looking and as always, I hope your day is a great one.