Category Archives: Around Town

Photo by Daniel Lobo.

‘Tis not quite the season to be jolly, but the fantastic Washington Harbour ice rink has returned for its second season. Any doubt over the ongoing feasibility of an ice rink on the Georgetown waterfront was smashed last year when the rink had 46,000 visitors last winter.

The new season’s hours have not been posted yet, but last year they were 12-9 pm Mon. through Thurs., 12-10 pm on Fri., 10 am to 10 pm Sat., and 10 am to 7 pm on Sunday. Continue reading →

Every year at this time, GM’s neighbors, Marnie and Dennis Kenney, post a skeleton on their stoop (above is a photo from a few years ago). And every day he or she (the skeleton is of indeterminate sex) gets a new, often increasingly creepy, outfit. Last night it was wearing a bridal veil, which is about the creepiest look a skeleton can have.

Here’s some more photo’s of Mr. or Mrs. Skeleton from years past. GM hopes the borderline disturbing ballerina makes a reappearance this year!

Here he is exploring his French impressionist side:

Here she is baking up a fine souffle:

Continue reading →

GM wasn’t able to get around to the various Georgetown Park(ing) Day spots last week, but luckily photographer-about-town M.V. Jantzen was and captured these great shots:

Here’s the recently opened Malmaison on Water St.

Here’s the scene outside Baked and Wired. Continue reading →

GM walked out of his house on Saturday and discovered that somebody had cut off a bunch of flowers from an annual he had in a box in the front of his house.

Who does this?

What a petty crime (both in terms of it being a really small violation but also just being small-minded). Are those flowers really worth stealing?

Earlier this spring, GM had an entire basket of geraniums stolen right in the middle of a Saturday afternoon. It’s just such a weird crime. Continue reading →

To really “get” this piece, don’t focus on the toilet the artist dumped on the sidewalk, focus on the toilets the artist didn’t dump on the sidewalk.

GM received a tip from a reader several weeks ago. She had noticed a duck in front of her neighbor’s house:

Yesterday morning, I was again in front of my neighbor’s house, and noticed with surprise that one of the ducks was lying in that same flower bed again. I conjectured that she might be a female who was laying some eggs, or sitting on a nest. Out of motherly concern, I brought out a basin of water to put near her in case she got thirsty or wanted a little bath. Yesterday evening, I checked again and the duck was not there – did not see any eggs. I couldn’t resist checking again this morning, and sure enough, the duck was back, nestled under the ferns.

Fast forward to the other day, and a whole nest full of new ducklings!

The tipster was nervous how the ducks would manage in the middle of Georgetown. But with the help of some neighbors, the new family made its way down to the canal:

In what appears to have become a holiday tradition, the smallest house in Georgetown, 2726 P St., once again has easily the largest wreath in Georgetown. (Check it out from last year).

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like inside this tiny abode, here’s a virtual tour from when it was for sale a few years ago.

Back in June, GM noted that the “temporarily closed” sign on Georgetown Dinette was either a great “temporarily closed” sign, or the greatest. The sign stated:

June 09 2012

Dear Friend

We are away from store about two weeks for family matter.

We are very sorry.

Don’t be mad, sad, cry.

We’ll be back soon and happy together again.

Emmy and Harry

Well Emmy and Harry were back in top form in November when they put up the sign above. This one manages the express the warmth of the first one, but with the horse dancing reference it even adds some topical electoral humor on top.

Georgetown Dinette is about the opposite of the fanciest place in town, but it may have the most character per square foot of any place in Georgetown.

This is a reprint of an article GM ran last year explaining the annual coming of a weird fruit:

This time a year, if you wonder around Montrose or Volta Parks you’re bound to find on the ground weird softball-sized green fruit like the one above. People are often so struck by the sight of the fruit, they pick up one or two of them and bring them home. But what are they, you ask?

Despite their green color, they’re oranges. Osage oranges, to be specific. They are grown by Osage trees, which line the Parrot rope walk. These trees are prevalent in the Great Plains states, where they are often planted along hedgerows. Traditionally, the pliable but strong nature of this tree’s wood made it valuable for fence posts and archery bows. Continue reading →