Bottled Ice Water

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Bottled Ice Water

Iced Coffee with Mocha!

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
 

Iced Coffee with Mocha!

It's Always Frozen Mojito Time

Nothing like a frozen Cuban Mojito with rum, coconut, lime, and mint.

This sign shows that it's practically the answer to everything. ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

It's Always Frozen Mojito Time

Buffalo Six Feet

This sort of reminds me of the record six feet of snow in Upstate New York this last week.

Snow, ice...it's cold, same thing!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Buffalo Six Feet

Ice Cold Lemonade

Water

Lemons

Sugar

Ice

How can anything so simple be so good!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
 

Ice Cold Lemonade

That's Cold Out

It pouring ice outside.

Brrr.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

That's Cold Out

Fashion Hot and Cold

Fashion in Washington, D.C. in January winter low temperatures. 

Perhaps trying for "hot" (-like) fashion on a cold day.

I don't think it would go over all that well in an office-setting, especially in this often stodgy town. ;-)

(Credit Photo: Dannielle Blumenthal) 

Fashion Hot and Cold

Pineapple Umbrella Drinks

Those are some cool Pineapple Drinks!

Has pineapple slices hanging off the sides.

A big plastic straw and don't forget the umbrella on top of a grape. 

I think they said that they paid $27 for two. 

It's a bargain!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Pineapple Umbrella Drinks

When You Absolutely Need A/C

When it's Summer, hot, and humid.

And your car's air conditioning isn't working.

What do you do?

Improvise!  ;-)

(Source Photo: A friend)

When You Absolutely Need A/C

These Looks Good

Red one.

Blue one.

Yellow one.

Orange one.

Looks so refreshing. 

Especially on the rocks or even better like an icy. 

Want to try a little (or a lot) of each!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

These Looks Good

Mr. Golden Sun

There's nothing like the hot sun.

Too bright to look at it. 

It enlightens our whole world.

The warm glowing sun is life.

Cold empty darkness is death. 

Light drives out the dark. 

We need more light in this world. ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Mr. Golden Sun

Turn On The Donut Light

Like these donut-shaped lights @Dunkin' Donuts. 

You can't eat them, but they reminds you why you're there.

Donuts and coffee—make mine a signature latte, iced with some mocha and whipped cream—always yum.

Always, Dunkin' delicious!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Turn On The Donut Light

Oh Baby It’s Cold Inside

Funny advertising for a new furnace.

Santa is freezing his butt off. ;-)

(Credit Video: Michelle Blumenthal)

Oh Baby It’s Cold Inside

Matzo Ball Soup For The Soul

It's a pretty well-known Jewish tradition that Chicken Soup is almost like an cure all. 

Our moms for centuries have preached chicken soup whenever you didn't feel well or felt like you may be coming down with something. 

Hmm...I wonder if it even works on Coronavirus. Heck, I'd try it for sure. LOL

From an alternative medicine perspective, like it says on the package:

It's penicillin in a pot.

Anyway, I thought this package kit of matzo ball soup was pretty cute. 

With the old lady that looks like she's about to fall in the soup saying:

Good. Not as good as mine. But good. 

Hey, I guess there is no package matzo ball soup that is going to be as good as homemade. 

Especially as I was taught that the magic ingredient is not chicken, but love!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Matzo Ball Soup For The Soul

How Are These Unlivable "Living Conditions" Allowed To Persist?

Continued to be appalled at the unlivable "living conditions" of the homeless in the Capital. 

Makeshift tents line up and down under the train tracks to Union Station. 

Spikes overhead make this an extra frightening looking arrangement. 

People walking by and to/from work--after a while, is there a mixture of acceptance and indifference?

It's freezing outside and this is NO WAY for any human being to have to live. 

Can we put partisan politics aside for any period of time to deal with the very harsh problems facing real people?  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

How Are These Unlivable "Living Conditions" Allowed To Persist?

Icing That Migraine

So a lot of people I know get excruciating migraines in the Washington, D.C. area. 

I don't know the statistical incident rate here for migraines, but anecdotally it seems significantly higher.

Is it the weather patterns, pollution, toxic chemicals or something else in this geographic area?

While medicine seems to be critical in actually getting rid of the migraine, I do notice that sustained use of ice packs or freezing water on the head also seems to help. 

Cold generally constricts the blood vessels, so I am not sure why this provides migraine relief.

Note: I am not giving medical advise or guidance to anyone, but just sharing my experiences. 

I would be interested to see a medical study done on treating migraines with freezing cold--from my experience, I think it definitely helps.  ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Icing That Migraine

Welcome Back - Leadership and Donuts

Really impressed today going back to work after the 5-week Federal government shutdown...

And who is at the front gate, in the dark and freezing cold welcoming every single person back?

The director of the agency!

And not only that, but he is handing out morning donuts to the crew. 

This was a truly spectacular display of leadership. 

I've seen this only one other time in my 30-year career and that was at the Secret Service, where the director stood behind the dessert table at the agency holiday party serving out the ice cream. 

Humility and giving are what true leadership is all about. 

I am proud to serve under such leaders as these.  ;-)

(Source Photo--not from today--by Andy Blumenthal)

Welcome Back - Leadership and Donuts

Fav Ice Cream

So this is one of my absolute favorite ice creams. 

Soft chocolate swirl ice cream topped in a hard chocolate shell that literally melts in your mouth. 

OMG, this is to die for.

This is not something you get every day...it's a special treat. 

They have this ice cream locally in the mall, and sometimes I just go there, literally, just a taste of this. 

Usually, I get the small and then share this, but even that is too much really. 

It is like a meal in and of itself. 

So rich, creamy, cold, and chocolatey flavorful. 

Who needs caramel (sitting next to it) when you have chocolate!

Love it, love it, love it.  

Yum, yum, yum.  ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Fav Ice Cream

Who Will Help?

This is an awesome video that has gone viral.

A social experiment with hidden camera filming of a homeless child freezing on the streets of Manhattan...

See the people just walking on by--completely ignoring or plain unaffected by the suffering taking place literally right next to them. 

Where is the compassion of the people?

Many are just rushing by, chatting away, and/or carrying fancy filled bags from nearby shopping excursions.

The bystanders walk past and practically over this boy's shivering body lying in ragged shirt, without a coat, and lying half inside a big black garbage bag on the street. 

I imagined G-d looking down on this extreme callousness of his creations ignoring the suffering of this boy and being quite upset. 

Perhaps, there are unfortunately so many people now homeless , hungry, and begging in the streets that our minds and hearts have simply learned to "tune it out."

The ending is really amazing...when the one person who comes over to care for the poor boy is a black homeless man--who ends up taking off his own coat and gives it to the child. 

May G-d open our eyes to the pain of our brethren and grant us compassionate hearts to sincerely care one for each other. ;-)

Who Will Help?

In The Capital, Scary Cold

So it was 3 degrees in Washington, D.C. today (and that's before wind chill). 

I don't ever remember it being this cold, ever!

Getting on the Metro this evening, this big guy came on wearing this scary hat.

But what was really unusual was that even while we were on the train for a while, he didn't take the scary hat off. 

I didn't know whether this guy was just still cold or whether we was a murderer or terrorist in waiting. 

After a while, I said to the guy, I have a blog and does he mind if I take a photo--and he was nice enough and said, "Go ahead."

So this is how he rode the Metro all the way home. 

Today was a scary cold day--because of the temperature for sure, but also because of this unbelievable hat. 

I was literally right in front of this guy--how do you think that felt? ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

In The Capital, Scary Cold