Turnout at the National Zoo was light today, but there weren't many animals out either. I saw lots of ducks, which seem to be the "filler" animal. Cianna enjoyed the few animals she could see. We'll get her a nice book from the giftshop. So here's some zoo signage...

- mike lee - washington, dc

The falafel sandwiches are most excellent at the Middle Eastern Market, and such a deal at $3.75. Across Carroll Avenue, at the Takoma Book Exchange, Cianna gave a treat to Tika the three legged chihuahua (6). Now we're heading down the the zoo.

- mike lee

The best way to realize the pleasure of feeling rich is to live in a smaller house than your means would entitle you to have. --Edward Clarke

Don't buy the house; buy the neighborhood. --Russian Proverb

Bricks and mortar make a house, but the laughter of children makes a home. --Irish Proverb

Paul and Marie (1 & 2), the current owners of the house we will buy on June 24th, invited us over tonight for a visit so they could meet Cianna and my mom and me (Amy met them a couple weeks at inspection). The two finished raising three sons in the 18 years they have lived in the house, and have been married 60 years! They will move to a retirement cottage in the northern part of the county. Marie said giving up the house was a difficult decision.

While Amy chatted with Marie (4), Paul toured me through the house (5) to share techy details on maintenance and modifications he's done. I could tell this was a man who took great pride in keeping the place in optimal condition. The tour felt like a man-to-man ritual.

Cianna was probably just in a good mood (6), smiling, climbing and jabbering away, but I wonder if she understood at some level that this was her new house. Paul joyfully presented to Cianna a rolling wooden storage box (3) he built that served as a perfect little play cart for his grandkids. Cianna stood inside and giggled with delight.

After we agreed to buy some miscellaneous furniture and tools, we all hugged goodbye. As we pulled out of the driveway, I snapped an image of Marie and Paul in front of their house (7). At that moment, I had a flash forward to decades into the future when it might be Amy and I in a similar photo waving off the next owners. The house will have once again learned.

- mike lee - wheaton, md

Petit Louis was the french restaurant where we celebrated the sale of our house. Chef Cindy Wolf offered us her tribute to the first fruits of summer with the June Cherry Festival four course dinner.

First course, Soupe aux Cerises (1), was a refreshing and sweet soup of pureed chilled bing cherries, plum and nectarines. Wine offered: 5oz. of a bubbly Vouvray, Fouuet NV.

Pommes frites then appeared as a finger food (2).

The second course arrived in the form of a tangy Salad de Frisée, (3) Frisée with red wine vinaigrette, oranges, walnuts and goat's cheese toasts.

Poîtrine de Canard (4) was the main course of pan-seared duck breast with haricots verts, bing cherry and port wine sauce. Wine offerd was 5oz. of Cabernet/Syrah, Mas de Guiot 2003.

Dessert breezed in as Clafoutis (5) cherry custard cake with bing cherry topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Wine was 2oz. of sweet Jardin Hiver 2003.

After cappuccino (6), we left (7) with a satisfied glow and wallet acceptably lighter.

- mike lee - baltimore

Crabtown.org's Super Crab and Chef Crab in front of Eddie's Grocery store in Roland Park.

- mike lee - baltimore

Our part of the settlement was easy. We were done in about 30 minutes. The buyers are combining two mortgages and have other complexities on their end so we're waiting out in the courtyard for what could be another hour or more as other paperwork is completed so that we can get our check.

- mike lee - baltimore, md

We are here early at our real estate agent's office to close the deal on the sale of our Baltimore house. Keys get turned in today, a pile of papers will be signed and we get a giant check. The buyers have just done a walkthru of the place to verify the bunch of tweaks we had to make to their satisfaction. The roofer just finished a patch on top of our garage today. That's my wife in the last frame digging for papers...

- mike lee - baltimore, md

I spent most of today at the Amphitheater (1) of the Reagan Conference Center on Pennsylvania Avenue at our annual product provider summit. They are collectively responsible for the $8 billion in sales that generates $800 million in management fees, 95% of which our organization plows back into its social mission. Our subsidiary is delivering presentations (2) today and tomorrow as are the product partners. This year is different because we have three new senior vice presidents who are networking up a storm with execs from places like The Hartford, Travelocity, Avis and United Healthcare.

But also, big business events at our company mean decent swag. The event bag contained the usual notebook and literature plus a copy of our new sex book (3) and a submersible digital camera (4)! At the lunch of filet mignon and shrimp with fancy desert (5), I was one of the people who had a gold ribbon on a chair leg and won the New Orleans-themed table setting (6).

In the afternoon, I gave a short presentation on my activities at MIT and Stanford, after which I got a bunch of business cards on my offer to give a tour of the Media Lab to anyone who could make it to Cambridge, MA. No surprise there.

- mike lee - washington, dc

Sweet. Segway rentals not far from my office.

- mike lee - washington, dc