Normalcy… Does anyone else seem like this has been missing in the past few weeks? I feel like the end of summer was a whirlwind of crazy – a major earthquake, followed by Hurricane Irene, then classes started, August was over justlikethat, another week of non-stop rain and flooding, the 10th anniversary of 9/11… It just seems to me like there haven’t been any normal weeks gone by of late. I guess that’s life. The slow, lazy days of summer are coming to an end, and there is cooler weather in the forecast for the end of this week. woohoo! Oh happy fall days, hurry up!

We FINALLY made it to the new H Street NE location of HR-57 last weekend. It was long one of our favorite DC spots for live jazz music when it was formerly located on 14th St, and since it was super-nice enough to move along with us into our new neighborhood — well, yeah, we really have no excuse for not getting there earlier.

It’s still got a “new” vibe to it with the white-painted side walls (I definitely prefer the exposed brick at the former location), but the music was just as enjoyable during our evening there… so I’m not complaining. These places take time to settle into and find their real character. And if you judge by these pictures, doesn’t it look just as moody and comfortable and awesome as ever?

One other note of interest! It looks like they are now equipped with crepe-makers up front in the windows where you come inside. Though I didn’t smell any of the fresh doughy treats or see anyone order them, I’m going to have to look into it on our next visit. Wine, jazz, and crepes. Match made in heaven.

The show was great too — lots of long numbers in their set, hilarious commentary by the band members in between jams, and also a few spontaneous breakouts into the theme song from Sesame Street. This song is brought to you by the letters “H” and “R.” Love it!

Last night we watched the opening matches of the Washington Kastles World Team Tennis league at their new stadium at The Wharf in southwest. They beat the Kansas City Explorers in overtime, 21-18, but more importantly we were thisclose to Venus Williams! ahhhhh! I’m pretty sure if I stood on the other side of the net to receive one of her serves, I wouldn’t even see it go by me. It’s that fast.

Tennis is pretty awesome to watch in person, though. The speed that they change directions, the ball control, and how they know just where to send it to be out of reach. SLAM! The instant replays are also one of my favorites parts — watching the little ball diagram in slow motion to see if the line calls are correct. Is the shadow inside, outside, or on the line? Aaaand, now I am feeling really pumped to go play some tennis sometime soon!!! The last time I went (not counting the Wii) was with Matt when we lived in Silver Spring. If I remember, it ended in many tennis balls being lost over the fence and a couple of adult temper tantrums.