6th -February 25th Ice Skating at Cameron Run Weekends & Holidays 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Cameron Run Regional Park 4001 Eisenhower Avenue Looking for a unique winter activity? Enjoy outdoor daytime ice skating in Alexandria, just minutes from Old Town. Warm up with a hot chocolate or make your own s’mores over the firepit. This fun winter experience is only available for a limited time and capacity is limited! Learn more about Ice Skating at Cameron Run and to reserve tickets check in at cameron@nvrpa.com. 19th – 28th Winter Alexandria Restaurant Week 2024 For 10 days and two weekends, more than 70 restaurants in Alexandria, Virginia, will offer a $30, $40 or $50 in-person dinner for one during Alexandria Restaurant Week 2024. Special menus are available in-person at participating restaurants throughout Alexandria’s neighborhoods, including Old Town, Del Ray, Carlyle, Eisenhower and the West End. The revised three-tiered pricing structure reflects feedback from Alexandria Restaurant Week participants following the 2023 summer promotion. Alexandria Restaurant Week was launched in 2009 by Visit Alexandria and has become a favorite amongst patrons and restaurateurs, occurring biannually in the winter and summer. In addition to serving as an economic driver for Alexandria restaurants, Alexandria Restaurant Week bolsters the city’s reputation as a culinary destination. For detailed information and a digital flip-book of menus at participating restaurants log on to AlexandriaRestaurantWeek.com
From the Publisher: While we know that some of you are still recovering from NYE 2023, we feel like it’s never too early to plan for a fantastic New Year’s Eve 2024. We talked about spending the Christmas holiday in the islands in the December issue so why not consider welcoming in the New Year on an island as well. We consulted with our friends at the Caribbean Journal and YachtCharterFleet.com to get a bit of insight on what you can look forward to if you choose the island of St. Barth. Book your villa now and we realize that not everyone owns a “yacht” but that’s the beauty of chartering one with friends and family so you can split the bill. There are several villa and charter companies to choose from. The Ultimate Caribbean New Year’s Eve Is On St. Barth When it comes to New Year’s Eve, there’s no place in the Caribbean quite like St. Barth. The tiny French Caribbean jewel is buzzing, with hotels and restaurants full and a roster full of boldfaced names in town for the celebration. The island is filled with special New Year’s celebrations, anchored by a colorful fireworks celebration above Fort Oscar in Gustavia — a rather stunning sight to behold with the super yachts bobbing around below in the harbor. The yachts themselves get in on the action, sounding their foghorns in unison to mark the occasion. For years, it’s an event that has attracted celebrities from around the globe: *Leonardo DiCaprio, Paul McCartney and Mariah Carey, to name a few. And you can join them, with some rooms still available including a selection of top villas at the island’s premier villa company, WIMCO St. Barth Properties. If you stay around past the first, the island also hosts an annual music festival…
By Judy Eichner Whether or not the claim that homemade chicken soup is a cure-all, also known as Jewish penicillin, its use is widespread in many cultures around the world. Doctors have differing opinions, but most of the parents I know swear it’s so. Try making the soup using the following recipe and see if it makes you feel better the next time you have a cold or an upper respiratory infection. The Soup 1 whole chicken, or 3 chicken breasts (6 pieces) 4 large celery ribs 4-6 large carrots 2 large onions salt and pepper to taste Put all the ingredients in a large soup pot. Use enough water to just about cover the ingredients. Bring to a rolling boil and then lower the flame to medium and cook for about 45 minutes to an hour. Remove the vegetables and put in a food processor or blender. Process until the mixture is thick and the vegetable pieces are not distinguishable from one another. Remove the chicken from the pot and cut into bite sized pieces. Add the veggies and the chicken to the pot and slowly cook covered for about 1 to 1 ½ hours. If it looks like a good part of the liquid has evaporated, add a container of clear chicken broth, preferably organic. Serve with either matzo balls (recipe to follow) or very fine egg noodles. The Matzo Balls In a large bowl, put: 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil 4 large eggs, slightly beaten 2 teaspoons of salt, if desired 4 tablespoons of chicken soup or water 1 cup of matzo meal Blend the vegetable oil, eggs, matzo meal and salt together. Add soup stock or water and mix until mixture is uniform. Cover and place the mixture in the refrigerator for 15* minutes. Bring 3…
By The Gastronome After my dining partner decided to go out of town, I found myself left with the option of dining alone. What choice would I make…go the fast-food route and get it over with, hit up a new place or seek out an old standby. My decision was easy…I took the old standby option and went to Landini Brothers Restaurant here in Old Town and sat at the bar to eat. I have been a customer of Landini’s for over 41 years. They opened in 1979 so I was one of their first regulars. While many of the regulars are no longer with us, a good many are still around. Lani, my partner, has been a regular of Landini’s since she arrived in town in 1992 and it remains one of her favorite places for many reasons. Landini’s has been the go-to place for special occasions, business lunches and dinners, birthdays, and just getting together with friends which is exactly what I had in mind on this trip. Over the past years, the bar at Landini’s has been akin to any boardroom in Alexandria. Businessman and women chose Landini’s as the place to meet as well as be seen. What makes the bar so special and popular is the caliber of bartenders over the years. They are the conductors to our orchestra and still make some of the best Martini’s and Manhattan’s in the DMV. In addition to the bartenders, a good portion of the wait staff have been there as long as I have been going there. I also have to mention that the food is so good because of chefs Rigoberto and Santos and their staff. For every strong ship there has to be a strong captain. Franco Landini and his brother Piero launched the excursion…
By Doug Fabbioli I was at an event the other evening, when the topic of land in Loudoun County came up. When I moved here in 1997 from Northern California, the saying that kept coming up was, “Don’t Fairfax Loudoun!” Twenty-six years later, the saying still applies. We all need a place to live, roads, schools, places to work and places to shop. More than anything, we need a place to call home. Our local leaders see economic development as a great thing for jobs, tax revenue, prestige and attracting new business. As a farmer, it is tough to do the job of farming on land in the middle of a neighborhood — especially if that neighborhood has agriculture restricting HOA’s. Folks love farm land until they need a place to build and live. Folks sometimes move next door to farmland with a bucolic notion of what that means, only to learn it can sometimes be loud, and sometimes emit animal or plant smells not necessarily appreciated or understood. How do we find the balance between the growth, the culture, the land and the lifestyle we choose to live? These choices will affect us long into the future. Our 25 acres in Lucketts is now surrounded by houses. Fortunately, our neighbors appreciate our farming efforts and patronize our business. We have broken the mold a bit with our relationships. For the past few years, we have also been leasing plots of our land to other folks to farm. The plots are in an area too low for grape growing, but have proven beneficial to gardeners who have overgrown their current spaces and need bigger spaces than a 20’x20’ plot at a park will give. With irrigation already installed, and deer fence protecting the land, our plots fit into a business…
By Sharmaine Bucknor While many Americans might consider themselves financially fit, the numbers paint a different story. According to the Federal Reserve, an astounding 40% of families don’t have enough in savings to cover a $400 emergency. Instead, they go deeper into debt when faced with a car repair, outrageous energy bill, or other unexpected expenses. Sometimes just the idea of trying to save can feel overwhelming. How can a person focus on their financial fitness and build money muscle? One change at a time. Here are some simple savings strategies to get you started. Let Your Employer Boost Your Retirement Savings If your employer has a matching retirement plan, maximize the opportunity as much as possible. To make saving for the future easy, enroll in automatic payroll deductions so you pay yourself first with every paycheck. Build Emergency Savings If you can save $10 a week, in one year you’ll have over $500 in savings. That’s a solid start to being financially fit. Better yet, treat your personal savings like a monthly utility bill and set aside a percentage of every paycheck to automatically go into savings. Then, when you’re faced with an emergency expense, you can pull the money from that account. Take a Look at Your Withholdings Adjust yours using the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator at IRS.gov. This tool can help you keep more of your money now instead of getting a refund from the IRS every year. The goal is to avoid a large return without paying additional taxes in April. Find Better Rates Shop around for lower rates on loans, higher rates on savings, and lower costs on your insurance policies (car, home, life). Insurance companies often offer premium discounts when you bundle your insurance policies. Those savings can add up quickly. Focus on Saving…
By Genevieve LeFranc It’s January and more than a few of us are feeling completely spent from the holidays. Literally. The winter season is tough on our skin, hair and our wallets. After weeks of shopping and stacks of bills piling up, January is a time for thrifty resourcefulness. Smart beauty means never paying too much. Knowing a few do it yourself beauty remedies can really help you save money. This month it’s about taking a break from all the holiday madness—the overindulging with rich food and alcohol, and the staying up and out way too late—things that wreak havoc with our skin and hair. With dry, flaky skin and flat, static-stricken locks, it’s time for a little DIY at-home, self-pampering using inexpensive, common items you have around the house. After a season filled with honey-glazed ham, Christmas cookies, and approximately two thousand peppermint lattes, the fridge is probably the last place you want to turn to. However, there are more than a few excellent beauty ingredients hiding in your kitchen. Avocado acts as a great moisturizer and skin softener due to its high, unsaturated fat content. Mash the pulp into a paste for a quick and easy hydrating facial treatment. You can also combine plain yogurt and oatmeal to make a hydrating mask. Yogurt is especially good for dry, sensitive skin. Leave this concoction on for about 10 minutes for a wonderful skin softener. Legs can be a ghastly sight after suffocating under jeans and tights all winter long, so show your gams a little TLC by sloughing off the dry, excess skin. Add oatmeal or sea salt to your favorite body wash or gel for a really effective exfoliator. Or for an invigorating citrus scrub, dip half of a lemon, pulp side, into common table salt and rub…
By Nicole Flanagan Ohmmm…Improve Your Winter Workout January marks the beginning of a new year, and for most of us that means some type of resolution to do something different for the next twelve months. If your old gym workout is starting to seem uninspiring, try something new to start off the year on a good note. People have been practicing yoga for thousands of years, there is a reason this ancient practice has been around for so long. There are many benefits of practicing yoga which go far beyond the physical aspect. Yoga can help you balance your mind and spirit as well as your body. When the mind is clear and the body feels balanced it is easier to face the challenges of each day regardless of what they may be. Many people work out because it makes them feel better. Yoga is certainly a workout, but in a different way than going to a gym and lifting or cycling. It is physically challenging, yet relaxing at the same time. Yoga is a great way to stay in shape. The postures tone organs and develop long, lean muscles. The practice of forward bends, back bends, lateral poses, twists, and inversions, balances and works every muscle, bone, joint, and organ in the body. Yoga can improve circulation of blood and lymph throughout the body. Inversions such as a headstand reverse the flow of gravity, improving the blood supply to the lungs and brain and give the legs and heart a rest. The heart is exercised by the different postures with many similar benefits of aerobic exercise- with one exception. Through yoga postures, the heart is not stressed as it is in aerobic activities such as running or spinning. In yoga the heart receives the actions of various poses much…
By Molly Winans Why Frostbite Racing Is Cool. It’s 34 degrees outside. The water temperature measures in the upper 30s. It might get gusty out. It might snow. What would you rather do: lounge on the couch or go sailing? Hundreds of sailors on the Chesapeake Bay choose the latter. Every winter, we like to reach out to a few of them to learn their reasoning, their expert winter gear tips, and suggestions for curious would-be winter sailors. What’s the appeal? Warren Richter races his J/22 Committed with his partner in racing and wife, Tracey Golde. Richter says, “I enjoy frostbite to keep our skills sharp during the so called ‘off-season.’ It’s great to get out, get some sunshine, and have fun racing. Makes dusting off the rust in the springtime much easier and also allows for racing that is less boat-handling-intensive. It is a great time to train new crew and practice.” Golde adds, “We’re not sure what we’d do with our time if we didn’t have a reason to be on the water. Also racing with just a main and jib as required by frostbites gives us an opportunity to work on our fleet management without having to worry so much about boat handling. Also, there is usually significantly more wind than during the rest of the year, so we get to practice in different conditions.’ The Committed frostbite team includes Mary Howser, Koralina and James McKenna, Amanda Gates, and Bryan Stout. Richter notes, “They are all fantastic sailors. We appreciate everything they do to come racing with us.” Gavin O’Hare, who races ILCA class dinghies (formerly Laser) out of Severn Sailing Association on Sundays, says, “Because the winter is cold, it puts a damper on doing most things outside. Dinghy frostbiting is different. What better way to break…
By Ryan Unverzagt 2024 is here whether we’re ready for it or not. I hope all of you enjoyed a great holiday season with family and friends. If you followed any of my advice the past two months (controlling portion sizes & receiving that fitness gift), you should already be ahead of the game. As always, January is the perfect time to evaluate your lifestyle and set realistic “New Year’s Resolutions.” The best approach is to write down reasons WHY you want to make a change. Here’s an example: Reasons WHY I want to lose 20 pounds: “I can feel better about myself; I want to keep my diabetes in check; I want to sleep better; I hate being out of breath walking up the stairs; I want more energy so I can play with my kids or grandchildren; I’m sick of my joints always hurting.” Post these in a place where you will see them every day (maybe as your cell phone wallpaper) to remind you exactly why you want to put forth the effort for a healthier life. With that said, I bring you another exercise of the month to try. I call it the Cable Woodchopper. This exercise has been featured in a previous issue of the Old Town Crier. However, the last time I explained this exercise, it was the “Low-to-High” version. This “woodchopper” is the opposite being “High-to-Low” which means that the cable pulley is set in the high position. This exercise is a great way to get your heart rate up and challenge the core. To start, select a lighter resistance and attach a single cable rotating handle to the clip. Grab the handle with your right hand over top of the left as shown in Figure 1. This shows the starting position for…
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