I Heart Kensington

I'm a little bummed at myself that I didn't take the time to submit an entry about my neighborhood to the Reader, because while sometimes I take it for granted, I feel so lucky to live in the heart of Kensington.

There's the restaurants: Ponce's, Ken Grill, now Bleu Boheme and coming soon, the Burger Lounge. There's the theatre, the video rental shop, a couple boutiques, Kensington Vine (the new wine bar), Clem's Keg and Bottle, a couple salons, a couple day spas, and both Ken Coffee and Starbuck's to give people a coffee fix, but more important, to be social centers for the neighborhood. While I waited for the bus the other day, my neighbor, Mayor Jerry Sanders, pulled into Clem's to buy some ice cream. There's also the 24 hour gas station that is great for late night emergencies (like "we have rum but no coke!").

Admittedly, I partake in the benefits of my community at night, (Oh, Ken Club, How I love thee, let me count the ways) there's also a lot to take in during the daytime. On this particular weekend, the owner of Zen Sanctuary, who also happens to be the president of the Kensington-Talmadge Business Association, put on the 2nd annual Kensington Health Fair. Christy and Billy brought Johanna over and we took a walk across the street to enjoy the small fair. I ain't gonna lie, the idea of body fat testing is completely unappealing to me, but the free massages...bring it on, I say.



During the Art on Adams festival a few months ago, I mentioned that Zen Sanctuary was participating in the mural project which intends to have various organizations paint murals that will span 12 miles in Egypt during the International Conference on Peace in 2010, and it was nice to see the finished product from Kensington was hanging proudly behind the performance area.



We enjoyed some free Naked Juice, got info on the first certified organic cosmetics, and mostly just enjoyed a day out in the park. I did get my free massage with Ross and it was every bit as heavenly as I'd remembered. I've never strived to attain great wealth in my life, but if I were wealthy, massages would definitely be one of my regular indulgences. It was also nice with the outside breeze. The bonus was that Amos was there, the owner of Sleep Matters, with a Tempurpedic bed. So after my lazy massage, Johanna and I rested on the mattress, waving to another neighbor, Gregory Page, as he took a walk around the neighborhood.



Eventually we had all been massaged and we decided to head on our way. We took Johanna to the cemetary to meet up with my mom who takes flowers to the graves of her mother and father on a weekly basis. It was our way of introducing Johanna to her great grandmother (who died in labor when my mother was 2) and to my Tata, who passed when I was in high school. Afterward we hung out at my parent's house in CV for the rest of the afternoon into evening. I found it pretty funny how early I was in bed considering I didn't have to be up on Monday, but sometimes sleep is the best option. Funny how that works, huh? I'm gonna do my best to assemble my things to do list this afternoon, but my dog deserves a walk and I need to find something to munch on. Check back later...