Friday, May 31, 2019

Library of Congress Kluge Center Program on the Middle East

It’s feels really good to visit the city we lived in for thirteen years. In fact, it feels so much better since we moved away on this two month anniversary. It’s only ten miles away, and we plan our activities around rush hour and other events that clog up the streets. Yesterday we drove in to town for a late afternoon Kluge Center program at the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. I always like to visit there as a tourist rather than as an employee. I worked there for ten years and am very happy that I did. The building is simply beautiful and so impressive every time we see it. We were a little early and checked out a couple of the exhibits first, then went to a lovely conference room to hear about the US and the Middle East - the future of a complex relationship. I try to find programs that my husband would have more of an interest in than myself. It’s a great opportunity for an outing and maybe learn a thing or two. I’m still amazed how no one has yet seemed to master using a microphone as the sound is always so poor! But I like to go for the purpose of going so it hardly matters. It’s nice to be familiar with and be able to navigate the city comfortably. After all, it still feels like home without the hassle of living in it. 


















Thursday, May 30, 2019

National High School Coaches Association NHSCA National Duals

We oftentimes find out about our grandson’s sports games, meets, and tournaments after the fact. Over the Memorial Day weekend I got a response to a text from our daughter in law about an entirely different subject.  She said she and our grandson were in Virginia Beach at the National High School Coaches Association National Wrestling Duals. And, he wasn’t observing, he was participating. So I went to the website to find out about the event and if we could track his progress. There is a Flowrestling website that you can actually watch the matches - for a fee, or just enter the site, find the match you are looking for, and watch match progress on a scoreboard. But you need to have an idea about the scheduled time, weight class, name of the team, etc. We were able to catch one of the bouts and it doesn’t last very long and they move quickly to the next one. On top of that there are literally about 100 matches going on at one time. There were thousands of participants from all over the country. Wrestling is a very difficult sport to watch - I grew up on my brother the pitcher playing baseball. Wrestling is quite the sport for learning how to lose gracefully and pretty much you are on your own. Regardless it’s a great experience and there are many other activities our grandson has been exposed to - from mountain climbing to canoeing, baseball and track. That makes for a great all around background and keeps him very busy. It’s fun to see how he is progressing and growing both scholastically and athletically. As long as he keeps being a nice kid and is happy, that’s all we care about. 
















Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Moby Dick House of Kabob

It’s not the reason we moved to Virginia, but it could be counted as a side benefit. When we first relocated to DC thirteen years ago, we discovered a “take out” Persian food restaurant in Georgetown. It was called Moby Dick and we really liked it. The kabobs, bread, and eggplant side dish were great and the price was even better. Since then we usually picked up the Persian food in Arlington about every six weeks or so because it was the closest shop. They didn’t deliver that far away and never put a restaurant on Capitol Hill - although it was talked about but never materialized. We would also pick up dinners when we had out of town as well as in town guests. Since our Capitol Hill family members moved four years ago we sometimes pick up a smorgasbord of treats and bring it with us when we visit for special occasions. There are a few other sit down Persian restaurants in the area as well. We like Yekta in Rockville the most. But Moby Dick actually tastes the best - but they don’t serve alcohol and it’s more for pick up than sit down. So when we moved to Virginia we knew Moby Dick was hardly two blocks away from our new condo. And we have gone there a few times already in the last two months. So it was sad to learn the owner of the 15 or so francises died this week. He certainly wasn’t very old. It felt like a friend of ours was gone. Hopefully it won’t affect the restaurants and his legacy continues to live on. It’s become a staple for us. 














Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Senior Smart Trip Card

Sooner or later it had to be done. When we moved from Capitol Hill to Virginia almost two months ago I promised my husband we would take metro to town every once in a while. I hate buses and trains and much prefer taking the car - especially since everyone I worked with constantly complained about metro. But now I don’t have a good excuse - especially if we use it at non rush hour times and just for leisure. But my husband loves the metro. So we took a short ride to a commuter store in Tyson’s to get a yellow senior metro pass for me. You have to go in person to show proof of age and identity. My husband got a senior pass when we moved to DC thirteen years ago. The pass costs two dollars and then we added thirty more for fare. We probably need to consolidate all the peripheral cards we already have. Since we no longer live a block away from the metro station, there is a bus that stops right in front of our house that takes us to the metro stop just one and a half miles away. Maybe the first trip we take will be the metro bus to experience the route and see where it takes us. Luckily for us the metro train we need is on the silver, orange and blue line that takes us straight to Capitol South and our old neighborhood. I have at least three apps on my Pharmacy me to help navigate the system if we need it. Maybe the view will be more overland than underground. That might make it a little more tolerable. 














Monday, May 27, 2019

Home Tech Pro Rug Grippers

When you have wall to wall carpeting you don’t need to worry about slipping or tripping on the edge of the carpet. But if you are just clumsy it won’t make any difference. I used a carpet tape on our persian rugs at our Capitol Hill condo. It worked fine but was hell to get the residue off the floor when we moved from DC almost two months ago. So after I almost slipped on the edge of the bedroom carpet last week I did a bit of research for something that would keep the edge from curling up, but also keep the rug from slipping. Not all the carpets in the house require a full size padding. I came across the Home Tech Pro Rug Grippers that are square, fit the edges of the carpet, stick to the edge, and use a tiny suction cup action to keep the other side gripped to the floor. I have a feeling it will end up being as sticky as the tape, but at least it will be just the corner and not the entire length of the carpet. And we have Goo be gone to use just in case. So I put the grippers on the carpets in the living room, dining room, bedroom and den on the sides where someone could potentially take a spill. The grip is undeniable and hopefully they will help prevent any mishaps. I seem to think about that a lot more now than I ever did before. I’m all about prevention - there’s too many other uncontrollable things. 























Sunday, May 26, 2019

Planting the Spade to Fork Organic Herb Garden

We received an unexpected housewarming/birthday gift in the mail last week. It was a Spade to Fork organic herb garden from some very dear friends of ours who live in Milwaukee. They in fact were the first people to visit us when we moved to DC thirteen years ago. They also know my husband hates gifts - except if they are edible. So we thought we should plant the seeds in the little containers that come with the kit, along with the dirt and some little signs that say what is what. First you need to get some hot water to make the dirt pod come to life, and then mix it, add more water and then stick it in the pot. Add the seeds, cover them with a bit more dirt, put the sign with the date planted, and add some water. We put the five pots on two little white trays and first put them on the windowsill, but then thought being outside in the fresh air would be a better idea. So it’s been a few days and it seems there may be some sign of life. Regardless, since we moved to Virginia we no longer have our little patio garden. So this hits the spot. Thanks so much for your thoughtfulness! We will think of you when we have our first bite of parsley, sage, cilantro, thyme or basil. 


















Saturday, May 25, 2019

Lamps Plus Pro Track Task Lighting

It’s nice to have ambient light in the house. It makes everything look so warm and inviting. Since our tv bookcase cabinet is about fifteen years old, I added battery operated spotlights to the top shelf. But batteries don’t last very long. So when I was looking for uplights for the plant console table in the dining room, I was hoping to find a spotlight that gets plugged in. The area needed a bit of a punch being that it was dark in the corner, and uplights always look so pretty. The Lamps Plus Pro Track Task Light seemed to be just the right size, had an on off switch on the cord, and could be pointed in several directions. So I found a spot behind the bird cage and gave it a go. It looks just like I wanted it to, although the light is quite bright and there is no dimmer mechanism. The body of the lamp gets warm, but the light itself does not. It gives the space a nice glow and the shadows on the ceiling are lovely. I can think of a few other places that this sort of lighting would be nice. There are a lot of options out there. This one does a nice job.