World Champion Sign Spinner Kendric Washington

We drove around the block three times. That was after we realized the person spinning the sign on the corner of Old Dominion and Chain Bridge Road was Kendric Washington. How do we know Kendric? He was on the local news the other day and is very recognizable - especially since he was spinning the sign so effortlessly and doing gymnastics at the same time. He just won the sign spinning world championship in Las Vegas and they did a story about him. So we pulled up next to him and asked him if he was who we thought - and he said yes. So we went around the block and I took a movie of him in action, but it ended up being just photos. One more time, and we gave him a tip for being so entertaining. And one last time I finally got the movie. He was very charming. Apparently he is from Hyattesville but now lives in DC. We were watching him so closely that we don’t even know what he was advertising. We’ve seen sign spinners before - but Kendric was pure entertainment! 

https://imgtagram.com/m/2233688112121573781

The Homes We Have Lived In

Today is the one year anniversary of the first time we saw what was to become our new home. It was a brand new building, and we saw four different units. I really wanted a western exposure and we finally made up our minds within a week or so. The contract was written up in February, our two DC condos were sold within a few weeks, and we moved in April. We had been searching for a new location even before I retired four years ago. We looked in Wisconsin, Florida, the DC area, and a few places in Virginia. Our time on Capitol Hill was memorable, but a bit inconvenient at this point in our lives. We eventually moved to northern Virginia ten months ago. That got me thinking about all the homes we have lived in. I once had a collection of photos of our homes over time. One photo is my husband’s home in Iran where he grew up. My childhood homes are in Florida, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Together we had places in Wisconsin and DC. Now we are in Virginia. So I decided to highlight them all in a digital art collection. It always takes a while to figure out where to start. I have an idea in my head, and then it goes from there. It started out very uniform, then I tried painting the actual home colors but didn’t like it. Then I painted the background in a color that would match our living room decor. Still a no go. I added the location names, and our lovely borzoi in front of the Wisconsin house. Then I tried something different - moved a couple houses around and exaggerated the images and repainted each one. My husband didn’t like the colors. So I deleted the color but kept the original background. Somehow it looked better. That ended up being the final draft. I ordered the print, along with the family portrait and “me and my husband over time” and created a collection of memorable images for our living room space. Now every time we look at the images they remind us of something - happy things. They are all the places we have lived, our closest family members, and our life together. And I know it is one of a kind. 

Sun Peeks Out in the Park

Whenever we can, we take our morning walk in the park across the street. By the time we get home it’s about two miles. But when it rains or is very cold and windy we’ll drive over to Tyson’s and walk in the mall. Lately the usual leafy path we take has been a bit muddy and wet, so we have been taking the paved route that takes us behind the community center. As is with winter, any sunshine is always appreciated. I need to have sunlight - it always improves my mood. I haven’t taken any photos in the park lately because it’s been chilly and dreary. So today when the sun was trying to shine, some things started to pop - enough to make me want to take a photo. The shriveled birch tree leaves looked interesting and the stream that we now know and love looked inviting with the walking bridge seen in the distance. The park bench and the muddy path were things we avoided. The ivy growing on the tree was showing signs of new life. No one could be found on the usually busy playground. A twig was caught in the fence, and the holly berries make a nice hedge. It’s a whole different vibe here in northern Virginia compared to living thirteen years on Capitol Hill. Sometimes we miss it, but less and less lately. 

Marjan in Vienna

One of the reasons we moved to northern Virginia almost ten months ago was that Moby Dick is located just a couple of blocks away from our new house. We used to have to drive to Arlington from DC to pick up and bring home the best Persian food around. We are always on the look out for other options and found Yekta in Rockville. We usually go there on Sunday afternoon when the weather is bad rather than go out in the evening. A few months back we tried Marjan in Vienna. It is more of a take out/catering and very a ethnic, one if a kind type of place. It’s near Yas - a bakery/grocery store we go to for cookies, cucumbers, jelly, and a hot relish mix my husband loves. So today we went back to Marjan for tonight’s dinner - especially for the fall off the bone and tender chicken dish with little berries and rice. Aside from that we always get eggplant, but also the noodle/vegetable soup and potato salad. Everything looks so fresh and healthy. So we are looking forward to having dinner this evening. If you haven’t tried these wonderful recipes, you really don’t know what you are missing. 

Med Star Medical Records Release

It was a good excuse to go in to town. I checked the Medstar online portal to see if I could request my medical records be transferred, but there wasn’t an option for that request. So I called the Medstar Office to find out how to have the records transferred. I needed to sign a consent form and they would send it to me in the mail. Once I received it, I filled it in, and thought it would  be better to hand carry it back. When we moved to northern Virginia nine months ago, it was only a matter of time when we would begin to switch over to new doctors that were closer to our new neighborhood. Getting to appointments in DC was tricky when we lived there for thirteen years. Getting to them now was even worse. So we drove to Alexandria for lunch and then stopped by the doctor office to drop off the form, and pick up another one for my husband. Every time we visit the office we are unimpressed with the location at Eastern Market and the staff - and very happy to be leaving the area. The whole neighborhood looks different now. We aren’t residents anymore - but tourists. So little by little our history is fading in the Capitol city. It was nice when we lived there, but we are happy that it’s still close enough to visit - for non appointment activities. 

Florida State University Alumni Call

I received a postcard in the mail the other day from Florida State. I graduated with a bachelor of science in Nursing. They want to update the alumni information for the directory, so I called and talked to a gentleman. Since we moved last year, a few items really needed to be changed. And, I have retired since the last information was published. The one question The caller asked was to name something I remembered about attending FSU. I used to tutor some of the basketball players and attended all the games for free - and that was when FSU was #2 in the country after UCLA. The basketball players and coaches all came to a party at my house after a Christmas tournament. I didn’t think much of it then, but can’t believe it now given all the March Madness “madness!”  Anyway, after the call I was compelled to dig though some of my momentos - a few basketball handbooks, two publications with my photo on the cover, my diploma,  my student nurse name pin, FSU nursing pin, and the two green and one red ribbons that are placed on your nurses’ cap. One green means a junior, two greens mean a senior, and upon graduation, the official nursing ribbon is garnet. I can’t believe it’s been 45 years since I graduated from FSU. It feels like yesterday. Look what a postcard can do. 

Grocery Store Flowers

Every week we go grocery shopping after we have breakfast at the neighborhood spot. One item we always get is flowers. We have a double wall vase and a plant console in the dining room with a very large ornamental glass vase. During the holidays I fill them all with seasonal greens and decorative elements. But most times, it just depends on what is in stock. I always like to fill the vases with a variety of greens. When we had gardens, I could usually steal some things from there. But now I have to depend on what’s available. Sometimes there is nothing, but I try to keep the greens going over a few weeks. A few sticks also makes the bouquets more interesting. So today at Giant we picked up a big chunk of greens and a mostly yellow flower assortment. Now I have a small vase inside the large vase on the console table. It keeps things “straight,” is easier to water, and I don’t have to lift the heavy glass vessel from the stand. The flowers usually last the full week, and the second week things get a bit worn. But it’s always so pretty to see the flowers. And I like sorting them out.