52Frames Meaningful Location Photo Challenge

The subject this week for the 52Frames photo challenge was “meaningful location.” The first thing that came to mind was our son and daughter in law’s row house on Capitol Hill. But then I decided to save that for another time. Before we moved to DC we visited the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. And after we moved it was the most requested place to see whenever someone came to visit. So we have been to the museum several times, and each time has been no less difficult to walk through. So last week we parked by the tidal basin and walked over. I wasn’t sure what I had in mind except it would be a composite image somehow using the building as the blank canvas. On the way I took a photo of the directional sign, then a photo of the banner hanging out front, then photos of both entrances to the building, the signage on the building, and ironically a flock of doves that flew overhead. So when I started editing the image the red brick side of the building looked nicer. All of the peripheral images and signs were composed on to the walls and sculptures. Then the flock of doves was painted in white above. There is always a line waiting to get in to this memorial. But I wanted the highlight of the image to be “think about what you saw,” and blurred the background a bit. I would say this is a very meaningful location. 

Yas Persian Treats

It’s been a while. But my husband was running out of sugar cubes so we needed to take a ride to Yas Bakery in Vienna. We can no longer find sugar cubes in the grocery store, so this is our go to place not only for the sugar, but also for the desserts and other treats. Yas is a Persian grocery/bakery that we found even in Vienna even before we moved to northern Virginia. We would often times take a ride there from Capitol Hill to get cookies and treats for friends and family - and ourselves. There are also interesting tea cups and other notable items that we have made in to Christmas and graduation gifts. It’s a bit unique and we enjoy looking. So today we found a bunch of small cucumbers, saffron pistachios, a cookie/cake item my husband likes with tea, the broken up uneven sugar cubes, and some Persian tea. The tea has the name of our niece Sahar and the sugar cubes have the name of some family members Golchin. I also like going to this place because it reminds my husband of where he came from. Now it is a lot closer to home and there is no excuse not to go. This time we had a good reason. 

The Interesting and Colorful Neighbor

We always thought our morning walks on the National mall were interesting. Then we began noticing a woman in the neighborhood walking about the same time we did. Every once in a while we saw her wearing sparkly and glittery face masks during the pandemic but didn’t think much more about it. Lately we have been running in to her more often. A few weeks ago we spotted her wearing a huge colorful brimmed hat with a chartreuse dress with matching shoes and purse. As we were leaving the park she was walking towards us. Another time we were on our way over to the park and she was walking though our street wearing a blue outfit with the same accessories. Then we saw her swinging in kids park when we walked by. The following week we saw her again swinging on the swing - but this time in a multicolored dress with the same hat, shoes and purse. Last weekend when we were checking our mail we saw her through the window walking along the street in front of our condo building. This time it was a red dress with the same essentials. Now we are constantly looking out for her and haven’t seen her. It will be curious to see if she changes up the summer outfit and how she transitions in to fall and winter. She has become a character for some of my weekly photo challenges because she is simply irresistible! Perhaps one of these days we will make official contact. But until that happens she will remain the mysterious lady in the neighborhood. 

Virtual Visual Field Exam

Ever since I can remember I have been getting visual field exams at the eye doctor. Because I have a lot of strange eye issues annual exams were a part of my life since I was sixteen - when I got my first pair of glasses and soon after - contacts. I also had some visual disturbances in my early twenties and also high pressures. For the last many years the eye exams were every six months. How fun! This week was time for my eye exam. But there was something new and refreshing about this experience. First of all the office moved to a much larger space so it just felt better. And when it came time for the dreaded visual field test a new device was introduced. No longer did you have to sit in front of the hooded machine, put on an eye patch, put your chin in the strap, lean in, listen to the weird noise it made, and then click away at each twinkling bright and not so bright lights. This time I was handed a virtual field headset. I could keep my glasses on and adjust the device so it was comfortable while I remained sitting in the usual exam chair. It was already more comfortable. Then the test began and the device automatically shaded one eye out and then halfway through it changed to the other eye. The clicker didn’t make any noise and it was Wi-Fi attached so there were no cords. The instructions were written and spoken on the device. The technician basically left the room until it was done. I rather like all of these digital devices and thought this was such an improvement over the old machine. After all, that technology needed to be updated - it’s almost as old as I am. And that’s over fifty years. Things are changing so rapidly these days. This is just another example. And having been in health care for most of my career it can only get so much better. 

Return to McLean Family Restaurant After Three Years

I’m not going to say that we moved to northern Virginia for this reason, but we used to drive every Saturday from

Capitol Hill to McLean Family Restaurant for breakfast. Afterwards we did our grocery shopping and drove back home. It was a ritual. We even gave Christmas cards to our favorite staff. So when we finally did move to northern Virginia over four years ago we really liked the idea of walking to the restaurant rather than driving when we could. We knew everyone at this restaurant and they had the coffee on the table before we even sat down. Then the pandemic came and we hadn’t been back for over three years - until yesterday. We finally decided that it was time to go back for breakfast, but this time it was during the week and not the weekend. The cashier was the same, but everyone else had changed over except for two wait staff. We were seated in a usual spot and it took a minute to remember what we used to order. But it didn’t take long to remember, including some soup of the day. After a bit we started chatting with the wait staff that was one of the few remaining. It was so nice to see a familiar face. While checking out we told the cashier we hadn’t been in for over three years and he claimed to remember us. He said he hoped it would not be another three years for our next visit. So many restaurants have closed so it’s nice to know this one survived. We are happy to continue to support it. It’s just one of those things. 

Happy Twentieth Birthday Grandson

It is a couple of days late, but I wanted to remember our grandson’s twentieth birthday. His first home was on Capitol Hill in a beautiful townhouse. You could say that he changed the trajectory of our lives. It was because of him and his family that we decided to move to Capitol Hill when he was three years old. His father - an army heart surgeon - would be deployed three times and we wanted a change of pace from the Midwest anyway. So we would be available when our son was away, but it seemed like a good idea. Never did we think we would end up swapping our 2500 square foot home to a 500 square foot condo just five houses down the street from them. To make things even more interesting, I ended up getting a job at the Library of Congress. So we watched our grandson grow up and it felt good being so close to family - even though we didn’t see them all that often. My husband was the back up baby sitter and he would be on call for whatever our daughter in law needed him for. But then our sim retired from the army and moved the family to central Virginia when our grandson was in middle school. It was never the same after that. In the end our grandson turned out to be a lovely fellow and will be a junior at UVA this year. For the third summer he is hosting white water rapid tours on the Hudson River. So happy birthday dear grandson! 

The Black Vulture

We always thought they were called turkey buzzards. We were walking through the neighborhood park when out of the blue this huge black bird flew on to the fence right in front of us. Of course I whipped out my phone and started taking photos - and a video - of him. The wing span was very wide and he looked like he was trying to dry them off - he was holding them out and moving them back and forth. He knew we were there and we were hoping he wouldn’t get any ideas and start coming towards us. After a bit he flew up in to the tree branch with a whopping whooshing noise. He stayed up there for quite some time, still holding his wings out. A while ago I had downloaded the Cornell Lab Merlin bird app. You can learn about and identify a bird by simply listening to the song or you can upload a photo and it will tell you all about it. So I uploaded one of the images of the bird and it immediately came back as a black vulture. It said they soar in flocks often with other hawks - which we have also frequently seen in the park. But this one was alone. They like roadkill and dumpsters. I suppose we should be thankful someone does. Anyway, it was a treat to see this huge raptor so close up. You never know what you might run in to. 

52Frames In the Center Photo Challenge

The subject for the 52Frames photo challenge this week was “in the center.” So we took a ride in to town to find some options around the DC Navy Yard/Yards Park neighborhood. There were some reasonably decent images. I even tried using the tiny borzoi stuffed animal and painted me in next to her. But then on our morning walk we came upon the neighborhood lady with the interesting outfit. Last week I used her for the abstract challenge. This time she had on a multicolor dress with her distinguished wide brimmed hat and matching flowery shoes. She stopped at the children’s area in the park and began swinging. I knew this would become the entry this week - but only after I edited the photo in to a composite image. I think I have found my niche. I no longer like just taking photos. After all I’m not really a photographer. I just like taking pictures. But what I really enjoy is turning the photo in to a story by using a few different layered images to create a more interesting piece and also adding some digital art. So the dancing lady was isolated from that photo and placed on a background of a photo of  the night sky. Then the swing chains, the twinkling stars and more exaggerated clouds were painted in. The project went through three iterations - swinging against a blue sky, against a painted sky, and against a real night sky photo. So “would you like to swing on a star” became the theme and the entry. Now I can’t stop thinking about that song. 

The Beautiful Library of Congress Jefferson Building

They say it is the most beautiful building in Washington DC. And I have to agree. Although my base station was the Madison Building, I walked over to the Library of Congress Jefferson Building almost daily over my ten years as a federal employee there. What was even better is that we lived on Capitol Hill and my commute was jus three blocks away. So I was able to come home for lunch and enjoy my husband’s company. I retired a few years ago and we have since moved to northern Virginia, but last week we drove in to town to attend a program - something we still love to do. And every time we go, we are constantly amazed at how lovely this place is. And it doesn’t matter what time of the year. Right now it’s very busy with tourists and visitors. At Christmas the decorations are so pretty. There are wonderful views of the Capitol building from the great hall. There are also many exhibits to see. But we enjoy coming in for a program here and there and to spend some time beforehand just strolling around. I still can’t believe I actually worked there.