Wine Again?

For as long as I can remember we always had a half glass of red wine every evening. We still have a small wine rack in the dining room that houses a few bottles from a variety of places. We even started to order a case of our favorite wine every few months from Total Wine. It was cheaper than buying a bottle here and there at the grocery store. But half way through the pandemic we just decided to stop. I’m not really sure why - we just did. I haven’t really thought much about it - except every week when I’m dusting and brush off the bottles. For whatever reason this week we thought it might be a good idea to have a glass of wine before dinner - just like we used to. So I asked my husband to pull a bottle out. He reached to the bottom of the pile and found Los Vascos. It is from Chile from 2008. For no particular reason I asked him to look up the price to see if it’s changed in fifteen years. It was only eleven dollars - no difference at all. That just goes to show you that some things don’t change over time. So I uncorked the bottle and poured our usual half glass. Then we had a toast. This is the first time I actually could taste the difference from what is our usual flavor - and I can honestly say I didn’t care for it. But we will finish the bottle off over the next few days. There is something nice about sipping wine before dinner - even though I never really cared for the taste. Should we get any replacement bottles? I’m not so sure. 

Eyebobs Half Readers Glasses

I had cataract surgery last month and the second one this month. I’ve always been able to see tiny print close up in spite of astigmatism and the need for progressive lenses. It’s taking me a while to transition to needing readers full time and also a bit frustrating since everything close up is now blurry - something I’ve never had to deal with. What I did find was keychain ThinOptics for both my husband and myself. They are excellent when you need readers while you are out and about. I have them attached to my phone and my husband has them attached to his key chain. He even wears his most of the day while reading. They are tiny little glasses that hang on your nose - no arms to deal with. He has the right kind of nose for them. I also got a pair of readers from ThinOptics that are very light - but the typical non nose piece is annoying. So I was searching for some half reader glasses that also have the nose piece with nose guards. All of my glasses have always had nose guards because my nose bone is wide at the top. And, I hate taking glasses on and off to see distance. I’d rather be able to read and look up without doing that. There are full glass bifocals too, and that may be in my future. So I found a pair of half glasses called “peek performer” on Eyebobs that looked interesting. They are more substantial than the cheapie ones that seem to fall apart. My husband has experienced that. The Eyebobs arrived today and the first thing I noticed was how heavy they were! I think I will keep these at home and bring the lightweight ThinOptics if we ever travel - which we hardly do anymore. The Eyebobs also had a bit of character - something I always looked for in a pair of glasses. These glasses also feel a bit snug even though they have a spring hinge - that’s what happens when you have a wide face! I hope I can adjust to them sharing space with my hearing aids. I want to be thrilled about cataract surgery - and today for the first time I could actually read the smaller print on my phone without glasses for the first time. It just goes to show you how important having good sight means. And there’s no getting around it. 

The Eye Drop Countdown

In August I had my left cataract eye surgery. Two weeks ago I had my right cataract eye surgery. It starts off with eye drops three times a day before the surgery, then three times a day for two weeks, then two times a day for one week, then one time a day for one week. That’s a lot of eye drops. Then before the second surgery is done, the same schedule applies. So it gets to be eye drop overdrive during the overlap. It also takes record keeping to a new level. I also depended on google to remind me when I needed to take them all. So it was a landmark I applauded when the the eye drops for the left eye ended last week! I could finally put the paper document away and only deal with one schedule. Then another landmark was achieved this week when I could go from three drips a day to two drops a day in my right eye. So for another week it is two drops a day and then the last week at one drop per day. It’s so wonderful to be on the downslope of this schedule. Unfortunately on the last day of the final drop I have to be at jury duty - which I had to reschedule because the summons occurred during the surgery schedule. I’m still adjusting to the change in my vision and hopefully it will all come in to focus soon. It will finally feel complete when there are no more eye drops. I also convinced my doctor that I didn’t need to see him until December - a three month reprieve from the weekly visits. I’m hoping the glaucoma surgery he did will help with eye pressures, but I have a feeling I’ll be on those drops for the rest of my life. I’m just glad it’s over with because it was inevitable and lucky to be able to get it done. 

Dusk Before the Storm

The sun is finally out after four days of dreary and wet skies. I usually don’t think of tropical storms living in Virginia. But with the crazy weather and hurricane season anything is possible. So when we learned we were going to be in Ophelia’s path I wasn’t looking forward to the long dark weekend through yesterday. But on the Friday evening before the upcoming storms the skies were simply beautiful. It was almost ethereal. My husband doesn’t get why I love looking at the evening sky. When we moved to northern Virginia from Capitol Hill four years ago we made sure we had a western view for the purpose of seeing the sky at dusk. He wasn’t even moved by the Milky Way that we saw in southern France with his old medical school colleague and family. I thought it was cool. But then we had a telescope when we were youngsters and enjoyed looked at Venus and the constellations. So as the sky changed from early to late evening the oranges and reds and hues came to life. I’m looking forward to the next time. 

A Mercedes in the Parking Structure

The dreary rainy weather kept us indoors for our morning walks over the weekend. Usually we will brave the elements and walk with an umbrella. But when it’s a tropical storm we decided to walk in the parking structure of our condo building. At least it is an option, but nothing like the fresh air outdoors. So we started at our usual place after getting out of the stairwell and things looked like they always do. A lot of people choose to park their vehicles on the first two levels on the weekend and not the gated section further down that is reserved for tenants. On our way down to the lowest level we came across an interesting Mercedes. It was black and a very fancy sports car. The funny thing is that it was a child’s car made to look like the real thing. And it did. I don’t know where it came from or who it belongs to. But it did look like it has gotten a lot of wear. I’m assuming it belongs to a grandparent who happens to live in the building. It just looked funny taking up an entire parking space for this tiny vehicle. I remember as a youngster having a yellow vehicle of some sort that was shared with my siblings. But we had to drive it with our feet - not with a battery. Things have changed since then. But at least we still got to enjoy driving a car all those years ago. 

52Frames Wabi Sabi Weekly Photo Challenge

The 52Frames weekly photo challenge this week was “wabi-Sabi.” I first thought my mom’s broken vase would be nice, but then decided her elf was even better. That little elf sat in her curio cabinet for as long as I can remember. It’s one of the few things I kept after she passed away three years ago. It’s over seventy five years old. If you look at the bottom side you can tell it’s been around. It’s a bit worn and the paint is chipped off. Aside from that the hat tip is broken off. So what has become my signature project is to turn the images in to a composite photo. So I took several photos of the elf at every angle. And then took a closer in shot of his backside. It’s actually very pretty! Then a photo of a shelf and a plant were taken. It took awhile to figure out how I would piece all of these images together. I hand painted in the outline of the display shelf, then added in the elf’s behind print in to the shelfs. The elf’s were arranged on the shelves - two sitting opposite the plant on top and the rest placed here and there. Then a few backgrounds were tried but I wanted to highlight the wabi Sabi of the elf’s behind chipped paint print and used that as the background - but in a more transparent way. The end result was pleasing to the eye and it was a fun way to remember my mom - and her elf. I wish I knew the story behind it. 

Ophelia Changes our Morning Walk

We always take a morning walk and have been since I retired several years ago, and before that on the days I wasn’t working. We usually drive over to the neighborhood park for the 2.4 miles duration. At least once a week we drive in to town - either to the Tidal Basin or the National mall - sometimes in our old neighborhood on Capitol Hill. If not there, it’s Alexandria and Theodore Roosevelt Island. If it rains we drive over to the Mall - although with Covid recirculating we are staying away from indoors as much as possible. So when Ophelia decided to rear it’s ugly head this weekend the last two days have been rather wet and dreary - so much so that we decided against walking in the neighborhood streets and the park. So we walked where it was the best alternative - our parking structure. At least it’s safe from the elements, but it is a total bore. We haven’t walked there since the height of the pandemic. So it’s not a happy reminder even though it’s an option. There are four levels to the lot. The first and second levels are shared spaces with the office building across the street. The condo owners spaces are gated off in the third and fourth levels. So there is an adequate amount of space to complete at least two miles. And oftentimes we will run in to a neighbor or two - some on foot and some driving in and out. I wouldn’t recommend doing this on a daily basis. But when there is a tropical storm it works. 

Finally! A Haircut after Three Months

It’s been three months since my last haircut. I used to get a haircut every six to eight weeks at the most. But since Covid and everything else, haircuts have been less of a priority. I usually wear my hair on the shorter side because it is very thin and looks rather unflattering at one length. And being silvery grey it can age you too if not kept up. So I find myself looking at styles on Pinterest that might work and end up with the same thing. When we lived on Capitol Hill and I was working at the Library of Congress I had an asymmetrical bob. Since we moved to northern Virginia four years ago I went with a pixie, and then because of the pandemic the pixie turned in to a very long mess. So it was finally cut in to a short bob and I’ve pretty much stayed that route. One length and chin length bob sounds good, but I was getting tired of it. So I found a few images of something that I thought I would like and brought them in yesterday to my hairdresser/stylist. It was more of a bixie - front bob and the back pixie with layers. It’s a style that goes better with my face shape - I need more weight on the top rather than the sides and chin. It would also take a few years off - something we all need now. And since I had cataract surgery I no longer need glasses for distance - a very odd feeling to have since I was sixteen! She did a nice job based on my hair type, etc. You know the cut is good when another one of the most trendy hairstylists follows you out of the salon to tell you how gorgeous your hair is. I know it’s a ploy but it works every time. 

Morning Walk on the National Mall

It’s been a couple of weeks since we drove in to town for a morning walk. So yesterday we decided it was time to do just that. So we parked at the Tidal Basin and started out towards the MLK memorial. It was very quiet along the pathway. In fact the crowds have subsided and that’s just the way I like it. We crossed over on independence avenue to the US Park’s newly opened horse stables. There was one horse outside and not much going on inside the new exhibit. I was hoping to see horses in the actual stable but that didn’t seem to be an option. Then we walked past the Washington Monument and towards the Department of Agriculture. They have a people’s garden there as there is also one at the US Botanic garden. You can tell summer is coming to a close. The gardeners are trimming back just about everything in the Smithsonian castle gardens. The brilliant and unusual flowers are all starting to fade. On the way back to the car one of the cherry trees is decidedly peculiar. There is another one called “stumpy” past the Jefferson Memorial. This one looks like its twin. For whatever reason they bloom in the spring but look pretty rough the rest of the year. I have to say this was one of the more low key walks we have taken. Sometimes that’s a god thing.