CIDRAP and the Osterholm Weekly Podcast

Both my husband and I were in the health care field.  He was a general surgeon and I was a registered nurse. My experience was more in administration and operations; his was actually saving people’s lives. So when Covid came along we tried to be logical about life in general. One of the voices we appreciated hearing from was Dr. Michael Osterholm from the University of Minnesota. He was one of the few people who “told it like it is” and it usually wasn’t something you wanted to hear. Since we hadn’t heard from him for a while, I googled him and found the University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy website. Since then we have been listening to his weekly podcasts. We find them interesting and they keep us up to date on the state of things. We also found out more about Dr. Osterholm. He looks quite stern on TV, but always had a sly smile on his face. At the end of each podcast, he talks about a pleasant place, and then selects lyrics from a song that represents how he is feeling. Finally he always reminds everyone to “be kind.” Usually my husband and I shed a tear at the conclusion - probably because life has changed for all of us and this is another reminder. But we are lucky to have a Dr. Osterholm out there to keep us in the know. It’s too bad not everyone takes the time to hear what he has to say. 

Library Program and Pick up Dinner

When we lived on Capitol Hill we used to go to the Library of Congress for a variety of programs. The topics may not have been that interesting all of the time, but it was a great excuse to get out of the house. I worked there for ten years so we knew our way around  - and the commute was a two block walk. Since we moved to northern Virginia three years ago we continued the outings - but we would need to plan for plenty of time to drive in, and then afterwards we would go out for dinner. A lot has changed since the pandemic. We haven’t been to the library for over two years, but we still received program information for virtual meetings. Yesterday afternoon we watched a program from the Kluge Center about “Pillars of Democracy - The Media.” We mirrored it to Apple TV and watched from our living room. Rather than go out for dinner afterwards, we had ordered pick up at Pulcinella - a favorite Italian restaurant just down the street. It certainly wasn’t the same as doing everything in person, but it did remind us of some sense of normalcy. We never did a whole lot of anything since I retired six years ago. But the last two years really changed everything. 

Live-streaming a Funeral

He was the last uncle in our family. He was my mom’s youngest sister’s husband. I didn’t know him very well. When we moved away from New England when I was a youngster, we weren’t in touch as much with some family members, except for the rare visit and Christmas card exchanges. My mom stayed in touch more with her youngest sister in the later years with more frequent phone calls and emails. A few of my cousins were on Facebook so we followed along there. My mom passed away two years ago right before the pandemic. During the pandemic we started a cousin zoom group and my aunt joined us there. Occasionally we would see Uncle walk past and wave. I would always look for my mom in her sister’s face. We had learned that Uncle wasn’t doing well a while back and on the Saturday before Easter he passed away after being in hospice for a few weeks. The funeral was scheduled for this morning. We learned that the funeral would be live streamed so I tuned in today. My husband and I watched. I looked for my aunt and cousins and their families - many that I haven’t seen since planning my parents 50th wedding anniversary all those years ago, or a cousin wedding before that. If anything good can be said about the pandemic is the ability to visit with people and places via zoom and live streaming. It was a nice ceremony and tribute. Now my aunt is the last of the original family. So today I’m not only thinking of Uncle Bob, but of Aunt Jane and her family, and my family - as well as all the memories. It is bittersweet. 

Recognized in DC

Yes, we lived in DC for thirteen years. We moved to northern Virginia three years ago. We still miss our old neighborhood. Not the inconvenience, but the surroundings. So every week we have made it a habit to drive in to the city for a morning walk. Oftentimes the purpose is to take photos for the weekly challenge contest that I belong to. On Monday we parked in the old neighborhood and walked over to the Navy Yard and Yards Park. It has changed so much since we first moved. The only buildings were the department of transportation and a Marriott in between all of the run down dwellings. Now it has more buildings and the nationals stadium and is densely populated with high rises and hotels. So we walked along the waterfront. Today we drove in and parked by the American Indian museum and headed towards the Smithsonian castle. While waiting at the stop light a young lady asked us if we were enjoying our time in DC. She said she saw us walking along the river front in Yards Park earlier this week while she was walking her dog. We told her we lived in DC a and now drive in for morning walks. Then she wished us a pleasant day. It doesn’t sound like much but what are the odds of being recognized in a city as big as DC? I was wearing the same coat and hat and it’s not infrequent that people in a neighborhood recognize us because my husband and I are always together. It just seemed strange to be recognized out of the blue - but in a good way. 

Urgent Care Visit

We were in a rear end car collision last week. We were driving down the GW parkway when the car behind us smashed in to us. I immediately felt discomfort in my neck and upper back. I was hoping it would go away. Well, it didn’t. Yesterday after walking in the morning, my neck was getting more uncomfortable. So we got in the car and drove to the urgent care clinic. Even though the car had damage and is scheduled to get repaired - which is inconvenient enough - now we have to waste time in a clinic. Luckily we are retired, but nevertheless this incident has taken the joy out of my life since it happened. Now I have two prescriptions to take because my neck muscle is “strained” as a result of the accident. So we got the prescriptions filled and we are keeping records of any health care encounter. I did report the findings to the insurance company. Today I am nauseated from the medicine and feeling very tired and crappy overall. The urgent care process went exceptionally well considering. I know this could have been a lot worse - and thank goodness my husband is okay. Why can’t people just pay attention when they are driving? We were minding our own business. 

52Frames Lamp

The subject matter for this week’s photo challenge was “lamp.”  I was not “feeling” it at all. So much so that I was getting a bit angry about it. I was at a loss for what to do. We have a limited supply of lamps in our tiny condo and I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go except the antique shop down the street. But I just wasn’t in the mood to do that. So I spent an afternoon taking photos of the Dyson lamp we have in the living room, and another floor lamp that is actually a flashlight that stays lit when the power goes out. But nothing turned out decent as hard as I tried. Then I thought about the lamp that we no longer use that is sitting in the closet next to my purses. No. We just had another lamp repaired and it was sitting on a shelf waiting to be placed on a new sideboard that has not yet arrived. No. I was almost feeling desperate. Then I walked in to the bedroom in the late afternoon and noticed the lamp sitting on the glass table. The cloudy/sunny sky was lighting the area in a very interesting way. So I was under the table and next to it taking photos from every angle. But the key was bringing the final image in to the edit mode and applying a filter. The end result was almost mesmerizing! You just know when you get it right - or at least - good enough!

Mashed Potatoes

Who doesn’t love them? My mom certainly knew I did. Whenever we were out for dinner it would always be mashed potatoes as a side. We always had them for Thanksgiving. And I do remember instant mashed potatoes during the year. They certainly weren’t as good, but it didn’t matter. We are big potato eaters in our house. If it’s not rice, then it’s half of a potato “baked” in the microwave with yogurt on the side. So when my husband made one of our favorite chicken dishes the other day he made it with rice. It was still delicious, but after dinner I remembered the last time he made that dish we had mashed potatoes with it. That made the meal so much more memorable. We had enough chicken left overs for another dinner so last night he made mashed potatoes to go along with it. You don’t need any gravy - although that’s an added bonus - because it’s just the idea of mashed potatoes. Probably because we don’t have them very often it is such a treat. We don’t add milk - just one slice of American cheese. It does take longer to prepare than rice, but well worth the effort. Luckily we had enough left over for another time. What’s for dinner?

Metro Smartrip Card

Not that we use it that often. In fact, we haven’t used metro for over two years for obvious reasons. When we lived on Capitol Hill I didn’t like using metro. My husband on the other hand loved it. When we first moved to northern Virginia three years ago we took the train in to town once just to see how it felt. But first we had to drive the car to the McLean metro and park. There is an option to take the bus that stops right in front of our building to the station, but the way back would be a bit more complicated since they were still constructing the bus stop areas. In the meantime two of our metro cards were expiring. That meant we could no longer use them. We found that out when we tried using them in DC last year to meet with friends coming in from out of town for the honor flight and the cards didn’t work. The metro person basically yelled at us for not knowing that but eventually helped us figuring out which cards could be used. So a couple of months ago I sent in the two cards that no longer worked to exchange them for new cards because I couldn’t transfer the funds left on line. We had taken them to the metro stop in our neighborhood to see if they could do it for us but they couldn’t - or wouldn’t. I never thought I would see the cards again until they arrived in the mail this week. Unfortunately I forgot to tell them that we needed senior cards. Since we have four cards now we will eventually quit using these. I may even try the app that has features that might come in handy again. I really prefer driving the car because there have been so many problems with metro in the news lately. But there may be an occasion that the metro cards might come in handy again. But I can’t think of any reason right now - although my husband would prefer we would find one. 

Fine Art America T-shirt Order

It’s always fun to get an email from a website that showcases my digital art and photography informing me that an item was purchased. Unlike with Etsy communications, those are requests for commissions that require me to create a new piece of work. These are communications that inform me that someone liked something that was already painted or photographed so much that a purchase was made with the likeness. And that’s what happened yesterday. I not only got one email, but two from Fine Art America. The great thing about digital art and photography is that the images are available worldwide. I have had commissions and purchases worldwide as well. So it was interesting that someone from Markdorf Germany found two images that they liked. One was a photograph of a birdhouse in front of the “pull the curtain” art display at the Hirshhorn Museum, and the other was one of my first digital art paintings of the Martin Luther King Memorial - both in DC. The idea that someone all the way in Germany found the images, liked the images, and bought the T-shirts with the images on them just tickles my fancy. I have a few websites that I constantly update and attend to - Fine Art America, Redbubble, and Zazzle. And everything I do is highlighted on my website LoisTavaf.com. So, thank you for noticing my work out of the millions of images out there! 

Car Rear Ended on the GW Parkway

If only you could restart the day and make other decisions. We weren’t going to go in to town this morning for a walk but decided to at the last minute. We got on the GW Parkway as usual and soon after saw the “merge left” signs. We always merge before getting to the end. So the blinker was on and we moved left in to the lane that was already stopped up and crawling along for the ongoing road repairs that have been going on for the last several weeks. Then I heard the brakes squeal and a car hit us from behind. We called the police and the park police who told us to move along if there wasn’t serious injury or damage. At least it was reported. To make a long story short the day was ruined. Her front end was affected and our rear end was messed up enough that it is going to require body work. So the rest of the morning was spent talking to her insurance company to figure out next steps. Now we need to wait to hear from them and get the car repaired. We are not anticipating a hassle but one never knows. I just feel very shaken and out of sorts - my neck, knee and shoulder feel a bit odd. Having not been in an accident we weren’t sure what we needed to do. I took photos of everything but it wasn’t easy during rush hour on this very busy parkway. Rather than continue the ride to town we came home. No walk after all. If only we just stayed in the neighborhood today. 

Subaru Service Confusion - On My Part!

We had just brought the Subaru in for an oil and filter change earlier in the month. Since they weren’t able to check the squeaky brake we had to make another appointment. Since we also had questions about whether to have a major check done as well, I called rather than schedule on line in the event we would need a loaner. After explaining the situation the appointment was made with a loaner and we were set. As usual I wrote the information on the calendar and we received a confirmation email and a text, then another text as a reminder. So when we went this morning to drop off the car several things happened. The guy asked us if we had an appointment and if we wanted a safety inspection. Both my husband and I thought that meant the major check up. What he meant was if we wanted to have the annual safety check required by Virginia law since the sticker said May 22. It would be a month early but would save us another trip. We said ok. When we walked inside, we were flabbergasted when she said our appointment was for yesterday! I have NEVER a made that kind of mistake and was completely embarrassed - especially since we needed a loaner. Luckily she said it was no problem and we could still get the loaner. After signing all the paperwork I just casually asked if the safety check was noted - and it wasn’t. So that was added. Then we needed an orientation on how to drive a keyless car because we keep forgetting about using the brake and pushing the ignition button. The new car feels weird because it feels like it is stalling every time we stop. On the way home we realized that we left our keys with them and we wouldn’t be able to get in to the house (since I don’t carry a purse anymore I don’t carry keys) nor would we be able to park in our condo garage without the fob we left in the car. So we had to drive back to get the keys - but I forgot to ask for the fob. So when we drove back home I had to ask the front desk if they happened to have an extra fob that we could borrow for the day since we didn’t want to leave the loaner car out in the general parking. Begrudgingly they handed one to me. I also forgot to mention at the dealer that we have an extended safety contract with Subaru in the event whatever is being repaired might be covered. So I sent the information via email to the person who had been helping us. I feel so discombobulated and it is very unsettling. Usually my husband watches for the keys - and I even thought about it before we went in. I think we are so out of touch dealing with the real world that we are still thinking like the last two years. I only hope the rest of the day settles down and we are able to pick up the car without another snafu. I’m not good at doing things off schedule. It’s a bit scary. 

Sunset View From the Balcony

Sunset is the prettiest and most peaceful time of the day - for me. It seems a lot of people prefer sunrise. But I am not one of them. For as long as I can remember I hated getting up in the morning. I was always a later night type of person. So it’s a balancing act when your husband is a day person and you are not. I remember as a college student walking on campus in the early evening. It was so lovely and I was so content. So when we moved to northern Virginia three years ago from Capitol Hill I wanted to make sure we had a view of the western sky. And the last thing I wanted was a bright light in the bedroom in the morning - the black out shades are a big welcome regardless. It’s still a bit too early to sit on the balcony in the evening hours, but the skies always look so interesting. When it warms up we sit out and play adventure hidden object games on my iPad for a while before we settle in to watch TV. So the other evening was quite interesting and I captured the view a few times. I really wish I was a morning person for so many reasons. It’s supposedly more healthy to enjoy the start of the day. But I’ll take the sunset anytime. 

52Frames Extreme Closeup

This week’s subject for the photo challenge was “extreme closeup.” For whatever reason I was having difficulty focusing on capturing an appropriate image. We were just at the botanical garden the week before to get a nature image. I thought the flowers would be a good idea for a closeup. There certainly were plenty of tulips outside and the flowers inside were okay. The idea was to get something that fills the frame without any distracting background. Then we walked by the Capitol and I tired a few shots there. I didn’t care for any of them. When we walked in the neighborhood park later in the week the dandelions looked interesting or maybe a green leaf.  But what really got my attention was the indoor miniature roses that my husband has been tending. We bought the plant last year to add some color to the plant console table. He got it to bloom at least once more after the initial bunch. Then the plant hibernated over winter. He’s been tending to it daily since early spring. Based on everything I’ve read it seems these plants are not the easiest to keep blooming - until he did it! So I spent a lot of time taking photos of the tiny blooms, then heavily edited the image to showcase the green stem and the folds and outline of the flower. I’m sure it doesn’t quite meet the definition of “detail,” but I really liked it. I think I liked the idea behind it even more.