Marjan Persian Food

It’s been a while since we were there last. We drive by it almost every week and comment that we should try it again. So last Friday - before the storm - we drove over to Marjan in Vienna to get some Persian food. It’s a lot like a deli and is authentic home made - which my husband doesn’t care for. He’s a big fan of Moby Dick - another Persian take out that we have been going to since we moved to DC sixteen years ago. So we looked at the menu before we went in and had a good idea what we wanted. The most important item was the chicken with the berries that is mouth watering tender and melts in your mouth. You can’t get that at Moby Dick. We got two different soups  - barley and noodle, an eggplant dish, a potato chicken cold salad, and vegetable frittata. It was enough to last for three dinners - too much. In the end the food was good but not something you would want to eat all of the time. Apparently they do a big catering service. It’s amazing how many Persian restaurants there are in this neighborhood. There are three within walking distance from our house. There is something about the food - it’s pretty healthy and tastes good. What else would you want? 

52frames Inspired by a Photographer

He was right. Taking photos of koi is quite tricky. A Polish photographer Lukasz Palka who lives in Tokyo has taken some lovely photos of koi. So I tried my best at the National Arboretum to do the same. The koi pond just reopened and there weren’t a lot of fish. The water was a bit murky and they were primarily in the shade. They move about so quickly and appear to be rather shy. Aside from the fish we took a morning walk through the azalea park - but we missed the peak blooms. Another photographer I wanted to mimic was an Iranian film maker who has also done a lot of black and white images. So we wandered about the grounds and found some interesting options. Before we left we checked out the herb gardens and roses and arbors, then passed through the substantial bonsai collection.  I was surprised how much attention both the fish and the woods got on my Facebook business page and on Instagram. I use the responses to gauge which photo to choose for the weekly challenge, along with my husband’s opinion. I ended up selecting a single koi - there was something about the contrasting color of the fish and the water even though it wasn’t very crisp. Regardless of the challenge it’s a great excuse to get out of the house. 

Fixin’ Up the House - the Little Things

We moved to northern Virginia three years ago. It’s the first place we haven’t really “done up” to our taste. With the pandemic it probably needs it more than ever, but we just didn’t have the inclination. The place looks okay, but not “cozy” - at least to my standards. A couple of weeks ago we rearranged the bedroom furniture so the head of the bed is away from the window. And we moved the couch in the den to the side of the room rather than walking in to it. It all looks so much better! That made visible a couple of things that needed to be addressed. The boxes that were under the bench by the foot of the bed are now under the window. Because they are sitting on the wood floor instead of the carpet, I needed to put sliders under them so as not to scratch the floor when pulling them in and out, and also attach to the back so they wouldn’t scratch the toe kick. We then had one of the lamps repaired so now it works like it should. There were four ugly plugs that stand out against the white wall that needed to be better camouflaged. I pulled out the very large adapter we used in our Capitol Hill condo and put the only white plug to the right, two black plugs on the left side, and put two plugs in the extension cord. Then all the cables were tied together and lifted off the floor so the vacuum cleaner wouldn’t get caught up in the wires. If we had a king bed you wouldn’t even see the wires and plugs. But we have a queen so there is the extra space. The three way plug that was once used there is now in the bathroom where we now have a small dehumidifier running, but need more plugs for other things. I can’t believe there was only one plug put in this bathroom! Then the small Persian carpet that was in the foyer by the closet was put back in the kitchen where it belongs. We purchased a Ruggables rug a few months back that never stayed put and just didn’t look that great. Then on the balcony we finally refurbished the baskets that hang from the seats with annuals. Now it looks fresh and pretty even though the flowers face the outside. At least when we sit out there we can enjoy them. It doesn’t seem like much but when you have a 1000 square foot living space everything needs to have a place and be functional. Since we probably won’t ever put in a second bathroom in our bedroom closet that may become the next project. We have so much junk in there it needs to be purged. We probably won’t ever use the twin bed that is stored there and taking up space. I’ve seen “closets” that might work nicely there that have shelves and doors and hanging racks. The discussion now is to either remove the candy dish in the foyer because it’s too busy or find something less ornate. Since we had to use the furniture from our other house not everything really goes in the new one. We did purchase a dining room sideboard a few months ago that we hope will create a cleaner look. If we ever see it we’ll need to decide next steps if needed. Oh - the shade in the dining room is crooked. We should probably get that fixed……

Lamp Repair at Lamps Unlimited

It’s been broken for three years. But since we have two of them we didn’t feel the need to have it fixed. We bought the pair of bedroom lamps at Ethan Allen sixteen years ago! One of them just sparked and it smelled like burnt wire so we just left it as a decorative piece rather than functional. But then we finally decided to move the bedroom furniture around so the head wasn’t under the window. In so doing, the “good lamp” ended up on my husband’s side of the bed - in the corner that needs the light when it is needed. That also meant that he would have to be the one responsible for turning it off right before we go to sleep - which would be a new habit. So we finally decided it would also be time to get the lamp fixed. Neither one of us wanted to buy new lamps because we like the way these look and they are rarely used. So we brought the lamp in yesterday to Lamps Unlimited - just down the street - to see if it could be repaired. Today we got the call that it was ready for pick up. It only cost twenty five dollars to either fix the switch or put in a new cord. We were happy with that and so was the bedroom. It’s a nice feeling to have two functional lamps! 

American Plant Balcony Baskets

It was about time to finally get some flowers for our balcony baskets! When we lived in the Midwest we wouldn’t even think about it until at least Memorial Day. We just hadn’t gotten around to it yet. So yesterday we took a ride to American Plant in search of the best annuals we could find. We are rather limited because we only have three coco lined window baskets that we hang from the back of the patio furniture. The ivy and liriope didn’t survive this year so we would also need to find greenery replacements. The place was rather busy as we made our way up and down the isles. I used to love planting in our several gardens in the Midwest - especially the pots on the patio and the window boxes. I do go about it quite methodically - each one usually has a tall item like the spike, a flowing trailing item like the ivy, a larger bloomed flower like gerbera daisy or geranium, and then a few different smaller decorative items like pansies or marigolds. My husband is more in tune to the color. He actually thought a purple flower would be nice in memory of my mom. That was her favorite color. Then he always likes yellow and red and always white - “gentle colors.” For whatever reason I was having a hard time coordinating the flowers. Before planting this year I removed all of the dirt because the coco liners were leaking too much last year and the plastic needed to be replaced. It was more work than I thought and was quite a messy situation. It’s hard to plant on a balcony! You have to be aware of not only your space but your neighbor’s as well. In the end it looks good but I probably needed to put in more fresh dirt which I didn’t have. There are a couple of bald spots that could do with a filler. Hopefully the plants will all do well and grow nicely. Whenever we sit on the balcony it just adds a bit of life to a sterile environment. Flowers are just so pretty.