Wednesday, November 30, 2022

UVA Architecture

Our grandson attends UVA. He is a sophomore majoring in math and computer science. The school is located an hour from their home in central Virginia and two hours from our house. That makes it very convenient in so many ways. It offers the getaway from the home feeling and is close enough to drive back and forth when needed. We have been planning to take a tour of the campus with him since he started there, but COVID messed up any opportunity. So we waited until last week to finally see the campus. On our way to their home we first stopped off at UVA and parked in front of his house where he lives with seven other people. He loved in the dorm last year. They all belong to the rafting club - he even gives lessons in the pool. His mom joined us there and we set out. Because of the thanksgiving holiday the place was literally deserted. And the remains of the memorials from the school shooting the week before were everywhere. So it was a different sort of tour, but interesting at that time of the day - almost dusk. It’s obvious it was made by Thomas Jefferson because the style is so Monticello. We passed by all of the landmarks and statues of the third President. We walked from one end to the other then went to a really nice restaurant for dinner. Our grandson’s roommate was our waiter. We are hoping to visit again in warmer weather and more normal circumstances. The “academical village” is named on the world heritage list. 



































Tuesday, November 29, 2022

UVA Memorial

It’s not the kind of thing you want to happen to anyone. But whenever you hear about a mass killing you wonder if you will ever become involved. Before Thanksgiving there was one at the University of Virginia. That’s where our grandson goes to college and the closest thing we have come to knowing someone near an event like this. When we lived on Capitol Hill there was a mass shooting at the Navy Yard - a few blocks from our house at the time. My husband read about the event early in the morning and we contacted our grandson just to see how things were. He was sheltering in place and ended up driving home - luckily it is only one hour away. It was a very sad situation soon to be outdone by another mass killing somewhere else. When we drove to visit family for the holiday we first stopped at UVA in Charlottesville to get the tour of the campus. I thought when we finally took the tour with our grandson it would be a joyous occasion. Instead, it was quite solemn walking along the football stadium where the football players played and where the memorial flowers and tokens abounded. Our grandson lives near the stadium so that’s where our tour started. All along the campus route there were reminders of the event. The campus was also empty because of the holiday - so it was even a bit more eerie, but beautifull all at the same time. It’s hard to think that this tragedy will not affect the school’s reputation. It just makes everything seem a bit more sour. 



























Monday, November 28, 2022

52Frames Wabi-Sabi Photo Challenge

Wabi Sabi is an interesting concept and it was the subject of this week’s photo challenge. The idea is to find beauty in imperfection. Since we were traveling to central Virginia to visit family for the holiday, I knew there would be plenty of options at their 1800’s warehouse home along the James River. Since many of the original architectural elements remain, the whitewashed chipped brick and heavily tracked floors were options. Their dog loves to sit in the sunshine and was the perfect way to showcase the almost destroyed wood. Their quirky taste in art was highlighted against the brick - but the frame was even interesting. They have a cabin about a half an hour away from home and next to their property is a dilapidated shack. But none of the options looked appealing and the place was literally a mess. Walking east along the James River showcased the lone naked branched tree that looked stunning when I turned west. The backlit reflection of the mountains and sister trees in the water was simply lovely. But I wasn’t sure that this would meet the criteria for wabi sabi. I took a few more nature shots of the River and distressed trees as well as the walls in the lower level and living space. I ended up picking the walls with the art since it was my husband’s favorite and got a lot of likes on my Facebook business page. I don’t think it will be a winner, but it was a good try. 






















Sunday, November 27, 2022

Sheetz Gasoline for $1.99

The gas prices in our neighborhood have been around $3.60 and holding. Rather than wait for the tank to empty, we usually fill it up around the halfway point. That’s because we had a terrible incident a couple of years ago where the gas was empty but the gauge didn’t show that. It could have been a disaster. So ever since then we don’t trust the gauge and fill at half. The other advantage is that the price you pay isn’t as outlandish with a half tank fill! So last week when we were traveling to visit family in central Virginia we stopped for a fill at the halfway point. We usually stop at Sheetz because it is easier and has a clean facility. When my husband went to the pump we were having some difficulty trying to figure out which hose to use. The pump wouldn’t dispense the gas and we needed to start all over again. Usually we don’t get a receipt but this time we did. When I looked at it it seemed like something was amiss. The final amount billed was $17.42! Now that seemed really strange. Then we looked at it again and it said $1.99 per gallon. When was the last time that happened? So I looked up on line why Sheetz gas was so cheap. Apparently they were doing a giveaway of sorts for the Thanksgiving holiday at several of their stores and you could look up where the locations were. The reduced price would last through November 28. So we were happy we inadvertently stumbled across this pleasant surprise. Too bad we didn’t need a full tank! 














Tuesday, November 22, 2022

52Frames Food Photography Weekly Challenge

My husband does most of the cooking. Last week I had the urge to make my mom’s Polish chicken soup. I found the old recipe my mom shared with me - I wrote it down as she told me the ingredients - almost 50 years ago. I thought I might use that as the subject for the weekly photo challenge I belong to because the subject was food photography. But before that I had taken a couple of photos of an Italian sub that I cut in to small pieces related to a short term dental problem. And the end result was a colorful and textural image that ended up being my favorite. So we gathered the ingredients for the soup - chicken, carrots, onions, celery, soup bones, parsley flakes, salt, and three quarts of water in a large pot. We ended up getting real egg noodles instead of using the elbow macaroni. I wanted to stay true to the recipe.  I couldn’t find vegetable flakes anywhere so made our own substitutions. My only dilemma was do you put the noodles in the soup or make them separately? Anyway, I took some photos of the raw ingredients and a few after the soup was served and ready to eat. I haven’t made this soup for such a long time and the nostalgia was killing me! The house smelled sooo good. The soup itself was very good, but needed a bit more salt. My mom always had to make things rather bland because my dad had stomach ulcers. My husband prefers tomato based soups but he was a good sport. You can’t really mess up chicken soup anyway. I was surprised how easy it was and we will definitely make it again. Sometimes the photo challenge coincides with something I would have been doing that week. This week was one of those times. And it was simply delicious! 








Monday, November 21, 2022

Fire Engines and Ambulances Galore

The building where we live was having the parking garage power washed this weekend. That meant we needed to remove the car from its space and park outside. The first day went without incident, but the second day was rather eventful. When we parked our car back in the garage we could hear that the crew was still working one level below. Shortly afterwards we noticed a fire engine and an ambulance parked next to the building. Someone from a work car was exited to a gurney and placed in the ambulance. We assumed there was an accident in the garage and sat down to watch tv. But then we heard another siren. This time when we looked out the window it looked like Christmas. There were hundreds of blinking red and green lights! The building was surrounded by several fire trucks and ambulances. There was no notice from management/front desk about what was going on and no one was answering the phone. It didn’t look like a catastrophe because people were milling about and my husband kept saying it must be some sort of drill. But it didn’t feel nor look like some sort of drill to me. Then we saw several firemen enter the garage and the side entry door. When we saw the fire people standing outside our door through the peep hole we knew it was something more. So my husband went out and asked what was going on. Apparently there was a carbon monoxide scare. One of the workers was overwhelmed - which is why the first ambulance was called. When they realized it was carbon monoxide the building emergency was called. The dozens of firemen were literally on every floor monitoring the carbon monoxide levels. They suggested to open our windows. We offered the workers water or cookies but they said they were fine. It wasn’t until after eleven PM that a notice was finally sent about what had happened. It is rather concerning to see MANY fire trucks and ambulances surrounding the building. Thank goodness it was handled as quickly as it was. We hope the worker is ok. It was determined the problem was related to the chemicals being used rather than a building problem. That puts our minds at ease, but was scary regardless. When we lived on Capitol Hill the fire engines surrounded our house there too. There was a fire in the laundry room and that’s the scene we returned to from a morning walk. Aren’t we lucky!?