The Feathered Friend Visitors

We have a very small balcony. On the balcony we have two seats - one is single and the other is a two seater. Because we can’t hang planters on the guard rails, we thought we would hang the coco lined window baskets on the backs of the seats using zip ties. It actually works out well. During three seasons the seats face each other and the flowers are displayed toward the outside. And in the winter, we arrange the seats together to face out so that the baskets face towards us - filled with Christmas greens and sticks. When the weather starts getting warmer we fill the baskets with annuals. This year the pansies, violas, and ivy all survived the rather harsh winter. So we got six new annuals to spruce up the boxes. We have had the boxes at least three years now. This year I was waiting to see how long it would take for the crows to start pulling at the coco liner. And wouldn’t you know it didn’t take very long. I could see them swooping in out of the corner of my eye. My husband thinks it’s funny. I don’t. They also make a mess throwing around dirt. And wouldn’t you know this year a mockingbird decided to do the same thing. Then I caught a pigeon - or two - hanging around. I have had a few staring contests with the crows. It’s sort of uncomfortable. For the most part they seem to leave the flowers alone, but they have squashed a few sitting in the baskets while they tug on the coco liners. I have always enjoyed watching birds in the back yard bird baths and feeders. Last year we had gold finches. I just don’t like the birds tearing things up, but I suppose it’s for a good cause. 

Grout Pen Grout Restorer

I am not a big fan of tile and grout. Inevitably the grout gets messed up by time, water damage, or mold in general. It hardly matters what you do to mitigate it. And it is impossible to clean. So before we call someone to completely tear the grout out and start all over, we began to look for alternate options. I found a bathroom grout pen on Amazon that got great reviews. Since I wasn’t sure of an exact match I ordered one light winter grey and one light grey pen along with replacement tips - just in case. They come in two top sizes - skinny and wider. The pens remind me of the wood furniture pens we have for touch ups that generally do the job. The instructions are simple - shake the pen, press down on the tip to get the paint going, and work your way along the grout. I have to say the tips got pretty mangled and I changed them twice - especially since you are working on a wall rather than a floor - but it was well worth the time. A second coat was added in some spots, but the end result was quite impressive. The shower actually looked clean and brand new! You can also use it on the floor tiles which we may try later on, but the shower tiles really needed the attention. The big test will come after we use the shower and see if the same spots dry or stay wet. Then we will know if the mold and mildew was related to a consistent problem or not. So let’s keep our fingers crossed. Wouldn’t that be amazing if it worked? 

The Whiskey Sour

When we visited our family in central Virginia last month we were treated to a different sort of drink. It was a whiskey sour and it tasted quite good. Neither my husband nor I drink much of anything anymore. Luckily both of us have a composition that doesn’t tolerate liquor. We used to drink a tiny bit of red wine every evening but gave that up during the pandemic. And we don’t miss it. Alcohol wasn’t a big thing in our house growing up either. My dad liked an occasional beer and I remember he liked a high ball once in a while. The alcohol bottles were stored in the shelf above the refrigerator. So we asked our son for the whiskey sour recipe, and he was happy to oblige and suggested the best brand of whiskey. They don’t sell it in Virginia. In fact, you can’t buy any liquor in the grocery store - you need to go to a liquor store. So we drove in to Palisades yesterday to MacArthur Beverages Wine and Spirits. They didn’t have the Buffalo Trace Bourbon, so we got Maker’s Mark instead. Then we got Collins sugar water, and a shaker - the last one they had. Then we drove to Giant in our neighborhood to pick up some lemons and also picked up the last yellow and green citrus squeezer. So before dinner we got our ingredients together. My husband made one drink and I made the other. I never thought I would ever see a shaker in our house! In the end it was a fun project and a fun thing to do. I think the drink probably tastes much better in the heat of summer, but any day is good! I don’t think it will become a habit, but we are prepared for the next time. 

National Gallery of Art Drawing in Britain 1700-1900

When I think of the National Gallery of Art, the Impressionism paintings are my favorite. But I also think of oil paintings. So when we went to visit the other day there are a few new exhibits we wanted to see. One of them is called Drawing in Britain 1700-1900. The exhibit is in the west building tucked away in a corner. A lot of the main galleries are being renovated and several of the very familiar images have been moved to the lower level - including Bonaparte. We tried to get in to the East Building yesterday but it was closed down because the First Lady was showing the South Korean president’s wife some of the art there. Luckily we didn’t mind because we go there often enough. But it could be very annoying if you were visiting from out of town. So we made our way through the sculpture section and early American furniture and found the space. What I was surprised to see were watercolors and pen and ink sketches. I used to do a lot of watercolor as a youngster and also took up pen and ink and charcoal as a hobby in college. So it was a great deal of interest to see these images. They were rather intricate and really lovely. There are always rotating exhibits at the gallery which makes it always interesting. This one I liked a lot. 

Transatlantic Conversations at the Library of Congress

We usually attend programs at the Library of Congress when they are scheduled in the early or late afternoon. Mid afternoon is best for traffic and parking. Last week we received a notice about a program that was scheduled on Monday from 1030-1200. It sounded interesting so we registered for it in spite of the early hours. It was sponsored by the Kluge Center and it was about transatlantic conversations: lawmaking and representation in the US and the UK. The parking was just dreadful at this time of the morning. But we finally found something and walked through the construction zones to arrive at the front of the Jefferson Building. There was no line - which seemed odd - because you need to have a pass to get in these days, except if you are attending a program. Then I realized that the library is closed on Monday - except for the program that we would be attending. So there would be no walking through the great hall because it was all roped off. So we headed down the beautiful corridor to the decorative meeting room. There was a large group of high school students so the room was almost full. The guests were folks from parliament and the US Congress. It was an interesting question and answer session with Donna Edwards, Tom Graves, Steve Norris and Baroness Ann Taylor. We have been attending programs at the Library since I started working there many years ago. And since I retired we continue to visit whenever we can. It hardly matters what the subject matter is. It’s a nice getaway in spite of the traffic and construction. 

Fine Art America/Pixels Custom Pet Portrait Sales

I’ve been painting custom pet portraits for over ten years. My interest in painting was reignited when the iPad came out in 2010 and the rest is history. I wrote and illustrated three children’s books and self published them on Amazon. Then I opened my first shop on Etsy after first practicing with friends and colleagues. Then after each portrait was completed I used the images to populate my Fine Art America/Pixels website, as well as my LITDigitalpaintings Redbubble, zazzle and Amazon Merch shops. So it is always a treat to get a notice from any of these shops when there is a sale or a custom order. The custom orders require that I need to get to work. The sales are just lovely reminders that someone likes my work enough to buy it. It’s especially more meaningful now when there is so much stuff out there compared to ten years ago. So to get noticed is remarkable. And that was the case last week when someone from Pittsburg purchased an 11x14 matte paper portrait of the black cockapoo and also had it framed. In February someone from Brick, NJ bought an 11x14 glossy canvas of an eskie. I certainly couldn’t make s living on this hobby but it’s a fun past time. Aside from maintaining these shops they are marketed on social media - instagram, Facebook, twitter, Pinterest. It does keep one busy. I also appreciate staying in touch with technology and keeping my brain functioning. I really need to be grateful that I had to use technology as a clinician, nurse administrator, operations expert, and civil servant. It’s been so helpful and I try to stay as up to date as possible. So digital painting and keeping up have really helped. It still tickles me when someone notices my work. 

52Frames Blue Hour Weekly Photo Challenge

I wasn’t very enthusiastic about the 52Frames photo challenge last week because it boxes you in to a specific time frame. It was the “blue hour” - the time right before sunrise or right after sunset. We usually like to go in to town for our morning walk and try to find something there. But I don’t get up that early in the morning and we don’t like driving around at night - so I was limited to our balcony. At least it faces west which helps a bit. It was actually very warm last week, and it was wonderful that we could sit out after dinner and have tea and dessert waiting for just the right scene. But that also meant that a cloudless sky was not very engaging. At least there was a crescent moon and Venus, but they were so tiny in the evening sky. Every once in a while a plane would fly in to Dulles airport but at quite a distance away. So I tried to make the most of it. I must have taken at least fifty photos but wasn’t particularly thrilled with any of them. I tried editing a bit and added in a touch of “chromatic aberration” using my Procreate app. Rather than leaving the image with the lighting at hand, an interesting light field was created. In the end my husband liked one image in particular so that was the one that was submitted. I don’t think this image will garner any accolades, but at least I can say I haven’t broken my streak and look forward to this week.