National Cathedral Observatory Views

Since I had to find images of all things “religion” for the 52Frames photo challenge this week, we found ourselves at the Washington National Cathedral to see what we could find. We have driven by this place many times since we moved to DC seventeen years ago. We stopped by for the flower show and visited the Bishop’s gardens. And we went inside with some visitors from the Midwest who had this tour on their wish list. We would oftentimes pass by it on our way to a favorite restaurant on Wisconsin Avenue that unfortunately closed during the pandemic. So we parked down the street from the cathedral and took our morning walk here rather than in our neighborhood or the National Mall. After circling the premises we decided to go in so we bought tickets - ten dollars each! Included in the fare is a trip up to the seventh floor observatory. We had never been there before so it would be something interesting to do. There was a conference room, but also a corridor that circled around the entire section of the building. The hallways had arched ceilings and looked like a mini version of the church below. From there we could see the city from this height on all sides. The gothic building rooftops and spires were intriguing- especially because it was a bit cloudy and damp. We saw the picnickers who were sitting in front of the main entrance. There is still a lot of scaffolding up since the earthquake repairs are still ongoing. The bishops gardens looked tiny from above. But the most interesting view was of DC. There you could easily see the landmarks - Capitol building, Washington monument, Frederick Douglass bridge, the Jefferson memorial. And of course the neighboring buildings and homes were clearly seen as well. It felt sort of claustrophobic so I was happy to reach ground level again. It was a good visit. 

52Frames Low Key Photo Challenge

For whatever reason I haven’t been enamored with the photo challenge subjects for the last few weeks. And when “low key” came around last week I was even less enthusiastic. Even though I have an iPhone 14 pro, it hasn’t seemed to make any difference in the photo quality. If anything I need to depend on the editing process to get the images sharper and better looking. So when we visited the Hirshhorn Museum in search of low key photos it was going to take a lot of imagination and editing. I remembered that there were a few light exhibits so we headed to them. The idea wasn’t to see the light itself, but to see the light on a subject. A lot of times I use my husband as the subject - which I ended up doing again this week. But there were a few contenders outside of his. There were two girls hanging around the dark exhibit looking interesting and taking photos. I pretended like I was doing the same thing - but I was taking photos of them. Then we went to another section where the art was being projected on a blank screen. A young lady was playing in front of the screen but stopped when she thought we wanted no one in the frame. So we moved to the next section and I asked my husband to move in front of the screen. It took about eleven tries to get one that was somewhat acceptable. Then on the way back out there was a family walking through the same dark corridors. So I again pretended like I was taking photos of the exhibit but was taking photos of them as they individually passed in front of us. Of course none of these pictures came out crisp and sharp. They were more blurry and not my best work. But I suppose that’s just how it goes. Whenever I think I might have a winner it never works out that way. I’ve had two pictures selected as the top 52 for the week and neither one were photos that I really liked. I’ve decided to just do my best rather than think I can win. It makes the process so much easier! 

Wishing You Well Mr Hung

We got an unusual phone call two days ago. The number was from our all around handyman. We haven’t heard from him for a while because we haven’t needed any work done. So when we answered the phone, the call was actually from his wife who left a message. She was hysterical and extremely upset. Her husband was admitted to the hospital with a heart attack. She wanted to call our son who is a cardiovascular surgeon but dialed us by mistake. So we called back and told her we would let him know. Mr. Hung and his wife are so very well known to all of us. They just about renovated every room in our son’s Capitol Hill rowhouse. And when we needed things done, they were more than happy to help - regardless of the size of the project. One of our bathrooms was gutted and renovated along with the entire floor in one of our tiny condos on Capitol Hill. Mr Hung was there for any emergencies and beyond. He did work on the entire block of Capitol Hill neighborhood by word of mouth. They would oftentimes bring Vietnamese treats and food and taught us how to use chop sticks. When we moved to northern Virginia they were here to hang pictures and mirrors as well as repair the kitchen sink and put in a new faucet and hang light fixtures. So we were very surprised and saddened with this news - especially because he was in what we thought was perfect health. Our son told us that he is badly damaged and on a heart king machine which doesn’t bode well. We know they have a lot of family here and there isn’t much that we can do. It’s time like these when you ponder your past and future and become thankful for whatever you have. We are thinking of you Mr Hung and wishing you the best. 

Roosevelt Island Morning Walk

In the middle of the Potomac River is Roosevelt Island. On one side is Washington DC with the Kennedy Center and Georgetown in view; on the other side is downtown Arlington with high rises and fanfare. We never go there on a weekend or Friday to avoid the crowds. And it takes a circuitous route to get there from our direction. We first have to drive to Arlington Bridge and circle back by Arlington Cemetery to make a u turn. And it’s always tricky to get back in the lanes with swerving crazy drivers - both locals and tourists. We have been to the island to take a walk with visitors and also at every season of the year since we moved to DC seventeen years ago. You wouldn’t expect to find such a secluded wooded place near the city. It’s about a mile and an half all around and then we walk a bit towards town to reach our typical 2.4 miles. Things were much greener this time than late spring. It’s like it happens overnight. There was a large student group and a tour group that passed by us on the boardwalk. Surprisingly there were many yellow iris on long stems throughout the marsh and wooded areas. There were also a lot of berries. The actual Roosevelt memorial was quite empty except for a girl and her dog. The beautiful fountains weren’t yet on. When we walked back across the bridge to the parking lot some fishermen were speeding by on their boat underneath. It was actually a beautiful day for this walk. It’s a great option for us. 

Cabbage Soup

Even though we are out of winter and the cold months, it’s still good to have soup for dinner. We have a few recipes that we routinely make that last for a few days. Last week it was the stuffed pepper bake. The week before was the shrimp casserole. My husband started putting together his own recipe for an eggplant delight! But this week we decided the cabbage soup recipe would be good. My mom sent us this recipe many, many years ago. It’s actually very simple. But we always add things to in. In particular, diced tomatoes flavored with herbs and then add spinach at the end. It adds a bit of color and texture and taste. It’s all vegetable so you can’t go wrong. The first night we have the soup with salad and bread. But to mix it up a bit we had it as a side dish to a crab cake sandwich the next night and then as a side dish next to pizza last night. It’s going to last for at least another serving but we will finally go out for a Greek pick up dinner this evening. We might even mix it up with all of the variety of things we get at Our Mom Eugenia’s in Great Falls. We rarely go to restaurants any more and really don’t miss it. But about once a week it’s good to take a break and have a bit of something else. But hime made cooking is always best. 

Tidal Basin Morning Walk

It had been a while since we took a morning walk at the Tidal Basin. The last time we were there was right before the peak cherry blossom season. So we parked in our favorite place and started out near the pedal boats. There were several people taking a turn. There was heron standing right in front of us. The Jefferson memorial was packed with hoards of tourists. Our favorite cherry blossom tree called Stumpy was submerged in the high tide - not a rare thing to see anymore. On one side of the tidal basin all of the sidewalks were submerged as well as the park benches. There is supposedly some restoration planned to reduce the damage being produced by this water problem. It’s not unusual to find fishermen along the way. Obviously there was at least one pair of ducks that were totally disinterested in us passing by. There was a large school group passing through the FDR memorial. It’s one of the loveliest memorials in town. Getting closer back to the car the annual flower garden is starting to take off. A young teenager was being photographed among the flowers. A goose family was also passing by. Then there was a very old Chevrolet truck parked in the lot. We weren’t sure how the thing made it this far. Regardless of the season it’s always a pleasant walk around the almost two mile pathway. This time was no different.