The Playground is Open!

It has been under construction since Spring and it changed our walking path at the neighborhood park. So after several months of being hidden behind a covered fence, the new playground opened today! We thought something was up because all of the exterior fencing was removed. The only fences that remained were those that were protecting the new grass that was planted. It was also obvious something was up because the parking lot by the library was quite busy which is unusual for a Sunday. So we started our morning walk headed back to the old path. And the new playground had a lot of visitors! It is quite a change from the old one. The elements are for a variety of ages and there are separate sections based on that. Several new park benches were added and a winding path takes you past the playground and towards the sheltered area where bands and other activities will perform. In front of that is a seating area with a small handicapped parking lot for access. Several new trees and other plants have been added with a rain garden. One of the issues was poor water drainage so hopefully the new design will mitigate that problem. From what we could see the kids and the parents were finding everything to their liking. When we left there were even more people coming. 

Knee and Foot Support Devices

It feels like it’s been months - and it has been. I have what I think is plantar fasciitis that started on both feet in June. Luckily one foot resolved but the other just won’t quit. I’ve been doing PT, ice massage, taping, new shoes, support braces, etc and nothing seems to work. Then to make matters worse about six weeks ago I fell on a very hard sidewalk in DC and landed on my left side. My knee has never been the same and my hip was also affected. The city and park service were notified of the very uneven sidewalk, but that doesn’t help the discomfort. So now I am wearing a knee brace and compression socks and I am going out of my mind. If things don’t finally get better an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon may be necessary. The trouble is is that there was one day this week that I was almost pain free and was walking a lot without incident. Then yesterday I sat too fast and hard on the couch and loosened up whatever is the problem again. I’ve been staying away from Advil but could literally take something almost every day. I tried an herbal heat patch but it smelled so bad I threw the rest away. I’m a big fan of heating pads but that was just awful. And at night I am extremely careful moving my leg and knee. Yesterday I was so tired of the tape and splint on my foot I just removed them all. Too much pressure on the leg causes swelling and having something tight around your leg isn’t a good thing.  Can’t even get a legitimate pair of compression stockings on because I can’t bend my knee and apply too much pressure. But the knee still needs support - both physically and psychologically. It’s all really quite uncomfortable. 

An Almost New Dining Room Lamp

It was one of the first things we bought when we moved to DC eighteen years ago. We needed a table lamp so we drove somewhere in Virginia and my husband liked this long stemmed metal art deco lamp. It has been in storage since we moved to northern Virginia five years ago - until this week. A few years ago we got a Holtkotter desk lamp for the entryway. It’s quite heavy and is a real pain in the neck. It found its way to the dining room side board when we moved. It has a halogen bulb - which I burned my fingers on once - and it stopped working. We took it to the neighborhood light store The company is now out of business and you can’t find replacement bulbs. The light bulb was working so it had to be the lamp. When we brought it home we plugged it back in and it worked - and then it didn’t after a few days. We couldn’t even unscrew the glass shade to get at the bulb. So rather than try and find a lightbulb or fool around with this annoying lamp anymore I took out the good old standby to see if it might work. I never cared for the height of the lamp on a side table. It was just too tall. But on the sideboard it balanced out the vase and the metal pieces and blended in nicely with the large mirror behind it. So now we are trying to find a way to get rid of the heavy glass lamp shape without having to drive to the dump. At least we had a decent replacement lamp. 

52Frames Modes of Transportation Photo Trending

The photo challenge this week was all about modes of transportation. I was really happy with the composite image that was created using three photos of flying carpets from a mobile, a photo of the sunset from our balcony, and a photo of an old photo we took when we visited Isfahan fifteen years ago. The photos were all layered together and it was an interesting view of the city below. So it was nice to see my photo was trending on the 52Frames website yesterday evening on in the day the album opened. It generally stays up for around an eight hour period. It’s also nice to see when names of fellow framers that are unfamiliar to me comment on the image. The fun part about 52Frames is that there are people from all over the world commenting on your submission. It’s also lovely to see shots taken by people who live in places that I have only heard about - from people actually lives there. I really enjoy the editing process and never really was a photographer per se - I always loved to take photos. So I use my digital art app to help create these projects. I’m hoping one of these days one of my images will be selected on instagram or as a 52 favorite out of about 2500 or so. If not I’ll look forward to next week’s challenge. 

Thermador Warranty Repair Service

We tend to get additional warranties on certain things - like the first year of a new Apple phone, dental insurance, Subaru forester, and Thermador kitchen appliances. It has come in handy for dental crowns and extensive work, and just a bit ago it was used for the Subaru key ignition replacement and it was fully covered. Our Thermador freezer started making weird noises when the filter was changed. Whenever the ice was being made there was a squealing and grinding noise. So we called the 1-800 number and reported the issue. They set up an appointment for the next week and sent a few reminder emails. The repairman showed up earlier than expected which turned out fine. He obviously knew what he was doing just by the way he worked. So we were confident about his confidence. He basically took apart the built in appliance - something we didn’t even know could be done. So that gave us an opportunity to clean under it and and the freezer compartment. He replaced the filter head - which is located in the most awkward position near the floor and all was done. After he left there was a warning beeping noise saying that the freezer temperature was 59 degrees. So I reset the refrigerator and it turned itself on and off and the lights in the house blinked. But then there was a humming noise which didn’t seem right. So after a bit we called the repair service back and requested someone to come back to check it. Of course the phone call got disconnected. So rather than call back we kept checking to see if the freezer was becoming colder and luckily it was. After a couple of hours we started to hear the ice fall and everything seemed “normal.”  I just wish the serviceman informed us to expect what would happen. I should have also asked for his local phone number. But I was happy the work was covered by warranty.