Too Many Bananas

I am supposed to eat bananas to keep my potassium level up. Being on blood pressure pills and diuretics for most of my life contributes to the potasssium issue. So I’ve been eating bananas just about every evening for as long as I can remember. Ten days ago my husband and I both tested positive for Covid after four years of being extremely careful. It just doesn’t seem fair to get it now just as we were finally feeling normal about going out and living our lives. Last week we didn’t have the energy or inclination to go to Giant for groceries, so we decided to go back to the pick up option. It wouldn’t be a good idea to walk around the grocery store anyway. It’s so great to still have this option and used this - and the delivery option - many times during the pandemic. The problem was is that I inadvertently ordered five BUNCHES of bananas rather than one bunch that had 5-6 bananas. We didn’t realize it until we unpacked the bags. Thank goodness bananas are cheap! I asked our neighbor if she and her husband liked bananas and she masked up and I stuck my hand through the door with two banana bunches in a bag. That left us with theee bunches. So every day I’ve been having a banana with tea in the early afternoon, but there are still so many left. We are not banana bread makers and we don’t have the ingredients. That just goes to show you that you need to read the fine print. We are so fortunate to have these types of services available. Next time I will be extra careful! 

Post Office, Frager's, Bayou Bakery and Eighth Street Market

It's been five days since I officially retired, and the first real Monday not having to go to work. So in keeping with what we hope will be a daily walk, we mixed it up this time with errands rather than the usual stroll on the mall. Luckily it was sunny, but cool, so I wore my lumberjack hat to stay warm. The first stop was the post office on Pennsylvania Avenue to mail a small package. The lines were quite long, but since we had no where to go it didn't matter! Then on to Frager's for some caulk. Since we didn't have breakfast yet, we stopped in at Bayou Bakery next to the Hill Center for some beignets and coffee. Unfortunately we couldn't sit in the sunny closed in patio and ended up in a dark space. But I didn't care - everything looked so much cheerier today. Next stop was the grocery store for some bananas and tomatoes. It's highway robbery at this place, but the convenience can't be beat on eighth street. This is a great way to adjust to living on Capitol Hill without working. Everything is relatively easy to get to within a certain radius, as long as you are able to walk. I think I'm going to like this set up. How could you not? 

A US Botanical Garden Guided Tour

We've been to the US Botanical Garden many times since we moved and several times before we moved to Capitol Hill. But this was the first time we had a guide take us through the gardens - on a lunch break - arranged by our office manager. It was a beautiful day as we walked about two blocks over from the Library along Independence Avenue. It was a small group so it was even more interesting - none of the others had been there before! There were cooking demonstrations going on in  the main building, amidst the citrus display. It was all about tomatoes. Our guide pointed out things that we've passed by - artificial trees being strangled by the strangler fig; how each "room" is regulated with great sophistication; how the dessert section blooms at night when there are no visitors; the "pets" that get released in to the gardens (especially the scaled types); an original South African tree from the original 1830's expedition whose purpose was to collect plants and specimens from all over the world; the Swiss cheese leaves that have a reason for the way they look; showing us ferns that "hide" when they are touched; and plans for the 2015 Christmas train display and future exhibits. The botanical garden was the only other structure beside the original Capitol building in 1810. Things have certainly changed. But one thing remains - everyone loves the outdoors and the beautiful flowers and plants around them. And it's just so pleasant!