Our House on the News

We lived on Capitol Hill for thirteen years. We moved there from the Midwest to be closer to family, but I also got a job at the Library of Congress. That made for a two block walking commute where I could come home for lunch every day. It was wonderful! Because the tiny condo, located in an 1890’s building, was so close to the Capitol, you can oftentimes see it when there are helicopter or drone shots of the city. And that was the case last week. We were watching the local news and there was a story about something related to the city. Then there was a flyover shot of the Capitol. Right behind it you could clearly see the five story white building that we used to call home. Our son and his family lived right down the street in an old townhouse that was completely renovated. Now they, and we, no longer live there. It was actually located in a wonderful suburban neighborhood. It looked so much nicer than it was. There were so many problems with these old structures and the inconveniences are too long to describe. The earthquake probably damaged a lot of the infrastructure. And street parking was always an issue - even though we had residential permits. We still drive by the area regularly and oftentimes park there when we take a weekly morning walk in town. It was a very memorable thirteen years living there. It’s always fun to see it on tv. 

Wish We Won the Jackpot

Every once in a while I get melancholic about living in the Midwest. We lived there for thirty years and made many friends and had many more colleagues. I always keep up with available real estate there. Before we actually moved from the Midwest to Capitol Hill we bought the tiny condo there. Little did we know it would become our permanent home soon after I found a job at the Library of Congress. Now there is a place for sale near our old neighborhood that is in an area that we were interested in way back in 2006 when it was first built. My husband says we could afford to get it, but I don’t think so - especially in this unstable environment. We live in northern Virginia now but for whatever reason it just doesn’t feel like home. We just haven’t transformed it in to our place. I suppose the last two years have changed the way I feel about it. We haven’t gone anywhere or seen anyone except for two weekend visits to central Virginia. I’m sure I’ll get over it but there’s always the nagging feeling that we just aren’t settled. For the first time a couple of weeks ago we bought lottery tickets knowing full well we wouldn’t win a billion dollars. These are the days I wish we did. 

Our Capitol Hill House on TV

We lived on Capitol Hill for thirteen years. It was the first time my commute to work was just a two block walk from our condo to the Library of Congress. I came home for lunch every day! From a location perspective it could not have been better. It was just a block from the Capitol South metro, a few blocks from the nationals stadium, and walking distance to just about anything. It was actually located in a very suburban neighborhood. Originally we lived just a few houses away from our son and his family. When they moved to central Virginia it never felt the same. From a practical perspective it wasn’t. We had to park on the street. Our condo was built in the 1890’s and have everything wrong with it - including sinking and tilting. When the earthquake struck several years ago it had to have affected the building pipes and infrastructure more than thought. Driving in and out was tedious. We rarely walked about in the evening for obvious reasons even though there was metro, Capitol and city police everywhere. We do miss all the good things about living there - especially being able to just walk to everything interesting. Every once in a while there is an image or video of the neighborhood on TV. The latest was on CNN when we were watching a review of Watergate. Our building is the big white one in the right lower corner covered by the CNN letters. It’s hard to believe how close it is to everything. Just about every week we still drive in from northern Virginia for a morning walk and take photos for my weekly photo challenge. Yes, we do miss the neighborhood but not all of the inconveniences. Every so often we are reminded of where we used to live. 

Three Year Anniversary

It’s been three years since we moved from Capitol Hill to northern Virginia. Two plus of those years have been spent living in a pandemic - which took the joy out of our new place. We were looking forward to traveling every few months - to the Midwest and also to visit our family in central Virginia. Rather, we have and remain cooped up in our 1000 square foot condo, except for a morning walk and a weekly drive in to town. We are glad that we moved out of DC because it would have been difficult living there these last few years. It’s hard enough living there when things are going well. It would have been so much worse living there now. Would we have moved to a condo if we knew a pandemic would happen? I’m not so sure. We certainly looked at so many options before we settled here - even in Florida. At least here we have a parking space in an underground garage, a small balcony, and a clean environment close to essential services. We don’t really know our neighbors yet for obvious reasons. Our place still doesn’t feel like “home.” We just haven’t felt like putting in the final touches for so many reasons. I have a lot of ideas to make it ideal, but so many things have changed since we moved. Things just feel unsettled - or maybe I just feel unsettled. This should be a time for celebration. Retirement, doing the things we wanted to do without thinking much about it…. I feel more uncomfortable now than I ever did. That’s just not how it’s supposed to be.

Two Year House Anniversary

It’s been two years since we moved to northern Virginia. It’s hard to believe and then it isn’t. We spent more time in this house over the last year than we thought we ever could. After living on Capitol Hill for thirteen years, we moved to a condo in a familiar neighborhood. We went there every week for Saturday brunch, then groceries, and sometimes back the next day for Sunday dinner out. Our two 500 square foot condos on Capitol Hill were swapped for a single 1000 square foot one bedroom and den - and most importantly a parking garage and space. When we were traveling during the year the size of the house was great. But being stuck in it there were days it was a bit claustrophobic. It’s still not as cozy as I would like it to be and maybe it never will be. It’s a combination of old and new items. It’s comfortable enough, but having one bathroom is only a mindset. It’s worked out okay but we haven’t had any visitors for the so long. If we would ever have them again there is a hotel just a couple of blocks away. Would we have done anything different? I miss our Midwest home a lot now, and we do miss our Capitol Hill neighborhood but we can still drive in whenever we want. This week we learned that the house we grew up in in Florida has officially been deeded over to the next door neighbors who took care of my mom who passed away a year ago. It was her gift to them for everything they have done for her and for us. Now that it’s done it tugs at my heart a bit. Another chapter closed. It’s another place I spent a lot of years in and I didn’t think I would miss it as much as I do now. I can’t think of anywhere else we would want to live, but I’m not quite as settled as I would have hoped.  

Condo Christmas Photos

After thirteen years, we left Capitol Hill over a year ago and now live in a condo in northern Virginia. Since March - for obvious reasons - there have been no in person meetings or gatherings in the building. Last year there was a Christmas get together but since we were out of town we didn’t attend. So this year instead of having a celebration of sorts, the manager of the building and board requested that home owners send in photos of your Christmas decorations that will then be shared with everyone in the communication update at the end of this week. We don’t do a lot of decorating, but since we will be home this year we did more than usual. We filled our balcony window boxes for fall/winter with pansies, liriope and English ivy, then stuffed them with boxwood, ferns, pine cones, berries and sticks. Inside, the greenery was placed in the wall vase along with two birds, sticks and icicles. On the plant table the bulk of the greens were placed in a large vase with sticks and icicles, along with Santa, my favorite Christopher Radko ornaments on the mirror, the first partridge in a pear tree ornament I gave my husband all those years ago, and a string of tiny white lights. So we combed through the photos we thought might look nice and will forward them this week. Even though it won’t be in a picture, the Christmas stocking my mom knitted for me when I was a baby was hung in the foyer. Usually we travel to central Virginia for Christmas. This year it’s just the two of us - but at least we will have some reminder of the holiday.  

Capitol Hill Condo For Sale

It was hard to believe - or maybe it wasn’t so hard to believe. We sold our Capitol condo a year and a half ago to move to northern Virginia. I was surprised to see that it was for sale in such a short period of time. We lived in DC thirteen years; however, I would say half the tenants in that building moved in very short periods of time. It’s tough living in an 1890’s structure! When I looked at the photos of the interior on the website I was amazed at what had been done to the unit. We installed a Murphy bed/tv combo and made the “closet” in to a monks room with a twin bed, blackout shade, and storage shelves. Everything was completely changed and the Murphy bed disappeared. I only hope that it wasn’t ripped out and thrown away, but taken somewhere for good use. It was custom built and very expensive and took me a long time to consider our best option. We had no place in our new condo for it to fit so it was very disappointing to see it gone. Everything about the redecoration, paint, and style was so not our taste. One of our neighbors there had mentioned he was surprised at what she had done to it - “to each his own.”  For someone who did so much to redo the unit goes against wanting to leave it in such short order. I am certain it will sell in a week, but definitely in a month’s time. It’s sad to see, but not really unexpected. 

Capitol Hill Home

There are times when we miss our tiny Capitol Hill home. Last night when we were watching the local news there was an aerial shot of the Capitol building and surrounding neighborhood. I always play close attention to these images because depending on the direction, our old house is readily visible. And that was the case yesterday. To the right of the Capitol dome was the 1890’s five story white building plain as day. We lived in that place for thirteen years. It was the perfect location for when I worked ten years at the Library of Congress. It was two blocks away and made for an easy commute and an opportunity to have lunch at home. It was also a great neighborhood for everything Washington. We attended just about every event just by walking over to it. But the old building problems, street parking, and overall congestion was getting too much for us. So we moved to northern Virginia - close enough to drive in when we wanted to - but lately that’s been a bust. We frequently visited the botanic garden and attended Library events. That’s not likely to happen any time soon. So I can say it was a great place to live when we did. But I’m glad we’re not there now. But it’s fun to see the old homestead on the tv and say we once spent a big chunk of our lives there. It was an interesting part of our lives in so many ways. 

SOLD! In One Day

Real estate is crazy around here. Our son and his family sold their Capitol Hill townhouse in one day - to people who lived across the street. It’s like homes are tracked very closely like vultures looking for prey. It really doesn’t matter what season it is either. Whenever a condo in our building is on the market it is scooped up within the month, but oftentimes within a week. So it wasn’t surprising to see the hoards of potential buyers coming through during the open house two days ago to see a unit on our floor that was just listed. It was non stop traffic. I always watch the listings and turnover on Capitol Hill, and have an even greater interest in our building in the event we ever decide to move. It gives us an idea on pricing and interest. Where there were several links to the property on the internet on Sunday, only two remained yesterday and one of them said the property was no longer listed. I knew it had already sold. So today when I checked on the status it said contract pending. I think the asking price was well below what it could have been, but we are not surprised that it sold in a day. I’m just hoping we get some quiet neighbors. Another unit is going up for sale in the very near future. Both of these vacancies were related to the owners moving to other states. I have a feeling the other one will sell just as quick! 

New Carpet for Long Hallways

It's been over ten years since we moved to DC from the Midwest. We moved to an over one hundred year old building on Capitol Hill to 500 square feet of living space - quite a big difference from a one acre lot, 2500 square feet, a BIG driveway, and a big dog. But as with anything else big or small, things wear out - especially when one lives on the first floor where there is a lot of foot traffic. The carpet was showing wear and tear for quite some time - especially the seam at the turn of the hallway. So this week the carpet was replaced right after the walls got a fresh coat of paint. But since the industrial square carpet that can be easily installed and removed as needed was not selected, very long rolls of material had to be configured outside of the building before installing it. But before any of the week could begin, the old stuff had to be removed. I can only imagine how heavy these bundles were to haul in and out. The crew is still working on the project today - you can smell the glue and hear the banging. By next week it will become an afterthought. But it's nice to get a fresh look once in awhile. Too bad it's installed just in time for the historic snow storm and blizzard predicted for today through Sunday. 

Real Estate in the Neighborhood - Sold!

There is a lot of construction going on around us - particularly near Nationals Stadium. When we first moved here, that area was non existent for housing options - not that we were interested.  There was not a large supply of condos anywhere in the neighborhood, and what was available were a few converted apartments. It's worked out well for us but it's hard to believe what we have gone through compared to living in a single family home in the Midwest. There are only a few one bedroom options in our building, a lot of studios, and frequent transient customers. So when one of the larger units on the fifth floor came on the market a week ago, we watched with interest to see if the competitive market of all the new buildings with all the services and modern amenities might hinder the sale of the charming old architecture on Capitol Hill. It takes a peculiar person to want to live in an 1890's building compared to a brand new high rise for a host of reasons. It seems things haven't quite changed when I saw the pending sale notice go up in less than a week. My husband and I have explored other options in and around the neighborhood but can't seem to make a move away from the street we currently call home. I really think it boils down to location and certainly not convenience. But it's nice to know other folks feel the same way. 

A Squirrel's Eye View

We had squirrels all over the back yard at our Milwaukee house. They raided the bird feeders, entertained us with their antics, and unfortunately got in to the attic one year. One even came down the chimney in to the living room. But that was years ago and we barricaded the place from all wildlife. Usually they can be found on the ground here in DC being photographed by tourists on the Mall, or in the trees not far from the action. Feeling a pair of eyes upon us, we noticed a brave soul on the top of our building. It seemed so strange to see this fellow so high above our heads. I figured he got there climbing up the equally high tree on the other side of the building.  He seemed to be mocking us humans as we looked up at him from our patio. Let's hope he didn't find his way in to the attic here. Although I wouldn't be surprised if he did.