The Interesting and Colorful Neighbor

We always thought our morning walks on the National mall were interesting. Then we began noticing a woman in the neighborhood walking about the same time we did. Every once in a while we saw her wearing sparkly and glittery face masks during the pandemic but didn’t think much more about it. Lately we have been running in to her more often. A few weeks ago we spotted her wearing a huge colorful brimmed hat with a chartreuse dress with matching shoes and purse. As we were leaving the park she was walking towards us. Another time we were on our way over to the park and she was walking though our street wearing a blue outfit with the same accessories. Then we saw her swinging in kids park when we walked by. The following week we saw her again swinging on the swing - but this time in a multicolored dress with the same hat, shoes and purse. Last weekend when we were checking our mail we saw her through the window walking along the street in front of our condo building. This time it was a red dress with the same essentials. Now we are constantly looking out for her and haven’t seen her. It will be curious to see if she changes up the summer outfit and how she transitions in to fall and winter. She has become a character for some of my weekly photo challenges because she is simply irresistible! Perhaps one of these days we will make official contact. But until that happens she will remain the mysterious lady in the neighborhood. 

The Thoughtful Neighbor

You really don’t get to choose your neighbors. For the most part we had really great neighbors when we lived in the Midwest. We still keep in touch with our next door neighbors from there. When we moved to Capitol Hill in DC we lived in a tiny condo with forty units. Some of the neighbors were very strange, while others were fairly reasonable. It was a highly mobile bunch with a lot of renters who really didn’t care about the building. We didn’t get very close to many of them. Now that we live in northern Virginia we are located in another condo. Unfortunately due to the pandemic we haven’t really had the opportunity to meet many of them. On top of that, a lot of them downsized from the surrounding neighborhood and already knew each other. Most are lawyers and business types that we don’t have much in common with. So we are lucky to have a really nice neighbor next door to us. We met her when we first moved in and saw her regularly when she walked her dog. Then we started to get holiday greetings left by our door shortly thereafter. Yesterday was one of those occasions. My husband found a small bag outside of our door. We knew who it was from immediately. When we opened it there was a lovely box of chocolates and a Christmas card. It is such a thoughtful gesture. When her pooch passed away a year or so ago I painted a digital art portrait of Gus as a way to show our appreciation for her. It sure makes a difference when you have decent neighbors. We know how it feels when that isn’t the case. Thanks Pat! 

A Thoughtful Neighbor

It wasn’t the Christmas we expected. Our plans to visit our family in central Virginia came to a screeching halt this week amid the pandemic concerns.  We would have all been worried the whole time so we decided it was best for us to just stay home - for the second time. Luckily we were able to visit with them at Thanksgiving. Because we thought we would be out of town, our Christmas decorations were limited to filling the out door balcony baskets with greenery and sticks. That left an empty house. One day this week there was a festive bag hanging on our front door. Inside was a chocolate surprise along with a card from our next door neighbor. It was a pleasant and unexpected surprise. We don’t really know anyone in the building since we moved to our condo almost three years ago. The pandemic really ruins things for a lot of reasons. But over time we have run in to each other here and there. She is a wonderful reminder of what the holidays are all about and we are so fortunate to have her as our neighbor. 

The Kind Neighbor

We moved from Capitol Hill to our condo in northern Virginia almost two years ago. We hardly had any time to get oriented to our building and our neighbors when the pandemic hit. We met a few people, but for the last year we have hardly seen or heard from any of them. At Christmas we came home one afternoon and there was a card and two candy canes by the door. When we opened the card, we had a feeling who it was from - our next door neighbor Pat. We sent her a thank you email to let her know how much we appreciated her thoughtfulness. Then this weekend, after coming home from a walk, there was a valentine chocolate heart by the door. We immediately knew who it was from. We sent another thank you email thanking her again for being so sweet, after we devoured the chocolate. One can’t say enough about having nice neighbors. We had them in the Midwest and stay in touch to this day. In Capitol Hill the neighbors were a little less “kind” although there were a few folks we at least had conversations with. So thanks again Pat for being our neighbor. It means a lot - even without the chocolate and the candy canes. 

A Capitol Hill Neighbor

What are the odds? After our morning walk in our neighborhood - this time in the streets rather than the park - we took an extended ride in to the city. We usually take a ride after a walk to “cool down” before going home. After driving the usual route on Independence Avenue - passing by the annual garden across from the Washington Monument and under the bridge where an Amtrak train was flying by - we drove to our old house. I thought I saw a woman we knew talking to someone as we pulled around the corner, so we went around the block again and she was still there. So we stopped the car and I called her name. In spite of us all wearing masks, she responded but didn’t know who we were until I said our names. She was our son’s next door neighbor and our neighbor as well since we lived just a few houses down the block. We saw her occasionally over the thirteen years we lived on Capitol Hill - mostly in her garden as we walked by, but also when she needed a bit of assistance when she had surgery. Anyway, it was nice to see a familiar face even with a mask. Just consider the odds of that happening. We have passed through the old neighborhood several times since we moved over a year ago and have seen a few familiar faces, but none that we really knew. So we chatted for a bit and caught up - she sending regards to our family - her old neighbors - and we telling her where we moved. Then we headed out towards eastern market, down Pennsylvania Avenue, and on to the freeway back home. For the first time in months there was a sign of life in the city. More cars were in the road and the tour buses have started up again - although they remain quite empty. There are things we miss about our old stomping grounds, but more that we don’t. We wanted to be within ten miles of town so we could still go in for library programs and walks. Things have changed and we can’t do most of the things we liked to do. So when we see a familiar face it makes all the difference.