Washington Avenue in Old Town Alexandria

We have been there so many times. The George Washington Memorial Parkway becomes Washington Avenue in Old Town Alexandria. We have had many lunches and visits to the area since we moved to DC fifteen years ago. But this time we were going in to sign off on our updated will, power of attorney, and health care directives. It’s been over forty years since we made out our will and we live in a different state, so it was about time. So we parked in front of the rowhouse office and took a short walk before and after the appointment. It’s always a pleasant walk in Old Town. I love the architecture and the ambiance. After that we drove around the downtown and came across a beautiful wisteria vine on a lovely old home. And, while we were in the neighborhood we decided it was also time to pick up lunch/dinner at Vaso’s Kitchen. We haven’t been there for over a year and we were so happy we stopped by. So it was an eventful day - updated will, morning walk, drive through downtown, and a great restaurant visit. It even felt a bit more normal after this claustrophobic year. Let’s hope things continue to improve - for everyone’s sake. 

An Unusually Busy Week

Last week was really weird. We had something to do every day. We aren’t used to that at all! Monday we went to the National Arboretum to take some images for the weekly 52frames photo challenge. Tuesday we went to Old Town Alexandria to finalize our will, power of attorney, and health care directives. Our Midwest documents needed to be updated after forty years. After that we stopped at Vaso’s kitchen to pick up Greek food. We hadn’t been there in over a year and it was delicious. The small throw blanket we ordered from Target arrived. It added a bit of color to the living room. Wednesday we picked up our groceries curbside. We had a huge bread haul as we ran out of just about everything. Thursday was a huge event. I finally got a haircut after thirteen months. I wanted a bob and got a short bob. It felt wonderful. My husband was happier than I was. My hair was looking like a witch and I felt like one. Then on Friday we had eye appointments. My husband has scar tissue on one eye from cataract surgery and my eyes are so dry that I need a special kit and eye gel to try and get them from sticking shut in the morning. Although it was exceptionally unusual to be so active it felt a bit more like “normal.” The only thing that got us out of the house before was a morning walk and a weekly drive in to DC. It was a psychological lift doing really nothing. 

Too Much Activity This Week

Someone told me once that if you’re busy all of the time you don’t mind the interruptions or the need to do more. But if you are generally doing nothing, having to do something can be a real pain. After almost a year of pretty much doing not a lot of anything and staying in the house, this week has been the sheer opposite. We are trying to settle the extended car warranty which means a phone call with the Subaru service and alternates; we are gathering our tax information for 2020; my husband is having his second covid vaccine on Friday and I was finally able to schedule my first vaccine for Sunday - let’s hope the snow doesn’t cancel these appointments; we have a zoom meeting with the lawyer about reviewing and updating our wills - a very unpleasant task; I’m working on a custom pet portrait; nd I received my Cubii Go elliptical device yesterday. The Cubii didn’t require any set up, but it was a new device I needed to read about and try out, along with an app. And of course, we had a curbside pickup grocery order yesterday. For the average person this probably doesn’t sound like much. I remember working full time, going to graduate school, raising a family, dealing with Midwest winters, parents health issues, and juggling all the other every day living activities. But that was another time and there wasn’t a pandemic. Getting older can be difficult. But at least as long as we can stay healthy we don’t take anything for granted. It makes everything else seem so insignificant.