A Saturday Afternoon in the Capitol Hill Neighborhood

Almost every Saturday we go to the McLean Family Restaurant for brunch.  They know us so well there that we hardly need to tell them our order - they bring the drinks practically as soon as we sit down. Last weekend John Huntsman and his family were behind us inline waiting for a seat. Dr. Gupta from CNN, Newt Gingrich, and other notables have also been sighted. We like the drive to there along the George Washington Parkway - Memorial Bridge to the Lincoln Memorial, Roosevelt Island, and Saturday afternoon joggers and walkers along the pathways. Today we took an indirect way home to see what Christmas decor was up. We found protestors in front of the Capitol, but the Capitol Christmas tree is now decorated, a really neat huge white bark tree commanding attention on a street in front of the row houses, several Christmas trees on top of cars on their way home to be adorned, and the work crews fixing the never ending building issues on Capitol Hill. It is a lovely drive and neighborhood. The scenery is very different than Wisconsin, and we are getting more and more used to it. But somehow it always feels more remarkable.  

American Girl Dolls Get Shipped Twice

I always like to send my parent's neighbors twin girls a little something for Christmas. Since my mom is not able to drive anymore, the parents of the twins have been helping both she and my dad with a lot of things. They both depend on each other and it a relationship that is priceless - especially because we and my brother and sister live in DC. I am also a sucker for dolls. My first real doll was a Chatty Cathy, and I had Madame Alexander foreign land dolls that I received every Christmas. In Chicago and Tyson's, we have visited the American Girl shops, and I really like them. So, this year I decided to send the twins a long haired, brown eyed doll for each. When I was ordering them on line, I needed to go back and check the greeting card message, and did not realize that the address to send the item also needed to be updated. I did it right the first time, but didn't pay attention the second and it used the default address. I didn't pay attention to the email receipt either that clearly showed the delivery address as mine. So the package was delivered here yesterday and today we went to FedEx to mail it to the correct address. That only goes to show you that you shouldn't do things in a hurry, because you will definitely pay for it. This time, it was an additional $15.00 for shipping, aside from the original $26.00 for packaging and shipping. Luckily the FedEx place is just down the street from us, and it wasn't busy. Those little first graders better like them!!

Thanks DC Blogs - A World View

Every once in a while my blog post gets noted by DC Blogs. I can always tell because the statistics for the day increase significantly. I really appreciate that someone notices! It got me thinking that I started LIT's Living on Capitol Hill(Hell)!? almost three years ago and I haven't missed a day. And LIT has become my signature logo for my Etsy, Facebook, Zazzle, Fine Art America, and personal websites. It takes a lot of time, observations and perseverance. What I find really interesting is the sheer breadth this thing takes. The map tells the story. Every one of those dots represents someone who took the time to notice and/or read an entry. Now it's past 36,000 views and counting. As long as I enjoy doing it I'll keep at it. I've always loved gadgets and writing and painting and taking pictures. And these modes of communication make it so much easier to do all of it. 

The Tunnels and Hallways of the Library of Congress

Every afternoon I take a walk to get away from my desk, give my eyes a break from spreadsheets, and get in a little exercise. Usually it's a few rounds in the Madison Building at the Library of Congress. It is supposed to be one of the largest Federal Buildings in the country. Since I knew the Christmas tree was going up in the Great Hall of the Jefferson Building, I took a walk through the tunnels from Madison to Jefferson and noticed once again how the environment changes with every floor. In the basement is the usual drab, but very shiny floor. Once you reach the next level, things get very colorful and almost feel like Christmas with the reds, greens, and golds. But of course, the best is in and around the great hall with the absolutely beautiful surroundings. There are many more interesting halls as you make your way around the building. Imagine working in a place like that! Unfortunately the halls in the Madison Building look more like the tunnels and like most office buildings I worked in in Milwaukee. But if you just walk a bit, the other stuff is not that far away. 

Comcast Credit?

It seems like a long time ago, but back in October we were having Comcast cable and Internet issues. We had intermittent cable over a week or so, and then lost several HD channels we routinely watched. I also spent a long time on a service phone call with them that resulted in nothing, which I knew was going to happen based on what she was suggesting I do. We finally ended up with a service call. The guy even came before the appointed time, was not able to fix it, but called in additional help and promised it would be taken care of - and it was. Both of these incidents of the failed service call and the successful restoration of our HD channels were blog entries. Our only disappointment was that we were not reimbursed for the days, time, and inconvenience of the service we didn't have but paid for. Yesterday we got the bill and there was a credit on it. I checked the detail and can only assume that the credit had something to do with the complaint. I usually don't make an issue about these types of things, but am happy I did. Someone responded from Comcast when they read about the not so great service and left a name and number to contact, and someone must have responded about paying for service we did not have. We also received a few phone calls from their management team. I heard somewhere that blogging about these sorts if things can result in some positive action. I can say it happened twice. 

Park Here at Your Own Risk

Parking can be tight on Capitol Hill - even more so on Sundays around Churches and other places of worship. Apparently it is just as bad or worse in Old Town Alexandria. On Washington Avenue near the King Street intersection is a church we have passed by routinely. I've noticed the sign in the driveway many times as we have driven by it, but never when stopped by a traffic light. It certainly warns drivers of the outcome if you dare try to park anywhere near there for any reason other than Church business.  It is a clever way to send a message. Wonder how many have suffered the consequences?

Staples - Ink and Coffee

It's an expensive habit but a necessary one. I use my desktop printer to make 8 x 10 prints of my dog and cat portraits to mount on foam board and hang in the Wagtime shop on Capitol Hill across from the Historic Navy Yard. I also need to print 4 x 6 photos of the items I receive for commissioned orders so I can first sketch the subject. I then look at the photo as my "subject" while I'm painting the portrait on my iPad - no different, and no easier, than using a paintbrush on a canvas. Regardless, I need to get replacement ink for my printer, as I have been printing a lot lately because of several holiday requests. So we rode over to Alexandria to the Staples shop, and used my "discount" ink and toner savings pass to save a couple bucks. While there, we picked up a few Keurig Coffee K cup packs as we just ran out over the recent Thanksgiving dinner! So we killed two birds with one stone and it was a delightful ride on a brisk sunny day. Now I need to get to work as those portraits are calling!