Old Town Alexandria Ducks and Geese

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Last week we went to Alexandria for breakfast and then drive down to the Old Town waterfront. The tall ship Providence was docked by the other large water craft and water taxis in the Potomac River and I wanted to have a look. It didn’t compare to the flotilla of tall ships we saw in Rhode Island a long time ago. It was a replica of John Paul Jones first commission during the revolutionary war. It will soon be available for tours and excursions. After we parked the car we walked along the river where the ducks and geese seemed to be taking over the place. On Capitol Hill we always looked out for the ducks in the Capitol reflecting pool, the American Indian Museum fountain, and in the botanical gardens. This was one time the geese and the ducks were sitting side by side - only because someone was feeding them. It was interesting to watch - reminded me of us collecting stale bread from the bakery and bringing it to the duck ponds in New England and Florida. I enjoy watching birds and animals anyway, so it was a treat. Then we walked further along the waterfront for a bit until it simply got too hot! It’s nice that we can still visit the places we like even though we moved to northern Virginia from DC four months ago. Alexandria is still a great place to see, but neither one of us would want to live there. 

Green Elephant and Travel John Necessities

What do you do in an emergency bathroom situation? Now that we only have one bathroom in our new condo, we need to consider the options - especially when we have company overnight, or one of us just can’t wait. Luckily, neither of those issues arise with any frequency. But I like to be prepared “just in case.” Our Capitol Hill condos were very comfortable because we had two separate units with two separate bathrooms. We thought about adding a second half bathroom here, but it’s very expensive and not essential. And, there are guest bathrooms on the main floor of the building and in the fitness room. But what happens if the one toilet we have doesn’t work? So I searched on amazon to see the options and was happy with what I found. I already had both liquid and waste TravelJohn products that we kept in the car for any unexpected issues. We have never used them, but figured it would be good to have them on hand in the house too. The Green Elephant comfort folding commode toilet seat was just the ticket - something to put the TravelJohn product in. The collection kit comes with tissues and hand wipes, has a “liqsorb” liner and seals after use. Perfect! I always wondered what people do while on construction sites, camping, hiking, kids, long travel hauls, etc. and now I know. The products available these days are limitless. I really don’t think we will ever use these things but I’m really glad we have them - just in case. 

Etsy Sales Milestone

I started my Etsy shop in 2012. It was soon after I rediscovered my love for painting when I found an app I could use on my new iPad. At first it was just sketches - several that were done for my three children’s books. Then there were several from trips we took to Iran, England, Denmark, and items from our Capitol Hill neighborhood. Then I started doing custom pet portraits. My first order was from someone in Oregon and it was a Vizsla. Then it took off from there - especially around the holidays! Last week I got a note from Etsy that I hit a milestone in sales - 300. It felt good. The 300th sake was a downloadable rendering of women on the steps of Persepolis. Now I have shops on Pixels/Fine Art America, Amazon Merch, Zazzle, and Redbubble and my own website that pulls it all together. It’s really nice to be noticed out of the millions of images and sites that are out there now, though it takes a lot of self promotion via Twitter, Instagram, Facebook business page, and so many more. The program I use on my iPad is no longer supported, so now I’m learning a new app on my new iPad Pro and Apple pencil. It feels like I’m starting all over again and my subject matter has changed to women from Persia - from the scenes we saw in Isfahan. Digitalart is a great hobby and I’m always working on something. So thanks for reminding me of my 300 sale milestone Etsy. I can’t believe it started way back in 2010 when I got the first iPad. Who would have thought?

Jack’s Classic Orchid Plant food

When we moved to our new condo four months ago someone gave us a double stem orchid plant as a housewarming gift. It was placed on the console table in the dining room with all of our other houseplants. It was the only flowering plant among all the greens. It did really well until it inevitably started to lose the flowers. We’ve had orchids before and never had much luck with them. I think one time we actually had one come back to life. So we read all about the care of an orchid - again - and stopped at Ginkgo Gardens in Capitol Hill to get some orchid food and replanting soil. We needed advice on which food to get - keeping the plant healthy or boosting the blooms. We decided on keeping it healthy because there is a new leaf starting to grow, which gives us some hope. We were told to cut the spent stem all the way to the bottom, move the plant to another spot in the house and trick it into thinking it’s winter - water it less - and keep it there for three months. So today I cut down one of the stems and am waiting for the flowers to fall off on the other. Since we have been giving it five ice cubes every week we will need to cut back to twice a week, convert amount that to water and add the plant food. We still need to figure out the best time to replant it. Isuppose  you could say we are looking at this as an experiment and see if it comes back. All we can do is give it our best and hope it makes a difference. 

Tyson’s Corner Center, Panera Bread, Yas and Marjan

It was too hot to walk in the park this morning so we decided to walk the mall instead and turn it in to an outing. We drove down to Tyson’s Corner Center and put on about two miles. Since it was lunch time we checked out the three food court and restaurant areas and decided on Panera Bread. It was too busy for our taste but the smoothie was great. After that we headed to Yas in Vienna to pick up a few Persian treats - cookies, tiny cucumbers, cherry jam and a vegetable dip my husband loves. We have driven by Marjan a few times on the way home but thought we could stop by and see what might look good for dinner. It’s not the typical Persian kabob fare - a bit more ethnic and interesting. So we are going to try the barley soup, eggplant appetizer, vegetable and egg frittata, and chicken with barberries. It all looked and smelled really good. Friday afternoon at lunch time is never a good time to be out and about anywhere in this city. But driving in to our own parking spot and coming home to our new clean condo are very much appreciated. I’m glad we moved from DC to Virginia. 

A Good Excuse to Go In To Town

We lived on Capitol Hill for thirteen years and moved to Virginia four more months ago. Our new home is only ten miles from DC. So we always take the opportunity to visit the old neighborhood for certain things - medical, dental, and hair appointments. The first two I can do without, but the hair cut is essential! So after our typical morning walk, we went out for breakfast in our neighborhood at Simply Fresh, then drove in to town. Of course, the GW Parkway was closed off so we had to take an alternate route which is why we always leave plenty of time to get there. Because time allowed, we needed orchid and plant food so we first stopped at Gingko Gardens to pick some up. Then it was on to Michael Anthony Salon where it’s always such a great experience. Parking is always a pain, but the walk to the shop was pleasant - purple doors, kids playing in the water, and birdhouses. On the way home we always stop in the old neighborhood to check on the house we lived in for so many years. The huge tree on the west side was finally taken down. The traffic was the usual congestion on the way back which reminded us again why we needed a break from the city. It feels weird being in the old neighborhood, but so very familiar. It’s a nice feeling.