Caraa Tailored Masks

How much longer is this nightmare going to last? On very rainy days like this one I feel like a rat stuck in a wheel - spinning nowhere. Being in the “at risk” group and attending to all precautions, our only activity is a morning walk, an occasional drive to DC, and picking up groceries curbside. We haven’t seen anyone in person since Match. The vaccine will still take awhile, so in the mean time the supply of face masks needs attention. Since we do wash every two weeks, our mask supply lasts fourteen days. Some of the original items are starting to show their wear and were in need of replacement. So I ordered a few more for each of us. The original Caraa masks were the surgical type with a pocket to place a filter. And, as most things improve over time, they now offer a sport mask and a tailored option. We have all three types and each has a purpose. So when I asked my husband which type he preferred, he liked the tailored mask because it is a heavier canvas material, has a filter option, nose wire and a face wire down the center front, beige color inside rather than white, and adjustable ear loops. Since they were out of stock in the colors I liked, I ordered two sets of three in the marine shades. They arrived last week and came individually packaged. Since I already had some of the specific filters for this fit, they were ready to wear. So now we have a basket full of face coverings. What a drag. 

USS Newell and My Dad on Veterans Day

My brother has it now - the scrapbook our dad meticulously maintained and chronicled his twenty one years of Coast Guard service. My dad never talked about the adventures per se, but it seemed to be the happiest - and scariest - times in his life. He has a few medals from WWII and Korea. He even kept a few of his uniforms and is buried in one of them. He and my mom, who was a Navy veteran, are resting at Florida National Cemetery side by side. I remember visiting ships as a youngster whenever my dad was in port, and even after he left the service. He loved the water. There was an account of one of the ships he served on - the USS Newell - among the photos and trinkets. He must have requested it from the Navy Department in 1952. It tells the history of the ship and the role it played in WWII. My dad was in the engine room, where the hatches would be closed off in the event of a torpedo strike. It happened in a convoy in North Africa but luckily his ship was not hit. The photos of the event are somehow lost, but I remember looking at them - explosions, picking up survivors ... today is the day we honor all these servicemen and women on Veterans Day. It is well deserved. 

 

Capitol Hill Buildings, Fall, and Blue Skies

We always try to take a ride in to town for a morning walk now that the heat of summer has passed. The concrete jungle is much more tolerable now. We always park in our old neighborhood on Capitol Hill but it’s a lot trickier without a parking pass. Even though the city is empty, parking is still a problem. Once we found a place, we retraced the steps we took over the thirteen years we lived there. Walking towards the Library of Congress reminded me of working there, and It was so easy to come home for lunch every day. My husband still loves DC. I do too, but am glad we don’t live in the neighborhood any more. It’s terribly inconvenient and street parking is a drag. Nevertheless it’s always a treat to visit the buildings everyone in the world recognizes. And on this day the skies were blue with a bright sun sparkling on the white stone. The Supreme Court already had a group starting to protest, but the Capitol building always gets my attention. The inauguration platform is being built. The yellow and orange colors dictate the season and there was an occasional flower blooming beneath the leaves. I wanted to visit the FDR Memorial at the Tidal Basin, but we didn’t feel like getting out of the car once we arrived. On our way home we have the same discussion about how great it was to have lived on Capitol Hill. Yes, we miss it but can visit it any time we feel like it. 

Fall Floral Bouquet

Flowers always bring a smile to my face. I really like having them placed in the living room wall vase, the dining room table vase, and the plant table among all the greens. When we had gardens, it was a no brainer to use our own flowers. Since we moved to northern Virginia, I used to pick the flowers out at the grocery store, but now need to rely on the shopper who selects them, along with all the groceries, for curbside pickup. The options are somewhat limiting on the app, but you can add comments and also make special requests when using Harris Teeter. Last week I requested a bouquet and we ended up with a very fall looking selection in purples, reds, rusts, and yellows. My husband prefers lighter colors, I’m more for seasonal varieties, and even like to put odd stuff in the vases like tiny pumpkins, gourds, and Christmas sticks and greens. We have also turned our balcony “window boxes” in to a garden for the winter with pansies, English ivy and liriope. We can easily view them from our living room. These days, anything that makes the house cozier is worth the effort since we are spending so much time in it. Flowers are so uplifting. 

The Grilled Cheese Sandwich

It was not all that uncommon to have a snack in the evening. I always loved bread and ate wonder bread slices as a snack during the day as a youngster. Once in college, the grilled cheese sandwich became a more sophisticated favorite - two slices of white bread and one slice of American cheese. And of course, if that got boring, then it was three slices of wonder bread. Two of them were meant for grape jelly and the third was for peanut butter. And they would be eaten in the order of jelly, peanut butter, and jelly. Those habits ended a long time ago. However, in the last several months a lot of things have changed - including my desire for grilled cheese. At least it’s not a daily affair! So last night I was just feeling hungry. I know I shouldn’t do it, but I got out the two slices of wonder bread and one slice of American cheese. Instead of using butter - something we stopped using many years ago - a small bit of olive oil was poured in to the pan. I don’t remember the exact amount of minutes per side, so I checked frequently so the sandwich wouldn’t overcook. It did anyway, but the joy of eating it reminded me of the past. It’s the little things that we remember - and the grilled cheese sandwich was one of them. It could be classified as a comfort food and I hope it doesn’t become a habit. It tasted soooooo good. 

Inauguration Platform Going Up

The inauguration platform is going up. 

Zazzle Digital Art Sales

They come in sporadically and it is such a joy to receive them. This week I got two notices from Zazzle that two of my digitalart products were sold. One was a puzzle with an Airedale terrier bought from someone in the UK; and the other was a beagle tie purchased from someone in Baltimore. I’ve been painting custom pet portraits for eight years, starting with my Etsy shop. All the portraits are hand painted using my iPad. When the portraits are completed, I upload them to Zazzle, Redbubble, Pixels/Fine Art America, and Amazon Merch. Even though the proceeds are tiny, it hardly matters. There are literally millions of options out there. If someone notices something I painted out of all of those millions it is just lovely. I always enjoyed painting since I was a youngster. Pastels, watercolor and general crafts kept me busy. So when the iPad came around it reignited my interest in art. And it’s so much neater and my studio travels with me. So thank you for noticing from people in places all over the world. I really appreciate it!