Oxford Beer Kegs and Cats

Whenever we travel - which has been nonexistent in the last two years - I love taking photos and then posting them on my Fine Art America/ Pixels website. Most of the uploads lately have been from our weekly visits to town and the DC area. Aside from the photos my digital art work is also uploaded. So a lot of the images that were taken when we visited friends in England are available. There are many photos from Iran, Denmark, and France too. I also have artwork and photos posted on Redbubble and Zazzle, and custom pet portraits on Amazon Merch. It’s always a hoot when someone likes one of these images so much to purchase it! When I received a notice from FAA that someone bought my five cats eating art, I was thrilled. None of these transactions amount to much, but nevertheless inspire me to continue painting and taking photos. When the photo of the framed Oxford beer kegs sold I was really tickled. I try to imagine who would have been interested to like something that much. Was it a gift? Where would it be placed? The internet gives artists like me a great opportunity to showcase my work. It’s a great hobby - even if nothing was sold. 

Smithsonian Natural History Museum

I was never a huge lover of natural history. Dinosaurs never did much for me - except maybe the Flinstones cartoons. The Smithsonian natural history museum is probably one of the more popular places to visit in DC. So last week we decided to take a trip in to town and check it out. The museum recently reopened to seven days a week from a modified pandemic schedule. The place was quite busy, but not packed. We didn’t have to wait in line to get in. In the main lobby is the huge elephant. Then we went over to the stuffed animal exhibit - from giraffes to hippos and everything in between. Then over to the whales and such and through to the dinosaurs. In between we stopped at the fossilab where staff were either sketching/painting what they saw under the microscope or examining fossils. Then there were all the skeletons and bugs. Of course there was a mummy section. One of the last stops was the hope diamond. There are two floors of exhibits and so much to see. I don’t think we saw half of it. It’s nice that all we need to do is drive to the mall and visit any time we want. We do miss living on Capitol hill, but are happy that we can still enjoy what it has to offer. 

Busy Day Soup

Every once in a while I see a recipe that looks easy enough to try. Someone circulated a shrimp casserole dish that we really like. So when I came across the busy day soup recipe it looked interesting. The ingredients are ground meat, canned diced tomatoes, five cups of water, frozen vegetables, onion soup mix and macaroni. The preparation is simple enough. Once the main part is done it is left to cook for an hour. The last fifteen minutes the macaroni and frozen vegetables are added and cooked for another fifteen minutes. When it was completed it looked nice enough but I have to say that it tasted really bland. And since I can’t have salt, it was really bland. I added a bit of pepper. My husband added a bit of lemon juice. Maybe it will taste better the second time around. Or maybe it could be poured over a potato or rice. I don’t think we will be making it again. That’s really too bad because it was so easy to make. And since I’m not a cook I really appreciate these kinds of recipes. Or maybe we just need to figure out how to jazz it up. 

Smart Bird ID

I like just about all animals and birds. We had a few parakeets when we were growing up in lieu of a dog. One of them was named Ringo and he was very talented. He said his name, flew to my finger when I called, sat on our glasses, and rode on the Barbie car steering wheel. We had bird feeders and birdbaths in the Midwest and on Capitol Hill. So when I learned of an app that helped to identify birds and bird sounds, I thought it might be interesting to use. So I downloaded it. When we walk in the morning sometimes we go though the neighborhood park. There are many birds in the area including red headed woodpeckers. But there are several sounds and types of birds that I don’t recognize. So I thought I would try the app out. When you open the tab to record, you push the button to start the recording. I did. Nothing happened. The red line didn’t move up or down after holding the phone steady for quite some time. I tried it in a few different places in the park where we could clearly hear the singing. Still nothing happened. I tried it another day and it was no different. I was a bit disappointed. I made sure the microphone was “on.” Still nothing. There are other tabs on the app that show birds that are typical to this area. I could easily look that up on line. I suppose you shouldn’t expect much for something that is free. Has anyone out there had the same experience? 

52Frames An Activity

This week’s 52 frames photo challenge was “an activity.” That’s certainly a broad enough subject which can be helpful but also makes it more difficult. Since we hadn’t been to the Smithsonian natural history museum for a long time, we took a ride to the national mall since the museum was now open seven days a week. We parked by the American Indian museum and walked over to the other side of the mall. Along the way there were a couple of options - someone pulling tourists on their bicycle and someone walking past the food trucks. But there were more interesting options once we got inside the museum. The huge elephant in the main hall is always a great place for a photo. I liked the activity of everyone walking, talking, observing and babysitting. Then there were the visitors observing the preserved fir added and hippo. But in the fossil hall were two staff members doing what they do best. One was drawing a 75 million year old fossil lizard jaw and the other was looking at a bug/fossil under a microscope. I particularly liked the young visitors intently observing the scientist doing his work. Oh yes - and then there was the smiling mummy! On the way back to the car we walked past the archives where there were lines of people waiting to get in. Not a part of this photo op was the altercation that occurred right outside of the Canadian embassy - hardly a block from the Capitol. Within 5 minutes there were four police cars, a fire engine and an ambulance at the site. The perpetrator was handcuffed and the victim received medical attention. This is not something I care to witness on a beautiful afternoon. We still like visiting DC after living on Capitol Hill for 13 years, but when those things happen I am happy we don’t live there anymore. That would have made an interesting photo, but I didn’t have the stomach to take one. 

Pulcinella Italian Kitchen

We used to drive from Capitol Hill to Pulcinella restaurant in McLean long before we moved to northern Virginia. It wasn’t uncommon to drive on a Sunday evening to avoid the large crowds on Saturday evening. After a while we used to drive in for lunch. It was quieter and we got just enough for leftovers. We always got soup, salad, lasagna and usually chicken Parmesan. We tried the pizza a couple of times. The bread was also very good! It was the last place we had lunch before my mom passed away. Then the pandemic struck and we hadn’t been back. Since that time the restaurant closed and moved to another spot not far away. It’s a smaller space, but still has the same menu items that we liked. So for the first time in a very long time we ordered pick up from them last week. It was a Friday night and the few tables were filled. And there were several customers waiting for pick up. We got our order and brought it home. It was exactly as it was before. We hadn’t had lasagna for a while. There are places that you go for dinner that you’re not sure you will go back. We will definitely go back to pulcinella. Too bad we still won’t go inside for dinner. I’m not sure when we will ever be comfortable doing that again. 

Who Irons Anymore?

When we walked in the mall on rainy or icy days, I noticed a green striped shirt that looked nice to wear for everyday types of errands. I haven’t bought any clothing for over two years. My wardrobe has been shorts and a t shirt at home and LLBean wear for morning walks. So I ordered the JCrew shirt and it arrived folded in a plastic bag - like men’s shirts. It’s probably a size too large. But it is meant to be an oversized shirt with dropped shoulders. But I thought it needed to be washed to soften it a bit - but that would mean I would have to iron it because it was cotton. I haven’t ironed in centuries! So after washing and drying the shirt it was wrinkled. We have a very small ironing board that needs to be placed on a table. The iron is pretty standard. I just knew I needed to add water so it could be steamed. Doing this exercise reminded me of the days when everything had to be ironed - especially the white uniform shirts for school. I remember my mom rolling things up and putting them in the refrigerator. It’s a pain to iron but more of a pain when you don’t really have the right set up. The shirt did look better after the wash. But I’m not sure I like the idea of the upkeep. So much for wanting a cotton button down shirt. Maybe cotton and polyester blend is a better idea.