Chipotle in Our Future?

We used to go to our favorite Mexican restaurant - Tortilla Coast - on Capitol Hill at least once a month. It was just a block up the street and was quite good. But it closed during the pandemic in spite of its great location. Since we moved to northern Virginia we tried El Tio in our neighborhood and it’s okay. On Sunday we watched a show about how restaurants are doing since the pandemic with Bobbie Flay. Chipotle was mentioned - and apparently they are doing quite well. We have never been to chipotle so we thought we would give it a try - especially since the reviews were quite good and the app was supposed to be easy to maneuver. The menu is limited but had what we usually get - chicken burrito and chicken quesadilla. Of course we also ordered chips and planned the pick up for 5:50 PM. My husband said the items weren’t quite ready when he arrived but that’s not unusual - even though the app said the order was complete. The bag looked a little empty and it turned out that they forgot the chips. It wasn’t enough for us to drive all the way back but it was a disappointment. The food was actually not bad even though I am not used to having everything mashed up together in a vary large burrito. The guacamole and sour cream usually come as sides. The quesadilla looked more like a sandwich but my husband didn’t mind. The leftover burrito tasted better the second night. The food tastes a lot better than it looks! I suppose once in a while this might be a good option. We rarely go out for lunch or dinner anymore - except on rare occasions when we are meeting someone. It’s sort of sad that our own cooking seems to taste better. How things have changed. 

Orville Redenbacher Unsalted Unbuttered Popcorn

I love popcorn. But it was not good to me. Long ago I bit down on a kernel and it did the job on my jaw. After a while I had to have bilateral TMJ surgery because I could hardly open my mouth and had constant headaches. That was over forty years ago. I’ve had to wear a night splint ever since. But I still love popcorn. But if I ever ate it I was extremely careful not to bite down very hard. Well, it’s been over four years since we made popcorn. I’m trying to lose a few pounds to keep blood sugar and cholesterol levels managed, though I think it’s a lost cause. So the amount of bread has been reduced along with overall smaller portions. It’s not easy for someone who has been lucky enough to eat almost anything. So plain unbuttered and unsalted popcorn is an option. We haven’t bought plain popcorn for centuries, but yesterday we got Orville Redenbacher’s plain popcorn. And to make the popcorn on the stovetop is something I haven’t done since I was living with my parents as a youngster. Last night I got out the pot and cover, added one tablespoon of olive oil and three tablespoons of popcorn and set the stove to medium heat. It brought back a lot of memories! And as we were eating the very plain unbuttered and unsalted popcorn - that I ate very carefully - it reminded me of going to the movies and having popcorn. I’m not crazy about the idea of having to go through all of that fuss when the microwave bags were so much easier. But when you have to have unbuttered unsalted popcorn, it’s about the only option. And for that it might be worth it. 

52Frames Night Photography Photo Challenge

The subject for the 52Frames photo challenge this week was “night photography.” That was disappointing because I usually take photos for the challenges during our morning walks. In fact the subject oftentimes dictates where we go for the walk. So we needed to determine where the best location might be close to home. Since we go to the neighborhood park during the day we thought we would try it at night. There is a lighted path around the perimeter of the park that casts long shadows on any subject walking that way. So I used my husband as the subject and tried a few different views. A gazebo also made for some alternate options. Then we walked over to the pickle ball court but the people there just finished. On another evening after a rain storm I tried taking a few photos of the raindrops and the small roses on the balcony. The lighting was interesting with the drops of water shining on the glass wall. The building across the street also was an option. I didn’t think any of the photos turned out that well except for one of my husband walking up the path - but I needed to add a bit of whimsy to create a composite image. So a photo of a deer that crossed our path earlier in the week was added to the night shot so it looked as if my husband was having a stare down with the deer. I thought about adding a shadow, but the lighting dictated a clean view. The idea of creating a composite is to make it look like whatever is in the photo actually belongs there. That’s what makes the photo challenge more interesting for me - it’s more of an art project than taking a photo. 

Constitution Gardens Morning Walk

I was in search of water pictures for the photo challenge. We had spend a few days visiting some of the neighborhood parks along the Potomac River, but the Tidal Basin area also has a lot of options. So we parked by the Tidal Basin - which is a great place that no one else seems to know about - and walked over to the WWII memorial. There are a lot of fountains there. Then we headed over to Constitution Gardens - another spot that no one seems to know about. The views of the Washington Monument are great from there. Next up was the Lincoln Memorial. As we walked the crowd was getting bigger and we chatted with a guy visiting from Tampa who was there for a job interview and wandering about taking in all of the sights. The new park police horse stables was just newly opened. There were four horses standing about. But the center wasn’t open because the park ranger had just left for lunch. Maybe next time. On the way back to the car we stopped by the pond across the street from the tidal basin and there was a turtle saying hello by the metal pieces hovering over the water. From there we headed towards the paddle boats by the Jefferson Memorial. There were a few takers. At the annual gardens were a few leaves that had some water drops that looked interesting for some macro shots. In the end I used a Potomac River image. But every time we visit town we enjoy the sights and sounds of DC. We try to go in at least once a week and it is always worth the trip.  

VHC Outpatient PreOp Lab Blood Draw

I thought we might be able to get away without any medical issues this year. But I was wrong. It wasn’t unexpected when the ophthalmologist said it might be time for cataract surgery. It’s been difficult to focus and the bright lights are annoying. So rather than get a new prescription and then turn around and need the surgery anyway, we decided it was time to schedule. I was able to get the preop exam scheduled with my doctor office, but the blood work would need to be drawn at the hospital. We haven’t been to Virginia Hospital Center for quite some time. The new outpatient facility was being built during the pandemic and it was recently completed and opened a week before we went for the lab work. Since everything is on line through the patient portal it was easy enough to schedule the appointment for the same morning and we arrived in plenty of time and decided to park in the neighborhood rather than the parking garage. It’s a beautiful new building and the lab is located right off the front entrance and wasn’t busy at all. We signed in on the touch screen computer as we walked in and were immediately taken in to the lab draw station. My husband sat next to me in the seat while the technician drew my blood. It all went very smoothly and the results were available on line and soon after the physician summary report was also available. Obviously I would have preferred having the blood work done in the office, but this was a second option easy process. It was a nice drive anyway. Now I just need to get the surgeries over with. 

Horses on the National Mall

Quite a while ago a new structure was being built on the National Mall across the street from the MLK Memorial. It looked like a large house. Then a few months back a sign appeared that finally told us what it was going to be. It was going to be the US Park Police Horse Stables and Education Center. We hadn’t been on that end of the mall for a while and ended up there last week for a morning walk. The place had finally opened as we saw at least four horses hanging around the front of the building behind the new fence. It’s not uncommon to see the horses riding around the mall - especially when there are scheduled events. Apparently they have been housed far away, so this makes it easier to care for them at a more convenient location. Although I am certain the other place still exists because this place is not really that big. It’s really an opportunity to learn more about the horses and the general history surrounding the program. As we were walking towards the area a park ranger walked passed us. I figured he was going to lunch and I think I was right. We wanted to enter the building but it was closed because the park ranger wasn’t available. Well, we know we will be back again some other time. It did seem odd to see the Lincoln memorial in the backdrop of the horses. We are looking forward to visiting again. Hopefully the park ranger will be there. 

Miniature Roses Bloom Again!

We bought the tiny rose plant at the grocery store at least three years ago. If anyone ever told us that it would still be growing and blooming three years later we would have been surprised. But if my husband has anything to do with it, that’s the key to the success of this miniature rose plant. We don’t have a lot of plants - or anything - anymore since we moved to the condo in northern Virginia. We had a small patio garden in our Capitol Hill condo, and a few houseplants now. On the balcony there are three coco lined window baskets that we try to keep going with seasonal flowers. But the crows and other birds keep throwing the dirt around - tempting us to remove the planters after this season. But the one outdoor plant that remains is the miniature rose. We used to keep it in the house but it seems to thrive in the humidity and west side of the building that gets full sun. My husband waters it twice a day. Currently there are three blossoms, and one of the branches was just cut back this week. We anticipate that it will bloom once again this year. Last year we left the plant outside over winter and it still came back. My husband prefers to have very few things. But he takes care of them so well.