life in the old lane

Lazy Summer Day. I hope that May isn’t a harbinger of things to come. It was 93 degrees today. That’s July weather. Not May weather. Not even the last day of May weather.

Big adventure was going to the grocery – an entire block – to get popsicles. (Not real popsicles, the so called “healthy” alternative – frozen fruit juice bars.)

Did some thinking about “the move”. The tiny kitchen. The smallness of the whole thing. But, I am starting to look forward to moving on the the next level. I’ll work on finding good homes for some of my stuff.

A friend sent me a lot of strange orchid photos. So, yesterday I did more than a few pictures up close of orchids. And, who should I find in one of the pictures – I know it is me, I recognize the hat. Played around with post processing for this version. The original is up top.

Enjoyed some of yesterday’s herbs on my lunch salad. The chef that gave me the herbs said to just saute them a little in a pan, then stuff the herbs in a jar and fill with olive oil. Will acquire a job tomorrow and give it a go. I should also get a chicken and make roast herbed chicken.

 

Can you imagine actually owning this thing. The Queen of England owns a painting of the wedding and one can see the crown in the painting, but Majorie Merriweather Post owns the Romanov Nuptial Crown. The catalogue says that “The crown is crudely made and has flaps at the bottom so it can be pinned on the hair.” Well, MMP knew her bling, so if she said it was crudely made – it was.

Indeed, I went to the Hillwood Mansion – Where Fabulous Lives – and I had a great time. I had been there before, but I never made a day of it. Started out when I arrived by making a reservation for lunch at 1230 in the Cafe. IN being the operative word – I knew that by then I would enjoy some serious air conditioning.

So, with lunch set – I wandered around the grounds for a couple of hours. I was inspecting the culinary herb gardens when the chef stepped out to cut his herbs for the day. We talk story – he is from France – and I come away with a fine bunch of herbs. I had a plastic bag in my purse and they made it home in good shape. I will have to do something to honor them. Maybe an olive oil infusion? That is tomorrow’s task.

I had great fun getting up close to the orchids in the greenhouse. The water lilies were blooming. Which reminds me – maybe I’ll make a trip to the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. The neighborhood is a little sketchy. Yes, Carlton, I know it is in Anacostia. But I haven’t heard of any old white women being killed in broad daylight in Anacostia in years. Of course, maybe most old white women aren’t dumb enough to go to Anacostia on the bus! Old age is no time to be cautious. Nobody gets out alive. Basketball size water lilies are worth the risk.

Returning to the day. I had a wonderful lunch. Nicoise salad with a huge chunk of salmon redolent with fresh herbs to die for. After a little rest – I went off to see the “History of Containers”. Yesterday I joked about the boxes that the Faberge eggs came in… Well, the egg boxes were a part of the exhibit. As was one of Mrs Post’s 64 steamer trunks. Louis Vuitton – of course.

For all of its over the topness – Hillwood museum is charmingly accessible. They tend to guard the artifacts with museum guards not off putting armored vitrines. That makes for a better visitor experience. Hulihe’e Palace should beef up their watchfulness.

More photos from today tomorrow.

For some reason, my Olympus has a “Pinhole Camera” setting. Back in the day, we made pinhole cameras out of oatmeal boxes or coffee cans. I never had great luck with real pinhole cameras. And, my expensive Olympus faux pinhole camera was just as unsatisfactory. But, a lot less trouble.

I made a plan for tomorrow. Don’t want to get into a funk. Best way to avoid that is to have a plan. My plan is to go to Hillwood – Marjorie Merriweather Post’s DC estate – and take in the exhibit on the history of the box. I suspect that Mrs Post had better boxes than I do. She had a wonderful collection of Faberge eggs – I am guessing that the eggs came in pretty good boxes.

This is just a test that I am doing for a little work project. This is just a proof of concept

Started to work at 0700 hours this morning and clocked out at 1800. Which is a pretty long day for an old woman. I was knocking together a little users guide to a little scheduling system that I cobbled together. I always had a hard time with that last 5% of a programmer’s job – making it look all pretty for the end user. And doing as little as possible as far as documentation went.

Then went out for beer and pizza. Tomorrow, I am scheduled to spring the new system on the end user. They think they want it. I hope they still want if after they see it. And will it be user friendly enough for the user.

I love magnolias. They are a most cooperative photographic subject. I think I’ll have a magnolia photo printed and framed for my new digs at the asylum.

It is summertime here. 90 degrees. I went to the pool. Summer is better than winter. But would summer be so nice without winter. I think not. Summer gets pretty nasty here by the dog days of august. But, for now – summer is sweet.

Thanks, Laurent for explaining the French Presidential election cycle. (see his comment on yesterday’s post) It might be longer than the 2 weeks mentioned on PBS – but still only two weeks of advertising and debates – that sounds a whole lot more civilized than our way. What’s not to love about the country that gave us champagne, denim, undies to die for, and only two weeks of presidential campaigning every 5 years?

 

The way too long weekend is over. Got back to the job and the new-normal. All is good.

Scheduled my appointment for the asylum mental exam. It is about 2 weeks from now.

Saw I little blurb on PBS last night. They had just finished talking about the 2016 presidential elections. And, then flashed on the screen that in France their presidential elections take place in 2 weeks. Start to finish. Two weeks of presidential campaigning. I am sure there must be some prepositioning But think about it. No electioneering until mid-October 2016 for the November election. Another reason to love France.

I live in the most dog friendly building in Arlington. There are more dogs than people in the building. And, when you go out the front door – just across the street is St George’s Episcopal Church. They do lots of good things for the community. And, they believe in miracles. To prove it – they put up a new sign.

This is proof – the faithful at St George’s have to believe in miracles to think that dogs and their owners are going to stay off the grass.

Moved some of my stuff off the closet shelves into several of “Carlton’s Drawers” in our bed. The studio has limited closet space. And no closet shelves.

This morning, I was feeling seriously bereft. Being alive without Carlton wasn’t working for me. I don’t think I was depressed. Just realistic. Carlton was my whole life. What does 2 or 5 or 20 more years mean? Not a hell of a lot.

Well, feeling like that I had to kick my ass into gear. I was one my south balcony looking at my new building in the distance. According to Google – it was just a 3 mile walk away.

The red arrow is the building I am moving into. The green arrow is the new building. It has better windows. It has balconies. The old building is 12 stories. The new one is 14. But, the apartments on the 13th and 14th floors are much larger than I want. Not that any are available. A studio overlooking a stripmall on the 7th floor is available. One takes what is available.

So Google and I headed out on foot. I decided to just let Google tell me how to get there. Google did good. Got me there mostly through charming old residential areas. Without Google – I would have gone along the bus route. Not charming. This is the first time that I completely trusted Google to direct my walking. It did a really fine job.

So, I got down to the asylum at about 10AM. (It is downhill from my apartment.) I had coffee with a group of residents who were waiting on church to start. They are Episcopalians. A pretty laid back religion. No one was in the least concerned that I didn’t go to services.

Not going to church, I went walkabout all around the asylum. Checked out the large art studio. I am not artistic. And, with aborted turtle purse project – I am not a craft person either. It is important to know what you are not. But, the art studio appears to be well equipped. It has lots of good light.

I checked out the library. Large print books. A substation of the Fairfax Public Library. Lots of DVDs. And comfy chairs. I’ll still get my books on the Kindle. And stream my movies. But, I might use a comfy chair.

The business center has a perfectly fine shredder. So, I don’t have to even consider taking my shredder. They also have a computer center. Equipped with Dells running WIndows 7. Don’t imagine I’ll be needing them.

There is a pool. It was closed. It is always closed on Sunday. In the gym – there will be NO WAITING for the cardio equipment. They also have a little dance studio with windows, mirrors and a barre. I can see me hauling my yoga mat down to the studio. I found a pool table. And a little card room. Also a “media room”. And, I found out where furniture goes to die. A hallway with the dreaded “brown furniture”, scuffy chairs, an unloved piano. What I did not see is the furniture from “my” apartment.

Speaking of my apartment. I went up and looked at “my” door. Checked out the laundry room. 2 perfectly fine washers. 2 perfectly fine dryers. And an ironing board. No iron. There is a mirror in the elevator hall. So, I can use it to check my appearance. No mirrors in my unit. Also checked out the trash/recycle room. Nothing remarkable there.

And that was The OK.

By then, I am getting hungry and decide to go catch a bus home. I stop to visit a lady who is enjoying the sun in the garden. This little garden is The Good.

After talk story for a while… I excuse myself and start off to the bus stop. But, wait. It is lunch time at the asylum. Well, I’ll just go have lunch in The Formal Dining Room. Where one is expected to dress appropriately. No jeans, shorts or T-shirts.

I was directed to what seems to be the lone diner section. These would be the folks who arrived with book in hand. The lady at the table next to me was wearing a T-Shirt – advertising a famous DC hardware store – under her blazer. And she was reading the NY Times Book Review section. That is promising. Not only her literary tastes. But, her workaround of the “rules”.

I was not so pleased with the food. I would like to quote from the sales spiel about promises of “gourmet” dining. Or fine dining. But, they really don’t tout the quality of the food. It is totally institutional. About like the food at my hospital. The brussel sprouts were served overcooked, underseasoned, and lukewarm. The pears were out of a can. However, the omelet was good. And, I have only myself to blame for ordering pears, knowing that they are not in season. I was just testing the kitchen. The kitchen failed. This is the bad.

However, I am sure that once I move in – I’ll figure how to make the dining options work for me.

Then, I wandered down to the bus stop and came home. Took a nap after my 6+ miles on the fitbit. Got out of my funk.

Taking a shortcut through the cemetery that Carlton rode to on his bike everyday. And what was in my path? A big hawk feather. Intellectually, I know it was just chance. But, a tiny part of me hopes that it is a little “howdy” greeting from Carlton.

I decided not to do the things that Carlton and usually did on Memorial day weekend. I just had a regular Saturday. Took a big load of stuff to the Goodwill. Went for a couple of walks. Had breakfast at Starbucks. Made a real food lunch. Took a nap.

And, I am listening to a fun “old” fantasy – Tea With the Black Dragon by R.A. MacAvoy. The story is OK, what is fun is all of the early 1980’s computer technology woven into the story. Those where the glory days of homebrew computers. There have been several references to that fine old publication Dr. Dobb’s Journal of Computer Calisthenics & Orthodontia. 8080 processors and bootstrap routines also appear. And that old Game of Life. You can read about the game on Dr Dobbs website. Check it out.

I have a friend who has hummingbirds. I have starlings. They are interesting birds. In the US we consider starlings nuisance birds. According to the USDA:

The introduction of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in New York City in 1890 and 1891 resulted in their permanent establishment in North America. The successful occupation of North America (and most other continents as well) has earned the starling a nomination in the Top 100 list of ‘Worlds Worst’ invaders.

I like them. Carlton liked them too.

Carlton and I enjoyed the summer holidays. We ignored the winter holidays – the ones like Thanksgiving, Xmas, New Years. I don’t know how well I will handle this first summer holiday alone. I should have made a plan. But, I haven’t yet.

Note to Carlton: The motorcycles are here for Rolling Thunder. The “gang” the rents out the Highlander Motel have rolled in and deployed their tent awnings, flags, and beer coolers.

I am going to start off the long weekend by cooking myself dinner using “real” ingredients. Nothing frozen or pre-processed. Chicken stir fry. And, maybe sweet potato. I will be trying out my new skillet. (Thanks Melissa). I’ll have to give up my vintage cast iron skillets when I move to the asylum. They have glass electric cooktops. And cast iron doesn’t work well with glass.

Cold and rainy today. And I was cold and sort of grumpy myself. Tomorrow will be another day. If I get tomorrow. Because, no one is promised tomorrow.

I made no progress on my move to the asylum. I have become sort of lax as far as the move goes. I am sort of planning on finalizing the move ASAP. But I am in no hurry to actually move. I will move out of the apartment before going to Hawai’i. I am not going to stress about paying “double” rent. After all, Carlton and I paid “double” rent in Hawai’i for decades. But, I am not going to pay “triple” rent.

Finalizing the move – the next move is the asylum’s. They have to schedule my mental exam. Gotta prove I am crazy enough to move in.

Facing a 3 day holiday weekend. I don’t have any plans. This can be a problem. So, I’d better make some plans. 3 days… well actually 3.5 since I only work morning. 3.5 days. no plans. no car. no responsibilities. wonder what is doable by an easy train or bus ride? Around town, there is always Rolling Thunder. Stay tuned.

In my area we have grand large weekend early morning farm markets. But, more charming are the afterwork markets at some of our metro stops. They are much smaller and lines are nonexistent. I got some nice baby squash and a super chocolate chip cookie at the Clarendon market this afternoon. The Ballston market is tomorrow – but much rain is predicted for tomorrow. So, this might be my only trip to the afternoon markets this week. I will miss this when I move to the asylum.

On the asylum front. I went to see my doctor today. She said “Yes, you are still alive”. Next step, my “mental assessment”. That should be fun. Hope I can take it seriously. Guess if I don’t they will not let me in.

Well, Carlton… this time last year you were having radiation for your Merkel Cell Cancer. And we were trying to keep each other from knowing how worried we were. Other couples might have handled it differently. We didn’t have too many tears. But we did enjoy our last two years together. And we shared a bunch of sandwiches. I don’t miss you all the time anymore. Just most of the time. And, I have developed some habits that you would not approve of. Habits like Starbucks coffee. Going to Nats and DC United games. Taking in the occasional concert. As Cal from Iowa by way of Kona would have said “Widow spending the old man’s money”. Yep, that would be me.