Learning the Hard Way

I have this little garden bed on the other side of the turn-around in my driveway that is used for those annual flowers from seed packets that I come across.  Those seeds that are free from the seed-exchange, or that come in the mail, or that I have collected from the prior year and lie scattered in an old shoe box.  Most of the seeds do not succeed since it is too far from the nearest hose to water with any regularity and it competes for sun and sustenance with two tulip trees that grow right beside the bed.  I have put an ugly little metal fence around it since there are also a few plants that rodents love to eat in the spring and they can be protected here.  Since the flower bed is only 6 feet by 4 feet, it frequently gets crowded with  the hardy and fast spreading cosmos and in years past celosia.

It is a bit of an experimental ever changing flower bed.  This past year I planted larkspur.  I was not anticipating much success because this plant does not like a hot climate.

It took off like a house afire.  The plants did not need staking as they were able to lean against the curved fence as they reached away from the trees and toward the sun.  I had never tried growing larkspur before, but the seed packet was a gift.  They were lovely.  The light colored double petals of a few plants was perfect for photos. And it bloomed for a couple of weeks at least.  Visitors commented on its loveliness.

When we finally had a break in the heat at the beginning of September I headed outside to clean up the summer gardens.  The larkspur, while hidden to some extent by the prolific cosmos, had turned into dark brown stalks of dead plant matter.  I reached over the fence and pulled it all out and carried the 4 foot long plants to the burn pile.  Back in July I had already collected a batch of seeds.

Then  a few days later, I learned a lesson.  I had read years ago that larkspur if eaten by cattle, or another other animal for that matter, will kill.  Farmers do not move cattle into their fields until the wild larkspur has died back.  I had read that somewhere, but I did not know how toxic this plant was/is!

At first it looked like an infected bug bite.

You can see in the photo above how a second area appeared just from me folding my arms while I slept.

You can also see from above the outline of a bandage I had placed over the bug bite the second or third day when it looked infected.

This rash on the inner sides of both of my arms was burning and itchy and spread like crazy.  It started as one bug bite that looked like it had become infected in my upper inner arm and this grew in blisters to the size of a quarter.  Then it crawled down my arm and at night spread to my other arm while I slept.  I thought I had an infection and because of the intensity of its spread, my mind went to those nasty staph infections that are so hard to control (MSRA!)!  Even my doctor wondered what it was and when I convinced her I had not been near any poison ivy she started me on antibiotics and steroid cream.  I washed sheets and pillowcases and towels and hubby kept up a sterile regime away from me.  The rash did not move to the top of my arms where the skin is less tender.

As you have probably guessed by now, the cause was gathering all those long dead larkspur plants in my sleeveless shirt.  It has been about ten days and I am now getting back to normal, although the rash, which is turning darker in color, is still there without all of its prior nasty side effects.  Perhaps TMI, but lesson learned!

The RR Building

Humans are notorious for building monuments to their heroes and leaders.  I live just over an hour's drive from the Nation's Capital which is full of monuments and memorials to hundreds of historic figures.  A few months ago when I was going to get my GOES (Global Online Enrollment System) for travel clearance I had to go to the Ronald Reagan Building.  I had been there a few times before for meetings and never really took the time to "tour" the building as I hustled to catch the metro home.

While there is security at the entrance, it is a public friendly building.  "The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, named after former United States President Ronald Reagan, is the first federal building in Washington, D.C. designed for both governmental and private sector purposes."  Below is a short tour for those of you who cannot make it out!  There is also a nice collection of American national flags displayed within historic context and someday I may post those photos that I took.  Today this post is all about the architecture (Mage ;-)).

This part of the building above leads to food courts and gift shops and offices.  Massively impressive, is it not?  I think the neon tubes are called Route Zenith and designed by Keith Sonnier.  It is 49 feet high by 30 feet wide and the largest neon work in North America.

"Designated as the official World Trade Center Washington, DC (WTCDC), our International Trade Center is part of a global network of 750,000 affiliated businesses from 330 trade centers in over 100 countries. Utilizing these connections, in conjunction with U.S. government trade agencies, embassies, think tanks and business associations, our Office for Trade Promotion (OTP) can help expand your reach and help you make a global impact." (Text taken from the web site.)

The stairway on the other side was blocked by a large screen and they were getting ready for a USAID event.

Not sure what this contemporary architectural torch represents at the top of the escalator, but I have learned the building has an APP (Doesn't everyone?  Don't you?) that gives you a guided tour from your phone and maybe I can research it.  Wish I had known that when I was there.

This photo above was taken from their web site.  I just wanted to illustrate how traditional the outside is in comparison to the inside.

Time, That Moving Thing

Even though Autumn is not yet here, I can almost see her in the angle of the sun and the smell of the air on the wind, and as I have become an elder, Autumn makes me think of that constant drum beat of time.  It makes me think of cycles, beginnings, and mostly endings.  I become nostalgic knowing my days are numbered and there will be things I will not be around to see; some I am glad I will miss but many I will be sad to miss.  I look to other bloggers and friends to see how they adapt to this inevitable facing of big change and gain comfort from them as I take it one day at a time.

“I sit beside the fire and think
Of all that I have seen
Of meadow flowers and butterflies
In summers that have been

Of yellow leaves and gossamer
In autumns that there were
With morning mist and silver sun
And wind upon my hair

I sit beside the fire and think
Of how the world will be
When winter comes without a spring
That I shall ever see

For still there are so many things
That I have never seen
In every wood in every spring
There is a different green

I sit beside the fire and think
Of people long ago
And people that will see a world
That I shall never know

But all the while I sit and think
Of times there were before
I listen for returning feet
And voices at the door”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

Endings Are Inevitable

The youngest grandchild has kept us on our feet for a week with boat trips, fishing, biking, museum visits, cleaning oysters in the trays and pulling up crab traps.  He is a mellow 5-year-old and so the visit was ultra smooth.  By late afternoon the day before, when we were fighting off napping, he was quietly playing in corner with small cars or racing cars on his Ipad which he brought with him.

We drove to the city yesterday to return the youngest grandchild and after we dropped him off we went out for an adult dinner evening to a nearby Vietnamese restaurant rated 4 stars on Zagat.  We had not eaten Vietnamese food in years and it was delicious, although not super authentic to my taste.  I polished off two glasses of Chardonnay and we just unwound as we looked back on the previous busy two weeks.

At the end of the meal we passed a bicycle shop and I went in to get my grandson a bike bell since his was broken and he reminded me I would get him an new one when we said goodbye.  We also stopped at the pastry shop which was recommended by the young couple with the 3-year-old eating at the next table.  (We always find ways to have conversations with others at restaurants.) We bought some cupcakes as they were too lovely to pass up and as our reward for two straight weeks with kids. (Yes, hubby has already eaten one!)

Then it was on home in the dark to "batten down the hatches" waiting for the edges of storm Hermine to come our way.

This morning there was no longer a scattering of children's shoes at the front door, there were no tiny sounds of video games coming from the sofa, there was no need to pour small glasses of juice and, of course, it was sad.  Even the earth outside reflected the quiet changes that endings bring with a very light rainfall and ten degree cooler weather.  The small gusts of wind were whipping leaves from the tops of trees before allowing them to fully change color.  I could feel that somewhere fall was moving in even though we should have 90 degree weather again by the end of the week!

Above he is enjoying his last sunset at the water.

Since Some of You Asked

Several bloggers asked how I got the "painterly" look to my photos.  I use Photoshop Elements software (which is the lite version of Photoshop) to work with my original photos.  I make changes to the histogram, the lighting/contrast and also apply some sharpening, usually to the whole photo, but sometimes only to areas.  If I decide to try to blur identities or just be more artistic I use filter packages that I purchased from Topaz.  If you buy the whole kit it is expensive and to my mind not worth all that money since I would not use much of all of it.  The two that I purchased were Topaz Adjust 5 and Topaz Simplify 4.  They do enhance photos but as you probably know cannot really sharpen an out of focus photo or improve something that is just too cluttered or too over-exposed or too underexposed.

Below is the original with some histogram work and some sharpening but that is all.  I just grabbed a photo from my long file, and this was not the best in terms of sharpness.  But I have a short window to write this afternoon.

This is an HDR filter in Topaz Adjust 5 above.  I normally tweak these filters as they have many sliders and later adjust lights, shadows, etc.  But this is just to give you a clue of how using the preset looks.

This is the Spicify filter in Topaz Adjust 5.  Again I just applied it without tweaking.

This is a filter in Topaz Simplify 4 called Oil Painting.  They have several versions of Oil Painting.

This last is using a filter called Cartoon.  I hope this answers those questions for those who are not purists in photography..

Pirouetting, Pirouetting, and Focusing on the Wall.

My world is still spinning much like that energizer bunny gymnast.  We celebrated a 46th anniversary with hubby buying the roses that smell good but do not last long.  That is OK by me.  We had a sunset dinner in the next town.

This was followed by the arrival of friends from Florida for two days, and then followed by my son, wife and in-laws staying for two days and we all attended a rock concert, and then we immediately left them for a three day weekend at a freshwater lake with the daughter, her husband and their three little ones to celebrate belatedly hubby's birthday!

House Guest that fears boating (a little.)

Grandson canoeing

Granddaughter working on gardening badge.

This was immediately followed by bringing two of the grands back with us for a week of board games, canoeing, swimming, cooking, working on Scout badges (such as making a Zen garden), watching movies, etc.

Today I get to take a deep breath for about 6 hours after cleaning bedrooms and bathrooms.  Hubby is returning two of the grands to their parents and picking up the youngest (5) for our week with him before the start of school.  I will return...I will return...I just need a nap.......

Keeping it Green

Hubby and I took a tour this past spring.  This was an important tour, and that is why I am sharing it.  No monuments, insides of cathedrals, or massive flower gardens on this tour.  This was a tour about challenge and change.  Recently, the Washington D.C. government began encouraging property owners to make "green roofs" a part of their building plans.  New commercial construction is required to have a certain percentage of roof space either solar or green.  This growing plants keeps buildings cooler in the summer and reduces heat loss in the winter, it reduces stormwater run-off which is a prime reason for water pollution, and green roofs reduce noxious organic compounds as well as can provide food!  Go here if you want more information on all of this.

Buildings have to insure structural support for such a project and many buildings cannot afford the change over, but a good number can!

Our first stop was the University of District of Columbia that began their project refurbishing an old greenhouse that had been used to teach botany and agriculture.  They also were studying food security...how long could their neighborhood/campus go without access to food in an emergency, for instance?

Their rooftop grew flowers, herbs and succulents and emphasized that pollinators do climb several stories to feed and pollinate!

Then we moved on to a condo building near the Potomac River and right across from the Kennedy Center.  (Rich people do not live here as there are some subsidies...but it is way out of my price range!)

Their change to providing a buffer of succulents also added a nice patio for the owners who lived here.

So many of these projects used succulents because they require virtually no maintenance...just the occasional weeding.

And, of course, the view of the Kennedy Center and river added to these features.

Next we went on to visit the American University program which has worked for years on a program of recycling, greening and environmental living with their students.

The above slows runoff from sidewalks and patios before it goes into the storm drains.

They had their own bee hive on one of the rooftop gardens.

This used to be a flat and hot parking lot above.

They admitted that getting students to partipate could sometimes be a challenge!!

Our final stop was at a Latin restaurant that had its own herb and "decorative greens" roof garden.  The chef gave us a personal tour after our delicious lunch.

This growing plants on roofs has been done for centuries, of course.  But it is nice to see cities renewing this effort.  Every little thing to keep us healthier and cooler.

The Perfectionist Life

My husband has a cousin that we visited a few months ago. She is charming, sweet, cute, talented, smart and creative. She is in the second year of her widowhood and still missing the man who was her best friend. We thought a visit might help her.

While the few days we spent as her guest overlooking the Pacific Ocean and sharing good conversation, good wine, and total agreement on politics were divine, I realized her husband was a saint as I could never live with her.

Whenever she has company she puts out a 2ft by 2ft sticky mat at the front door for guests to stamp on before entry.  This is used whether you are wearing shoes, socks or are barefoot from the pool across the driveway...!  Her home is spotless and she has had the same housekeeper for years.

She has the loveliest guest bathroom. (Please ignore the lack of balance by my toiletry bag hanging on the towel bar.)

Take note that you DO NOT use the towels hanging on the towel bars and wrapped in sashes.  There is a basket on the floor with towels you are supposed to use!

Her home is filled with nostalgic art and a few priceless antiques.  Everything is in its place.  If you move the candles on the table a few inches to fit your wine glass, at the end of the day they get moved back to the exact same place for excellent balance and symmetry.  Even the books are angled in a special way.  She doesn't scold or hint, she just straightens quietly when it is time to leave the room.

And may I point out she is a very snappy dresser for a widow in her 80's!  It is no surprise that the new priest took her under his wing for a year until he was reassigned back to his other Parish.  You cannot help but love her as she is full of good humor and charm, but, I repeat, I could never live with her.  Her husband, God rest his soul, was a saint.

Bedding.

This weekend my son and DIL are coming down to celebrate my husband's birthday.
Mid-week I am having Florida friends staying for a few days.
Next week I get two of the grands for 6 days.
The following weekend I go to a concert with my son and DIL and her parents.
That same weekend those above spend the Friday night.
Then Saturday hubby and I drive to another state for a few days of lake vacay with daughter and SIL and grands.  (They are canoeing and I am babysitting a little tiny fur ball that they call a dog!)
Then the week after the lake trip I get the youngest grand who is almost 6 for a week.

I will return to blogging after all of this if I do not drown in all the sheets I have to change!

Thursday Thirteen: Thirteen People

Thirteen people I met on the cruise:

I met not one but two young men who were veterans who had come home and were on this cruise.  One with his young, lovely, crazy, running, hiking, skinny wife.  She was a psychotherapist and was counting the day until her retirement planned in less than 10 years and her goal to travel the U.S. in an RV (and I am sure hike every trail and climb every mountain!).  Her husband, in his late 20's or early 30's with a gentle and handsome face and a veteran, wore a hearing aid and we had to be careful that he was able to participate in our conversation.

The second young veteran was newly married but off on the cruise with his dad because his mother had a job crises and could not go!  I quite seriously suggested to the dad that he should have given his space to his son's wife...he ignored that.  The young son also wore a hearing device of some kind.  He had wanted to be involved in music in some way, but the damage he received fighting for his country meant he had to find something new to pursue.  (We ask these men to make such big sacrifices and we do not reward them as we should.)

I met two giggling sisters in their late forties and from the midwest who were thrilled to be able to take the cruise and shared that enthusiasm with everyone.  It was exhausting eating dinner with them even though I was happy for them.

I met a retired doctor on the cruise who was there with his young granddaughter and his wife.  They made a very handsome trio...postcard perfect and I was a little envious at their demeanor.

Off the boat, I met a young woman from Moravia.  She was eager to talk about her arrival in the U.S. where she had her passport stolen in New York within days and found that local police pretty much shrugged and said that kind of thing happened a lot.  She was surprised as she thought that most crime was in her area of the world and not America.

I met an author who was a contestant in the very first Iditarod dog sled race and seemed to be focused on talking about that. He was in his late 60's/early 70's and very handsome and healthy looking.  He was selling a book on that iditarod experience, so that was why he was so focused in sharing.

I met another older man at the same place who claimed he only shot film photos.  He said he would never change to digital, but he was quite old and that made sense to me.

I met a tanned blond with perfect breasts that were nestled in a tube top who recommended a high-end very modern Mexican restaurant in downtown Anchorage as a place for dinner.  She was correct except the contemporary metal chairs and tables were a little off-putting.

Murder in the Suburbs

This cat lives in my daughter's neighborhood.  He has a buddy that is just as lovely as he is with longer fur.  Both are very healthy looking and very friendly.  My granddaughter greets them each morning as they stroll like panthers into her yard.  She play with them briefly before she heads off to school.  They belong to someone down the street and are allowed out a good part of the day to roam free.  They have their chips and ID and know to avoid automobiles and are wary of loud teenagers.

Unfortunately they have a routine in the suburban jungle.  Each day they go out to stalk the feather residents and with many still fledging, the two cats certainly have it easy.   My granddaughter has gotten a new dog and spends more time with him than these two morning visitors.  The dog is a puppy and very small and the cats eye it in a predatory way when she plays with it on the porch.  The cats are jealous so they brought her a present to win her back to their side.

It looks like young robin with the soft gray.  Not sure with my limited ID skills.  But the point is, please keep your cats inside unless you are watching them like a hawk.  This is not the only songbird killed by these two.

Call it Home

"When Tom e-mailed me, asking about the trip, I told him Vancouver is nice, it's a great place to visit, but I'm more at home in a cabin in the woods.  I have a feeling that when we are old, Chip and I will indeed be crazy enough to live in ours full-time.  When that happens, we will walk by Tom's place every time we go to town, maybe even with a grandchild or two in tow, and I'll tell them how the old editor of the Chilkat Valley News is a bit like Thoreau, that he dreamed of a quiet place in the country and he built one.  Then we'll probably stop in and help Tom with the shingles, or maybe even a new water system. There's a Buddhist saying that when your house is done your life is over.  I hope Tom works on Camp Weasel forever."

...a passage from Alaskan journalist and NPR writer, Heather Lende's book "If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name" which I purchased in an Alaskan bookstore.

Below are photo-paintings of some of the smaller homes and and more quaint places that I saw during my travel through Alaska, each revealing the strength needed by people, and perhaps, the loneliness of living there.