Pink at night, Bloomingdale delight.

Really, the sky over Bloomingdale DC was this color the other night and was quite spectacular so of course I had to snap away and record it. And no, I didn't fidget with the photo software and make it pinker and bluer and prettier!  There's something very intriguing about our peaked roofs; when my mother-in-law came to stay once we were sitting on the back deck and saw a similar view as in this photo, of all the peaked roofs lined up pointing away, and she said it reminded her of ships moored at a harbor.  So here we are, moored in Bloomingdale DC in our lovely Victorian houses, and enjoying the pink at night, sailors' delight! 

Union Station Being Upgraded

Drapes and scaffolding in the station

Ceiling being repaired

I haven't been in Union Station for a while and I stopped by there for lunch today and was surprised by several things. Firstly, there's all scaffolding and drapes and screens over the ceilings and some walls. Apparently, last August's earthquake caused some damage to the surfaces, especially in the roof, so there's a project to assess and fix the arches and other elements. Hopefully, they will also do the other repair work on the ceiling as in the past I'd noticed some places had water damage. Then, I noticed that a lot of stores -- which sold stuff like ties, toys and toiletries -- had left and been replaced by new eateries. For instance, there's now a Chop-T there and the Station Grill -- where my husband and I first shared a meal! -- has been replaced with a Chipotle Grill. While I like the food at this chain, they've covered over the old stamped tin ceiling.  And the liquor store, where you also buy lottery tickets, has moved downstairs to be replaced by Pret a Manger (more food to eat). The shops have also changed over in some cases with a Svaroski crystals place, a shaving equipment place and a Citibank as new business. In fact, Citibank has about a hundred ATMs now sprinkled everywhere.  There's also more stands selling stuff such as those flowers glazed over and made into pins or necklaces and earrings.  I also did a quick look downstairs and most of the original food joints have been replaced with newer, smarter food services.  Of course, the movie theater has NOT been replaced but there's more food places there; and thank goodness, Johnny Rockets is still cooking fries and burgers. Also new is a US Post Office and it looks like a new sushi place is moving in too.   Overall, it looked like a massive Food Hall throughout the place, with far less shops. Due to the repair work some of the passageways were blocked and one is almost compelled to walk through the Godiva store to get to the Center Cafe, which is still there, but seems to have upped the price of its martinis.

Rear Window View during a Tea Break

A look out of the three windows from my downtown office is all about reflections. Real reflections, not my rambling thoughts, that is. I'm on a corner and look into a courtyard at the backs and sides of half a dozen buildings. Since reflective glass is now the norm every window stares back at me with a picture of yet another building or roof or satellite dish or antenna or air conditioning unit or balcony or brick wall or light fixture or flags or some kind of building equipment. In some cases it's a reflection of someone working on the roof of the building I'm in; he's walking about talking on his cell phone, arm akimbo, possibly concerned about the air conditioning unit he's standing beside. Occasionally some birds nose-dive through the space and are reflected multiple times, tripling their number. Of course, I can look upward and see a beautiful June blue sky with puffy white and grey clouds scudding westward. I get to see them twice too, as they are also reflected in all the upper story windows on the buildings around the courtyard. It's a mistake to think that a rear window has no views. And I haven't even started to try and think about this from a theological perspective.