No Longer Eligible for A&E #Hoarders

Hoard for Removal

De-hoarded garage space

Today I went out to the garage to get the Christmas decorations but, inspired by A&E cable TV channel's program called Hoarders, I found myself clearing out a small hoard of papers, tools, coiled wired, old lamps, books, a chair, a table and a wheelchair. We bagged it all up and then put it out in the alley for a Bulk Trash Pickup which I signed up for online right away to avoid getting a Trash Ticket from the City Trash Ticket Lady.  I did relate to the people on the TV show a little as I found myself saying "I don't want to give this up" about a couple of the items such as my son's baby things or a school paper I'd written years ago. Mostly, however, I found myself saying "Why do I still have my ex-husband's rusted tools?" and "Why am I keeping this bag of nails?" After all, if I'd needed them or he wanted them back, in the twelve years we've been divorced, they would have been used! So feeling very pleased with meself, I then went in to photograph the cleared space. A sleepy little field mouse, looking very large and pregnant, was making her way out from the leftover rubble and dust, and I'm sorry to say, I picked up the baseball bat and whacked her dead. Well, it's not as if mice are an endangered species, now, is it? So with a little clean up -- which took about two hours -- I've gotten rid of some of my hoard. Now, I'm thinking about what else to tackle. Fortunately, I don't have an attic, but the basement and some of the closets could do with some serious garbage bag de-hoarding, so once I get some Hefties, maybe I'll tackle those. Purging is good! 

The Last Barber of Bloomingdale

There's been quite a few barbershops in the basements and front parlors of the Bloomingdale neighborhood since I've lived here, but this one, "Showtime," has outlasted the competition. Near to the First and Rhode Island NW intersection, and situated at a bus stop, there's always a client inside and there's something very attractive about the decorated window and sidewalk billboard. It may even be wheelchair accessible so I've thought of my son going there to get his hair trimmed when he comes home. I've yet to meet the barber himself but my neighbor told me he has a great personality (I think she dated him a few times!). Our neighborhood used to have several of these barber shops tucked away among the two and three storey houses, part of its longstanding African American culture, but no-one takes up the businesses when the old-timers pass so we're down to maybe one or two. But this store seems like a going concern and seems to provide a personal service that many like.

Car for Wheelchair Users

You just never know what you will see on H Street NW if you are just walking along but on one particular day VPGAutos had their model car parked outside the Grand Hyatt hotel. They are a new AMERICAN car company that builds a vehicle
that is wheelchair usable, that is, it's so roomy even a large wheelchair can roll right in and be in the front passenger seat. Not only is the floor lower than most cars but the ceiling is higher. I asked the driver if I could step inside and sit down and I did. The experience was a little like sitting in a London taxi and the design of the vehicle, the MV-1, quite reminds me of one of these, although it was perhaps a lot airier and more open in feel than a typical Cockney cab. I  haven't yet figured out how the ramp works or what the price of this car is, but I would hope it comes in colors other than white! What a fantastic surprise!

Beer from a Sunbeam

Occasionally, and I mean occasionally, like maybe when it's really hot, I get a craving for a very cold beer and the best place for a single cold can of beer is the neighborhood Korean grocery on North Capitol street. Sunbeam is where I go for all the odd things I crave or need when I have forgotten to order something via Peapod, which is how I usually buy most groceries. So, the other day found me at Sunbeam, with son Joshua parked in his wheelchair outside the store, while I went in. The Americans With Disabilities Act hasn't been recognized at this corner grocery, like most of the little corner groceries in our neighborhood, so Joshua can't get in unless I heave his wheelchair up the one step. Which I can't do anymore as my back is giving out. Actually, he'd rather sit outside and watch the cars and trucks and buses whizzing by on North Capitol street while I dodge in for that really really cold can of malt beer or whatever it is I forgot. Sometimes it's a banana for Joshua's breakfast. You can buy one banana at a time at this store or a stick of butter if you forgot that and you really need it for pancakes for breakfast. The store also has an ATM but I'm a bit suspicious of such machines preferring instead to get cash from the bank directly. You can also buy lottery tickets there, but it's been a long time since I've felt really lucky since trusting in the Lord leads to better riches.