Exotic and Interesting Goods in Adams Morgan

We had dinner out last Saturday in Adams Morgan, up on 18th street. The restaurant was The Diner and we got our usual diner food, chicken salad sandwiches, which were pretty good and might make it to my Yelp list. After eating, we decided to wander around a bit, despite the winter cold. There were some stores we just had to go in as they had amazing and exotic items hanging in the doorways. One store (Bazaar Atlas) really caught our attention as it was jam packed with African masks, statuettes, dishes, fabrics, leather bags, ornamental plates, leather lampshades, silver pots, carved chairs, lamps and mirrors all looking wonderfully handmade and different than say, IKea, or the typical household goods items you see in House Beautiful type magazines and stores.  Of course, they were burning incense too and we had to get out pretty quickly as our bronchial tubes really don't do well with dusky perfumes and dusty rooms.  Nevertheless, it was a lovely experience and the kind of place that stays in my memory in case I ever get a yen to get something totally interesting looking. I finally did recall the name of this store so have added it nto this blog, which really, you know is just a memory cache for me that you get to share. ;-)

Striped Amaryllis Just in Time for Christmas

Each year while doing some Christmas shopping in November, I usually pick up an amaryllis bulb and plant it in the kitchen hoping, God willing, it will bloom in time. Well, I planted this one and forgot it was called a Candy Stripe and so was very pleasantly surprised when this started blooming with four lovely heads in bright red with white stripes.  Candy stripes! Christ stripes! I think this is why I like this type of bulb so much.  Of course I've put in some hyacinth and tulip bulbs for next spring, but it's these stunning giant bulbs that come out at Christmas time that I just marvel at every year. This year it stands almost two feet tall and the four flowers each are as big as saucers This one's been blazing away for almost a week now and it's such a delight to have on the kitchen table sharing breakfasts and suppers with us!

Christopher Columbus and Abraham Lincoln Downtown

Christopher Columbus statue

Abraham Lincoln statue

As I go about the city on the way to meetings in various offices, I'm always surprised to stumble upon statues of famous people.  For instance, walking south on 3rd Street NW I saw this Christopher Columbus sculpture near the Italian community building. It's in a courtyard next to the Italian society building. Then, in front of the District of Columbia's own Supreme Court, the District Court of Appeals, on Indiana Ave NW, there's a wonderful sculpture of Abraham Lincoln. It's easy to miss these if you are in a hurry, in a cab or if you are too busy texting you don't see what's around you. Of course, I forgot to carry my digital camera with me so I took these photos using the miracle of my cell phone camera. Praise God for amazing devices!

Seventh Street Horses

Horse shares sidewalk

Horse hair braiding

Crossing the road slowly

Temporary stables and handlers

Walking up 7th Street NW towards H Street recently I found myself among the horses of the annual Washington International Horse Show.  Apparently this is some event held at the Verizon Center each year and something I have never attended and really don't know much about although I did go to the website to find out  a little more. As close as I got to the horses was near the makeshift stables put up in the street, although one horse came ambling up towards me on the sidewalk and passed me by within a few inches.  They were all very large and athletic looking and quite handsome so I knew they had to be show horses.  They were being very well-cared for by their walkers, washers, wipers and other assorted human entourage members as you could see these animals were treated well.  All of the horses seemed quite nonchalant and not in the least bothered by the fact that they were on a busy street downtown, with cars and people buzzing by all the time. I have very little contact with the horse world so this was just a tiny glimpse into what must be a fascinating subculture. Surely, these creatures are among the greatest in the world!

Coming out of the center

Teddy Bears for Grown Ups

Car bear

Bears I  nearly bought recently

Cute bears

I don't know why we like teddy bears so much but there's a lot of them lying about my house and, actually, in both of our cars. Sometimes someone we are giving a ride to will inquire about the car bears, as in "Do these belong to your children?" or, upon seeing two or three on the back seat, asking "Do you know your kids left their toys here?"  Most of the time the car bears are just something warm and fuzzy to look at but they have done occasional duty as window wipes and fly swats when nothing else is at hand in busy traffic. (Of course, they get washed in the washing machine occasionally, in case you're thinking EEW!)   I'm sorry to say there's six -- maybe seven -- little and not-so-little bears in our bed also;  they get used as pillows, such as to prop up an elbow when you're reading at night or to keep out the draft around your neck or as extra support to the middle of one's back when lying on one side. And then, there's half a dozen little bears sitting on a table upstairs, just collecting dust and they have a miniature tea set in front of them and appear to sip tea when we're not around. I don't want to think about the other dozen or more teddy bears that got stuffed into a suitcase and stored in the garage in a recent anti-hoarding binge. Nor do I really want to think about the number of bears we've given away in our sporadic urge to purge ourselves or to share with others. And, now,  I'm recalling there's a bear in the kitchen with a chef's hat and there's a giant bear in the man cave upstairs (seriously!), not to mention the keychain koala bear that hangs off my bag. I consider it a good day if I don't see a bear and buy it.  So we're bearing up pretty well with our toys. How about you? Ha ha.