Welcome to my blog!

I used to blog here mostly using local photos about my neighborhood or Washington DC or other places I visited. But over time I found myself blogging about crafts or sewing projects or my activities as a seller of collectibles on Ebay (look my stuff up under Mugsim7) or other topics, such as selling my beautiful old Victorian townhouse. Occasionally, I take a break from blogging so you won't see anything regularly. But I'm still have fun writing it. May your days be blessed with miracles, and creativity too!

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Bloomingdale's Big Dig


I haven't photographed all the sites associated with the Big Dig to manage water in Bloomingdale but I was captivated recently by the huge pipes I saw being laid under the road at 2nd and W streets. I couldn't help but think they are so big you could sleep in them quite comfortably!  Or play some kind of crazy hide and seek game!  And the machinery and men working on the job look so determined to solve the water woes we've had for a while. I know I've experienced some of the aggravation caused by the digging as the bus I take all the time -- the G2 -- has been rerouted or detoured for TWO YEARS, stopping no longer at the two bus stops I have used for over ten years. Instead, I now have to walk seven blocks almost to Anna Cooper Circle instead of the terminus stop in front of the Water Works on Bryant Street.  And, I hope, when the pipe digging job is done, the bus will return to its old route. But I suppose this type of thing is one of the prices we will have to pay for fixing the water run-off sewage problem that's captivated the neighborhood for the last two years. And I certainly don't want to experience the basement seepage problems I've had to fix and pay to repair to make my basement usable again.  Just writing about it makes me think of the smell of mold!  After two or was it three episodes of soaked carpeting, I just had the whole thing ripped out and put down tiles after having the concrete repaired.  Even though it was very good carpeting and made the space very warm and livable, I actually prefer the tiling now. And I've nothing against the rain as it really makes the flowers bloom in my garden. I just wonder when the rains will come again!NOTE: be sure to read the Anonymous commenter below who says this "dig" ISN'T the run-off sewer water fix, but a water main replacement instead. Hmm....


Almost Full Reservoir

The McMillan Reservoir looked pretty full this evening when we drove by. The water line was above the rocks and it just looked like there'd been plenty of rain and there was not a drought (yet). I'm not sure what that is in the sky there but I'm sure it's a bird and most likely it's a goose of some sort.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

You Know Summer's Nearly Here When You Can Make Sun Tea Fast

Although it rained today, last week I was able to make sun tea on the back porch just by leaving a tea ball filled with tea leaves in the water in a glass jar for about an hour or so. I really don't know if this way of making tea is "better" than the usual boil-the-water and soak-the-tea for three minutes method but it certainly is a great way to watch the sun and the garden grow while you're sitting on the deck enjoying the spring.  If you look closely at my photo here you will see that the tea ball is stainless steel and in the shape of a little teapot!  The tea tasted good too!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Seems Like It's Really Spring in #BloomingdaleDC

view south into Crispus Attucks park

some of the lovely daffodils in the 'hood
Just a short walk about locally near my house and you just can't miss that it is spring. There's tons of blossoms on the trees -  achoo! -- and there's so many daffodils, narcissus, stocks, tulips, violets and other pretty flowers everywhere. Also, it seems like every thing is very green, including the grass and all the other things suddenly sprouting out of the ground. I see the bluish green blades of the irises and the yellow green stalks of the day lilies coming up in some of the gardens.  Also you can see what is going to come up later such as the reddish leaves on the hundreds of rosebushes that people have planted that means there will be masses of roses later. 

Monday, March 25, 2013

Lovely Details in Warner Theater, Washington DC

We saw some entertainment recently at the old Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. recently. While this entertainment was terrific -- it was the Fab Four who play a tribute to The Beatles -- it was some of the decorative details in the theater that captivated my attention even more. From brass lamps, ornate ceilings, medallions on seat backs, gilded walls and staircases and gleaming chandeliers it was like being back in time.

Staircase to balcony
lamp in ceiling medallion
ornate gilded hallway
bronzed mezzanine



ornamentation over stage


view of stage
chandelier gleams overhead
medallion stitched into chairback
drapes and ornamented proscenium