The Complaint Department

Tulip Poplar Tulip

 

Takoma Park House and Garden Tour

 

I tagged along with Pam and Susan today, when they visited Takoma Park for the annual house and garden tour.  Thirteen homes/studios were featured, and it took about four hours for us to drift in and out of the homes and around the gardens.  The weather was ideal, with some cloud cover and mild temperatures.

So, here's a picture story, with images of the homes we visited and some of homes or features not on the tour, but just interesting to me, as we strolled along.  As I reviewed my photos when I got home, I realized that it was the homes' exteriors which most held my attention--the colors, the windows, the porches and so forth.

It was a completely enjoyable afternoon!

 

Refrigerator Love

I went over to Lowes last week to look at paint samples, and I came home as the owner of a new refrigerator.  The $50 check from our power company to turn in an older-but-still-working, energy-inefficient model and the $150 rebate from the power company for purchasing a new, super-efficient unit provided powerful incentive to make the purchase that day.

Another incentive, too, was my sheer hatred of the design of the old fridge, with its freezer on the left, from top to bottom, and the refrigerator portion on the right.  The tall, narrow, awkward compartments presented, er, challenges to staying organized.

I love the new fridge, with its roll-out, freezer drawer on the bottom.

The top rack rolls out all the way, and there is an ice-maker up there, too.  The bottom bin is deep and spacious, and items are easily seen at a glance.

The upper refrigerator accomodates so much more than the old fridge and is spacious, with numerous, adjustable shelves and door compartments.

Another major plus for me is the absence of those ice and water dispensers on the front door--a nightmare to keep clean outwardly, never mind the hoses and such.  I appreciate the less-moving-parts quality of that unfeature.

Another major purchase this month was a set of new, everyday dishes for eight.  We have a nice set of china for special occasions, but our daily dishes were kind of a Frankenstein's monster, hodge-podge of various sets we've had over the years--and some of them just really bad mistakes.

The place settings include large and small plates, wide, shallow bowls and cups and saucers.  The set came with a large, serving plate, a medium-sized serving bowl and a cream/sugar set.

As the dishes are an ivory white and un-embellished, except for a delicate floral-and-ridge mold motif, there will be no issues about clashing with our dark green countertops.  They're lightweight, but generously-sized, and just feel good in the hand, ya know?

I liked another design by Mikasa, called Swirl, as well, but it was contemporary, and, in the end, I decided to go with the more classic Italian Countryside design.  A feature of aging, I think.

Yard in Spring

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another Day In Our Nation's Capitol

 

Back in the day, I worked in Washington, DC.  My first job was in the downtown area, very near the infamous Mayflower Hotel and Dupont Circle, just off Connecticut Avenue.  Later on, I took a job in the sketchy (at least, back then) part of southeast DC, near the Eastern Market and U. S. Marine Corps Barracks.  When one of my bosses was beaten up, locked in the trunk of his own car and taken on a joy ride by a couple of thugs (one of whom was later convicted for a murder he had already committed when he assaulted my boss), the business was relocated to the northwest corner of Capitol Hill, at First and C Streets.

If you drift around the city enough, as I did in those years, you're bound to find yourself in the proximity of some famous people (in that orbit, anyway) once in a while.  I met First Lady Rosalynn Carter in the lobby of the downtown building where I worked.  During the next administration, I saw First Lady Nancy Reagan staring at me from the back of a limousine, while I was standing on the corner of Connecticut Avenue and M Streets one day, waiting for the light to change.  And once, while walking in front of one of the Senate office buildings (I forget which), I was asked to stop in my tracks by a police officer, until the then-Secretary of Defense, Caspar Weinberger, could exit the building and get into a waiting car.  Another time, I saw Senator Ted Kennedy and a bunch of other politicos on the lawn of the U. S. Capitol, involved in some kind of press charade, where they kept backing up and walking forward towards the cameras.  All staged, with several takes.

I have to say, though, that I would have given up ALL of those mildly-exciting, DC-celebrity sightings to be where my brother was that time when Mikhail Gorbachev suddenly leapt from his limousine in the motorcade and hurled himself into the crowds on a street in DC and shook my brother's hand (among many others).  Gorby was then, and continues to be, something of an heroic figure to me.  Those foxes in the hen house who now run Russia cannot begin to compare.

Well, anyway, if you work someplace--anyplace--long enough, you'll find yourself tiring of it all and becoming jaded.  It's just human nature, I guess.  After so many years of working in town, I couldn't wait to get out at the end of each workday.  I only noticed the grime, the crime, the humidity in the summer, the politics, the homeless people, the traffic issues.  Ugh.

But now that I've been gone for, oh, a quarter century, I appreciate all the wonderful stuff in the city, again.  Rather than the daily grind of working there, I can enjoy its tremendous and vast offerings and opportunities as, basically, a tourist.  And I still do consider DC to be home, even though I've lived in one of its outer-most rings for a long time, now.  The ties of family and friends in the area have remained strong over the years, and no other major city is close enough to exert competing orbital pull.

Yesterday, I met Pam up at the National Gallery of Art, where we saw this amazing exhibit and enjoyed a nice lunch together before going our separate ways, again --Pam to the north and I to the south.  You must check out Pam's post about the event here.  She's provided incredible pictures and images.  Beautiful, Pam!

The National Gallery of Art (specifically the West Building) is an amazing place.  Cavernous and cool, with huge, highly-polished marble columns, fountains and statuary in a dim, central interior, off which the various galleries are situated.  Before Pam arrived, I wandered into one of those galleries for a short time and saw statues by Rodin and Degas.  Honestly, it's enough to make you weep.  And you can enjoy it ALL without paying so much as a dime (if you don't visit the gift shops or bistros, that is).

I left home early to ensure that I'd find parking, and arrived about an hour ahead of our scheduled meeting time of 11:30 a.m.  And I'm glad I did, because things were crazy in the city.  Traffic was heavy, and there seemed to be more than the usual activity.  Large groups of tourists and office workers were milling about everywhere, and there were officials controlling traffic at intersections.  I saw a couple of small-scale motorcades here and there, and various vehicles with flashing lights about.

I'm not sure, but I think all the hubbub had something to do with this.

Yep, there it is.  The space shuttle Discovery, perched atop a huge 747 belonging to NASA!  Can you see the fighter jet escort?  Discovery was on the final leg of its "victory lap" in the skies over DC before landing at Dulles airport in Virginia and, eventually, finding a home at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center--part of the Air and Space Museum.

After briefly catching a glimpse of it as I neared Andrews Air Force Base from the south, I thought my chances of getting a good look were gone.  But, as I approached the Anacostia River from the Suitland Parkway and hit a traffic light just before the bridge, there it was again!  I threw my car into park, snapped the first picture through my windshield, then got out of my car for the second one.

It was a long light, I guess, because I managed to get off half a dozen shots without holding up traffic.

Wow!

So, there you have it.  Another day in our Nation's Capitol.

Random and Vicious . . . Me Likey

I'm working on a post about the Great Decluttering and Organizing project, but I came across this little bit of silliness today, and I just had to share.  I'm sorry I couldn't just lift the image, but you can follow the link.  If you've ever had any friction or ill-will with siblings involving the care and concern of an elderly parent or other relative, this might set your imagination afire and provide you with hours of entertainment as you consider what you, too, might write.

And, yes, I have considered something like it over the years.

Oh, and check out the comments on the linked post, too.  They're hilarious and moving.

Hi There!

I can't believe how long I've been away from The Complaint Department!  I'm still busy fat-busting over at my other blog, but Fat Chat is just so . . . one dimensional.  And not very interesting to a majority of people, I'm sure.

It's drizzly, drab and dreary today, and I'm making a nice beef stew here at home.  There's laundry churning away and a big stack of papers that needs organizing.  A lot of my downsizing and organizing goals have been sidelined, lately, since Jack the dog joined up with our family.  He's a very large toddler, weighing in at almost 75 pounds at just 12-18 months of age.  You can see a few photos here.

Jack is a little less needy every day, and we're slowly getting a handle on his various physical issues--severe ear mites, mange and a skin infection as a result, intestinal parasites, a fungal infection, etc.  Under what conditions can such a young animal's health become so compromised?  You'll just have to imagine because Jack was basically snatched off private property, and I can't relate too many details.

* * * * * * * * *

Last time I posted, we were preparing to have new carpeting installed.  It's done, and I'm completely happy with it.  Stuff is slowly finding its place again, and my office is taking shape.  The room really houses my treasures, which I've collected and lugged around for years and years, through marriages and different living situations.  Old books, family papers and all kinds of tchotchkes, mostly.

Well, I really need to take better pictures of the overall room, I see.

* * * * * * * * *

In other news, Pamela-J and I went on a little outing to Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, earlier this week.  As you will read from Pam's blog post about the day here (with photos), the original plan involved looking for a couple of lampshades and eating Lebanese food and browsing around.  Nothing really out of the ordinary.

But then I went and bought a very large piece of furniture and the whole afternoon's planning soon involved the careful dance of feeding the parking meter, eating a meal and arranging to have the dresser (or, as they called it at the furniture store, the commode) loaded into my Ford Focus station wagon and secured.

So, little leisurely browsing happened, but we're going back!

Here's one of the lamps for which I needed a shade (above), and here's the shade Pam found--the perfect shade for this lamp, I think!

The shade is broader in the front and back and narrower on the sides, so it fits well in this space on the credenza in the dining room.

Are you curious about the dresser?  Well, it's enormous--six feet long, to be exact.  Once it was loaded in the car, the front seats needed to be pushed up all the way, and Pam and I drove back to Maryland with out faces practically jammed up against the windshield.  And because Pam is so trim, she was able to do this while holding two large lampshades in her lap!

I bought the dresser for Tony.  Tomorrow is his 64th birthday!  He probably would have preferred a new hard drive or something, but I'm not too knowledgeable about stuff like that.  And he needs an all-in-one place to put his clothes.

I like everything about this piece--the wood, the hardware, the fact that the front has a slight curvature to it.  It's neither too busy nor ornamental--good for a guy.

Here's the other lamp with it's new shade.  Not as fancy as the first shade, but neither is the lamp.  Again, good for a guy.

Well, that's it for now.  I'm going to try to do a better job of posting here at The Complaint Department.  Maybe I'll shoot for weekly posts.  If I can do it over at Fat Chat, I can do it here!

Anyway, thanks for popping by.

Couple of Things

So, I mentioned over at Fat Chat that I finally had a long-overdue colonoscopy, along with an endoscopy, for good measure.

I spent days and days fretting about the whole business . . . and all for nothing, really.  The days leading up to the procedures were not all that pleasant, as there was a lot to keep track of, like what I could and couldn't eat and, of course, swallowing some rather vile concoction.  I was unhappy and cranky for a time, when not able to eat or drink anything for quite a few hours--or was it days?--beforehand.  Then, too, there was the pooping.  It wasn't as bad as I expected, though.

Pretty soon, I found myself at the point of no return, dressed in a hospital gown and laying on a gurney, as I received an intravenous cocktail of valium and twilight anesthesia.  And I was out like a light very quickly.

I only remember feeling some discomfort when, I'm presuming, air was forced into my colon, but the sensation didn't last long . . . I don't think.  And, my throat was mildly sore that evening, but okay the next day.  I woke up, after about 90 minutes, feeling pretty good . . . maybe just a little dazed.

So, that was it.  Everything checked out okay, too, so big relief there.

In other news, things are all in a jumble here at The Complaint Department.

New, upstairs carpeting is on the horizon, and we've been busy tearing up the old, nasty carpet and padding.  At the same time, we're shifting some of the furniture around, getting rid of stuff that doesn't fit our lifestyle any longer.

One of those pieces is a giant, mirrored cabinet monstrosity, which surrounded our bed, with built-in lights and electrical hook-ups, and gold trim and white-finished oak wood--holy crap!

As I told Tony the other day, I'm getting too old to have furniture that I have to climb ladders in order to clean.  It's time to dispense with the Arab Dictator Chic line and go for something more practical for the American geezer set.

Same goes for the white carpet!

I can only describe the new carpet color as a shade of a Weimaraner.

What a disaster!

I'm taking over this bedroom to use as an office.  My former office was a tiny desk adjoining Tony's much-larger one, which my friend Peanut referred to as Mini-Me's desk.  Tony's work would often spill over into my small area, creating issues.

We switched out the king-sized bed from the guestroom, which took up the entire room, with the awful (IMO) marshmallow bed from our room, thereby assuring that overnight guests will not overstay their welcome.

This bed, in the spare spare-room, has been broken down, and will be replaced with the bed in my soon-to-be office, where the piano will also be situated.

All of our crap is currently residing in the bathrooms.

I can't even begin to tell you how this kind of disarray affects me.  Especially since we still have no idea when the installation of the carpet will take place.

And the whole business of getting rid of stuff and rearranging rooms and furniture has caused some flaps between husband and wife, possibly indicating some major power shifts and reverberations.  I'm sure you all felt it, wherever you are!

The Divine Miss Gladiolus

Yesterday afternoon, my next door neighbor brought me a bunch of gladioli.  When I cut their stems and set them in water, the flowers were closed up tight.  This morning, I saw that the buds had been very active overnight, and there should be quite a show over the next few days.

A lot of people don't like gladioli because of their strong association with the dead.  They're popular flowers in those big, funerary arrangements.

But, the gladiolus is a favorite of mine.  The gladiolus is like the Auntie Mame of the flower world.  Big, gorgeous and unapologetic.  The best female impersonator in the show.  Like Divine in Hairspray.  The gladiolus wears loads of makeup and big, shiny jewelry.  She is a flower that IS a flower!

Haunted