13 posts tagged “washington dc”

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Well, after doing the washing yesterday and stressing (LOL) over those separated socks I decided I was not really in the frame of mind to make any further heavy decisions for the day.   I took to the couch with my book - The Woman from Shanghai: Tales of Survival from a Chinese Labor Camp by Xianhui Yang. 

Around lunch time I thought I would check to see what advice I was getting on my sock dilemma only to find that we didn't have internet.    Oh well, left on my own, I decided that a separation of an entire week would be too much for either of the pair to bear so I put the nice clean one back in the dirty basket. 

This school is not far from me....  their mural really appeals to us - though it is inside a locked gate and the camera has to be poked through a chain link fence:   

I hope the kids are taking notice of the message on their school wall:  And at their front entrance:

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So, how is my Remember December project going? 

Well after the first 4 weeks I had lost 10 pounds.  Then I got complacent and found a few of them again. Now, 7 weeks into the project, the net loss is 9 pounds (4.08 kilos).

Not brilliant but a loss is a loss and it is almost a dress size.  I know this not because I was out shopping, but because my current clothes now do up without bits of flesh overflowing where they shouldn't be - clothes no longer need to be "adjusted"  with safety pins and rubber bands.     A few more weeks and I will consider searching for that mother-of-the-groom dress - and getting a suitable  "frock" is going to be a whole other drama!.

We were watching Mad Men on tv Sunday night when a mouse ran out from under my chair and scurried under the manservant's chair.  " Ooooh!" I squealed "there's a mouse".

Manservant: "Yes,  I saw it -  What do you want me to do about it?"  

Well, I wanted him to get up, move his chair, catch the mouse and "dispose" of it  -  what else! 

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And now some random weirdness from my neighbourhood: 

Are so many out of service they have to mark the hydrants that work?

This outdoor "office" makes me smile every-time I walk past  -  I love the artwork on the "wall":

A Shepard Fairey work not far from where I live: 

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It's a gorgeous day today; the perfect sort of day for a dog on a potato bread roll:

The weatherman said it was "perfect firework weather".  Well, I hate perfect firework weather.   It would be okay if the only fireworks here were on the National Mall, or organised displays; but they're not.  Hundreds of people in my neighbourhood seem to have hoards of illegal fireworks waiting to set them off under the cover of darkness tonight. 

Last year was our first year in this house and we had been warned by older neighbours.  It drizzled all day and we were relieved, once the sun set,  that our house and wooden decks were dampened down.  

Tonight I will be sitting on the deck holding the hose,  imbibing some good red stuff, nervously watching for errant embers and children on fire!  

My local firehouse is likely to be busy tonight - just hopefully not in my row of houses! 

Have a happy & safe Independence Day.

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Yesterday was the 17th annual Caribbean Parade and Festival.  Last year was the first year we went - because the parade passes by within walking distance of where we now live.

So, yesterday I slathered on the sunscreen and off we went.

There didn't seem to be as many flamboyant costumes as last year (the economy??) but the stilt walkers were there again and, as before, there was a lot of flesh on display amongst the proud and beautiful people.

 
This year there were metal barriers the length of the parade route (about 5 miles) because last year someone got run over by one of the trucks.  It is a bit hard to see how this could happen given that the trucks are driving about a mile an hour, there is plenty of time to see them coming - and they are mighty big trucks.....   The barriers made it difficult to get close to those parading and they mostly walked/danced down the centre so I looked with envy at anyone with any sort of telephoto lens......     DC's Mayor Adrian Fenty walked along throwing out beads - a la Mardi Gras...      His Hummer followed in case he got tired..... Then the fun began....   (you can see a larger version of any photo by clicking on it).

...These were the only heels I saw in this parade (it was a sensible shoes day):  

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A whole lot more on the cherry trees of DC ....

The quest to have cherry trees in DC started in earnest in 1908, when Dr. David Fairchild, described as a  "plant explorer" and an official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave cherry saplings to each school in Washington DC to be planted in their schoolyards on Arbor Day.

In 1909 money was privately raised to purchase cherry trees and donate them to the city.  The First Lady, Helen Taft made suggestions of where they should be planted and basically took up the cause....  Dr. Jokichi Takamine, the Japanese chemist who discovered adrenaline and takadiastase was in Washington and when he heard that we were to have Japanese cherry trees he asked Mrs Taft if she would accept a donation of an additional 2,000 trees which would be given in the name of the City of Tokyo.  Of course the First Lady agreed.

Ninety Cherry Trees were purchased with donated funds and planted along the Potomac River in April 1909 from the Lincoln Memorial southward.  (these trees are no longer there).

On December 10th 1909,  2,000 cherry trees arrived in Seattle from Japan - they were then shipped to DC arriving on Jan 6th 1910.  For some reason they were not opened and inspected until January 19th!  It was then that the Department of Agriculture discovered that the trees were infested with nematodes and diseased.  Presidential permission was sought to burn the trees and on January 28th President William Taft gave his consent and the trees were burnt.  

Despite this setback Dr Takamine was still determined that DC should have Japanese cherry trees and so he again donated money and increased the number of trees to 3,020. 

The scions for these trees were taken in December 1910 from a collection of trees along the Arakawa River in Adachi Ward (in Tokyo) and grafted onto specially selected understock.

 
On February 14th, 1912,  3,020 cherry trees from twelve varieties were shipped from Yokohama to Seattle. After arriving in Seattle they were put into insulated freight cars and shipped to DC arriving here on March 26th.  And, the first two trees were planted the next day.

In 1934 the District of Columbia Commissioners sponsored a three-day celebration and in 1935 the first "Cherry Blossom Festival"  was held.

 In 1938 a group of women chained themselves together to protest the removal of cherry trees for the construction of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

On December 11th, 1941 four cherry trees were cut down in suspected retaliation for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In an attempt to prevent further damage for the duration of WWII the trees were referred to as "Oriental"  flowering cherry trees. 

In 1952 the National Park Service donated budwood from the trees to Tokyo to help restore the cherry tree grove along the Arakawa River which had declined during WWII. 

On April 1958 a rough stone Japanese Pagoda was presented to the City of Washington by the mayor of Yokohama. 

    
In 1982, 800 cuttings were collected from the Tidal Basin trees, by Japanese horticulturists to retain the genetic characteristics of the trees and to replace trees that had been destroyed in Japan.  

Between 1986 and 1988,   676 new cherry trees, financed with private funds were planted to restore the number of trees to the original 3,020.

On June 17th 1997;  cuttings were taken from the surviving trees of 1912 and have been documented and preserved at the National Arboretum. These will be used in subsequent replacement plantings to preserve the genetic heritage and lineage of the grove. 

 Basically the sun will never go down on these Japanese Cherry Blossom trees. 

 

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I met a friend for brunch this morning in downtown DC.    I had my photo taken 6 times that I know of....    It occurred to me that when you live in a place frequented by tourists you need to look presentable and personable as you go about your every day life. 

I imagine someone like Cat going through their photos in years to come and pointing out and laughing at the cranky looking woman in weird clothes.  Somebody just on the edge of the frame who is looking a little on the edge herself!!

I have been known to get up way before the tourists just to get photos without people in them.  These were taken early morning last spring:  

The National Arboretum is a wonderful space of 446 acres with 9.5 miles of roadway wandering through it.  It is right here in Washington DC - but you really need a car to get to it.  This last weekend we rented a car and visited on Saturday to see the azaleas which were in their flowering peak.

The Arboretum was established by an Act of Congress in 1927 and is today administered by the US Department of Agriculture and is run with a staff of 99 and about 150 volunteers.

As the only federally supported arboretum, and one of the larger arboretums in the country, the National Arboretum breeds plants for arboretums throughout the country. The Arboretum was opened to public viewings in May 1954 - primarily after high demand from the public to view the azaleas.

The Azalea Collection came about when the arboretum’s first Director, Benjamin Morrison, developed hybrids  from breeding large-flowered Indica azaleas with cold-hardy species. Between 1946 and 1948 10,000 unnamed hybrids were planted. Morrison then introduced 454 azalea cultivars.  Most of these are not available in the nursery industry. 

In the Ellipse Meadow of the Arboretum are twenty two 34' Corinthian columns - the National Capitol Columns - which were actually on the East Portico of the Capitol from 1828 - 1958. The columns are set on a foundation of stones from the steps that were on the east side of the Capitol and old identification marks from the quarry are still visible on some of the stones.

Gunshots!  Shouldn't just the word make people take notice?

Well, apparently not in the area where I live, where the sounds of gunshots do not shock or scare or provoke any action - barely a news report.

I was looking for a contact address for our Ward's Councilman when I came across his crime reports. Further checking showed that 100 (one HUNDRED) shots were fired between October 1st and November 30th 2007 Washington Post article

100 shots over  a period of 61 days!!!

Apparently "only" 11 people were injured so the success rate of those shots was not great - more practise required perhaps??

But, in all seriousness though, this is not the wild west. This is Washington DC.  This is the supposed capital of the free world.  This is just ONE Ward of Washington DC!!  There are 8 wards in DC and we are not the worst violence-wise.

Now lest you think I did not do my research before buying into this neighborhood  - I did diligently check report sites and list servs dedicated to recording crime in this area. Admittedly it was a bit scary but the " super violent" crime was not too bad, at least relative to the worst areas of the city!  Apparently the neighbourhood took a downward spiral basically the very week we moved in!! 

Isn't anyone worried about this except for myself and my Councilman?  If those 100 shots had resulted in 100 deaths surely people would be upset!

We have CCTV coverage and gunshot triangulation systems  (how it works) but for all that we do not have many arrests and obviously these measures do not act as deterrents.

I don't know what the answer is but I am a little shocked at how nonchalantly unconcerned we are about it!

Anyone want to come visit me?

 

We got a good laugh at this for many reasons:

 

 

Princess SJ outside the US Department of Education, Washington DC