What Happened to 2021?

Looking back at my posts from 2020, everything seemed so…manageable. I don’t know if it was ignorance. Or the fact that we were all just coping. But my posts from the start of the pandemic don’t seem to match my memory of how chaotic it all seemed. Looking back, it all seemed so…innocent. Naive, really. Well, here we are, now 22 months into this pandemic. Thankfully, most folks in DC are vaxxed. But with variants abound, we are still playing it safe, with the occasional questionable decision of going out and dining in public.

And as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words – so I will try to capture the past 19 previously unaccounted for months with a photo for each month. We ready?

June 2020. George Floyd. Uprisings.

July 2020. New York City. Empty Park Avenue.

August 2020. Bear sitting. Baltimore.

September 2020. RBG. RIP.

October 2020. Birthday. Bonfire.

November 2020. Nazis. We knew them they’d be back Jan. 6, but no one listened.

December 2020. Christmas Lunch with the Elderly and Sant’Egidio. Our last one with Christine.

January 2021. Vaccinations! The light at the end of the tunnel, right?

January 2021 continued. New upstairs bath. Will post about this in more detail in a separate post.

February 2021. Chromatica Oreos. Worth risking infection, apparently?

March 2021. Devastating loss. I still think about her everyday.

April 2021. Crossing the Mississippi. Separate Road Trip post is in order.

May 2021. Porchin’ at La Coop. Many a morning spent here.

June 2021. Everyone vaxxed. Crabfest was on!

July 2021. Mother and child reunion.

Awesome August 2021. Return of the Cons. Pen Show AND Awesome Con.

September 2021. Sonoma. Pacific. Heaven.

October 2021. Respect Our Existence or Expect Our Resistance.

November 2021. Fallingwater. Pittsburgh Hygge.

These are obviously just a few highlights. It’s impossible to adequately capture the countless hours on zoom…working and/or organizing. Or the days (and nights) I’ve spent zoning out, playing video games. Or beautiful daily walks, inspired conversations by the fire, moments of companionable silence. 2021 seems much more manic than 2020, but if this is what the new normal is going to look like, I can consider myself blessed. Very blessed indeed.

Spring/Summer Migration

Feels like we jumped straight to summer this year. I usually bring the plants out every March 15, but it didn’t really warm up in earnest until late April. And now front porch is finally adorned with its usual sentinels.

The avocado trees are getting too big to put downstairs, so they’re hanging out and giving a little shade on the landing.

I have to chop off a good foot of growth every year to bring them back inside come the fall.

The elderberry bush is thriving and I’m looking forward to making more elderberry jam this summer.

And the grapevines. Always an adventure with the grapevines. I’ve attach a few wires with the hopes of “training” them across the width of the yard.

I was even making some good progress.

This morning, as I was tending to them, I noticed a few longer vines were suspiciously broken. A robin came swooping down, squeaking loudly. We had a nice conversation. I said she can stay, but I’d have to work around her or the vines would just get too long and strong to redirect along my make shift trellis.

But after a closer look – I guess it’s hers now. No chicks yet, but I may have time to train the vines after the eggs hatch.

I think she knows I mean no harm. Just hope the squirrels don’t catch on.

Mother’s Day DIY Planter

I got a new bed several years ago when the particle board on my old IKEA Malm frame finally crumbled to pieces, and had no use for these slats. Also known as lades.

Couldn’t even give them away on Craigslist, so I took off the rope that was holding them all together and plotted my next DIY adventure.

My beautiful mother is 78 years old. She loves plants and loves to garden. But with every passing year, it’s just getting harder and harder for her to bend down and work in the garden.

This was one of many daily harvests from our rose garden.

So I obsessively looked up how to convert these slats into a planter. Then promptly threw it all out the proverbial window and just “figured it out.”

I had two sizes of wood. There were the smoother, newer ones. And I had older, skinnier ones. But the brilliance of IKEA is how modular all their things are, so like a puzzle, I pieced it all together et voila! Two hours later, I had built my first wood project.

Only had to cut the slats in half, and they all otherwise fit together. Screwed three half boards underneath for support and used the thinner boards for the top side piece. I’m super proud of myself!

Now you’re probably wondering, “I thought she said her mom can’t bend? How does that fix anything?” I was gonna add legs, but remembered these two director’s chairs that had seen better days.

They were a giveaway at a DC film festival where Stella was a sponsor.

I unlatched the arms and back and presto – instant legs for the box.

I kept the IKEA label on there to keep it real.

I didn’t seal the wood. Pretty sure I’ll regret that. I didn’t line the box either. Thought about that after putting the soil in it. I have enough wood for two more planters, but only one more director’s chair for a stand. May make a window box for the front porch too. Will be sure to share once the carrots, spinach and peppers are planted!

Quarantine Saturdays

They say there’s no such thing as “normal,” just “common.” Well, if there is a thread to be followed across my COVID weekends, it’s this.

A little Andrew Lloyd Webber and Masks

Thanks to Andrew Lloyd Weber, these past few Saturdays have included me streaming his “The Shows Must Go On” musicals, starting with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Jesus Christ Superstar (which conveniently coincided with Holy Saturday), Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies (which I skipped), and this weekend’s offering, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Live from the Royal Albert Hall.

Proceeds from these screenings are to support Acting for Others in the UK and Broadway Cares in the US. Two worthwhile orgs that need our support!

We’ve just past 50 masks made, with 15 donated via MasksNow.org to Joseph’s House in DC, with another 30 in progress for Samaritan Inn.  Masks are still in short supply, and while these aren’t medical grade, they will absolutely help your average person following social distancing protocols.  With no end in sight, I anticipate easily making it to 100 by the end of May.

Another Saturday Tradition: Craigslist Adventure

I’ve been saying how I’m going to make planters for the backyard. So why not let the cart go before the horse and get four free bags of soil from a neighbor? Many thanks, to my dear friend and neighbor, Smonkey. I would never have been able to schlepp, let alone figure out how the hell I would transport all that.

And last, but hardly least – a constant throughout all my days during quarantine: a little baking.

At long last – my homemade starter is being put to the test after one week in refrigeration! Did I bring it back to life? We shall see in about 30 mins if it worked.

It rose. And it’s sticky. Two good signs.

Hope you’re day is filled with inspiring musical theater performances and home projects. And a home that smells like freshly baked bread.

 

Sourdough Startin’

I don’t know what I’m doing.

According to the flour gurus at King Arthur’s flour, I can make my own sourdough starter: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-starter-recipe

And what a journey it’s been. There have been ups, there have been downs, and think I even killed it. But we are back!

I’ve made three breads with the starter – a dense banana bread:

A makeshift walnut pistachio loaf:

And these amazing white loaves:

This week will be the week when I finally attempt to make my first official sourdough loaf. I’ve had an interesting time comparing baking vessels. I may even write a whole separate post on this topic alone….

Solar Panels: 4 Years Later

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Gather ’round ye children – for here begins the story of one woman’s journey to solar panelness.  Let’s set the stage:

WHO: The crunchy leftist returned Peace Corps electric car driving Californian your parents warned you about.

WHAT: Solar Panels for a 1925 Row house in the North Petwork/Brightwood Park neighborhood in Washington, DC.

WHEN: Began speaking with vendors in the summer of 2015, signed a contract by December 2015…but didn’t get installed until summer 2016.

I spoke with two solar companies, Solar Solutions and Direct Energy.  They both reviewed what system I could put in place, and ran numbers for leasing the panels and for owning them.  You are not allowed to install more panels than you need, so they did an analysis of my previous year’s energy use and determined I would need a 3.18 Kilowatt system.  That is CRAZY LOW.  I don’t have centralized air.  And I refer you to the who statement above – I am hypersensitive to all forms of consumption, have all energy efficient appliances and am the kind of person who turns lights off after people.

So pretty immediately, my grand idea of selling energy back to the grid was ruined.  DYK that you buy your kilowatts from Pepco at 10-12 cents a watt?  And they would only “buy” my extra power from me at 1 cent?  Lesson 1: if you’re going to want to do that, DC won’t be the place for you to do that.  The electric companies are on to you.  But they DO give you cash back for SRECS – solar renewable energy credits.  More on that when we get into finances….

Temple Beth Sinai on Military Road was doing a bulk purchase and offered coop rates for solar panels to Ward 4 residents, so I jumped on board with that purchase and went with Direct Energy.

Why own when I can rent?  Given the size of my system, I crunched the numbers and realized, I wasn’t going to save a lot of money going solar, but the panels would add value to my home.  Here is the breakdown of costs:

3.18 Kilowatt System

$11,584 – $3475.20 federal tax credit (30% value of the system)
$8108.80 balance for the system

– $1,500 deposit at time of contract
$6608.80 balance to finance

Direct Energy offered a zero interest loan for the tax credit, and a 20 year loan at 5.99% for the $6K balance.  I pay $47.31 per month.  I will be increasing this, just to get through that balance quicker.  What I haven’t done is see how much I’m saving on my electric bill from month to month.  This assessment is made only on the basis of the SREC payments I’ve been getting.  So what are SRECs?

SRECs are solar renewable energy credits. Energy companies must have a certain amount of energy that is generated by renewable means.  I have given Direct Energy the right to broker (which I plan to revisit) the rights to my SRECS.  As of 2019, my 3 SRECs (tied to the size of my system 3.18 KW = 3 SRECs) earned $412.50 each, meaning I got a check for $1,237.50 this month.  I’ve received such a check for each year my system has been in place, totalling $3,712.50.  For those of you keeping track:

$6608.80 – $3712.50 = $2896.30.  At the current market rate, by SRECs alone, I’ll have made the value of my system in 6 years.  And that’s not counting the savings off my bill during the summer months.  Any more precise than that would require more math than I’m prepared to ever do.

But what was it like getting installed?  It was super fast, they did it in two days.  As soon as they got the green light for an install, I flipped a switch and it was basically immediate.  I got a new meter that spins one way when I use electricity, and spins the other way when I’m generating it.  They have a system called enphase where I can see how much each panel captures for me by the hour, day and month.  But getting to that approval was a BEAST.

Lesson 2: Don’t try to upgrade to solar before your electrical system is ready to do so.  The house is from 1925 and while the electrical system was to code, it was code from the 1980s.  With wiring back from when DC electricity was managed by Edison!  So I had to upgrade that box before proceeding.  Another reason I went with Direct Energy – they offered to upgrade my electrical system as part of the process.  It would normally have costs $1,500 for a new circuit board, but they did it for $950, and I only paid $300.

Lesson 3: Get you a vendor who wants to make it happen for you.  Between my circuit board and the delays, I would have given up several times in the waiting process.  But Roland Parker was good about keeping on me and while the head office’s hands were tied with permits and approvals, he was responsive and kept me on the hook.

It was a process.  It was an education.  But I’m happy I did it.  And I’m happy to answer any questions about it.  I think everyone should consider doing the same.  I’d be curious to see what it would take to convert to a power wall and be completely off the grid.  But that’s not quite in the realm of possibility for me and this house at the moment.  But hey, maybe in another 4 years, it will be just as common as solar panels now.  We shall see!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upcycled Face Masks

When we heard there was a shortage of face masks, mom took out some old T-shirt sleeves that I thought I threw away and said “We should make masks!” Granted, the sleeves were from a T-shirt quilt project that’s collecting dust somewhere, but I digress….

The shirt sleeves were too small. So she cut up a fitted bedsheet and an old tablecloth.

She even saved the elastic from the fitted sheet so we could use them as straps. Two 9×9 fabric squares, two elastics 7 inches each. Sew it all together, then turn it inside out – et voila!

Still working on perfecting the pleat. And don’t look too closely at the stitching. 😅

But overall – I’m pretty proud of what we’ve accomplished! Just seven masks so far and I’ve promised two to a friend who is a nurse in Missouri. She said they’re already out of washable ones, so while they’re not the prettiest, they are functional. And definitely washable!

We have enough material to make 25 more masks. Waiting on elastic, but in the meantime, we will sew a few with cloth straps just to keep up production.

Please stay safe. Please stay home. Support your local small businesses when you can. And sign up for your vote by mail and/or absentee ballot now.

Daffodils!

It was a prolific season for the daffodils this year! We had two vases that were replaced every week for three weeks! Even had some to give to neighbors.

I was very anti “flowers” as far as the backyard garden was concerned, but especially in these times of crisis, fresh flowers do bring a little extra happiness to the day.

Well Hello There!

It’s been awhile. And I don’t even know where to start discussing what has happened in the last 3 years. So I won’t!

Instead, I’ll go through my phone and post pics in reverse chronological order and you’ll see just what DIY and not so DIY adventures I’ve done with the place. It’s been 8 years and this journey is far from complete – but that is homeownership for you!

When two dear friends left DC, they asked if I wanted to keep their great grandmothers sewing table. It folded down, it was easy enough to store and easy enough to set up whenever I needed a table. So I happily agreed.

It was even the first table I had a meal on in this house. Here is the move in crew having a Popeyes break. I paid for their services with chicken and biscuits.

Now that we’re in the time of coronavirus, I needed a new work area where I could plug in my laptop and take work calls 5-7 hours a day. And I immediate thought of that trusty sewing table, gathering dust, just tucked away, waiting for some love and attention.

Began sanding with 80 grit.

Did a second round with 120 grit, then final sanding with 220 grit sandpaper.

And this is when the fun began. I have never done anything like this before, so I leaned heavily on the internet and my brother to explain polyurethane. In the end, I used a water based polyurethane, as it is a bit more forgiving, dries faster and let’s face it, it was all I needed.

I sanded between coats – also something I’m not sure is necessary, but is common practice and couldn’t hurt. I’m told that it helps the coats bond. But again, I’m not sure if that’s the case with water based polyurethane or not. But here we are.

I love the surface. Just enough for what I need, and no fuss or frills. Clean lines. What more could I want? (Storage for my fountain pens, but I digress.)

Why is this desk in my basement, you ask? WELL, last spring we had a bit of a roof incident that I will be sure to write about in a subsequent post.

Take care of your old wood, friends! They’re harder and harder to come by (affordably) and such a joy to refinish and bring back into heavy use and rotation.

 

Season of Peppers 2017

I’ve let this go.  I’m never home!  But when I am, it’s precious time and it’s usually spent with mom and/or a turtle.  So nothing much on the house front to report other than the garden.  So here you go – an update for the first 10 months of 2017.

The grapevines have made a miraculous comeback from being completely chopped down last fall.  But the only other thing I had time to plant this year was a single Asian Eggplant – which, to my amazement – bore fruit!

Mom, on the other hand, basically took all the seeds from the various peppers in her Bicol express that she made for Kuya Michael over the course of the spring/summer, and threw them in the ground.  And lo’ and behold – a ridiculously bountiful harvest.

Life will find a way.  We persist.