Two Things Challenge: Hot / Cold

Hot candles in the chapel

This week's 2 Things Challenge was Hot / Cold. My interpretation includes the hot candles outside one of the 62 chapels in the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The basilica has become a regular stop when friends are in town because of its beautiful mosaics. When my friends Mike and Mary Ellen were here last weekend, I took them to see this stunning church.

Cold and frosty morning as seen through my car window

For cold, I chose a picture I snapped one morning through the window of my car. We had a cold snap that left a layer of frost on everything. I love how the crystals and the blue sky turned out on this one. Just looking at it makes me shiver.

There you have it! Want to see how others interpreted this challenge? Visit 2 Things Challenge and find out.

Snow Day!

Welcome Mat in Snow Relief

Today's entry is sort of a continuation on the previous day's monochromatic take on winter. It snowed here yesterday morning and afternoon, followed by sleet last night. For most of you, that's hardly news. Around here, it's all the news and then some. It doesn't take much--we only had four inches in the city--but snow cripples the D.C. area. Everything just sort of shuts down for a few days and gets kind of quiet. The snow and ice is a pain, but the quiet part is nice.

Where the Eave Ends

Here are just a couple of shots of the snow from the warmth of my house. If the roads aren't too bad later today, I'll try to get out to take some pictures of D.C.'s more iconic images in the snow. But don't hold your breath. My car needs new tires, so I may just be staying put!

Tree at Twilight (with the MPD Dispatch and Radio Towers in the background.)

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 01/09

Two Things Challenge: Local / International

Two of my hats. On the left, the local brand.
On the right, the international brand complete with flair.

This week's Two Things Challenge was Local / International. Originally, I was going to take pictures of the U.S. Department of State's main lobby with the flags of nations, but I didn't want to find parking in Foggy Bottom and I had visions of contending with some overzealous State Department police officer about security and prohibitions on photography. (Besides, I had to make German's Chocolate Cake for dessert this evening, which is not German, by the way.) So, once again, I looked around the house.

Local: Washington National's baseball hat. International: Pins on my Bergsteigerhut from Austria.

These two hats are from totally different parts of the world. The one on the left is my baseball hat for our local team, the Washington Nationals. The one on the right is my Bergsteigerhut (alpine hat) from when I lived in Austria 20 years ago. My Bergsteiger has a pin on it from every city I lived in and each city's respective province. In order: Linz in Upper Austria/Oberösterreich; Vienna; Wiener Neustadt in Lower Austria/Neiderösterreich; and Villach in Caranthia/Kärnten.

Want to see how others interpreted this week's challenge? Visit 2 Things Photo Challenge. And, if you feel so inclined, please join in the fun!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 01/09

Two Things Challenge: Paper / Plastic

Annual reports about the paper industry

"Paper or plastic?" Two words I said for years as a courtesy clerk at Albertsons, Inc. and as a cashier at Giant Food Inc. Those jobs paid for college and I'm grateful. In my current line of work I'm a writer and editor, so my life involves lots of paper. Professionally, I cut my teeth as an editor for the Pulp & Paper Newsgroup at Miller Freeman in San Francisco, later Paperloop, and now RISI. Eventually, I took a job with the American Forest & Paper Association, working on tissue and toweling products and recovered fiber (a fancy way of saying paper recycling) issues. The latter led to a brief stint at the National Recycling Coalition. Now, I work for myself. Recently, my job has included reading and writing about paper companies--a throwback to my first professional stint. Hence, this first shot: copies of some of the annual reports, printed on paper about the paper industry, that I've been reading for my research and writing.

Legos and Star Wars: The best combination in plastic. Ever.

And, for those who know me well, there are two things they know: I like Star Wars and I love Legos. Those little plastic bricks can keep me entertained for hours, if need be. The above picture combines the best of plastic into Legos' version of the the Millenium Falcon from Star Wars. So, there you have it: Paper / Plastic.

To see how others interpreted this challenge, go to 2 Things Challenge. And while you're there, join us in all the fun!

Two Things Challenge: Partial / Whole

Whole : Ham and Pineapple on the left and on the right Pepperoni, Mushroom, and Black Olive

This week's Two Things Challenge was Partial / Whole. You'd think this one would be easy, but darned if I could find anything to shoot for this. So, in a fit of desperation, I went with last night's dinner: pizza. Hilariously, several other interpreters of this challenge chose another kind of pie--the one in the sky. Be sure to check out how others responded to this challenge, which calls to mind that great song of the 1950s, "That's Amore!" And now, I think I'm going to re-watch Moonstruck...

Partial: No fuss, no muss!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 01/09

Muted

Sea Glass from Fort Bragg, California

It's rainy and sleety today. I went out for a brief walk and took a few photos I'll be posting over the next few days, including a picture of the woman who lives in the house with this gate. Today's photo is a picture of a jar of sea glass I keep on a bookshelf in my office. If the sills around my windows were deeper, I'd set it in the window so it could catch nature's light.

Sea Glass : Coloring the world in soft, muted tones...

I collected this sea glass in Fort Bragg, California, at Glass Beach. If you haven't been to Fort Bragg, the aforementioned beach is on the north end of town and use to be a garbage dump. I guess there was a time when coastal municipalities just pulled their trash trucks to the edge of the ocean and dumped their garbage. Thankfully, this is no longer the practice. The result, though, is tons of broken glass that has been tumbled in the ocean creating soft, almost pebble-like bits of beauty.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 01/09

Two Things Challenge: New / Hope

Our Lady of Hope Chapel : Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

This week's Two Things Challenge was New / Hope. Originally, I was going to do something along the lines of Barack Obama's use of the word "Hope" in his campaign, but then I couldn't find anything for that. What I finally narrowed it down to was a mix of secular and religious interpretations. For New, I chose this picture (see below) of my new color printer and the latest book I bought yesterday.

New book and new printer--a great way to start the year!

For Hope, I've chosen two photos I took at the National Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. In the crypt church on the lower level are a number of chapels. These two pictures are of the Hope Chapel. The chapel is dedicated to Our Lady of Hope and the money to build the chapel was given by Bob and Dolores Hope in memory of his mother, Avis Townes Hope.

Our Lady of Hope Chapel

Want to see how others interpreted this challenge? Would you like to participate? You can do both by visiting Two Things Challenge.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 01/09

Two Things Challenge: Real / Fake

The real deal: The Lincoln Memorial at sunrise

This week's Two Things Challenge was Real / Fake. To meet the challenge, I give you Daniel Chester French's real memorial to our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, and Hallmark's version of the same as a Christmas ornament. Personally, I prefer the real thing!

The fake: Hallmark's special edition Christmas ornament

Want to see how others interpreted this challenge? Go to Two Things Challenge and check it out!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Handsome Boy

Yesterday, my housemate had to have her 11-year old Abyssinian, Pogo, the cat I affectionately referred to as The Dirty Bastard Cat, put down. He was diagnosed with lymphoma on Wednesday, took a turn for the worse in the night, and a decision was made to humanely let him go. Even though I claimed not to like cats and while I am an avowed dog person, I learned to love this little guy. I'm going to miss him.

Pogo and his favorite toy ever

Rest in peace, Pogo

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Books

Reading : The Physicists by Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt :
A play about the immorality of nuclear proliferation.

This month's City Daily Photo Blogger theme is Books. It's an understatement to say I have books. I have so many books, I don't have space enough for them. My library contains a broad range of fiction and non-fiction. I have books about World War II and literature by Swiss authors. I have texts on sociology of religion and biographies of religious leaders. I have the writings of Pope John Paul II and the rantings of Adolf Hitler. I read C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling.

Right now, I'm reading Hedrick Smith's The Russians and Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope. After that, I'll probably read George Pelecanoes. In a week or two, I could be reading about folded and tilted rock in one of my geology texts or purusing a coffee table book about the National Gallery of Art. The possibilities are endless.

Just a small portion of the thousands of books I own.
You can never have too many books.

My only hang up? I wish I read faster than I do. Perhaps, if I spent less time in front the computer and more time behind a book, I would alleviate this problem! Books, as I opined last week, are the backbone of intelligent discourse and civilized living. They are the best gift we can give ourselves and our children.

To see how other bloggers around the world interpreted this month's theme, go here to view thumbnails of all the participants.


Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 10/08

Kind Gestures

Gifts of gratitude from friends, for whom I am grateful!

I love getting together with friends and helping other people, when I can. On Sunday, I had a couple of friends over for dinner. One of them thoughtfully chose several fall gourds at the local farmer's market in her D.C. neighborhood and brought them as a gift. They're sitting on the dining room table and remind me daily of the delightful person she is.

Then yesterday afternoon, a box arrived unbidden on my doorstep. A few weeks ago, I helped a friend with some work advice. She sent this lovely box of chocolates from a local chocolatier in her distant city as a thank you. I love the color of the box and the ribbon and thought they complemented the gourds nicely, so I snapped a picture. (Oh, yeah, and the chocolates are divine.)

Gestures of gratitude seem to be a dying act and yet nothing is more delightful than a simple thank you note or similar action. Makes you feel all warm and special and grateful for good friends and kind people. As my late grandfather use to say, when people would ask if they could do anything for him after he'd been helpful to them, "Just a few kind words, ma'am. Just a few kind words."

If you visit this blog, thank you! I appreciate it.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 10/08

Two Things Challenge: Blue / Green

Fenton art glass boots backlit by the
sun streaming through my dining room blinds

This week's Two Things Challenge was Blue / Green. Since I'm scheduling this post prior to Sunday and as I haven't had time to get out and take a lot of photos this week, I'm culling from my archives. Well, almost. The second photo (below) is new. I took it on Thursday as I was coming home from lunch with a friend. For Blue, I chose a picture of Fenton art glass. These are two glass boots I have in a small collection of four. I liked the way the light was hitting them in the curio cabinet.

Green tree through the rain on the sunroof of my car

For Green, I shot this photo through my car's sunroof. It was raining and I liked the green of the tree's leaves smudged by the rain on the roof. It's sort of unoriginal, though, because I stole a play out of Maya's book this week. Still, I love photos taken through rainy windows. (P.S. For those who know my propensity for photographing while driving, I was stopped at a red light when I took this.)

Close-ups of a mug of pens in my office (Click images to enlarge)

I had a couple of other photos in my archives that I thought were appropriate for this week's theme, so I'm throwing them in just for fun!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Two Things Challenge: Product / Label

Two of my favorite Austrian products: Milka Noisette and Almdudler

This week's Two Things Challenge was Product / Label. If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that at one time I lived in Austria. Two of Austria's finest offerings in the junk food category are these Products: Milka and Almdudler. The latter is considered the national soft drink of Austria and would be at the top of the leader board were it not for Coca-Cola holding the number one spot. Almdudler is Austria's equivalent of ginger ale. Milka is no longer an Austrian-owned chocolate company. Several years ago, Kraft Foods bought it. The particular Milka bar in this picture is the Noisette bar, meaning its filling is hazelnut creme. When I lived in Austria, I would take a fresh Kaisersemmel roll and spread American peanut butter on it, then put half a bar of Milka Noisette on the bun and have a 'semmel with chocolate and peanut butter. It was DIVINE. If I could get a decent 'semmel here, I'd do it again, but alas, American bread is lousy.

Label in a Classic Fit Brooks Brothers shirt

Last week, I featured a picture of my cufflinks. This week, for Label I'm featuring labels from my Brooks Brother shirts: one classic and one fitted. I usually wear a size 12 shirt, but when I buy a fitted shirt I go up two sizes, because the darts make the shirt too snug. These are just two of my more-than-30 Brooks Brothers shirts. And lest you think I pay high-end retail, think again. I shop at the Brooks Brothers outlet in Leesburg, Virginia. Much cheaper!

My favorite Brooks Brothers shirt:
A pink windowpane, French cuff, fitted shirt. Love this shirt!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential 09/08

Macro Cat

Cat in macro

This isn't a desperation post. I have plenty of other material from this partisan, politic, provincial, perched-on-the-Potomac 'burg for posting, but I liked these two photos, so they're today's material. The other night, I tried to take macro pictures of the Dirty Bastard Cat (aka Pogeaux the Red.) He was more interested in rubbing his face all over my lens than letting me photograph him. Somehow, though, I managed to get these two shots, which I rather like.

Moving in to scratch his furry face on my macro lens

To see other photos of Monsieur le Pogo,* go here, here, here, here, and here. Maybe Marley of Cheltenham Daily Photo is right: I should just start a blog for all the cat pictures I take...


*Pardon my bastardization of French. My second language is German.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 09/08

Two Things Challenge: Old / Fashion

Tie-dye: a non-fashion that is old. So old.

This week's Two Things Challenge was Old / Fashion. What better way to portray these two than with tie-dye and cufflinks?

Tie-dye seems to be making a comeback and featuring in a lot of fashion these days. This is a close-up of a friend's latest tie-dye t-shirt. I wouldn't be caught dead outside the house in a shirt like this. (Of course, I use to say the same thing about Birkenstocks and now I wear them all the time, when I'm not wearing shoes or going barefoot.) Personally, I'm labeling tie-dye Old, but I leave the door open for others to call it Fashion.

My cufflink collection. From the bottom, up: Shift Key (a gift from my friend, Mary Ellen);
Tiffany Knots (bought in San Francisco); Scottish Reds (also a gift from Mary Ellen);
Paper Clips (bought at the Tie Rack in Union Station); Liberty Dimes (bought in San Francisco);
Engraved K's (bought from Lands' End); and Variegated Blues (bought in San Francisco.)

This second picture features the height of my fashion fabulosity: cufflinks! These are all my cufflinks and I know where I got every single pair and whether I bought them or they were a gift. I love, love, love French cuff shirts and cufflinks! The only downside is, my favorite shirt purveyor--Brooks Brothers--doesn't carry a lot of women's shirts with French cuffs and the few they do are all fitted shirts. In the heat and humidity of Washington, a fitted shirt is akin to wearing gloves in summer: not comfortable. My only other recourse is either custom-made or Thomas Pinks and I can't afford either of those at the moment. As a result, my cufflinks are often lonely at the moment. But aren't they the epitome of timeless, classic Fashion?

There you have it! Another glimpse into the private world of D.C. Confidential!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 09/08

Work in Progress

Once upon a time, there was a little semi-detached rowhouse in Washington, D.C. It was a happy little house that had been in the same family for nearly 70 years. Then, four years ago, a real estate agent and investor named Tom bought it. He, like hundreds of others in this town, was into flipping. Buy a house, semi-gut it, install neat new fixtures and floors, paint the outside a pretty color, double the price, and laugh all the way to the bank.

Today's story is about the outside of the house. It is about a tree, three bushes, and a driveway.

This is the tree. An old elm that is at least 40 years old, but maybe older...

These are the bushes. Arborvitae. Hate them. They're coming out...

This is the driveway. The mess on both sides is part of my project...

Tom decided the backyard needed a new driveway, so he hired a crew--because flippers rarely ever do the work themselves after the first three or four flips and this was Tom's 10th or 11th flip--who took out the old driveway and prepared to pour a new driveway. That's all well and good, but in order for the new driveway to be flat and even, they hacked at the roots of this old elm tree. As a result, the old elm tree is dying and will have to be cut down soon. In putting in the new driveway, Tom decided to leave a strip of dirt and weeds on the west side of the drive and a strip of weeds on the east side of the drive. Why, is a mystery. It isn't enough space to create an urban oasis, per se. And it's just enough space to be a pain-in-the-ass, as in it needs to be mowed.

Well, tired of this strip of nothingness and wanting to expand possible off-street parking, this new home owner decided to get rid of the dirt and pave it. But money was tight, so what to do? Lo, and hark! A call did come from Janet's friend and realtor, Monica, who said, "I have brick. Do you want brick?" and Janet said, "YES!"

So far, I've dug out 2/3 of the grass and weeds. I'll likely do the rest this weekend or early next week.
Note one set of pavers at the bottom of the stairs. I'm not sure where these will go yet, but I'll figure it out.
The strip of grass and weeds I'm digging out will be replaced by red brick I salvaged from a friend last year.

The plan in the back is to get the rest of the grass and weeds up. Note I'm about 2/3 finished. It's tough work. You should see the blisters I have (and no, I won't be providing pictures of those, thank.you.very.much!) Once I have the grass and weeds up, I'm going to till the ground to loosen the rest of the dirt, dig out the dirt about three inches, lay down some black nonwoven cloth that will prevent weeds, top that with some sand, and lay brick. Hopefully, when I'm done, I'll have a spot I can use to park a second car when needed and a place to put containers for small gardening.

The other project is the front. In a continuation of Tom's flipping wonders, he planted grass on the west side of the house--which gets very little sun in the summer--that has not been hardy enough to survive in the shade. Plus, he terraced it cheaply. I'm smoothing off the bad terracing with some of the dirt I dig out of the back and reseeding that. He also planted three arborvitaes in the front yard in front of the house. That's lovely for about five years, but then they grow rangy and huge and out of control and will obscure the front of the house and I hate arborvitaes. So, I'm digging them out next week and working the soil. I may or may not terrace it to build up the growing area, then I'll probably plant azaleas.

This is what it looks like in the spring after a little rain.
Notice that it's not looking all that healthy...

This is what it looks like right now after treating it with an herbicide to kill the weeds and bad grass.
I'll be treating this with a hardier grass seed and some Miracle-Gro...

So, there you have. My back-breaking, blister-producing, blood, sweat, and tears project. The moral of the story: don't cheap out on landscaping when you flip a house. Azaleas actually would have been cheaper than arborvitaes and are prettier. Planting a hardy grass that's good in all temperatures and sun conditions is a smart move. And, if you're going to destroy a tree to pour a driveway, pour it all the way across.

And that's just the outside. Don't even get me started on the cheap-ass, chicken-sh*t stuff he did on the inside.

Photos by D.C. Confidential

Desperado

Pogeaux the Red, soakin' up some rays and trying to decide whether
to chatter at the squirrel in the tree or just doze off.

I didn't get out for my walk yesterday evening, but I did get some exercise working in the yard. As a result, I have no new pictures. That said, here's a picture of the cat who lives in my house. He loves him some sunshine! And, rather than regale you with more pictures of Pogeaux the Red, there are no new pictures on Standing Room Only today.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Two Things Challenge: Litter / Bug

Bottle in blue left behind in a schoolyard drinking fountain. Why?

This week's Two Things Challenge was Litter / Bug. I chose this challenge for two reasons. First, living in an urban setting, I see a lot of litter. Litter is one of those things that baffles me, frankly. It's a behavior that bespeaks laziness and disrespect and it's a blight on neighborhoods and scenic byways everywhere. In the 1970s and 1980s, Keep America Beautiful and the U.S. Forest Service did a great job of campaigning against litter. Remember the Crying Indian and Woodsy the Owl?

Trash on the stairs outside a home. Why?

In the 1990s, adopting highways, scenic routes, and byways became de rigueur all across American with families, churches, and corporations sponsoring clean-up activities. In urban settings, some areas are maintained by business district collaborations, but in the neighborhoods themselves little is done, other than street sweeping, to control the trash and litter that people, too lazy to carry their crap to an end destination with a garbage bin, drop indiscriminately anywhere and everywhere. My two choices for litter include: a water bottle left in a drinking fountain on a school playground on Piney Branch Road NW and trash in the walkway of a home on 7th Street NW. Both are unsightly and unnecessary. Or, as Woodsy the Owl admonished, "Give a hoot! Don't pollute!"

Bug: Ant in a flower

My second reason for choosing this challenge was, I thought it would be a great opportunity for folks to hone their bug photography skills. Or so I thought. Finding bugs to photograph provided a bit more challenging than I expected, even though bugs are all around us. I managed to get an ant in a flower and the molted skin of a cicada. And last night, I took a picture of a cricket in front of a frog, but the focusing was all off and it didn't turn out the quality I wanted, which is unfortunate, 'cause it would have been a cool picture.

Bug: Molted skin of a cicada.
I'd love to get a picture of an actual cicada. They're funkin' lookin' bugs!

I was going to be a smartass and take a picture of an old Volkswagen bug I saw on 14th Street a week or so ago, but I wasn't been able to locate it when I went back later. I saw plenty of the new VW Beetles, but it's not the same as an old Bug.

So, there you have it. Litter and Bug. Probably not the best challenge this week. Only two three of us participated. Must come up with better combinations, I suppose...

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 07/08

Two Things Challenge: Work / Book

Where I work...

This week's Two Things Challenge was Work / Book. I thought about shooting photos of my backyard, which is currently a work in progress, but it's too embarrassing. Then I thought about taking pictures of office buildings downtown, but that seemed sort of dull, especially since most D.C. architecture of the newer office building variety is so unextraordinary.

Instead what I went with is my desk. I work from home as a writer and editor and this is where I do my work. Note the green English-to-German dictionary on my desk. It's part of a two volume set I bought when I lived in Austria. It's been getting a little bit of use recently as I've been leaving comments on April's blog in German.

The book I'm reading...

This second picture is the book I'm currently reading, among others (I have about six in my pile I'm working on, not to mention the to-be-read pile I have with about 25 books in it. And then there are all the books in my library I've read parts of, but need to read all of....) I'm a little late coming to the Harry Potter party, but I'm making up for it. I've read The Sorcerer's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, and The Prisoner of Azkaban in the last month and just started The Goblet of Fire yesterday afternoon. This is a picture of the latter on my bed, which is where I do most of my reading.

Workbook: That little notebook is my lifeline. Without it, I'm lost!

And finally, here are work and book combined. Again, a shot of my desk, but in this one you can see my notebook to the left of my MacBook. This is where I write notes about things I'm working on. It's also where I keep important information. In truth, I should probably keep that little workbook under lock-and-key.

There you go. A little glimpse into my work life and what I'm reading!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 7/08