Friday, November 20, 2009

Crisis of Camera

Awhile back someone suggested that if I can’t post very often perhaps I could post some pictures of the kitties, the apartment or the area. Great idea! One of the first things I wanted to take pictures of and write a very short post about was the new Drinkwell Water Fountain we bought for the kitties a few weeks ago. I wanted to give my ringing endorsement for this product and show each of the kitties using it (either for drinking, bathing, or splashing each other). So I got out the camera to discover that the battery was dead. I removed the battery and set it aside while I looked for the charger, which I thought was in my “pile”. I never found it. I searched high and low for this thing. I never found it. So I broke down and ordered a new charger from Amazon. That took a good week to get here. When it finally came, I went to insert the battery and I couldn’t find it. The stupidest thing is that I know I set it someplace thinking specifically that it would be a safe place where I wouldn’t lose it. I looked everywhere for the battery. I checked under every piece of furniture that we have (in case the kitties got to it – I recently found an entire roll of stamps Dean thought he lost for good, it was under the bed…). I didn’t order a new one, but I think I am going to have to. In the meantime, I thought I would share some picture that my mom and stepdad took while they were here a couple of weeks ago. We had a fantastic time. I got to show them our new town, our new apartment, and all our new furniture. Plus, they got to see Washington, DC for the first time.

To my disappointment, I couldn’t be with them the first day they got to see DC. They came in on a Wednesday afternoon, and I had to work Thursday but I took off Friday. So I gave them directions to ride the metro into downtown themselves. To their surprise, they happened to go downtown by themselves on the same day as the Michele Bachmann tea party rally. It is ironic that they all come from the same state though my mom and Tom would stress that they do not subscribe to her bizarre ideology. Nevertheless, they did a lot of gawking.

Friday I had the day off and we went back downtown since the weather was beautiful. We saw the rest of the monuments that Mom and Tom didn’t visit on Thursday, which was good because I hadn’t yet seen the Jefferson Monument, the FDR Monument or the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial. We had a couple extra hours to spare so we checked out a couple exhibits at the National Museum of Natural History. I love that the Smithsonian museums are free, because they are perfect for just such an occasion. You can spend days there, but I prefer to choose one or two exhibits at a time so that I don’t become over saturated with information.


Saturday we decided to get away from the city a bit and visit some Civil War sites. We first visited Harpers Ferry, a town that changed hands during the Civil War eight times due to its strategic placement and the armory it housed. We first got lost in the actual town which was a bit of a frightening place. Think mountain town with lots of trailers, abandoned furniture and angry looking dogs. What we didn’t realize that we wanted to see was the Harpers Ferry National Park and the Historic District. Once we found them, the park was gorgeous though the Historic District was a bit of a tourist trap.

After that we drove the 30 or so minutes to Antietam National Battlefield, the site of the bloodiest single day in the Civil War. Approximately 23,000 Americans died there on September 17, 1862. I'm not a big believer in ghosts or spirits, but the old farm that served as the site of the standoff between the Union and the
Confederacy had such a palpable feeling of sadness and loss. To walk the ground that had one time been soaked with the blood of American pitted against American was something I just could not wrap my mind around. We later visited Antietam National Cemetery, where many of the Union Soldiers that died in that battle were buried. Interestingly, the cemetery remained a national cemetery until the ‘50s so there were soldiers from both World Wars buried there as well.

Sunday we again took the metro downtown and went to the Wizards game. It was so much fun. My Mom and Tom are huge basketball fans (they must be to be Timberwolves season ticket holders, right?) and picked out some really nice seats for us. Dean and I treated them to a round of beers and while we were waiting in line on the concourse we saw Wolf Blitzer. The whole game was great (even though we lost) and we are going back next Saturday.

Oh, and here is the only picture of our apartment currently in existence. I only wish our awesome coffee tables were in the shot, but maybe next time.

So hopefully that will tide you over until my camera crisis is resolved. But with my luck, once I finally get the battery, my whole dang camera will be lost.

7 comments:

Moe said...

Hey Nat! Nice to see a picture of you and Dean. You're looking great. Sorry about your charger and battery saga. I have the same sickness. I officially believe that there are other elements around us ...with things disappearing. Totally jealous of your couch (umm, all your furniture) as we still don't have any...darn postdoc salary! Me still jobless haha

Jeni said...

Had to chuckle over your dilemma -losing something after you knew you had put it some where that would be "Safe." Back when my oldest was about to celebrate her first Christmas (42 years ago now), a cousin of mine wrote a note in her Christmas card to me about my daughter then being at the age when EVERYTHING gets put up atop the refrigerator for safekeeping and that her own fridge hadn't been cleaned off in a couple of years then. And today -you can't see the top of my refrigerator or freezer either for things being set there for safekeeping -and promptly then forgotten that they were moved to that spot too! I could use several more "safekeeping" spots in this old house, for sure!

Anonymous said...

Natalie:
Cute apartment! And I love the couch. Would love to replace mine. Hmmmm... X-mas is coming up. Maybe Santa will bring me one. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Catsfursure

Dianne said...

I think the kitties are messing with your head ;)

sounds like a wonderful visit
great photos
you all look wonderful
the apartment is lovely
I adore the wall of books

fermicat said...

Enjoyed the photo essay update! I hope things go well for you in this new phase of your life.

Also, happy turkey day!

Hot4Teacha said...

Somewhere in your apartment, Wrigley has made his own "pile" of all these things you have "misplaced" and are looking for. It's so Wrigley-like - you can see it in his eyes, always up to something...

gabrielle said...

I have the same illness – runs rampant in the family.

We keep these objects safe only from ourselves. I guess the only saving grace is that in the relentless search, a host of other errant items usually surface.

Glad to hear you had a happy visit.

Your apartment looks beautiful! Covet, covet, covet the built-ins.
A room without books is like a body without a soul. ~ Marcus T. Cicero