Tom Daschle found me
One of the great advantages to moving is leaving the junk mail behind. All of the catalogues (of which I got many, MANY), the fliers, the credit card offers and donation solicitations... gone from my mailbox! They don't get forwarded, nor does the post office send the send a notice of change of address.
This, in my opinion, is a good thing.
However, the other day, I got a piece of mail which let me know that the democratic party has tracked me down. Rats! I got a solicitation from Tom Daschle (I donated to his last senate race, the one he lost). Not thrilled about having been found, because once one mailing list has found you, the rest will follow. Oh well. I guess it was only a matter of time. Plus, I'm sure I'll make another donation eventually, so they'll get me that way.
Otherwise, nothing new to report with the house. We continue to have unpacking aspirations, rather than actual progress. I have to say, though, that I LOVE having my own washer and dryer. And -- bonus -- I actually really like the models of washer/dryer that are in the house. They are very nice. In fact, I might have chosen these had I bought them new. Yay! (Can you guess what I'm doing right now? Uh-huh. Laundry.)
Other things I am appreciating more and more about the house and neighborhood? The easy but interesting walk to the metro -- along the way, we pass a center which is home to Theravada Buddhist monks (SM has seen them drive off together in a minivan in their orange robes. I have only seen them around the outside of the house doing various tasks.), some of the very best but least expensive restaurants in the DC area, and lots of mom-n-pop-type grocery stores (Italian, Filippino, Brazilian, El Salvadorian -- and a kosher Jewish deli not too far in the other direction). I also love that the neighborhood is generally so quiet. We don't get bothered by other people's noise or the thumping of the bass line from the stereo of a passing car.
I am also finding things which I'm not so entralled about... There's a large shrub on the corner of our property at the intersection. People dump their trash in it (cans, wrappers, cigarette shit, etc.). That's not cool. We may have to remove the shrub to eliminate the garbage dump but also because it obscures the corner and may be something of a safety issue. Relatedly, there aren't many lights along the streets back from the metro to our house. Many folks put on their front porch lights to help alleviate and illuminate. Right now, the lack of lighting isn't a problem because it's summer, so we're not walking home in the dark. But it will become a problem in the fall. Not so thrilled about walking in the dark-ish. I'll have to figure out another route. Also, our neighbor across the street owns all sorts of boats and a ginormous motorhome, which, while not particularly attractive, is fine except when they park them -- or the trailers -- in the street in front of our house. Then it's annoying. Not a real issue, but definitely annoying.
In terms of the house, we have discovered all sorts of problems which were solved with a "quick fix" by prior owners. We may or may not have to re-do some of those things. We'll see. Plus, the age of the house will bring its own problems, like the plumbing. The drains upstairs are very VERY slow. After showers, I am left standing in a pool of suds. We're going to have to look into that, and if we decide to do anything, it'll be expensive. Also, we have no front porch or entry foyer. That means that when it rains, there is no transitional space. We go from getting wet outside to bringing the wet inside into the living room, making a mess. I find this unacceptable, so we'll probably build a porch eventually. Also, it means that any packages that are left on the stoop get wet when it rains.
But, all that being said, we really like living here.
I'm sure we'll like it even more when we actually unpack.
This, in my opinion, is a good thing.
However, the other day, I got a piece of mail which let me know that the democratic party has tracked me down. Rats! I got a solicitation from Tom Daschle (I donated to his last senate race, the one he lost). Not thrilled about having been found, because once one mailing list has found you, the rest will follow. Oh well. I guess it was only a matter of time. Plus, I'm sure I'll make another donation eventually, so they'll get me that way.
Otherwise, nothing new to report with the house. We continue to have unpacking aspirations, rather than actual progress. I have to say, though, that I LOVE having my own washer and dryer. And -- bonus -- I actually really like the models of washer/dryer that are in the house. They are very nice. In fact, I might have chosen these had I bought them new. Yay! (Can you guess what I'm doing right now? Uh-huh. Laundry.)
Other things I am appreciating more and more about the house and neighborhood? The easy but interesting walk to the metro -- along the way, we pass a center which is home to Theravada Buddhist monks (SM has seen them drive off together in a minivan in their orange robes. I have only seen them around the outside of the house doing various tasks.), some of the very best but least expensive restaurants in the DC area, and lots of mom-n-pop-type grocery stores (Italian, Filippino, Brazilian, El Salvadorian -- and a kosher Jewish deli not too far in the other direction). I also love that the neighborhood is generally so quiet. We don't get bothered by other people's noise or the thumping of the bass line from the stereo of a passing car.
I am also finding things which I'm not so entralled about... There's a large shrub on the corner of our property at the intersection. People dump their trash in it (cans, wrappers, cigarette shit, etc.). That's not cool. We may have to remove the shrub to eliminate the garbage dump but also because it obscures the corner and may be something of a safety issue. Relatedly, there aren't many lights along the streets back from the metro to our house. Many folks put on their front porch lights to help alleviate and illuminate. Right now, the lack of lighting isn't a problem because it's summer, so we're not walking home in the dark. But it will become a problem in the fall. Not so thrilled about walking in the dark-ish. I'll have to figure out another route. Also, our neighbor across the street owns all sorts of boats and a ginormous motorhome, which, while not particularly attractive, is fine except when they park them -- or the trailers -- in the street in front of our house. Then it's annoying. Not a real issue, but definitely annoying.
In terms of the house, we have discovered all sorts of problems which were solved with a "quick fix" by prior owners. We may or may not have to re-do some of those things. We'll see. Plus, the age of the house will bring its own problems, like the plumbing. The drains upstairs are very VERY slow. After showers, I am left standing in a pool of suds. We're going to have to look into that, and if we decide to do anything, it'll be expensive. Also, we have no front porch or entry foyer. That means that when it rains, there is no transitional space. We go from getting wet outside to bringing the wet inside into the living room, making a mess. I find this unacceptable, so we'll probably build a porch eventually. Also, it means that any packages that are left on the stoop get wet when it rains.
But, all that being said, we really like living here.
I'm sure we'll like it even more when we actually unpack.
Labels: DC living, home stuff
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