We have two pigeons nesting in an old tomato plant on our balcony.
What should we do? The pigeons are already pretty defensive of the
nest. They fly away when we go out there to water the plants, but not
before they flap around all crazylike. We're thinking we'll toss the
eggs and cover the plant up with that board propped against the wall.
Does the world really need more pigeons??
Our angel trumpet is blooming...
...and our peppers are heating up!
What's the strongest association you have between a scent and a memory?
Mine is kinda sad. The smell of hospices, and to a smaller extent, hospitals, reminds me of my mom's illness. Right after she died I could conjure up the smell myself just thinking about it. When my grandfather died in 2000 he ended up in the same hospice she had been in when I was 12. He was even in the same room she had been in. That was really hard, going back there again. It still smelled the same.
On a happier note, when I was really little, maybe 2 or 3, I had a
little purple rubbery horse that smelled like lavender. It was tiny. I
think it might have been a keychain at one point. I have a very clear
memory of searching all over the house one day for this horse and
finally discovering I had been holding it in my hand the whole time. An
early prediction of things to come! But lavender still make me think of
that horse.
I can leave him presents in his mailbox...
What's the most recent vivid dream or nightmare that you remember?
I dreamt I was an awesome soccer player last night....which is weird since I've never played soccer in my life.
What's the oldest digital camera photo you have on your computer? When is it from? Let's see it!
The first picture we took with my little Canon Elph 2.0 megapixel camera in August of 2002? Come on! Who else could it have been?
We've begun growing things on our balcony. It's such a relief to
have green things when you're surrounded by concrete 24-7. Not to
mention the pure awesomeness of being able to walk outside to get some
basil or thyme for cookings. Here are some pics....
Who's the most famous (at least in your opinion) person that you've met? What was the experience like?
Without a doubt: Bill Gates. I even shook his hand and said "Nice to meet you." I swear I heard it jingle.
"Every large developer I know is working on a project that was expected to be condo -- and that they are now taking back to apartments," said Mark Coletta, regional partner of Fairfield Residential LLC, which is building about a dozen projects in the Washington area. "That's what everyone is doing." - TWP
It looks like the DC condo market is finally grinding to a halt. Unfortunately, that means rents are also going up because people would prefer to throw a couple of thousand dollars away on rent each month than risk throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars away on inflated home prices. That two-year lease we signed with no rent increase isn't looking so bad right about now.
But seriously folks, $400,000 for a one-bedroom condo? No thanks. How do people our age afford to buy homes? Does everyone use interest only loans to stretch their income so they can afford to buy? These loans are predicated on the assumption that real estate values will continue to rise, so it doesn't matter if you don't contribute a dime towards the principal on your $400,000 mortgage, hell, you can just turn around and sell that same property for a million bucks in five years (20 percent increases each year over a period of five years - what we've seen since 2001) and pocket the spoils or reinvest in a bigger and better house.
Too bad that's about to change.
