A FEW AROUND AND ABOUT PHOTOS.

I thought I would share a few of these. As you know I am an avid taker of photos, which include those from the passenger side of our car. I love to record just about everything. Last week we had amazing skies. Below was from the week before when it was rainier. I was taking our usual photo on the progress of the building when the police officer came into view. 

We have been very interested in seeing this large building go up, having driven by the old house for many years. The land was finally sold, the old house leveled (was a bit sad about that - someone's dream way back when) and this structure slowly took shape. They always start with the elevator shafts first don't they? We knew it was going to be a big place noticing how far apart they were.  

Monday June 22nd, 2026 - drove to Arlington to our favorite Bahn Mi go-to. We visit about once a month and have a car picnic. We try to curb our eating out to once a week and usually it's fast food. No seating inside here and that’s okay with us. We can watch the world go by. It’s fun to watch people come and go. There is a fire station across the parking lot to the left, and we have watched firefighters trek in every now and again. Nothing fancy but this is Gregg's all-time favorite sandwich, and I have to admit it is excellent. Mentioned before on here many times.

On the way out of the parking lot we spotted this. I believe it's the same vehicle I shared a few weeks ago. It is a Slingshot Grand Touring Le Fairway Green with Bronze Accents - thank you Google!

Our lunch last week took us to our Cornish Pasty shop, also mentioned many times before. We usually pick up British bangers and bacon. Made over here but a UK-style recipe that gives us a touch of nostalgia when we have them on the weekend with a full breakfast. Another place we visit, this time maybe once every three months, try to anyhow. You can just about make out the Union Jack on the left-hand side towards the end of the alleyway. 

Another car picnic. Over here Cornish Pasties are like a Michigan Meat Pie. Cornish tin and copper miners emigrated to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan when there was a massive copper and iron boom in that area in the 1840's and 1850's. That's how the Michigan meat pie came about, from the Cornish Pasty. I am repeating myself but the man who owns The Pure Pasty Co. is British and located in Vienna, Virginia. He also owns the Hawk and Griffin which opened several years later. This is where we went for Gregg's birthday earlier in the year. We like both places very much but come here more. The restaurant/pub is our special occasion place. I'm sure with the World Cup going on, the place is packed out.

On our way home we passed by the old mill building I mentioned a little while ago. I was delighted that the paddle wheel was working. We could see the water splashing on the wheel. There was also safety fences built since the last photo. I can only hope that we will see the building itself brought back to life, and I am eager to come back this way to see if there is any progress in a couple of weeks or so.

Here is also another view of the horses but in the nearby field this time. We really should bring a proper camera to get a closer photo. All these were taken with my cell phone.

Coming back into the neighborhood Gregg spotted a crow on the top of a mailbox post. He stopped, backed up without me even asking. 

I took several photos before he flew off. These were the best two.

It was a coincidence but that very morning I had found these on Pinterest. I rather like benches as you might guess, from all the ones I sit on when we go to the gardens. My imagination put these on our deck and in the back yard.

Tuesday June 23rd 2026 - I had my hair done today. I go to the Hair Cuttery at our local shopping center. The lady who has been cutting my hair for years did another great job and I always feel much better with it shorter and tidier. It was raining heavily, but the sun is out surprisingly and it looks like we will have a very pretty sunset.  

Wednesday, June 24th, 2026 - father and son got  together this morning. I stayed home and enjoyed my quiet time. I caught up on things. I did laundry, a chore that I actually enjoy. The day went fast!

That's all for now. 

Thank you for reading my ramblings, and 

I hope your day is a great one.

ON MONDAY...

we were out bright and early that morning and were off to Costco to pick up my prescription (prism) glasses, which will fix my double vision. I went to the ophthalmologist a few weeks ago, which I mentioned on here at the time. I was told I had an astigmatism. 

We had momentarily forgotten that it was Memorial Day and Costco was closed. No matter, we decided to go shopping. Driving out of the neighborhood we saw a few houses decorated with flags and banners. This was one of them. On the way to the supermarket, we stopped at a traffic light and this dog very kindly posed for me.

He was definitely showing me his best side.

and was momentarily curious about us.

A few days ago we had glorious skies and I was interested in this cloud formation...to me it looks like someone is lying back on a deck chair.

But the skies have been more like this lately.

For years we used to pass this old house, and it had been empty for as far back as I can remember. It had seen better days. One day when we drove by, there was fencing all around. We realized its days were numbered. Not long after that it was bulldozed.

They have been building this ever since. It's for people to rent personal storage spaces. There are another two similarly designed buildings nearby, one right next to it and another not too far behind. We are still in our decluttering stage at home, and this place always reminds me, we need to get cracking on that again. 

Gregg got his linguiça (pronounced "leen-GWEE-sah) from Harris Teeters on our shopping expedition. We don't have it all the time, but I found a recipe for smoked sausage, cabbage and potato cooked in a slow cooker. I asked him if he would like to try it, as a potato and cabbage combo are a favorite dish of his. His mom used to cook it for his birthday meal when he was young, but with a boiled ham. He's not a big fan of smoked sausage and the only time we ever go to this particular supermarket is when he gets a yen for linguiça. I will use it in this recipe. We can't find it anywhere else around here.

It's a Portuguese sausage that is a real nostalgia item for him. He remembers when he visited relatives in New England. His mother's family used to fix it - very popular up there - and when relatives from that area visited, they would always bring a batch for the family. Gregg's step-grandfather was of Portuguese heritage. I only met him once, not too long after we were married. He passed away and I didn't get the chance to meet him again. I took to him right away, a dear man. Wonderfully gracious and kind in nature. He was a true gentleman, everyone loved him including me.

Added this the next day (26th). Up early again and were at Costco’s at opening time. We were still third in line to see the lady at the eye-glass department. After 20 minutes she handed me my eye glasses that I had ordered. I didn’t want bifocals/trifocals as the last time I was never able to get used to them, and as at this stage I am worried about falling, I splurged and bought three pair. I now have reading, distance and sunglasses, all prescription and prisms. 

I was very nervous but she gave me the long distance ones first. I put them on and my double vision disappeared immediately. I just about clapped my hands. It sounds dreadful but I have been living with this double vision for a year. At first I was waiting for it to get better. It took a while for me to go to my doctor, but eventually admitted to myself it definitely wasn’t going away. I did have my eyes checked by another ophthalmologist in the beginning,  as I already had a regular appointment. I can’t remember what he said about my double vision, after just getting the usual things done. Everything else was tested. He suggested going to my regular doctor if it didn’t get any better. 

Many appointments at the doctor afterwards, it was off to an ophthalmologist who was more local. She was amazing, looked so very young, was incredibly thorough, softly spoken and the kind of professional who puts you at your ease immediately (you can see the post about that visit here). She diagnosed the astigmatism after looking at all the results. 

I will take photos of the new glasses soon. They have boring frames and maybe I should have spent more time with frame designs, but I didn’t hang around and wanted out of there.

Anyway, a little bit of a ramble today.

Thanks for visiting and I hope

your day is a great one.