Buh-bye Twitter (or X or whatever it is), Hello Threads

 I've finally decided enough is enough and deleted my Twitter account.  If you want to follow me on Threads, you can find me at https://www.threads.net/@justanotherdayindc

Boo! Part 2

I said last week that the neighbors were all in on Halloween, but some people have really gone next level.  

Being clever and audacious is what gets points here. While I celebrate enthusiasm of those who decorate their yards with a little bit of everything -- tombstones, a witch's striped stockings coming out of the ground, a random skeleton or two, plus a random trick or treating cartoon character -- I get the feeling that these seem more like "art as process" than anything else. Just like the dozens of "art" works that my kids produced in nursery school (most of which I tossed almost immediately), these yards seem to be more for the enjoyment of the decorators than the viewers.  Also no fake cobwebs -- I mean who thinks that mess looks anything like cobwebs.

So on to my picks for best in show.

The Georgetown Skellys in designer attire (they even have their own Instagram account) 

Smaller effort but major points for creepiness and for repurposing the toys your kids no longer use

Skeletons who've caught the pickleball bug

A 13 foot Jack Skellington from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.  He's animatronic with motion sensors that will set off his mouth and hand movements.  And for $399, one should definitely expect that level of spookiness.  One neighbor has added an additional song feature.

A Barbie house on a corner lot in Glover Park/Burleith.  By the way, it looks like Barbie Pond on Avenue Q has a new look for Halloween with its haunted Malibu dream-house. 

But the prize definitely goes to this house.  I took a bunch of pictures two weeks ago and then when I went by on Saturday, I found that additional figures had been added.  

First, the whole house view and then some details.

That's it for Halloween.  Stay tuned in case the neighbors pull out all the stops at Christmas.

Boo!

The neighbors have gone nuts decorating for Halloween. I've snapped so many pictures that I will have to do this in two parts -- a potpourri of themes today and then my best-in-show next week. For the record, my Halloween decorations consist of a pumpkin I bought at Safeway. Rest assured that trick or treaters will be welcome at my house -- at least until 9 pm when all the little ones should be home in bed or stuffing themselves with chocolate.

First up are the witches.

Next up: pumpkins

Tasteful

Cheerful

All in on the theme

Squirrels at work

Which brings us to all manner of skeletons:

Die-hard Nationals fan

The whole family just settin' out on the stoop

Traditionally spooky

For Game of Thrones enthusiasts

The little mermaid of your nightmares

Aging rocker

And finally (for today), inflatables:

See you next week!

What the Heck?!

You seem some odd things when out and about and your head is attuned to making content.

I'm trying to imagine what happened to this street sign.  The bend in the pole is far too high to be the result of being rammed by a vehicle.  Did a strong wind do this? 

A shoe tree in bloom?

Nice try camouflaging this port-a-potty in your front yard.  I'm sure that the neighbors really appreciated this extra effort.

Could be my mantra.

Hate for "Washington" is Misplaced

Artwork by jenhud.com

The current dysfunction in the U.S. House of Representatives would be fun to watch if it weren't so sad for the nation. No matter what your political stripe, I'm pretty sure that we all just want the federal government to function with professionalism.  And while we're far from the actual fisticuffs that sometimes broke out on the House floor in the 19th century, we're dangerously close to being unable to distinguish the proceedings from Jerry Springer show antics.

But one thing that particularly chafes me are the potshots being aimed at Washington. Unfair and uncalled for! 

While Washington is clearly shorthand for some thing that people love to hate, it is an actual real place where real people (nearly 700,00 of them) live, work, and play. And despite the notion that the population completely swaps out with each presidential transition, this is far from the case. There are many people here who do indeed make a living that is somehow connected to the activities of the federal government:  as career employees, journalists, advocates for interests as varied as low-income families to every type of industry, etc.  But many more just do the things that people do everywhere: drive the bus, run a shop, care for the sick, make IT systems function, teach, cook and serve meals, and pick up the trash. Moreover, 85 percent of federal employees live outside the DC metro region.

But the current brouhaha on the Hill was not fomented by anyone from Washington -- the guy who just lost his job is from Southern California and his archenemy is from Pensacola, Florida. The rest of the rogue Republicans are from Arizona (two of them!), Colorado, Montana, Tennessee, and South Carolina, plus one guy from Virginia whose district office is in Lynchburg, a city maybe best known as the home of Jerry Falwell's Liberty University.  And if you are one to blame the Democrats for joining with this group -- remember that Washington has no voting representation in Congress. (I'll save the discussion of statehood for another day.)

So if you're mad, fine.  I get it. But make sure your anger is directed at the people who are making the mess and leave those of us proud to be called Washingtonians out of it.

Lawn Garnish

Years ago, in the days before children and other commitments, my husband and I took a lot of long bike rides in the country where I was always charmed and intrigued by the yards we would pass by and the extensive array of things determined appropriate for the front lawn.  

There were the inevitable wishing wells and lawn jockeys, the kissing Dutch children in their wooden shoes, the bloomered backsides of grandmas weeding, the geese wearing bonnets, and cartoon characters including Wiley Coyote in hot pursuit of the Road Runner, Roger Rabbit, and Bugs Bunny, and even the California Raisins. I always thought this was an American thing, that is, until on a trip to the Aeolian Islands off the coast of Sicily, I noted that Snow White and the seven dwarves seemed to be favorite features in the locals' gardens.

My snapshots could never really capture the charm of lawn ornaments (nor was I willing to venture very close to get the best photo). I thought I should venture forth some day with a better camera and create a coffee table book of these bits of ornamentation. But of course, I never did. In the digital world of today, this would be a good topic for Instagram but again, this seems like a much bigger commitment than I am willing to make.

My fascination with what I affectionately call lawn garnish never abated though nor apparently people's desire to decorate their yards with all manner of humorous tableaux. And while the DC variety tends to be on the smaller side (as befits the smaller yards), my fellow Washingtonians are clearly up to the task. Here's the latest of what I've seen on my walks over the past few months.

There's a whole other category of art created in alleyways and along back fences, but that is a subject for another day.