Good morning, DMV*! It’s Monday, February 23, and we’ve got another snow day. Just as we melted out of last month’s storm, we’re covered in snow again.
On another note, I’ll be straight with you: Getting laid off has taken a toll on me. The hardest part has been the sudden dissolution of my daily routine, structured around a commute and hours with colleagues in the office. Rebuilding a new routine through this newsletter has been challenging and fun, but also feels immensely isolating.
Generally, I feel optimistic and excited about charting this new course. But at times, my mind slips into a fog, and I can’t see the path ahead.
So I’ve been forcing myself to slow down — taking 1- to 2-hour-long baths, topping up the hot water as my lengthy soak goes tepid. I’m aiming for an hour or two of yoga and exercise each day. (Ooh, as I write this down and reread my words, I already feel better! It doesn’t sound that bad.)
I’m also filling my calendar for a busier-than-usual social schedule. (I have more time on my hands these days.) Someone I’ve just met is throwing a party where there’s a chance I’ll know none of the guests? I’m in. I need to ask a friend or reader questions? Let’s talk on the phone or meet in person instead.
(Lynn Murphy)
In the last newsletter, I included mind-blowing photos of frozen bubbles, taken by Lynn Murphy, 67, of the Layhill area of Maryland. You asked how she created them. She told me she made her bubble mix four years ago with a recipe from this video:
Here are tips Lynn wants to emphasize:
It should be 15 degrees F or lower when you go outside to do this.
The bubble solution should be cold, but not freezing. I put mine in the refrigerator the night before I think a perfect morning is on its way.
Don't “blow” the bubbles with the straw. It's more like a gentle huff.
There cannot be any hint of a breeze. Any puff of wind will ruin most attempts.
The first two bubbles will ALWAYS fail. Don't let that put you off. Just keep trying! It will work!
If you have snow — make a volcano shaped pile of it and blow the bubbles onto that frozen snow pile. We had “snowcrete!” I couldn't get a bit of it into a pile for this latest frozen weather. I used an overturned shot glass, and my husband made the bubbles happen on that.
Once your mixture gets thick, you're done. Thick bubble mixture does not work.
If you want to photograph the dendrites or the crystals, you'll need a helper. Helper makes the bubbles, you watch through the lens (or vice versa). I used my macro lens. A cell phone works just fine! Take a video and then you can isolate individual frames.
As Lynn and I emailed back and forth, I told her I’d be in her neighborhood this past Saturday and asked if she wanted to meet up. So she and her husband Bob, 71, took me out for a hike nearby. They wanted to get in some steps for Miles for Maryland — a challenge for people to walk 250 miles this year in Maryland state parks for America’s 250th anniversary.
We did about 3 miles round-trip on the Matthew Henson Trail, which I’d long wanted to check out. The stretch we did was mostly paved but also had some boardwalks. The weather was perfect for a midwinter hike. There were a few tiny patches of snow that Bob, Lynn and I easily maneuvered around. We stopped now and then to observe birds and listen to the drumming of nearby woodpeckers.
Thanks for being patient as I continue to build my Daily Dose. A day after I was fired laid off from the Washington Post, I launched this newsletter — in part to tell my most loyal readers what had happened but also to continue building what I had started at the Post. I consider this a community newsletter. It is free. I hope I’ll be able to support myself and my family with this project but can only do that with your help. Please click the button below to contribute to my “community tip jar.”
📰 DMV* news & an essay from a beloved book critic
Many of you wrote to me over the years to tell me how much you appreciated the Post Local newsletter … and how you also loved Ron Charles’s Book Club newsletter. In case you missed it, he wrote a farewell note and also launched a Substack. His essay last week — “Do I still matter?” — resonated for me. Anyway, some of you have been wondering about Ron. He’s still writing for you.
Potential measles exposure reported in downtown Bethesda (Bethesda Today)
🐦 Meeting up over birds & books
The DC Bird Alliance and I invite you for a guided winter bird walk Saturday morning at Langston Golf Course in Northeast D.C. Bald eagles are frequently seen, the alliance says, as well as bluebirds, hawks, ducks and other seasonal avian residents. Daily Dose readers get first dibs on tickets, so reserve your spot now (and be sure to sign the waiver). The event is free.
Separately— have you ever been to a reading party? How is it? I’m curious — tell us in the comments section. The Silent Book Club of Silver Spring, which meets monthly at the Black Lion Cafe, convenes today.
📷 Your joy
(Chris Crosby)
Chris Crosby, an Alexandria resident who says she is “seven decades old,” sent in this pic she took earlier this month of Moses, her black lab mix, in her ice and-snow-covered back yard in the pre-dawn moonlight.
“The dog has been ice skating!” Chris wrote in her submission.
In a follow-up email last night, she added: “Moses likes snow as it is falling tonight much better than ice. However, since he just had stomach surgery a couple of days ago, I have to take him out on a leash and he is NOT allowed to run. So he is not a happy as he might be.”
I wish you a speedy recovery, Moses!
* The DMV is how residents here call the D.C. region, which includes Maryland and Virginia. 🫧
UPDATED: A friend pointed out that we were technically laid off, not fired, so I’m going through old posts to amend that fact.
