DC - Vacation Day 2 - Wednesday!

Day 2 of our DC vacation started with a walk to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.  Growing up by an airport and being married to a man who served 22 years in the Air Force (I was married to him all but 2 of those years and were dating then) you can imagine this was a museum that was of great interest to us.  I've included some photos of some of my favorite exhibits but this is just a very small sampling of them.  There were guides throughout the facility giving tours and it was wonderful to hear bits and pieces of those tours as we roamed about.  Bill, of course, knew more about the military and commercial flying end of the business and I seemed to know quite a bit about the era encompassing WWII and Amelia Earheart.  We have read many books in book club on the WWII subject and found the WWII exhibits in all the museums quite interesting.  The space exhibits we found so very interesting as well.

We didn't stop with just the exhibits as we decided to take in one of the Imax movies The Dream is Alive which was all about the Space Shuttle.  It was pretty interesting and we all enjoyed having a few minutes to rest our feet.

Next we took a quick walk up to the U.S. Capitol.  Did not linger there as we were scheduled for a tour the next day through our Senator's office.  I'll share more on that next post.  We did take a quick stroll through the Smithsonian outdoor sculpture garden on our way by.  I knew my friend, Rene', would love this particular piece of sculpture so I took this picture for her.

From there Bill decided (yes I let him set the schedule) we would walk down to the WWII Memorial.  It was a beautiful memorial.  One of the things I enjoyed was reading the different quotes etched into the stone.

After that we continued with a stroll along the reflecting pool to the Korean War Memorial.  It is amazing to me how respectful most people are at these memorials.  A solemness among those walking through them.  I will share more on this memorial when I get to Day 7 as we revisited a few sites and took advantage of the Park Rangers tours of the memorials.

At this point we walked on over to the Lincoln Memorial.  I have to tell you this is the one memorial I had eagerly been awaiting to see.  I was a little bit overwhelmed when I finally saw this memorial in person.  I have a special fondness for President Lincoln.  When in elementary school, he was the President I was assigned to write my school reports.  I even had to learn his Four Score speech and recite it for another project at school.  I was assigned Mary Todd Lincoln as my First Lady assignment.  As it happens, I also attended Abraham Lincoln H.S.  I've learned so much about this President's life that I can honestly say without a doubt this was the highlight of the trip for me.  Don't get me wrong I saw so many amazing things there but this one has been a dream of mine to see for YEARS!  And yes that picture on the right is looking up at the roof between the 2 rows of columns.  Funny story about photo taking on Day 7 to come.

From there we walked over to the Vietnam Memorial.  It was one of those memorials that just makes you want to cry.  It was difficult getting a good picture as the granite of this amazing memorial is so polished it reflects everything right back at you.  Including yourself taking a photo.   This was a memorial we revisited on Day 7 and enjoyed the Park Ranger tour.  These little tours are only about 20 minutes long but you get some pretty interesting information - so worth the 20 minutes.  

 This was the day of walking that was too much for Bill's back.  Once we reached our hotel it was decided that room service was the appropriate thing for supper instead of walking somewhere.  Such a fancy spread for pizza and chicken fingers! 

That ends day 2 and looking forward to sharing day 3 soon.  In case you wonder how I remember to keep everything straight - I actually took a small notebook and kept a journal on our trip so at the end of the day I would write down things from our day that I wanted to remember.  I highly recommend if you are packing tons of stuff into your days like we were.  

Catching Up And Day 1 of Vacation - Tuesday!

It has been some time since but my last post but in my defense we've had a 10 day vacation, an extended family crisis and a week of catch up and appointments.  Thankfully today hubby is at a car show at the Iowa Speedway with our car, Keith is patiently (not) waiting for the big Iowa vs. Iowa State football game on t.v. and I am enjoying an afternoon of catching up laundry and finding a little time for a blog post.

You will be happy to hear that I am not going to share it all in one post - after all I ended up with over 1,900 photos.  Again in my defense I took many black and white photos hoping that I might end up with one good enough to enter in the 2014 Iowa State Fair.  Every photo next year must be in black and white as they are doing a Salute to Ansel Adams.  I'm already learning some things about photographing in Black and White.

The photo at the top of the page is the hotel where we stayed - The Willard Intercontinental.  Quite a lot of history has taken place at this hotel.  In 1861 Abraham Lincoln stayed 10 days before his inauguration.  In 1861 Julia Ward Howe watched Union soldiers march past.  She awoke the next morning and wrote the Battle Hymn of the Republic (a song I adore as I graduated from Abraham Lincoln H.S. and it is played by the school band at the beginning of every graduation ceremony).  In 1942 The Willard hired the first girl bell captain in WA.  1956 Senator John F. Kennedy speaks at a Conference on Vietnam luncheon.  1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. finishes writing his I Have A Dream Speech the night before the march.

The hotel had a gorgeous lobby.  The view from our room was much prettier at night.  First hotel I've ever stayed at with a doorbell on the door.

 The first day we went through a couple of the Smithsonian museums - American History and Natural History.  We enjoyed both museums a great deal and each had our favorite exhibits to see.  I would say my favorites were the First Lady's Exhibit which included the dinnerware chosen by each First Lady as well as the Julia Child exhibit but also enjoyed Faith Bradford's dollhouse.  As well as this sewing kit, from a soldiers supplies they carried in war also known as their "housewife".

My favorite gown in the First Lady Exhibit belonged to Caroline Scott Harrison (1889-1892).  She was praised for her modest wardrobe (not sure about that looking at this dress) and her inaugural gown and the rest of her wardrobe were made in the United States (I applaud this).

My favorite dinnerware pattern was the set ordered by Eleanor Roosevelt (1933-1945) made by Lenox.

Bill was all about the War exhibits, the steel columns from the World Trade Center and the automotive exhibits also in the American History Museum.  Keith - well he was all about the dinosaurs in the Natural History museum but Bill and I also found things to appreciate as well.  Bill was all about the big elephant as you walk in and for me it was all about the jewels.

This is the Hope Diamond and the tiara was given by French Emperor Napolean to his 2nd wife, Empress Marie Louise.  Stunning!   I also found these thimbles (1625-1650) and straight pins (Late 17th Century).

These are just a very small sampling of the things that delighted us on our first full day in Washington DC.  I will admit to purchasing a photo album that will hold 200 photos with room for journaling for each picture and my first attempt to condense my 1900+ photos down to the 200 was a dismal failure.  It looks like I will be buying a second book to condense down to 400 photos after all I do need to be fair and include those photos that are favorite of Bill and Keith's as well.

I've finished another cross-stitch project since last post and it is already at the framers.  I took my stitching along to DC and actually ended up with a 1/2 day to stitch as Bill had a migraine one morning.  I also started another small project while there.  I've also started working again on my WIP by Primitive Hare which is Red Riding Hood.

 Well, off to get some work done.  I will continue to catch up and share my vacation over the next several posts.

The Year To Finish The Unfinished!

Unlike many of you who consider their stitching year to run from January 1 to December 31 my stitching year runs from the last Saturday of July to the last Friday of July before that Saturday.  I know this seems a bit odd to you but it really makes sense.  My stitching year revolves largely around what I will be entering in the Iowa State Fair competition each summer.  As items have to be dropped off the last Saturday of July for competition, my last day to finish anything is the last Friday of July before that Saturday.  I actually start looking for inspiration for Christmas gifts and Fair entries during the Fair.  I check out blogs, look at newsletters, go through my stash and WIP during the month of August.  This year I'm taking the advice of my friend, Laura who volunteers at Fabrics and Threads during the Fair and have printed out the list of all classes I can enter projects.  She recommends as I finish an item Fair worthy that I mark it off that list so that the next thing I stitch I will pick something that will fit another class.  Smart idea as sometimes I end up with 2 or 3 items done but unfortunately they all fit the same class and you can only enter 1 item per class.  I am pleased embarrassed surprised to say that for the first time ever I picked up a piece from the framer during the Fair that is an entry for next year's Fair.  It was a fluke really as it was a design the shop owner knew I would love - which I did - and stitched it up quickly.  She found the perfect molding to make a frame in her back room and it turned out so FABULOUS that it has to be an entry for next year!  I'm moving right along on my 2nd finish for the 2014 Fair as I write.

As you noticed from the post title, it appears this year is going to be a year to finish the unfinished.  This is a picture of the baby afghan I started for my dear friend, Margo's first grandchild.  We lived in the same gated community while stationed in the Air Force in WA and her little girl has grown into a lovely young woman who is going to be a mom for the first time.  I started crocheting this back in the winter or spring (so long ago I can't remember) but set myself a goal to finish it before we left for vacation and get it mailed to Canada before August ran out.  I hunkered down yesterday and crocheted the last skein and a half of yarn and finished it just shortly after 10:00 pm last night.  As we do not know the baby's gender I chose a baby yarn in white with specks of blue, pink, yellow and green throughout.  I chose a ripple pattern and the finished size is 41" x 48".  I like to make my afghans big enough to wrap a baby in during the winter and so when they grow into toddlers they can still use the afghan as do many of my midwest crocheting friends. 

I'm currently working on another unfinished project (my 2nd 2014 Fair project) that I'm looking forward to transferring to my finish pile.  I started this one years ago (2008) and kept running into it this past year while looking for other things.  It was just begging to be finished so have been working on it the past couple of weeks.  This is Live, Laugh, Love by LaDDa.  I've changed all 3 thread colors.  It was charted for Gloriana Silk or DMC but I opted for overdyed threads.  For GS Charcoal I'm using CC Blackbird; for GS Slate Green I'm using CC Camouflage; for GS Red Clay I'm using GA Weathered Barn.  I'm still trying to decide if I'm stitching it on a piece of Lakeside Linen (I'm pretty sure it is) and if it is I'm thinking it is 32 count.  The more I stitch it the more I like it.  I think the alphabet used really adds to the design's overall look.

I've also pulled out a piece I started more year's ago that I care to remember.  I started it on a piece of fabric that I'm pretty sure is Cashel and I HATE STITCHING ON CASHEL.  I'm sure that is why I've not made any progress on it.  Keith and I took a little trip to Stitch n Frame last Saturday afternoon and I've chosen an entirely new fabric to stitch it on.  I'm hoping to put the first stitches into it sometime this weekend to see if I think this fabric will work.  A totally different fabric which will give it an entirely different look than what the designer did.  I know the floss toss looks great on the fabric so am keeping my fingers crossed that it will look as good stitched.

On the reading front I'm still plugging my way through Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson.  In the meantime I picked up Shattered by Karen Robards and have to say it was a pretty good mystery for me as I did not guess who did the crime.  I usually do once all the characters are introduced so this makes 2 in my lifetime that I have not figured out once the cast of characters was introduced.  I read the thing in 3 days time.  I realized book club for the 2013-2014 year starts next month so am starting Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal which is our September discussion.  I've decided I will take October's selection with me on vacation which is The Passing Bells by Phillip Rock (think Downtown Abby).  I think it sounds like the perfect thing for evenings at the hotel after a long day of walking.

Tonight is date night a night early.  Bill and I are going to see Two Guns tonight which has been on our to see list for awhile.  Last date night (last Friday) was spent at the Fair.  We ended up sitting down at the Bill Riley stage and watched a free show with a hypnotist.  Funny - I'm talking serious belly laughs for an entire hour.  I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard for that long.  

A Evening Fundraiser!

This past week my friend, Mary coordinated a fundraising event for 5K for 5Charities at the Social Canvas.  This event received a portion of our fee that gets divided amongst 5 local charities.  It was SO MUCH FUN!  You should have heard the ladies rocking out to Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Bad Name!  

Upon arrival the instructor and I decided we knew each other but for the life of us neither one could figure out from where.  We had a good laugh when about 3/4 of the way through the event she figured out that she used to the work at the coffee shop I frequent.

I used my panoramic mode to get the entire inside of the facility.

When you arrive you don an apron, fill up your cardboard pallet with the paints and select a work station already set up with your canvas and brushes.  You mix your colors on the paper covering the table throughout the evening.  You get to know your neighbor as there is not much space between stations. 

Here I am creating the first layer of my "masterpiece".

What I love about this class is even though we are painting the same piece - not one of them looks the same.  Belinda's is on the left, mine is in the middle and Mary's is on the right.

Second layer on and again our trees looking nothing alike.  Belinda left, mine center, Mary right.

Finished pieces and again nothing alike.  Belinda left, mine middle, Mary right.

If you take a good look at mine, there is one circle with a heart in it, as Keith already had claimed this for his before I left the house.  I also think there is a huge monster hovering in the background as it appears there are eyes staring out at you midway down the painting.

Here we all our on stage together for our class photo.  Belinda left, Mary middle, me right.

Here is Keith admiring his new art acquisition.  I feel very loved and appreciated!