In Which I Enjoy Summer

Greeting from sunny Virginia! It's near 90 degrees, breezy, with big puffy clouds slowly drifting in the blue, blue sky. Summer school is finished! FREEDOM!! FREEDOM!!!!!

As I am incapable of moving without coughing up a lung, and my car is temporarily out of commission, I am enjoying the summer breezes from my front porch, reading detective stories while drinking tall glasses of iced tea, and the occasional fudgesicle. At least, until it's time for more Robitussin.

In Which I Go to the LIbrary

I went to the Library of Congress today. It's really big. Mind-bogglingly big. It has over 160 million books. And it's very ornate. It's also quite, quite funny. Did you know there is a painting

on the ceiling of the second floor of Greek athletes playing baseball? And a matching one at the end of the hall of Greeks playing football? There are also little naked cherubs in the Renaissance style working as electricians and carpenters and talking on the telephone on the stairwells. Americans are very strange sometimes.

I went on the docent-led tour, which only scratches the surface of things to look at. I could easily spend an entire day there, but as I had already spent an hour at the Museum of American History to see Dorothy's ruby slippers, two hours was all I could manage.

I also went to Eastern Market to try and get a crab cake sandwich, but I was too late. Understandable, as I was mesmerized by Thomas Jefferson's working draft of The Declaration of Independence. Eastern Market is not worth the trip, unless you happen to be visiting the neighborhood (which is very pretty. When I make my millions, I am going to live there, and spend weekends at my plantation on the Potomac River). Boston's market is much much cooler, both temperature-wise and in what it has to offer. I do wish I could have tried the crab cakes, though. I love them, and the strip mall chain restaurants of Northern Virginia do not offer them.

In Which I Visit Hogwarts and Engorge Marshmallows

Hi Everyone! It's been a while. I went away for a bit, and now I'm teaching summer school, so I've been busy. I visited Hogwarts. Really. Well, at least the sets for Hogwarts. This is the flying car from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I sat in Hagrid's chair, and felt the evil breath of a Dementor. I stood under the floating candles in the Great Hall, and spent some time in detention in Umbrage's office!

How did you spend your July 4th holiday? I spend mine blowing up extra-large marshmallows. It is curiously satisfying.

Happy Birthday To Me

My birthday was this weekend. It was a fun time. On Friday, one of my wonderful co-workers baked me not one, but 2 cakes!!!! Plus ice cream and lemonade! We had a little party at the end of the day, and I ate a lot of cake.

On Saturday, which was my official birthday, I went to the National Zoo. I saw the pandas, and the red panda, a hippo (it was HUGE), rare reptiles, monkeys, elephants, zebras, and a really big anaconda. Also a lizard who fell asleep while eating lunch. It's a very pretty zoo. Most of the animal habitats are large and look comfortable. The grounds are shady and easy to walk. A lot of people from the neighborhood were there jogging (the weather was sunny and warm). It was a great way to spend the day. Then I went home and ate Harry & David chocolate mousse cake (thanks mom!).


Red Panda

Big Anaconda!!!!!

Pandas!!!!!!



Sleepy Lizard forgot to wash his face......



Today I went hiking at Lake Accotink. It's a nice park, with a trail that goes around the lake. Then I stayed to watch the cardboard boat regatta. Really. People build boats out of cardboard, then try to see whose boat goes the fastest and farthest before it sinks. There are themes, like Pirate boats, sofa-boats, Barbie boats (built by a troop of Girl Scouts), and family teams. It was really fun to watch. I didn't stay for the whole thing. I didn't bring my camera with me, and I wish I had.

In Which I Am on Radio

I was on the radio on Saturday night, broadcast around the nation, listened to by millions of people. Well, to be accurate, I was one of many. I went to hear Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion, live from Wolf Trap National Park. Wolf Trap is an outdoor theater, and it was a perfect night to sit out on the lawn. It was sunny, breezy, mid-80's. The lawn was packed with families and couples and friends and all kinds of people of all ages. People brought picnic baskets and ate dinner while waiting for the show to start. The show is even better in person than on the radio. If you ever get the chance to see it live, I recommend it!

On Friday night, I spent a Night at the Museum. Sort of. I went to Mount Vernon, which is George Washington's estate. When I retire with my billions, I'm going to buy one just like it (but in a state that makes sense). Mount Vernon usually closes to visitors at 5 pm, but this weekend, it was open from 6-9pm, so it was a Night at Mount Vernon. In the museum, real people stood in among he displays and "came to life" as tours went through. Mount Vernon is a stunning estate during the day, but it is truly lovely at twilight, with the walkways lit by lanterns.

My last exploration of the weekend was learning to cook a new dish. I learned to make onigiri, which is Japanese rice balls. Mine are a little uneven, but they taste ok!

In Which I Meet the Lees

I went hiking at Leesylvania State park today. It was pretty good weather: cool and cloudy, but good for walking. Leesylvania (which means "Lee's Woods") is an interesting place. It's on the land owned by the prominent Lee family of Virginia, way back in the late 1700's. If you've seen the musical 1776, Richard Henry Lee was a member of that family. The land is right on the Potomac River, hilly, green, and isolated. Well, not now. Now it's in the middle of new housing developments.

One of the trails, about 2 miles long, goes past 11 historic markers, including ruins of original houses. I will admit that Virginia has a lot of interesting history.

In Which it is Summer

Today the temperature reached 86 degrees. Tomorrow it will be up to 90. It's very confusing to me. It's not supposed to be warm yet! I'm going to have to buy more clothes for work. I have 20 sweaters, but wool is not preferable right now. I want to sit on the porch and read novels, not go to work.

I took the Praxis II exam for teacher certification on Saturday morning. It's the last one I had to take. I did pass the other 3 required tests. I got completely lost trying to get to the tiny office building/college in downtown Arlington where the test was held, and then got a written warning from a police officer when I made a U-turn illegally trying to find a place to park. It was a fun morning, let me tell you. I really wished I could have stayed home and sat in the yard, soaking up the heat.

Fortunately, in the afternoon, I went to the Air and Space Museum Udar-Hazt building. Or Udpar-Hazy. Or is it Upuir-Hazhy? It's a big hanger with lots of antique airplanes and an observation tower. I saw the Enola Gay, which dropped the atomic boms in WWII. I saw some of the earliest planes. I saw a big shiny plane from the '50's, which looks like something that Indiana Jones would have flown in. I saw the Space Ship Enterprise (really!), but not Captain Kirk. I also got a nice picture of the Washington-Dulles airport from the observation tower.

On another note:

In the May edition of Smithsonian Magazine (which I obtained with my shiny-new membership card), I learned an interesting fact about Rochester, NY. On May 16, 1939, the USDA started the first food stamps program in an effort to get surplus food from the farmers to the urban poor. The program ended in 1943, but it was the first in the nation.