In Which I Go Back to Work

School starts for teachers tomorrow. I think I am ready to go back. This is the first time in several years that I've had the same position two years in a row, so I'm really excited to have some idea of what to prepare for!

It was a very nice summer. I got to visit lots of relatives and travel to NY, Boston, NJ, Chicago. I had company down, and I bought a new dining room table (which I haven't put together yet). Here are some pictures of what I did in Boston. They were all taken at the Museum of Fine Arts:

In Which I Travel

I drove up to Boston and back with my brother this month. It was a long drive with a lot of traffic. Next time, I will take the train. But we took a lot of pictures of bridges. On my way home, I sat in traffic for hours and hours and hours ( no joke). I took lots of pictures of bridges out the windows. I guess everyone needs a hobby....

Peaches!

My sister came down to visit. I made a peach pie. It was a work of art. Here it is, in a still life I call "Still Life with Peach Pie, Cat, and Goldfish Bowl.

In Which I go Wild

We went to the National Botanical Gardens yesterday. It was about 90 degrees, so we were really hot. It's a very beautiful garden, and there are lots of interesting plants. I was in danger of becoming my Aunt Ruth, who went on tours of Europe and took only pictures of flower boxes and shrubs. In spite of all the plants, I was not able to find an example of a tree that intrigued my father. I was hoping to take a picture and post it here, and hope someone knew what it was. There were no examples in the gardens. I bet someone there would know. However, we did find the rose garden, and saw chili plants in full peppering (flowering?). Here we are in the children's garden.

In Which the Guard Changes

We went on a tour of Arlington National Cemetery. There is not a lot of ceremony in American culture. One of the few places that clings to ceremony is the military. I was glad to see that there was definitely respect shown for those who fought and died while in military service. While I may not always support a war or military spending or arms proliferation, I do respect those who are or were in the military. We went to the tomb of the unknown soldier, and saw the changing of the guard. Pictures are allowed, as long as spectators are standing and are silent.

In Which Family Makes News

My family came down to visit this past week. We went to the Newseum. I highly recommend it if you are ever in D.C. It has newspapers going back to the beginning of newspapers! I saw the first article mentioning baseball; one about Blackbeard, the pirate; one printed on wallpaper when printing paper was too scarce; and one about the death of Jesse James. There were prize-winning photographs, and an exhibit of journalists injured or killed in the line of duty. There was a moving ehibit about 9/11, and several pieces of the Berlin Wall. I could have spent at least another hour there just looking at the collection of antique newspapers.

In Which I Visit Family

Hi all,

I spent a week in NY at the beginning of the month. It was sooooo nice to get away. I spent time with family, saw lots and lots of friends, and got to visit with my grandparents. Hi grandparents! I miss you! I do not have any pictures to post. The weather was cool and cloudy. I forgot how cloudy it is! I have gotten used to sunshine all the time.