24 Years Ago Today

Look at that look on Jim's face....didn't HE just catch the canary!? :)

More Flower Firsts

First purple clematis.

Memorial Day Prayers, No. 3

Prayer for our nephew Andy, in Iraq

Memorial Day Prayers, No. 2

Prayer for our nephew Andy's unit in Iraq.

Memorial Day Prayers, No. 1

For us all, especially the troops in Iraq:

"Help! Stop the War!"

Gastronomic Events to Celebrate Our 24th Anniversary

It's our 24th on Tuesday. I'm not sure what else we are going to do, we're playing it more or less by ear, but tonight we are having dinner, compliments of our friend Cana and her Head Chef husband, at Neyla (http://www.neyla.com/), in Georgetown; tomorrow we're having a complimentary Brunch at The O Street Mansion (http://www.omansion.com/events/), where we got married; Monday night it's our traditional 1789 (http://www.1789restaurant.com/main/index.shtml) celebratory anniversary dinner. Tuesday I will make a lovely little intimate champagne dinner for us at home.

First Purple Iris

First Peony

Sunday to Sunday

What a week and a day it was!

Highpoints:

Return of "The Dinner Party." Got a beautiful Mother's Day card from my friend and adopted daughter Kay, and the gift of the dvd "The Making of Judy Chicago's 'Dinner Party,'" the video of which I had had for several years while I was teachingat Mount Vernon College, but had lent the year it was closed to a former student and had never gotten back. On Mother's Day I watched it again for the first time in 8 years and remembered how much and why I had loved it so...the story of the making of The Dinner Party is actually more moving in many ways than the work of art itself.

Safety Meeting at the Chevy Chase Community Center on Tuesday night. For the first time since I took over as Block Captain again, a few years ago, I actually WANTED to go to the annual Safety Meeting for all the Block Captains at the Center. Will, my Co-Captain, met me there and...surprise, surprise...it wasn't awful! Cathy Lanier, our new Chief of Police, spoke and was very impressive. I can see whyFenty chose her. Dynamic, smart, energetic, warm but no nonsense, a vision for the Department...I don't know who else was in contention, but I can't help but think she had to be the best person for the job. AND, I won the free hair cut at Salon Familia again! Just in time for a summer trim.

The Arrival of Tessa. My roommate from my trip to Crete had emailed a few days earlier to say she was going to be in town for a couple of days on a bit of an emergency visit. Her son, a student at Georgetown Law, had broken his collarbone and needed help packing up for the summer, finishing his papers for classes, etc....However, she wanted to also see us, so we invited her to spend a couple of her nights in our guest quarters. When I got home from the meetinga little after 9, she had just arrived. Although I didn't see much of her on Wednesday and had a big headache to boot so it was just as well, on Thursday morning we visited the Sewall Belmont House and had lunch before I walked her over to Aaron's for another afternoon of helping him get himself together in various ways. She came back on Thursday evening and took us to dinner at the Parthenon, a little genuine taste of Crete and Greece which always reminds us of our trip.

The 4th Congressional Blues Festival (http://www.bluesonthehill.org/) on Wednesday night. Someone in Jim's wide circle of blues fans tipped him off several weeks ago to the fact that Derek Trucks and his band were going to be the featured players at this year's festival and that 50 tickets were reserved for band fans....the first 50 who emailed. He did. We got two! We went! It was a lot of fun. Free music, free drinks, free food...we didn't get the great food in the upscale reception area in the back and when the floor got sticky and the drunks started "dancing," I thought it was time to get going, but fortunately that was near the end, anyhow.

Low point:

We learned that our nephew Andrew, who is in Iraq, had narrowly missed being killed or injured. He is in a unit that guards some muckedy muck and was in the second humvee in a convoy taking him somewhere. The lead humvee hit an ied and was, of course, destroyed, killing two of his comrades and blowing the leg off his best friend, who has since had to have his second leg also removed due to excessive infection. It's hard not to just stay upset about the whole thing all the time. We really need to get the hell out of Iraq. Even disregarding the deaths and injuries, they don't want us there and we can't afford it.

Exciting news for "The Girls:"

A few days before all of this, we had learned that we will be going to New York City! The Phoenix Gallery (http://www.phoenix-gallery.com/) has invited Girls Gotta Run to have an exhibit this September in their Project Room, so after we worked out all the details, we drafted and sent out a letter to "our" artists and this past week we worked on the entry form/exhibition agreement and finally got that squared away and sent to the artists who requested it.

Low key week-end:

After all of this, we had to have a low key week-end. Jim had a lot of work piled up at the office so spent most of Saturday there. I watched the Preakness with some neighbors and then they and I had dinner at Arucola, since I was craving mussels, and brought a gyro sandwich back from Parthenon forJim, who didn't get home until after 8.

Jim and I did go out for breakfast, mom's favorite, at the Diner yesterday a.m. and then perused a few of the neighborhood porch sales before taking a long walk in Rock Creek Park.

This week should be slower, but I do have a meeting tomorrow about the new Gender EquityExpert Handbook, my copy of which I am still expecting in the mail any day now and tomorrow night I have a neighborhood University of Maryland alumnae get together for people who have graduated from my doctoral program. This is the first one of these they have done and I'm looking forward to both of these events.

Today...we'll see! Finishing touches to the Sewall Belmont House and Museum painting as Amy Conroy, the Director, is stopping by early tomorrow evening to pick it up...laundry...tidying...have to get myself together to see what I need to do. Off the top of my head, I can't remember. However, it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, so I'm determined to have a lovely day.

The Backyard Birdhouse

After several years of not very many birds in the neighborhood, the are finally back big time again this Spring. I bet no one needs an alarm clock! I thought it would be fun to have a bird family live in our backyard so got a house from the Audobon Society. This one features a squirrel guard so they can't get in there by chewing around the hold and eat the bird's eggs or kill the babies. For a long time I didn't think it would ever get a family and then just gave up hope, but yesterday when I walked by I noticed the nest and when I came back awhile later, an actual bird was looking out at me. She flew away, though, before I could get her picture so I just got a photo of the nest.

My Giant White Clematis

growing on the fence between our house and Kathleen's bloomed yesterday.

I Think It's Done!

The portrait of the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum, to be raffled at a fundraiser for the House on June 12. It's 11" by 14."

Work in Progress, Almost Done!

Seen From My Front Porch This Morning

Work in Progress, Portrait of the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum

This is the portrait so far. I've got a ways to go. I'm thinking I'll put a banner on the front steps saying "Votes for Women." It is to be raffled at a Sewall-Belmont House and Museum fundraiser in June. It is 11" by 14."

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

This is my new triptych "Please Help the Girls" for Girls Gotta Run. It's a little dark. Sorry.

It's been awhile since I've posted. Besides painting this and having it matted by my friend Jackie Sunday at the Chevy Chase Gallery, I've had a lot going on, including a lovely day trip to visit the Arlington Arts Center (http://www.arlingtonartscenter.org/) and the Ellipse Arts Center (http://www.arlingtonarts.org/ellipseartscenter.htm) (both in Virginia) exhibits and spaces with my friend and GRRF Board member Beth Cartland a week ago Wednesday, a birthday party last Saturday afternoon, and a brainstorming meeting with the program committe for the Sewall Belmont House and Museum (http://www.sewallbelmont.org/) this past Wednesday night. But I've also spent a lot of time working on a portrait of the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum for a fundraising event they are having in mid-June. I also sent off the painting "Homage to Albrecht's Superior View" and got this message a day or so ago from Matt Weber, the Alumnae Director at Northland College:

"The picture got here today and it is wonderful! You have received a lot of great compliments and everyone in the office is lining up to get a chance to win it."