Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Reading Circle August 2013

Marie, Greta, Denise, Christine, and Julie

The Reading Circle of the Washington, DC lodge of the Sons of Norway met to discuss two books, Laurine Snelling's Dakota Dawn and Anne Holt's Blind Goddess. We met at the home of Marie and enjoyed a delicious potluck before discussing the two books.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Invitation to Dinner

Adriano and Lara took us out to dinner one lovely summer evening. Andrea and I chose Assaggi's Osteria in McLean as it is our favorite restaurant in the DC area. It was a special evening!

 Andrea, Claudia, and Chris

 Claudia

 Claudia

 Lara

Adriano and Andrea

Monday, August 12, 2013

Return to My Birthplace

I spent four days in my beautiful hometown of Minneapolis.

I just stopped a minute to reflect. What is the definition of 'hometown'? According to the Oxford dictionary, hometown means "the town where one was born or grew up, or the town of one’s present fixed residence."

Does this mean I can have two hometowns, Minneapolis and Washington, DC, or does it mean I have to choose Minneapolis or Washington as my hometown? This is a question worth reflecting on! For the time being, I will say that I have two hometowns!

The primary purpose of my trip was to visit my dear friend Kirky, who just happens to be my oldest friend. She is not my oldest friend in terms of years but in terms of the length of our friendship. We became close friends when we were in first grade and lived in the same neighborhood (actually in the same block).

MONDAY

We went to dinner at the Bread and Pickle at Lake Harriet. I had the most delicious grilled cheese sandwich! It actually matched the grilled cheese sandwich I had just eaten at Jaleo's in DC. As we munched our sandwiches, we looked out over our beloved lake and felt refreshed.










TUESDAY

Kirky and I met some special Washburn HS friends for lunch at Byerly's. The ever thoughtful Bill graciously gave each one of the ladies a gorgeous rose from his very own rose garden.

                                                               Kay, Kirky, Bill, and Chris

That evening I visited some cousins in St. Paul. On the way over to the "other City," we stopped at Ingebretsen's so that I could buy a doll bunad for my granddaughter Claudia. I had given her a Swedish American Girl doll but I thought this doll should have a Norwegian bunad.

These bunads are a bit pricey ($60.00 plus tax) but they are authentic reproductions and sewn by hand by a local Minneapolis woman. One hopes that these bunads will be handed down and cherished by many generations. 


    The Graffer Bunad from Lom, Norway

First I stopped at my cousin Deb's to see her and her charming husband John. She offered a yummy fruit cup in a chocolate container.





Then I went to my cousin Melissa's for dinner. She has a lovely family and it was a very pleasant evening.  There was a lot of delicious food, most of it grilled. We had great fun talking about our Norwegian roots.


                                            Missy


                        Peter


                                            Sri



                                       Jim


                                    Ane Sofi


                                     Isabella


                                          Laura

 WEDNESDAY

I went out to lunch with my dear friend Ann. We had lunch at Key's in St. Paul and then stopped for a delicious Dairy Queen on the way home.









That evening Kirky and I took a wonderful walk around her jewel of a lake.

 


THURSDAY

On Thursday morning Kirky and I went to the Museum of Russian Art, where we saw a fascinating exhibit on "Women in Soviet Art."





Then we had lunch at Patrick's, a cafe actually located in a Bachman's greenhouse!




  My cousin Susan then stopped by to pick me up to take me to the airport.


I had a wonderful time visiting with Kirky and seeing a few friends and some cousins. Unfortunately I was not able to see everyone I had planned to see. I had to cancel my visits with Lloyd, Mary, and Jill. I ran low on energy because of a severe throat irritation and unfortunately had to curtail my activities. But I look forward to seeing them when I return to my first hometown September 2014.

Friday, August 09, 2013

Lunch with Betsy

My friend Betsy and I had a wonderful lunch today at Jaleo.  We ordered two tapas but also ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. At a Spanish restaurant? Yes! And it was delicious as were the tapas.

 Endive with oranges, goat cheese, and almonds

 grilled cheese with many kinds of cheese on rustic bread and olive oil aioli

Spinach, apples, and pine nuts

 Betsy

Christine

Missing Soldiers Office

Clara Barton is well known for her compassionate service as a nurse on the battlefields of the Civil War. But not everyone knows that, after the war, she worked tirelessly to reunite missing soldiers and their families. Her office was located in Washington, DC. A museum has been established in her office here.

Clara is one of my Towne ancestors. I stopped by this office and met the museum's director. The museum, however, is closed at the present time for renovations. I shall return when it reopens. 



Wednesday, August 07, 2013

The Usual: Museum and Lunch

George and I went to a marvelous exhibit of works of art by Washington artists in the 1940s-1980s at American University. Afterwards we dined at Tara Thai. The food was excellent.

George in front of Tara Thai



Monday, August 05, 2013

Night at Nats Park

It was St. Christopher's annual Night at the Ball Park. There were about 60 of us. I took my camera but forgot to take any pictures. How did that happen?

Andrea and I sat with Perry and Chipo and their parents. We had a great time, especially since the Nats beat the division leaders!!!

Here is the game ticket.


Saturday, August 03, 2013

Cousins At Play



 Claudia and Colin are great buddies. Sometimes they kick back and connect on their I-Pads.






Claudia and Colin also like to draw on Rainbow Scratch paper.



Christian and Colin like to build structures with Lincoln Logs. Claudia enjoys building with them.


Thursday, August 01, 2013

Theater Outing

Andrea and I took three of our grandchildren to Imagination Stage in Bethesda to see an excellent production of "Peter Pan."

 Pima-Mima, Christian, Colin, and Claudia with their gift shop selections

King Christian, Colin with Crok, Andrea, and Claudia with Groovey