Meeting for Siberia

Jodi will be going to Yakutsk next summer to speak at Yakut TESOL and George, Susan, and I met to share our experiences there with her. Larissa, President of the affiliate, arranged this meeting and George made the arrangements for our lunch at Le Tomate in Dupont Circle.

 Jodi, Larissa, Susan, and George

Christine, Larissa, Susan, and George

We had a lovely time together sharing experiences both in the US and in Yakutsk.

Two Pianists

I met George, Mike, and Sue at Epiphany for the weekly concert. It was extraordinary.

Two pianists performed on one piano. They were Elizabeth Hill and Jason Solounias.

They played the following:

• Overture from Gazebo Dances by John Corigliano
• from Legends, Op. 59 by Antonio Dvorak 
• Petite Suite, L. 65 (En bateau, Cortege, Menuet, and Ballet) by Claude Debussy
• from Six Morceaux, Op.. 11 (Barcavolle, Scherzo, and Valse) by Sergei Rachmaninov
• Danse macabre, Op. 40 by Camille Saint-Saens

Afterwards we went to Au Bon Pain for lunch. I had something fun - a pumpkin croissant and a fruit cup.

I forgot about photos until Susan had left so she is unfortunately missing from the photo.

Mike and George at Au Bon Pain 

This sign was lit up at every Metro station. Go, Nats!

Cookies for Nats

VICTORY!

NATS 12

ASTROS 3

Halfway to winning the World Series: Two games down, two games to go! 

Barbara and I went to the Alexandria Pastry Shop for lunch today.

To celebrate the Nats' victory, I wanted to savor a delicious cookie for dessert.

I asked the man in the photo below if there were any baseball cookies. He went into the kitchen and returned from the kitchen with these freshly-baked very special cookies.

Barbara did not approve! She does not approve of desserts in general and she thought the cost outrageous. Each cookie cost $5.00. For me it was well worth every penny. It was a victory cookie and I enjoyed every crumb. (We can't always worry about calories and money, can we?)

I will eat an entire cake when we win the World Series! (Don't tell Barbara!)

GO, NATS! GO, NATS! 

Tuesday Again!

It had become a tradition - every Tuesday a concert at Epiphany with George and sometimes others.

The performer was Tom Gamble, Guitarist.

See his program below.

 George

Christine

Program

Spain - Chick Corea arr. Gamble

Choro da Saudade - Agustin Barrios Mangore

Two Sonatas - Domenico Scarlatti

Wild Mountain Thyme - Traditional arr. Gamble

Un Dia de Novembre - Leo Brouwer

Jiffy Jam - Jerry reed

Yesterday - Lennon/McCartney, arr. Takemitsu

Two Bossa Nova Songs - Antonio Carlos Jobim

From Milan

Adriano and Claudia out to dinner in Milan

Note Claudia's small hand. Does anyone else with small hands come to mind? I hope they are not related. Horror of horrors!

Sunday Visit

Marcello and Christian paid us a visit today. Arthur prepared penne all'arrabbiata for lunch.

We watched the Skins lose on a rain-drenched field. Miserable weather. Miserable game. Glad to watch the game from our warm, dry living room!

Christian 

 Arthur the Chef

Marcello

Another 18th

Remembering Andrea

45 18ths

Victory for the Home Team!

Janet and John are very happy Nats fans! We had just punched our ticket to the World Series. They were there to live the event. Lucky!

Dance

George and I met at the Church of the Epiphany for a delightful program performed by the Word Dance Theater.

The word word refers to the surname of the Artistic Director, Cynthia Word. I was tricked by this. I expected a performance including music, dance, and spoken language.

Word Dance Theater pays homage to Isadora Duncan's technique, philosophy and revolutionary spirit, pushing the performing arts to new limits.

In the photo above you can see some of the dancers. I know, I know. Not a great photo but I was in the back row and this was taken after the performance. You can make out two dancers - one in an orange gown on the left and the other in red on the right.

What struck me the most was the grace of the dancers. How they moved their bodies with such lightness and beauty to some beautiful classical music as well as the French National Anthem.

We went next door to Au Bon Pain for lunch. I regret that I forgot to take photos of the two of us.

PROGRAM

PROLOGUE; PROCESSIONAL

Figlio Perduto by Sara Brightman
Twirling Mazurka by Frederick Chopin

CELEBRATING THE CENTENNIAL OF THE 19th AMENDMENT/WOMEN'S RIGHT TO VOTE

Call to Arms
La Marseilles
Revolutionary Etude (Etude in D-sharp minor, Op. 8, No. 12 by A. Scriabin)
Prelude No 22 by Frederick Chopin

Women's Sisterhood
Classic Duet (German dance, D. 783, No 10 by Franz Schubert)
Slow Mazurka (Mazurka in A Minor, Op. 17, No. 4 by F. Chopin)

DANCES TO CHOPIN

Death and the Maiden (Chopin)

Orientale (Chopin)

Berceuse (Chopin)

FINALE

Prelude in B Flat (Sergei Rachmaninoff)

Cappuccino Al Fresco

Yesterday I met my friend at Linda at our usual meeting place, Panera on Rolling Road. It was a rather chilly day but we opted for a table outside because it was about 30 degrees cooler inside.

As usual we had an interesting and thoughtful conversation.

I indulged myself in a cappuccino and a pumpkin muffie.

My artistically-decorated cappuccino 

In the photo above you will see me in my baseball outfit (Go, Nats!) with my pumpkin muffie in one hand and the extraordinary novel Searching for Nora, a sequel to Ibsen's A Doll's House, in the other.

On the Island with Robin

I met my friend Robin on Kent Island on the Chesapeake Bay. We had lunch at our usual haunt, Annie's.

A view from the restaurant

I was, of course, all buzzed up about the Nationals' victory last night. And excited about the Yankees, too.

My Dream World Series: Nats vs Yankees. Here I  am in my baseball outfit with Robin:

Robin and Chris

Note that I am wearing my Nats shirt and my Yankees cap. You cannot see my earrings, however: one Nats earring and one Yankees earring!

Robin and I had a lovely three-hour lunch. Lots and lots of talking. We covered a lot of ground! (We tried to avoid talking about the illegitimate man in the WH but he tended to dominate our thoughts.)

She and I have been friends for ages - since 5th grade in Oakwood, Ohio.

Portraits

I invited my art historian friend Liz to join me at The Reach to view George W. Bush's Portraits of Courage exhibit.

I was curious to see his portraits of wounded warriors. I found them to be interesting for a novice artist.

Here are some examples:

After viewing the exhibit, Liz and I had a nice lunch in the Kennedy Center Cafe.

Liz, Renowned Art Expert

This exhibit is a traveling one and may travel around for years. If you are a Democrat (as I am, of course), don't hold off. Visit this exhibit if you have the chance. Stop and think about Bush's relationship with the military, both as Commander-in-Chief and artist. What is the connection?

Andrea, War Protester 

Andrea and I went to the Mall to protest the Iraqi war with our friends George and Dal.

Tuesday Concert

Another wonderful Tuesday concert at the Church of the Epiphany: 

French Music for Piano, Four-Hands

Darya Gabay and Hyeweon Gessner

(see the program below)

Lunch at Au Bon Pain after the concert

George

Christine

I had a delicious Harvest Pumpkin soup and a pumpkin croissant.

 (One must take advantage of pumpkin specials while there are pumpkins around.)

THE PROGRAM

Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun by Claude Debussy (arranged by M. Ravel, 1894) 

Sonata for Piano, Four Hands by Francis Poulenc

Prelude, Rustique, Final

The Carnival of the Animals by Charles-Camille Saint-Saens

1. Introduction and Royal March of the Lion

2. Hens and Roosters

3. Wild Donkeys and Swift Animals 

4. Tortoise

5. The Elephant

6. Kangaroos

7. Aquarium

8. Characters with Long Ears

9. The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods

10. Aviary

11. Pianists

12. Fossils

13. The Swan

14. Finale

Baseball Fans

In place for the Play Off games

My Adorables are huge baseball fans. They love the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals. Will these teams meet in the World Series? It would be a dream!

Elegance in Dining

John and I were invited to lunch at the Ontario, guests of  George, the Host Extraordinaire.

We began with a choice of two remarkable cheeses, Amish Blue and Brie, served with sweet purple grapes and harvest whole wheat crackers.

The main course was a most incredible eggplant lasagna, the very best for a vegetarian like me. It melted in my mouth. Out of this world!

The final course was a bowl of delicious assorted fresh fruits.

The conversation was, as always, interesting, in particular, John's account of his recent trip to Europe where he visited several special cities: Amsterdam, Prague, Munich, Salzburg, and Budapest.

Chef George

 Guest John

(I may post a photo of myself if the one John took improves my looks.)

Birthday Lunch

Today Barbara, Marie,  and I celebrated Marie's birthday with her at Le Pain Quotidien (at the corner of F and 10th NW). A wonderful meeting of friends!

 The Birthday Girl (who doesn't look a day over 30)

Barbara

Posing in her new French linen scarf

A delicious lemon tart was shared by the ladies.

Barbara drank coffee out of a beautiful orange bowl.