The Adorable Arrival

 I have some wonderful news to share! I have become a great-grandmother, thanks to Vea.

Little Vea arrived in July, the daughter of my grandson Arthur and Charlene. 

Here is one of the very first photos of dear sweet Vea. More will follow.

A Lovely Afternoon on Campus

 I went to Charlottesville with Marcello and Michelle to visit Christian, who is now a junior at the University of Virginia (UVA). It was a lovely day and Christian was a wonderful guide. He already knows this historic town very well.

More text to follow accompanied with photos.

Happy Birthday, Thomas Jefferson, Founder of the University of Virginia!

Christian and Mima waiting for lunch

Museum Visit with Christian

 What a fun day! Christian and I went to see an exhibit at the Phillips Collection. We took the Metro from Springfield to Dupont Circle and walked a few blocks to my favorite museum in D.C.

The Exhibit 

Giuseppe De Nittis, An Italian Impressionist in Paris

Christian at the entrance to the Phillips Collection

Here are some of our favorite works in the exhibit.

Breakfast in the Garden

Promenade Hivernale

Snow Effect

When we saw that the Cafe had reopened, we decided to stop in for lunch.

 (Christian was not hungry, however, so he watched me eat!)

 

Christine in the Cafe

Then we came back to Springfield and stopped at one of Christian's favorite places in Springfield,

the Sandwich Republic. 

He ordered a sandwich for his lunch, and I ordered one for my dinner and lunch.

A brief bio of the artist (from Wikipedia)  

De Nittis was born in Barletta, in the region of Apulia, where he lived with his family in the wealthiest district of the city near the intersection of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the Corso Garibaldi, just around the corner from the birthplace of another famous painter and contemporary, Geremia Discanno.

Barletta at the time of the Bourbons, and in particular during the reign of Ferdinand II, nicknamed the "Bomb King" for having his own subjects cannonaded, was an extremely class-oriented city and those who could afford it gathered regularly near De Nittis' home beneath the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher with its bronze Colossus of Heraclius in front. Situated on the Adriatic coast, Barletta's port thrived as a point of embarkation for the privileged travelling to or returning from the east.

His father, Raffaele, was a wealthy landowner who could afford to send his son to study under Giovanni Battista Calò, who tutored other notable Barlettan painters including Vincenzo De Stefano, Giuseppe Gabbiani, and Raffaele Girondi. But, Raffaele was publicly outspoken in his opposition to the Bourbon monarchy and support for the unification of Italy, so was imprisoned for two years. Still, Giuseppe managed to gain admittance to the Reale Instituto di Belle Arti, a university-level art school in Naples founded by King Charles VII of Naples in 1752. Like his father, though, Giuseppe openly spoke his mind, resulting in his expulsion from the Institute in 1863 for insurbordination. After his expulsion, he launched his career with the exhibition of two paintings at the 1864 Neapolitan Promotrice. De Nittis came into contact with some of the artists known as the Macchiaioli, becoming friends with Telemaco Signorini, and exhibiting in Florence. He also renewed his acquaintance with his former neighbor, Geremia Discanno, and both De Nittis and Discanno exhibited in Turin in 1867 and sold work there.

Place des Pyramides, 1875

In 1867 he moved to Paris and entered into a contract with the art dealer Adolphe Goupil which called for him to produce saleable genre works. After gaining some visibility by exhibiting at the Salon he returned to Italy where, feeling free to paint from nature, he produced several views of Vesuvius.

In 1872 De Nittis returned to Paris and, no longer under contract to Goupil, achieved a success at the Salon with his painting Che freddo! (It's So Cold!) of 1874 (Private collection). In that same year he was invited to exhibit at the first Impressionist exhibition, held at Nadar's. The invitation came from Edgar Degas, who was a friend of several Italian artists residing in Paris, including Telemaco Signorini, Giovanni Boldini and Federico Zandomeneghi. De Nittis was not accepted by all of the Impressionists, and did not participate in their subsequent exhibitions.

A trip to London resulted in a number of Impressionistic paintings. In 1875 De Nittis took up pastels, which became an important medium for him in his remaining years and which he helped popularize.^[1] Back in Paris, where his home was a favorite gathering place for Parisian writers and artists, as well as expatriate Italians, he executed pastel portraits of sitters including De Goncourt, Zola, Manet and Duranty. He preferred pastels as the medium for his largest works, such as the triptych entitled Races at Auteuil (1881).

De Nittis exhibited twelve paintings in the Exposition Universelle of 1878, and was awarded a gold medal. In that same year he received the Légion d’honneur.

In 1884, at the age of 38, De Nittis died suddenly of a stroke at Saint-Germain-en-Laye. His wife, the Parisian Léontine Lucile Gruvelle (married in 1869) donated his paintings to the town of Barletta and they are now gathered in the Pinacoteca De Nittis in the Palace of the Marra in the hometown of the painter.

Christmas in Ashburn 2022

 I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the Ashburn Melonis.

CHRISTMAS EVE

Beautiful decorations by Michelle

Colored pebbles and floating candles and candy canes in glass vases

Three kinds of delicious Christmas cookies (homemade)

CHRISTMAS DAY

Colin, Mima, Christian

(How did Mima get so short?)

An Excited Marcello

He received special gifts related to his dream to become a policeman. 

He will undoubtedly, however, remain a wannabe cop. 

He may run for sheriff, however, in the near future (i.e. in 2023).

Christian in his Grammar Police T-Shirt

He, on the other hand, IS a Grammar Policeman.

Think twice before you speak or write anything in his beloved English language.

PREPARING APPETIZERS ON CHRISTMAS DAY

Marcello preparing the cold cuts (prosciutto e salami)

Michelle's Artistry

Memorable Exhibit

 Art and Ideals: President John F. Kennedy

The new exhibit at the Kennedy Center dedicated to JFK

"The life of the arts, far from being an interruption, a distraction, in the life of a nation, is very close to the center of a nation's purpose." - President John F. Kennedy

My friend Janet and I went to visit this extraordinary permanent exhibit in the heart of the J.F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the living memorial to President Kennedy.

Visitors were given the possibility of creating their own portraits, similar to Kennedy's portrait in the Smithsonian's Portrait Gallery's Presidential Portraits Gallery

KENNEDY

JANET

CHRISTINE

I was obviously not looking at the camera!

A Great Day at the NGA

 One of my very favorite places in Washington is the National Gallery of Art. Not only does it have an extraordinary permanent collection, but it also has wonderful special exhibits with artwork from around the globe.

Today I went to the Vittorio Carpaccio exhibit, a blockbuster! It is the first ever retrospective of Carpaccio outside of Italy.

I went with four friends, Giorgio I, Giorgio II, Mike, and John. Here are some photos from this happy and interesting outing.

George, Mike, Christine, and John in front of Carpaccio's Knight

Mike, Christine, Giorgio II, and Giorgio I

Giorgio II is making comments about this painting, The 10,000 Martyrs. A very gruesome painting with these 10,000 crucified individuals. Curious juxtaposition in the lower right of a meeting involving ancient Roman soldiers and Muslim leaders.

More photos will follow as soon as I have uploaded them.

Thanksgiving 2022

I spent a wonderful Thanksgiving at the home of Marcello and his family. 

Here are some photos from Thanksgiving Day and Thanksgiving Friday.

THANKSGIVING DAY 

Mima the Shrimp with Marcello and Colin

Marcello and Colin

Michelle in the Kitchen on Thanksgiving afternoon

DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING

Colin in pajama

Christian with Roxanne

Delicious Norwegian Waffles for Breakfast

Michelle making waffles, using her fancy Norwegian waffle iron

Christian relaxing

Silvia The 18th

 My Italian niece Silvia celebrated her 18th birthday in grand style. It was truly a Birthday Bash!

The Birthday Girl

Silvia with her parents

Note the table with the bombonieri for the guests

Silvia with Francesco, her father

Silvia with her Uncle Maurizio and Bettina

More photos to follow

Birthday Season 2022

 Lunch with the Virginia Richards' Birthday Group

From left to right: Eleanor Richards, Christine, Pat, Pam, Indra

We went to Yindee Thai in Springfield for a delicious Thai lunch. We all had Pad Thai but with different toppings. (I always add tofu.) We then had the luscious little fried cheesecakes decorated with swirls of raspberry sauce for dessert.

Last year we experienced an amazing surprise. When we started to pay our bill, the server told us that someone had left a $100.00 gift card for us. A random act of kindness. We were eating outside, had balloons flying at our table, and were very obviously enjoying ourselves. We found out later that the generous donor was a young couple sitting close to us (with whom we had chatted a bit after they asked us whose birthday it was) and obviously getting a kick out of the excitement of the "old ladies."

We had a balance of $41 so today we each owed $8.18 but left $10.00 each. So - we ended up spending $10 for two delicious Thai meals, one in 2021 and the other in 2022!!

Family Birthday Bonanza in Shirlington Village

 Left to Right: Adriano, Claudia, Colin, Christian, Pima/Mima, Marcello

We had a wonderful celebration for my 81st birthday at T.H.A.I. in Shirlington Village, Arlington, Virginia.

In the photo you see me wrapped in a pink Indian pashmina.

We had the interior of the restaurant all to ourselves, sitting at a large round table which facilitated the group conversation and where it was cool. Everyone else was eating outside in the heat.

After dinner we wandered around the main street soaking up the joyful atmosphere and peeking in shops under the bright illumination shedding a strong glow everywhere along the way.

Lots of fun! Thanks to everyone, especially to our gracious host Marcello.

Visit to Mormon Temple

 

John and I took advantage of the rare opportunity for non-Mormons to enter the Temple in Washington, DC (actually in Kensington, MD).

We were able to participate in a self-guided tour which included the following:

The Blue Period

John O. and I went to the Phillips Collection to view the exhibit of Picasso's Blue Period. I hope to receive some of John's photos. Here are mine of two portraits in the exhibit.

Afterwards, we returned to Springfield and stopped at the Sandwich Republic for delicious sandwiches.

John waiting for our sandwiches

 It was another wonderful D.C. outing with my good friend John.

Afghan Dinner At St. Christopher's

 It has been a long time since I have posted. It is time I start again. I will post regularly but I will first try to do some catching up over the past few pandemic years.

My friend Janet and I went to St. Christopher's for a dinner prepared by an Afghan woman who had to flee Afghanistan when the Taliban took over her country. We heard her tragic story. The food she lovingly prepared for us was delicious, of course! A very nice evening.

Janet

A.J. and Janet            

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

 

The summer before I left for Wells, my mother started taking painting lessons. One day she told me that she wanted to paint something for me to take with me for my dorm room. She asked what my favorite verse of poetry was and I told her that it was the 12th quatrain from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: 

A book of Verses underneath the Bough,

A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread - and Thou

Beside me singing in the Wilderness -

Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!

Dining Out with The Boys

Mima and Marcello

Dessert is always the best part of the meal!

 

Dining Out - Spectacular Desserts

 

Chocolate Cake for Christian

Torta della Nonna for Mima 

and

a Cannolo for Marcello

An Italian Restaurant in Centreville

Ciao, An Italian Restaurant

Mary suggested this restaurant and we ate well.

Indra

Christine