The Italian Store

My husband's favorite food store is the Italian Store in Arlington. This afternoon we went there so that he could buy a selection of antipasti for his birthday party tomorrow.

Here he is, loaded down with delicacies.

Play Ball! T-Ball, that is!

We saw a very exciting game of T-ball at Lions Park in Ashburn this morning. Here are some photos of our very favorite player.

In the pitcher's position

Safe on third

Paula Rego at the National Museum of Women in the Arts

Today I went with my friend Gertraud to see the retrospective of the art of Portuguese painter Paula Rego. Her paintings are very powerful although very strange. She depicts women for the most part as very strong and masculine. To take a look at some of her work, go to this website:

www.nmwa.org/exhibition/detail.asp?exhibitid=169

This exhibit was shown at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. I love this building. I find it one of the most beautiful in Washington.

The marble stairs are splendid. Here is Gertraud descending the staircase from the mezzanine to the first floor.

I also like the concept of this museum. Every work of art in it was created by a woman. I don't think there is another museum in the world dedicated solely to the art of women.

The museum also has a small restaurant. Gertraud and I had lunch there. I had lentil soup and a vegetable hummus sandwich with pita bread. She had a Reuben.


After we left the museum, we went to Praline, a French bakery in Bethesda, to indulge in scrumptious pastries. Gertraud had a tasty apple tart and I had a delightfully refreshing lemon tart. I also enjoyed a cup of organic peppermint tea.

Degas to Diebenkorn at the Phillips

I went to my favorite museum, the Phillips Collection, yesterday with my friend George. We viewed the exhibit "Degas to Diebenkorn: The Phillips Collects."

I liked many of the works of art. My favorites were: "View of Lake Nemi" by Antoine-Felix Boisseller, "The Gulf of Mexico" by David Bates, "Small Branch of the Seine at Argenteuil" by Gustave Caillebotte, "Moonlight on the Osage" by Thomas Hart Benton, and "The Sun and the Moon" by Elizabeth Murray.

This exhibit will be on view until May 25, 2008 so, if you haven't seen i yet, go see it - now! To learn more about it, go to the Phillips Collection website:
http://www.phillipscollection.org/html/exhibits.html

After visiting the museum, we had a delicious Greek lunch at Zorba's. We both had the vegetarian combination platter.

Sons of Norway: Genealogy

Edo's Squid in Richmond, Virginia

Edo's Squid is my husband's very favorite restaurant in the entire United States. Our friend Ron introduced us to this wonderful place. We met Ron there a few weeks ago and had a marvelous lunch. Andrea, of course, ordered the squid!

Andrea savoring the squid

Ron eating pasta with eggplant

Friends and ESL Colleagues

The Newseum: Grand Opening!

My friend Susan and I had hoped to tour the brand new Newseum on its historic opening day, Friday, April 11. We stood in line for about 30 minutes on an absolutely gorgeous day but we were not lucky enough to get tickets. We did feel a part of the excitement, however. We can say We Were There on Opening Day!

What is the Newseum? It is a museum about the history of news. It uses the latest technology and offers lots of hands-on exhibits.

Where is the Newseum? It is located at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street, N.W. between the White House and the U.S. Capitol and very close to the Smithsonian museums on the National Mall.

Is the admission free? Sorry, it's not. Admission is $20 a person.

To find out more about the Newseum, go to http://www.newseum.org/

Bacchus of Lebanon in Bethesda

We had a wonderful meal at this restaurant tonight. The food was delicious and the environment was very pleasant. We were celebrating my husband's birthday.

Christine, Catherine, Dona, Andrea the Birthday Boy