Durer Exhibit at the National Gallery of Art

What a wonderful museum visit! George, Liz, Jane, Andrea, and I went to see the extensive Durer exhibit.

 George, Liz, Christine, and Jane pose at the entrance to the exhibit.

 Liz, Christine, Andrea, and Jane in front of an enlarged reproduction 

of one of the most famous of Durer's drawings.

 Jane, Liz, George, and Christine enjoy lunch in the NGA cafeteria.

Jane, Liz, George, and Andrea pose in this photo in the NGA cafeteria.

A Wonderful April Night at Nationals Park

Andrea and I spent a wonderful evening watching the Nats defeat the Reds, 8 to 1. Although it was a very cool evening, we kept warm as there were numerous occasions to jump up and down to cheer for the winning team.

When we first entered the stadium, I looked for the newest president, William Howard Taft, affectionately known as Bill. I snagged him for a photo and, just as a kind woman was about to snap the photo, George Washington rushed into the picture! I think George was jealous because my loyalty should be to GW, not to Taft!

 Andrea, Bill, Chris, and George

Andrea, Teddy Roosevelt, and Chris

In the Presidents' Race, Bill was ahead for most of the race but George beat him in the end.

Here is the score so far this season: 

George has won 7 times, Thomas Jefferson 7, Lincoln 0, 

Teddy 0, and Bill 0.

This is not a great photo but you can get a glimpse of the race.
The five presidents are those little white spots on the warning track heading to the left.

 Andrea had dinner at the stadium, two hot dogs and a beer. So American!

The ball park - See the Capitol? No? Then look at the photo below.

In the shadow of the Capitol

Buon Viaggio to Camilla!

We gathered to wish Camilla "Buon Viaggio." She will leave soon for the Eternal City. We had dinner at the Mediterranean Bistro in Fairfax City. We enjoyed ourselves. The conversation was interesting and, quite often, very amusing! We were delighted to have a special guest from Germany with us.

Dining Outside - La Loma

My dear friend John came to town and invited us to dinner - Andrea & me and Sonia & her family. It was a very pleasant warm evening and we dined at La Loma, a Mexican restaurant on Capitol Hill, half a block from the house where Andrea and I lived on the Hill.

Chris and John

 Sonia, Abraham, and Adam

 John with Abraham and Ava Antonia

Andrea and Chris

La Tasca and "Poetic Likeness: Modern American Poets"

My favorite kind of day - lunch with a good friend in DC and a museum visit!

I met my friend Betsy for lunch at the Spanish restaurant La Tasca.

After lunch I walked across the street to the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery to visit the wonderful Poetic Likeness exhibit. This exhibit featured a painting or a photograph of each (more than one for some of the poets), a selection from a poem, and a biography. I feel inspired! I must go back and reread some of their poetry, e.g. that of T.S. Eliot, Allen Tate, Frank O'Hara, Gertraud Stein, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Hilda Doolittle, Carl Sandberg, Ezra Pound, Langston Hughes, and all of the others!! I don't think I have enough poetry in my life. In high school and college I read a lot of poetry. And even wrote some. 

Betsy and Christine

One of my tapas choices was slices of eggplant with a creamy cheese sauce - delicious!

DC Film Fest - Shun Li and the Poet

Andrea and I went to see one of the four Italian films in the Film Fest, "Shun Li and the Poet." It was a beautiful story about a Chinese immigrant and an Italian poet who tried to befriend her. But the Chinese did not allow her to associate with Italians and the poet's friends did not approve of him associating with the Chinese so their relationship was sadly doomed.

Andrea in front of the Avalon Theater

DC Film Fest - Kon-Tiki

Some of us from the SON Norwegian class went to see the Washington premiere of the Norwegian film, Kon-Tiki. This film was a finalist for an Academy Award in the category of Best Foreign Language Film. We all agreed that it was an excellent film. We were disappointed, however, that it was in English, not in norsk!

 Ingrid, Norbert, Bill, Christine, George

 Ingrid, Norbert, Andres, Bill, George, Andrea

Double Birthday Celebration

The birthdays of Andrea and Marcello are only a few days apart. This year we went to the Olive Garden to celebrate their birthdays together. It was a joyous occasion!

 The Birthday Boys, Marcello and Andrea, and Christian and Colin

 Sylvia and Christine

 Michelle who didn't quite have enough time to put the bag over her head

Andrea's 85th

Our dear friend Dona hosted a wonderful birthday party for Andrea. Here are some views of the happy event. The focus was, of course, the kitchen - eating and talking.

 

Nancy and Tom - Founding Farmers

Andrea and I are always delighted when our dear friends Nancy and Tom come to town. We met them today at one of my favorite DC restaurants, Founding Farmers. We had a delicious lunch but, best of all, we had a wonderful time sharing ideas and experiences and updating each other on ourselves and our families.

 Andrea's enormous turkey sandwich

 Chris' focaccia sandwich with ricotta, pistachio, and dates - delicious!

 Saying good-bye in front of the restaurant

Renaissance Ireland

My friend George and I went to the Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill to visit the "Nobility and Newcomers in Renaissance Ireland" exhibit.

We learned about Ireland in the time of Shakespeare. Did you know that 1541 was a very crucial year in the history of Ireland? It was the year in which King Henry VIII decided to unite the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Ireland under one crown, his. The kingdoms were supposed to be equal with the nobles running the show in their own countries but it turned out otherwise. It was the beginning of the end for Ireland when the English began buying titles to become Irish nobles and committing other ignominious acts.

My great-grandparents, Thomas McGary and Sarah McDurmitt, fled from their homeland during the infamous Potato Famine. One wonders how Ireland would have fared without the outside interference.