Menomale

Andrea and I took Adriano, Lara, and Claudia to Menomale for a pizza. Lara declared hers the best pizza she had ever eaten in the US. It was an authentic Italian pizza!

 

Lara, Adriano, Andrea, Claudia, Chris

Munch Gallery Talk

Mary and I attended a very interesting gallery talk about the great Norwegian painter Edvard Munch. I then took a very preliminary tour of the blockbuster exhibit, "Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes." I will return to view it with more attention.

Mary in front of the exhibit

The Stinky Plant

Washington is all abuzz waiting for the Amorphophallus titanum to bloom. And, when it blooms, it emits a putrid odor. These plants do not have annual blooming cycles. They might bloom every few years or every few decades.

I went to the U.S. Botanic Garden this morning to see this unusual plant, hoping to see the flower and to smell the horrible odor. I saw the plant but it had not yet bloomed, unfortunately. You may watch the progress of this plant at the Garden's website: http://www.usbg.gov/return-titan

Here are my photos of the plant:

Norsk Class Outing

What a wonderful evening it was! Our Norwegian class met for dinner at Terasol, a French bistro and artisan gallery on Connecticut Avenue in the District. The Guest of Honor was Andy Greer, the brilliant best-selling author, son of Norwegian scholar Bill Greer. After dinner we walked across the street to Politics & Prose Bookstore and listened to Andy read from his latest book, The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells. He then took up his ukelele and gave us a rousing rendition of a military song. A Q & A followed.

Family Reunion 2013

Every year we attend the Meloni-Malone Family Reunion in Philly. We always enjoy this family gathering. 


  Cousins Amelia and Andrea represent the Matriarch and the Patriarch of the family.

 Three generations of Malones

Here are some scenes from this year's event. Amelia planned many fun games for the children.

 The Peanut Hunt

 The Race to Eat the Slice of Blueberry Pie (No hands allowed)

 Pin the Nose on the Clown

 The Race to Find the Cherry in the Plate of Whipped Cream (No hands allowed)

 Cake to celebrate the anniversary of Andrea and Christina

Many thanks to the gracious reunion hosts, Elaine and Charles.

 

A Museum Outing: Braque

Mary and I went to see the exhibit "Georges Braque and the Cubist Still Life, 1928-1945" at the Phillips Collection. Duncan Phillips discovered Braque early on, before he had established his reputation, and there are numerous Braque in his museum.

After viewing the exhibit, we had lunch at Kramer's and Afterwards.

 Mary

Christine and Mary

 

A most interesting variety of vegetables including vegetable hash

Birthday Dinner

George helped Dal and me celebrate our birthdays by taking us to 701 Penn for a wonderful dinner. Andrea, of course, was invited, too!

On the way to the restaurant we drove by the Washington Monument because we wanted to see the decorative scaffolding. Here is a view of it.

 Here we are in the restaurant.



George, Christine, Dal, and Andrea

I wasn't planning to have any dessert (although it was my birthday) but I relented when I saw olive oil ice cream on the menu. It didn't sound very good but I wanted to try it. It actually turned out to be very delicious - smooth and creamy with only a delicate hint of olive oil. Strawberries and pieces of toasted meringue were added to the ice cream.

After we left the restaurant, we discovered that there was a concert in the piazza in front of the Navy Memorial so we stopped to listen for a while.

Navy Concert

When we drove by the Washington Monument on the way home, it was lit up. There are 488 lights. It was a very beautiful sight!