Old Friends

Another dear old friend came to town. Pam and I go way back. We have been friends since second grade. She and her husband were here to celebrate Thanksgiving with their son Will. They invited me to a wonderful dinner at the Willard Hotel. Very special!

 Will, Pam, and Bob

Pam, Chris, and Bob

 The Willard

 The restaurant had photos of many famous people, especially politicians. Here I am with one of my favorites, Hubert Humphrey (D-Minnesota).

 Pam prefers Richard Nixon!

Roommates

Wells College Roommates - Shlee and The Fost

I was delighted that my dear friend and college roommate was in town for Thanksgiving. We were able to meet for lunch at Clyde's at Tyson's. We had a lot to talk about, of course!

Turkey Day at Marcello's

                                                Chris  Arthur  Colin  Marcello   Christian

We had a very nice Thanksgiving dinner at Marcello and Michelle's house. Michelle prepared a magnificent feast as usual. Michelle's mother Sylvia was there (and worked hard in the kitchen, too) but Nonno Andrea was not feeling well enough to join us. We all missed him, of course. But Arthur and I did bring him home lots of delicious food.

A Splendid Evening at the KC

Twenty-one members of the DC Sons of Norway lodge met at the KC Cafe at the Kennedy Center for dinner before the concert by the great Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes. A special guest in our group was the mother of the pianist. After the performance we were invited backstage to meet him. A huge thrill!

 Betty, Marie, Mette (first three on the left) and Elizabeth, Janet, Chris, and Denise (on the right)

Sissel, Leif's mother, (on the left) and Kristin (second on right) with her friend from Hampton Roads, Sissel's friend

Lunch with Mary

My friend Mary and I had lunch at Cheesetique in Shirlington. It was her first visit to this cheese shop cafe. We both had the Grown-Up Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Delicious!

Visitor from Norway

I was very happy that Tormod, my Norwegian cousin from Oslo, came to Washington for a visit. It was great spending time with him.

Christian's Football Game

 Chris, Tormod, Christian, and Marcello

Marcello and Tormod
 

Dinner at The Grand Carlyle in Shirlington Village


                               Tormod

Lunch at The Swiss Bakery in Annandale


                      Tormod and Chris 

Farewell Lunch at Clyde's at Tyson's Corner
 

                       Tormod, Chris, and Bill


                       Tormod, Chris, and Bill

Double Birthday

I am catching up with my and other birthdays.

My friend Carol and I met at the Silver Diner to celebrate my June birthday and her November birthday.

We had lunch and a three-hour chat. Great time!

We shared a birthday dessert. 

New Book On Salem Witch Trials

I met my friends Joel and Barbara at Teaism near the Navy Memorial for dinner before going to a Smithsonian presentation. Author Stacy Shiff gave a very interesting talk about her new book, Witches: Salem 1692.

                                         Ticket

Joel and Barbara

Barbara and Christine 

 

The wonderful mural on the wall in the Ladies Room

Arthur Made Up

My Grandson made himself up for Halloween. He greeted Trick 'n Treaters at the door and terrified most of them. He enjoyed himself immensely. (He did spend close to an hour preparing his face.) 

Carissimo Gianluca

You will always remain in our hearts, dear Gianluca. We have many warm memories of you.

We brought an assortment of delicious pastries to your house in 2006.

We spent a wonderful evening with you and your family at your house in 2011.

The Theater with Kate

My sister and I had the great good fortune of seeing Juliette Binoche perform in the title role of "Antigone" at the Kennedy Center. I am a huge Binoche fan and she was fantastic. In fact, the production was truly incredible.

A Summer Day in the Fall

The calendar showed fall but it was a warm (and a bit muggy) summer day. Christine and I enjoyed our lunch outside at T.H.A.I.

 Perfectly attuned to her surroundings, lovely Christine in the midst of lovely orange colors!

I decided to forego my usual Pad Thai and opted for the Rice Bowl with fried tofu. Christine had Thai Basil.

Celebrating George

To celebrate his birthday, I took my friend George to one of my very favorite DC restaurants, Founding Farmers. It is owned by North Dakota farmers and serves fresh, local food. Outstanding!

We had a delicious lunch. For appetizers, George ordered fried green tomatoes and I ordered corn bread, the very best I have ever eaten! For the main course, George had trout and I had butternut squash mascarpone ravioli that were out of this world.

Will we return? Without a doubt!

In Memory of Anne

Our very dear friend Anne was born on September 27. Barbara and I contributed the altar flowers in her memory on Sunday, September 27, this year.

After the service, Barbara and I received the flowers with the following card:

These flowers have been in the sanctuary of St. Christopher's. They have heard the hymns that have been sung, the prayers that have been offered, and the sermon that has been preached. And now they come to you with our love

St. Christopher's Episcopal Church

Masanori Comes to Town!

I was delighted when my old Japanese friend Masanori came to Washington with his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson. I met them in their hotel one afternoon. Unfortunately, they were here for a very short time only. But it was wonderful to see them I hadn't seen Masanori and Yoshifumi for seven years.

Masanori is on the right. I am standing between him and his son Yoshifumi. 

 

Yoshifumi is in the middle with his lovely wife and adorable son.

The proud father and grandfather is on the right. 

Here I am with Yoshifumi, Masanori's remarkable youngest son.

Arthur and The Poet

Andrea and I took Arthur to Meridian Park on a lovely summer afternoon.

 Arthur in front of the statue of the great Poet Dante Alighieri. As T.S. Eliot wrote, "Dante and Shakespeare divide the world. There is no third."

Dante 

Joan of Arc (Jeanne D'Arc)

 This statue was a gift to the women of America from the women of France. Merci beaucoup!

Andrea listening to the drum concert, a weekly event in this DC park. 

 Christine

 

Andrea

A Dream Come True

I have always been very envious of the children who are given the opportunity to run around the bases after Sunday games at Nats Park. Why not seniors, too? Well, seniors *were* offered this opportunity and I took advantage of it, of course. One of the rules,however, was: No running!

My friends Barbara and Joel and I went to Nats Park yesterday. We saw a great game in which the Nats beat the DBacks 8-3 and then we strolled the bases. What a thrill to stand on the bases! (I had no idea that they were so hard!) The Presidents were on the infield and greeted us warmly - except for Calvin Coolidge. He was rather quiet. No surprise there!

Below you can see some photos from this very special occasion.

 
                               Barbara and Joel

 

 Chris and Barbara

 
        The Stroll began immediately after the game

 
                        Chris on the Field 

 

George Washington is on First and Teddy is bouncing around all over the place

                                     Chris on Second Base with Calvin Coolidge behind her

 Chris on Home Plate with Abe Cheering for her

Exhibit at AU

Hiroshima-Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Exhibition

George in front of the museum


Christine in front of AU's Museum

George and I went to an exhibit at American University that was very painful to view. It was the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Exhibition in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the attacks.

The exhibit included 20 artifacts collected from the debris of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and also six large folding screens that showed scenes of the event.

There was also a wonderful exhibit of children's drawings. All Souls Church Unitarian in DC had sent drawing supplies to a school in Hiroshima shortly after the bombings.The children drew pictures that were then sent to the church where they have been on display ever since.

"These drawings present a story of hope and reconciliation."

They were very colorful and upbeat drawings and showed happy children and adults.

These drawings were very different from the ones I saw when I visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in 1991. The pictures I saw were drawn shortly after the attacks and were scenes of the terror and destruction. They were horrifying pictures. My visit to this memorial was very painful, particularly because I went with my two dear Japanese friends, Yoko and Yukiko. I felt uneasy because I was American. What had my government done?

George and I found the drawings at the AU exhibit very beautiful but we had trouble looking at the artifacts and the graphic black and white photos of the destruction. In fact, at a certain point we both felt rather queasy and opted to leave to go out into the sunshine. This is not an exhibit that we plan to visit again. We did not regret going, however. It was informative and thought provoking. It was an appropriate way to commemorate this awful anniversary.