Goat cheese and mushrooms

Very happy lunch engagement today! I met my friend Sonia at our usual spot, Pain Quotidien, in the Penn Quarter. We both ordered goat cheese and mushroom omelettes. Delicious!

 Chris  and  Sonia

Sonia

As usual we had lots of catching up to do. We talked primarily about our families. Sonia is an amazing woman, the mother of three young children who has a very successful and demanding career. Fortunately, she has a very supportive husband. I was impressed when she told me that he is currently reading The Lord of the Rings to the little ones. Wow!

On the way to the restaurant I passed St. Patrick's and noticed something that I had never seen before. I was quite struck by it. I don't think I need to add a commentary. The sculpture and the sign speak for themselves.

After lunch I decided to stay in the city for a while. I am never eager to leave The District! I went to the nearby National Museum for Women in the Arts (of which I am a member) to see the Heavy Metal exhibit. 

Each work of art was made of metal(s) and created by a woman artist, of course. Here are the works that interested me the most.

                                  This work was made from tabs from Budweiser beer cans.

Entitled Self-Portrait

Lunch before Departure

Before they left to return to Europe, we had a final lunch at Yindee Thai in Springfield.

Lara, Claudia, Pima, Adriano, Arthur, and Paul

Arthur and I will miss them. So will their cousins in Ashburn. But they shall return. For Christmas, perhaps?

The Kids

How refreshing to see a grandson deeply engrossed in a book, a solid English classic to boot! This is Paul, an avid reader.

Claudia claims that she reads books but I never noticed anything in her hand except her texting device.

Please note the lovely skull of David (so-named by Arthur) on his head. He found this work of art among articles for sale for Halloween. I myself changed his name to Yorick. Ah, to be or not to be David!

August 26

A rare occasion for me to be together with my two sons, their wives, and my five grandchildren.

We had lunch at Andrea's favorite pizzeria in Washington, Menomale.


Menomale at 2711 12th Street NE 20017

 My sons Adriano and Marcello

 My youngest grandson, Colin (AKA The Orange Man), eating an orange sorbet

                      My usual - Coccio 13 - Chick peas with melted Feta and mozzarella cheese

We came back to the house on Apache after lunch. Here is a photo of me with all five grandchildren.

 

Claudia, Colin, Pima/Mima, Paul, Arthur, Christian

Discussion with potluck

Tim and Glenda have certainly mastered the art of hosting a dinner party. They graciously hosted our SON Reading Circle tonight.

Glenda set a lovely table and prepared a delicious warm pasta salad as the entree.

Tim offered an array of marvelous drinks. I loved the mint iced tea and, of course, one of my old Italian favorites, Moscato. (Ah, memories!)

Everyone contributed food. Special mention should be given to Barbara who ordered two poppyseed cakes, chocolate chip cookies, and lemon bars from a friend who is launching her catering business. I found the lemon bars especially wonderful.

John brought a new and improved version of his speciality - asparagus. The stalks were tender and tasty.

Marie brought a wonderful new Norwegian cheese - Snofrisk. It was creamy and very nice. I also brought cheese - sharp cheddar and Swiss cheese - but my offering could not compete with Marie's. I was upstaged.

Joel and Barbara, Christine, Tim, John, and Marie

We discussed Vidar Sundstol's book, The Devil's Wedding Ring. The enthusiasm of most was lukewarm. The book had its interesting points but the red herrings weren't always credible. And several members were not too keen on the protagonist. Marie thought Max was stupid to jump into bed with one of the potential suspects and Christine thought he had forgotten his wife of 25 years too quickly. Most agreed that the history relating to the stave church and the pagan statue/St. Niklas was interesting. I think the bottom line was that the book was worth reading.

Disclaimer: I am not sitting on a chair in this photo, I am uncomfortably perched in mid-air. I am trying hard to smile while my knees are killing me.

A special pin and special crackers

I went to the Sons of Norway lodge picnic today and enjoyed two special events.

First of all, my friends Conor, Jasmin, and Sophie greeted me with a great surprise. Meloni melon crackers! They found this product from Vietnam in a nearby Korean shop.

       

                                                            Christine and Conor with namesake crackers

I was really tickled. It was very kind of them to bring me this unusual treat. I may have to go to this shop to stock up. These crackers are quite delicious and have a definite melon taste.

Of course, the official highlight of the picnic for me was receiving my 15-year Sons of Norway membership pin. Shelley made a very spirited introduction and requested that I talk  about the good and bad things about being a member. I had no bad things to say, of course. I have enjoyed my membership very much, primarily for two reasons. I have met many wonderful people and I have learned a lot about Norway, both about its history and about the country today.

Presentation of the pin

Inspirational Coffee Chat

I always look forward to meeting my friend Linda for a coffee chat. We have formed a mutual inspirational society! We share ideas and plans and feel very uplifted afterwards.

We met today at Panera's in Springfield. I tried two new treats. Both of them were terrific!

 
I decided to try the mocha iced drink.

 It was delicious! I may get addicted. A fantastic drink for a hot August day in DC! (I did remove most of the whipped cream. It was much too much.)

Linda ordered a pumpkin muffie. A muffie, I learned, is the top of a muffin. I decided to try it. It tasted like an unusual piece of pumpkin pie. I will definitely have another one in the - I hope - near future.

DCDC Four Blondes

Susan, Christine, Synthia, Mary

Susan came to town for a very quick visit and we managed to squeeze in a Sunday brunch at the Reston Silver Diner. It was so nice being together again. (A waitress described us as blondes. We will accept that kind compliment!)

Sisters

I had a delightful lunch at Sisters Thai restaurant in Fairfax City with Kristina, my Dante scholar professor and now friend. I was very happy to get to know her better. She and I had the same original career goal: to teach Italian language and literature at a U.S. university. She followed through while I was derailed by a handsome Roman.

As is always the case when I eat in a Thai restaurant, I ordered Pad Thai with tofu. And, as usual, I brought half of it home for dinner.

As quite often happens, I unfortunately forgot to take photos of the two of us (Kristina and Cristina). Maybe I will remember the next time!

In the meantime, here is a photo of the restaurant. It is located at 4004 University Drive.

Pizza with The Boys!

My friend Florence invited me to her new home to have dinner with her and the boys. A wonderful evening! We enjoyed catching up and eating delicious pizza together. It was fun watching a video of the Swim Club the boys belonged to this summer. They were active participants in the swim meets and other exciting activities. I hope we can get together more often in the future. (I look forward to beating them in games of dominos and Old Maid! I am the best!!)

Here are some photos of me with the boys. Aren't they handsome? And they keep getting taller and taller. Perry is almost as tall as I am! Unfortunately, I forgot to get a photo of their lovely mother.


                                 Perry, Christine, and Chipo


                  Christine with Godson Perry 

(Why is he wearing an Angels' shirt? I should lodge a complaint. Only Yankees and Nats shirts are acceptable.)

 Christine with Unofficial Godson Chipo

Nordic Lunch

Marie discovered a new restaurant near Dupont Circle that she thought her Norwegian buddies would find interesting. It is Mikko's Nordic restaurant at 16th and R Street NW.Today five of us met there to try the largely Finnish cuisine. Linda is the photographer so is not in any of the photos, unfortunately.

             Susie, Christine, Marie, Mikko, Karen

Karen, Christine, Susie, and Marie dining en plein air 

A variety of different dishes - Fish, of course, predominating 

My rhubarb-cream tart - not very impressive 

(I was spoiled eating Italian pastries in Italy for 13 years)

Quiz: Compare this photo and the first one above. What is the most important element missing in this photo?