Dinner with Sara

Lunch with Larissa and Ivan

We took Larissa and Ivan to Assaggi Osteria so that they could try some authentic Italian food. We all enjoyed the meal and the company very much.

 Larissa, Ivan, and Andrea

 Larissa sipping tea

                              Andrea and Christine

Christine, Ivan, and Larissa

Lunch with John and Jill

John and Jill

                                            A nice time with our friends at the Silver Diner.

Talk at the DC SON Lodge

I was invited to make a presentation on "The Norwegian Crime Novel: at the DC lodge of the Sons of Norway. I spoke about Jo Nesbø, the Norwegian King of Crime, and Karin Fossum, the Norwegian Queen of Crime, and several other top crime novelists in Norway today.

Arthur's Arrival - Delayed Posting (February 2013)

 Arthur arrives in America.

 Arthur with Uncle Marcello

 Christian with Nonno

Colin with Mommy

The Phillips with George

George and I went to a fabulous exhibit at the Phillips Collection, "Neo-Impressionists and the Dream of Realities" and then to lunch at Kramer's afterwards. 

For more information on this exhibit, go to the Phillips website:  

http://www.phillipscollection.org/events/2014-09-27-exhibition-neo-impressionism-dream-of-realities

George in front of the Phillips

             Christine in front of the Phillips


        George at Kramer's & Afterwords for lunch

Butternut Squash Ravioli with butter, basil, and pumpkin seeds

Philly Cousins

Andrea and I went to Baltimore today for an Italian lunch with his three cousins - Amelia, Charles, and Andy - and their spouses - Tony, Elaine, and Rose. We met at Germano's Piattini in Little Italy and had a delightful time chatting and eating.


Elaine, Charles, Christina, Rose, Andy, Tony, Amelia, Andrea

 Andy, Tony, and Amelia

 Charles, Christina, and Rose

We took the panpepato sent from Acuto (made by Betta and Anna Maria and brought to DC by Maurizio) and served it for dessert!

                                              An authentic Italian dessert Made in Italy!

DCEC Outing

Jodi, Synthia, and I met Ginny at the Kreeger and she gave us a tour of Emilie Brzezinksi's exhibit. Very fascinating! She is a chainsaw artist and creates beautiful works out of trees. Here are the photos I took at the museum.

 Jodi, Ginny, Synthia in front of "Lament"

Blocks II

 

Table

Trajectory

 

Ukranian Trunk

Ukranian Trunk

Maurizio the Marathoner

Our nephew from Acuto came to Washington to run in the DC Marine Marathon. He successfully completed the 26.2 mile race. We were impressed! We had a wonderful time during his 10-day visit.

 Maurizio (#18,163) and Christine at the D.C. Armory

Lunch at our favorite pizzeria
Menomale in NE DC

Visiting Maurizio's FB Friend Oksana at GW

Lunch with Dona at our favorite restaurant in Baltimore Carrol's Creek Cafe

Practicing Safe Science

Colin and I went to the Kennedy Center this afternoon to see a wonderful show, "Live Wire," presented by Doktor Kaboom. His mission in life is to convince children that science can be fun but they should always be careful when doing experiments. His presentation was electric and we loved it!

We arrived at the Kennedy Center early and so had time to roam around one of my two very favorite buildings in Washington. (My other very favorite building is the Library of Congress.)

We, of course, had to see the J.F. Kennedy bust in the Main Foyer. It was hard to get both JFK and Colin in the same photo.

 Colin

 JFK and Colin with a view of the Kennedy Center Terrace and the Potomac in the background

Colin and Mima on the Upper Terrace with Roslyn in the background

Colin and Mima Enjoying Themselves

Colin and Doktor Kaboom at the entrance to the Family Theater

The Museum at American University

My friend Nancy and I met at American University's Museum to see an extraordinary exhibit by Sandra Ramos, a Cuban-American artist.

The exhibit is called "Bridging the Past, Present, and Future: Recent Works by Sandra Ramos." The brochure says that "this artist reflects on the conflicting experiences of living in her beloved homeland with all of its many challenges. Her work often takes a narrative form in which she depicts herself as a child-like explorer or modern day Alice in Wonderland."

 Nancy in front of the museum

For more information about this exhibit, go to http://www.american.edu/cas/museum/gallery/2014/bridging-sandra-ramos.cfm

After viewing the exhibit, we went to Le Pain Quotidian (49th and Mass Av NW) for lunch. What an interesting repast! We first ordered a basket of selected breads (slices of baguette, whole white, raisin bread, and walnut bread) which came with four 'toppings' - Blondie White Chocolate Spread, Chocolate Spread, Four Red Fruits Jam, and Apricot Jam. 

My organic brown rice pudding with organic banana compote

Nancy with her soup and quinoa tabouli salad

Our basket of selected breads and the toppings

The Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches in Town!

I met my name sister at Cheesetique's in Shirlington Village. We both had delicious tomato soup for a starter. Then we ordered grilled cheese sandwiches. Christine had the Grown-Up Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Prairie Breeze Cheddar on grilled sourdough and I had the Norwegian Gjetost cheese (a salty-sweet grilled cheese) with sliced bananas on cranberry walnut bread.

After lunch I decided to purchase some cheeses to take home with me. I first had a mini-lecture on the types and styles of cheeses.


                           Types of cheeses: Cow, Sheep, and Goat


     Styles of cheeses: Fresh, Bloomy, Semi-Firm, Firm. Blue, and Washed Rind

 Then I sampled many delicious cheeses and decided on 1/4 lb of Dante (origin: Wisconsin) and Cabot Clothbound (origin: Vermont).

 Dante

Cabot Clothbound

I went home happy, with my purchases. But I was unhappy at the same time because I forgot to ask our server to take a photo of Christine and me at the table. (If you go to http://melonidcmetroarea.blogspot.com/2014/06/name-sisters-to-new-locale.html, you will see the two of us at Cheesetique in June.)

Christine with her precious purchases

An Intriging Play!

Mary, Tenley, Mette, and I went to the Scena Theatre's workshop production of Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse's "Someone is Going to Come." Fosse is extraordinarily popular throughout the world with the exception of English-speaking countries. This state of affairs must change!

Before the performance we enjoyed a dinner of tapas at Jaleo on 7th Street NW.

                                                         Tenley, Mette, Christine, and Mary

The workshop production was excellent and was followed by a Talkback and Reception with the director and actors. I highly recommend this writer to you. His novels and plays are intriguing. Try Melancholy!

The Big 75!

Dal graciously invited us to celebrate George's birthday at a very nice Italian restaurant in McPherson Square.

                          The Birthday Boy

 The Gracious Host

 

 Christine

 Andrea with Pappardelle 

 The Birthday Club: The Fabulous Four