Weekend Fun

We had a great weekend. Busy, but great. Saturday was the first weekend day off Hubby's had in way too long. We planned some fun & thankfully the weather held.

Drove to Arlington to see the Air Force Cycling Classic (formerly CSC Invitational). We found a nice spot under a tree although it was on the inside of a curve, so we didn't get the head on perspective like last year. Anime Queen & Hubby are quite fair skinned though, so it all worked out for the best. We left before they were done, although #123 had nearly lapped the peloton.

Drove fifteen minutes down the road to watch the 2nd annual Mayor's Cup Rugby match- Alexandria Select 15 Vs. Dundee HS Select 15. As is to be expected, Dundee won. I am totally in the dark about rugby, but I must say it was very exciting. I'm totally a convert. It's depressing, though. We'll have to travel quite a way to see games here. Both of the kids expressed an interest in playing if we can find a league closer to home.

Have pix. Will load them tonight.

Field Trip Today

Anime Queen, our lovely daughter, invited me on a field trip to the National Gallery of Art. Lovely white snowflakes fell as we drove in. Click here for a list of current exhibits. This was with her art class. They've been studying contemporary art, emphasizing artists like Jackson Pollack & Andy Warhol & photographers like Edward Weston. One of the kids' favorites was the room with some of Calder's mobiles. Click here to begin slideshow discussing Alexander Calder's mobiles.

The work that really made me think was a large piece by Anselm Kiefer mounted on a wall. It's a big piece: shades of grey and black and cream. To me it was a desolate, post apocalyptic landscape. The large work on the wall was powerful enough in and of itself, but combined with a nearby fighter jet, painted grey with dried poppies on the wings. - Well, it was amazing. Then to find out the dried plants were poppies on the wings..and that Mr.Kiefer is German, born in the last year of the WW II? It's quite a statement. Click here for examples of Mr. Kiefer's works.




Image found on Wikimedia Commons, this fresco is not seen in this exhibit.

After viewing the contemporary exhibit in the East Building, we went upstairs and walked through the Pompeii Exhibit. The sculptures are beautiful and the artifacts are amazingly detailed. There's a gladiator helmet with scenes from the Iliad on it. None of the life size figures are part of this exhibit. A gorgeous red dining room fresco glows in the soft light. The reds are soft and faded shades, but I wonder how bright and clear they might have been when they were new.

If you go to the Gallery, I definitely don't recommend eating in the 'food court' downstairs in the causeway between buildings. The food is expensive and mediocre at best. Bring your own. We brought lunch, daughter and I, salads and yogurt and Doritos and lemon water. The bookstore is nice and the shop on the next level up is wonderful.

Coffee Shop Denizens

It is a cold and stormy night..Really it is. So who else has decided to come out in the spitting rain for a little fellowship and hot beverages at the coffee shop down the road a bit?

Beside me is a youngish military guy in a cap covered with various insignia, but he's hunched over a fat white paperback like a man trying to light a cigarette in the wind. He taps his feet dysrhythmically, which annoys the hell out of me, but this was the only empty comfy chair in the joint. I refuse to get up. Every once in a while he squints at me and then resumes ignoring me. This man is an incessant fidgiter.

At a pair of tables across from us is a pair of young OBC Marines, one white and one Asian, studying fat ring binders, highlighters in hand. One is totally cleanshaven of both face and head, the other has a brand new high and tight as evidenced by the shiny white newly exposed skin of his scalp. He has an odd bump on the back of his head. It's not discolored, but it shouldn't be there either. I wonder how he got it.

Behind the Marines is a table of nursing students reviewing anatomy and physiology. One is an older white woman, the other two mid twenties age black women. They completely ignore everything around them. They are currently studying the musculature of the lower abdomen, bladder and groin area.

Near the coffee counter is a mixed race white- Asian middle aged couple surfing the internet. The male plays with the mouse while the woman leans back in her chair with her hands behind her head. He murmurs quietly while she stays mostly silent. They have clearly been here for a good while and show no signs of leaving.

Another man sits alone at a table with an empty cup in front of him. He's eaten some kind of cold blender creation. They're yummy, but I have a mocha of my own. He too studies something, but he's a pen tapper & lip chewer. A fat backpack sits on the floor beside him.

Image is of a cafe in Vienna called Aida and was found on Wikimedia. No, I'm not in Vienna. I wish I was.

Sunday in DC

Both images found on Wikimedia; image of Ben's Chili Bowl taken by Ben Schumin.



Yesterday was the last day the Afghanistan exhibit was open in the East Building of the National Gallery of Art on the Mall up in DC. We took Metro since we also wanted to try the locally famous Ben's Chili Bowl chili half smokes.

The exhibit was crowded, as one would expect to find on the last day, but it was nice to see all of the kids wandering around with little quiz booklets hunting up answers. The only irritating problem was all of the old folks who need new glasses and a brush up with Miss Manners. It seems that if you have an old grey head you're automatically absolved of all behavior faux pas, including standing directly in front of exhibits less than two inches away from the glass for as long as you damn well please. And heaven forfend anyone might say excuse me. The exhibit moves to San Francisco, then Houston and finally NYC.

The jewelry was delicate and often finely detailed. Set with some local jewels, notably lapis lazuli and carnelian. Some of the hair ornaments? I'd buy replicas. They are unique. You could see the Indian and Chinese influences. I was amazed that such small pieces survived a harsh climate and nomadic life and burial. It makes me sad that the Taliban has been running amok over there destroying the Afghanis cultural artifacts- not to mention the people. These priceless objects have been saved twice at least in recent decades. Once they return, will they remain so?

Ben's was crowded too, but everyone there was on their best behavior despite the huge line, the incredible crowding and the din of 70's disco music that my hubby says was James Brown. We all had a great time, except AQ who ordered the chili instead of her better tolerated grilled cheese. She didn't like the chili all that much, poor thing. She can be finicky. I had an all beef dog & fries- no chili. I've had awful reflux recently & I didn't want to risk it on the long ride back home. Pianist gulped his chili drenched half smoke in record time, prompting Hubby to tell him he could have another one if he was willing to wait in line again. LOL No dice.