My New Favorite Shakespeare

Posted on 1/31/2016 10:51:00 AM
Last month we went to the Folger Shakespeare Library (they do some amazing stuff there, cannot recommend highly enough) and saw Pericles and it was amazing. And not just because The KoH got us seats so close I could put my feet up on the stage and get sweated on by the actors, either.


The show has closed now and they are on to other things, but I need to immortalize this sign for posterity, because while this sign wasn't totally why the play was so amazing, it certainly didn't hurt.


"This production will include a mild strobe effect.
This production will also include pirates."



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Noir Morning Routine

Posted on 1/30/2016 10:10:00 AM
Came out of the shower the other morning to find Humphrey Beargart interrogating Lauren Bearcall with the bedside lamp and small child voicing the parts with, "Where were you on the night of January 16th?"



There are so many things I love about this moment, I can't begin to start with number one.

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Winter Seating Arrangements

Posted on 1/29/2016 09:53:00 AM
Despite it getting pretty cold here in D.C., the living room stays pretty warm because of a large window wall.  But that doesn't mean there isn't significant pushing and shoving to get the last warm spot.

Oh good, someone put the cat away.



And then they poured it into this basket.

 

For where there is a fire and a lap, there will a cat be also.




This is a terrible photo, but I adore the look on this cat's face.


Selfie with Cat.  (or is that selfie with human?)



Cat is all, "Dude get out of my sunbeam."



Looking for a warm bed. Any bed will do.



Come to think of it, maybe the cat isn't cold. Maybe she just hungry.




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Wondering

Posted on 1/28/2016 09:28:00 AM In:

I almost forgot until I was cleaning off my phone that we attended the reopening of the Renwick Gallery on New Year's weekend.  This is the first building built specifically to be the nation's art museum. It used to house the Corcoran Gallery before the Corcoran moved to a larger space and when it was built in 1859, it was known as "the American Louvre".  Thank you Wikipedia.

It's been closed for renovations for a long time and I've been itching to get back in there.  This was a really cool reopening because while it was still closed, they invited artists to come tour the empty space and decide what they'd do with it and develop their art installations from empty inspiration.  The resulting exhibition is called "Wonder."  We loved it and highly encourage you to see it if you can because photos just don't do it justice. Just the same, here are some photos.  Also because it is a Smithsonian gallery and there's no admission fee.

We walked into this room and The Dormouse immediately named this artist without seeing anything about it.  I thought that was pretty impressive by any modern art lover's view because I know and love this stuff and still cannot name the artists' names hardly ever and also, where did she see his stuff before because I had only seen internet pictures of it.  Then she let it slip that there was a big feature on him in a past Highlights Magazine, so yay for kids' throw away reading material.  

The whole room was filled with these pods built entirely from twigs.  No good way to get a photo of the scope because the room was enclosed, you have to check out Patrick Dougherty's other works here.  The kids adored it.



 We probably spent more time looking at this installation than all the others combined. 



 It was fascinating from all angles and in all lights.


And with all patrons.





For scale:




This one, I just wanted to climb inside, but it was hanging from the ceiling and, I fear, not built for me weight.


This was maybe my favorite room.  All four walls were covered with this kind of stuff.  


Which, upon closer inspection...


I wanted to stay in here all day, it was so fascinating.  Even the paint on the walls was made from crushed bugs.

This last one was so interesting.  It was a reproduction of the energy wave from the 2011 Tsunami.  The lighting shifted every few seconds. We had to wait in line for awhile to get into the next exhibit and I just let the kids lie on the ground under this and stare up. 





If I were extremely rich, I'd pay good money to have a slumber party and let my kids invite all their friends to sleep under this one night.  Good thing for the Smithsonian we're not.

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Sound Effects

Posted on 1/27/2016 10:19:00 AM
This is the ice crackling outside as the sun warms everything.  Proof that my hope is not misplaced in the belief that one day, some day, my kids might actually go back to school.  

But not today.


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I Do My Little Turn on the Catwalk

Posted on 1/27/2016 08:00:00 AM

This Siamese and their back thing might have gone a bit too far.



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Nanook of the North

Posted on 1/26/2016 03:41:00 PM
Here we are raising up our heads from the frozen tundra. Washington D.C. got a good 30 inches of snow this weekend and the world stopped for awhile here. Fortunately, we never lost power, which is my main worry in a storm like this, not because we would freeze, but because I don't want the pipes to freeze.  

And so we learn that Pipes>Children.  

We did end up snowed in for about three solid days and I set a new, personal record for consecutive number of days wearing my pajamas. I even managed to shovel snow, make several trips to the wood pile for firewood, AND host the neighbors for dinner without ever putting on proper clothes or a bra.

Woo hoo!

Here are a couple of photos from Winter Storm Jonas, or #Snowzilla, as we have all come to refer to it.

This is state highway 295 or the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, one of the major commuter routes from Baltimore to DC.  I have never seen that much nothing in twenty years of living here. Taken by a friend who lives within walking distance.  I wasn't crazy enough to drive there.

Our deck, looking out the window. It was like living inside a snow globe during the storm.


Found The Caterpillar playing under this and poking at it with a broom handle the next morning.  We had a long talk about icicles and snow overhangs after that.

Yesterday, we finally got around to shoveling out the driveway, which I am now regretting the length of. When we finally broke through to the end of the drive, I threw my arms up in the air and yelled, "Freeeeeedooooom!" al la Braveheart, only to realize that neither the hill we live on, nor any street in the entire neighborhood had been plowed so I couldn't go anywhere anyway. In possibly related news, my neighbors are now certain I am insane.


The Shortlings amused themselves by working up a gymnastics routine and performing it for us.  Who knew they were interested in gymnastics? No one, that's who!



But the best thing by far that happened all weekend, was this news report I happened to see.  I wasn't sure what I thought I'd heard, so I ran live TV back a few minutes to be certain.  Then I hit record as fast as my thumb could find the button because this needs to be saved for posterity, obviously.  




Dee-lightful!

The story on the interweb goes that the guy just called the television station, identified himself as a spokesperson for VDOT, and the very, very professional journalists with their superior fact-checking abilities earned in college, said to themselves, "Eh, seems legit."  And thus, our prank caller was able to make his way to on air.
  
I'm constantly grateful for the modern conveniences we enjoy. I know our three days of snow pales in comparison to what some people deal with every year.  And two or three generations ago, they did it without electricity, heat, running water, a car in every garage, or reasonably close city centers. Because a portion of what I do involves some disaster response efforts, I tend to be more prepared than most for a few days of weather or power outages... but I'm fully aware that I'm not as prepared as some. We are typically stocked with food and water for several days (and probably more if we have the ability to cook from base ingredients we have in food storage)We are generally prepared for the power to go out (because it happens so often here).  We have flashlights, batteries, candles and oil lamps, an emergency supply. Now with a couple of fireplaces, we have added firewood to that list and The KingofHearts spent most of the Spring chopping wood to store after we have a few scary trees removed (also a huge load off, knowing this storm was coming and we'd already had that done).  We've got enough for most of the winter for typical use.  Without an operating furnace, we probably could have kept the house warm enough with both fireplaces running, had we lost power, and we probably wouldn't have had to abandon our home for a neighbor or hotel, but it was sure nice not to have to use those contingency plans.  

Today, we've finally seen a snowplow on the street, the sun has come out and I am ready to leave the house again.  Just waiting to find out whether the schools agree with me for tomorrow. (Oh please, oh please, oh please.)

This morning, the sun rose over the snowy neighborhood roofs. It was quite beautiful.



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Washington, D.C. Metro, United States
Married, 40ish mom of two (or three, or four, depending on how you keep score) who stepped through the lookinglass and now finds herself living in curiouser and curiouser lands of Marriage, Motherhood, and the Washington, D.C. Metro Area.

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