Field Trip: International Travel the easy way

A week ago (July 2nd), we took the littles back up to our Nation's Capitol in order to get in a bit of international travel. No, we didn't fly out of IAD or BWI - instead we attended the 42nd annual Smithsonian Institute's Folklife Festival held on the Mall for two weeks in the summer.

Each year, a state and a country are chosen for the festival -- this year, the festival highlighted Texas and Bhutan. Texas, the festival shows, is much more than Texas swing, beer and barbeque -- altho you can find those too. Texas wines, technology and avant garde music are fascinating to see.

Bhutan, a small Buddhist country situated between India and China, is just being "discovered" through eco-tourism and the recent opening of air-routes to this unique world whose name translates as "Land of the Thunder Dragon". An authentic traditional Bhutanese Buddhist Lhakhang (temple), a gift to the US from the people of Bhutan, has been built on the Mall -- the paintings and carvings on this building are amazing. Within the temple, Buddhist monks chant while English-speaking interpreters explain the prayers, rituals and symbolism. LegoManiac was a little put-off by this -- "it would be like people walking thru a Catholic Church and talking while Father is saying Mass. That's not right."

Bhutan crafts and industry are highlighted -- woodcarving, textile weaving, painting, sand-art, string-art, basket-making, wood-turning, homeopathic medicines and cooking -- giving the kids and dh and I a wonderful look at this country and how they live in the Himilayas.

Bhutan goes from steamy jungles at sea-level to over 24000 feet in the space of West Virginia! No roads led into Bhutan until the 1960s and air travel started about 10 years ago. This is a country I'd never even heard of -- and one that was a very closed society from Western eyes until quite recently!

NASA is also highlighted at the festival (which goes until July 6th) as it's NASA's 50th birthday!

The Mall -- out and about on a Sunday

With Washington, D.C. so close now (unless you're stuck in I-95 traffic -- OY!), we decided to head up on Sunday (June 22nd), using public transport, and show the littles some of their Nation's Capitol! The last time LegoManiac and String Bean were in DC, they were 27 months and 15 months -- and, go figure, they don't remember much! Dh and I knew that this was going to be an exploratory mission and wanted to make it as relaxed as possible ... so we opted for the shotgun-approach hopping through different museums and not worrying about seeing everything -- after all, the Smithsonian and National museums are all FREE and we live here now!

Parking the car at the "park and ride" at Springfield (as opposed to the kiss-and-ride -- a name I think it too cute!), we gave the kids their first taste of Northern Virginia culture: riding the Blue line Metro from Franconia-Springfield right to the Smithsonian! They're eyes got big when we told them we were traveling UNDER the Pentagon, then they got even bigger when we told them when we were traveling THROUGH the Potomac ... it's so fun to see the wonder in their eyes even at such small, everyday things!

Getting off at the Smithsonian station drops you just in front of the "Castle" -- THE starting point for exploring the Smithsonian museums. It's so cool to come up out of the station and see the Washington Monument on your left and the Capitol Building on your right! What a country!

Since the boys outnumbered the girls -- I'm including dh here, of course -- we started our wanderings at the Air & Space Museum. This museum gets better EVERYTIME I go visit (I used to work in the District and my brothers made me go to A&S all the time). The exhibits are fantastic and I was even able to track down the "aircraft carrier simulator" exhibit for the boys to try. Bam-bam had to keep "peeling off" while LegoManiac "almost" landed perfectly. He was a bit embarrassed as the girl in front of him landed her plane effortlessly.

After a bit more than an hour of tottling around the A&S (with me making mental notes the whole time about where/when to come back during our next two-year study of American history), then we decided the hunger pangs could no longer be staved off -- we headed to the best spot on the Mall: the National Gallery of Art's "garden cafe" with it's indoor/outdoor waterfall, great food and reasonable prices. Seriously -- you can get a really good lunch for three kids and two adults for a bit less than McD's! And the ambience is wonderful.

Next stop (after checking out the Sculpture Garden where the pond in the center is turned into a skating rink during the winter) was a quick tour of the Natural History museum -- with it's elephant exhibit right in the rotunda (where if you look closely you can see the entire habitat of a jungle elephant including the dung beetles, rattle snakes, and the birds that eat the local grasshoppers). String Bean and I wanted to see the Hope Diamond (a girl can dream, can't she?) and it's even more glorious in real-life than in the pictures! A beautiful blue stone, with diamonds surrounding and diamonds on the chain .... what a gift that would be.

The IceAge exhibit and the Western Cultures (with it's overview of the societal progression of man from cave-dweller to organized community) are amazing and created so that the kids really enjoy seeing ... and experiencing different cultures and ages. Marvelous!

A quick snack downstairs in the "atrium" and we were ready to head back on the Metro ... after noting that this weekend (and next) the Smithsonian is hosting the Folklife Festival -- with special emphasis on Bhutan, Texas and NASA's 50th anniversary .... I guess I know where we'll be later this week.

Baltimore: Our Day Out and About

Setting aside boxes to unpack, systems to be hooked-up and other paraphernalia associated with moving and resettling, we decided to take the day off and just have fun. Thursday, June 19th we had to take Kotch to BWI to fly down to Fickle Creek Farm (my bil's farm) for10 days of working for her uncles. We opted to all head out at 0-dark-thirty (as my military brother says) to Baltimore.

We finally found a time of day when I-95 is NOT chock-a-block with traffic – at 4:00 a.m. – although the traffic was starting to build.

Once we got Kotch to BWI, we headed into Baltimore for the day … parking is EASY to find and you can get a great deal on “early bird” parking, especially at 6:00 a.m. We stopped into Panera for a quick breakfast and we spent the rest of our time strolling the Inner Harbor. What a great place to walk and walk and walk. Most sites open at 10:00, so we were quite early; but we could get our bearings, check out all the cool boats in the harbor and just enjoy an absolutely gorgeous day in Baltimore.

Our first official “site” was to visit the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse, the oldest surviving screw-pile lighthouse which used to sit 12.2 nautical miles from the inner harbor. Built in 1856, this lighthouse helped ships find their way to the harbor. But it was a fairly lonely existence, sitting 5 miles from any land. At one point, a lighthouse keeper, his wife and 4 children tried living out there, but only lasted five years. The daughter remembered (in a 1937 article) that during the early-Spring thaw, chunks of ice would hit the lighthouse and all the furniture and dishes would be “tossed around”. I think I'd want to move too!

I was particularly fascinated by the simplicity of the living arrangements – two quarters of the lighthouse base were given to a “parlor” and a “sitting room”; another quarter to a kitchen/larder area; and the final quarter to two bedrooms. Livestock lived on a platform just below the “house” (where the privy was also available). VERY COOL use of space.

Our next site was to board the US Submarine Torsk – a beautifully renovated sub from 1944 which has the distinction of being the last American naval vessel to sink a warship in WW2. This sub saw service in the Pacific during the end of WW2, alternated between use as a training boat at the Navy’s Sub School in Connecticut and active duty tours in the Med and the Atlantic. Walking from the tail end to the front of the sub gave the kids a great idea of life on a sub – and they all decided being an officer would be way better than being an enlisted. They could also touch real torpedos and see all the myriad gauges, buttons and cranks necessary for keeping a sub afloat.

Last, but certainly NOT least, was a tour of the Constellation -- a sloop-of-war built in 1854. She saw duty in the anti-slavery work, in the Civil War, in WW2 as a training vessel and on active duty as the relief flagship of the Atlantic Fleet and was finally "mothballed" in 1955 when she was sent to Baltimore. This is a beautiful ship and the kids thought it was soooooo cool to be on board a ship that was built 100 years before Mom and Dad!

Overall, we had a spectacular day in Baltimore and can't wait to go back again. We'll wait till we can figure out public transport so we don't have the long "commute" from the south-side of Northern Virginia to Baltimore -- I-95 is no fun to be on even when heading through DC at 2:30 in the afternoon!

I'm back in the saddle again ....

... although that particular song is probably not as appropriate now as we just finished our move from the Rocky Mountains to Northern Virginia (and the old, old mountains of the Appalachian Mountain range)!

Look for some great posts on our first month here in the Old Dominion! And thanks for checking in.

Blessings to one and all ....

Connie: Joy personified

There are some people you meet in life who deeply affect your thinking ... your personality ... your dreams for the future.

Connie is such a woman.

I met her a year-and-a-half ago. We were introduced at our parish Altar and Rosary luncheon. She was about 4'10", a bit wizened, white-haired and smiling.

I will always remember that smile ... it's easy to remember Connie's smile as she always smiled. She smiled at my kids when we were at daily Mass. She smiled at the parish picinic as she delicately sipped her Coors Light. She smiled as we sang "Happy Birthday" on her 94th birthday. She smiled as she told me about her six-week visit to England this past January to see one of her daughters. She smiled as she told me about the moves she and her husband made over the years, ending up here in Denver.

She always smiled.

About 10 days ago, Connie went to morning Mass, met friends for lunch and came home. As she prayed her afternoon rosary, Connie had a heart attack and died peacefully... with a smile on her face as she went to greet her God.

Connie taught me so much in the short-time I knew her ... she taught me to smile through adversity, fear and distress ... she taught me to love the life God gives me ... to trust that God will always put me where I need to be ... she taught me to see joy in everything.

She taught me to smile ... always!

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord

and may the perpetual light shine upon her.

May her soul,

and all the souls of the faithful departed,

through the mercy of God rest in peace.

Amen.

Connie, I will always remember your smile!

May -- the month of JOY!

This year we Catholics were so lucky! The Month of May is always a wonderful month as it is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Jesus' mother. However, May 2008 was even more special: with Easter so early this year, many of the joyous feasts of the Church occurred during the month of May:

• Ascension of the Lord -- May 1st (some dioceses, including Denver, moved this solemnity to Sunday, the 4th) -- the sad but joyous leave-taking of Jesus from his beloved apostles, disciples and his mother, Mary. He went ahead to make a place for us!


• St. Athanasius' Feast Day -- May 2nd -- our home-learning patron and a stalwart fighter for the truth but who admonished with love and humility; not hate or pride. A joyous man who never gave up what he thought was right.


• Pentecost Sunday -- May 11th -- 10 days after Jesus' ascension, we celebrate the arrival of the Holy Spirit, the friend Jesus promised, who would help us through all our life's struggles, who would be beside us each time we try to evangelise, who would help us see the joy of our eternal life when looking at the sorrows or our earthly life. This is the birthday of the Catholic Church -- the joy is heard in the ringing of bells throughout the world.


• Most Holy Trinity Sunday -- May 18th -- a day when we celebrate that our one God manifests Himself in three persons:

1. God the Father who looks after us and is the epitome of what earthly fatherhood should be (mercy, justice and love),
2. God the Son who is our brother, who took on our humanity to save US from our sins, who watches over us as an older brother always with love and joy and trust in the Father, and
3. God the Holy Spirit who is our aid and counsel, our paraclete, our grace-giver, the one who remains with us after Jesus sits at his Father's right hand.

• Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi Sunday) -- May 25th -- a day when we as a Church publicly acknowledge and worship the gift of Jesus, the gift of his body and blood present in the Eucharist after the consecration. This is a crazy belief for many non-Catholics -- but for Catholics, this is central to our joy and our hope, this is central to our lives in Christ. We were fortunate to have a Parish that knows how to joyfully celebrate this day: after First Holy Communion, Father placed the Host in a Monstrance and we processed in the neighborhood -- with the First Communion children in the front -- singing and praising God for his goodness and love. What a joy-filled ending to a joyous day.


• Most Sacred Heart of Jesus -- May 30th -- a day when we celebrate the unending love Jesus has for us all ... his love for sinners and saints alike ... his love for those with bad tempers, those with pride, those who slander others ... his love for those who try to turn away from the seductivity of the earthly realm and turn instead to the beauty and joy found only in the Heavenly realm.


• Visitation of Mary to Her Cousin Elizabeth -- May 31st -- the month ends with Mary shown as the first Christian missionary, running to her cousin to help with the birth of her cousin, running to her cousin Elizabeth to announce her own Good News ... but Elizabeth and Elizabeth's baby-in-the-womb both leap for joy because they know the baby Mary carries is destined to be the Savior of the World. This is a day when we Catholics should be joyful and joy-filled, jumping for the sheer joy of being Catholics ... of having a God who loves us and forgives us ... of having the chance every day to share this Good News with others ... of having the chance every day of starting a new, better, more Christian life for God ... of offering our sufferings, our exposure to calumny, our own sinful ways to God and asking for forgiven and grace to do better.

Catholicism is such a joyful faith ... we have:

1. the Sacrament of Baptism when the stain of original sin is wiped clear
2. the Sacrament of Reconciliation when we can ask God's forgiveness for our transgressions, repairing the break with the God who loves us eternally
3. the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist where every time we partake of the Eucharist, we receive Jesus (body, soul and dinity) into our bodies
4. the Sacrament of Confirmation where we firmly attest that we are Catholic and believe in the precepts of the faith; Confirmation is a rite of passage into a greater communion with God

These are just four of the seven sacraments ... but these four ALL Catholics are able to receive.

So now I have to try to live this life of joy -- but not on my own, but with the graces received through the participation in the Mass and the Sacraments, the consistent help of the Holy Spirit, and the everlasting mercy of God the Father.

The last few days I've been inundated with folks' criticisms, slander and calumny; I have been the brunt of others' anger and pain; I have been angry myself and gossiping about others; I have bordered on despair ... but this is not living the Catholic faith, this is not the joy that I should hold in my heart.

I MUST try to live out the words from the prophet, Zephaniah (3:14-18):

Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad
and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has removed the
judgement against you, he has turned away your enemies; the King of Israel, the
Lord, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear. ... The
Lord, your God, is in your midst, a might savior' He will rejoice over you with
gladness, and renew you in his love, He will sing joyfully because of you ...

This is what I need to remember ... to dance as John the Baptist danced in Elizabeth's womb ... to shout with joy, with exaltation, with love for all, especially my enemies because this is how I show God how much I love Him.

As Psalm 55 reminds us: cast your care upon the Lord, and he will support you; never will he permit the just man to be disturbed.

To our favorite grandpa!

We love you and miss you so very much!

God's many blessings to you today and everyday.

Author Fiesta: May with Patricia Polacco

We have had such fun over the past week or so. With school winding down -- and all our things being packed, tossed or given away in preparation for the big move -- we spent the last couple of weeks on fiesta, author fiesta that is with our good internet friend, Cay!

Each month, Cay posts links and information about a different author ... and May was Patricia Polacco month!

Here are all the books we read (we saved her five Christmas books to read during Advent and to give us a chance to re-live our Author Fiesta!) and a short summary to whet your appetite:

Wednesday May 7, 2008:
The Keeping Quilt – the true family history of a quilt
My Ol’ Man – lovingly retold story of the author’s dad and the magic they discover
Thank You, Mr. Falker – finally, Trisha gets a teacher who understands her
When Lightning Comes in a Jar – a family’s reunion and memory-making
Babushka’s Doll – when a demanding girl is allowed to play with her grandmother’s doll, she finally learns the meaning of patience!
Babushka Baba Yaga – is Baba Yaga really a grandma at heart?

Thursday, May 08, 2008:
Something About Hensley’s – true story of the local general store (and its owner) where townspeople always find everything they need.
Mommies Say SHHHHH! – the sounds on a farm where the only quiet animals are the bunnies. A Polacco book for the little ones.
The Butterfly – the true story of Polacco’s great aunt who helped save Jews in Nazi-occupied France; beautiful!
Thunder Cake – Tricia gets over being afraid of storms with a little help from her babushka (wonderful recipe at the end of the book!)
Boat Ride with Lillian Two Blossom – an ordinary summer day gets a bit more eventful for William and his sister when Lillian Two Blossom offers some answers to some questions
The Lemonade Club – when Traci’s best friend gets sick, only their teacher and the other students can make lemonade out of life’s lemons; excellent book about cancer and surviving and living life to the fullest.
Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare – sibling rivalry turns the corner when Richie and his sister “walk a bit in the other’s shoes”; very funny events occur!
The Bee Tree – when Mary Ellen gets tired of reading, her grandpa takes her on a hunt for a bee tree; wonderful story – when we first read this book a few years back, we went off on a whole study of bees and honey!

Monday, May 12, 2008:
Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic, sung in the year 1888 – a version of the famous poem with Polacco’s signature illustrations.
Mr. Lincoln’s Way – a great principal and a tough kid work together to help the birds.
Oh, Look! – a clever version of the old “can’t go over, can’t go over it” story. VERY cute illustrations!
Picnic at Mudsock Meadow – At the annual Harvest Festival, a boy who can’t do anything right finally solves an age-old mystery.
Some Birthday! – Patricia thinks everyone has forgotten her birthday, but her dad and family pull through with an unforgettable outing.
The Graves Family – an “Addams Family” like family moves across the street in the dead of night. Seth and Sara befriend the family and have amazing adventures!
The Graves Family Goes Camping – a sequel, this time the family takes Seth and Sara camping to a disused spot and bring home something they never imagined!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008:
Appelemando’s Dreams – how one little boys dreams can color a drab little town that’s forgotten how to dream.
Rechenka’s Eggs – a babuska’s beautiful eggs are accidentally ruined but the solution is even better than imagined.
Ginger and Petunia – Ginger and her pet Petunia are more alike than they ever imagined.
I Can Hear the Sun – a story about the homeless that has an uplifting ending
Pink and Say – two young Union soldiers find friendship and then are separated at Andersonville Prison.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008:
Meteor – when a meteor lands on the Gaw’s family farm, everyone in town comes out and learns how special they are.
Chicken Sunday – the kids sell pysanky eggs to earn enough to get EulaMae her Easter bonnet, but the hatmaker has something else in mind.
John Philip Duck – this is the fictionalized account of how the Peabody Hotel’s famous ducks first started swimming in the hotel fountain.
Luba and the Wren – here’s a fabulous retelling (and the pictures are glorious) of the Russian folk tale of the “Fisherman and His Wife”.
Tikvah Means Hope – a story of the famous Oakland (California) hills fire that devastated lives, but some stayed and hope returns.
My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother – Tricia finds out that sometimes older brothers are useful.

Thursday, May 15, 2008:
In Enzo’s Splendid Gardens – an outdoor restaurant is enlivened with this “house that Jack built” type story about a bee that lands on a tree.
Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair – books aren’t used properly once a town gets too used to television; a great book about the joy of reading.
G is for Goat -- an alphabet book of goat-life; one of Polacco’s books for younger children.
Just Plain Fancy – an Amish girl finds a fancy egg after complaining that their life is too plain.
Mrs. Katz and Tush – Larnel gives Mrs. Katz a kitten and all their lives are enriched.
Betty Doll – Polacco’s mother tells Patricia the whole story of her doll, Betty Doll.
Mrs. Mack – when Patricia spends her 10-year-old summer in Michigan, she meets Mrs. Mack and learns about horses.
Emma Kate – a story from Polacco’s childhood of her imaginary elephant friend, Emma Kate; one of Polacco’s books for younger children (and the drawings are wonderful!).

Friday, May 16, 2008:
Babushka’s Mother Goose – is much more than a retelling of Mother Goose! This is a tribute to Polacco’s Babushka and has a wonderful Ukranian/Eastern Europe feel to the poems and stories. This is wonderful.
Firetalking – an autobiography, this ended our unit on Patricia Polacco. She lovingly explains how she came to write and illustrate so many wonderful books for children and the great influence her family (and extended family) have had on all her work.

Books to save for Christmas:
Uncle Vova’s Tree
Christmas Tapestry
The Trees of the Dancing Goats
Welcome Comfort
An Orange for Frankie

Books coming out in 2008:
For the Love of Autumn (August)
Someone for Mr. Sussmann (November)

As you can see, Mrs. Polacco is quite prolific -- 47 books written plus two new ones coming out this year. She has such a gift of story-telling -- primarily because she comes from a family of storytellers (or "fire talkers") and because so many of her stories are based on ones that happened to herself or family members. The love of family shines through all her stories!

We can't wait for June to see who our next author will be!

THANKS Cay for such a wonderful way to make sure we read all the best picture book authors before we turn 100!

Mother's Day

As the kids get older, the Mother's Day celebrations become more meaningful and delightful.

Yesterday, Kotch (almost 17) took String Bean and I out for "grown-up girl bonding time" at a wonderful restaurant for brunch. It was the first time one of my children has taken me to a really nice meal and they paid. It was so wonderful sitting outside in our 70+ weather (don't worry, it's supposed to SNOW on Tuesday/Wednesday) with my lovely daughters, all of us dressed up and enjoying the time spent together.

While the girls were busy, dh had the two boys getting treats at the grocery to make a feast fit for a Spring evening -- barbequed hamburgers (dh even let them flip them and take them off the barbie!), homemade baked beans, coleslaw and this beautiful cookie cake that is PERFECT for the younger set:

Just as we were finishing dinner, Brikhead called from Baton Rouge (on break from his pizza job) just to "tell you I love you, Mom" .... from an almost 19-year-old man, that did my heart proud!

We have so much to be thankful of with our families -- dh called his mom and we'd seen my mom on Saturday, we have wonderful kids who know how to "treat mama right" and we had beautiful weather ....

Prayers that your mom's day was as wonderful ....