Memorial Day

Selim and I went to Portsmouth today and walked around Prescott Park.  Every year we go and take pictures by the fountains.  When we entered the area with the three small fountains, there was white stuff everywhere.  At first glance, it looked like snow.  But no, petals from the flowering trees had fallen in massive quantities.

The rhododendron flowers at the edge of the walkway were beautiful.

The new bridge between Portsmouth and Kittery, Maine is getting installed.  The span is shiny.  I liked the green patina from the old bridge.  But I will take a safer and shiny bridge over dangerous and pretty patina any day.

As we drove into town, I noticed a wisteria tree out of the corner of my eye.  The contrast of the pink door and the purple flowers had me in a trance.

Driving out of town, we went past houses with flags, in honor of Memorial Day.

This is the day that we remember those who gave their lives in service to country.  I am grateful to those who have served and those who continue in the military and diplomatic corps today.  And at the same time, there are many other ways to serve our country and I am thankful for all that have heeded the call in their own way.

In other news, the garden has grown a lot in the past week.  It is time to thin the lettuce!

The azalea that I moved two years ago finally flowered.  My plant is weeks behind others in the neighborhood.  I was surprised to see the buds today.

And it looks like we will have some strawberries from a few volunteer plants.

I don't think I took pictures of the peas, but they are sending tendrils out to the fence.  So exciting!  The tomato seeds sprouted while I was away and the cucumber shoots grew.

I needed these days off.  After being away for a week, I am grateful to have had an extra day with my Lovey Lamb.  I treasure our walks, fountain and flower explorations, and window shopping moments.  I love it that we sing together in the car, and hold hands as we cross a street.  He has only a few more weeks of school.  Pretty soon I will be balancing more together time, with a need to nap and be parent on duty at the same time.  I'll cross that bridge some time next month.

Snow!

Memorial weekend is supposed to be the official summer kick off.  Mother Nature didn't get the message.  I don't know what time it was last night or the early hours of the morning...but at some point, I woke up in complete darkness to this huge splat sound.  To me, it sounded like somebody throwing huge tomatoes at the window, or wet sand balls.  Selim mumbled, "Don't worry Mom, it is only the squirrels in the gutters."

Well, that would have been a good explanation had we been home, in a house that say, had gutters.  But we were at Mom and Robert's and their gutter and roof structure is not like ours.  Robert heard us talking and poked his head in the bedroom and said that the sound was snow falling off their metal roof and that the power had gone out.  What?  Run that by me again?

I'm not certain if it was the silence in the house, no hum of the refrigerator or any other electronic device, or the continuous loud snow sliding sounds, but I had a restless sleep after that.  Around 6:30 Selim and I got up and looked out the picture windows, to the view of the track.

Snow.  Covered in snow.  Robert said we got about 3 inches before turning to rain and melting some.  There was a big pile of snow on the porch.  I don't know what I was thinking, but I stepped out barefoot, to document.  Slush is cold!

Robert had left out trays of tomatoes and other seedlings to harden off.  In the middle of the night, he had to bring them in.  I hope they make it.

Yesterday morning, the weatherman said that the higher terrain, 2500 feet or so, might get some snow.  I guess he was off by a few thousand feet.  I didn't expect the snow so I wore my sandals over to the Ashram.  Good thing I travel with back up shoes in the car as I really needed closed toed ones today.

When the sun got a bit higher in the sky, the snow melted quickly.  But still, in the shady places, it lingered.

Speaking of yesterday...what a sweet day!  Mama Cardinal ate at the feeder and stayed long enough for me to find my camera and take her picture.

On Thursday after school, Mom took Selim back home with her.  I took the morning to rest and get reacquainted with my home.  Then, I drove over to the Ashram via Laconia so that I could pick up Selim's helmet that he left at the roller rink.  That route took me past Lake Winnipesaukee.  It has been a while since I've been past the southern tip of the big lake.  It was stormy and the surface covered in white caps.  There were a few intrepid souls who were riding jet skis, despite the weather.  They were determined to enjoy their vacation as originally planned, I guess.

I got to the Ashram around 2:00 or so.  I gave Mom the debrief of my week, getting to the granularity of it, before I went over to Amy and Jero's lake house to pick up Selim.  I hadn't paid close attention to the gas gauge in my car.  Half way there, the little gas pump light went on.  I didn't want to chance of running on empty with Selim in the car, so I had to go into New Hampton for gas.  Sigh.  I arrived at the lake just in time for an early dinner.  There were other families there -- so 12 of us seated at the table.  Being welcomed into that gathering was exactly what I needed.  It felt like balm to my bruised sense of social self.  And, having my Lovey Lamb fly into my arms after a 6-day absence was wonderful.

Last Day in DC

Yesterday I woke up and the humidity and temperature had dropped.  Good thing I had packed a sweater.  With it being cloudy and in the 50's, I needed it.

The last day of class was a good one.  Actually, the whole week in the classroom was really helpful.  Our instructors made the material come to life with their real world examples.  The people at my table had much to offer and I enjoyed the whole week with them.  At the same time, when class was dismissed, I did not linger.  I shook my instructors' hands, said one or two goodbyes and headed for the shuttle bus.  Since the shuttle didn't go all the way to Main State, I got off in Rosslyn and then took the Metro to Foggy Bottom.  I walked down 21st instead of my usual 23rd Street.  I passed by the gates of George Washington University.

Going through the gates, I found more sculpture and a fountain.

I continued down the hill and passed by more art on the sidewalk.  I love the metal among the flowers.

I resumed walking to C Street.  I had told Nedim that I had gotten him a T-shirt at the gift shop.  But he had wanted a hat.  So, I went back to the gift shop and got him a hat.  I lucked out in my timing because I was able to catch one of the last shuttles back to Rosslyn.  I didn't have to walk back up the hill to I street to the Metro.  When I got off the bus in Rosslyn, I decided to investigate a sculpture piece that I had seen every day in the road median.  Without my distance glasses, I had no idea what it was.  All I could tell was it was big, shiny, and metal.  I missed the colorful detail.

The piece itself is titled Cupid's Garden, made my Chris Gardener.

All around the big metal sculpted arrows are crocheted things.  There are snakes

and birds

a bunny

snail

mushrooms

and flowers in what looks like fishing nets.

It is wild.

I don't fully understand what was going on, but I sure had fun taking pictures.

I walked the few blocks back to the hotel to pick up my suitcase and get a cab to the airport.  I didn't know if I would encounter huge holiday traffic mess, so I asked for the cab to pick me up at 5:30.  I didn't have to worry at all.  Ten minutes later, my cabby dropped me off right in front of the terminal.  It wasn't 6:00 and my flight's scheduled departure was 8:00.  That gave me plenty of time to sit in a rocking chair in front of a huge wall of windows and watch the planes land.

We boarded on time.  I had the window seat on the right side of plane.  I took a few pictures while on the ground and waiting to take off.

Unfortunately, it was so windy and the plane was buffeted in the air, so when we were over areas of interest, I couldn't get a crisp looking picture.  I did get the Capitol Building

and the White House (lower right)

and I'm not sure.

The clouds filled in pretty quickly.

And then it was just the full moon.

At midnight, after planes, trains, and automobiles, I pulled into the driveway, so glad to be home.