Indigo Butterflies

Exploring Washington DC

It is late Wednesday night and I'm sitting in my friend Meredith's apartment looking out over the Washington DC skyline.  I can see the Pentagon and the Washington Monument and all the lights of this wonderful city. 

It's hard to know where to begin.  I think for the most part I will let the photographs speak for themselves.  I'm having such a wonderful time here and I've seen so many beautiful places. 

When I walked onto the Mall, the first thing I saw was the Capitol Building and then I turned and saw the Washington Monument. 

What an incredible sight to see.  The towering monument and it's reflection in the pool.

I can't possibly share everything in this one post about my experiences so far, so here is a link to more photos from my first day or two in the City and I will post later in more detail about some of the individual sites.

This first day I visited the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial.  I am visiting the Jefferson Memorial today, but I did take a couple of photos of the building since I could see it as I walked back to the Metro Station to head to the apartment.

As an aside, if you visit Washington DC, remember to bring good walking shoes.  You will walk a lot.  I have a couple of blisters to prove it.

I hope you enjoy the photos.

Washington DC, Here I Come

I'm in Washington DC on vacation for a week and so far I'm loving every minute of it.  I am here because my friend Meredith (a wonderful, funny, talented, smart, incredible woman and my hero) has just moved to DC from Seattle and I'm helping her unpack and settle in. 

I'm also glad to be here, because I had never been to our nations capitol before nor had I made a long trip like this alone.  Including stops, I made it from Myrtle Beach, SC to Meredith's apartment in Arlington in about eight hours.

I was excited to get on the road in spite of the rain Saturday morning and I was confident that it would blow over soon.  But it lasted until I was well into North Carolina and on I-95.  But it did finally clear up and the drive through Virgina was beautiful.  (and yes, I did take these first two photos with my cell phone while I was driving).

 

Most of the drive was a piece of cake, but I owe thanks to Benjamin for the use of his TomTom gps for getting me from the outskirts of Arlington to Meredith's apartment, and to Marshall as well for bringing me maps of DC and a book on the area and sites to see.  Thank you both!

We've begun unpacking and organizing Meredith's apartment, and slowly but surely it's taking shape.  She has to work this week, so I am spending my days checking out DC.  I have even learned how to get around on the Metro subway system (and I can even switch trains!)

Here is some art I discovered at one of the Metro stations I went in...

 

 

Eccentric America - A Great Place to Travel

If you're planning a trip in the US (now that gas prices have dropped a little - Hooray!) and you're feeling a bit adventuresome, you need to check out the Eccentric America website.  With their assistance, you can find the Toilet Seat Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas, The Worlds Largest Ball of Paint in Alexandria, Indiana, or you might want to seek out the Out 'n' About Treesort in Takilma, Oregon where all the accommodations are tree houses.

Growing up with a father in the Air Force meant that we traveled a lot in our old Godzilla green stationwagon.  We had lots of fun and saw a lot of strange places and events.  I'm glad that someone had the thoughtfulness to pull together all of this eccentricity in one place for easy reference.  I only wish I'd found it ages ago!

Below is a map that you will find on the Eccentric America website.  It shows the number of eccentric sites per state.  What do you know, Florida and California lead the pack!

Coneflower Update, Oct. 10

Time sort of got away from me, but I'm back on track with the Coneflower watercolor project.  I worked on the sketch tonight and got the flowers pretty will done.  Just a little more work on the flowers, add some background leaves and it will be done I think. 

So... here's the updated sketch along with the photograph I'm working from

 

And here's a close up of the sketch. (Please ignore the fact that the paper is crooked.)

 

I hope to complete the sketch this weekend and start on the watercolors next week.  Thanks for keeping me straight Meredith.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

I was looking at my calendar today and realized that it's time to call my doctor and schedule my annual mammogram.  Ugh.  I don't know a soul who looks forward to it, but if you are are 40 or older or if you have a family history of breast cancer, call your doctor and set up an appointment.  It's important.  Excuse me, did you hear that?  It's IMPORTANT!

Breast cancer isn't picky and it doesn't just happen to someone else.  Women as well as men, young and old are susceptible.  I have known a few women with breast cancer, among them a 30 year old and my grandmother who was diagnosed at 89.  I also have a male friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 45.  Look around you.  I suspect you know at least one person who has been touched by breast cancer in one way or another.

Eight years ago my gynecologist discovered a lump in my right breast.  The mammogram showed two.  Two days after my mammogram I was at the hospital having  a Vacuum Assisted Breast Biopsy.  The days spent waiting for the results of my biopsy were excruciating, but I was lucky.  Both lumps were benign. 

I was 35 when those lumps were discovered.  Yes, I know I'm giving away my age, but I want you to understand that 40 isn't some magic number.  Every woman aged 18 to 98 should perform a monthly self-exam.  Follow this link to Breastcancer.org for instructions self-exams.  It's only five steps and it's easy.  The earlier you begin this routine the better.  You will get to know what feels normal for you and learn to recognize any change.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  So please, do yourself and your family a favor.  Start doing a monthly self-exam and call your doctor for an appointment.

Banned Books Week

If you want to get me fired up, try telling me you want to ban a book!  That will do it in record time.  Zero to sixty in less than a second.  The right to express ideas and opinions is most basic to the First Amendment, no matter how much you agree with an idea or how much you despise it.

This week, September 27 through October 4, 2008, is Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read.  This annual American Library Association event is intended to remind us as Americans,

"...not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted...BBW (Banned Books Week) celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unpopular or unorthodox viewpoints to all who wish to read them.  After all, intellectual freedom can exist only where these two essential conditions are met."

According to the American Library Association, the most challenged books of 2007 include, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain; The Color Purple, by Alice Walker; and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou. 

If you'd like more information on Banned Books Week and the most challenged books, as well as challenged authors, you can visit the American Library Association.

"If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable."  ~ Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., in Texas v. Johnson.

Vote for Charity Giveaway

This evening I was skimming through new blog posts and found in Seth Godin's BLOG information on Squidoo.  They are giving up to $80,000 to charity by October 15.  If you'd like to help out just click on this link.  All you have to do is vote for the charity you'd like to help and Squidoo will donate $2.00 for each vote up to $80,000.  It couldn't be easier. 

There's no catch and nothing to buy, just the opportunity to do something worth while.  A few of the many charities listed are the SPCA, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund, the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation, and OXFAM America.

Two dollars per vote might not sound like much, but every dollar counts.  Every dollar builds on the one before it, and every dollar brings a hope and a dream closer to reality.