Friday with Lainey and Carrie - Part 2

National Gallery of Art

We would have probably never gone here, but Carrie wanted to, and I am so glad we did. We saw so much art! We could have spent two full days here. We saw originals of Da Vinci, Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, and Rodin (or Rodan?), and others I don't even know or remember. There were so many pictures and sculptures of the life of Christ and other biblical stories.

Poor picture of inside foyer

Marble stairs

Lots of hallways to lots of rooms to get lost in.

Little Dancer Age 14 - Edgar Degas

This was one of my favorites. She is made of wax, clay, metal, has a wig

of  human hair, and a real bodice, tutu, ballet slippers, and hair bow.

These dancers were called "rats." They came from working class families

and were very vulnerable to moral corruption at the hands of prosperous men.

I believe this is a bust of Rodin, or Rodan, or by

Rodin, or Rodan. I am going to fine out.

I love his face. Another favorite.

For Kay

The Holy Kinship, an altarpiece. This is supposed

to be Mary's family. Her mother, Anne, and two sisters

from two later marriages and their husbands and

children. Can you guess who is Mary? The description

suggests her pensive expression suggests that she

alone understands Christ's future. Another favorite.

Ginervra de' Benci - Leonardo da Vinci

The only painting by da Vinci in North America.

Unusual for a women's portrait of the time, Ginervra

is pictured outside. Her head is haloed by Juniper,

which symbolized virtue and refers to her name.

Still Life with Ham - 1650

Gerrit Willemsz Heda

The Deposition - 1520,

Anonymous Artist.

Undyed wool warp, spun silver,

silver-gilt, dyed silk, and wool weft.

The Thinker

Christ Carrying the Cross - early 1620's

Cornelis Van Poelenburch

Christ Bound - 1620's, ivory

Francois Duquesnoy

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There was a large exhibit of the Kaufman collection of early American

furniture. This Roll Top deskwas built in 1175-1785, by Jean-Henri Riesener.

Greg loved the collection. I am surprised he did not take more pictures.

Friday with Lainey and Carrie - Part 1

September 15, 2017

Carrie and Lainey came to visit us! Tyler made a call and we were able to tour The White House and Capitol. It was wonderful. First The, White House.

China Room

Library

Vermeil Room

George Washington - Dolly Madison saved this picture from the British burning of The White House in the War of 1812

Green Room

John Quincy Adams - my hero

Red Room - there were objects in the room you tried to find.
Lainey found the last one, no one could find, and the security
guard said is seldom found. :)

State Room

Old Family Dining Room

One of a kind

Pennsylvania Avenue

Happy Birthday, Jarin!

Our grandson, Jarin, is turning the big 8 on Thursday, Sept 28th. He is going to be baptized on Friday, the 29th. He is so energetic, smart, quick, and so lovable! We will be thinking of you, Jarin!

George Washington's Mount Vernon - Part 3

The Gardens

These are Crape Myrtle trees. They flower all summer and are

supposed to have a brilliant fall color.  Their trunks and bark

are very unusual, and deer don't like them. They are all over the state.

Of Fruit Gardens, whose fruit was intended only for the kitchen:

George Washington wrote: For every acre...,an apple tree

of good grafted fruit is to be planed on the premises, in a

regular orchard truly laid out in rows forty feet apart,

in between which (also in regular order) rows of peach trees."

Of Seed Beds:

"It is miserable for a farmer to be obliged to buy his seeds;

to exchange seeds may, in some cases be useful; but to buy

them after the first year is disreputable."

Of Nursery Beds, whose tender shoot & cuttings were grown

to be transplanted: "I entirely approve...of establishing large

nurseries of every kind of plant that is fit for hedges."

George Washington wanted to plant live hedges of fast

growinglocust and willows, instead of fences, but he

could never fully protect gardens from animals.

After George decided to stop growing tobacco and started

growing wheat, he invented this 16 sided barn to

thresh wheat using horses, instead of slaves.

This is a batteau, a type skiff that was used for hauling goods

and fishing. In the spring all workers would fish the Potomac

 and haul in  more than a million fish in a matter of weeks.

George Washington," ...there I nothing I more ardently desire

nor indeed is there any more essential to my permanent

interest, than raising of "live" fences on proper ditches or banks."