Lest you wonder what I meant yesterday by tango. Here is a YouTube sample of finalists from an Argentine competition in 2007 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09ltr4HwE68 . If you watch the legs you’ll see why the right shoes are important but what I really love is the intimate communication in this dance. Even the pauses are full of suspense. Who knew feet could be so hot? Maybe in another 20 years I will be able to dance like this.
Let me see I’ll be ... Oh, never mind!
K Q;-)
Not that I needed another excuse to buy shoes but I’ve taken up Argentine tango again after 20 some years. It’s not so easy as it was for me in my youthful NYC days but my body is beginning to remember and the benefits are already clear - tummy flatter, legs strengthening, balance much improved. AND I’m four pairs of hot shoes richer! (Ahhhhhhhh DSW!)
What woman could resist being held close in a physical "conversation" to fabulous music? Not me. I’m learning to relax and "listen." My teacher is Katja from Estonia and, as usual, there are usually more women than men in the class but since we rotate partners no one is stuck for long with any one partner.
I take both beginning and intermediate, one right after the other and last night I really lucked out. No one else showed up for intermediate and Katja was out sick so I had the tall male substitute teacher all to myself - a private lesson for the hour. It was fun and grueling and my feet ached badly but I was elated at the end of my lessons. I have a lot of practicing to do but I will enjoy every minute of it. Today I treated my poor feet to a pedicure during lunch hour. Ahhhhhhhh!
K Q:-)
During hard times I find it comforting to walk. Exercise helps my mental attitude and I always discover something. A couple of weeks ago, while exploring one of the many bike paths in Arlington I stumbled on this little wetland haven sandwiched between Route 66 and the high rises of Ballston (where I live). It’s full of redwing blackbirds, cardinals, ducks, fish, and who knows what else. What a treasure!
Mrs. Mallard left her mate on the pond and flew over to check me out at the viewing platform. Perhaps she has a nest nearby.
Last weekend, before going to see my Mom in the hospital, I met my longtime pal, Catherine, for brunch in Clifton. This tiny town was founded in the 1860s and is in the heart of horse country, only about a 40 minute drive from where I live. I’ll need to go back to explore when I have more time.
This Wright house, reputedly built by a gangster in the 1940s, is one of the newer homes and is the only stone house in town.
K Q:-)
On Saturday I set out on a mission - an "artist’s date" with myself to check out the quilting show at Dulles Expo Center. It was the hottest day of the year so far so I wore my loose Balinese batik dress (purchased recently in Charleston) and my favorite collage hat. It was a wild goose chase finding the place! I’d been there a couple of times in the past year so had neglected to download directions before setting off. It turns out the highway I chose to drive west was not the correct one - tho’ headed in generally the right direction.
Not being a man, I stopped twice for directions from helpful individuals. Both times I was close but misdirected. Is this why guys don’t ask for directions? Possibly. Thankfully, I had my cell phone with me so could check in with my sister for directions from her computer. I was close but a construction site at the turn off had eliminated the Expo Center sign. No wonder I was wandering.
It was a relief to step into the air conditioned hall and I was greeted with enthusiasm by four ladies selling tickets. They all admired my outfit but especially the hat. They wanted to know if I’d made it (yes), do I teach classes (yes) and do I do trunk shows (yes). I explained that I don’t make hats to sell any more but that I do love to teach and am available for groups who are interested in seeing and trying on a variety of hats. I handed out four cards finally purchased my ticket and walked away thinking, "These are my people!" Hopefully, one of their guilds will call. I do have a class scheduled with Arlington County Arts on Saturday, September 27 to make a Beryl Trilby. Now, if I can just remember how to upload pictures to my website!
Thought you hat lovers would enjoy this quilt "Proper Toppers on Parade" designed by Stargazy Quilts and made up by Rhonda Adams of Mount Vernon. It seemed to me that most of the quilts at this show were made up from kits which I found disappointing.
My real mission, however, was to shop for a new sewing machine - something a bit heavier than my trusty Featherweight that can handle my collage work. I don’t want an expensive embroidering machine tho’ (I have enough Stickerei in my trunk). It seems that these shows are always pushing the high end expensive machines that are just too much machine for my needs. The Berger’s Baby Lock booth I was headed for was swamped, nothing was priced and I didn’t see the Embellisher that I wanted to try so I wandered on. Will do some on-line research then visit the shop in Centreville to try out machines on a cooler day.
Do you have a favorite sewing machine? Most famous artists seem to own Berninas but I’m put off Bernina after being stung by their cheaper Bernette 90e line in Switzerland. I don’t want to spend $8,000 either. I’m looking for ideas. What do you like? I need to get back to creating beautiful fabric things.
K Q:-)
Gina with found gardenias at a waterfront park fountain.
Along the Battery.
Meeting Street Inn.
One of many jasmine doorways.
The round church, a dissenting congregation,...
...and one of its ancient trees.
I love peeking into people's gardens.
A last lunch at Jestine's.
K Q:-)
Where have I been?
To the great Southern City of Charleston where we had a mini family reunion at the Spoleto Festival. My sister Gina and I flew down on Thursday and hooked up with Cousin Ben and his wife, Mary, who used to live in Charleston. Another sister, Elise, drove up from Tallahassee with Ben’s daughter Bess and her new husband, Jeff who is doing graduate work in music at FSU.
We had a grand time listening to a variety of music from the opera Amistad (not quite my style musically but a well designed production) and La Cenerentola (Rossini’s version of Cinderella) to an a capella Gospel group, chamber music with cellos, piano and guitar by young musicians, stars of the future, then the fabulous Westminster Choir, a Cuban music party in the park and, my personal favorite on Saturday night, Daniel Mille from Paris. He was here on his first visit to the US playing (of all things!) jazz accordion with a cellist and a clarinetist. Mille is also a composer and I so loved his music that I was on the edge of my seat for the entire concert. We bought CDs, of course.
In between concerts we toured the city on foot with Ben as our guide. 
Here he is on Catfish Row, which inspired the location of Porgy and Bess. We strolled down to the waterfront and then along the Battery 
with its lovely old homes to the site where cadets from the Citadel fired 
the first shots of the Civil War on Fort Sumter. 
We actually stayed in the Citadel which is now an Embassy Suites hotel.
Here is a Single House, typical Charleston architecture. We drove down to the beach on Saturday 
for an amateur sand sculpture contest and managed to get sunburned in just under an hour.
We ate pulled pork BBQ and the best onion rings I’ve ever tasted at 
Jim ‘N Nick’s, seafood at Hyman’s with fried green tomatoes, more seafood down by the beach, and finally a down home delicious Sunday dinner at Jestine’s 
where I ate the best pot roast of my life (was thyme the secret ingredient?) served with okra gumbo and collard greens. Yum!!! I’m eating salads all this week. Our hotel served free cocktails from 5:30 to 7:30 so we saved by eating big at lunch and nibbling at the cocktail hour.
We were lucky to take a carriage tour of the old town area with Trey, a 13th generation Charlestonian, as our guide, led by his mule team 
Bud and Sissy who are so ornery that no one else but Trey will drive them. He is a college malingerer but an avid reader of history so had many wonderful stories to relate. His historical chat was a highlight of our trip. If you go seek him out at Palmetto Carriage Tours.
We also stopped into the Customs house on Sunday morning where our guide Gail, a retired high school teacher, gave us an excellent tour and even let me examine her bonnet. These guides are so into their historical mileau they don’t mind wearing heavy linen and wool in the summer. 
This fellow with Gina said, "If they could do it so can I."
We shopped the market where we viewed expensive hand crafted seagrass baskets 
and I bought a Balinese batik dress and straw purse. Then we hit the Craft Show where Gina bought a necklace and a leather belt, Elise bought a gorgeous black clay, glazed red pot, and I purchased an art photograph of an egret.
All in all, we had great fun! Four days is a good trip - long enough to feel like a real getaway but short enough to get you home to your own bed before you are too weary. I would definitely go back to Charleston. 
We crammed a lot into four days and barely scratched the surface. I spotted lots of hats there too. The sun is hot in the Low Country. If I were ever to open a hat shop Charleston would be a great location. I limited myself to packing three chapeaus on this trip.
K Q:-)
Just a ten minute walk from my office is the Bon Air Memorial Rose Garden in Arlington. I’ve walked down here before but just now the roses are coming into their own and I’ve visited twice this week. We are assured of another several weeks of display as many of these species are still in bud. What a glorious way to spend a rainy (or a sunny) lunch hour on a busy day!
Just as if to prove that a light rain is no reason not to take a walk this Iris in the Sunny Garden takes me back to childhood days on Annandale Road where Iris were part of our usual spring display.
Here is one lovely arbor in the rain.
This cultivar is called Fourth of July Climber. I’ll have to remember it when next I have a garden to till.
Another longer view of one of the arbors here - this one on a sunny, windy day.
Gertrude Jekyll, a famous rose for good reason, what a scent!
This whimsical birdhouse is a lovely reminder to get out and smell the roses and listen to the birds sing any day at lunch time.
P.S. On that rainy day I spotted a Downy Woodpecker - or was it an Acorn Woodpecker? - either way a spectacular small bird enjoying the rose garden with me. He was too fast to catch on camera.
K Q:-)
What would we do without dear friends? Just at the moment I needed it most I was invited to join my friends Ray and Beryl in the Shenandoah mountains for a weekend of catching up on each other and enjoying these gorgeous ancient mountains. Beryl has been through a terrible five month health ordeal in which she lost 45 pounds, several internal organs and nearly her life. 
Thanks to the love and prayers of friends and the attentive, loving care of her good man she’s come through it all and is in good health and spirits now. We shared her first glass of wine in five months as she was on her way north to visit a new grandbaby in Pennsylvania.
We’d made this plan a month ago to meet up on the Skyline Drive as they drove up from Louisiana, some 85 miles west of where I now live in Arlington. I set out on Friday morning in a slight drizzle which in the last half hour of my two and a half hour drive turned into a dense fog. It was so thick that I nearly missed the Skyland Resort Lodge but thanks to that bright yellow line in the center of the road I did not. Neither did I drive off the edge of the mountain which was another distinct possibility. The view (later) and the company were more than worth the moments of stressful navigation in the fog.
Skyland Resort was begun in 1911 and improved in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It’s a group of comfortable cottages and buildings nestled among the hills and trees of the Shenandoah with good food, lots of scenic trails and the camaraderie of people who come from all over to enjoy this beautiful place. Indeed, our waitress at breakfast this morning was from Indonesia!
This leather clad gal was on her first Harley outing and, no, hers is not the yellow one. That one belongs to her fella’. There were lots of these brave souls wandering the hilly roads and what a thrill ride that must be! 
Spotted this great hat at breakfast and when we met him later on the trail he told us he was from Houston.
Saturday proved to be a gorgeous day and we took two hikes up the Little Stony Man Trail. We’d hoped to see the bear cubs some have spotted in a nearby cave under a cliff but they were not in view on either of our treks. We did spot deer and a wild turkey and were accompanied by warblers and wildflowers on our way.
Great friends are the best tonic. Thanks, Ray and Beryl, and ...
Bon Voyage!
K Q:-)
P.S. Beryl's ordeal began with an infected tooth. As for me, I'm going to make that dental appointment I've been postponing tomorrow.
I won't be making it to the Kentucky Derby this year as I am off to the mountains of Virginia for a retreat. I will be wearing this hat tho' just to commemorate the day.
Marie passed along this fabulous Derby look from Ralph Lauren. Think I'm going to make myself another one of those top hats!
K Q:-)
Here’s pretty much what I had in my mind when I headed back to Virginia after two years in Europe. A little bungalow (c 1920) just blocks from a Metro stop and only a few minutes drive to my job. This is where my Sweetie and I could grow old together, our last house, walking distance to a good grocery store, great restaurants and easy public transportation into Washington D.C. A nice little back yard where I can have my garden. Double paned windows mean it will be heated and cooled efficiently. It has a fireplace in the living room, three bedrooms,and a deck off the kitchen and a claw footed tub in one of the 2 full bathrooms. The fact that it’s located across the street from Washington and Lee's stadium means we would really appreciate those double paned windows come football season. It has a remodeled kitchen too with granite counters and the parking is off the street for my Mini. And, yes, that is a lilac bush by the front porch. Why is my heart breaking?
Asking price for this little gem is $679,900 - even in this market. Ye gods! I may HAVE to move back to Texas. Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
K Q:-0
