Longwood Gardens: The Children's Garden

Because winter can get a tad dreary in the Northern Hemisphere, I share with you more colorful photos from my Longwood Gardens visit. You may read previous posts about that trip here and here. Within the gigantic conservatory, there is a corner designed to be enjoyed by children, although it is not particularly interactive unless one wishes to stick one's hand into various water fountains -- which of course can be fun!

These serpents and the boiling cauldron were particularly impressive!

A peaceful corner...

This bird blew bubbles in the water every so often. Yellow light is from the stained glass window.

And in keeping with bird theme, later outside in the gardens I spotted a real bird - apparently a red-tailed hawk.

Even more Longwood photos to follow eventually!

Updating...

Life has once again gotten in the way of blogging.  The new job and longer commute are truly cutting into my writing time, and certainly there is less time for various adventures. So, I'll update you on some of what I have been doing.

Reading...One benefit of the commute is having more time to read. Since the beginning of the year I have read five books, including one in Latvian. Gloria Steinem's newest book, "My Life of the Road," was very informative; it includes many interesting stories and anecdotes from her life spent traveling to places around the country to work with various community organizations, civil rights movements, and individuals. The Latvian book I read was a memoir by Krišjānis Barons, and I would recommend it to all of my Latvian friends.

Enjoying...In an effort to stave off the winter doldrums, as well as to spend time with friends and enjoy some of Washington's cultural riches, in recent weeks I attended both a concert and a comedy show. The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington is celebrating its 35th year, and they kicked it off with a performance at the Barns of Wolf Trap. Although I had been to the outdoor amphitheater at Wolf Trap for numerous summer concerts, this was my first event at the Barns - which are two beautiful old barns stitched together to create an intimate concert venue as well as bar area. The atmosphere was cozy, and the concert was very good. Another Washington institution is the Capitol Steps, a musical satire ensemble, which - as their slogan puts it - puts the "mock" in democracy. Interestingly, the Steps are also celebrating their 35th anniversary this year. Particularly in this crazy election cycle the group had much to satirize, though one of my favorite pieces featured Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor waiting for the women's bathroom at the Supreme Court, and breaking out into song to rhapsodize about their crushes on Anthony Scalia. For your viewing pleasure, here are a couple of video clips of skits we saw. The first is Bernie Sanders singing "If There Were No Rich Men."

And "Lirty Dies: A Nunch of Butts..."

The Steps perform every Friday and Saturday night at the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington, and I'd say it's a "must do" for any Washingtonian. It was an entertaining way to finish the workweek.

Socializing...Although football does not interest me in the least, I always look forward to the elaborate Super Bowl party that some friends invite me to every year. And one of the most laughter-filled evenings in recent memory took place at a Tex-Mex restaurant with seven former co-workers. The get-together had been organized by a former colleague visiting from Ecuador; we had not seen in six months, so it was truly great to catch up. How fortunate that our party of eight was essentially given a private room, as our loud chattering and laughter would probably been annoying to anyone sitting nearby! In the coming weeks I'm looking forward to seeing another friend visiting from overseas.

Find Your Park!

To celebrate its 100th anniversary this year, the National Park Service launched a new advertising and marketing campaign called "Find Your Park" last year. Although it has only been in the last several years that I have begun to fully appreciate the NPS and its diversity, I now count myself as a huge fan. Just check out this video, and tell me this isn't an impressive park system?

Over time I have been fortunate to visit quite a few parks across the country: from Alcatraz Island in California to Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan, from Craters of the Moon in Idaho to Boston National Historic Park in Massachusetts. A few visits I've blogged about include: Shenandoah National Park in Virginia,Yellowstone which I visited a few years ago, Cape Hatteras National Seashore which I saw and loved in 2014, Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland on a hot summer's day, Harper's Ferry National Historical Park in nearby West Virginia, plus recalling an earlier visit to Sleeping Bear Dunes. Naturally, given that the National Mall & Memorial Parks in Washington is also a national park, that's another spot about which I have blogged.

A park that I visited on the same trip as Yellowstone was neighboring Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Although I was there for only part of a day, it was a beautiful and memorable visit, as the place is stunning!

Doing some hiking for the best views!

There are many more I would love to visit some day, including Acadia in Maine, Yosemite in California, Glacier in Montana, Arches in Utah, and - well, the list goes on!

However, if you asked me to name "my" park, I would quickly answer: the C&O National Historical Park. While spots like the Grand Canyon (which I've had the fortune of visiting twice!) are far more impressive, the beauty of the C&O is that it's close enough for me to visit frequently. Also, the impressive 180+ mile length, which stretches from the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington through all the way to Cumberland in western Maryland, means that there is lots to explore! I have hiked only about 25 miles of that. I have written about several (but certainly not all!) of my visits over the last several years, both in areas that are close to Washington, such as the ever-popular Great Falls overlook, and areas further away, such as the Monocacy Aqueduct and the town of Williamsport.

It's no surprise that my first outing to a national park this year was to the C&O. I took a five year old friend for a walk in the Great Falls area. The weather had been quite variable that day, and as we drove to the park, a quick downpour almost changed our plans. However, perhaps sensing our dire need to experiences the great outdoors, the rain stopped. After parking the car, we began walking, and I noticed other hikers looking above us, so we turned around to spot a lovely rainbow. I did not have a camera along; this photo was snapped with my very old cell phone. I'm hoping for many more visits to national parks this year (as well as better quality photos)!

Happy 100th birthday, National Park Service!!!

Longwood Gardens: Orchids and More

My December visit to the beautiful Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania was timed so that I could see the popular Christmas displays, but the indoor greenhouses are so impressive that they deserve a post of their own. Well, actually more than just one post, otherwise I will overwhelm you with a hundred photos! Thus, below is a small selection of orchids and other flowers. If the cold winter temperatures have you longing for warmer weather, may these colorful blossom remind you that spring and summer will eventually come!

I've no idea what this is - but I love it!

Just some of the many orchids!

More Longwood photos to follow in the future!

Snowed In

With the Washington region expecting a blizzard of historic proportions, preparations are well underway as the area and its inhabitants prepare to hunker down and then eventually dig out. By the time you read this post, I -- and the rest of the DMV -- will be snowed in. If you know me or have been reading the blog for a while, you are aware that winter is not my favorite season. I don't mind a few inches of pretty snow, but the two to possibly three feet that may fall is far more than anyone needs. Now that I've finished all of my grocery store runs (buying all of life's necessities -- fruits, vegetables, yogurt, almond milk, bread, hemp seeds, eggs, walnuts, dark chocolate, purple hyacinths, and yellow daffodils), there's plenty of time to consider what I'll do to fill the time while it is too dangerous to go outside. It may be about 2 1/2 days before it's safe to leave the house, thus loads of free time for all sorts of activities. 

Things I Could/Should/Might Do During the Blizzard of 2016

1. Read

2. Work on the blog

3. Organize my digital photos

4. Organize old print photos

5. Do lots of yoga

6. Bake

7. Write a letter

8. Call several friends I've not talked to in a while

9. Organize my closet

10. Clean off my desk

11. Figure out what to do with all those CDs I never listen to anymore

12. Work on Latvian school report cards

13. Prepare Latvian school lesson plans

14. Shred old unnecessary documents

15. Start writing a book

Things I Most Likely Will Do During the Blizzard of 2016

1. Binge-watch any remaining episodes of "Transparent" and "Mozart in the Jungle" I've not yet seen

2. Sleep too much

3. Eat too much

4. Drink copious amounts of hot tea (selection has been almost fully restocked -- I could not find linden flower tea, but have plenty of jasmine green, decaf green, Earl Gray, chamomile, and more)

5. Complain about having to dig out my car

6. Dig out my car

7. Complain about how difficult digging out my car was

Grand Rapids Children's Museum

Located in downtown Grand Rapids, the Children's Museum is a perfect destination for those cold winter days. My mom and I took my niece and nephew there the morning after Christmas Day; going relatively early was a wise decision, as the museum quickly became quite crowded with many children and even more adults.

The museum has a variety of different play areas, some meant for very young children, others suitable for slightly older kids.

The yellow VW bug is popular with all ages!

The area that attracts the most children is "Little GR" -- a small city, just like Grand Rapids, with all of the requisite services one needs in town.

The post office

The library

Properly checking out library books is serious work!

The pizzeria

The chef at the pizzeria

The bank

This supermarket shopper apparently loves fish!

Small selection of supermarket items

The friendly supermarket cashier

The museum has numerous other areas, but this is where our kids wanted to spend the most time. It's also where we ran into other Latvian-Americans -- because it's a small world when you're Latvian!

Christmas in Michigan

Maybe I should write about Christmas before another big holiday is upon us! This year my trip to the Midwest was quite short - only three days. I was blessed with good flying weather (left Grand Rapids a few hours before they were hit with some sleet and ice!), and with on-time flights. Flying is a true blessing when it functions smoothly.

As opposed to last year's huge family gathering, this Christmas was smaller and quieter, but also very enjoyable. 

One of the cats keeping watch over the tree.

When my sister and I were young, our most important job to help prepare for Christmas dinner was to make name cards for all of the guests. This year my six-year old nephew, with help from Oma, continued this tradition - with a tasty twist, as each name card was in a plastic baggie with piparkukas!

In addition to celebrating Christmas, we did have time for a few outings, a couple of which I will write about separately. A couple of us even found time to see a movie; if you've not caught "Brooklyn" yet, all three of us highly recommend it! The film has been Oscar-nominated for Best Picture, as well as Best Actress -- Saoirse Ronan did an incredible job acting the part of an Irish immigrant in New York City in 1952.

We also had plenty of time for reading and for playing. My niece loved the floor puzzle I gave her as a gift, but I found it surprisingly difficult to assemble--too many pastelly colors and too many curvy lines.

Although my nephew was excited about his Kristaps Porzinigis jersey he received from Santa (judging from post-Christmas photos chatter, the Porzingis jersey and shirt were the most popular Christmas gifts among Latvian-Americans), when I asked what his favorite gift was, he answered, "The fact that you are here!"