2 posts in one!

 This is a continuation of my girl’s history day post.  Feel free to go to any, all, or none of the suggestions with yourself, or one or more friends.  “The most important thing is to enjoy your life - to be happy - it's all that matters.”  Audrey Hepburn  The main point of this blog is to explore, learn, and eat.

We enjoyed the exhibit titled Through the African American Lens: a Preview of the National Museum of African American History and Culture at American History and I highly recommend it.  There is definitely something new to learn.  Even though we quickly browsed through it because it was a long day.  Most of us five ladies were tired and hungry.  It was also a Saturday and crowded.  One section that really caught my attention was about African Americans and religion.  The section was divided between Christian, Muslim, and Jewish.  I have never really thought about African Americans as Jews.  It was a good preview of what African Americans have contributed to American society, and what will be in the new National museum.  My good friend said that one of the highlights for her was the dining room table where Thurgood Marshall and others worked on the Brown v. Board case.  Stay tuned next year in 2016 because it will be opened in 7-13 months.

In the future National African American history museum does need to work on their online presence.

Please feel free to check out the website: Through-the-African-American-Lens

 

For four months, I had the honor to work temporarily at the Library of Congress.  When you go to the Library of Congress building, it is an experience all by itself, very awe-inspiring and impressive.  While on break, I viewed two good exhibits: Hope for America (about Bob Hope) and Pointing their Pens: Herblock and fellow cartoonists confront the issues.  Both exhibits are in the beautiful Jefferson building.  I enjoyed the old video clips and audio in the Hope for America.  In addition, I did not realize how much Bob Hope influenced America.  If you are looking for more old school and a lot of reading, you should go to the Pointing their Pens exhibit.  It was interesting to see the old cartoons and learn more about the issues back then. If you want to see the last aforementioned exhibit (Pointing their Pens), it closes March 19, 2016.

Please check out the websites.  https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/hope-for-america/

pointing-their-pens-editorial-cartoons

Now if you don't mind, go on over to my foodie blog for two restaurant reviews in DC 

adventures in cooking & eating

Happy adventures and blogging to y'all!

 

Fun history day with the girls

I am not going to apologize for the 18 months since my last post, just offer an explanation and catch-up y’all up on my life.  Life is busy and messy.  Matt have been busy working, I have been applying for jobs, volunteering, cooking, and daily/weekly home maintenance/cleaning.  Matt and I also have been going out on our own dates together.  In addition, last year early June I threw my friend a baby sprinkle for her little girl.  Toward the end of last year, I started to learn and take up quilting and sewing.  Finally, from January-May I worked at the Library of Congress in DC where I learned alot.  So anyway, I digress but I am back for 2015.  There will be exciting new changes hopefully coming for us in the future.

Last weekend, May 30, I had the pleasure of going to the American history museum & Freer gallery in Washington D.C with four good girlfriends.  We had a fun history day just going around talking and catching up.  In the words of Anna from Frozen, I paraphrase, “Do you want to go to a museum?”  A museum anywhere really is a great place to meet old friends and family, discuss issues, and learn something new.  Even though it was hot, humid & crowded we all made the best of things.

Anyway, I would highly recommend the new and temporary exhibit “Hear My Voice: Alexander Graham Bell and the Origins of Recorded Sound.”  We spent about 50 minutes at this exhibit.  I found it fascinating and learned a lot.  One of the most exciting aspects of the exhibit is actually hearing the old recordings and listening to Bell’s voice.  For all the people who complain that the U.S. Federal government cannot work together and get things done, this is just one example to prove that they can get things done.  The exhibit was a collaboration of three different agencies, and they came up with a system called IRENE in 2009.  The three agencies are Library of Congress, Department of Energy, and Institute of Museum & Library services.

There is just one complaint about the exhibit, that there was a lot of reading.  At one point, I was overwhelmed and confused.  One just has to focus, read, think, and rest.  It was nice that right outside the exhibit exit there was a bench.

You still have seven months to go see it because it closes January 31, 2016.

Please check out the link.

Temp exhibit hear-my-voice

            As I wrote earlier, we also went to the Freer gallery on a whim toward the end of the day.  It had been a long day on Saturday, and we were tired from the heat.  We spent ninety minutes walking around, but I learned alot in a short period.  Again, I would highly recommend a visit to the Freer gallery.  There were several beautiful Chinese landscape paintings and ceramics that we saw.

Chinese landscape paintings already closed on May 31, but by clicking the link though you are able to see many of them.

You have about 6 months left to see the beautiful Peacock room because it closes Jan 3, 2016.

There is so much to look at here, so this is another exhibit that is overwhelming.  Please click and check it out online.  Peacock Room

Whenever you have some free time, please check out some of the marvelous Chinese art collection at the freer gallery online by clicking the link.

Chinese art collection

Overall, in conclusion it was a good, fun-filled day of history, learning, and talking.  We are five young and active women after all.  We did what women do best, just talk, catch up, and gossip.  Hope you enjoyed my mini story of my day with friends. Thanks for reading. Until next time, happy blogging.

Our 2nd Anniversary

September 1, 2013

Part 1

Written December 23, 2013, edited January 30, 2014

To my readers, I hope you are staying warm and safe this very cold January.  It has been a busy 5 months, between volunteering, housework, and new dog Toby.  I have not had time to update the blog.  However, I am back now in 2014.

Last September during Labor Day weekend husband and I spent some time celebrating 2^nd anniversary.  How did we choose to celebrate?  We spent some time in beautiful D.C. and historic Alexandria.

The first place we visited was the Smithsonian museum of American history.  The exhibit about the Golden books was very interesting. Unfortunately, the exhibit already closed on January 12, 2014 and had been taken down already.  I enjoyed it very much…reminiscing about when my parents read to me.  Life had been simpler when I was a little girl, now time goes so quickly.  Even though it had been short, one learned a lot about the beloved Golden books.  (E.g., they started around World War 2 to increase literacy to more people, not the rich.)  It was also a very effective marketing tool especially for tissues and Band-Aids.  There are three complaints that I did not like about the exhibit.  It had too much writing and too little artifacts to view, and too little interaction.  You are still able to view the online exhibit, so if interested, please click the link.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/documentsgallery/exhibitions/goldenbooks/

Afterwards, we decided to see a second exhibit titled “Change in America: Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 & March on Washington, 1963.”  I found it very interesting because it talked about how African slaves were freed.  The exhibit linked two important events, Emancipation Proclamation and March on Washington.  Right after the Proclamation thousands of slaves gathered in “tent cities.”  In 1963, the March on Washington was unexpected and there were hundreds to thousands of people.  Marchers were demonstrating for freedom and jobs.  If anyone is interested, you had better hurry because it closes in seven months on September 7, 2014. Please check out the following link of the online exhibit.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/changing-america-emancipation-proclamation-1863-and-march-washington-1963

The picture is a preview of what I will write about next.

Happy Blogging! Thanks for reading!

July road trips

Gunston Hall, home of George Mason IV

July 6, 2013 my husband and I went to visit Gunston Hall.  We had a great time.  The mansion was decorated in period furniture.  The guide who showed us the mansion was knowledgeable.  I especially enjoyed the decorative crown moldings and the wallpaper.  Two facts that I learned was George Mason wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights and he was married twice.  Jefferson used Mason’s Virginia Declaration of Rights as an example for the Declaration of Independence.

George Mason had a very nice view from Gunston Hall of the Potomac River.  Along with the mansion, there is the garden, a couple of out buildings, and a small visitor center/museum.  The out buildings were a kitchen, laundry, and schoolhouse.  Walking around, one gets a good idea what it was like to live on the plantation in the 18^th century.  The museum gave some very good information about Mason.

If one gets a chance, you should really visit this Founding Father’s home.  It truly is an architectural gem, and a piece of history.  I can see why George Mason loved his home.

            

Gunston Hall

 Kenmore Plantation, home of Fielding and Betty Lewis 

(Betty Lewis was George Washington's sister)

 July 28, 2013 my parents, Matt, and I took a tour of the beautiful Kenmore mansion in Fredericksburg, VA.  I used to volunteer here in college and even created a small exhibit during an internship.  Even though I was a little disappointed that they took down my exhibit, the curator did a great job creating a new exhibit. A visitor can really get a sense who Fielding Lewis was. I loved the few children activities they had to interact and teach the children.  I did learn two facts that I did not know.  Fielding Lewis was married once before he married Betty, and Fielding and Betty were actually related, distant cousins.

            The tour guide was relatively new, but knowledgeable.  The inside of Kenmore is beautiful.  I really love the ceilings.  They are so decorative.  It was somewhat also disappointing that we could not go upstairs, but I understand.  The foundation wants to protect the beautiful ceilings.  I truly think that it is amazing that Kenmore was not destroyed during the Civil War.  Since I last been to Kenmore, they added an herb garden.  The garden is beautiful.  The kitchen set up was cool.  One can imagine a slave cooking the dinner and supper in the kitchen.

            If one is in Fredericksburg, VA, you have to visit this gem of a house.  It is an architectural masterpiece from the 18^th century.  We do not build houses like that anymore.

http://www.kenmore.org/kp_home.html   http://www.gunstonhall.org/

Kenmore Plantation

 Happy Blogging!