Trip to Virginia and Baltimore

SM had a conference at George Mason University last weekend and so I tagged along.  This is the nice hotel room they put us in for the one night of the conference.  I had to get a picture of the room because it was so nice and wasn't what I expected when I found out we were staying on campus.  This place is called The Mason Inn and is right on campus.  I was pleasantly surprised.

Here are a few artsy pictures I took while we were in Baltimore at Fort McHenry.  I really like them and wanted to share them with you all.

And that's all folks!

The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore

Our friends Todd and Kathy also took us to the American Visionary Art Museum, also known as a museum for self-taught artists or people who like to try their hand at art but don't do it for their careers.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside the museum so all these photos are from outside the museum.  In the museum we saw the art display titled What Makes Us Smile.  And then we saw all kinds of "art."  There was a room full of paintings that had been completed on pizza boxes and were full of large dogs with small people, painted with poster paint.  In another room we saw cartoons drawn by an artist that is a quadriplegic.  Another room contained a bench with whoopee cushions all over the seat part of the bench, so that if you sat down on the bench, flagellant noise was heard.

We also visited another room that was more bizarre with more of a Halloween theme and humor thrown into the art.  I saw a small clay and metal theme part where all the people at the carnival were scary Halloween characters.  There were quilted wall hangings that told about dogs that were heroic or naughty dogs or super-power people.  It was weird and amazing at the same time.  Outside the building we saw this giant egg and then the bird and the nest and had to get a picture of them.

This giant poodle named Fifi is from the Kinetic Sculpture Race that happens each Spring in Baltimore.  When I went online to learn more about the race the website said this about the race.  The Kinetic Sculpture Race is "human powered works of art designed to travel on land, through mud and over deep harbor waters, constructed out of used bicycles, gears, and parts, created by a lunatic genius who tinkers around in the garage or backyard."  We saw several kinetic sculptures and pictures from the race.  It looked wild and crazy and very muddy.  I guess that means it's also a lot of fun.

Someone had a lot of fun with drift wood.

And I found a new friend.

The bus behind us was also a participant in the Kinetic Sculpture Race and now is an outside attraction to the museum.  Notice the shiny building behind the bus...that is the museum.

And here is the giant whirligig that spins around outside the museum.  I enjoyed myself at the museum and also at lunch on the wharf after our tour of the museum.  Thanks to Kathy and Todd for showing us some of the attractions of Baltimore.

Fort McHenry in Baltimore

Last Saturday we had the opportunity to be in Baltimore with some friends from Virginia.  We stopped at several places and Fort McHenry was one of those places.  Before going to Fort McHenry, I had no idea what had happened there...or at least, I had forgotten all I had learned about Fort McHenry from my early school years.

Here is a model of Fort McHenry in 1812.  The flag in the middle of the fort measured 42 by 30 feet and was so large that the British fleet would be able to see it AND after the Battle of Baltimore and certain man by the name of Francis Scott Key would also be able to see it from the deck of a U.S. truce ship.

The weather was beautiful and we were able to enjoy our friends and the fort.  Here's SM with Todd and Kathy...and a very nice tree in the background.

Inside the fort, SM and I checked out the bunkers where the gun powder was stored, along with cannon balls, guns, and other war machinery.  We also toured the fort and saw where the soldiers slept and where prisoners were kept.

Oh look, a new prisoner...I'm pretty sure he hasn't been there since 1812, even though the desperation in his eyes makes it seem like he's been there that long.

Here we are on the outside wall.  Note the cannons behind us, these cannons were not the same kind of cannons from the Battle of Baltimore.   Fort McHenry was modernized and an active fort for many years after 1812.

After the long bombardment from the British, on the morning of Sept. 14, 1812, Francis Scott Key described how he felt when he saw McHenry's flag still waving.  "Through the clouds of the war the stars of the banner still shone in my view, and I saw the discomfitted host of its assailants driven back in ignominy to their ships.  Then, in the hour of deliverance, and joyful triumph, my heart spoke; and 'Does not such a country and such defenders of their country deserve a song?' was its question."  The Star-Spangled Banner became the national anthem of the United States in 1931.

I think this is the same prisoner I helped escape from the Fort's jail.  Apparently they caught him again.

Look at that great flag flying high in the sky.

I like this photo because it shows how large the cannonballs were that bombarded the Fort during the Battle of Baltimore.

Modest Fashion

We joined with another ward to participate in their Modest Fashion Show.  I showed up last night not knowing how many of my girls would come and what exactly was happening.

We began by listening to part of a talk given by Elder Holland in 2005 about our modest dress and appearance.  It was very powerful and I remember hearing it all those years ago and how it helped me know how to dress for church and for every day.  We are all children of God and need to show respect for the bodies that He gave us by taking care of our bodies and dressing modestly.

After listening to the talk, questions were asked and answered and then the girls were given a large piece of paper to design an outfit for themselves.

After designing it and coloring it, the girls cut them out.

And then they modeled their outfits.  The outfits were actually taped to their bodies.  Originally we were going to have a "runway" and have them walk down it while the "announcer" would say their name, their favorite color and something that they like to do in their free time, but we ran out of time and so we just took pictures of their outfits.

I think the girls did a great job with their outfits.  Some of them were disappointed with how the crayons made their outfits look but I reminded them that everyone was coloring their outfits and so the outfits would look similar.

I didn't have very many girls at the activity last night but I 'm pretty sure it was because it was on a Tuesday night instead of the regular Wednesday night activity.

What a fun activity!  The girls loved it!  And I'm grateful for the other ward for coming up with the idea and letting us join in on all the fun!

Garden is gone

The garden produce has all been picked and brought in the house.  The plants have been cut up and put in large black garbage bags and the pots have been washed out and put away.  My garden is gone.  But looking back I can say that we've had a great year.  We've had lots of tomatoes and peppers, basil and parsley, mint and a few zucchini's.  My rosemary plant has made it's way into the house along with two small pots of basil.

Here are the peppers that I picked before cleaning up all the pepper plants.  The peppers did spectacular this year.  Never before have I had so many peppers.

I planted a cucumber plant in the middle of August because I really wanted home grown cucumbers.  And the weather was warm for a month or so, but then the fall weather hit and the cucumbers stopped growing so quickly.  I did get these six cucumbers off the plant though, which is more than some people thought I'd get.



Here's a photo of my mint.  I picked and dried a lot of mint this year.  I love mint herbal tea and now I can make my own all winter long.



I just had to show this beautiful tree that's in the backyard.  Every day I get to look at the bright red-orange of it's leaves.  I love the beauty of the Fall.

And this tree is also beautiful with it's bright red berries.  As a side note, the birds seem to like the tree also.

Sewing with scraps

As most of you know, I love making baby quilts and baby receiving blankets and burp cloths.  Well, I always end up with just a small piece of cloth left over from making all these things, and I don't like to throw the scrap away, and so finally I have done something with my scraps.  This is the top of what will be a smallish blanket.  The back is also being made out of scraps but small scraps.  I have no idea what it will look like when it is done, I'm just sewing them together.  And hopefully I can finish them before we move again, but if I can't, oh well, I'll continue working on them once we've moved.

Creepy house




I love driving past this house.  It is so creepy and cool at the same time.  This picture does not do it justice but that's the best you'll get because this is a drive-by photo.  There isn't any side of the road to pull off of and take a picture...so, SM drove and I took the photo.  Unfortunately, you can't see all the spiders on the roof but those additional spiders added to the "creepy" of this house.  I'm so glad I did get a picture of the house and can share it with all of you!