Out and About in DC

Mary and I spent an afternoon in the Washington DC Temple.

And a day walking in our nation's capital! I saw a T-shirt that read, "I walked my feet off in DC"! That about sums up our day but we agree that the best way to get to know a city is to walk.

We walked by the White House which was pretty calm, except for about a million tourists and the protestor who has been there since the Bush administration! I think he is still protesting war in general and in Iraq in particular. The press corp even seemed to be missing. I guess they assumed there would be no news over long 4th of July weekend!

I kept hoping Michelle would come out to weed her garden but no such luck!

While roaming through the National Art Gallery enjoying the art and the air conditioning, I saw a couple of familiar faces...friends from our ward in Oregon! I couldn't believe that in the tens of thousands of tourists on the National Mall we just happened to run into Nora and Clay! Small world!

I'll never get tired of seeing the sites in our beautiful Capital City!

Volt

Here's a post for our 'foodie' Scott!

We had the chance to have lunch at Volt, Chef Bryan Voltaggio's restaurant in Frederick, Maryland.

I admit I hadn't heard of him before but he was on Top Chef on Bravo TV. The food was excellent! I'll also admit that there were many words on the menu that I didn't know! The extremely attentive waiter explained the dishes to us and everyone was delighted with their choices!

composition of market vegetables maroon carrots, fennel, upland cress, petite herbs, banyuls vinaigrette

yellowfin tuna tartare jasmine rice, chili oil, petite cilantro, wasabi whitefish roe

sheep’s milk cavatelli country ham, broccoli rabe, parmesan

“spring garden” beets, carrots in timothy hay, radish, coffee soil, cherry glen farm chevre

mahi mahi maroon carrot, black forbidden rice, radish, soy air

marinated hanger steak rick’s yukon gold potatoes, chive pudding, maitake mushrooms, applewood smoked bacon

I think we look as full and content as we felt! I'm not even going to mention the desserts but lets just say they were almost, but not quite, too pretty to eat!

Harper's Ferry

The only good thing about having a daughter living on the other side of the country is that she lives in a beautiful place with so many great tourist things to do. My morning walks take me down this road and up to a civil war battlefield.

Harper's Ferry changed hands eight times during the Civil War. The high ground of Bolivar Heights Battlefield is just a mile from Mary's house.

Harper's Ferry is right at the spot where the Potomac and the Shenandoah Rivers come together. At the top of the picture is the Shenandoah and the Potomac is at the bottom.

The whole downtown is a National Historic Park where there are civil war era buildings, actors dressed in period costume to teach and entertain and lots of cute restaurants and shops. Harper's Ferry's other claim to fame is the raid by the abolitionist John Brown.

It's a beautiful place for sure!

Visiting Mary would be wonderful anywhere but I'm really glad I get to visit her in such a historic, picturesque place!

Chickens????

In early June Mary and Mark got 4 little 'peeps'...tiny little chickens! This picture was taken on June 4th.

This picture on June 28. I am amazed at how fast they grow! Mary has named them according to their personalities. They are Curious George, Flighty, Nervous Nelly, and CP3O!

My very clever son-in-law is building a chicken coop for them. Soon the chickens will be moving in and I'm sure they'll be happy with all the space!

While I'm bragging on my son-in-law, I'll also show the boat he built last summer.

And his potato boxes for the garden.

And my great grandparents Victrola that had languished for years in my basement. Mark restored it and it works!

Mark never ceases to amaze me!

A 'Wicked' Evening

Mary organized a group of twenty of her friends for a fondue dinner and 'Wicked' at the Kennedy Center.

I didn't waste time taking pictures of the cheese fondue, just the yummy chocolate! The "Yin and Yang' dark and white chocolate creation was pretty but my favorite was the less photogenic, "Flaming Turtle"!

And to dip in all this yummy goodness - fresh strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, Rice Krispie Treats, marshmallows, pound cake and brownies.! My personal favorites were the pound cake and the bananas.

After dinner we all enjoyed the amazing play "Wicked". The 'behind the scenes' story or the real story of the Wizard of Oz was revealed through wonderfully clever music and dialogue! An unforgettable evening thanks to my daughter!

Daddy and Dads

Last night we went to the Portland Mormon Choir's patriotic concert. One of my favorite numbers was entitled, "Armed Forces- The Pride of America". They sang the anthem of each of the five branches of the US military and as they sang a uniformed members came on stage carrying the appropriate flag. Members of the audience who had served in each of the branches stood to thunderous applause. When they sang, "Anchor's Away" I got a bit misty eyed thinking of my own Daddy who served in the US Navy. So today on Father's Day I salute him. This picture was taken when he was made a Chief Petty Officer. I think it was about 1958.

He died 32 years ago so although I've lived much more of my life without him than with him, he has had an influence on me. We share a love of animals and children. Daddy never met a dog or a child that didn't like him! The children who lived next door would come over to see if he could come out and play! The only one of my own children that he knew was Mary. She was a bit of a fussy baby but he could calm her and get her to sleep better than anyone else. You've heard the saying that goes something like, "Anyone can be a father but it takes a special man to be a Daddy." I was raised by a Daddy!

George's Dad has been another great influence in my life. Even though he has been gone now for 8 years I still think of him often. Every time I buy something that is a bit extravagant I imagine him shaking his head at me. Dad was one of the few people I know who wasn't impressed by 'things' but by serving and creating.

My own children are lucky to have been blessed with their Dad. Like his father he is also an example of quiet service. He just does what needs to be done and does it without fanfare or the need for applause. When George does something you know it will be done very well. He blesses our family every day and I am grateful to be his wife and the mother of his children.

When I started looking for pictures for the blog the first ones I came to are all from the 'Great Lewis Adventure" which was our first European trip in 1996.

Mary and her Dad in Bern, Switzerland

The Lewis boys and the new German hats...Berchtesgaden, Germany.

More food....and drinks too!

Almost 25 years ago when my cousin Bill was at the Jerusalem Center this was a favorite of the BYU students.

It's still there....same oven, same baker, and the BYU students still come here to enjoy pizza.

Not only does he bake pizza, he bakes bread for most of the neighborhood, including some of the bakeries. Not all homes or bakeries have ovens so the dough is brought here and then is baked in his large oven. Sounds like a good system to me!

It's a pretty traditional cheese pizza, except that it has egg in addition to the cheese. It wasn't my favorite....give me a falafel anyday!!

Good marketing idea here....Cana Wedding wine! Does it turn to water?

Jerusalem's answer to Starbucks....a mobile coffee shop! I'm told that in the hot summer he sometimes carries lemonade instead of coffee!