fly away home, take two

After a splendid tea and wander with Sarah and Stanley,

it's once again time to fly away home.

Just wish I'd saved one of Petersham's fab flapjacks for the flight, as the catering on United really doesn't compare.

capitol celebration

Heading home bright and early Thursday morning, and this time I'll be staying right through the Fourth:

I'm so looking forward to all the festivities: barbecues and balloons,

sparklers and fireworks. Better stop puzzling and start packing!

spice and ice

While visiting my mum, I discovered a fabulous new gelato shop, Pitango Gelato:

The Fior di Latte, made from locally sourced, organic milk and cream, was pure, creamy gelato heaven. I also tried the Cinnamon, which was wonderfully spicy--perfect for the festive season.

Now back in Teddington, and longing for a scoop of Cinnamon, I whipped up a batch of David Lebovitz' Cinnamon Ice Cream:

Made using Waitrose Cooks' Ingredients cinnamon--ginormous cinnamon sticks from the Seychelles--it boasts a very deep, very spicy, very adult cinnamon flavor. If an ice cream could be described as warm, this would be it...just the thing for frosty afternoons!

mount vernon morning

Glowing white walls,

red shakes,

russet brick,

and a brilliant blue sky.

But none as dramatic as the vivid verdigris decor in the dining room! Apparently George Washington was fearless not only in battle but in home decorating. Alas no photos were allowed inside the mansion house, but that green inside, combined with the glorious weather outside, made for a very memorable Mount Vernon morning.

getting crafty

On Friday, we Metro-ed into the city for the 22nd annual Washington Craft Show, a juried exhibition and sale of contemporary fine craft. The show featured 195 artists, and we visited every booth, ooohing and aaahing so many times I lost count!

I especially loved the quilts by Brooklyn-based textile artist Erin Wilson:

Erin dyes her own fabrics, then makes the small squares one at a time, adding strips of fabric as she goes (without any preset plan) to form each perfectly composed block.

I also fell head-over-heels for Connie Verrusio's jewelry, all made from or inspired by pieces she's found in antique shops and hardware stores. My favorite was a silver cuff bracelet engraved to resemble a dressmaker's tape--a slightly more elegant version of the ring below:

I wonder if wearing it would improve my sewing abilities. With my current project, I need all the help I can get!

flags in

I arrived home in Washington on Memorial Day, just in time for Flags In at Arlington National Cemetery.

The Old Guard has done Flags In every Memorial Day since 1948, and every available soldier participates. The soldiers place an American flag in front of each gravestone and niche, nearly 270,000 flags:

image: Getty Images

I know Dad would have been very proud of his:

exhibitionists

We haven't stopped going to exhibitions. I've just been very remiss in posting about them.

Back in January, we visited Renaissance Faces: Van Eyck to Titian at The National Gallery, London:

image: Alesso Baldovinetti, Portrait of a Lady, probably 1465, The National Gallery, London

An American travel writer once quipped that visiting a portrait gallery is about as exciting as leafing through someone else's high school yearbook. But I love portraiture exhibitions. A really good portrait, no matter how idealized, always reveals a little something of the subject's personality...

Later in January, my mum and I visited Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture Around the Bay of Naples at the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

I particularly enjoyed the section focusing on Pompeian gardens. The gardens in and around the grand bay-side villas featured aviaries, fountains, and impressive sculptures. But even the most modest homes within the town itself often had gardens. If space were particularly tight, plants were painted on the walls, the painted gardens visually expanding the actual ones:

image: fresco from the House of the Golden Bracelet, 1st century BC-1st century AD

Now I've been meaning to repaint the shed...

fly away home, part two

Why weren't my United flight attendants this jolly?

Have arrived back in Teddington. Will write a proper post soon!

fly away home

Flying home to Washington first thing tomorrow morning...

but not sure I'll be looking quite this jolly at 5 am!