Cuisine Kathleen Napkin Tablescape!

We sat at this table before our trip to D.C. and I wanted to post it before it got totally buried. Things have been so busy I haven’t even pulled out my Red, White and Blue for Memorial Day Weekend but I’ll remedy that soon. You can see a great Memorial Day Tablescape at Kathleen’s though. She’s who I won these great napkins from. To see more Tablescapes from around the world visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.

The Napkins are from Williams Sonoma via Kathleen.

The large gold goblets are from Goodwill.

The plates are Lenox, Accoutrements Charlotte Green by Anna Griffin that I bought at T.J. Maxx.

If you live in the U.S.A. have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. We will be remembering our heroes from the past and our current heroes serving right now. My U.S. and Marine flag will be flying all weekend.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with blurred out versions and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Fountains and Ford’s Theater

Jenny our faithful teacher is the hostess for Alpahbe-Thursday.

Here’s another A-Z stamp from the Postal Museum in Washington D.C. F is for Firsts!

Also from D.C. are my other choices for the letter F, fountains and the Ford Theater.

This is the fountain at Dupont Circle. In 1871 the Corps of Engineers began construction of Dupont Circle itself which at the time was called Pacific Circle. In 1882 Congress authorized a memorial statue of Rear Admiral Samuel Francis duPont in recognition of his Civil War service. The bronze statue was erected in 1884. In 1921 the statue of Dupont was replaced by a double-tiered white marble fountain. It was designed by sculptor Daniel Chester French and architect Henry Bacon. Three classical figures, symbolizing the Sea, the Stars and the Wind are carved on the fountain’s central shaft.

Ford’s Theater where President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth.

On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., where Abraham and Mary Todd were attending the play Our American Cousin. He died at 7:22 a.m. the following day, April 15th, at the Peterson Boarding House across the street from Ford’s Theatre.

Outside the Washington National Cathedral

This cathedral, officially the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, had its beginning in 1893. The foundation stone was laid in 1907 in the presence of President Theodore Roosevelt, and the Cathedral was completed in 1990 – 83 years later – when the “final finial” was placed in the presence of President George H.W. Bush.

Built of Indiana limestone, the Cathedral is the sixth largest in the world. Its design is unique and not copied from any earlier building. The building is shaped like a cross, with a long nave – a tenth of a mile- and two shorter transepts.

The Cathedral’s architectural style is Gothic, characterized by great height and the use of pointed arches, boss stones, ribbed vaulting, large windows, and flying buttresses.

When visiting these wonderful historical sites there’s always something you miss or at least I miss. I tend to learn more about the site when I finally get ready to post about it on my blog. Although I did notice these Gargoyles, I totally missed the fact that Darth Vader was one of the Gargoyles on the Cathedral! Here’s an explanation.

In the 1980s, while the west towers were under construction, Washington National Cathedral held a decorative sculpture competition for children. Word of the competition was spread nationwide through National Geographic World Magazine. The third-place winner was Christopher Rader, with his drawing of that fearful villain, Darth Vader. The fierce head was sculpted by Jay Hall Carpenter, carved by Patrick J. Plunkett, and placed high upon the northwest tower of the Cathedral.

You would need binoculars to see it so I don’t feel too bad about totally missing it!

My thoughts and prayers are with the people in the areas of our country hit by devastating tornadoes and other weather related tragedies. Praying that God would sustain them while they work to recover.

Stained Glass ~ Washington National Cathedral

Get ready for photo overload. I have so many photos to share from our trip to Washington D.C. that I’ll have to break my posts down to different aspects of each spot I visited. The Washington National Cathedral was amazing to visit. Today I’ll share the Windows for you for Ruby Tuesday with Mary at Work of the Poet.

This is the Space Window which holds a piece of moon rock brought back by the crew of Apollo XI.

One theme, told moving from the west to east, is the story of redemption through faith. Beginning at the west facade and west rose window with the story of creation, this theme continues through the clerestory windows, and ends with the sculpture of Christ in Majesty at the high altar.

Christ in Majesty at the high altar.

This series of 3 photos shows 6 of the 12 disciples of Jesus.

I’ll be posting more photos of the Washington National Cathedral in the next couple of days.

Then and Now ~ D.C. Mosaics

As you can see I didn’t study my then photos very well as I stood on the opposite side of the Marine Memorial. You also have to look real hard to see me in the now photo at the right of the statue. The only chance we got to get to the Marine Memorial was during the moonlight tour. In my Capitol shots you can see how things have changed from 40 years ago.

Across the road from the Capitol you can visit the United States Botanic Garden. Here are two mosaics of some of the flowers in the garden.

My last mosaic is for my Canadian friends. Happy Victoria Day to all of you!

Join us and Mary at Little Red House to share your Mosaics.

O God, the Strength of Those Who War ~ Hymn

O God, the Strength of Those Who War

O God, the strength of those who war,
The hope of those who wait,
Be with our sons gone forth to fight,
And those who keep the gate.

Give to our hosts in battle’s hour
Firm hearts and courage high,
Thy comfort give to those who fall,
Thy peace to those who die.

Breathe on our land the spirit calm
Which faith in right bestows,
And in the hours of dark suspense
A faith which stronger grows.

In Thee alone we place our hope,
Thou Keeper of the just,
And Thou, through fight and fire and fears
Wilt justify our trust.

Thy ways are wonderful, O God,
Who makest wars to cease:
O let this be the final war
That ushers in Thy peace.

Words: William B. Carpenter (1841-1918).

Armed Forces Day

Please pray for Andrew, our son in law in the Marines. If you have someone in the military I could pray for let me know in your comment. Thank you…

I’d also like to wish our Canadian neighbors a wonderful long weekend celebrating Victoria Day.

FFF ~ D.C. and Home Again…

It’s time to reflect on our last week and pick out 5 favorites to share at Friday’s Fave Five hosted by Living to Tell the Story. Thanks Susanne for hosting this worthwhile event…

Dear and I just got back from 8 days in Washington D.C. Dear was one of the representatives of his company at the American Urological Association’s Annual Meeting. We left a couple days early so the two of us could do some sight seeing before his responsibilities began at the conference. So here are my favorites…

1. Being in our Nation’s capitol again after 40 years and having time to enjoy many of the major tourist spots.

2. Visiting Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens. This is an out of the way gem in Washington D.C. I’ll be dividing up my day there in 2 or 3 posts soon. It’s the home of Marjorie Merriweather Post.

3. Having a visit from my brother Leonard while we were in Washington D.C. He happened to be in Baltimore for business so he drove south to see us in D.C. our last evening there. We sat around and talked for a couple hours before he had to head back. We live in Seattle and Leonard lives in Dallas. What a great surprise that our paths could cross.

Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers from the Wizard of Oz. I saw them at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

4. “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.” “Oh, but anyway, Toto, we’re home. Home! And this is my room, and you’re all here. And I’m not gonna leave here ever, ever again, because I love you all, and – oh, Auntie Em – there’s no place like home”

We arrived back to Seattle with Sunshine and fresh blooms all over the yard. We are finally getting Spring here! I was so happy to fall into my own bed. It’s great to travel but it’s wonderful to come home again.

5. Katie just got back from spending time with Andrew before he leaves on deployment. On Thursday we had lunch together and then we went to Bed Bath and Beyond so she could register for the wedding in January. It was fun to click on all that fun stuff.

We have another day of sunshine here in the Seattle area. So lovely and so appreciated. We’re off today to finish up Katie and Andrew’s registry at Macy’s and Target. Later tonight we get to celebrate a dear friend’s birthday. What’s on your agenda for the day?

E is for Old Ebbitt Grill & an Old Ecuadoran…

It’s that time of the week to join Jenny for Alphabe-Thursday. I’m just back from a trip to Washington D.C. with my Dear and have some fun E’s to share.

The Postal Museum had an great A to Z exhibit and this is the display for the letter E. E is for EFOs ~ “Errors, freaks and oddities”

I’ll be sharing a new stamp display for each letter of the alphabet.

Ellen b. was ecstatic to find this great eatery in D.C. The Old Ebbitt Grill is Washington’s oldest, most historic saloon. It was founded in 1856. It has evolved over the years from a boarding house to a saloon and now to a restaurant. It also had several moves over the years and has been at this location at 675 15th St. N.W. since 1983. The brochure calls it a virtual saloon Smithsonian.

It is just a couple blocks from the White House. We were happy to be dropped off close to the front door of Ebbitt’s on our Trolley Tour. Washington D.C. is amazing to visit but your eyes and feet get tired from all the seeing and walking. You also get quite thirsty on a hot humid day.

After our crab cake sandwich we decided to share this dessert…

Ellen B. was happy to be off her feet in front of food and a drink.

On our last day in D.C. while Dear was busy at his conference I went back to Old Ebbitt for breakfast. I had strawberry french toast with ham and it was the best ham I’ve ever tasted. My breakfast was just over $10.00 with coffee included. That’s a deal in D.C.! From Ebbitt Grill I decided it was time to go get a closer view of the White House. One of my favorite experiences in D.C. happened there.

I saw an Ecuadoran family and the son asked me to take a photo of the family here with the White House in the background. After I took the photo of the family I asked the young Ecuadoran to please take my photo, too. I stepped over to the fence and the little old Ecuadoran mother wouldn’t budge from her spot. She wanted a photo with me. The son tried to convince his mother to get out of the photo but she said NO! I love this photo and I was happy to have it with her. After the son took it he finally convinced her to move out and took another photo of just me and the White House. Fun times in D.C. with my new Ecuadoran friend! Ecuadoran or Ecuadorian are both correct in referring to someone from Ecuador.

That’s a wrap for the letter E. We just got home yesterday and I’m still adjusting to the time change. Spring has finally arrived here and I’ll have to get out and mow the lawn. Hope you all have a wonderful Thursday!

Last Night in D.C.

This photo is from last night. We took a moonlight monument tour in Washington D.C.

Tonight is also our last night in D.C. We’ll be back in Washington state tomorrow morning.

It’s been wonderful to be in our nation’s Capitol but I’m looking forward to being back in our other Washington.

Woohoo! My brother Leonard is in Baltimore for a business trip and he’s going to drive for an hour to come and meet up with us! What a fun turn of events. Leonard lives in Dallas with his family and we don’t often get to see each other. A very nice way to cap off our trip to D.C.

Blessings…

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage