Bishop’s Garden ~ Washington National Cathedral

Thank you for your care and concern about my procedure Friday morning. Everything is just fine and I won’t need that procedure for another 7 years! We went out for a nice dinner and all is well. Hope your weekend is off to a good start…

Continuing with my posts from our time in Washington D.C.  I’m breaking down the posts so you don’t get photo overload. The grounds of the Cathedral, called the “Close” are comprised of fifty-seven acres, which include the Cathedral, three schools, the offices of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington and St. Alban’s church.  The grounds also include the Bishop’s Garden.

 

The Bishop’s Garden is modeled on a medieval walled garden.

This Equestrian Statue of George Washington sits at the base of the Pilgrim Steps. From here, the Pilgrim Way winds through the 5 acre Olmsted Woods.

This is a side door to St. Alban’s.

Washington D.C. has so much to take in and enjoy. You can never see it all in one trip. I’d suggest you choose one major site a day and do it justice. You could add in a smaller site but beware of overload. Space your day out with a good sit down meal, too.

FFF ~ I’m Hungry!

It’s time again to think about our favorites from this last week. Susanne at Living to Tell the Story is our hostess for this weekly event.

I cannot tell a lie but I can hardly wait till Friday afternoon when I can finally eat again. I’m having one of those procedures Friday morning that most of us dread so I’ve had to fast all day on Thursday and drink all that stuff they give you to get your innerds ready for them to poke around in. Ugh! Anyways seems the only favorites I can come up with all revolve around food.

1. Top of the list this week is meeting our dear friends on Tuesday for Happy Hour together. We ordered lots of great 1/2 price appetizers and enjoyed each other over food and drink. Good times.

2. Lunch with my daughter Katie on our way to start a registry for her and Andrew at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

3. Dinner with Dear and Katie after we got back from D.C. at our favorite Mexican Restaurant in town.

4. Making breakfast Sunday after church for us all. The classic eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon with toast.

5. Going to a birthday/house warming party for a young friend and seeing lots of old friends we haven’t seen for quite a while. The food was good, too.

I’ll be gone very early Friday morning and don’t know when I’ll be back or how loopy I’ll be but I’ll try to get around after Dear takes me out to dinner on Friday night. How pathetic am I?

Oh and while I’m on the subject of food my recipe for this dish is on The Mennonite Girls Can Cook Blog today.

 

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.

 

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 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).

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.

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”

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

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?