Cherry Blossoms

In 1912, the country of Japan gave the United States a gift of 3,020 Cherry Trees.  The Cherry Blossom is believed to be a symbol equated with "the evanescence of human life and epitomizes the transformation of Japanese culture throughout the ages."  (source: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/cherryblossom/history-of-the-cherry-trees.htm, accessed 3/30/2016)

These trees were planted along the Tidal Basin of the Potomac River, and extend from the Lincoln Memorial, down to the Jefferson Memorial and around Haines Point.

Ever since my family moved to the greater DC Metro area in 1979, we have made a point of going into see the Cherry Blossoms every few years.  We've taken picnic dinners and eaten under the trees in the moonlight, we've taken our young children who were bouncing with energy and enthusiasm and ran from tree to tree to tree, and we've taken out of town friends and family down there, some of whom were astounded by the beauty, and some of whom were just bored out of their minds at the thought of spending a day walking around trees, only to be awed by the sheer enormity of the blooms once they got down there.

This year, we hit Peak Bloom on Friday.  The trees were delightful, but the mall was packed!  We saw a couple getting married under the trees, and we saw people of all ages and nationalities, stopped under the trees and staring at the overhead canopy of trees in absolute awe.  The joy of spring, and the peacefulness of the trees - in the middle of all the insanity that is Washington DC was something to behold.  We walked over 8 miles Friday afternoon and evening.  We parked in a lot in Virginia, and walked across one of the bridges into DC and visited the monuments along the mall before finishing our tour of the cherry blossoms. 

The view from the reflecting pool up to the Lincoln Memorial.  Funny story here - there's a line of people on the top step, all turned around and taking pictures.  We took daughter up to the top - she's never been inside - and we almost couldn't get through the crush of people.  NOBODY was actually inside, looking around.

The view down the mall.  You see the reflecting pool straight ahead, the Washington Monument, and the Capital Building in the distance.  If you've never been to the Mall before, the Smithsonian Museums are between the Washington Monument and the Capital building.  From where I'm standing, the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial and the Nurses' Memorial are off to my left.  The Martin Luther King Memorial is to my right.  Just barely ahead at the end of the sidewalk, you can see the columns for the WW 2 Memorial.  It was a gorgeous day - one of the couples we saw getting married was at the bottom of the reflecting pool - just off to the right, out of the frame of this picture.

The WW 2 Memorial.  Words can't quite describe this.  The names of people from every state who died in the Pacific Theater are on the left, and the Atlantic on the right.  The relief sculpture along the wall as you enter the area depict the lives of the Greatest Generation as they were called to service and left their homes.

Cherry Blossoms!

And still more blossoms!  Down along the Tidal Basin.  Do you see the cherry trees on the other side of the basin?  They're those fluffy puffballs... absolutely gorgeous, and they smelled heavenly!

A look down the hill at the blossoms and the people.

Under the canopy!  I wish I had brought a picnic dinner!  This would have been a great place to just sit, eat, and people watch!

Running With Librarians

About 10 years ago, I was a public librarian.  As a new public librarian, I was required to complete a series of workshops that, put together, comprised the Library Training Institute.  These wonderful classes taught us about teamwork, customer service, public outreach, and most important - how to find resources in a constantly changing resource environment.  (We didn't learn available resources as much as we learned how to find and evaluate reliable resources.)  While the nature of the Reference environment has changed over the last many years, the ability to find reliable resources quickly and easily is a skill that is desperately needed.

These classes were held in a hybrid environment.  Some classes were online.  Some were held over teleconference, and some were in person.  The in person classes were the biggest challenge.  While Maryland might seem like a small state, we have a lot of land - if you look all the way out through the Western Panhandle and down to the very Southern End of the state on the Eastern Shore.  There is a lot of diversity to Maryland's counties, but every public librarian must go through these classes in order to remain a public librarian.

For every in person class we held, I would venture out with the other new hires from our county library in search of the LOTD.  (Library of the Day)  One of us was in charge of driving out there, and the rest of us piled into the car and off we went on our latest adventure.

The worst adventure was the library in a county west of us.  I have a terrible sense of direction.  GPS navigation has made my life so much better - no more roaming aimlessly through shifty neighborhoods, hoping to find the road I'm looking for.  Ten years ago, I didn't have GPS.  I had a coworker who "thought she knew how to get there".

You'd think it would be easy to find this place.

I really should have printed out directions.

We were supposed to be there by 9, and we left our location before 8.   We made it out to there before 9, but we weren't able to find the library.  We looked and looked.  Another half hour passed, and we were in the shiftiest of shifty neighborhoods.  Over the screams of protest of my passengers, I stopped the car and asked a group of young men standing on the street corner how to get to the library.

After a moment of stunned silence, one of the young men told me to continue straight for 3 blocks, make a left, and the parking garage for the library was on the right - with the library across the street.  He then cautioned me to "lock your doors - this isn't a great neighborhood".

(I still wonder if they were shocked that we stopped to talk to them, or shocked that I assumed they would know where the library was.)

My most favorite adventure was at the Enoch Pratt Free Library's Central Branch in downtown Baltimore.  This elegant building was constructed in 1931.  Filled with high ceilings, large rooms, and bright corridors, this library is the showpiece of their library system, and the State Library Resource Center for the State of Maryland.  (I pulled my facts from their website, which you can find here: http://www.prattlibrary.org/history/)

Not only were we tucked away in one of the most beautiful rooms, we were allowed to explore the building at will during our lunch hour.  The lobby is phenomenal - with large study spaces, chairs, and a grand piano.  A large room was set aside for computers, and the children's area is phenomenally beautiful.  The architecture - the columns, is it Greco-Roman?  I don't know, but in many ways it reminds me of the architecture at the Met in New York City. 

The Central Library is located across the street from the Basilica.  (Which is another phenomenal piece of architecture!)  We went across the street and explored the Basilica on our afternoon break. 

Having learned our lesson with our first trip, we took the Baltimore Metro into town - which dropped us a few blocks away from the library.  Clear signage led us directly to the library front doors as we got off of the Metro.  I don't know that I'd want to walk that path late at night by myself, but during the day, I felt perfectly safe.  The Metro in and of itself is safe and well lit.  (It's just not as extensive as D.C.'s Metro.)

Book Review - House of Cards

image: Amazon

Note- this post contains Affiliate Links.

Not the television series, no.  This is the book that started it all!  Written by Michael Dobbs in 1989, this series has become an international bestseller that has withstood the test of time and geography.

Set in Britain in the 1980's, this book weaves the tale of Francis Urquhart and his rise to power - and the extreme lengths that he is willing to go to in order to seize the power he so desperately craves.

Fans of the Netflix series will find many similarities between the two stories - but enough differences to keep them involved and engaged with the series. The themes between the two stories are so entrenched that you will find yourself pulled into the intrigue of the tale.

House of Cards is the first book in the trilogy that continues with Play King, and ends with Final Cut.

One thing is certain - you will be struck by how people in power crave more power, and the lengths that some people are willing to go to in order to have more power. 

Easter Monday

I hope that you and your family had a wonderful weekend, filled with family, friends, and lots of love.

We had a fun weekend.  Middle child surprised us with a visit home Saturday night - he went back to school Sunday afternoon, but that left us scrambling for dinner after the stores had closed.  We ended up having roasted potatoes, salmon, quinoa pilaf, and fruit salad.  It was actually a very good meal.  Not what I would have planned, but it was about the company - not spending hours preparing the meal.  We had a wonderful group phone call with oldest child in the afternoon, it was wonderful!

Luna has acquired a bunch of fleas.  We don't know where they came from since she doesn't go out.  It had gotten so bad that she had bald spots on the backs of her legs from where she was scratching and licking herself.  We found some flea gel for her Saturday morning, put it on her that afternoon, and now she is no longer scratching.

We began our taxes this weekend.  We're behind.  They've usually been submitted long before now.  Not sure when they'll actually get submitted - but the clock is ticking.  Only a little over 2 weeks before they're due...  And papers are scattered everywhere!

We did make it into Washington D.C. last week and spent some time with the Cherry Blossoms!  I will be posting pictures later this week.  Let me tell you, this year was perfect!  The blossoms peaked on Saturday - and with the steady rain we are having today, they will be gone by the end of the day.  We walked 8 miles the day we went in.  I was exhausted when we got home - and I had a bruise under the middle toe on my foot - right where I push off when I walk.  Not certain how that happened, but good golly it hurt for a couple of days!

All the kids are back to school now - they've all got about 6 weeks left in their respective semesters before summer.  Daughter will be getting her wisdom teeth pulled the week after finals are finished.  We met with the oral surgeon earlier this week - and met his resident who is working with him through the rest of this year.  I verified - our oral surgeon will be the one actually doing the tooth removal.  I'm sure the resident is good, but I am paying for our oral surgeon to do the surgery - and I am more comfortable with him.  He's worked with our weird tooth conditions for years now.  (Middle child had one tooth grow out through the bottom of his chin....)

I hope you enjoy your week! 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

This post contains Affiliate Links.  I have cross-posted this review on my "Books for Teens Blog"

Image: Amazon

This is the book that started it all.  One very imaginative, fanciful story about an ordinary boy who finds out that he is a wizard, and that hidden within his own world is another, unknown world of witches, wizards, and magic.  I stumbled across this book while cleaning the basement last month, and I've been rereading the series.  I enjoyed the movies - but the books just have so much more to offer - so much more depth of detail and plot that is necessary to help see the overall picture of the book.  If you haven't spent some time with Harry, Ron, and Hermoine lately, you might want to go back and spend some time with them!

Harry Potter is known as "The Boy Who Lived" among the Wizarding Community.  One dark night, when Harry was a year old, a dark wizard known as "He Who Must Not Be Named" showed up at the Potter's house with the express purpose of killing young Harry.  While both of Harry's parents died that night, Harry survived - and He Who Must Not Be Named disappeared.

Harry lived a quiet life with his mother's sister and her family - the Dursleys - and they were determined to stamp that magic nonsense out of him so that he would never know what he - or his parents truly were.

The joyful romp into the world of magic begins when Harry receives an owl from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, letting him know that classes will be beginning soon, what school supplies he will need, and where to catch the train for school.

Come and join Harry as he discovers the world of magic.  Discover the wonder of Quidditch, and the charms of a very old school peopled by students, eccentric professors, and ghosts.

While Harry revels in the challenge of a new school and new friends, there seems to be a dark presence lurking in the background that is slowly taking shape.

Is it true?  Could it be possible?  Is the dark wizard slowly taking shape once again?  Has he come back in order to finish the job he started on Harry?  Find out in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Brook Side Gardens

With the arrival of Spring in the Mid-Atlantic, I thought I'd take a moment to share the breath taking pictures that we took yesterday at Brookside Gardens.  The pictures don't even begin to do justice to the grandeur and beauty of this lovely public park.  We enjoyed roaming around the paths, and came home happy and smelling like sunshine!

University of Virginia

Last week, we visited several potential graduate schools with middle child.  Since we were roaming through the Mid-Atlantic Region, we decided that we would swing by the University of Virginia.   I've always loved the UVA campus.  It's beautiful, and the school is beyond compare.  I wish that they'd had the programs I was searching for when I went off to college. 

This gorgeous school was founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819.  It was intended to be an Academic Village.  In the picture below, you see the Rotunda.  It was (and still is a part of) the library.  Down in front, you see the lawn, and on the left and right sides of the lawn, there are the original rooms and the classrooms.  The individual rooms are very nice - they are single occupancy.  Each has a fireplace, and the original stone work.  And no indoor plumbing.  Think on that for a while.  It wouldn't even have been considered necessary 100 years ago.  Today, the residents go outside, down the stairs, and around back to access the bathrooms.  Think about that trek when it's snowing, cold, and icy.

When my sister graduated from UVa, the ceremony was held here, on the lawn.  We sat with our backs facing the Rotunda, and the speaker was downhill - at the other end of the lawn.  I know she absolutely loved her time in school, and had hopes that her kids would go to school there.

Is middle child considering attending the University for graduate school?  Who knows?  He's trying to decide whether to enter the work world or go to graduate school.  He must make that decision soon - applications are due by the end of the year (November, I think.) and GRE's and subject area tests need to be taken before then in order to be considered for admission.

I'm enjoying the continuing tour of college campuses.  Daughter has yet to apply, too.  She'll be graduating from the community college next spring, and she needs to have her transfer applications in by the end of this year, too.  You can never see enough college campuses.. never!  

The Rotunda.

The Ampitheater.  It was 70* when we were here.  Students were sitting all over the ampitheater, studying.

The library - part of the admissions tour, so I didn't get a good chance to take a lot of pictures.

The reading room in the main library.