Nothing like a fall pumpkin hunt on a clear day

Did she grow any this year?

2011

grabbing those little moments, when they come.

Bleach boy and I are impromptu people. We hate to miss those little moments of escape when they come.  Last evening it was a last minute bike ride 9 plus miles on the Slough trail. No photos of that, but I was riding my new colorful bike.  Trying to work into a comfort zone with this bike....

Today it was over 70 degrees so I bought sandwiches and bleach boy came home from work really early and off we went to the beach......Those little moments can't let them pass you by....REALLY

  Yes the best place to play hooky!

a little sun dog in the sky
you can click on the photos to see them larger
they are pretty.

The tide was behaving

excuse the "dots" all over the photos

some are moisture from the beach and some are

dust on my sensor.

The sea gull seemed to like our company

no matter what came through, kids, other birds, the tide, 

he seemed to stay next to us.

see how close he gets, that's my feet on a big log

A perfect dinner view!

HOWEVER

The tide began to rise 

And we sat there.

The boaters began to head for home

The tide got closer......

The little boats head home 

wow were they paddling fast

The tide starts to move the logs near us out to Sea........bye logs

The log on the far right is now free floating

and we have had to DASH for higher ground

Picnic bag, lawn chairs and camera all in tow.

SPLASH SPLASH

Good-bye sea gull

Good-bye boats

Good-bye ocean

Good-bye sun

Happy 4th of July

Happy Independence Day everyone

Did you know that many people don't know this holiday celebrates

 our Independence from England

and we declared it 235 years ago in 1776.

My family might be PROUD to know that you had family 

who fought for this freedom in 1776

As you know since we had our DNA done bleach boy and I have

been really working hard on family research and WOW 

have we learned a lot about our family. 

Let me tell you about the Knight family. 

They were in the Massachusetts Bay Company and

loyal to the King.  Things changed and they quickly 

understood what a risk they were taking. 

An ancestor of ours in leadership was running 

a meeting where the Boston Tea party was being

discussed and he was asked to stand 

down for this discussion and he willingly did. 

When all was said and done he had two sons who served

in the revolutionary war and one was killed.  

This was Samuel Knights family I believe.

So we do have a reason to ponder

our part in this US history and 

be Proud of the

Knight family bravery. 

 The early Amish settlers in the US.

On Another note Some of our research has lead us to the Amish of the 1700's and our Gardner/Roth family was being persecuted horribly in Europe for worshiping as Amish.

Melvin Gingerich's book, Mennonites in Iowa gives us a bit

of our families history in Europe. 

These Swiss refugees of 1671 and 1709 were the ancestors of many of the Iowa Amish and Mennonites. During the years of persecution, the Burgomaster of Zurich said they got rid of the Mennonites by killing, imprisoning, forcing some into the French Army, selling some as galley slaves, and executing the rest. The rest for such oppressive measures was because authorities believed refusal to bear arms and to take the oath of allegiance would endanger their National Militia. They depended upon Militia rather then mercenaries to comprise their armies.

The Mennonites in the Palatinate were merely a tolerated people. To enjoy the privilege of worship, they were forced to pay protection money as well as special taxes. They were kept out of the cities and could not legally own land. Marriage with a non-Mennonite was strictly forbidden. It's not surprising our ancestors found a further migration necessary. In addition, after the Napoleonic wars, it was practically impossible to obtain release from compulsory military laws of Europe. In Alsace and in Bavaria, members of the Amish families came to America when their sons reached military age. The compulsory military training laws of Europe were an important part of the Amish immigration from 1815 to the American Civil War. A migration which almost depopulated the Amish communities of Alsace, Lorraine, Bavaria, Montbeliard, Hesse and the Saar."

                                            

Our  family came from Alsace and I found their port of entry

and their passenger records show several families traveled together into New York

and then up into Canada and later Iowa where my grandfather was born.  

The migration of the Gardners & family seems to match the history above.  

There is still so much to learn about this group but they clearly are the people the con

There is a big empty spot in my side yard!

I am happy to announce the removal of

the horse trailer project.  

It is now an empty space

ready for some plants

or some lovely 

something. 

Some one sure worked hard

this week-end!

Good going.

TSA denies having required a 95-year-old woman to remove diaper

Which would you rather I take on a plane?
a Knife or a yogurt?

Okay here we go again. 

It's time to STOP the kind of harassment that we are receiving in line
for flights. Yes this OLD women was given a choice
"don't fly because your Depends is wet, or Go out of line to a rest room,
get in line again and then you may fly without underwear.

She had dementia and was 95 years old.  

I flew again two weeks ago.  I take medication that requires me nearly two hours before I can eat.  I tossed in some yummy expensive very thick yogurt, a napkin 

and a spoon in a lunch bag and headed out
for my early flight to the east coast. 

Last time it was my little bit of coin for the grand kids this time it was my yogurt. 

They kept saying it was a Liquid, I said let me open it and show you it is a solid. 

I even begged this time because it was going to be over 5 hours in the air and no food.  

I was near tears, I was sure a tiny Greek yogurt was a solid. 

Well they tossed it once I retrieved my spoon from the bag. 

I got on my plane and to my surprise, while rooting in my purse for 

my i-pod I found my Knife.  Yes I carry a knife but usually take it out when I fly.

SHOCK and By golly they thought the "Liquid" yogurt was 

more important than my knife!

NEED I SAY MORE!

PS  I was thinking of taking my knitting, goodness
what would they say about my size 00 knitting needles.


TSA clean up your act!

What I love about Washington DC

First I should start with what I don't love about Washington DC and that would be humid Heat!  Yes we arrived to 110 degrees and 80 percent humility.  I don't think my skin would survive three showers a day but that is the LEAST amount I would need to take to live there.


Far away daughter, not so far away, picked us up in her nice air conditioned car.  That was a relief and she worked to make our whole trip comfortable.  We really appreciated that.

I don't have any photo's for our first day in DC.  We arrived after a very bumpy flight. We got the car washed, my first trip to a car wash in my 50 something years.


That evening we met Meagan (Lyndy's friend for as long as I can remember) at the famous Gadsby Tavern 1770.  They were wonderful to us and we didn't even have a reservation.  If you are ever in Alexandria look them up, make some reservations and enjoy the history and great food, George Washington did and so did some other historical folks.  We loved the peanut soup, the service was the best ever and the candle light was soft and lovely for catching up with old friends & a daughter we don't get to visit often!

The rest of the trip I have photos for so I will let them help with the story. 

Friday was a get up get going day...Off to the many security stops on our way to the certificate ceremony.

The comments were encouraging, the certificates were given out, a formal  photo taken with  Raijiv Shah, head of U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, and then this big group photo.  I was not using flash so as not to interfere with the formal photographer so my colors are slightly off. 

We enjoyed meeting the families of the other new foreign service officers 

and I can say with a smile, those were the best

little cupcakes I've ever had and I'm sorry I only tried two! 

I'm sure my family doesn't know this but I LOVE old buildings

I think my time in design classes gave my eyes a sensitivity to design in everything including buildings.  This is outside the window at the Reagan building. I don't know what was in that beautiful building but I had a great view from the USAID window!

Nothing like a bunch of Reagan's pointing at the Reagan sign on the Reagan Building!

Now I had goals, goals I had on my last trip that never worked out.  Everything I wanted to see most was closed due to the 9/11 attack.  After the ceremony we headed out into the heat and humidity armed with water bottles!  First lunch at a Potbelly sandwich shop.  It was noonish and lines were long, you had to know what you wanted  and be willing to quickly say so.  Ask for extra peppers they are so tasty and you must have a shake... This was good food to arm ourselves for a long day.

Here we are!  At last!  Finally I'm going to get to see the National archives.  

We picked up the only tickets left (for late in the day) for the Ford Theater

and decided to pass our time here. 

It was breath taking to see these actual documents of freedom.  

The Declaration Of Independence, The Bill of Rights, The Constitution, all there, protected in a lot of glass and very dim lights.  I know why, the ink is nearly gone, faded and weak looking but the words we know them, I hope, I had to memorize many of them in school.  It didn't seem real to be looking at them. 

The Ford's Theater tour was done by the National Parks Dept.  Most all the theater has been redone,  Seems that what we consider important "stuff" to save was not always the case in the course of history.  Yes I think that is true today also.  It gives me pause to even see a redone baloney that held President Lincoln.

My hair looks terrible in hot and humid weather!

We made it over to the American Indian Smithsonian. 

My spinning friends know what these tools are. 

I was too tired from the heat to really enjoy this museum.  There were lots of stories of the native people and their lives today.  We did manage to read everything about the native Americans of our state but soon headed back to the subway hoping for an air conditioned subway car!

Spinning whorls from South America

This is the mall area and as you know if you live where there are subways

You must look for a way down, or under the ground level.

  We know there is one along here somewhere. 

 This is looking the other direction, that tall tower in the back ground is the Washington Memorial.  You can see it from all over the place!  It's a landmark you can use to...............get lost I think. 

Okay that's the first two days more on the rest of our trip later

Enjoying Alexandria

We ate breakfast in Alexandria's Farmers market, selling good stuff since 1753! Even George Washington sent his produce to this market. Getting up early was worth that fragrance of amazing fruits I caught a block away.

Oh the peaches, oranges, veggies, bread all of it amazing.  Wow I'll tell you heat is bad for such lovely eatables so this market starts early and they go away with the sun.

We had fresh squeezed orange juice, oh my childhood returned and chocolate chip scones that were better than most scones!  We couldn't leave without some fresh bread and veggies to go on pizza.  What you don't put veggies on your pizza?  Why not?

The day toyed with thunderstorms and we bought our tickets 

for a Potomac River boat tour. 

And now for the photos from the river

heading out from the Alexandra dock

US Naval research lab

The Capital building...Looks just like the Washington state Capital

For the first part of our boat trip I was taking the photos under an umbrella
it was a trick to hold the umbrella and take photos and keep the camera dry.

I think this is the National Defence University
Far away daughter once worked for The NDU.
Fun times!

This is the National Cathedral
Our only Gothic building.
click on the photos to make them bigger

So the Potomac has some brackish water that feeds into it
that means it can rise with the tide and today was one of those
times, it was high enough we had to cheat our way under an
up coming bridge.  Antenna were laid down we all went to
the lower level and slowly we went under the bridge.
The fun part is we got to do this both
coming and going. 

Now we pass all the memorials
Washington Memorial


Lincoln Memorial

Jefferson memorial

There are some great bridges on this trip and the
ride helps you get an idea on where everything is before you
do it on foot. Which I have done!

Now on into George town
I hear the water is the best way to visit this area
guess traffic and parking is not fun. So Take the boat!

Lots of places to eat and the cupcake shop
our cupcakes were said to come from!
Wait I don't even like cake but these were so good.

Everyone know what these are?

I do love the bridges

now back to Alexandra and on to Thai
food dinner and meeting Meagan
for the Ghost Tours! OOooooo

Great tour! Thanks